Tales From aBroad

Study Abroad has allowed me to experience a new culture, feel independent, and see God working around me in the beautiful landscapes and little acts through the people I’m with. If you feel any pull to study abroad, go for it! In our group, only a couple people knew each other, and most of us weren’t even aware that the other people existed, so I promise you’ll make new friends!

I am naturally a very curious person. Even before studying abroad, living in Abilene could bring experiences of wonder; I can walk down a sidewalk and marvel at the trees, my friends, God’s hand in my life. That was only magnified during my semester at Oxford.

Of all the places I’d ever wanted to go in the world, Oxford was number one. It was my dream to visit the city that had seen so much history and housed so many famous writers like C.S. Lewis and Tolkien. Not only that but England as a whole, the royal family, James Herriot, Jane Austen, etc. But when it came to actually studying abroad, I was nervous that I would become bored of it or that I would be disappointed.

Before leaving, all I heard from people who had gone on Study Abroad before me was how much I was going to be changed, how I was going to stretch and grow this semester. I don’t think I fully believed any of them. However, this past summer I never would have guessed that I would be paragliding through the Swiss Alps or planning and traveling throughout Europe figuring out things as I go.

It was a Thursday and one of the first cold Thursdays that we were experiencing since arriving in Oxford. It was about 6:30 in the evening, so naturally, I was on my way to Student Night at St. Aldates Church. By that time, I had come to look forward to those times because I had found that, somehow, surrounded by mostly strangers, St. Aldates was one of the few places in Oxford that I felt the most seen and accepted.

Before I left for Oxford, England, I was told to step out of my comfort zone. There was a day in the middle of the semester when I received an email asking for last-minute volunteers at The Gatehouse, a non-profit that provided dinner to people who needed it. I had planned to eventually serve at The Gatehouse, but honestly, I did not want to.