New Zealand

October 3, 2009

Dear Bethel,

Kia Ora! Greetings from New Zealand. I am currently studying business at the University of Waikato in Hamilton, New Zealand. It has been such an exciting adventure. I have been able to participate in many incredible expeditions and cultural activities including underground cave exploring and climbing, luge rides down mountains, snowboarding on a volcano, surfing in world renown Raglan, performing the “Haka” and much more.

The most intriguing thing about New Zealand is the integration of the culture of the native people, the Maoris. This people group is made up of different tribes. Each tribe has many differences, yet they share a common bond with one another. They are unified in the sense that they are all a part of the same large family. Since I have been in New Zealand, I have met and made friends with many Maoris. They are so gracious, loving and generous. The Maori culture and history is taught in the schools, depicted through song, displayed in carvings and interpreted through many dances.

One of these dances, as mentioned before, is called a Haka. There are many different Hakas representing different tribes or stories and each has a special meaning. High school athletic teams have Hakas unique to their school. Even the professional rugby team performs a Haka before each game.

God has been good and my trip has been amazing. I am coming to the end of my time spent here and am looking forward to getting back to friends, family and BU. I am so glad I took the opportunity to study abroad.

—Grant Goris

Los Angeles

September 19, 2009

Dear Bethel,

Greetings! I am writing to you now from the center of the entertainment universe, Los Angeles, Calif. I am attending the Los Angeles Film Studies Center. It is a film emphasis “study abroad” program that accepts students from Christian schools around the country. We spend the semester here doing internships in the film industry and making movies of our own.

Today marks the beginning of our fifth week here. I have had some wonderful experiences already in such a short time. Highlights would be when we got to meet actor Doug Jones (Hellboy, Pan’s Labyrinth) who came to speak with our class and answered many of our questions. We also went to see John Williams (Star Wars, Indiana Jones) conduct the Los Angeles Philharmonic in Star Wars at the Hollywood Bowl. Probably hundreds of people were waving light up light-saber toys around; it was pretty incredible.

For me though, the most amazing part has been my journey here, and I don’t mean the drive. I graduated from Bethel in 2008 with a degree in physical education. Unfortunately, physical education was not for me. Over the next year I sought after God’s will for my life. Then this past spring I found out about this program. Feeling God’s call to the west coast, I re-enrolled at Bethel as a Media Communications major and applied for the program. I was obviously accepted.

My final words to you are these: it’s never too late to do what you really want to do. Our God is faithful. There is no better place to be than in His will.

—Luke Dornbush

Germany

A look back at a summer excursion

June 3, 2009

Dear Bethel,

Greetings from beautiful Erfurt, Germany!

This Bethel Choir trip has been so amazing—I never realized how incredibly stunning Europe was. I guess I’ve just gotten used to our Midwestern way of life, without lush valleys, outdoor cafés and good chocolate.

My friend Gretchen and I stayed with a lovely host family last night; a young couple who both are doctors or something…they use a bunch of medical terminology that I don’t pretend to understand. Anyway, they told Gretchen and me that they had to work at 7 a.m., so we could just take the Metro to Domplatz, where we were to meet the rest of the choir at 10 a.m.

We left the house at 9:30 a.m., found the right train and boarded around 9:45 a.m. Twenty minutes later, when we were in the middle of the booneys without a building to be seen and shrubbery everywhere, Gretchen and I realized that hmm, we just might be lost. Shoot. We decided the best course of action was to wait until the train stopped or turned around. Finally, around 11:30 a.m., we pulled into a station, ran to a train with a sign saying “Erfurt” and ended up heading back in the right direction.

When we pulled back into Erfurt around 12:45 p.m., we called Kevin Shull, our tour leader, to tell him we were OK. He told us the group had left after 20 minutes of waiting, so Gretchen and I felt better. Or worse. We couldn’t decide.

With nothing to do for four hours, we went shopping in downtown Erfurt! Here is a picture of me in one of the authentic German dresses I tried on. Everyone else spent the day in another boring cathedral, but Gretchen and I got lost in Germany! Overall, I’d say it was a wonderful day, and I was very proud of us. Auf wiedersehen!

—Kayla Hambek