A Few More Reasons to Study Abroad

Over two years ago, I packed my two polka-dot suitcases and headed to the airport for a 5 month study abroad journey in Northern England. As a local Billings girl who had never left the states and was still living with my family through college, this was the opportunity of a lifetime. I had been raised on BBC dramas and loved European history and had made studying abroad a life-dream as a little girl. As an English Literature student I was dying to know their perspective on some of the old literature I’d read and visit some of the great places referenced in my many books. Studying abroad was something that shaped me, and as I look around at other students, desiring to learn and grow and yet somehow stuck in one way or another, it seems to me we should be a little more proactive about encouraging our own students and children to seek out this kind of adventure for several reasons.

    1. Studying abroad is a perfect mix of independence and freedom while being limited in time, being organized by a school, and being given a place to live. I am not downplaying the courage it took for myself and for others to do something like this, however, the security of knowing I’d be picked up from the airport by someone connected to the school I’d be studying at and given a room to stay in was extremely comforting. Also, having the time limit of five months gave me something to hold on to on the hardest days.

   2.  Studying abroad is different than merely traveling. Learning similar things from a different viewpoint was very beneficial. Taking a Shakespeare class as a freshman in the states is quite different than taking one as a junior in England. Before you expect me to go on and on about how the latter was far superior, it truly wasn’t. I respected and enjoyed both of my teachers and they each brought new ideas and perspectives on the table. Being in America, there is a distance from some of the culture and history brought about in some of these subjects giving us a clear head for how to perceive certain issues. Being in England, there was an identity found in some of the historical happenings and cultural issues being discussed, showing me how important their history is and how it influences them even now.

  3.   I have friends from all over the world and that is something I hope to take advantage of someday. Making friends was one of the most difficult aspects for me. I forced myself to attend clubs and events in hopes to make that bosom friend from England I’d been dreaming about. I waited five months for this to happen and suddenly realized that my closest friends were the other international students that I had bonded with. While I didn’t meet the friend I had imagined in my head, I enjoyed getting to know people as we went to lunch or to the pub or out to tea. I now have friends in England, France, Finland, Argentina, and places in the states I’ve never been. While we don’t all communicate constantly, I now know that if I ever am able to travel again (which I truly hope to do) than I have someone I can call. And traveling with a friend is so much more edifying than traveling alone.

 4  It wasn’t the perfect dream I’d imagined in my head. While this doesn’t seem like the best reason to encourage young adults to study abroad, I think this is deeply important. Now, of course, this isn’t everyone’s experience, for some it is the idyllic adventure they always imagined it to be. However, very early on in my travels, I realized that while I was in a town surrounded by ancient, Roman walls with cobblestone streets and a gorgeous cathedral that rang every hour, I still had to lug groceries back to my room, go to class at 9:00 on Monday morning, and do laundry. I planned trips to castles and Spain and London, but I also walked miles soaked to the bone in rain, got lost in Barcelona, and slept in some questionable hostels. However, it was those moments that stretched me as a person. I learned how to deal with difficult, frightening moments because I knew the next moment I would be viewing something thousands of years old with tremendous importance. I dealt with the blisters because I knew that looking at the rolling green hills and pastures was a view I’d never forget. I learned that life is still very much life, even in other countries that we may have romanticized. I learned that the people are still just people with different stories and preferences and personalities. Going abroad wasn’t as picturesque as I thought it’d be, but because of that I learned much more about the world and was tested in my perseverance. However, this has not dampened my desire to travel again. In fact, it now only gives me confidence that I have done so and can do so again even if it means traveling in large airports, going on overnight bus rides, and trying to read maps.

 5.   Before I left Billings, I had a very detailed idea of how my life was to be. Coming home was very different than my expectations. Some things change while others fall apart. Before I left Billings, I never imagined going far or doing anything too risky. While I still have much to learn and am not quite sure where life will take me, studying abroad has made me a little more flexible. I hope now that there are a few more adventures left in store for me, and I’m doing my best to find them. I also hope, however, that as the first one did, the others will bring me back home in the end.

Learning and growing doesn’t happen in a stagnant environment. When my parents took me to the airport to say goodbye, my mom looked me in the eyes and quoted one of our most beloved stories, “You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think” (“Winnie the Pooh,” A. A. Milne). Education is about so much more than the grade report and amount of money you make after graduation day. The support and encouragement I had to take this step changed my life in subtle yet significant ways. Exploring the world, taking in new things, and meeting new people is one of the best opportunities our educations gives us to mature and challenge ourselves. Just one more reason to encourage others to study abroad.

Murder on The Orient Express: Mystery and Justice

The content of Kenneth Branagh’s latest production is drastically different from the other comedies and dramas currently in the theatre. Choosing to take on an old Agatha Christie mystery feels like a bold choice considering modern taste. However, his version of “Murder on the Orient Express” was undoubtedly well-done. The all-star cast proved their career with captivating acting, and the filming showed the beautiful scenery of the Orient’s route from Istanbul to Paris, perhaps itching those with some wanderlust in the audience. The portrayal of Christie’s colorful characters come to life in gorgeous costume and Branagh himself was humorous and precise in his role of the famous detective Hercule Poirot, not in the least offensive to those accustomed to David Suchet’s previous portrayal of the character. The plot is one classically simple and effective. Twelve passengers stuck upon a train with a murder to solve. The outline of a confined space and a mystery to solve has captivated audiences for centuries and Christie’s unique story-line is no less thrilling and mind-boggling. Through the wonderful storytelling, this plot has one theme that is wrestled with throughout. In tales of detectives and law enforcement the issue of justice is always at hand. While seemingly straightforward, our characters show that mixed with human empathy, finding and executing justice can be much more complicated. Sometimes, solving the mystery is not as difficult as the choices one must make afterwards. Take your friends and loved ones to watch “Murder on the Orient Express” and then ask yourself, do you agree with the greatest detective in the world, Hercule Poirot? 

Fire and Rain

 In light of the natural disasters occurring over the summer of 2017: 

All I see right now on my facebook feed or in the paper is the havoc that natural disaster is having on our country. Half of it is drowning while half is burning. The devastation in Texas is heartbreaking as is the destruction happening in my own state of Montana. In each area, there are stories of injuries, wreckage, loss, and, ultimately, a sense of hopelessness. As Christians, we often have to face the world with that ever looming question of, “if God is in control, then why is there so much hurt, so much pain, and so much suffering?” Why does he allow Texas to be swept away by rain and Montana to suffocate under fire and smoke?

No answer here. However, as I look around, I’m noticing something. We human beings are pretty proud creatures. We were told to “subdue” the earth; however, somewhere in that transition we got the idea that we had ultimate control. Like a child who is handed an ounce of responsibility, we suddenly thought that we were big enough take over the whole job. Well, it’s in times like these we realize how wrong we were. Thank the Lord for the advances in technology which have given us more knowledge about the world, allowing us to better protect ourselves and it. That said, when disaster happens, we are shamefully put in our place. We suddenly realize that we are just beings after all, not little gods roaming the earth. When fire and flood subdues the earth, while we can and should do something about it, in the end, we are left to pray for something mightier than ourselves to intervene.

Perhaps that is why God sends fire and rain. It wouldn’t be the first time. So, I don’t know why there is so much hurt, but it seems to me that we can recognize one thing in the midst of it all; we are not ultimately in control and thank God for that. Nature is God’s way of reminding us who is Sovereign, and it is not us.  

So pray for Texas, pray for Montana, but pray with the knowledge that God owes us nothing. Instead, this beautiful place we have to take care of is due to his grace, love, and mercy. As is everything else that is good. 

When I Read Psalm 55

PSALM 55

"For it is not an enemy who taunts me--
then I could bear it;
it is not an adversary who deals insolently
with me--
then I could hide from him.
But it is you, a man, my equal,
my companion, my familiar friend.
We used to take sweet counsel together;
within God's house we walked in the throng."

I don't know much about my Psalm history, but I do know many were written by David as he was on the run from a man he used to consider as dear to him. I was surprised to resonate with the words of David despite the fact I'm nowhere near physically running for my life. David's words hold power and emotion, but in this passage it is not fear or pain which one notices but the heartache, the betrayal, the broken trust. David has lost a friend and a refuge. We tend to trust people around us and place them on pedestals only to find they are human, sinful, and likely to fall down. Balancing love and trust in this world is so hard. Too little and we reject one of God’s greatest gifts to us in family, fellowship, and relationship. Too much and we reject his greatest gift, ultimate trust in him because of the mercy and love he has already bestowed upon us. The best people are no replacement for the hold God should have on our heart. David's heartache is painful and heavy, but this is no blues ballad. David writes a song of hope. 

"Cast your burden on the Lord,
and he will sustain you;
he will never permit
the righteous to be moved."

I am grateful for David's honest words which everyone has felt to some degree. I hope through every disappointment, betrayal, and heartache I learn to forgive and to continue to offer others my love and trust despite the risk. Through all that, however, I am grateful that in every inevitable let down, every time I feel rejected or every time I fail others, I can sing as David did and cry out: 

"I will trust in you." 

One Year Ago

                I can’t believe that this time last year I was flying over the sea to begin my semester abroad. I remember the fear and anxiety I had. I remember waking up early to go to the airport and looking at my suitcase by my bed. The one that ended up having a lot of things I didn’t need, and lacking a good amount of things that would have come in handy. Staring at it, all I could think was, “What have I done?” I remember saying goodbye and crying for the entire two hours of my first flight, leaving the poor man next to me looking rather uncomfortable. I remember my mother choking out the bit of A. A. Milne’s quote, “you’re braver than you believe” before being unable to finish the rest. I know it’s dramatic, but for a girl who likes to play things safe, this just seemed like a really bad idea. I had been stretched and grown through the circumstances that God had placed in my life already, but it is a very different thing to willingly choose something that you know will cause you to grow and change. That decision started the adventure that was five months of living abroad in the beautiful city of Chester. You saw the pictures, or you may have read my recorded thoughts as my journey took place. There were no lightning bolts of maturity or deep spiritual struggles, but I learned how to take care of myself a little more, I learned what matters to me, I’ve learned to ask for help, I’ve seen things I’d only seen in pictures and on movie screens, and I have friends scattered all over the world now. I’ve learned to put up with a lot of hard mattresses, bizarre bus rides, sore feet, and I’m not afraid of airports anymore (still not a fan of the bus thing though). I’ve better learned how to turn to God when I feel alone and scared, because people, even those who love me most, aren’t enough. I’ve now come to find myself looking back on last year more afraid and anxious than ever. It’s a fear of a different kind. It contains my unknown future, it plays off of my insecurities, and it is inconsiderate of my fragile heart. It just goes to show that every day and every year there are new struggles and new fears to overcome. Each one feels overwhelming and terrifying at the time, but even so, his mercies “are new every morning” (Lamentations 3:22-23). Looking back to one year ago, I am thankful for the opportunity I had, for the courage God granted me to take that step, for the experiences, the friends, the lessons learned, and the continual guidance He will have on my life. I called it my adventure, and it was, but it was only a part of it. It jump-started what feels like a new stage to my life, one that has been difficult and frightening, yet which has caused me to grow and trust in Him on a level I hadn’t thought I needed before. To any of you considering travel, even just a bit, take your chances and go. You never know what you will learn or see or who you will meet, but it will open your mind and heart to so many things. It is a risk, it is a change, it is enthralling, it is painfully mundane, it is expensive, and it will have consequences, but more than likely, it will be worth it.