While walking through Walton and McInnis, one never seems to miss the many posters everywhere advertising really good deals for study abroad programs across the world. One person who took one of those opportunities was senior David Rothwell who recently went to Salzburg, Austria, through the Alderson-Broaddus College Program. Through the program, Rothwell was able to visit eight other countries: Italy, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, Hungary and Greece.
“It was the best time of my life, and I went because I had never been out of the country before,” Rothwell said.
When asked about some memorable aspects of the trip, Rothwell mentioned how enjoyable it was being there as well as how he made some long-lasting friends through the program. Rothwell also had the only-in-your-dreams kind of moment when he had an opportunity to skydive in Switzerland.
“I wanted to stay longer … the only hardship was leaving,” Rothwell said. Among the things he missed the most about the United States was the ability to have conversations with people because of language barriers in Europe.
One of the things Rothwell says intrigued him was the different lifestyle of Europe. “Waking up in the streets of Salzburg, everything was slow paced, and it was almost the norm,” he said. Being in a country where he did not know anyone, Rothwell mentioned how he had lots of time to reflect. “It was more or less God revealing himself in my life in our quiet times when no one else was speaking my language,” Rothwell said. He mentioned how it’s been a little different adjusting to Eastern since returning to the U.S. on Dec. 6, 2007, missing the fall semester.
“I miss Europe every 6th of every month,” he said, “It was a great time.”