I'll Be Home For Christmas

It’s getting real: We are now in the single digits in the countdown for the end of our Northern Ireland Cross Cultural Experience. I have absolutely loved my time here on the Emerald Isle and I’m going to miss it something fierce, but I am looking forward to getting home and seeing my friends and family. I’m trying to enjoy my last few days here though – last Thursday we made fools of ourselves in front of the Mayor of Derry and our host families by performing our (awful) tin whistle and Irish dance; this past weekend the whole group went back to Corrymeela for one last bonding and sight-seeing experience; and this Saturday the Sevens are celebrating our own Thanksgiving.

Starting with Thursday night, we all got together at the Guildhall to show off our skills of the tin whistle (which we did not display very well – to be honest, our teacher was not very good at teaching). We played a few traditional Irish songs, and then we performed our dancing. Personally, I enjoyed our Irish dancing classes. Our dances were traditional Irish barn dances – The Walls of Limerick, The Haymaker’s Jig, and The Sweets of May. Unfortunately, I do not have pictures for you all to see!

Friday we took a bus to Corrymeela. It was just odd to think back that the last time we were there; we were all totally different people, fresh off of the plane. We relaxed that evening and gorged ourselves with the snacks and candy Mervyn gifted us. The next morning, we got on the bus again to see the Dark Hedges, something I had seen all over the “Travel” section of Pinterest long before I got to Ireland, and apparently is a filming location for The Game of Thrones (which probably would have made it even cooler if I was in the fandom). We then traversed to Dunluce Castle, which was the site for a power struggle between Irish clans during medieval times (You can learn more about it here.). It apparently inspired the idea for Cair Paravel in Narnia! Mervyn gave us a quest to find an etching of an old viking ship in the walls of the castle, with a £10 (About $16) prize. Not being the competitive type and having a hunger for adventure, I disregarded the challenge and dashed off to explore the castle ruins.

The Dark Hedges

Dunluce Castle

It was breath taking...

Sheep! I'm going to miss these guys!

After our excursion at the castle, our bus driver, Francis, took us out to see his guest house and...donkeys! 

Donkey Selfie!

A famine graveyard

A miniature goat!

That evening, Mervyn treated us to the Causeway Hotel restaurant, which was DELICIOUS. I had carrot soup for my appetizer, cod goujons for my main course, and a beautiful hot mess of peanut butter crème brûlée for dessert. It was a great time to just relax and hang out one last time before we have to return to the States.

The gang with Mervyn and our Corrymeela volunteer at the hotel (Photo credit: Sara Klenke)

That about brings us up to now. Right now I'm focused on getting all of my stuff packed, buying last-minute gifts, and making the most of my time left here. Since we won't be home for Thanksgiving, the Seven's are doing a "Friendsgiving" this weekend to make up for it. It's so scary and exciting to think that we are leaving a week from tomorrow! I can't wait to get home, but I will definitely miss here: Derry, the culture, the landscape, the history, the experience. This will likely be my last blog post, so I will leave you all with a wish to travel - learn what it's like to immerse yourself in a new culture. I've learned so much about myself on this trip and there is no way I could have gotten the same lessons sitting at home. 

Slán agat, Northern Ireland. I will see you again someday.

   

The Last Stretch! (Halloween and my Placement)

Okay, so this post is a little belated, but first things first:

Derry knows how to do Halloween.

Seriously, America does not know how to celebrate the holiday. Of course, that may be due to the face that Ireland is a place of origin for Halloween. We had been told over and over that Halloween was Derry's biggest night, and that may have been an understatement. The city has a weekend-long festival, with activities and events for all ages. The Sevens got dressed up at our house and then we set out in search of food. Unfortunately, they weren't kidding when they said that people come from all over the world for the celebration. We tried to hit up our favorite pizza joint, Danano's, and to our horror they were only accepting reservations that night. Ravenous, we wound up at Subway for some quick and cheap food. Alas, it did not fill the hole that was reserved for a Danano's pizza. Later, we waited in some chilly weather for the Halloween, watched some fireworks, listened to some live music, and traipsed around the main drag. It was almost mayhem - there were SO MANY PEOPLE.

The Sevens in character (Back row: Zombie - Joe, Pirate - Christie, Ke$ha - Sara, Cowboy/Garth Brooks - Chay. Front row: Rosie the Riveter - Me, Cat - Lydia, Daisy Buchanan - Lexi)

After Halloween weekend, we started our placements on the 4th of November. Sara and I were placed at the same women's center. I was nervous starting my placement because I had absolutely no idea what to expect. Back in March/April when we had signed up for the placements we were interested in, I knew I wanted to be able to work with kids to get experience for my major (Youth Ministry), but I was also feeling called to be at a women's center. I randomly listed the three that were listed and hoped for the best. The center I am at specializes in finding aid for women and their children who have been abused by men. I was hoping to be able to shadow a youth worker or something, but the center just hired something like 40 people, so work for Sara and I is pretty scarce. Right now we are doing your typical intern work: making copies, filing, covering reception, lounging around and drinking tea. 

I asked our supervisor if I could shadow their youth worker, but she is still new herself and is getting settled in. So hopefully, I can get some real experience. I'm trying to look on the bright side though: Everyone I work with has been helpful and friendly, and Sara and I are pretending that we are starring on an all-female version of "The Office."

So there you have it folks. It's the final month. I'm missing home and my friends and family and American things, like Taco Bell and good coffee (No, I'm serious. We REALLY miss Taco Bell.). I'm eager for December 5th to come, but at the same time, I'm going to miss Northern Ireland when I'm back in the states, so I'm going to "yolo it" this month and try to make the best of my time left here. I'll post in a few weeks again about our tin whistle and Irish dance performance for the mayor (yikes!) and how my internship is turning out. Take care!