Hello Everyone!

I hope you all have had a great week! I have been very busy this week with Nykerk, schoolwork, and other extra curricular activities. On Thursday night I had a fun dinner with my Bible Study group. A junior and senior lead it. There are six of us in the group and we went to the senior’s house for some chili and excellent deserts. I really enjoy my Bible Study group and I am glad I have been able to get close with the people in my group and meet some upper classmen.

On Thursday evening, I also attended my weekly Spanish drill, which is teaching ESL for free to people in the Holland community. ESL is a lot of fun and I am able to work on my Spanish while teaching others English. We normally have about six ESL students and six Spanish 4 students pair up with an ESL student. Three seniors at Hope teach the class. The ESL students from the community really enjoy the class. We watch different clips in English and often read current English articles. ESL is a great experience for both the ESL students and the Spanish 4 students. I am glad I have been able to participate in the class and look forward to attending my Thursday night class.

Have a fun HALLOWEEN weekend!!!

Thurday evening ESL class

This past weekend was also homecoming weekend. The campus was full of returning alumni. The atmosphere was great! On Saturday morning there was a homecoming 5k. I did not participate in this only because I really wanted to sleep in =]  Saturday afternoon there was a homecoming tailgate picnic. Despite the rain, many students, faculty, and alumni came and enjoyed some good food. The picnic was followed by the homecoming football game and in the evening there was a homecoming ball at the Haworth Inn. Some of my girl friends and I got dressed up for dinner and then went to the dance.

The dance was fun and had some snacks and refreshments along with a photo booth. However, I think the best part of the evening was getting ready for the dance. The guys probably do not feel the same way, but the girls like to do each other’s hair and paint nails ect. It was a great weekend all around. I really enjoyed my first college homecoming experience. I cannot wait till next year.

Here are some of our pictures from the evening…

Friday evening was very fun and exciting! A hoedown was taking place at a nearby farm and they had….

• Hay back rides
• Line dancing
• Country music
• Hot apple cider
• Smores
• Bonfire
• Hay maze
• Snack
• Barn animals

The hoedown was so much fun. I went with a group of friends from my dorm. It was a perfect fall night! The stars in the sky looked so beautiful. I learned some new line dance moves, (I still am really bad at it) but it was a lot of fun.

It probably was one of my most favorite events at Hope so far. They had a bus dropping people off to and from the farm. Everyone was having a blast. My personal favorite part was the hay back ride. I also enjoyed petting all of the farm animals. I have not been around any animals in awhile so it was nice to be at a barn. Another added bonus to the evening was making smores at the bonfire. I love smores so it was fun to make as many as I wanted with my friends. It was a just a good night all around. I am glad the student activities committee at Hope sponsors fun events like the hoedown.

Have a great week!

***Colleen***

Voorhees group before the Hoedown

One of the many sheep 

Now that school is back in session I am getting back into the swing of things. It feels good to get back into my routine at Hope. My classes are going pretty well. This week has been kind of crazy with midterms and tests but no worries because tomorrow is Friday! I am definitely looking forward to the homecoming activities planned this weekend.

Since I have been trying to get back into my routine I have been running again. Holland is my favorite place to run. I drove to the beach and ran along the water. I also ran on some trails in the woods. I loved seeing the beautiful fall trees surrounding me. Sometimes I will run with a friend, and other times I will go by myself to get some time to release stress. I am glad I never get tired of the scenery in Holland. It is absolutely gorgeous!

I looked up reasons to run on google, and thought I would share with you all why it is so good to run and why I love it so much.

1. Running is the most efficient path to cardiovascular fitness.

2. Running is great for your heart.

3. Running is inexpensive and simple to learn.

4. Running is the best method of stress reduction around.

5. Running is accessible to everyone.

6. Running is an excellent component of any weight-control program

7. Running is a flexible method of training.

8. Running makes you feel good.

9. Running offers a unique opportunity for recreational runners to mix with world-class athletes.

10. Running is for families and individuals of all ages.

Pictures from my runs in Holland

I’ll just come out and say it, FALL BREAK = FABULOUS

It was so nice to be able to come home to friends and family. I left school on Friday at about 12:30 and got home at 8:30. It was a rather long trip but being home felt so great! During my fall break I visited my high school and was able to reconnect with people from my school. My friend and I drove to Illinois College to pick up another friend so we could all hang out. I am so glad we have been able to stay in contact with people from high school even though we are all spread out. While at college we have been keeping in contact by skype and texting. 

Even while I was home I still missed my friends from college so I was sure to keep in contact with them. I cannot wait to hear about everyone’s fall break. It was definitely nice to take time and relax and rewind. 

Here are some of the things I really enjoyed about being home:

• My bed!
• Home cooked meals
• My home church
• Visiting my high school
• Hanging out with friends from high school
• Spending time with my family
• Driving
• Running on Springfield’s bike trail

Although I had a super great break, I am excited to head back to school. I have a busy week ahead of me, and I cannot wait to get back in the groove of things. It is super weird not having somebody in the room at night, I actually miss it. I have enjoyed being home, but college is so much fun and keeps me busy. I’ll be back for Thanksgiving, so in the mean time I’ll keep you all posted about what is going on at Hope.

Have a great week!

Here are some pictures from my fall break

Hey everyone! I hope is everyone is having a great week! I have been having a fabulous week and have been quite busy. I am now involved with Nykerk, and I am really enjoying it! Nykerk is Hope tradition that is between even and odd year. It is similar to “the Pull” because there are morale boys. In “the pull” the girls were the moralers but in Nykerk the guys morale for the girls. Every night at practice the boys perform a skit for the girls. Nykerk is a song, theater, and oration competition between even and odd year. The other year cannot know what the song is of the other year until the night of the Nykerk performance, which occurs in the Civic Center on November 6. Our families will be able to see us perform because it is also family weekend. I am glad I am involved in Nykerk because it is a great opportunity to meet other girls and we have so much fun at our practices. I am a song girl along with about 120 other girls. Our class is the largest class they have had so far! Our upper classman even year coaches are a lot of fun too and make practice very enjoyable. Even though practice is every night for 2 hours, it goes by so fast and is definitely worth the time commitment.

 

Here is a picture of the Nykerk Staff performing:

 

Have a great weekend everyone!

Hey everyone! I hope you all had a fun weekend. I had another great weekend here. On Friday night I went on a long night bike ride with my friend and then we went to the park and swung on the swings. I also had my first Nykerk meeting and it was a lot of fun.

On Saturday, my friend from high school came to visit me and look at the school. I gave her a tour of the beautiful campus and she really wants to come here next year.

On Saturday evening a group of us went out to dinner at a Mexican restaurant called Tres Lobos and it was really good. After dinner we ate ice cream at Captain Sundae. That was my personal favorite part of the night.

On Sunday we went to Starbucks to study then spent some time at the beach. The beach was absolutely gorgeous. It was a perfect day! The trees here look awesome with fall colors. After we finished at the beach we drove around Holland by the lake and looked at all of the scenic trees. I don’t know why but the trees look so much better here in the fall than they do from my home. While I was at the beach I found a bike trail that goes between a bunch of trees so I will definately be visiting that trail this week and will be admiring the fall leaves.

I am so incredibly happy fall has arrived. It is my all time favorite season! 

Pictures from the Beach

 

On Wednesday Hope College sponsored a critical issues symposium and the theme for this year was “Good Food For The Common Good.” The school brought in different speakers to talk about the current issue of food. It took place starting Tuesday night and ran through Wednesday afternoon. Classes were cancelled for the day so students could attend different speaker sessions. It was nice to have a day off of classes and enjoy the variety speakers. They had speakers from other universities as well as chefs, hospital representatives, health counselors, and even students from Hope College speak. I personally learned a lot about nutrition that I had never known before, and I was also given a reminder of how fortunate I am to have easy access to good food. Students were challenged about the issue of good food and stimulated thinking drew from hearing the speakers. Following the CIS there is a 30-Hour Famine and a Canned Food Drive that is benefitting the Holland  Rescue Mission. I think that it is great how the college really focuses on the importance of community. Hope is definitely heavily involved with the Holland community!  

Well I hope you all have a fun weekend and enjoy the fall season!

~~~Colleen~~~

Phelps Dining Hall supporting eating local

Hey Everyone! 

I hope you are having an awesome weekend. I thought I would just fill you in on my Student Congress retreat I went on a couple weekends ago. First of all Student Congress is kind of like the Student Council high school version. It is formed by different representatives from college living, so each dorm will have at least on representative and so will the cottages and off campus residents. It is a really cool mix of people from every grade. Well, a couple of weekends ago we went on a day retreat to Lake Beechpoint which was about a 35 minute drive from campus. It was nice to get off campus for the day and spend time bonding and getting to know each other. During the retreat we formed our committees for the year, talked about how to be an effective leader, and completed a challenge course. It was a lot of fun to bond together and prepare for a new year of Student Congress. I am really excited to be apart of this organization. The retreat helped us get to know one another before we started the year. The games we played all had a theme of “how to be a good leader”. I really learned a lot about myself at the retreat, and it gave me a chance to think about what I want to help contribute to Hope College. The day was a total over all success, and I am really looking forward to a year in Student Congress.

Have a great weekend,

Colleen

Challenge Course

Hanging out

 some of Student Congress

Hey Everyone!

I hope you all are having a good week. It has been a beautiful week so far. I am writing this blog from the pine grove, which is like Hope’s outdoor commonplace. I come here often and read under the huge trees, and it is very relaxing. People hang up hammocks and take afternoon naps in them. I definitely want to invest in one of those. The pine grove is a good place to just come sit, chill, and relax. I enjoy riding my bike along the paths. Academic buildings surround the pine grove so it is in the middle of everything. People also play a lot of Frisbee golf and other games in the pine grove. I am currently sitting here with friends and we are listening to music and doing homework. The pine grove is great study environment when you want a change of scenery from being inside. It is a double bonus right now because the leaves are changing colors.  I absolutely love fall, and Holland so far is having an amazing fall. I am enjoying spending time outdoors here. Many students take walks/ run/ ride bikes through the pine grove. It is definitely one of my most favorite places on campus!

Enjoy the weather,

Colleen

 My view in the pine grove