Many Samford University students and faculty will begin the new year around the globe during study abroad programs in January.
A total 102 Samford students will spend the month based at Samford’s Daniel House in London, England. A group in residence Dec. 28-Jan. 10 will take courses in English culture, history and political science, and art and theatre appreciation. Another group will spend Jan. 11-23 studying international capitalism, the oratory of Winston Churchill, cross cultural teaching, the English Reformation, British Media, nursing in the British Isles and pharmacy and healthcare in Great Britain.
Students in a graduate business course, Economic Development of England, will study the differences in private and public health care systems. The Master of Business Administration students will visit Lloyd’s of London insurance market, the Bank of London and a Range Rover research and development plant during the 10-day trip, which begins Dec. 26.
A group of music majors will explore important musical sites of Italy. Stops include La Scala Opera House in Milan, the Stradivari Museum in Cremona and other musically significant places in Mantua, Venice, Florence and Rome.
Ten students will visit Thailand and Myanmar, formerly Burma. They will re-trace steps of 19th century North American missionaries Adoniram and Ann Judson, study Theravada Buddhism, and dialogue with monks in Burmese temples. They will also take donated humanitarian supplies to a remote leprosy hospital.
During a three-week trip sponsored by the Department of Classics, students will visit Athens, Greece and the Greek Islands for a study of history, literature and culture, with special attention to art and archaeology.
Ten Beeson Divinity School students will travel to Kingston, Jamaica, for a two-week pastoral counseling course. In the cross-cultural experience, they will study alongside students at the Caribbean Graduate School of Theology. Some Beeson students will preach in Jamaican churches.
Other Samford students will also enjoy mid-winter warm climes. Thirty-two students will spend three weeks in Central America in a “total immersion” language experience. Based in San Jose, Costa Rica, the students will live in private homes and hear and speak only Spanish during their visit.
Another 20 students will take a 10-day wildlife expedition to Belize, where they will study tropical rainforests, Mayan ruins and a diversity of environments and cultures.