Ancient stone illuminated with golden light leans into the night sky. A few shivering students gather in front of the coliseum, cold but determined to get the perfect photo.

Two of the frigid travelers, Anabel Torres and Sayako Uehara, are PUC students in the Adventist Colleges Abroad program; they are getting a personal evening tour of Rome with new friends from the local Adventist church.

During the 2004/2005 school year, 31 PUC students, including Torres and Uehara, discovered a new dimension to education as they studied in Argentina, France, Spain and Italy. They returned with a broader perspective on life and the world—and a cartload of great memories and experiences. “I can't think of a better education I could have received about life,” reflects Cheri Wild, who spent the year in Sagunto, Spain. “Being put in a different culture made me intuitive, flexible, patient and teachable.”

“One of the most valuable opportunities,” adds Navi Ganancial, who studied at Istituto Avventista Villa Aurora in Italy, “is the ability to travel so easily.” One of her favorite excursions was a weeklong trip the students took to Sicilia. Their days were jam-packed with Greek temples, swimming in three different seas, watching a play in an ancient amphitheater, taking sulfur baths, and eating until they felt as if they were going to explode.

Of course, one of the main goals of ACA study is to become fluent in the language by immersion in the culture. “In my opinion, there is no other way to learn a language,” says Wild. “The education came just as much from the everyday life experiences as it did from our lessons in the classroom. Nothing can replace the conversational practice I had with my roommate, or the listening comprehension practice from going to worship services.”

Studying abroad also brings a new awareness of society. Nathan Blue, who studied at Sagunto, comments, “Living in a foreign culture has given me an outsider's view of my own culture and country, showing me where we have room to grow. More than this, though, it has made me forever grateful for my own country and for the opportunities it's given me.”

Looking back on her experience, Torres concludes: “Experiencing another culture made me realize that there are so many beautiful things in the world, and the fact that people are all different makes them so special. We are all beautiful!”