Covid Summer

Everyone prepares to go abroad differently. For me and COVID I have had many many MANY new fallback plans as COVID is ever evolving. As I mentioned in my last post, putting my heart into the adventure as of now is still hard for me. I have been holding off on cutting ties to classes …

Sister Schools

What is neat about Hope College and Liverpool Hope university (LHU) is that they are sister schools! This means that I can enroll directly into the school without going through a third-party organization. This is nice because there are less steps to go through, and makes the process a lot easier on me. My advisor …

Far From Home

8 hours and 3,848 miles later… I have made it to London! What a whirlwind this past week has been! From arriving last Tuesday and adjusting to the new time zone along with the anticipated jet lag to slowly navigating my way around the city, my time here has been filled with nothing short of …

Closing in!

Hi everyone, I am so excited to share my semester abroad with you all! I wanted to start by explaining my choice with Liverpool Hope University is followed by how COVID has shaped my abroad experience. I chose Liverpool Hope University because of the arts department. In the field of dance, it can be challenging …

Let the London Adventures Begin!

Oh my goodness, my first week in London has already come and gone. IES’s orientation was a perfect balance of informative and helpful when it came to navigating the city, culture, and classrooms while allowing us enough free time to do anything I wanted without being rushed. I saw beautiful architecture and street art as …

Abroad and On Campus?

The past few weeks have been crazy as I was on campus as students moved in and classes started for the fall semester. I got questions about how strange it felt but honestly, I loved spending the first week and a half in Holland. The energy and excitement from the new freshman was amazing. And …

Thoughts Before Takeoff

I can’t believe my semester abroad is coming on so quickly! In a few days, I will be on my flight to London to continue my degrees in English and theatre. I feel like I have to pinch myself to make it real. But it is! That being said, as I am procrastinating on the …

Into The Unknown

As I prepare to officially depart for London in less than 2 days, I can’t help but do a little reflecting on my thoughts about leaving what is comfortable and known to me, and to then be entering a foreign place that I have never been before. The familiarity of family, friends, and the pace …

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 …