Interterm Courses Take Students
to Guatemala, South Africa, Egypt
by Helen Kaufmann
photos courtesy of Greenville College, Central Christian College
and Spring Arbor University

Late January found young adults returning to college from around the globe, as Greenville, Central and Spring Arbor students completed interterm trips to Egypt, South Africa and other far-flung destinations. Interterm courses are nothing new. Greenville College, for instance, has been offering them since the early '70's. But now, increasingly, interterm provides students the option to experience a foreign culture first-hand. Spring Arbor University considers intercultural experience so vital to a student's academic career that a course in the area is required for graduation.

Greenville College

Greenville students in Guatemala by widow's house they helped to build

This year Greenville students had two travel-abroad options: a short-term missions trip to Guatemala that provided history department credit, or a fine arts trip to Europe, with stops in France and England. Fifteen students opted for the Guatemala course, led by Richard Huston, a Greenville professor of history and political science who grew up in Latin America. Huston reports that students were able to experience remote-village life as they helped Indian tribespeople install new stoves in their huts to replace dangerous open fires. Another activity involved helping to build houses for widows in an area where the group connected with a former GC student, now a Wycliff Bible translator. One student said afterward,

"Throughout this trip I got to know fantastic people, see amazing things that I may never get to see again, and witness God's work in a whole new way. I have to admit though, the greatest change I saw take place was the change inside of me."

Greenville Professor Cecelia Ulmer led eight students on the Fine Arts trip to Europe. Highlights included visits to the Louvre and other museums and the palace at Versailles. The most unforgettable, according to the students, was visiting the top level of the Eiffel Tower for an incredible night view of Paris. In England the class took in theatre events — including Les Miserables and a mime performance — and heard music at St. Martin-in-the-Fields. The itinerary included sites such as the Tower of London, the Globe Theatre and St. Paul's Cathedral and day trips to Stonehenge and Salisbury Cathedral.

Central Christian College

Central students interact with children in South Africa

Thirteen Central students spent their three-week interterm session based in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. They were accompanied by two professors — Robert Wolcott and Dr. Merrill McHenry — as well as an ESL teacher and missionary on furlough and Dr. Bruce and Kay Kline. Kline is a former president of Central College.

The course, "Missions in South Africa," gave students the opportunity to see first hand, according to Central President Dr. Calvin Hawkins, "the devastating effects of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, unemployment rates of 50-75 percent in poor areas, and the after-effects of 46 years of apartheid policies." But there were encouraging signs, as well. The students were lodged at the thriving Evangelical Seminary of South Africa, founded by Free Methodist missionaries; worshiped at nearby Ebunye Free Methodist Church; and visited a cooperative which teaches skills to former prisoners and sells products they have made. The group made side trips to other churches, to a community care center and to a rehabilitation center for cerebral palsy victims. On student remarked: "I think the most important thing that the people of South Africa taught me was that there could be joy in the midst of suffering."

Of course, a trip to South Africa would be incomplete without a safari. Students enjoyed sighting elephants and other large animals during several days at Umfolozi Game Reserve.

Spring Arbor University

Spring Arbor students in Egypt

SAU students chose among three international destinations: Egypt, Guatemala and Ireland.

The Egypt trip took students to the ancient land of pharoahs where they visited popular sites such as the pyramids of Giza, the Luxor Temple, the Valley of the Kings and the Aswan Dam. But the group experienced another side of Egypt as well, spending a night at a Christian orphanage on the outskirts of Cairo and a weekend at a prayer retreat with the bishop of the Coptic Church. The group also had the opportunity to meet with a high official of the Arab League, the organization of Islamic leaders. The trip included a visit to the Sinai Peninsula with a climb on Mt. Sinai, the chance to see the sun rise over the Sinai Desert and a campfire dinner with Bedouin hosts.

The trip, led by Professor Ethan Morton-Jerome, gave students credit in the required core course in Cross Cultural Studies. Morton-Jerome says, "This trip is very important because it's a small step in helping the dialogue between Christians and Muslims, Americans and Egyptians." According to returning students, a memorable feature of the trip was the hospitable Egyptians.

Highlights of the other two options for Spring Arbor students included, for the Guatemala trip, the Mayan pyramids, temples and palaces and visits to the presidential palace and national cathedral in Guatemala City. Most unforgettable for students was a visit to the city dump where, at their own expense, they made 900 sandwiches to offer to hungry residents who live their lives amid the garbage.

The Ireland group toured the island from Belfast in the north through Dublin to County Kerry and County Galway in the South and West. Their cultural experiences included visits to historic castles and monuments, traditional folk music events and historic centers like the International Famine Center in County Cork. The trip also incorporated short home stays. The Guatemala and Ireland trips were led by Professor Paul Nemecek and Dr. John Nemecek, respectively.