Southeast Asia Seminar Blog

Tabor Students to Travel to Southeast Asia During January Interterm

A 10-member entourage from Tabor College will tour the Southeast Asian countries of Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore during the January Interterm, from Jan. 9-29, led by Professor Emeritus Frank Brenneman and Assistant Professor of Family Studies Jeanelle Herrel.

The educational trip counts toward academic credit in religion, communication, mathematics or sociology and requires students to read materials, write reports, listen to lectures, take a test, and keep a daily journal.

Professors Brenneman and Herrel and local instructors will be lecturing throughout the tour.

“A trip like this one requires some pre-trip meetings on the religions we will encounter and cultural issues of Southeast Asia,” said Brenneman, who will be leading his 11th tour. “Periodically on the trip we will discuss things which we have encountered. These may be religious, cultural or mathematical in nature.”

The group will depart Jan. 5 from Wichita, Kan., arriving in Singapore Jan. 7. There the group will visit historical museums and art museums and several historical, cultural and religious sites, some dating from colonial days.

On Jan. 9 the group will fly to the island of Borneo to visit a long house of the Iban people.

On Jan. 12 the group will fly to Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, to visit important religious places including the Batu Caves (Hindu) and the National Mosque (Islam). The group also will spend time with the staff of Focus on the Family, and dine with members of the Christian Brethren Church.

On Jan 12, the group will fly to Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand, where they will work on service projects alongside Advocate’s Reach missionaries Michael and Naomi Phillips. The Phillips’ have two sons presently attending Tabor College, Aaron and Levi, and Aaron will be on the trip.

On Jan. 24, the group will travel to Chiang Rai and will be there for the most important holiday on the Chinese calendar, Chinese New Year, on the 26th.

The group will fly to Bangkok, Thailand on Jan. 27 to visit the historical Grand Palace and the world famous Buddhist temple, Wat Po, as well as the National Museum, before their return trip back to Wichita.

In addition to Aaron Phillips, additional Tabor students making the trip are Ben Hlad (Sylvan Grove, Kan.); Maria Loewen (Hillsboro, Kan.); Josh Paulus (Corona, Calif.); Brandon Voth (Lynden, Wash.), and Faith Wanja (Wichita, Kan.). Also going are Lisa Burns, a student at Wichita State University, and Professor Herrel’s son, Jacob.