On the Wall

I apologize. I realize that I'm really not that great at updating on a regular basis. Actually, I'm pretty bad at it. But the worst part is that I don't even really have an excuse. I mean, at least Andy was in the Amazon rainforest without an Internet connection. I've just been sitting in my apartment, thinking "I really should update my blog," and then checking my email or facebook. I'll do my best to post more often from now on. (We'll see how long this lasts...)

Nothing spectacularly exciting has happened since I last updated. The week after we got back from Missio Dei was pretty calm. That next Saturday (the 21st), several of the international students and I decided to go to Londonderry/Derry. Yes, you have to spell it like that, or you'll run the risk of starting a civil war. While many people don't care what you call it, there are a few fanatical Loyalists who insist that it's Londonderry, as well as some fanatical Republicans who are adamant that it's Derry. Even the newscasters here call it "Londonderry-slash-Derry," just to make sure that they don't upset anyone. Kinda ridiculous, but it's the idiosyncrasies that make life interesting, I guess.

Anyway, we left early Saturday morning and took the train to Londonderry/Derry. The ride was very scenic, with a mixture of cliffs and farmland on one side, with the ocean on the other. It was hard to get pictures, though, with the movement of the train. We arrived in town around 9, which gave us all day to walk around. A bit of history about Londonderry/Derry: it is the only city in all of Ireland with its original city walls still intact. The walls were built between 1613 and 1618, and all of them are still in almost perfect condition. Even King James of England couldn't get through. It was so much fun to walk along the walls, knowing about their history. Replica cannons still point out from the walltops (giving tourists like us plenty of picture opportunities).

the view from the train windows

Louise and Carrie

the two boys in the statue are supposed to represent the
two opposing sides reaching out towards each other

the Smith family crest
I was going to buy it, but it cost six pounds... so I just took a picture.

Carrie and Sarah on the edge of the wall

You can tell what kind of neighborhood you're in based on the colors that
the lampposts and curbs are painted. Red, white, and blue for a
Protestant neighborhood, and green, white, and gold for a
Catholic neighborhood.

We spent a while on the walltops, and then we toured St. Columb's cathedral. It was so old and beautiful inside! By the time we were done, we decided that we were pretty hungry. We had lunch at a Witherspoons. Witherspoons is a chain pub/restaurant- there's one in Coleraine, too. They take old, historic buildings and build the restaurant inside, preserving the original architecture and history of the building. I think it's a really neat way to celebrate culture. The one in Coleraine is in the old courthouse; I'm not sure what the one in Londonderry/Derry used to be. It's part of the town diamond, whatever it is. I had my first traditional Irish stew (amazing!), and Carrie had shepherd's pie (also very good). I was nervous to try the shepherd's pie- I mean, doesn't it sound kinda sketchy?- but it turns out it's just ground beef and gravy underneath a layer of mashed potatoes. Most of the other people got fish and chips- also delicious.

When we were done with lunch, the group split up. Carrie, Louise, and I went to a tiny part of town called "Craft Village." Up until this point, I must admit that I was slightly disappointed. I guess I had this very romantic idea about what a historic Irish town should look like, but with the exception of the walls, Londonderry/Derry looks basically the same as any other European city: lots of modern stores all crammed together and stacked on top of one another. However, the Craft Village, though probably just there for the sake of tourists like us, fit my expectations. It had narrow little alleyways with brick buildings and wrought iron fences and lamp-posts, with ivy growing and little stairs up to some of the shops. I can't really give an adequate description- you'll just have to see the pictures (coming soon!). The first shop we saw when we entered the "Village" was a yarn shop, so I bought some wool yarn (yay!). This made me very happy. Carrie found an old map in the next shop. We had fun just browsing and window-shopping.

the Craft Village

Eventually, we began to get a bit tired, so we went to one of the malls to find a place to sit. Remember how I said that Londonderry/Derry doesn't quite look like a historic Irish city? I forgot to mention that having not one, not two, but three shopping malls kinda adds to the modern feel. I definitely was not expecting that. We rested for a while, and then took an earlier train back to Coleraine. We all wanted to have a chance to relax in our rooms and get something to eat before the Ceilidh.

We walked back into town that evening to a church hall for the Ceilidh put on by the International Friends church group. A Ceilidh (pronounced KAY-lee) is a night of traditional Irish dancing and music. Everyone is expected to join in. The dances weren't the Riverdance kind (though we did get to see that). They were more like the old group dances. We all had partners- it almost seemed like a combination between the old English dances and square dancing. I really can't explain it very well, but it was a blast. I absolutely loved it. For the first two or three dances, I was paired with a small, older Irish woman named Patty. She was so energetic and so enthusiastic- she was so much fun! After the first couple dances, she and I got split up. Carrie and I were partners for a lot of the other dances, though we did tend to switch partners often. I had so much fun. I wish I could have taken more pictures, but everyone was dancing, so I wasn't able to take more than one or two myself or ask anyone to take some for me.

the musicians at the Ceilidh

The other thing of interest that happened that week was on Monday (the 23rd). At the International Friends gathering that evening, they had planned that we would watch a movie. Any guesses as to the movie they picked? I'll help you out: no, it wasn't Napoleon Dynamite (thank goodness). Put it together: we're in Northern Ireland, we're a bunch of international college students, they're all older people. Of course, they would want to show us something that represents their culture, right? Educational? ...I'm still trying to figure out how they ended up with Mamma Mia!. It was hilarious- the movie was alright, but these big, burly, older Irish men were so excited and were singing along to all the songs. I was sitting between Carrie and one such Irish gentleman- it was a comic discrepancy between his singing and her sighs and mutterings.

Actually, I've found that it's more acceptable for guys to like "chick flicks" and "girly" shows over here. Many of the guys that I've met watch Friends- admit it, you would never catch an American guy admit that he likes that show. They aren't just older men, either- most are either college aged, and I've even witnessed a few friends' 15 year old younger brothers watching.

Once again, I apologize for how late this is. Carrie, Louise, and I went to Belfast yesterday, so hopefully I'll be able to have that post up within a few days.

Love and hugs!
Erin

Missio Dei

On Friday, I went with the CU to a conference in Maynooth, about fifteen miles outside of Dublin. It was a long ride down- I slept most of the way! Once we got there, we checked in and dropped off our bags in our rooms. We were staying in a seminary or university of some sort, but it was in this gorgeous old building. It looked like a big castle or estate of some sort. The top two floors had been renovated into a hostel, so we actually stayed in the main building with the chapel. As soon as Carrie and I saw the campus, we knew that we were going to have to go on a photo excursion. Unfortunately, by the time we arrived, it was dark, so we had to wait for the next day.

The theme of the conference was "Missio Dei- God's Mission." There were CU groups from all over Ireland and Northern Ireland; probably about one hundred people attended overall. We heard a speaker on Friday night, and then we were able to go (finally) get some dinner. By that time, there weren't very many choices of where to go, so about half of us got Chinese food and the other half got pizza. However, those of us who got Chinese didn't realize until we got back to our rooms that we didn't receive silverware. That was an interesting experience- about seven people attempting to eat Chinese food with small tea spoons and saucers. We didn't really mind that much- at that point, we were just happy to be able to eat.

The showers were another adventure: Carrie, Sarah, and I discovered that night that the water was ice-cold. I ended up just washing my hair in the sink. Apparently, we were lucky, though- when the other girls tried to shower the next morning, there was only a trickle of ice water. The boys' showers didn't have any problems, though (reminds me of REACH).

The next day, we ate breakfast (chocolate-filled croissants are amazing, for the record) and went to hear the speaker again. He was from Australia, so it was really fun to listen to his accent! He spoke three times overall, once each day. On Friday and Saturday, he spoke mainly about God's judgment and wrath. It wasn't exactly fun to listen to, but then on Sunday he spoke about the hope that we have because of Jesus. I think it was probably a good reminder to us that God isn't just all "happy happy joy joy," that He's actually very powerful and needs to be respected and feared, but that He loves us and took on His own wrath to save us. We broke up into smaller seminars. The one that I attended was called "God in the World." It talked about missions, but it was pretty informational. It explained how the missions field has changed in the past twenty years or so; it seemed very practical. I enjoyed it, though.

Saturday afternoon, during our free time, Carrie and I walked around on our photo excursion. We had a blast exploring, but we also got into a bit of trouble. We saw the chapel from the outside, and decided to go look at it inside. We walked in, and I saw the door to where the chapel should be, propped open. It led to a smaller room that looked a bit like a library, and then we saw a set of those huge, really tall wooden arch doors propped open as well. We went through those and ended up on the "stage" area of the chapel. Oops. We took some pictures, and then as we were leaving, we passed a priest who scolded us a bit for being there. We felt bad, but... the doors were open (and we got some good pictures).

That evening, we went out to a restaurant/pub for dinner called Roots. It was pretty good, and I enjoyed being able to just sit down and talk with everyone. When we got back to campus, we worshiped and prayed for a few hours. Afterwords, we had coffee and free time. Carrie and I conned a few of the guys into learning Euchre, and everyone else just sat around and talked and watched. We were successful in teaching them!! All three of the guys learned and (supposedly) enjoyed the game. That may well have been the highlight of my trip. Haha poor guys- now Carrie and I are going to expect them to play with us!

On Sunday, we ate breakfast, listened to the final talk, prayed and worshiped, and then left. On the way back, we stopped at Robin's (one of the guys) house for tea and sandwiches. His family was really nice and welcoming, and it's always good to get food! We left his house and stopped at Rachel's house next to switch cars. Her family was also very welcoming and nice- her mom kept asking if we wanted anything. Finally, we were on the road again, and got back to Coleraine around 8:30.

The front door

The flowers were beginning to bloom-
it was so refreshing to see and smell them again!

the door to the forbidden part of the chapel

Carrie and I at Roots

everyone from Coleraine!

This past Tuesday evening, Carrie, Sarah, and I went to a Bible study headed by Ashleigh. It was a really good discussion about Philippians 1:1-11. We talked a lot about community, which reminded me of YAGA. I think the Bible study will make it a lot easier for me to get to know some of the other members of the CU that I have only met once or twice. I'm really excited about it!

I probably won't update again until after this weekend; on Saturday, I'll be going into Londonderry with some of my friends, and then in the evening we're going to a Ceilidh (a dinner with traditional Irish dancing and music). I will definitely have a lot of pictures and stories to share after that!

Love and hugs!
Erin

The Strand

Be warned: now that I've figured out how to get pictures on here, you are going to bombarded. You think I'm kidding.

On Thursday, some of us from Christian Union went to Spring Hill, a traditional Irish pub. It was really nice- there was a good fire going, and there was a traditional Irish band. It was my first "genuine" Irish experience. If you stay after midnight, the bartender will walk around and serve free wheaton bread sandwiches- just a slice of thick wheat bread with butter, ham, and Coleraine cheese on top. It's pretty good! I was able to get a few pictures, but I still need to get them off my camera. Coming soon.

This past Friday, Carrie and Sarah and I went into town to run errands. We had dinner at a local pub called Witherspoons. It's pretty sweet- it's the old town courthouse that they preserved and turned into a pub. I had my first traditional fish and chips dinner! It was delicious.

Carrie and I outside of Witherspoon's

Even dining here is different. I guess it's not uncommon for people at one table to just strike up a conversation with people at a neighboring table, even complete strangers. It took me by surprise at first, but that's probably just part of the culture that I'll eventually adjust to.

On Saturday, the International Friends people (from various area churches) drove all the international students up to the Strand, the beach in Portstewart. It was a gorgeous day, but extremely windy! We walked along the beach, and then followed a path and walked among the sand dunes for a while. I have so many pictures- I just couldn't stop! I apologize if it gets tedious- you have my permission to skip ahead ;)

Portstewart

If you look closely in the background,
you can see snow-capped mountains



Carrie filming the ocean

we climbed up to the top of one of the dunes

The view was gorgeous from the top!

We followed a path back behind and between the dunes to the River Bahn.

Carrie

some farms across the river

Behind the dunes, the River Bahn winds for a while
before eventually emptying into the ocean. It enters
between the dunes to the ocean at the far right.


more photos of the river


Carrie and I



All that green is so beautiful!


...it's all so pretty! It's also a golf course.



We looped around and came back to where we started.

It was a really nice and relaxing weekend. Nothing really new has happened this week, so far. Some friends and I are starting to gather information about traveling different places, so that's exciting. Later today, I'm leaving for the weekend with some friends from the Christian Union to go to a conference outside of Dublin. I'm looking forward to it- hopefully I'll be able to get to know some of the Irish students a bit better! It should be a good time. And yes, there will be more pictures!