4 more days?!!!

This morning I finished two in class essays, which leaves me with only one paper compilation and revision and then I'm done with homework for the semester! Yesterday I also finished a final research paper for literature as well as a final presentation for my art class! Things wrapping up quickly and I am so excited to get to come home soon! Here are a few photos from the whirlwind trip to London and Oxford. It was a fun weekend, but I definitely have more to see there. Next time!

The Thames, parliament buildings, and big ben.



Buckingham Palace at night. You can't see it in this picture but the flag was up and the queen was in.



Madysen and Me with one of the lions at Trafalgar's Square.



Oxford. The Eagle and Child pub is where C.S. Lewis and JRR Tolkien and other literary minds (They called themselves the Inklings) used to meet together. We ate dinner there.



My attempt to be photojournalistic. Pretty leaves and the back of the "New Building" at Magdalen College in Oxford where C.S. Lewis taught. The building is in the movie Shadow Lands (about C.S. Lewis). And by new building it means that it was built in the 1700s instead of the sixteenth century. crazy.



The entrance to the botanical gardens in Oxford.



I took this one for dad. There's a john deere on the right and real deer on the left. The deer are kept in a large grassy area at the college, weird.



Carrie and Me with London's Tower Bridge behind us.



It's crazy, but we just have 4 days to go before we head home. I've been getting a little nostalgic I'll miss Northern Ireland, but I'm so excited for home!!!

Weekend to the city

I just packed to go to London, but only for the weekend...Isn't that crazy?! I'm excited, though! Our group is going to spend one day in oxford and parts of 2 days in London. Hopefully I'll get a chance to write a bit about it when i get back, but things will be crazy busy because we'll only have a week left!

A couple of photos from a little afternoon christmas party at the home of our art professor's parents today. They served us minced pies and even had Christmas crackers for us. They're a nice couple and both are actually practicing artists themselves. And they have a really old and adorable home.

The goodies in their cute kitchen...



Some of us girls w/ the crowns from our Christmas crackers.

Accent!

Last week we read an Irish play in our literature class. Most of it was written as they would say the words. So nearly all of the characters gave a shot at their best irish accents. One thing that I've noticed since being here is that there are about as many different accents as there are towns, so imitating the accent has been difficult. And the read through turned out some really funny pronunciations and changing of accents.

Yesterday I was talking to a couple of my friends from JBU and they wanted my to try my best Irish accent. I realize that I'm miserable, but I gave it a shot and we had a good laugh.

Then last night 3 of us girls decided that we needed to work on our accent because that's what everyone will expect when we're home. Good thinking, since we'll be here for a mere 11 days! We laughed a lot. I don't know if I got any better at my accent, but i may have learned some new irish phrases! Oh, and by the way, we found that the easiest was to practice the Northern Irish Accent is through being extra-dramatic!
(note: both of these incidents happening while I probably should have been working on my papers, oops!)

THEN last I woke up this morning for a dream about accents! I was talking w/ a british man who was imitating accents as well! Weird. I think that when I leave I'll miss hearing a REAL Northern Irish Accent. I guess I'll have to soak it up while I can!

Thanksgiving in the UK

Two weeks left in Northern Ireland!

I really have not done a good job with keeping up and writing new posts very often! Believe it or not, my personal journal is even worse. i just really have a hard time sitting down and writing, especially if there's nothing super-profound in my head to put on the page. I think what keeps me writing here at least every once in a while is that i can get a comment or two. I'm very relational and a chance for even a little human interaction can spur me on (thanks, sara!).

Things have been really busy here lately. Yesterday (thanksgiving thursday) we had a paper due and class in Belfast. It was our last day to spend in Belfast, which was kind of sad! It was a good day, although very blustery and cold. But then our professor canceled lectures for today and postponed our papers in the spirit of thanksgiving. I was VERY thankful for that because i've been getting a bit stressed and emotional lately, so the break was nice and i actually got sleep because i wasn't having to write a paper!

Today was our big Thanksgiving feast. I was really impressed with how much of the home comfort food we had! Mashed potatoes were probably my favorite. You'd think with all of the potatoes that they have here in Ireland they could mash a few. But ordering them at a restaurant means that you get boiled potatoes with maybe some butter that have been beaten up a bit, but NOT mashed and creamy! And we had an overabundance of cranberry sauce. We probably could have served cranberry sauce to five times the amount of people that we had. I just thought that was a bit humorous. And we even had an assortment of pies for dessert. It was a fun way to celebrate as a conglomeration of people that, over the past few months, have become a sort of a family.

It feels as if the weathers getting even colder. But I think that the highs are actually in the 40's. It seems bitterly cold, though, I think because it's blustery and a wet cold that seems to seep in. The lack of sunlight as of late (except for today, it was clear!) could also contribute to the cold feeling. Another thing that the houses are a bit drafty and heated by radiators as opposed to central heating, and they never really seem to do the trick! All of that means wearing lots of layers and taking numerous tea breaks throughout the day! I think that's a habit that I'd like to keep up when I get home. Tea breaks are just lovely!

Slieve Donard

I woke up this morning to a clear fall day in the north of Ireland. I thought to myself: What better to do with this day than climb a mountain? So I asked a few friends to come with me and we set off for the Mourne Mountains, just a few miles away, to begin our hike.

This was my first time climbing a mountain, and i guess by mountain comparisons it's not really that big (2700-ish feet) but Slieve Donard is the higest peak in Northern Ireland and the second highest on the island. By the way, "slieve" is the Irish (or Gaelic) word for mountain. I went with 2 other ladies from our trip, one who has done it once already this semester. I was a bit chilly out today, but really cold and super-windy and probably below freezing at the top, but such a clear day! The view was amazing! Not only could we see so much of the Northern Ireland landscape, we could also make out the Isle of Man, Scotland, and England. The whole hike (up and down) took us about 3 hours and 45 minutes, but the way up was pretty steep and coming down was a definitely faster. I'm tired and the legs and bum are a but sore but it sure does feel good to say that i've climbed a mountain!

This is about 30 minutes into the hike--tree line and ocean behind me.



At the top--Madysen, me, and Mollie. A nice man from New Zealand took our photo for us.



a view on the descent. That all is an ancient shepherd's wall and goes up several of the Mournes.



Another funny side note--about an hour into the hike, we were passed by a man who was about 65, I'd say. He said he comes to the Mournes about twice a week to climb. When we were walking back through town to the bus station, we saw him showered and dressed and coming out of a restaurant. He's my new hero.

nightfall and cattle

So I went for a jog the other day at 4:30. the sun was setting. It gets dark so early here! and it makes me really tired in the evenings! I've got to learn to push through this because i have a bunch of homework to be doing. It's also getting colder. I associate it with the darkness but it's more likely just the arrival of fall.

Please pray for unity in our group. We've been together for two months and frustration with each other is apparent. I'm recognizing the selfishness within as well. I was discussing this with my roommate and she pointed out that i'm realizing it and that's good. The closer we get to God the more we will see the sinfulness of ourselves in comparison to his perfection. I pray that this is what it is for me.

So an interesting thing about Northern Ireland. Cattle guards...everywhere--why? Free range cattle. When we go to the beach on Murlough Nature Reserve a couple of miles from our homes it's not uncommon to meet random cows in the path. It's even more common to have to weave my way through their dumpings. what fun. It's quaint, though, and i think i've decided that I like to see the cattle grazing on the dunes, even if i have to leave my running shoes at the door because of them.

Roma!

So, Rome was amazing! Really, I don't know why it wouldn't be, but the whole trip went so smoothly and for that I am thankful. I came away feeling more confident in my ability to navigate and travel. Our time was restful as well. We hit the major highlights but also just took time to stroll and enjoy the quaint streets, the variety of people, and, of course, the food!

We traveled all day on Thursday to get to Carrie's (my roommate) uncle's apartment located in the heart of the ancient city of Rome. The apartment was just a few minutes walk from the Pantheon, Spanish Steps, as well as the Trevi Fountain. I was amazed by how walkable the city is. We didn't end up using public transportation except for to and from the airport.

So, Thursday evening we met up with Carrie and her boyfriend and 4 others from our ireland study group also spending their break in italy. It was Elizabeth's birthday, so we met the group to go to dinner to help celebrate. Nothing like authentic Italian to sustain the weary traveler!

Friday Jeran and I walked around the ancient city, it was fun to just look around trying to take it all in. It's amazing to see so many really ancient structures and imagine that they were all used a couple thousand years ago!

Saturday we accidentally slept longer than we meant to but decided to head to the Vatican anyway. We stood in line for 2 hours to get into the Vatican Museum and then walked through it for another couple of hours before ending at the Sistine Chapel along side hundred of others. I'm really glad that we got to see it all, but we were tired from all of that standing! So we went and sat in the square in front of St Peter's Basilica for a while. We wanted to go into the church and see the great view but the line was incredibly long. Due to our morning of standing, we opted for people watching and soaking up a bit of sun (it was probably in the low 70s!) instead. We took our time getting back that afternoon and strolled through the streets. It was fun to not worry about exact directions and just take nice side streets. We also enjoyed a bit of gelato on the in front of the pantheon--a wonderful afternoon if you ask me.

Carrie's uncle is the pastor of Rome Baptist Church and we attended sunday school and church there sunday morning. It is an english speaking church as is very multi-cultural, which was really great to be a part of. Their african fellowship was celebrating it's 7th year and sang some special songs in addition to preparing lunch for the congregation afterwards--it was really fun! At lunch, Jeran and i met 3 girls around our age. Two of them were american students studying in Rome and one girl was from Finland and taking a year off of school and working in Rome. We all hit it off and agreed to meet up for dinner that night where Zaina (from finland) is waitressing. Jeran and I spent the afternoon at the Roman Forum, the Coloseum, and doing a bit of shopping. We met the girls for dinner and it was so much fun! We sat and talked for a couple of hours and it just amazes me how the body of Christ unites people that previously had not much in common! Afterward, Sarah, an architecture student from California took us to get cappuccinos at her favorite coffee shop. It was probably the best one I'd ever had. The Italians sure know how to do it! It was a lovely way to spend our last night in rome!

This photo looks as if the backround of the coloseum is imposed behind me, but I'm really there. I think it's just the combo of the flash and the sun setting on one side. Funny, though.




Mamertine Prison--oldest prison in the world and Paul was imprisoned here.



A view of the Roman Forum.



Jeran and I at the Trevi Fountain at night. This was one of Jeran's highlights of the trip.



A view from our bedroom window at night. And a view from the bathroom window during the day.



Tiber river with the dome of St. Peter's Basilica in the background.




The square by the pantheon...



Jeran and I in a green-lighted tunnel thing after dinner one night.



Gelato!



The front of the Pantheon at night...beautiful!



Me, Zaina, Jeran, Sarah, and Danni--new friends from church on our last evening in Italy.



*A lot of these photos are taken by Jeran or with her camera because I ran out of batteries on day 2. and she's a photography major, so that explains some of the really great pictures! Thanks, Jer!

Fall Break!

I leave tomorrow (Thursday) for Rome! My friend Jeran and I will be traveling together. I'm really excited yet a bit nervous, never having traveled internationally before. But hey, there's no time like the present to learn, right? We'll be navigating by ourselves, but there are several others in our group also going to be in Rome. We will be staying with my roommate here in Ireland at her aunt and uncle's apartment, she's on a different flight and will meet us there. I'm looking forward to seeing the ancient city and to having some quality downtime! It's supposed to rain quite a bit this week, but we won't let that stop us! I'll be back on Monday night, so I hope to update with some photos of break then. Ciao!

Bits and pieces

The big new in Dundrum this week is that we finally got internet in our homes! This will help with school work as well as with communication (and not getting so behind w/ blog updates)!

A couple of weeks ago, our literature professor took us for coffee at this really nice hotel called the Slieve Donnard Hotel (named after the highest mountain). It was nice and really fun. This is our professor with me. He really is friendly even if he doesn't look like it here, i guess he doesn't like smiling for photos. But he is so enthusiastic and knowledgeable and makes the literature really interesting. He's also really nice and takes us for coffee, it's great!























The mourne mountains "sweeping down to the sea" in the backround. That's a famous line in an Irish folk song.

I went through my worst spell of homesickness so far at the beginning of the week. It's just hard to be away sometimes. But I know that God has blessed my tremendously and that He's using this time to grow me! I'm so thankful for some great communication with friends and family!





This past weekend Jaren and I went to Portadown, an hour from where we are staying, to visit an old family friend of mine. Steven worked for my family on the harvest for 4 or 5 years when i was little. He and his family showed us great hospitality. We had such a great time being with a family for the weekend, it was a great change of pace. This kids seemed to really like us and they were just precious with their irish accents. Gail, steven's wife, told me that as Jeran and i were getting ready to leave Abby, who is 4 years old asked "Mummy, if I stop being cheeky will they stay?" So cute.

I took this photo from my bedroom window one morning. Anyone jealous? I am so blessed!

Tollymore

I wrote a couple of posts ago that we visited this beautiful place, but now here are finally a few picture so you can see what i mean!

A little bit of fall...





Me, Lauren, Meg, Carrie.

I loved the forest! it was beautiful and the weather was gorgeous! God's creation is brilliant!

Different computer, got it to work

This is my friend Jeran and I on the top of Scrabo Tower. It overlooks Strangford Lough in the backround.

Life is pretty quiet in Dundrum. It’s a town about the size of Inman. It’s been frustrating to me lately that people in our group are complaining about being bored. When ever in our lives are we going to get an opportunity like this to take life so slowly…in Ireland?!! I’ve found it to be so great for having time to think and pray. God’s challenging me to commit my thoughts and longings about being home and w/ friends/family into prayers for them. Because if I really love them, that’s what I should be doing most anyway! The experience has been good even if it’s just for that. But I’m sure I’ll be learning a lot more as well.

We’ll be approaching week six here and that is when they’ve told us that culture shock usually sets in the hardest. So prayers for our group are welcome! It seems as though the honeymoon phase has passed and people are beginning to show more of true selves. Only 15 people being together most of the time has a tendency to do that, I guess. But I think that this is also the time when we can have the most growth. I hope that we can make decisions to grow as a community and not tear each other down. That’s what I’m praying for.

Classes are great. Since we only have each class once a week we get a good chance to think everything through. It’s nice to be able to actually read for content and not just rushed to memorize so I can get everything done. Irish literature is really interesting. I enjoy reading and Derrick Bingham, our professor and published author, has such an inspiring passion about it. Through him we’ll be meeting some big names in Ireland. He has connections with a famous artist here, Ross Wilson, who met with us during our first week here. This next week we’ll go to one of his friend’s house who has an amazing personal irish art collection. He was also a big person in writing about the troubles and he wants to share a little bit with us about reconciliation since and growth of the country since then. I’m really excited about that!

This was supposed to be a long one

So I was going to put up a long blog that i typed up at home today, but the library computer won't let me get to my jump drive! but it's been a gorgeous day. We spent a couple of hours in Tollymore Forest which is beautiful! And my friend and i are going to try to run home from Newcastle (where the library is). It's 4 miles, it may be more walking, but we'll enjoy the day.

There has been talk of getting wireless internet at our holiday homes. The manager of our houses said it could be Tueday. I'm not holding my breath, Ireland life is not on that strict of a time schedule. It could be a few weeks...

A few visuals

Finally the chance to add a few photos!

The first couple were taken the first week, and arguably one of the nicest and most beautiful that we've spent here. It was 3 mile hike around part of the North Coast on the way to see Giants Causeway. The causeway was cool, but i preferred the views from the hike! The girls here are all on our trip, Jordan, Meg, and Carrie (my roommate) on the right.

A beautiful afternoon walk at my home for the semester...

These photos were from our first week of touring. They are at the remains of an 11th century (i think) monastary.
There's a legend behind the trough. The man who was dress like a monk spoke asked us if he could tell us a legend that was not Christian. If a man lies in the coffin and fits he'll die within a year. But if a woman lies in it and fits she will be married withing the year. No worries, Chris, it's official now!

I know this one's a bit blurry, but it's our group at Stormont, the Northern Ireland parliament building. We're actually in the members' lounge here because 2 of the members spoke with our group and then just walked us around a bit and talked with us. We got to go where they have their votes and debates and to sit in the members' seats. Then they treated us to tea in their lounge. It epitomized Ireland in my mind. They were so friendly and witty. They did not worry about time but about fostering relationships. it was a great experience!

A common view of the bus/van mode of transportation that our group uses to get around. Which isn't actually very often because we only activate the insurance on a day when we use it. So we will really only be using it to travel to our class at Queen's in Belfast on Thursdays and to church on Sundays. After church, if they days are nice, we will be trying go see an attraction close by--milk the uses out of our day of insurance!

This is a view from just outside of our town. Beautifulpastureland! The Mountains of Mourne are to the left in the backround. One of those is the highest peak in Northern Ireland. Hope to get to climb that soon!

Two and a half weeks...

It seems like a long time. We've done a lot in less than 3 weeks. We traveled around and experienced the tourist side of Northern Ireland. It is truely a beautiful country! It was fun, but it's so nice to have a single place to stay! We're now settled into the school routine. The second week of classes finished today. Most of our classes involve quite a bit of writing, which i am NOT fond of. But it hasn't been too hard thus far. It's really nice that we only have each class once a week. And I'm only taking 4 of the 5 so i really shouldn't be complaining at all!

My class schedule is as follows: Tuesday-Irish Literature, Wednesday-Irish Literature, Thursday-Irish Art and Culture, Friday-Philosophy. For art and culture we will actually be attending a continued learning class at Queens University in Belfast. Their term begins next week. So, the last couple of weeks we've met with the professor and gone to an art studio and an art museum. I know nothing about art, so i'm looking forward to learning a bit more so that i'll be able to better experience and enjoy it! Irish Literature will also be fun, I think. Last week we read from CS Lewis' Miracles and this week was on Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eire. Both amazing readings.

I cant take credit for this photo, Jacob took it, but it's a view from the top of town looking down to the bay. our holiday homes are on the near side of the bay. You can see the mourne mountains on the right. love it.