THE VISIT to the Bourglinster castle, a 12th century fortress, provided one of the more memorable cultural experiences for the Harvard troupe.

"It was amazing. There was a military string quartet that played at a dance following the dinner," said Michael E. Raynor '90.

Isobel A. Jones '89 said she talked to the son of the Archduke of Luxembourg at the dinner and danced with the commanding general of the Dutch armed forces following the dinner.

"On the day before we left we also visited the cities of [Luxembourg's] wine growing valley, where we tasted their wines, said Tendler, adding, "Aside from the fun, though, it was a tremendous learning experience."

"Arthur Hartman, former U.S. ambassador to France and the Soviet Union, was there, along with other former government officials that put the Marshall Plan together," said Raynor. "It was very informative. When you're dealing with people that were there, you can't help but learn a lot, even just by osmosis."

"I had a chance to talk at an impersonal level with ambassador Hartman," Tendler said. "If I had read 10 books I couldn't have learnt as much about U.S-U.S.S.R. relations and Gorbachev's new reforms."

Tendler, whose parents were born in Soviet bloc countries, said the commeration of the Marshall Plan was especially important for him. Historians have claimed that the success of the Marshall Plan in rebuilding Europe economically helped to keep totalitarianism out of Western Europe.

"The Marshall Plan represents for me and my family a celebration of freedom. In this sense, the experience was an emotional one for me too," Tendler said.

THE BULK of the expense for the conference was paid for by the Luxembourg government, said Shustorovich, who added that "additional funding...came from private and government sources. A token amount was also donated by Harvard."

Of the 30 Harvard students who attended this Christmas conference, 20 were selected by a committee of undergraduates chaired by Dean of Students Archie C. Epps III in early November. The other 10 were the members of the selection committee, which was selected "from people either from Model U.N. when the prime minister came or from Harvard's Model Congress," said selection committee member Alex L. Bangs '88.

In addition to the Harvard faculty members and undergraduates representing Harvard, several administrators made the journey, including Dean of the College L. Fred Jewett '57 and Epps.

Although the conference ended on December 22, many students took advantage of the opportunity and stayed in Europe. One student, Rushika J. Fernandopulle '89, is not expected back before January 19.