My Quest for a Sunday Service

One of the goals I had for studying abroad was to consistently attend a church on Sundays. I thought that if I went to a service each week, I’d be able to make some connections within the London community and see how other Christians around the world worship each week. Now, this didn’t exactly go …

So you don’t speak the language…

While studying abroad, I’ve been traveling all over the European Union. Catching a train or a flight has become second nature to me. But when I booked a flight to Paris, I was really nervous. This was my first time traveling to a country where I didn’t speak the native language. Thankfully I studied French …

Here’s what you should ACTUALLY pack

For those of you who are studying abroad soon, I’m sure you’re trying to plan how you are going to pack everything you’ll need into a suitcase and a back pack. There are hundreds of lists online about what you should or should not bring, and believe me, I read a good chunk of them …

The Disgruntled Tourist

The smartphone A gift to man-kind A computer, phone, and camera All in one! But for the love of God Put  It Down. PLEASE. ——- Nothing is worse Than watching fireworks through the screen Of the person blocking your view And you Yeah, you with the incessant NEED To document every second for your feed …

Netflix and Knitting

Studying abroad is a blast and a half. You’re in a new country, you’ve met awesome people, and you’re making memories to last a lifetime. But if I told you it was the time of my life 24/7, I’d be lying. Like anything, studying abroad has its downsides. When you’re in a big city like …

10 Reasons to be Thankful

Every Thanksgiving, Americans around the world are asked to practice gratitude and thankfulness. For me, this was the first Thanksgiving I was not celebrating with my family. It was easy to wish to be back at home, among the delicious fare my family whips up. But I found myself in London, thousands of miles away …

The Globe Theatre

In 1613, one spark from a cannon started a fire that burned William Shakespeare’s Globe theatre to the ground. Now, over 400 years later, people from around the world flock to London’s replica of the famous Elizabethan theatre to experience what it was like to watch Shakespeare’s plays back in the day. I have been …

Ceol Éireannach

In the evening, when you stroll down the cobblestone streets of Ireland, you can hear the strains of fiddles, pipes, and guitars pouring out of the local pubs playing ceol Éireannach (Irish music in Gaelic). Last weekend, I took a trip to Ireland and went on a Traditional, or “Trad,” Irish Music pub crawl. Our …

Secular Sanctuary

Last week I visited St. Paul’s Cathedral, or should I say St. Paul’s V. The very first St. Paul’s was founded by a monk in 604 AD. Now, in the middle of a sea of lumbering office buildings, rises the unmistakable dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral. The architect, Christopher Wren, oversaw the construction of this …

As they say in Les Miserables: Who am I?

Who am I, you ask? Well, to make a long story short, my name is Katie Joachim and I am a rising senior at Hope College, studying Theatre and Creative Writing. Some of you may have seen me as the Baker’s Wife in Hope’s production of Into the Woods last fall. Currently, I am an …