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The Guilfordian

The student news site of Guilford College

The Guilfordian

The student news site of Guilford College

The Guilfordian

Over the mountains and through the fields: a summer journey through Southwest China

While you and I may have spent our summer playing video games or at the movies, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies Eric Mortensen, Part-time Lecturer in General Studies Dasa Mortensen, and ten Guilford students spent their summer studying in Southwest China. The program’s activities included venturing through Tiger Leaping Gorge, camping with nomads, and visiting several monasteries in the Sichuan and Yunnan provinces. “It’s always been a dream of mine to have a study abroad in Southwest China at Guilford,” said Mortensen.

Jim Hood, professor of English and the director of Guilford’s study abroad program, worked with Mortensen to organize an eight-week summer study abroad program in Southwest China, open to both traditional and CCE students. The program was a trial run for a potential semester-long program that could become part of Guilford’s regular study abroad offerings.

The program included three courses: a Chinese language course, a course on conducting ethical ethnographic fieldwork, and a course on the religions of Southwest China. The course culminated with an independent field research project. Research topics included ‘why monks love the NBA’, and ‘wrathful deities in Tantric iconography.’ However, balancing coursework and experiencing China was a challenge.

While the students spent a number of weeks in the classroom, the program also included a 17-day camping trip through parts of Southwest China. During that time, classes took place anywhere from open fields to marketplaces.
The adjustment was more difficult than some students anticipated. Some students had homesickness for familiar western comforts.

“I’m in this incredible place [China], I’m going to be here once and yet I missed playing Halo,” admitted David Jensen, a senior in Religious Studies who went on the trip.

For a group of students who were together almost every waking moment, everyone in the program was surprisingly amiable with one another, according to Mortensen who was afraid that conflict might occur due to stress between students during the 17-day camping portion.

Maxwell George ’10, a student who graduated after the program, said that “getting to know some other students who have similar passions as me, and coming back with some really close friends” was a highlight of the program.

Jordan Lehnert, a senior in the program, said one of the most valuable things she took away from the program was the expansion of her comfort zone. One of the hardest things for her was struggling to understand the language.

“It (the language barrier) made me respect people who immigrate into the country without knowing the language or the customs,” said Lehnert. “I was always afraid I’d say something wrong, but sometimes you just have to make a complete fool of yourself and hope it works.”

Even though he had studied China extensively in the classroom, Jensen said he still had a lot to learn about life in China.

“I studied a lot (about) China, but I made mistakes left and right,” said Jensen. “For instance, I was pointing at Thangka paintings in monasteries, which is disrespectful.”

Mortensen and Hood plan to present a proposal to the corporate faculty for the program to become an official Guilford semester-long study abroad program. If approved, the study abroad to Southwest China might begin as early as spring of 2012, making it the first Guilford-led study abroad program in China. Both Mortensen and Hood feel optimistic about the program’s future.

“I anticipate some reluctance at first since it’s not an area people are overly familiar with,” said Mortensen. “I hope the faculty approves of our semester program.”

“Guilford has been looking to establish more programs outside of Europe,” said Hood. “It will give students more options to explore that part of the world, especially those who still want Guilford support.”

“Eric and Dasa gave me one of the greatest experiences of my life this summer,” said George, “and I hope that Guilford recognizes the merit in a permanent semester-long study abroad program in China. This is a place that everyone should visit at least once.

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