An Unknown Winter Paradise Called Jizerské Hory.

As you most likely noticed, I am a second language speaker. Specifically, I am from the Czech Republic and my native language is Czech. The Czech Republic is small country in the middle of Europe (not Eastern) with a population slightly above 10 million people. If one looks at the north side of the Czech Republic, one would see city called Liberec. Liberec is my hometown and the reason of this post. Despite it has population only of 102,000 people, Liberec is the 5th biggest city in the whole country. Yes, we are very small country and that is why every world recognition is even more valuable.

Liberec has a nickname “ the city of sport” because it has endless sporting opportunities ranging from skiing to beach volleyball. The opportunities are not only thing that makes from the Liberec the city of sport. For such a small city we have an excellent facilities and one of the facility got recognized by the New York Times.

The New York Times article about Jizerské Hory named named "Bohemia’s Secret Spot for Cross-Country Skiing"
The New York Times article about Jizerské Hory named “Bohemia’s Secret Spot for Cross-Country Skiing”

The Secret Spot that the article talks about is in the mountains called Jizerské Hory, only fifteen to twenty minutes by car from the downtown of Liberec. Actually, every year in Jizerské Hory a traditional 50 kilometers (31.0686 miles) cross country race called Jizerská Padesátka is run. Padesátka means 50. This place is not only a paradise for all cross country enthusiasts, but in the summer people ride bikes or they are having walks with their families.

Jizerské Hory is a fabulous, but not as well known place. I would encourage everyone to visit it or at least google these words below in Google Images to see the beauty of these mountains.

 

Winter at the North Pole.

Many people speak about the Michigan’s winter as a long winter. I looked up the winter in the North Pole, and besides some amazing pictures, I found out the Michigan’s winter is not as bad.

The winter in the North Pole has 9 months of winter as 3 months of summer. “In both summer and winter, a mass of very dense cold air hovers over the Arctic.”

It is cold and dry winter. North Pole could be called an icy desert. The skies are usually very clear during the winter, but that is only because the humidity is very low. Low humidity equals dry winter. And it can North Pole can be called ice desert “because the sea is frozen, water cannot evaporate, so rainfall is as low as in the Earth’s deserts.”

Another photo of the North Pole´s night.
Another photo of the North Pole´s night.

Surprisingly, there are some places on Earth like Siberia, which are colder during Winter than the North Pole. The North Pole’s temperature in winter is about -40°C (-40°F), but in Siberia can be as low as -67°C. ( -88.6°F).

The "icy desert" at The North Pole.
The “icy desert” at The North Pole.

The Michigan’s winter does not sound that bad anymore.

“The Climate and the North Pole.” The Climate and the North Pole. Jeanlouisetienne, n.d. Web. 08 Feb. 2016.

Creativity.Creativit.Creativi.Creativ.Creati.Creat.Crea.Cre.Cr.C.

Being Creative. I heard this many times from my teacher, professor, coach, parents, and friends. The study that I have read last year found out that people who have messier desks tend to be more creative than people who have highly organized desks. If you are interested in this study here is the reference.

Last year I was reading The New York Times and there was a completely two blank pages.

Two blanks pages at The New York Times as a commercial.
Two blanks pages at The New York Times as a commercial.

It is a commercial and in the bottom it says, wordsarelife.com.

This is from the New York Times website of how much ads cost.

Self-Service campaign costs range from a low daily minimum of $50 for a minimum of 5 days, to a maximum of $10,000, and there are absolutely no additional fees for ad customization. How much you spend is completely up to you. You set your budget and we tell you how many times your ad will appear on NYTimes.com.

It seems like some people think completely differently. Probably, everyone would put as much information about their advertising product on those two pages because it is super expensive to buy two pages in New York Times.

Here is another example, please watch this following video.

For those who do not follow hockey that much, Kuznetsov (white jersey, number 92) is expected by everyone to go behind the net and continue most likely to the other side corner. Then pass the puck to the defense on the blue line, someone on the top of the circles, hold the puck or he is expected to stop behind the net or wait for the options to open up for a pass. But he instead goes behind the net and just throw the puck behind him for white 65, and he scores.

Based on this article and this article, these two paintings are one of the most creative paintings.

Red Square by Kasimir Malevich, 1915
Red Square by Kasimir Malevich, 1915
Airplane Flying by Kasimir Malevich,1915
Airplane Flying by Kasimir Malevich,1915

So what is your definition of creativity?

A Word on Lent

Lent

There’s this app on the iPhone called 1 Second Everyday that I’m using to commemorate my study abroad trip in Ireland. It’s a really cool concept of making a video of your entire trip by filming one second every day that captures the essence of the day, then mashing all those seconds together to make a two minute video, give or take. You can preview it so you can see what your video looks like so far, and so I did that three days ago on Monday, two days before the start of Lent.

What did I see? Some pretty incredible moments – views, ballets, nights out with friends. But I also saw my off days in which I filmed myself watching Netflix. (Lame I know.) I was so angry at myself for doing this, and the more I thought about it, the more I realized how dependent I’d grown on Netflix and how much of my day revolved around it. It was an everyday occurrence and I KNOW it was just killing all my brain cells one by one, with every episode or movie I watched.

So I asked myself, What has happened to me? I used to be eager to get home from school to finish book after book after book, not flip open my computer to watch the latest episode of whatever. Even last semester I discovered that I liked to write poetry and fell into a creative routine of coffee shops, books, and writing every day (not that that was a good thing for my budget, but it worked wonders for the soul). With the shifting seasons, I switched my routine to Netflix and my couch. Every single day this happened, and I felt horrible about myself.

I like to think I live by the quote found in the famous movie Dead Poets Society:

We don’t read and write poetry because it’s cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for. To quote from Whitman, “O me! O life!… of the questions of these recurring; of the endless trains of the faithless… of cities filled with the foolish; what good amid these, O me, O life?” Answer. That you are here – that life exists, and identity; that the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. That the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. What will your verse be?

It turns out, as I was watching that one second a day video just Monday, I wasn’t living into this quote as I once thought I was. I want to live a life of wondrous faith, applicable education, good literature and meaningful words, not a life dictated for me by a film on a computer screen. And so I knew what I needed to give up for this Lenten season to bring me back to those things: Netflix. And even though it’s only been a day without it, I already feel a change in myself growing. The cobwebs are being dusted off of the bookshelf. My brain cells are being regained with every page I turn of Angela’s Ashes (a perfect book to start off with while I’m in Ireland). My heart is already reaching out to be just a centimeter closer to God – something Netflix has barred me from for a long time.

I love this picture I took while walking from Bray to Graystone in Ireland. I think it's the perfect reminder of what awaits us at the end of this Lenten season.
I love this picture I took while walking from Bray to Graystone in Ireland. I think it’s the perfect reminder of the promise that awaits us at the end of this Lenten season.

It’s a beautiful feeling: to feel like I am gleaning the good things that the world has to offer me. This Lenten season will be challenging, but I’m excited for the potential it is handing to me, and for the relationship with God I’m going to have the aspiration to foster.

 

 

 

Michigan: Winter / Spring / Winter

Last week, I saw some students were throwing a football in the Pine Grove. It was sunny, the snow had melted, and there was a cool breeze. They were wearing shorts.

Columbia is full of snow.
Columbia is basically just snow right now.

Today, some guys ran from Durfee to a pile of snow outside of Phelps Dining Hall. It was 20 degrees out. They jumped on their backs and quickly got up, squealing. They were only wearing shorts.

streetlight + tree
It’s really cold outside. I took this picture as fast as possible.

Such is life in Holland, Michigan. For those out of state who may be unfamiliar, Michigan gets the best of every type of weather, multiple times a year. The weather is unpredictable.

It started snowing last night, and it’s supposed to snow until Saturday. Holland is experiencing a genuine blizzard.

At first, everyone loves the snow! If you read a recent post of mine, you’ll know that I love a good hike in the winter. But in day-to-day life, it’s hard to walk around campus when you forget to wear boots. My Adidas are getting pretty nasty.

We love the beauty of the snow, but we don’t love the practical reality of snow. There is a metaphor in there somewhere. We love dreams, ideas, the future, etc., but the day to day grind tests us.

Love the snow. Love wet socks. Love Michigan.

A Blog Post Dedicated to Food

One of my favorite things about living in a cottage with my sorority sisters is that there is always someone in the kitchen cooking. I feel like I spend most of my time in or around the kitchen for that reason alone. The kitchen is my safe space, a place where I am free to create something really, really delicious. But the best part of it all is when I get to try different foods that I’ve never tried before. Who would say no to food, honestly? Not me. I am so thankful for sisters who love to share 🙂 Seeing as there is currently another snowstorm in the midst, all I really want to do is stay inside and cook something warm. Now that would be a perfect way to start my winter break! I hope you enjoy the following photos of food that I have taken—hope it doesn’t make you too hungry!

IMG_1309 IMG_1314 IMG_1317 IMG_1318 IMG_1320

What to Give Up for Lent?

Today is Ash Wednesday, a day which marks the first day of the season of Lent. We celebrate Lent as a reflection of Christ’s forty-day fast in the desert and his enduring of Satan’s temptation, as recorded in the Synoptic gospels. Many Christians choose to observe this season by fasting from something like television or chocolate, while others choose to actually fast from meals (many people will eat one modest meal each day), and others choose to observe Lent in their hearts without much specific outward expression.

5 марта 2014, Великое повечерие в среду первой седмицы Великого поста / 5 March 2014, The Great Compline on Wednesday of the first week of Lent
Image by Saint-Petersburg Theological Academy on Flickr.

I am usually not incredibly successful in holding fast to the things that I give up for Lent. This year, a friend and I had the idea to give up coffee; this would be probably the most constant reminder of my need for the Lord that I can possibly think of. I get up for work at 4:30 or 5:30 a.m. every weekday, so when I make it to JP’s afterward, I usually feel pretty justified in buying a cup of coffee and getting my work done for the day. That’s how I am most productive. Also, since I drink coffee almost every day, I am afraid that if I give it up, I will find myself with a 40-day migraine. I am not trying to make excuses, but just to illustrate that my personal well-being might not be in great shape if I give up coffee for Lent. Maybe that is all the more reason that I should do it and just trust God to take care of the rest. I didn’t drink it today, just in case I decide to really go for it for Lent, but I am not fully committed yet.

However, I am fully committed to a few other things. One thing I want to give up this Lent is some of my time. Too often, I let my schedule fill up with so much schoolwork, and so many meetings and extracurriculars, and I do not take nearly enough time to spend with the Lord. My aim is to read at least four pages in my Bible each day (four to eight chapters, generally), to dedicate myself far more fully to prayer, and to write at least one song each week. I am hopeful that I can stick to these ways of spending my time, because I think that they will really be beneficial in keeping the saving work of Christ at the forefront of my mind during this season of Lent.

What are you giving up for Lent? Send me an email at kathryn.krieger@hope.edu or tweet me at @hopekathryn17!

‘Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’’

—Matthew 4:4

A Check Off the Hope Bucket List

Today the ladies of Van Vleck Hall and I checked a dream off our Hope College Bucket list: Kelly Knapp agreed to having us over for a baking party at her house.

Yep. We got to bake cookies in the President’s house.

The President of Hope College's victorian style house
The President’s house sits between Durfee Hall and Voorhees Hall along 10th street.

The inside is just as beautiful as you think it would be.

It was built in 1886, 20 years after Hope College was established. Most of the furniture in the house has been donated to the college. It has pretty wooden floors, two fireplaces (one in operation), a beautiful, old Steinway piano, a large kitchen with a huge island counter, and the neatest microwave that pulls out like a drawer.

Kitchen counter and oven
The Knapp’s kitchen

We all gathered in the kitchen where Mrs. Knapp had all the ingredients that she was kind enough to get for us set out on the counter. We split up and made her favorite family sugar cookie dough recipe that she uses for some of their patio parties where they invite students to hang out on their patio, eat food, and socialize. We split up the dough and made sugar cookies, snicker doodles, chocolate chip cookies, and also made a separate dough for lemon cookies.

Some of our first cookies getting ready to go in the oven. Photo creds to the wonderful Emily Veldman.
photographic evidence of the VV crew baking away thanks to Emily Veldman.

While we baked and the cookies were in the oven we chatted with Mrs. Knapp about all kinds of things like dogs (Presidents can have pets, but the Knapp’s do not), movies, and Mrs. Knapp’s college experience. It was just a great opportunity to experience in a new way the kindness of Hope’s small community and how lucky we are to have leaders like Mrs. Knapp that are happy to invite us into her home to chat and make cookies. President Knapp even stopped by a little bit before we were done to chat and try a snicker doodle.

The VV crew with Kelly Knapp on the far left. Thanks to Emily for capturing a group shot 🙂
The thank you card we made for Mrs. Knapp

As we made our way out I thanked Mrs. Knapp for the Hope College bucket list experience. She laughed, gave me a hug, and said she was happy to help us check something off the bucket list.

Hope’s people really are the best kind of people.

Thanks for reading!
~Erin

If you have any question feel free to reach me at erin.hoolahan@hope.edu
You can also find me on Twitter and Instagram for more thoughts about and pictures of Hope.

Great Scot! (Scotland)

Wow, readers. What a crazy weekend. Did you watch the Super Bowl yesterday?? I was sad I couldn’t watch it because of the time difference, but I bet the halftime show was great!

So this past weekend was the first weekend that I left Ireland to go to a different country – Edinburgh, Scotland, to be exact. It was a learning experience, what with planning travel and sleeping arrangements by myself and actually following through with it, but Edinburgh turned out to be an absolutely amazing city. Let me walk you through some of my adventures!

The first thing I noticed was that Dublin and Edinburgh were different kinds of old. Where Dublin has a lot of old history mixed with very recent history, Edinburgh has tons of Gothic history, as shown in the architecture of their buildings. Because of this, the city feels like something straight out of fairytale with towering Gothic cathedrals right in front of you, and beautiful hills and mountains in the background.

This is the largest monument erected for a writer in the world! It’s for the writer Sir Walter Scott (a Scotsman) and has amazing Gothic architecture.
You could climb all the way to the top of Scott’s Monument in a spiral staircase and this was just part of the way up!
Many of the buildings were made with stone that was absorbent. Scotland used to be a very smoky city, and so the stones absorbed the smoke, giving them a darker color and a more Gothic feel.
The view from the top of Scott’s Monument!
This was a Cathedral in the center of town – beautiful!

Edinburgh is also a very small city, with the more modern part of the city to the north, and the old historic part of town being to the south. Our hostel was on the south side, and so Meg and I spent most of our time on the south side in a vicinity called the Royal Mile. This street has the famous Edinburgh Castle on the western most end of the street, and the Palace of Holyrood (where the Queen of England stays during her trips to Scotland!) on the East side. We took walking tours and explored the city for hours resulting in us discovering some of the best lunches and sweet treats the city had to offer!

This is me in front of the crazy cool Edinburgh Castle – it was fantastic.
Edinburgh Castle had some cool architecture!
The entrance to Holyrood Palace!
Inside Holyrood Palace, this courtyard was called the Quadrangle. Interesting.

Another thing about Edinburgh that I found very interesting is that it is where J.K. Rowling first wrote the Harry Potter books! Because of this, many of the places/people found in the books are inspired from the places/people of the city. Upon finding this out, Meg and I knew that we had to do a walking tour highlighting all of the little Harry Potter-isms the city had to offer. We saw the cafe where J.K. Rowling first wrote Harry Potter, a cemetery where she got a ton of her inspiration for the books, and got to hear about the history of the city as well.

This was the bathroom wall in The Elephant House cafe – it’s become a thank you wall to J.K. Rowling and a Dumbledoor’s Army list. So cool!
This is the cafe where J.K. Rowling wrote many of the Harry Potter books – table 12 if we’re going to be technical. They also have the best shortbread I’ve ever eaten.
A solidification for J.K. Rowling that the last name for Harry should be “Potter.”
J.K. Rowling walked through this cemetery often and got her inspiration for many names in the book from here. This gravestone bears the name Tom Riddle – sound familiar?
This gravestone was the inspiration for the character Professor McGonagall in the Harry Potter books!

It was a fantastic two days, and this was just a taste of what we experienced. If you have any questions or comments about my travels, please ask! I love talking about the different things I’ve done/will do!

Until next time, Readers!

From the East to the West: What the Across-State Transition Is Really Like

Sometimes you don’t know there are better places for you other than the one you grew up in until you’re thrust into them.

I’d never lived anywhere but the suburbs of Detroit, whether it be Birmingham or Troy, MI. These places were comfortable to me. I’d been on vacations, but those places never felt like home to me. When I began living in a place other than my hometown, I was shocked at how well I fit into the culture and even more shocked at how I never realized that I didn’t fit into my hometown culture.

Here are a few similarities and differences that I noticed between my hometown and Holland.

Similar: There are malls, shopping centers, grocery stores, and small downtown areas.

Different: Once you get a little past Holland, all of that disappears and you’re left with farmland. At home, you won’t find a field for miles.

Similar: Both are very populated with families and people.

Different: In Holland, people tend to have younger families, with younger parents having kids earlier. In addition, people here seem to be more relaxed than on the East side. Road rage is definitely not as strong on the West.

Similar: Lots of churches can be seen in both cities.

Different: In Holland and at Hope, there’s a huge emphasis on faith. Yes, there are a lot of churches at home, but I just find that it filters into every aspect of life around here.

Similar: There are people that love you in both places.

Different: My family is back home and I’m here. Sometimes it’s a little rough seeing them all at home together and feeling like I’m missing out. However, I’m getting an experience they will never have here at Hope!

Similar: Certain trends and statements, ie. Music, Facebook memes, the Superbowl.

Different: Fashion statements. Chacos and socks? A sundress for every sunny day? An entire Patagonia (informally known as Patagucci here at Hope) wardrobe? Yes, those are actual trends for young people on the West side.

There are a lot of similarities and differences between my hometown and Hope. One thing I know for sure is that I’ve made Hope my Home, at least for the time being. I’ve come to realize that Holland’s laid back, easy-going and friendly attitude is one that suits me well.

Thanks for reading,
Brooke