Where Is God When You Study Abroad?

If you go to Hope, you know that it’s basically a Christian Bubble.

You know multiple people going on mission trips this summer, tons of your friends work with Young Life, and you’re probably a part of at least two Bible studies and a house church. And this is all great! Hope is a perfect environment to develop and strengthen your faith before heading out into the “real world” after graduation. I’m extremely thankful for what Hope has taught me about God and myself.

But it’s incredibly hard to leave this Christian Bubble, and I realized this as soon as I arrived at the University of Aberdeen.

It’s not like I thought God wasn’t here. I knew God was here and everywhere, but studying abroad puts you outside of that Christian Bubble and into the dead center of that “real world” everyone talks about. You’re in a new environment with a new culture. The friends you make probably don’t talk about Bible studies and mission trips. Drinking culture is also huge over here since the legal age is 18, not 21. You’re suddenly the odd one out.

So where have I found God? Has stepping outside of Hope’s Christian Bubble been a blessing or an obstacle for me?

When I first arrived, I made it my mission to find God. I went to a bunch of Aberdeen Christian Union events, including a weekend retreat, and joined a Bible study on campus. I also decided to take a New Testament class so that I would keep reading my Bible. Now in a more secular environment, I wanted to prove to myself that I could still be a “good Christian” without Hope’s help.

But what I didn’t realize would happen is just how much God would find me. In some of these cases I didn’t even really have to try and seek him out. After praying for a loyal friend group, He gave me four friends (one of whom is a Hope student) who respect my beliefs and ask about them. I’m able to evangelize and have fun, even if not every one of my friends knows that Paul and Saul are the same person.

I think God has also used this study abroad experience to mature me and help me understand things about Him that had been bothering me for a long time. This came through in a lot of different aspects, mainly in the way I approach relationships, and He also used my growing maturity to dive me deeper into an understanding of sin, repentance, and grace. It was here in Aberdeen that God finally got through to me about some chronic sins in my life and urged me to confess those sins, repent, and move forward. I’m certainly not perfect, and I fall back into my mess from time to time, but this was a huge moment for me. I honestly don’t think this would have happened if it weren’t for this study abroad experience.

And overall, I think it’s been beneficial to take my faith to this new place. A lot of times at Hope I get stuck on one of those “Jesus highs”. It usually ends up during church at Moran Park. I’m always the emotional person crying during altar call at the very end, waving my hands in the air, and exercising my spiritual gifts. But here, I’ve learned that real life isn’t composed of mainly “Jesus highs”. Instead, I’ve had to realize that my day-to-day interactions and walk with God is just as, if not more, important than my “drunk in the Holy Spirit” moments. God hasn’t left me this entire time, and He has quietly nudged me towards understanding, confession, and joy. He’s allowed me to experience this part of His world for myself and use my adventures to teach me and show me His love. He’s matured me so much, and I know I will not be returning home the same Christian I was when I left. Now, I’ve seen that God truly follows us to the ends of His earth.

If you’re worried about your faith life when traveling abroad, don’t let it stop you. Seek God and places of worship, but also trust that God will find you, too. It can’t be all up to us. If it were, then why would we need Jesus? Jesus says that if we knock, the door will be opened for us, so trust that He will open that door.

Pretending to be wizards in Glasgow and Edinburgh

Hi, everybody!

A while ago my friends Jordan and Kate (another Hope student) and I decided to take a trip to Glasgow and Edinburgh. The trip was so much fun, and we got to do a lot of cool stuff, like see museums, get gorgeous views of the Edinburgh Castle, and, of course, visit almost every J.K. Rowling/Harry Potter site we could find. I took videos along the way and combined them into one vlog. Here’s a little taste of what our adventure was like!

 

Singapore’s Chinatown

This past weekend, I explored Chinatown with two friends who are also student teaching at SAS.  Singapore has three main “cultural” areas: Little India, Arab Street, and Chinatown, and all of them are wonderful areas to try different foods, shop, and explore.  We began our exploration at a little coffee shop that sold Kaya toast, a delicious and popular Singapore breakfast or snack that consists of a sugar, egg, coconut milk, and pandan (a plant used for cooking in Asia) mixture spread on top of thick slices of toast.  

Our lunch included some traditional Chinese food, including fried rice and dumplings.  Before my trip to Singapore, I was not one to try new foods, but now it is one of my favorite ways to explore the city and the mix of cultures that make up Singapore.  

We wandered the streets in search of souvenirs, interesting sights, and the perfect selfie spots.  The brightly colored buildings and the hustling and bustling streets were around every corner.

We went in one of the temples, the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum.  It was amazing how intricate every detail was.  In order to enter the temple, you must have covered shoulders and covered knees, and the temple provides wraps and scarves with which to cover yourself.  Here is a glimpse into Chinatown…

A Slice of Nature Within the City

Amidst the hustle and bustle of the city, Singapore maintains several large natural areas perfect for enjoying nature.  MacRitchie Reservoir is one of those places, dense with tropical trees and alive with the sounds of monkeys and birds.  My Saturday morning was spent breathing in the humid rainforest air and trying to capture the beauty of Creation on my trusty Nikon.

MacRitchie was packed, with crowds of people enjoying the beautiful morning.  The hiking trails were great, as was the observation tower, but the highlight was the treetop walk.  My friend and I made our way slowly from one end to the other, enjoying the rainforest canopy view and taking advantage of a few selfie spots.  At several points, we could see the city skyline just beyond the trees.  We saw lots of monkeys, who didn’t seem to notice that we were just a few feet away.  After hearing the many “monkey horror stories,” about monkeys scratching, stealing, and ruining electronics, I did remember to keep a bit of distance, even though it was tempting to go closer for pictures!

Exploring and being right there in the middle of a gorgeous natural area was exactly what I needed to rest from the busy week of student teaching.  It was definitely one of the highlights of the trip so far!

Exploring New Slains Castle

My friends and I had the opportunity to take a trip to New Slains Castle, the inspiration for Bram Stoker’s gothic novel Dracula. It was nestled against the sea in the quaint Scottish town of Cruden Bay. We had an absolute blast climbing rocky cliffs and exploring the castle ruins, but instead of writing a long blog post about it, I thought, “Why not make a little picture gallery instead?” Therefore, here a few of the photos I snapped while playing explorer.

 

Me, Emily, and Jordan on the bus to Cruden Bay!
An adorable sitting area in Cruden Bay
We had to walk through gorgeous trees to get the castle.
Jordan would later climb this tree.
Isn’t Scotland gorgeous?
Cheesin’ for a “Can’t Believe This Is Real” photo
I’ll really miss these views.
I swear this isn’t photo-shopped.
The castle from a distance
New Slain’s Castle!
Can you spot me?

Singapore American School

Student teaching at SAS has been quite the experience! The curriculum is academically challenging, and often I have been surprised at how much my third graders know and can do. The entire school is huge, with a student body larger than that of Hope. As third grade teachers, my cooperating teacher and I work alongside twelve other grade three teachers to plan curriculum, assess data, explore teaching methods, and engage in professional development. Teachers consistently use new technology and research-based strategies to teach. We write as many lessons as possible so they are inquiry-based, which essentially means that lessons include many questions for students to explore, with the object of students creating their own understanding and knowledge.

To give you a little taste of what education looks like at SAS, watch the video

below of all the third grade classes participating in a “task party.” This task party was organized and led by a team of third grade teachers. A task party is essentially a huge group of people who receive tasks to work together on, in a room full of various materials. This task party focused on inventions, so student received tasks such as “create a new school uniform that incorporates new technology.” I was impressed with the creativity and innovation that many of the students demonstrated as they participated in this fun lessons!

Island Exploration

 

This past weekend, another student teacher and I explored Pulau Ubin, a Singaporean island just off the coast of the mainland.  The island was advertised as rustic and relaxed, which we found it to be.

I love the city, but this was a much needed break to somewhere I could do what I like to do best...hiking and exploring
I love the city, but this was a much needed break to somewhere I could do what I like to do best…hiking and exploring

It was enjoyable to take a break from the hustle and bustle of the city for the day.  We spent the day biking, hiking, eating, and exploring.  We took a small, rickety “bumboat” to the island, which is essentially a very small ferry.  When we arrived we were greeted by fresh air and hoards of bicycles, the main mode of transportation on the island.  We rented a couple of them for the day and biked to Chek Jawa, a wetlands area on the island.  We hiked across boardwalks and through rainforest, stopping to walk up flights of steps to a lookout area.

 

DSC_0298We stopped for lunch at a seafood place in the “city” area of the island, which included bike shops, drink stands, and restaurants.  As I’ve been in Singapore, I have began to love trying new food…and enjoyed my prawn (similar to shrimp) seafood rolls along with a whole coconut!  

The remainder of the DSC_0295day was spent biking around the island, looking at a Buddhist temple, and hiking up to the top of a small mountain, with an incredible view of the water and of Indonesia.  We steered clear of the many monkeys, who are known to steal anything they can get their hands on!

First Week

Well, I am finally in Singapore and have begun student teaching! The first five weeks of the semester I spent on Hope’s campus, taking the “6-hour-block,” which is a block of three education classes which all special education majors are required to take during fall student teaching. Although I loved being able to spend time with friends and experience beautiful Holland at the end of summer, I was very anxious to be able to leave for Singapore!

Last Wednesday, I had my final exam and after saying goodbye to my Hope family, I drove back home to Chicago for a flight on Thursday. On our way to the airport on Thursday, I was notified my flight was delayed…meaning I wasn’t able to fly to Singapore until Friday. The 4+ hour flight to San Francisco went quickly, but the 16+ hour flight from there to Singapore seemed to drag on and on. I arrived on Sunday morning, and attended church just a couple hours after I arrived with my aunt, uncle, and cousins. I began student teaching bright and early on Monday morning, and really just jumped right in. We had three days of classes, followed by two days of parent teacher conferences. Although it was an overwhelming week, it was exciting as I learned more about what I will be experiencing the rest of the semester. I am loving my student teaching placement and am looking forward to exploring more of Singapore and surrounding countries.
IMG_4723My focus this week was on adjusting to student teaching, but I have had a chance for a couple other experiences! The highlight of the week was going to IMG_4721Little India, an ethnic district in Singapore. There, I tried my first real Indian food, and thoroughly enjoyed every bite.  I also got my first henna!IMG_4740

For those of you who know me, you know I hate running, but after sitting all day in conferences, I decided to go for a run Friday afternoon. I ran through the
Singapore Botanical Gardens, which was just beautiful. I may not mind running so much with scenery like that!

Singapore American School has a fall break this week, so I am headed to Thailand! More about that adventure next week…

Dealing with life abroad

Today I want to talk about a topic that may be a little different from traveling, learning, and culture within Germany. That being how to cope with difficult times while you’re abroad. If you are anything like me I know it is always hard to admit that something might be wrong and even worse when it comes to asking for help. However, the problem (no matter what kind) that you might be going through only becomes a large issue if you don’t know how to cope with it in your new surroundings. How to do it? While I claim no perfection in the matter I can share with you what helped me.

During these past weeks I went through some family matters that, although they are personal, you can sum up with a sad and frustrating situation. This is not the first time something of this matter happens in my family, however the situation in which it happened for me was different; I don’t have close friends here, I can’t just drive home, and the resources we have at Hope are not available. Therefore there are two ways to go about this, you can keep your issues to yourself and silently burn out or be proactive about it. Find one or two people that, although you might not be best friends with him/her, you would trust to be confidential. Those two people might not do exactly what you would expect; however the great aspect of humanity is that we all know love and comfort. Those people will make you, in some way, feel better and be there for you.

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The Louvre

Although this is just one suggestion I assure you it is truly helpful. Because the last thing you want is to look back on your study abroad and that issue be what you remember. It is okay to ask for a little comfort some times and in the end it will only make your relationships abroad stronger, your time better and help you move forward.

My Disneyland

If you went to Disney World as a child you know that feeling of happiness, courage and just a whole lot of excitement the minute you set foot in the park. After all, Disney is the place where all of your dreams come true. Well, imagine that same feeling, add 15 years to my age and change the location to the Court of Justice of the European Union, in Luxembourg.

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Photo by UK Telegraph

Not familiar with the court? It is basically THE court (big guy), which includes 27 judges (from the different member states), that makes sure that European Union law is properly implemented and executed in all member states.

While we, those in the IES EU program, were there we spoke to two law clerks (person who works for a judge), one worked for the Irish judge and the other for the British judge. With the Irish law clerk, whom is actually from Spain, we talked about issues such as Apple and the tax case they dealing with right now. On the other hand, with the British law clerk we spoke about Brexit and what how that will play a role in the court. Afterwards we were allowed to go into the courtroom and see where the magic happens.

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I can’t explain how great it was to see a place like this first hand, especially because of the current political climate of the European Union.

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