Interterm 2015 took Bethel students from densely populated urban areas in eastern Europe, Mexico, the Middle East and the Midwest to wild coastlines, deserts and ghostly ancient cities.
Chicago
Cloud Gate,
aka The Bean, in Millennium Park
A Chicago-area classroom where Bethel students got some hands-on experience
Renae Stucky, left, and Makayla Epp enjoy the Disney Store on Michigan Avenue
The opportunity I had in Chicago to engage in multicultural education taught me things I could not have learned as thoroughly in a lecture hall.
—Renae Stucky, senior; School and Community with Lisa Janzen Scott ’84, assistant professor of education and mathematics
Mexico
Bethel students learn to make pupusas, the ultimate Salvadoran comfort food, from an immigrant to Mexico from El Salvador (from left, Tia Goertzen, Koki Lane, unidentified non-Bethel student, Leah Mueller)
The Bethel group poses with volunteers from Barrio Activo, who work in Mexico City to give children an alternative to gangs
The rebuilt pre-Columbian city of Xochicalco, state of Morelos, Mexico.
Two bracelets serve as a reminder of history in Mexico City. One came from visiting pyramids where the Aztecs sacrificed humans to the sun god. The other was made by “Jane,” a transvestite who was thrown out of her family at age 7. This woman greeted me without fear, but also with warmth and respect. Instead of jaded eyes, she showed compassion. [We heard] many other dynamic stories from migrants of war in El Salvador and Guatemala.
—–Koki Lane, senior; Social Development and Social Justice with Ada Schmidt-Tieszen ’74, professor of social work
East-Central Europe
A view of St. Mary’s Church in Gdansk
The Bethel group at a farm in Serbia, from left, Mark Jantzen, Brandon Anderson, Jesse Voth-Gaeddert, Alyssa Schrag ’12 (currently serving with Mennonite Central Committee in Serbia), Spencer Bailly and Ethan Rodenberg
A church in Großbeeren, Germany, where the Bethel students had home stay
To illustrate the complexity of Serbia’s history, one of the older gentlemen told us he has been a resident of Belgrade all his life and has lived in seven different countries during that time.
—–Jesse Voth-Gaeddert, senior; History of East-Central Europe with Mark Jantzen ’85, professor of history
Jerusalem
Dominus Flevit Church on the Mount of Olives, which marks the site where Jesus wept over the city of Jerusalem (Matthew 23:37)
Clockwise from bottom right, Caroline Schrag, Lois Harder, Melinda Regehr, Tiffany Kaufman, Emma Hilgenfeld, Zach Preheim, Isaac Dunn, Westen Gesell and Leah Towle on the Mount of Olives
Wadi Musa, Jordan, just outside the ancient Nabatean city of Petra.
While the ruins, churches and historical sites throughout the Holy Land were magnificent, the people who live in such a tense situation but hold onto their humanity were even more inspiring.
—–Leah Towle, senior; Jerusalem Seminar with Lois Harder, co-pastor of Lorraine Avenue Mennonite Church, Wichita
Costa Rica
Senior Mariah Ekart chases iguanas to use in her class project
White-faced capuchin monkey, at Palo Verde
Blue-gray tanager at Las Cruces
[In San Jose] we began learning how to navigate urban Costa Rica, essentially by mirroring the behavior of Costa Ricans. Traffic was chaotic, so we quickly learned to only cross the street when others were doing so.
—–Emma Bradley, senior; Tropical Biology Field Trip-Costa Rica with Jon Piper, professor of biology
Bethel students learn to make pupusas, the ultimate Salvadoran comfort food, from an immigrant to Mexico from El Salvador (from left, Tia Goertzen, Koki Lane, unidentified non-Bethel student, Leah Mueller)
The Bethel group poses with volunteers from Barrio Activo, who work in Mexico City to give children an alternative to gangs
The rebuilt pre-Columbian city of Xochicalco, state of Morelos, Mexico.
A view of St. Mary’s Church in Gdansk
The Bethel group at a farm in Serbia, from left, Mark Jantzen, Brandon Anderson, Jesse Voth-Gaeddert, Alyssa Schrag ’12 (currently serving with Mennonite Central Committee in Serbia), Spencer Bailly and Ethan Rodenberg
A church in Großbeeren, Germany, where the Bethel students had home stay
Dominus Flevit Church on the Mount of Olives, which marks the site where Jesus wept over the city of Jerusalem (Matthew 23:37)
Clockwise from bottom right, Caroline Schrag, Lois Harder, Melinda Regehr, Tiffany Kaufman, Emma Hilgenfeld, Zach Preheim, Isaac Dunn, Westen Gesell and Leah Towle on the Mount of Olives
Wadi Musa, Jordan, just outside the ancient Nabatean city of Petra.
Senior Mariah Ekart chases iguanas to use in her class project
White-faced capuchin monkey, at Palo Verde
Blue-gray tanager at Las Cruces