Small Expression of Thanks

Being a thousand miles away from family and friends on Thanksgiving is a new thing for me. During this holiday it is great to come together with joyful thanksgiving over what the Lord has given to us, or not given to us…mainly the gift of family and companionship. So what is it like being separated from all of this? While I am not there physically, I can honestly say that my thankfulness and appreciation of the relationships that I have, as well as all other blessings from God have increased immensely. The saying holds true that you never know what you have until its gone. So while I am away, my love for my family and friends has grown so much deeper. In saying this, I am thankful to my God for allowing me this time away to see this more clearly. I rejoice, not that I am absent from my loved ones, but that the Lord has given me eyes to see clearly the true blessing that they are. The selflessness. The unconditional love. The sacrifice. I may not be able to see the smiles of my aunts and uncles, the hugs from my grandparents, and affection from my parents, but I feel it stronger than ever. And that is something to be thankful for. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

No Regrets

To those at Anderson University and anyone considering studying abroad

First off, it is a big decision, so due diligence is a must.

I am just going to tell you my story on how I ended up studying at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland which I think you will find to be informative and helpful, and then advice to any others contemplating this option of studying abroad while a university student.

Ever since high school I knew I wanted to study abroad, no specific destination in mind. Many people I asked (especially my Aunt Vicki) encouraged me to do it since high school and said that was there only regret while in college. Also, those that did make the leap (at least those I have spoken with) do not regret it for one second. Here was my dilemma though coming into college as a freshman…I played football (which I love). The fall semester is the season of course, and the spring semester is the crucial off-season training. Knowing this, I shoved the thought of studying abroad to the back of my brain, behind a few dusty couches never really to be thought of again. That is, until I couldn’t play football anymore because of an injury. The thought surged back to the foreground as a primetime option.

Another problem that holds people back from studying abroad are the course requirements for their major in order to graduate. This was one of my problems. I stopped playing football my junior year, so that fall, I started planning ahead, which is key for those considering studying abroad. I looked at everything that I needed to graduate, mapped out a detailed plan on how I was going to fit all my courses in, and talked to several professors, advisors, and counselors to see if this plan was even possible and got their approval. I ended up taking three senior courses my junior year, as well as six hours over the summer, all the while still not positive I was going to be studying abroad, but leaving that possibility open (something I recommend). I was able to work it out to where I had a free fall semester to take whatever classes I wanted. I will be returning my final semester in the spring to finish up my marketing degree.

Another hesitation one may have is the notion that they will be missing out on what is happening back home. I credit Ty Benbow, who also studied abroad, for helping me reject this thought. Just know, that when you are studying abroad, your friends and University will be awaiting for you when you return, and they will still be there in one piece. Moreover, your friends will more than likely (if they heard you don’t want to go because of not being with them) encourage you to go. On top of that, this is my senior year of college. Many people rule out studying abroad then, but I beg to differ. I would venture to say that the fall semester of your senior year (besides junior year) is one of the best semesters to do it. Why? Because you are a veteran college student, you know how school works, and you don’t have to worry about adjusting to the college life as much a younger student. It is also easier to go a longer distance away after several years at school. One may not want to miss out on their senior year at their school, which is how I felt. Let me encourage you once more. It’s worth it and your friends will still be there when you get back, not to mention the new friends you will make from wherever you are studying, new culture which you are invited into, and many new things that you can do or see. With all this new, it makes it easier to not feel like you are missing out. You would be truly missing out if you didn’t go. Also, you will notice how much more you appreciate and cherish the relationships that you do have back home, and will give you the desire to cultivate them even more when you return. Once again, they will be awaiting you in one piece when you return, glad that you were able to go.

After I made the decision to pursue studying abroad, I searched my options. I encourage you to do this even before you have made the decision. First, you should check to see what your school offers, if there are any exchange programs or study abroad options. In my case, there was, but nothing that interested me. What now? Can I not go just because the University doesn’t offer a program? I am living proof that there are other ways, it just takes more digging. Next, figure out where you would like to go. Europe? Australia? China? South Africa? A specific region with a specific language? I looked at business schools all over Europe and South Africa. Most of these were in Prague, some in Tuscany, several in Ireland, and also the United Kingdom. I finally narrowed it down to Oxford in England, Aberdeen in Scotland, and the School of Economics of Prague in the Czech Republic, and in the end decided to go to Scotland, which has been a dream of mine. Now, if you can only speak English, please make sure you are checking into schools that have English-speaking classes.

Seeing that I am not going through an organized program, I needed to research all of this, make contacts with the schools, and figure out as much details and information as I can about anything and everything about studying at their school for a semester. On the other side of things, you need to work with your home university way in advance to get approval and correct documentation for everything that you are trying to do, whether it is advisors, registrar, study abroad department, or any other department (you need to figure this out). It is very important if you are studying abroad independently to be very thorough in your research and planning to make sure you cover all of your bases, it can be a long process, but doable. If at all possible, see if you can attend a University that your home school will accept their classes to count towards your major or required courses. Luckily, I have worked ahead so all I need are electives, so I can take whatever classes that I want and they only come back as pass/fail with the hours.

Lastly, AFTER everything is approved, check to see if you are required to get a Tier 4 VISA and apply for it immediately (also your Passport if you don’t have one already). This will also take due diligence on your part to find exactly what you need, all of which can be done via Internet. AFTER you obtain your Visa (and Passport), THEN buy your airline tickets, not the other way around just for precautionary reasons.

I hope this is helpful to all who are interested, and I absolutely HIGHLY recommend to anyone and everyone to take up this opportunity. This will make your college experience much richer, and at the same time, make your home University much richer with your experience.

If you have any questions about studying abroad, contact me at jwduke@anderson.edu. I would love to help you out.

Much love.

Travelin' Man

I have had the wonderful opportunity while being here at the University of Aberdeen to do quite a bit of traveling on the weekends. Some of the places in Scotland I have been are Glasgow (twice), Stonehaven (twice), Dundee, Edinburgh, Gullane, and of course, Aberdeen. On top of that, this past weekend I was able to go to Northern Ireland. My flat mate (roommate) lives in Larne, which is a small town right outside of the capital city of Belfast. Edinburgh and Northern Ireland have definitely been my favorite places so far.

Edinburgh was by far one of the coolest cities I have been to. It has a wonderful mixture of natural beauty combined with historic buildings, architecture, and a well-kept medieval castle. In the historic section of the city “Old Town” as they call it, they have a strip called the Royal Mile. On one end of the Royal Mile is the Edinburgh castle, overlooking the whole city, and at the bottom of the Mile is Hollyrood House, or palace. This is where the queen stays when she comes to Edinburgh. Between these to historic destinations is a mile of historic, yet still in business, buildings, shops, churches, all made out of stone. We were there for a day and a half, and in the morning we rose up around 5:45 and climbed to the top of Arthur’s Seat, which is a massive hill, some may even call it a mountain. We wanted to make it in time for the sunrise, which we barely accomplished (the previous night we went to the top of Calton Hill for the sunset). It overlooks all of Edinburgh, seated right behind Hollyrood.

That same day, the three friends (all Americans) and myself went to a very small village outside of Edinburgh called Gullane. This place was amazing as well. It was a small town on the shore and has paths connecting town to town meant for horse only that lies behind the links course on the other side of the stone wall. We were able to explore this countryside, and even found an old abandon castle that dated to the 14^th century. No one was there, so we just gave ourselves a grand tour.

This past weekend in Northern Ireland proved to be one of the coolest weekends of my life. We (Brandon and Zac Sansom) stayed with my flat mate James’ family. The first day we went to Castlewellan and to the Mournes. I think I can honestly say that this was the most beautiful place I have even been to. At Castlewellan we were able to walk around a lake that is surrounded by forest, with a castle sitting on a hill in the distance, trees bursting in color all around it, dwarfing it in their magnitude. We then went through the so-called World’s Largest Peace Maze. This was amazing, even though we raced to the finish, and I didn’t win. I was only bitter for two seconds. After this we went to the Mourne Mountians. We climbed up through the forest that reminded me of Sherwood Forest from Robin Hood, or something out of Lord of the Rings, following a raging stream that violently stormed down the hill. Once we reached the end of the tree line, the mountains opened up in all of God’s intended glory for them all. It was a masterpiece of greenery, heighth, depth, streams, rocks, boulders…and sheep! We didn’t have much time to climb to the top because it gets dark around 4:30, so instead of going the normal touristy way, we took the road less traveled, nearly straight up, destined to the peak of the tallest mountain. I fell several times, stepped in several holes, and was a muddy mess. I did have tennis shoes on, so that didn’t help with the typical soaking grass and slippery slopes. As we neared the top, this sheep dog went flying past us, climbing the mountain in two minutes, unbelievable, minutes later, we saw a small dot at the bottom of the hill, a shepherd, calling for his dog and the sheep. Moments later, we see sheep running down from the top of the mountain, being musically driven by this dog. We couldn’t believe that a dog could be trained to do what we were seeing. It was a cool sight, and they nearly went right by us. As we neared the top, we could see all of New Castle, several golf courses, the Sea, and a view that many would die to see. God is beautiful.

The next day we drove up the North Shore with our driver and new friend Jonny from "Norn Iron" We went to a rope bridge that straddled the sea about 100 meters high. The cliffs were massive and picturesque, and stretched as far as I can see. It was pretty scary going across that flimsy bridge, while James was jumping up and down on it, dirty man. We went straightaway after that to Giant's Causeway, which some consider the other natural wonder of the world. This was a volcanic rock formation that hardened in hexagonal shapes and stacks, that extend from the cliffs facing the Scottish shore. Pictures and videos to come soon.

I am doing great and thoroughly enjoying my time. I have been meeting unbelievable people from nearly all over the world. More to come on the happenings and my experience as a student here in Aberdeen, for those who are considering studying abroad...stay tuned, I have some encouraging words for you. Love you all.