Visiting the Sahara*

Last weekend we all packed a bag, piled into the bus and drove 4.5 hours to the desert (plus a couple of pit stops for juice and a bathroom). At a gas station just on the edge of where the desert began we switched into four-wheeled vehicles and went off through the dunes, past some …

My Documentary: “Solitude: A Companion Abroad”

As mentioned in my first blog, I had been planning on filming a documentary for months and had many difficulties such as lack of money for equipment (tripod, camera and lenses) and losing my iPhone 7 that had taken the majority of my shots.  Despite these set backs, I was able to produce something that …

Are You Alive?

Hello Hope College y Queridos Lectores, Yes, I am alive. Sorry I haven’t gotten back to pretty much all of you, especially those close who have been awaiting updates from me. Undoubtedly, it has been a tumultuous and invigorating last 5 weeks since my arrival in late February. I arrived with doubts, fear, and much …

Soaking It In

As of today I only have 6 weeks left here. That’s a pretty crazy thing to think about. I’ve known that I wanted to study abroad since I was in high school and to think that’s it’s coming to a close very quickly, well that’s just a strange thought. This incredible, wild, eye opening experience …

Getting Involved

I’ve written a lot about my travels away from Salamanca on the weekends, but having a home base in this city is very important for my experience. We were told when we arrived that we have to be careful if we were planning on traveling every weekend because we are here to immerse ourselves specifically …

Portu(girl)

This past week was midterms week, and to boost our morale after a tough week we took a trip to Portugal with IES. On Friday we left early in the morning excited to get away from studying and for a sunny weekend in Portugal. Our first stop was the city of Coimbra, where we visited …

Learning to Serve Well

Quick life update: things have been going great here! Day to day life has become normal and routine but of course there are still moments that are new or challenging all of the time. Classes are going well (yes, I do go to classes much to everyone’s surprise). Friendships are continuing to grow. I am …

Thoughts from a Coffeeshop

As I sit here in one of my favorite coffeeshops near my apartment at 5:51 on a Wednesday afternoon, I’m having a hard time coming up with something to write about. Not because I have nothing to say, but more so that I don’t have the right words to sum up my thoughts about my …

Reflecting

Looking back on my time abroad, it almost doesn’t even feel real. Did that really happen? Did I actually live in Scotland for four months? A brand new country where I didn’t know a soul? Where I wasn’t able to see my family and friends for a whole season? Yeah, I actually did that. I’m …

Reflecting on my time in South Africa: A Changed Person – A Changed Perspective

Almost five months.  I lived in South Africa for almost 5 months. I could hardly imagine so much fun and pain, so many learned lessons  and new perspectives, so many breathtaking and tragic sights all could be crammed into a mere 150 days. Yet I experienced all that and more. The John Luke that stepped onto the …