After a semester of studying abroad and exploring Europe, Dean of the College of Biblical Studies Charles Rix and a group of Oklahoma Christian University returned to the Oklahoma Christian campus for the spring semester. Seeing firsthand the history of Europe from such a “unique perspective,” being back in the U.S. and at Oklahoma Christian has been a readjustment to some.
Rix said study abroad provides unique experiences due to the close proximity of art within Europe. Specifically, Rix said spending a long weekend at Auschwitz and Krakow for his Bible and Holocaust classes gave his students a deeply meaningful experience.
“Different students bring different perspectives,” Rix said. “The experience is different because the students are different—they ask different questions and see different things. The subject matter may be the same, but the experience is different and that is the nature of art. It inspires different things in different people.”
For one of his classes, Rix said he would typically have a day of instruction in the classroom and then the rest of the class in the different art galleries. Rix said they went to a different gallery every week while in Vienna, Austria.
“It is one thing to study about a painting, but it’s another to see it in context—not only its historical contexts, but also where it is hung and how it is curated and the conversations that painting and sculptures have in other areas in the same gallery,” Rix said. “We were able to have the class and discussion in the gallery with the art—you can’t do that in very many places.”
After spending months living and teaching in another country, Rix said he strongly encourages students to take advantage of the opportunity Oklahoma Christian provides students with its study abroad program.
“You gain so much from having been in Vienna, experiences you probably could not have at another point in your college life,” Rix said. “The academics are strong and you get to bond with people in ways that are pretty unique. You gain more than you miss.”
Junior graphic design student Abi Parette said she decided to study abroad because of her love of travel. Specifically, Parette said she enjoyed traveling to Barcelona, Spain.
“Barcelona was my favorite, because I got to go to a soccer game there and it was crazy,” Parette said. “The stadium had 95,000 people in it and they were all chanting for the team.”
Parette said adjusting back to life in America was difficult. The topics of discussion, like discussing European art, were very different for Parette and adjusting to the volume difference was challenging.
“The volume of Americans is so much higher than anyone in Austria, just because people in Vienna are so quiet and I just wasn’t used [to readjusting],” Parette said. “So, now my family is asking why I am so quiet.”
Sophomore family science student Elizabeth Baird said traveling abroad gave her a different outlook and perspective of the humanities. While living in a different country is scary, Baird said it is an experience worth doing.
“I think [study abroad] gives you a different perspective, because you are living in another culture—you are immersed in another culture,” Baird said. “When you come back, you are able to see the differences and think from a different perspective.
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