So Long for Now...

Hello friends!

I hope this post finds you well, and for all of you preparing for and/or enduring finals- good luck! 

This week has been full of finals, nights out with friends, a final trip to Castlerock, good-byes, and packing. My mom arrived yesterday and we have been running around the city together; it's been wonderful to have her here and I am so glad that she has been able to see where I've been living and also meet some of my friends. It's weird though too because I still remember when we bought our tickets home together early on in the summer; our trip seemed so far off and I can't believe how quickly it has arrived! The last few months have flown and while I am excited to be at home again, I am also realizing how much I will miss Derry. This has been an amazing experience and I have been blessed by the experiences I have had and the wonderful people I have met. 

That being said, thank you so much for taking the time to read my blog- I hope it was a good read :-) And thank you all for the emails, thoughts, and prayers- they were definitely felt and I am so grateful for the zillions of ways God has blessed and taught me during my time here.

I am excited to see you all again whether that be at home during Christmas or back at school in January!

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!

Until we meet again :-)

Love,

Sara

The Beginning of the End...

So I can't believe how quickly these last few months have flown- one more week of classes! Crazy! Mary-Claire decided to leave a week early, since she is spending the next semester in France (!), so we decided to have a last night out at Peadar's on Monday night. 

I took a short video of Monday night's session which was a pretty fun one; unfortunately though there was a bus load of loud, drunken tourists so it was harder than usual to hear the musicians.

Peadar's has become one of my favorite places to hang out in Derry. There's music every night and the pub has a fun, comfortable atmosphere. So if you ever find yourself in Derry you should definitely check it out :-) There are usually far more people than there are places to sit, which usually leads to sharing benches with absolute strangers who soon become friends as the night goes on- whether you like it or not :-) 

I've had some interesting conversations with people there who have spent some time in America and have really made me think about our culture back home. On Monday we met Jason who was surprised by how unfriendly Americans are. He said most people ignored him or told him to "go away," whereas in Derry it's totally normal to start conversations with strangers on the street. I really hope that I will take the small-town friendliness I've experienced here back to the States with me. We also met Margaret who told us she loves how people look after one another here. I've found that to be so true in my experience here on campus; whenever I run into friends they always ask how I'm "gettin' on," checking up on me to make sure I'm doing well. I feel like in the States I fall into using "how are you?" as a greeting without really caring to hear the answer, something that definitely doesn't work here! As soon as the phrase rolls out of my mouth, the person stops walking and turns around to talk- even if they're running late for class. I love it! Being here has made me realize how valuable relationships with friends and family are, and how important it is to make sure they know that I care about them.