How MBU opened my heart to traveling the world

Mary Kate Walton, MBU Freshman Admissions Counselor

The changing of the new year, for me, has always been a time of reflection. Each day given to us is a gift, and what an accumulation of gifts 2018 was! I’m incredibly thankful for so many things: my family, my job and colleagues, the church communities that care for me, my city, and my home that I share with my roommates and our feline friends. I’ve enjoyed many experiences with people this year that have been meaningful and continue to shape who I am.

One of those experiences that jumps out as a huge blessing is the trip to Germany and Austria I took earlier this month. Each Christmas of my life, from the days I was a little toddler gazing up at the Christmas tree, to now, as I go home to be with my parents for the holidays, I have admired the décor set out so meticulously by my mother. Our Christmas tree is something in which I take great pride. It is adorned with ornaments mostly from Germany. There are little chimney-sweep figures, hand-carved angels, and scenes from Santa’s shop or ancient Bethlehem. Each piece is a work of art, and they cover our tree and our mantelpiece, displaying a cultured Christmas that has captivated me from year to year.

“We went to Oberammergau, which is the quaintest little mountain town in Bavaria,” they would say, describing to me the trip of a lifetime they had taken when they bought all of these decorations. Little did they know I’d someday be journeying to Oberammergau, Germany, and buying my own stock of ornaments for my tree!

In addition to the Christmas adornments, I grew up with my dad always incorporating random German words into conversations, hosting German families in our house, and somehow managing to find people with whom to speak German, wherever we would go.

So it might not come as a surprise that I have grown up with a deep-seated desire to visit Germany. After twenty five years of longing to experience the country that my parents so loved, I finally was able to visit this place that, in my head, was “the land of Christmas.”

So, a few weeks ago, my dear friend and I decided to venture out and step into this society of castles, rich history, and picturesque storybook villages. I felt very comfortable on this trip, because I have been to Europe a few times before. I realized my love for travel back in college. At Missouri Baptist University, I was given ample opportunities to experience other cultures through study abroad trips. I remember my first European expedition that I took with MBU. One of our professors led us through London, where she had studied abroad, and we went on a theatre and literature tour of the city. I also traveled with the choir to Prague and Vienna, making sweet memories with my dear friends and classmates, and getting to sing in diverse European churches and chapels.

I felt very comfortable with the familiar European architecture and cobblestone streets when I returned to that great continent earlier this month. I carefully planned a trip that would feed my desire to always continue learning. I was a Music Ministry major, and we visited several sites that I had spent time studying in college. We experienced the hometowns of Martin Luther, Bach, and Mozart. We also visited the concentration camp in Dachau. We saw Neuschwanstein castle, a 500-year-old salt mine, and we even went on the Sound of Music Tour in Salzburg and stayed in the Von Trapp family home.

I’m thankful for the history that came to life on the trip, as well as the Christmas magic that really does weave its way through the enchanting cities of Germany and Austria. There were Christkindlmarkets full of friendly vendors selling punch, strudel, bratwursts, and darling artifacts to be found in most town centers. They were surrounded by Christmas trees, people dressed up in holiday apparel (Santa keeps pretty busy there — we ran into him all over the country), and groups of children singing sweet German Christmas songs.

I’m honored to embrace other cultures and make them my own, and will reflect on this year’s Christmas adventures each year to come with every German ornament that I put on my Christmas tree. May your New Year be full of 365 gifts as well as traditions, and moments shared with those who are dear to you!

—

Mary Kate Walton graduated from MBU in 2015 with a degree in Music Ministry. She now works for MBU as a Freshman Admissions Counselor, but still utilizes her musical training in her free time. She will be releasing her debut EP “Self Portrait” on January 25.