A Week of Firsts

Hello again and Happy Day-Before-Halloween! I hope this post finds you well! I am quickly discovering that Derry is the place to be on Halloween and can't believe the mass of Halloween decorations all over the city. I have heard that around 30,000 people come to Derry for a night of fireworks, good craic, and drink. It should definitely be an interesting night...

This week has definitely been a week of firsts, which might be the best way to divide this post:

1. First concert in Derry!- I went with some friends to hear the Battlefield Band, a traditional music group from Scotland, which was amazing!! They played at Sandino's, a pretty popular bar in Derry. I had never been there before and from first impression it seems like a pretty eclectic place- especially with the FSLN signs along the walls :-) The music was great and it was fun to run into friends from uni; one of the students from the music department got up and played with the band which was awesome :-)

2. First visit to the Republic of Ireland: my favorite part is that we had no idea we were in the Republic :-) I went with Lacey and Hannah to Armagh, which is in Northern Ireland, but we had to change buses in Monaghan, a city we thought was in Northern Ireland. When we got to Monaghan I stopped by an ATM and was semi-annoyed with it because it wouldn't let me get pounds, only euros. I was about to go in the bank to ask whether the machine was busted but changed my mind after seeing ads along the walls with euro symbols. We thought it would be odd to stop someone and ask which country we were in so we stopped into a cafe and checked the price list and saw some flyers that confirmed that we were in the Republic and not in the North :-) 

Armagh was a fun city to visit; we visited the site where St. Patrick established the first church in Ireland, saw the ruins of an old friary, and tried to make sense of the human orrery at the observatory. Apparently a human orrery is a map of how planets and comets move throughout the year; the human factor meant that we could act out the movement of the planets and comets revolving around the sun. There were different stepping stones to show where to move around the sun/stepping stone in the center of the map. We had far too much fun with that (probably because we were exhausted from being out the night before) and I was Halley's comet (that's for you sister!!).

3. First time eating kangaroo: Yep, I had a kangaroo burger in Northern Ireland from a stand at an international market in town- probably not the best idea now that I think of it. Ironically enough it tasted like a veggie burger- in case you're wondering :-)

4. First time at the Student Union: We have a bar/club on campus and after my first visit I quickly decided that it wasn't quite my scene. Instead I have been going to Masons, a bar in the walled city, with friends. A couple of them are musicians and have been playing at open mic night which is a blast! I love hearing different musicians from around town while chatting with friends- it's great craic :-)

Other than that, there isn't too much to report. I'm still loving it here and can't believe October is pretty much over! Boy is time flying....

Dia duit!

Hello again! I hope this finds you well :-)

Thank you so much for emails and prayers- they were definitely felt this week as God decided to make me step out of my comfort zone on Tuesday night! I shared part of my testimony at CU which was absolutely terrifying but also a blessing. Terrifying because public speaking is one of my greatest fears and a blessing because God gave me the courage and the opportunity to share my story with my friends here. It was also neat to see how God connected my testimony with the greater theme of the evening- definitely a gift :-)

This weekend included trips to Castle Rock and Belfast. I had planned to head to Belfast with some friends on Friday, but that morning we decided to go leave on Saturday instead. Since my friend Hannah and I were already awake and ready to go we opted to take a train to Castle Rock to visit "Sconeland." (If you're ever in Castle Rock, be sure to visit Crusoes- they make the best scones in the world, hence the title "Sconeland.") It was a beautiful but chilly morning so Hannah and I walked along the beach talking and collecting shells. It was such a wonderful and peaceful way to spend a lazy Friday- we ran into lots of families and even watched some surfers for a bit. 

On our way home though we jumped on the wrong train and ended up in Coleraine for the evening. We thought we would be able to catch the train to Derry when we arrived at Coleraine, but just missed it. My favorite part was running and yelling after the train as it pulled out of the station- we must've been quite a site :-) Lucky for us, Coleraine is a pretty big city and we managed to kill time pretty quickly. 

On Saturday we finally made it to Belfast! On our way to the station we ran into a bunch of the German and French students who were also on their way to Belfast which helped the 2 hour train ride feel a bit shorter :-) The city felt much bigger than Derry and it was a great place to wander around and people-watch. We started our day at the market (which was like the farmer's market in Bozeman, only bigger) and got to see lots of neat artwork and jewelry. There was a band playing music there as well which made for a fun atmosphere. 

After the market we went to the Culturlann and met up with Grainne, my Irish language professor. The Culturlann is an old protestant church that has been turned into a cultural center with a bookstore, theater, radio station, gallery, and cafe. Grainne took us there for lunch and conversation- most people who visit the Culturlann speak the language pretty fluently. On our way to lunch she told us a little about the politics of the Irish language in Northern Ireland; apparently some people assume that those who speak the language in the North are Republican terrorists opposed to British rule. She didn't go into much detail though and explained to us that it is a complicated subject and isn't always black and white. I'm hoping to learn more about it in my Irish Heritage and Folklore class- we're supposed to have a lecture on it sometime soon... But politics aside, I had a wonderful time and met some great people with equally great stories. There were a few times where I thought I was going to die laughing! It was so much fun to hang out with Grainne and we ended up spending most of the day with her.

By the time we left the Culturlann shops were starting to close up so we spent the rest of the afternoon seeing some of the murals in Belfast and stopping by a few stores. There was one mural that really stuck out to me- there was a painting of George W. Bush and a caption below that read "America's Greatest Failure." It's really interesting to see how people in other parts of the world view American politics and foreign policy. People here are really in tune with what is going on in America which has encouraged me to pay more attention to what is going on at home. 

We made it back to Derry safely and with the intention of returning to Belfast sometime soon. While we definitely got to see a lot of the city, I feel like there is still so much to see and learn there! I definitely saw and heard a lot of things that really made me think and I am excited to continue to learn and experience more each day.

A Lethal Weekend

So before I continue, I just want to let you know that "lethal" is my new favorite word in Northern Irish slang. It is the equivalent of "sweet" or "cool" and I am all for adding it to the American lexicon :-)

Slang aside, I had an awesome weekend! On Friday the Whitworth British Isles Study Program came to Derry for the day- it was so wonderful to see friends from home! I didn't realize how much I had missed them until I saw them at the bus station- it was so weird to see people from home in Northern Ireland, almost like the colliding of two worlds, but it was so great to catch up on life with them :-) I tagged along with their class and got a historical tour of the city as well as a visit to the Free Derry Museum- something I will definitely have to visit again since I spent the majority of my time chatting rather than exploring the exhibits :-) I definitely felt my first wave of homesickness as I walked home in the rain after waving goodbye.

But God definitely has a knack for perfect timing; as soon as I got home I had to pack up and leave for the Christian Union retreat in Ballintoy which definitely helped alleviate my homesickness. I wasn't sure what to expect and was a bit anxious about going, but now I am so glad I went!

We stayed in a big house in the countryside complete with cows and a dirt road. It was so wonderful to be in a home and get to know people from the CU better; they are such fun, wonderful people and I am so grateful for the time we spent together. We had a speaker come and stay with us who had recently graduated from the University of Ulster at Coleraine; he spoke to us about living as a Christian in the university setting. I really appreciated what he had to say and am hoping to live it out during the rest of my time here and in Spokane when I return.

The weekend was filled with great conversation, Wii Olympics, games like Signs and Sardines, and a bit of driving around the coast. On Saturday we went to the Giant's Causeway which was a blast- the weather was amazing and it was great fun to play "outrun the waves without falling on your face" with my friends Sophie and Glenn. I was so proud of myself- I only crashed once on the Causeway rocks :-)

We stopped for drinks and cake at a cafe in Bushmills- I had the biggest hot chocolate I have ever seen in my life- and then headed to the beach for a bit. A few people walking along the beach stopped to laugh at us as we tried to get a good photo of us jumping using a camera set on a timer- we didn't quite get the whole timing bit down so it definitely took us a lot of tries. 

That night we played a bunch of games including the most intense game of Signs ever- the rules here are much different than those at Whitworth!

Sunday evening gave us a great time of group bonding :-) After we had packed the cars up to head back to the university, we found out one of the cars wouldn't start. No one had jumper cables (or jumplings as they're referred to here) so we proceeded to push the car up and down the hill to get it to start. After a zillion tries, a laying on of hands, and almost running the car into the house the car finally started- definitely a gift from God :-)

Coming back to campus after the CU Weekend, I feel more plugged into life here at Magee. It is great to feel included and to be closer to some of the other students on campus. I'm definitely beginning to come to terms with how short my time is here and am learning to appreciate and savor every moment of my experience in Northern Ireland.

Also, I feel like I should mention that the above pictures are all courtesy of a friend's facebook photo album- thanks Stewart! My wonderful dad is sending me his old camera so I hope I will be able to post more photos soon!

Slan go foill (Goodbye for now)!

What's the craic?

So, unfortunately this post will not be accompanied by any photos; I killed my camera in the Irish sea but am trying to revive it. My friend met a guy in Derry who said that white rice can somehow heal electronics from water damage- I guess I'll have to wait and see if it works :-)

Other than that this week has been great! I had my first real week of classes which was pretty awesome- I only have 9 hours of class a week with a 4 day weekend, a system the U.S. education system should definitely adopt :-) However, since classes here are pretty independent we have to do a lot of outside reading and research; but it isn't too bad when you get to pick the topic to dive deeper into. I'm enrolled in Oral and Aural Irish, Genocide and International Politics, and Irish Heritage and Folklore Studies- so far they all seem like they'll be interesting classes.

This weekend I went to Castlerock with a few friends (where my camera met it's untimely end). It's a really tiny town just north of Derry and is literally right on the coast. We went to the beach and ran around for a while which was great, especially after being cooped up in our flats all week because of the rain. From the beach we were able to see the top of the Mussenden Temple and started walking towards it. We ended up walking along the cliffs which was pretty nerve-racking because of the wind. Luckily, the National Trust anticipates such crazy walks by tourist and made a trail that led down the cliff, across the dam, and up to the Temple and Downhill house. Mussenden Temple was quite a sight, especially since it is also on its way into the sea, like Dunluce Castle. Both the Temple and the Downhill house were built by Frederick Hervey who served as Bishop of Derry in 1768 and as Earl of Bristol in 1778. Unfortunately, the house was destroyed in a fire, but different groups have been working to restore and protect the building. I think my favorite part of the outing was witnessing some sort of relay race/triathlon. While we were standing near the Temple my friend Hannah asked, "Are we in trouble?" We turned around and tons of people in neon vests were running (very quickly I might add) out of the Downhill house and straight towards us. We thought they might be some sort of National Trust security so we turned towards the ocean and pretended to look at the view trying to look like lost tourists (and probably succeeding). They ran past us and straight towards a hanging basket with maps inside and after seeing their bike helmets and the vests that read "Jeep" we weren't real sure what to make of the situation. We later found out that they were competing in a triathlon/relay and one of their checkpoints was at the Temple. One of the race photographers told us they had to run, bike, and do all sorts of activities including eating a ton of ice cream- sounds like my kind of race :-)

This morning I went to a church called Cornerstone with my friend from the Christian Union named Lauren.  The church was wonderful! Everyone was so friendly and welcoming and the worship and message were great! We are planning on going back for their night service which is supposed to be geared towards students. It was such a blessing to worship God with my brothers and sisters across the pond- the fellowship was refreshing and I am so excited to see God at work here in Northern Ireland!!