Tichenor knew she wanted something more than just a tourist-type
trip, however—it also had to offer an educational experience
of studying a specific culture, history and architecture,
for credit. She had an idea of where she wanted go: She’d
been to Vienna
and was familiar with its culture-rich history and interesting
museums and palaces.
“Plus,
it has a lot of history with the music of Strauss and other
composers from that area, and it seemed like we could just
tie everything together by going there.”
Together with Enneking and TSU professor Dr. Jeanine Samuelson,
Tichenor created a course of study that incorporated Internet
research with classroom activities that included culture and
language, along with architecture, art and music history.
The class also covered commonsense, must-have knowledge, from
deciding what to pack for an overseas trip to obtaining a
passport and going through customs.
Part of the students’ studies before the trip included
familiarizing themselves with common German food names from
an actual menu, so it would be easier to order food in Vienna.
“Die Vorspeise” is the appetizer list; “das
Hauptgericht” is the main dish. “Das Getrank”
is beverage. Some food items in German are more obvious: “das
Omelett” is omelet; “bier” and “wein”
are beer and wine.
The history they studied before the trip helped the students
plan the places they wanted to visit—and, much to the
professors’ delight, they were intensely interested
in visiting those places once they arrived in Vienna.
St. Stephens Cathedral, Hofburg Imperial Palace and Museums,
Kunsthistorisches Art Museum, the Melk Abbey and the State
Opera House were just a few of the sites on the students’
itineraries.
From its main altar to the Gothic nave (where the congregation
stands) to its Romanesque basilica, St. Stephens was a story
from the annals of Austrian history, itself. The spire, alone,
took 73 years to build, the students learned.
The Kunsthistorisches
is home to Rubens and Rembrandts, as well as works by Raphael,
Van Dyck and Vermeer, and more. Its Egypytian collection,
with its mummified crocodiles and Egyptian fascinated the students and, Tichenor
says, they were so enthralled by the magnificence of it all
that they lingered, looking and taking notes—they had
to keep a journal for the class and trip—far beyond
the time she’d thought they’d take.
As a learning experience, the students agreed that they came
home with a wealth of knowledge they wouldn’t have had,
if they’d only studied the city in a book. Just learning
the ins and outs of global travel was an important component
of their education, Tichenor says.
“We’re in a global world now, and today travel
is part of the real world. We wanted to provide that type
of experience to our students because they most likely will
need passports in their profession when they graduate.”
