Editor note

(Not a) world traveler

October 19, 2018

It was February 1983. I was 26 and had never been out of the country when one of my good friends from church suggested a trip to the Yucatan Peninsula. He had studied architecture there while in college and was planning to take his sister for her birthday. He knew all the architectural sites and the cheapest places to stay and travel so I quickly agreed, not really knowing at all to what I was agreeing.

Five of us went from Nashville, Tennessee, to Cancun and Merida, Mexico, and toured the Mayan ruins of Uxmal and Chichen Itza. This country boy who had barely flown before encountered fascinating sites and a culture I never knew existed.

That is why I was thrilled when I recognized El Castillo at Chichen Itza in Noah Darnell’s amazing pictures featured in this issue. I climbed it back then, and it is the single place I have experienced that the 33 students in International Programs visited in their trip around the globe studying art and architecture. If my trip way back then was thrilling for me, I can only imagine their experiences and excitement with all the sites and sounds they witnessed. Through these photos, perhaps you can as well.

Enjoy, and let us know what you think.

Tom Buterbaugh, editor/designer

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