Go Abroad!

One of the major draws of Whitworth University is its dedication to encouraging students to study and live abroad. Through opportunities like ISEP (International Student Exchange Program) as well as many faculty led programs, there are numerous options for students to find one that meets their interests as well as fulfill their requirements for their majors. I interviewed Dr. Anthony Clark from the History department, and he reiterated the importance of studying and living abroad. Dr. Clark is the Associate Professor of Late-Imperial Chinese History and the Director of the Asian Studies Program at Whitworth. While Dr. Clark has spent extensive time living and teaching in China, he has also lived in Italy, Germany, France, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.

 

                When I asked him about his interest in traveling and living abroad, he mentioned that St. Augustine wrote that “The world is a book and those do not travel read only one page.” Dr. Clark advises students to make “travel abroad one of the most important goals in his or her life.” He believes that “encountering different cultures and worldviews makes one not only more refined and cultured but also more sympathetic to other ways of engaging the world we live in.” Students can learn incredible life lessons while encountering different cultures and can also learn about themselves in the process.

                                                                    St. Augustine of Hippo

                When I asked Dr. Clark what difficulties he faced when living abroad, he responded that one of the greatest challenges is to “truly experience another culture on its own terms.” He observed that Americans and other foreigners often go through a “Disneyland” experience while they are abroad and see what they want to see, try what they want to try, and never truly attempt to learn about the culture around them. This limits the potential of their learning experience because they only look at the entertainment value around them rather than focusing on the fascinating cultures in front of them.

Dr. Clark also mentioned that he had other difficult times when he stayed in a Tibetan village that didn’t have a bathroom, in Chinese villages that were remote and caused him medical problems, and in European cities where language barriers were intimidating. While he encountered these difficulties, he explained that the trials he faced “enriched me and taught me the universal goodness of human nature” While facing difficulties abroad, the world truly shows the compassion that people have for one another and the great extent that people will go to in order to assist people that they don’t even know.

                He mentioned that while living in China he experienced “Deep kindness and generosity.” He then retold a story of how he visited an impoverished village and encountered a poor villager who had a rare certificate of merit that he received from the government in the 1950s. Dr. Clark described the certificate as the most prominent part of the villager’s home. After Dr. Clark complimented the certificate, the poor villager removed the certificate and presented it to him as a gift. Dr. Clark kindly refused the gift but was touched: “I was a total stranger and yet he was willing to give me his greatest treasure.”

                                  Dr. Clark giving a lecture during the Whitworth in China Program

Dr. Clark’s experiences abroad have not always been easy and have presented various challenges; however, the lessons that he has shared show that living abroad can truly open people’s eyes to the world around them and also be blessed by what they experience. He encourages students to open themselves to other cultures in order to learn more about the world and more about themselves. I encourage you to speak with Dr. Clark about his experiences when he returns to campus this fall.  I also encourage you to take a class from him. He will also be teaching The Pacific World (HI 102), Modern China & East Asia (HI-346), and Senior Seminar in History (HI-498).