Suzie Goossens Writes about the
Salzburg Experience, Fall 2006

Miriam Beard once wrote: “Certainly, travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.”  My experience abroad has impacted my life in many indescribable ways.  The experiences I had traveling, and seeing the “sights of Europe” definitely are a highlight to my experience abroad, but even more were the times we were together, as a group, walking around the streets of Salzburg.  The many group dinners both at Priesterhaus and the restaurants around Salzburg, and the singing of songs in both Senior Seminar and Thanksgiving dinner brought our group closer. 

Our travels together, to Florence, Melk and Prague, were not only educational and fun, but also allowed for group bonding and a way of getting to know each other. One person told me they loved the bike tour through Vienna, the tour of the Melk abbey, and our tour guides in Prague and Florence.  Many of my fellow comrades reminded me of our small group outings outside of Salzburg.  To some of the guys, the trip to St. Wolfgang was a favorite.  Many of us still talk about our adventures on Gaisberg and how we sang “the hills are alive with the sound of music” as we were rolling or running down the hills.  We still laugh about this today.  Another memory was the trip to St. Gilgen and the first mountain in the Alps we climbed.  All three of these places hold a dear spot in our hearts.  

Pater Mark always encouraged us to go outside of our circle of friends, and meet Austrians and other students.  The friendships we made allowed us to improve our German and learn more about the culture we were in.  He asked us to get involved in the culture, which many of us did.  Between choir practice, soccer practice, an immersion program for any international student in Salzburg, and visiting a secondary school, many of us found friendships and memories outside of our group. He also encouraged “cultural experiences” and would reimburse us for the many museums we went to.  As one person wrote to me, “he did a great job in this respect.”  As “poor college students” we appreciated this greatly for it allowed us to have more experiences every where we went. 

I’ve been asked to tell you about Pater Mark’s stories.  There would be times where Pater Mark would tell us of his youth.  The story I was reminded of was when he first brought a group of Saint John Prep students to Austria, and I believe, stayed at Melk.  He was entering the monastery at this time, and had met an Austrian family.  The family offered him both a wife and a farm if he would leave the monastery and marry into their family. 

Another story is how we’d be walking around a town and Father Mark would “pop up” around the corner or down the street.  It did not matter where we were, or who we were with, he’d be there some how- but we were always happy to see him.

Comments written by a study abroad student:

“Pater Mark is one of the best teacher's I have had the privilege to have at CSB/SJU.  These great qualities he brought with him to Salzburg.  Not only was he a good teacher abroad, but he also brought with him a wealth of knowledge about Europe in general.  It was because of him that our program was able to take a 10 day long trip to Italy, which is something that profoundly affected my life, as I'm sure it did others.  This trip was something I will remember forever.  It was really helpful to have a director who had been there numerous times, or had really researched where we were going so as to make our trip the best it could be.  He spent many hours researching places to stay and things to do for our group trips in Austria as well as in the neighboring countries.  I know he did this in addition to the lessons he had to prepare for classes as well as other work pertaining to school or his own personal life.  I really appreciated that!  It is because of him that we saw some of the best Gelato places in Italy, had our own personal tour throughout Prague and Vienna, and were guests in the Monastery in Melk.  Pater Mark goes above and beyond his call as a professor, and I feel thankful and honored to be one of his students as well as had the opportunity to go abroad with him.”

There is one more thing that I missed.  It doesn’t matter if you call him Mark, Pater, Padre or Father, the most important thing we learned is to call him friend. He was not only our mentor and teacher, but looking back, he was a friend.  He cares about his students and their well-being.  He does not treat you as just a student, he treats you as an equal and comrade.  One student said that he liked how Padre would open doors for us to have our own experiences.  He would help you find new things, but allowed you to have your own experiences.  He is also very excited to learn new things from his students, even when they are less excited to be learning. 

I cannot count how many times I heard “you will not be the same person you were when you left.”  Well, most of us experienced this change before we left; we saw the growth and changes we had made as both students and people. Even more so, were the changes we went through returning to college.  But with his help, we coped.  Pater Mark has taught many of us how to live through our study abroad experience. And because of this, to us, he is the Study Abroad Director of the Year.

                -- Suzie Goossens