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.
2 comments:
Smac, it's good to hear what you're up to! And interesting too. Just a quick thought on the George Bush portrait, I don't think we as Americans realize how much our country's policies influence the rest of the world. Because we are kind of the "world power." But it makes sense that other countries would be really attuned to what is going on in America because it affects them as well.
SO neat!!! What fun- to visit all those cities and run after trains and eat at that cool cafe! (I would be so mad if the train left without me- I wouldn't be able to contrain myself! But that is great that you could... choose to have fun. Being thankful in any situation is the right track.)
All puns aside... I am glad you are making friends, getting over fears, and exploring! I saw your fam and your dogs on Sunday and they are so wonderful! I miss you (we all do!) a lot! Love you!
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