Four students from Ferrum College, Caitlin Fournier, Meagan Hodges, Jessi Naff and Cody Wright are in Salzburg, Austria from January 3-10, where they are participating in the Salzburg Global Seminar on Global Citizenship. Their trip was paid for by a grant from the Melon Foundation. For more background on the trip click here. The students have agreed to share their thoughts and revelations with occasional blogs and photos from the seminar.
Jessi Naff sent the following on January 3, 2011.
Are you awake? This was the question and the purpose of the first day here in Salzburg. When first hearing this I assumed David Goldman and Jochen Fried were talking about the jet lag from the 8-hour flight to Munich and then the 2-hour ride to Salzburg. They were, but what I realized after the talk they gave was that keeping us awake has a twofold meaning. Being awake both physically and mentally is what the goal of the day was!
I write this with a gigantic smile on my face, in the words of Travis Campbell who is a resource specialist at the seminar “this is only the first night!” I was the last fellow to leave the reception after an in depth conversation with another seminar fellow. Travis joined our conversation about experiential learning towards the end of the reception. I think I could have sat for hours (if I was not so jet lagged) and talked about the experiential term I took at Ferrum last May. The other seminar fellow I was talking to goes to Brevard College. He is a wilderness leadership and experiential education major. He found my trip amazing! I also mentioned the internships I have had while in the education program. It really surprised me that he found our programs at Ferrum so interesting. I assumed all colleges had experiential opportunities for their students.
Wow, I cannot wait to share more with you all! The opening lecture really was amazing. “Mapping Ethnocentrism” it really goes to show travel is the best educator. Stepping back and evaluating where you came from can really lead to new beliefs, attitudes and values if you have an open heart and open mind. David left us with an excerpt from this poem and I will leave you with it as well.
All good people agree,
And all good people say,
All nice people, like Us, are We
And every one else is They:
But if you cross over the sea,
Instead of over the way,
You may end by (think of it!) looking on We
As only a sort of They
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