Student globetrotting

One of the opportunities open to undergraduates and recent graduates is that of travelling abroad. When I was 20 years old I spent the summer travelling with the European Seminar sponsored by Gordon College, Massachusetts, and in the process visited some ten countries (including tiny Liechtenstein) in eight weeks. It was an exhausting but unforgettable experience. In many respects this journey helped to crystallize the sense of calling which I've pursued since then.

Now, as a professor, I see my own students embarking on their own travels, and some of them are kind enough to drop me a postcard or bring back a small gift. The other day one of my students, who had been to Russia over the summer, gave me a pin bearing the Russian imperial doubleheaded eagle with the arms of St. Petersburg on the shield. Very nice indeed. And only yesterday I received a postcard sent from another student in Poznan, Poland, where he has spent some weeks visiting relatives. Students may not be aware how much such gestures are appreciated, but they certainly are.

Probably the most interesting gift of all was a couple of pieces of the Berlin Wall, shrinkwrapped in plastic, which was brought back from Germany by a recently graduated student just over a decade ago. I still have it in my campus office. Perhaps I should make a display case for these gifts.