#JustPhelpsScholarsThings: The Detroit Trip Itinerary

Now when I look back at the screenshot I took of the annual Phelps Scholar Program Detroit Trip’s itinerary, this is what I see:

7:40 a.m. – Students sign in for the trip in the Scott Hall Tomb. Pro tip: Make sure to always have a back-up plan for when you somehow manage to sleep through six alarms.

Leftovers
Leftovers from breakfast kept me fueled throughout the trip.

8:00 a.m. – Leave Holland. Breakfast (apples, muffins, granola bars, water bottles, etc.) provided on the bus. Make sure to keep a pillow handy because sleeping on the bus is quite a feat without one.

Unfortunately, photos were not allowed but I sneaked a picture of the entrance for y'all ;D
Unfortunately, photos were not allowed but I sneaked a picture of the entrance for y’all ;D

10:45 a.m. – Arrive at Holocaust Memorial. One of the most impactful, memorable experiences I’ve had from a PSP trip. It resembles a museum but is called a memorial to shine light on the millions of deaths caused by a regime of hate. The class split into two groups and followed the progression of Hitler’s control as well as learn the history and culture of the Jews. What struck me the most was a display of an antique box car that was originally meant to carry cattle and cargo but instead shipped Jews to concentration camps. Although it posed no danger, the object itself carried a devious, ominous, desperate air, reminiscent of its time. After the tour, we met with and heard the story of Mania Salinger, a holocaust survivor and the author of the book “Looking Back.” The 90-something year old lady enraptured us with tales of her gutsy decisions and the brutality of the concentration camps.

I met a Holocaust survivor!

1:30 p.m. – Leave Holocaust Memorial.

Feed me!
Feed me!

2:10 p.m. – Arrive at Vicente’s Cuban Cuisine. As much as we enjoyed our visit to the memorial and Mrs. Salinger, our minds were consumed with food. We were entertained with authentic Cuban cuisine which ranged from fried plantains to a variety of rice dishes. They finished off the meal with the most delicious cake I have ever tasted (not exaggerating) called tres leches cake, a butter cake soaked with three kinds of milk.

Taking pictures to pass time...
Taking pictures to pass time…

3:45 p.m. – Leave Restaurant.

4:00 p.m. – Arrive at Charles Wright African American Museum. Whoever said that museums were boring can fight me. This was an entirely immersive experience, complete with interactive displays and life-size people. We split into our own groups and literally walked through history, starting from Africans taken from their beliefs, culture, and homes to slave ports up until the first black President.

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(Sorry about the quality and if the video is sideways, it should be right-side up on your phones!)

5:00 p.m. – Leave Museum.

7:45 p.m. – Arrive in Holland. 

It’s bittersweet knowing that this was our last trip together as the 2015-2016 Phelps Scholars, but it’s comforting to know that we are always welcomed to come back, year after year, to embark on these trips with future Phelps Scholars.

will be waiting for us, rain or shine.
The bus will be waiting for us, rain or shine.

The Dance Marathon

Over the past weekend the tradition called Dance Marathon took place in the Dow Center. As a freshman I had no clue what should I imagine under the dance marathon. Should I imagine a lot of students running? Should I imagine a big dance performance? Nevertheless, it was neither of it. For those who do not know what the Dance Marathon is, like I did not know before Friday 7 p.m., the Dance Marathon is a charity event for less fortunate children.

During the Dance Marathon, Hope College students who are officially participating are staying up from 7 p.m. on Friday until 7 p.m. on Saturday. There is music playing, but when I visited I have not seen a lot of dancing. I saw a lot of posters on the walls and a lot of not Hope College children running around. The students do really have to stay up the whole 24 hours. I believe that they have some kind of few minute break but that is all. Other thing that surprised me was the amount of raised. The goal was raise over 190,000 USD, but the amount that actually was raised was 256,000 USD.

Dance Marathon on Facebook

The Dance Marathon final amount raised.
The Dance Marathon final amount raised.

Learn to Skate and Skills and Drills

Last Monday, I and my two other friends volunteered and we were coaching children and adults to skate and play ice hockey. The first hour the children from ages 5 to 12 had lessons. It was great to give back to the community, but also I realized how hard learning to skate and play hockey is. Since I played ice-hockey for 15 years a lot of things come for granted. I do not think about most anything except the games. I don’t have to think about the balance, how to cross over, how to stop. I do it subconsciously, like breathing or heartbeat. Yes, I was in their shoes too way back, but I completely forgot about how I was failing on the ice and crying because I hit the ice too hard.

Secondly, I realized the importance of parents for children in doing some kind of sport and how things have changed since I was playing. Lately, I’ve read a lot of articles about the children’s success of doing a sport is directly derived from the ability to financially support the children. Unfortunately, it became the unspoken rule and that is not how it was when I was 6 years old. I remember that the club that I was starting to play for provided an equipment for the first 2 years, so anyone could afford it for the first 2 years. The coaches were great, so everyone has the same conditions. These kids that we were teaching to skate and play ice-hockey will never have the chance play hockey or do figure skating at respectively high level because for whatever reason they did not have the opportunity, which leads me to a conclusion.

If you played sport at higher level like AAA, varsity, or college level, you can make a big different and a happy day for bunch of kids, even you were never a professional in that sport.

The second hour, we were teaching adults to skate, which was fun to see people enjoy the sport for the sake of playing the sport.

Nutella in the Phelps Dining Hall

Today, with the help of my friends, I made a great discovery in the Phelps Dining Hall. I found out that they serve Nutella at the sandwich counter. I think everyone loves Nutella, so here are top 5 recipes that one should try with Nutella. You will be very surprised how creative you can be with Nutella. I did not believe how many different combinations, that I would have never thought about are possible.

Nutella Ravioli

Nutella Ravioli.
Nutella Ravioli.

This food will be hard to make at Phelps, but that is why each dormitory has a kitchen.

A Nutella, Bacon, and Peanut Butter Sandwich

A Nutella, Bacon, and Peanut Butter Sandwich
A Nutella, Bacon, and Peanut Butter Sandwich

This recipe one can try in Phelps.

Nutella Candied Bacon S’mores

Nutella Candied Bacon S’mores
Nutella Candied Bacon S’mores

Nutella covered in Bacon

Nutella covered in Bacon.
Nutella covered in Bacon.

It sound weird, but Nutella is amazing with bacon.

Nutella Milkshake

Nutella Milkshake.
Nutella Milkshake.

Lastly, the Nutella Milkshake. Not a better recipe to end the list with.

Happy St. Paddy’s Day from Ireland!

Well, readers, today’s the day we’ve all been waiting for: St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland. It’s only 8 a.m. here, but the city is already abuzz with excitement and I’m so excited to tell you all about what I do today!

The simple fact that I’m here in Ireland for St. Paddy’s Day is something many people wish to check off their bucket list at some point in their lives. Who wouldn’t want to be in the country that started the ball rolling for the rest of the world? Well, from what I’ve been told, the locals, that’s who. Apparently the locals don’t stick around to celebrate this famous holiday. Sure there are parades and parties, but most of my professors and their families avoid the city in lieu of tourists. Well, today I’m deciding to be that tourist and go experience the millions of activities the city has to offer.

My tentative plan for today is to go to the Parade that’ll go through the city center. It’s not supposed to be to the huge scale of New York or Chicago’s parade, but it’ll be authentic and something to behold nonetheless. After the parade, some friends and I are planning to go to the Hurling and Gaelic football finals in Croke Park. It’ll be fun because none of the teams that are competing have ever been in the finals before, so the crowd will be crazy with excitement. Then, I think it’s an obligation to go to a pub and experience some live music before heading home. You can check out the full list of events this weekend here, as St. Paddy’s Day is an all weekend event!

I’ll be sure to give exact details and pictures in my next blog. Happy St. Paddy’s Day from Ireland – enjoy with whatever your special traditions are!

Until next time!

I Can’t Fix Everything

Last week was a bad week. They happen. I was kind of expecting it. By Friday morning I was convinced I was going to make myself feel better. 

How? I basically just did a bunch of things that I always want to do but consistently tell myself I don’t have the time for it.

I bought Ben & Jerry’s ice cream at the Kletz. I finally registered for the 10K I want to run at Kennywood Park over the summer. On a whim I asked my friend to adventure to Tunnel Park with me to watch the sunset. Plus, she agreed to letting me take pictures of her because it had been forever since I had pulled my camera out of its case and had some fun with it.

My beautiful friend Ashley headed towards the light at the end of the tunnel
A girl in front of me in line told me she was jealous of my lunch. I had already eaten lunch, but it was an amusing comment nonetheless.
It really was a stunning sunset.
This made me wish I spontaneously decided to go to see the sunset more often

As fun as all that was, it didn’t fix how I was feeling.

On Saturday night I made plans with my friend, Ashley, to go to The Point Church on Sunday. We had been saying for months that we should go sometime ever since we ran into a few girls from there on campus.

So Sunday morning we walked through the rain from my car to the doors of this church. And as some of the members opened the doors as we approached who was there holding one of the doors? Olivia who we had met back in December on campus when she and a few friends prayed for us.

Olivia showed us to some empty seats next to her spot and introduced us to Joanna, who had an adorable little boy, and her husband played guitar in the worship band.

It’s always nice to step off campus and into a community that is composed of people outside the age range of 18-22. We were surrounded by families, little kids who danced in front of their seats or in their parents’ arms during worship, there were a few other Hope students, we talked with people who asked us questions because they wanted to get to know us, and of course there’s the way God talks.

During worship, between songs, if anyone felt there was a word placed on their heart to share they got up on stage and shared it. What Josh, one of the leaders of this church, shared was  from Hebrews 12:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Josh then spoke about how our identity does not come from what people say about us. Our identity does not come from what people think about us. Our identity comes from what God made us to be. We are running this race for him, the one who defines us and who we are.

Bam. There it was. Exactly what I needed to hear.

Focusing and worrying about how people perceive who I am from what mistakes I’ve made, from what other people have said about me, from their own observations, etc., is trivial.

At the end of the day, I need to remember that my identity is in Christ. Because he is the one who has made me new. He is the one who continually makes me new. He is the one who can fix everything.

Thanks for reading,
~Erin

For it is [not your strength, but it is] [a]God who is effectively at work in you, both to will and to work [that is, strengthening, energizing, and creating in you the longing and the ability to fulfill your purpose] for His good pleasure. ~Philippians 2:13 AMP 

 

 

 

Where’s the Queen?

This past weekend was the last out-of-the-country trip for Meg and I before we go home. We’re kind of sad about that! We realized this when walking out of the Dublin airport, and we got kind of sentimental. We love our little Dublin Airport, and of course our little Dublin home, and it’ll be hard to say goodbye.

But we’re talking about London, and NOT going home yet, so we’ll get back to that. We got into London Thursday night, and the airport was easy enough to navigate, but we had to navigate the Tube to get to our Airbnb, and we were overwhelmed to say the least. Jubilee line? Waterloo? Coming from Michigan which has virtually no public transportation system and even from Dublin which only has a semi-reliable bus system, London was a monster. (Spoiler, by Sunday, we were old pros and even gave a BRITISH person directions. Did we feel accomplished? Heck yes.) We miraculously made it to our B&B in a suburb of South Kensington and prepared for a busy day after eating some nachos, tuna melts and beers at a local pub.

Friday was a whirlwind. We woke up early and took the scenic route to our breakfast reservations in Covent Garden. We walked past Buckingham Palace (trying to spot the Queen with no luck), about a million parks, and just generally enjoyed the posh atmosphere of London. At Balthazar’s in Covent Garden, we ate the best waffles and fruit bowl I’ve ever eaten, no joke. You can’t get bad food in London – it’s all good.

Then came the highlight of the day – Harry Potter Studios, London! I don’t think I can accurately put into words how excited we were. We undoubtedly threw some elbows at old-timers and youngsters alike to see the REAL costumes, REAL sets, and REAL props that this place had to offer us. We had splurged on the audio tour too, so we spent three blissful hours here. Lets just say we basically wore it out and scared more than one person with our loud gasps and shrieks. Fun fact about Meg and myself – we can now say we’ve been to two out of the three places that serve Butterbeer. Yep, we even got Butterbeer ice cream along the way. Hit up Meg or myself if you want the full experience and your ear chatted off for about 15 hours. This place was AMAZING and we’ll gladly tell you all about it.

Meeting up with a couple of friends from Hope rounded out our day. It was so good to see some familiar faces and eat some good food with them, especially since they knew the best place to go!

Saturday was our sightseeing day, and we saw a lot. We started off the day with walking through Hyde Park and seeing more than one happy dog. Then we crossed town to Big Ben and Westminster Abbey. Both structures are absolutely gorgeous. I was pumped to see Westminster Abbey because it’s where Wills and Kate tied the knot a few years back, but it was unfortunately closed due to “sightseeing.” (What?) But we got to see the outside! That still counts! We then had afternoon tea reservations in Soho at Soho’s Secret Tea Room. It was so secret that there wasn’t even a sign on the street for it – we had to go into a bar, walk behind the bar and go upstairs to get to it. It was awesome, and very authentic; something only the locals really knew about, which was so cool.

The tea, sandwiches, and desserts were all to die for. 10/10 for great food and fulfilling dreams. After tea, we had a walking tour around the city of London from 2:30 p.m. until 5 p.m. Meg and I are all about the walking tours and it was fantastic. There’s so much history in London’s city and we got to learn a small bit of it by visiting places like St. Paul’s Cathedral (place where Princess Di was married!!!!!), Samuel Johnson’s favorite pub (for those of you that don’t know, he gave the world the first English dictionary and lived in London), and countless churches.

Saturday ended with Harrod’s. WOW is literally all I can say. Harrod’s is not for the average shopper and I felt severely underdressed. Underdressed for a shopping mall where a 5-foot stuffed giraffe cost more than a used car. I’m still coming out of shock.

Yesterday was our final day in London and we wanted to end it on the right note, so we headed up to Tower Bridge before heading to the airport. Again, it was amazing. The view of panoramic London was breathtaking, and in a few spots there was glass panels instead of floor and you could see the River Thames running beneath you. What a rush. After that we headed back to the airport to return to home-sweet-Dublin. It was a great last trip to take before we called it quits on out of country traveling just in time for St. Patrick’s Day.

Until next time!

Buckingham Palace!
This was the stairwell to Dumbledoor’s office in all the Harry Potter films.
This was just one of the props that we saw while here!
Hogwarts IS a real place!!
Big Ben
This is Tower Bridge, not to be mistaken for London Bridge.

Where Do You Find Your Meaning? A Dance 42 Reflection

Last night, I went to see Dance 42, an annual show put on by the Dance Department of Hope College. I wish I had photos to share, but unfortunately photography was not allowed.  Last year, it was called Dance 41 and next year it will be called Dance 43. You get the picture, it’s been going on for a while.

Above is a video from Dance 37, the only one that I could find online.

The students audition in September. This leaves them the rest of the year up until March to work on their performances and perfect them.

I went to the show because I had friends in some of the dances, but I didn’t experience it last year. I wasn’t sure what to expect.

Some people had told me it was really good, but some acts were sort of odd. As I watched, I understood why they could seem that way. Some of the dance moves were very interpretive and I had a hard time finding meaning in them.

When my friend, Allie, finished her performance, she came and sat with me. As the show progressed, she told me what each dance was about. They all started to make more sense to me.

What drew me in when thinking about Dance 42 was the fact that everyone has an area of life in which they create meaning or try to draw meaning from. For me, it’s literature and my religion. For others, it’s dance, science, nature, etc.

It’s beautiful how so many different paths can be used to soul-search and make something out of life. Everyone has a preference, and dance works for those who put their time and efforts into Dance 42.

Once I recognized that, I began to appreciate it so much more.

Brooke

You can email me at brookelyn.wharton@hope.edu, find me on Facebook, or check out my Twitter @hopebrooke18.

Room Decor Ideas!

When I found out I would be living in my own room for the year, I started planning in my head what I wanted my room to look like. I, like many of you I’m sure, turned to Pinterest, YouTube tutorials, Tumblr and other blogs to find some DIY inspiration. I knew I didn’t want to go out and spend a lot of money on decorations, so I went through what I had from living in the dorms the previous years. I am really happy with how my room turned out, so I figured I would share with you all a few decorating tips.

In pretty much every room, whether it’s in a dorm or in a cottage, there are lights. They are especially useful for brightening up a room. Chances are you have some stored at home or even if you do have to buy them, they are usually no more than $10! I hung up a set of twinkling lights across one wall of my room and another set of lights around my closet door. One cool way to add some more decoration is to hang the lights around photos on your wall. You could even use some laundry pins (paint them any color you want), or photo clips to hang photos in between. It’s a great way to put some of your favorite memories on display!

Lights in my room

Instead of just printing out your photos at CVS or Walgreens and hanging them up right away, there are other ways you can frame them, as shown below. I went to Walmart and bought 2-3 sets of cardboard frames in silver, gold and white. I placed a picture I took myself, postcards and also photos I cut out from magazines, and glued the photo within the frame. This was another way to juxtapose pictures I had without frames and position them in different ways across my wall.

pictures hanging in my room

Another idea is if you have a Polaroid camera, you can take those Polaroids you took and make a mini-collage out of them on your walls, similar to how I did below. Fun fact: those Polaroids were postcards I found in Madrid when I studied abroad! Also, instead of just having a regular dry erase board as your calendar, which is totally fine to have too, you can also hang a wall calendar to add some more decoration to your room. Pretty much if you have white walls like I do, adding in pops of color here and there will make them stand out even more.

polaroid pictures and calendar

Lastly, in terms of DIY mini projects you can do, two examples are shown below of what I made myself. One is a mini-chalkboard that I painted and decorated with some gems. It’s useful too because I can write some of my favorite quotes or sayings down, which I usually switch up each month. Another fun idea is making collages, which I still love doing. You can make your collage however you want and in the end, you can hang it up as a display in your room!

DIY chalkboard and collage

I hope these give you some fun ideas the next time you want to decorate your room – thanks so much for reading! 🙂

Bittersweet

I knew it would have to come to an end eventually, but I didn’t think it would sneak up on me this quickly! My last trip out of the country is this weekend, and I’m sad. But it’ll be a great one: London, England. I actually leave as soon as I’m done writing this post!

It’s a weird feeling that I won’t be leaving Ireland anymore. So far, I’ve been to Scotland, Austria, and Germany (for two seconds), and London will round out my travels. It doesn’t sound like a lot of places when I list it out like that, but it definitely feels like I’ve been traveling to more places. Traveling is also very liberating and gives you an independent sense traveling through an airport and foreign country by yourself. I’m saddened by the fact that the next time I’ll be doing that is when I go home next month. (NEXT MONTH IS SO SOON.)

Speaking of home, I’ve realized that I have this division in me that desperately wants to go home but also stay here longer. More to come on this in coming weeks.

Now that I won’t be traveling out of Ireland after this weekend, I’ll be able to explore the island that I’ve called home in even greater detail. I’ve seen a fair amount of Ireland already, but I’m excited to really immerse myself now. My friends and I have plans to backpack, bike and hike through some different places before we head home.

There are so many great things to come still before my study abroad travels are over. It’s not quite over yet, but this benchmark trip reminds me that I’m one step closer to heading back to the real world.

Can’t wait to tell you all about London! Until next time!

Check out the places I’ve been and check out the places I haven’t! There’s beauty everywhere.