Connecting with family history: Marymount, Paris

Marymount International School in Paris. (Photo courtesy of www.marymount.fr)

Marymount International School in Paris. (Photo courtesy of www.marymount.fr)

Charlie Robinson '16, Staff Writer

This summer, I travelled with my sister and my mom to Europe, and we visited Paris for 4 days. On our last day in France, we ventured around the city and decided to visit Marymount Paris due to my grandmother’s request. As we pulled in front of the school, I immediately noticed many similarities, including the Marymount font written on the front of the building and the overall architecture. I had previously heard about Marymount Paris from my grandmother, who actually attended the school from 1951 to 1953. Seeing it in person led me to ask her more questions about her experience there and how the school compared to our very own Marymount.

When my grandma was 16 years old, her father, my great grandfather, was asked to be on General Dwight Eisenhower’s staff at S.H.A.P.E. (Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers, Europe), so they moved to Paris, France for 2 years. Her father wished for her not to attend a French school instead of an American school in Paris. He enrolled her at Marymount Paris, where she attended for the next two years. Only about 10 other American girls attended the school at the time.

My grandma informed me of the challenging academics and the very French and Catholic qualities of the school. Just like our Marymount, during this time period, there were Irish nuns who wore habits and taught English, math, and a little bit of history; however, this was all she really learned at the school. My grandma even let me in on a little secret about the Irish nuns, who spoke a little bit of English, but mostly French. She and many of the other American girls would trick the Irish nuns into thinking that it was an American holiday in order to get the day off (nothing like we Marymount girls would EVER do).

One of the classes that my grandmother took was Latin, which they taught in French. My grandmother was learning two different languages at the same time! She further described the school, telling me that school days lasted much longer than a regular school day at our Marymount and that not many sports were played there at the time. Another interesting secret that my grandmother let me in on was that she and the other American girls would often take the bus down to the American embassy, which was just a couple blocks down from the school, and sit in the basement in order to indulge in hamburgers and milkshakes, things that you couldn’t really get in Paris at the time.

My grandma was overjoyed that we had actually visited her high school. She loved her experience of living in Paris, especially attending Marymount Paris. She even told me that the influence of Catholicism at Marymount had a big bearing on the fact that she was a convert later in life. I, myself, enjoyed visiting Marymount Paris and hope that other fellow Marymount students will be given the opportunity to do so as well!