Photo taken during decent of Scafell after the rain cleared in Northern England
ACU’s Oxford Fall 2022 Study Abroad Program
This semester has been full of exciting adventures and experiences. From hiking mountains in bone-shivering rain to relaxing in pubs, listening to people spontaneously recite poetry from memory, I was blessed to be able to truly immerse myself in European culture. I had the opportunity to travel to Norway and hike the mountains and cliffs along the fjords. I even made the twenty-mile round trip hike to the great Trolltunga! After returning from Norway, I was able to continue my hiking adventures in the Scottish Highlands; the Lake District in Northern England where we summited Scafell, the tallest mountain in England; and even the valley of Lauterbrunnen in Switzerland that is said to have given inspiration to Tolkien for writing the Lord of the Rings. Every time I summited a mountain or looked upon a waterfall, I felt the grandeur of the Lord’s creation.
Not only was I able to travel and explore, but I was also able to build strong relationships with the rest of the students who studied abroad. Playing board games, going to the park to play football, having countless movie nights, and going on trips together we grew extremely close. While location and opportunities are important in making a study abroad program successful, it is also the people you do it with, both students and staff, that will make or break your trip. As for this trip and the Oxford fall 2022 cohort, I can say without a doubt that we had some of the best students and staff a program like this could have, making this semester incredible and meaningful.
Along with seeing the beauty the Lord has made and growing relationships, studying abroad has allowed me to experience so many different cultures and to be truly immersed in British culture. I enjoyed going to pubs where you could watch football; listening to orchestras, operas, and even street performers; learning about the lives and works of C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, and countless other English poets and authors; and visiting incredible museums and galleries. I have also been able to attend Oxford lectures given by world renowned speakers speaking on incredible subjects, from the James Webb Telescope to Quantum Field Theory. Throughout my time abroad, I have met incredible people, such as a mechanical engineer from Germany, a bio-chem engineer from Turkey, and a molecular biologist from England.
From all these incredible experiences and encounters, I have deepened my understanding and widened my perspective of this world. I have both seen how small and interconnected this world is while at the same time how contrarily large and diverse it is. I was able to experience the interconnectedness of the world by seeing how countless nations and peoples came together to honor the Queen and how one single person could have such a large effect on the world. Then I was also able to experience the diverseness of the world through my travels, meeting people from all over Europe and the world, all from different cultures and backgrounds, each with their own unique story.
Standing on Trolltunga in Norway
Outside of Parliament
Lauterbrunnen in Switzerland
Lake district of Northern England