A new perspective

Henderson (History ’09)
Photo by Michael Bailey.

Spending a year traveling after graduating from high school made Fraser Henderson (History ’09) realize how important it was for him to learn a second language. When he enrolled at U.Va., he decided to study Chinese and last summer spent nine weeks living and learning in Shanghai.

“There is such a large difference between English and Chinese,” Henderson says. “An immersion experience is really important for training your ear to interpret tones and accent to the extent that you can have some kind of fluency.”

But accent and fluency were just the beginning of what Henderson picked up in China. “Being in a different civilization without the same Christian history that defines the West, it’s very interesting to see the parallels between two different societies,” he says. “To see what remains constant and to learn a little more about the essence of human society … that’s the best contrast you can have between China and the United States.”

Still, one of the most important experiences of the trip happened when he returned home. “Getting off the airplane that night after it had just rained, and the air was so fresh. … It was wonderful to breathe fresh air again … and to drive along the roads with beautiful parks and trees and rivers and to be able to see the stars in the sky. … One of the most significant things about this trip was learning about some of the great things we do have here and how we will lose them if we don’t protect them.”