Wrap Up!

Well, I've officially been back for almost a month, so I should probably wrap up the Ireland portion of this blog. Whether I'll keep going with it remains to be seen.

Ok, so our last day in Galway was spent on another bus tour. The countryside was absolutely gorgeous. We saw Kylemore Abbey, a famine wall (a huge stone wall built by starving Irishmen for a penny per day - because, you know, when people are starving to death, why would you just help them?), and a lot of ruins and medieval tombs. At one of the tombs, I chased down an Irish cow and made friends with it! Ok, maybe that's not true, but I did get super close and got my picture taken with it. In other farm-animal news, I fed a Connemara pony! He was adorable. On our way back to Dublin, we stopped to watch a sunset over Galway Bay, and it was completely awe-inspiring. Absolutely magical. Freezing cold, but magical.

We got back to Dublin on Monday night, and we just had a chill evening at Jacobs Inn and rested up after 2 veeeeery long days. On Tuesday, we just kind of hung out and waited for everyone else to get back from everywhere they went. Some people went to Scotland, some went to London, and one went to Kilkeel to visit friends.

That night, we went out because it was our last night in Ireland! A few of us went back to the Temple Bar, hung out there for a while, and then we spent the rest of the evening at The Quays Bar watching some live music. It was a great last night!

On Wednesday, we got up WAY too early (5am!) and walked to the bus stop, where we caught a bus to the airport. We spent the rest of the day travelling home, and we got back to Minnesota around 8pm. It was a LONG day. It was good to see family again! I'm happy to be back, but I just felt such a profound sense of belonging when I was in Ireland that it's weird to not have that here.

All in all, I'm going back - I just don't know when. My Ireland story isn't over yet, and I hope it never will be! Thank you all for sticking with me through this!

Love,
Amanda

Galway!

Ok, here goes a really fast summary of the last 2 days!

Yesterday was basically a free day. We woke up at Jacobs Inn and then we went to see the Book of Kells at Trinity College, which was pretty interesting. In the upstairs of the building that holds the Book of Kells is this gorgeous library with tons of beautiful books and busts of writers and other contributors to society, and it also has a really interesting display of books that have contributed to Ireland’s history. It was really fun to see that and read the same pages that people read hundreds of years ago.

After the Book of Kells, I went to lunch with a couple of people and we had some fun window shopping too. Then we headed back to the hostel and I finished up some homework that needed to be done and we had a really interesting meeting about what we thought the class was about for us. It was a long and intense meeting, but it definitely was needed. After the meeting, we hung out for a while, had some dinner, and then we went out to The Celt (IRA bar again) and listened to some music from the same band that was there the last time we went. They were so fun! Then we went back to the hostel and ended up talking until 3 am…I ended up getting all of 2 hours of sleep, which I’m definitely feeling right now. Oh, wow, I’m surprised I’m still awake! The conversation and the rest of today were totally worth it though.

Today we left for Galway…REALLY early. We caught the bus at 7am…which means we left the hostel at 5:45…in the morning…yyyeeaaaahhhh…and yet, it’s 11:15 and I’m still awake! Woot! So anyways, we got on the bus at 7 and it was Hannah, Tony, Jacque and I. We drove the few hours to the Galway bus station and then got on our tour bus for the day – our driver was Desmond and he was absolutely hilarious. He was probably 75 years old and has been doing that tour for 20 years, and is firmly planted in the “I’m old, I can say what I want” camp. He was telling us the story of the claddagh ring and then he started telling us about how after his tour men often propose to their girlfriends at the Cliffs of Moher with a claddagh ring. Then he told us that if our men propose to us at the Cliffs and we want to say no, we should “run like holy hell” away from the cliffs so they don’t throw us over! He was an interesting character, to say the least. So today we saw a bunch of tomb-like structures, Celtic crosses, rock formations, and all that fun stuff – I took a TON of pictures. We also “saw” the Cliffs of Mohr…by that I mean that we saw an enormous amount of fog in front of the cliffs. Today was not observing weather. It was kind of disappointing, but at the same time I feel like what I’ve already gotten to experience of Ireland has been such a blessing that missing one thing won’t even touch the experience as a whole. I love this place.

So right now we’re in Galway at a hostel. We went out and got some really good pizza once we got back from the tour – it was amazing! Then we went to the oldest pub in Galway (The King’s Head) to listen to some music. There was a band there called “The Elastic Band”, and basically they played covers of American songs and then they played Galway Girl (because let’s face it, what is a night out if you don’t hear that song? LOVE it!). After we heard them, we went back to the hostel and talked for quite a while, and now it’s bedtime. Two hours of sleep won’t cut it tonight!

Love,

Amanda

Sorry about the delay!

1/18/11

We left Belfast and it broke my heart. I really feel connected to that city and to leave it was like leaving part of me behind. At first, leaving was just surreal but once we got on the bus and started driving, the waterworks started. I absolutely love Belfast, and I hope with all my heart I have a chance to spend a lot more time there just taking everything in and tracking down family landmarks. It’s wonderful to have this opportunity, and to study the conflict of my grandma’s home city is such an amazing experience for me. Learning all of this is tearing me apart, because I just feel so powerless to help.

Once we left Belfast, we headed up to Derry/Londonderry, which was really hard. In Derry we took a tour with John McCourt, who was involved in Bloody Sunday as a protester. He was amazing, the way he described everything was really difficult. He started off our tour by walking on one of the city’s walls and telling us a little bit about the history of Derry. Then he told us, “I’m going to show you what 18 minutes is like in the real world”, and then he walked us through every death, every minute of the Bloody Sunday massacre. It was gut wrenching to hear it in such vivid detail; nothing could have prepared me for that. He had pictures that had been taken at the scene while the massacre was going on and in one of the pictures were him and a friend of his from school. Just a minute after the picture was taken, his friend was shot and killed by a British soldier. Every once in a while, he would point to a patch of ground that we were walking over and tell us that someone had died in that very spot. That absolutely ripped my heart out. I found myself taking sides in the conflict even though I really have no stake in it whatsoever. It was so frustrating to stand there and listen to the events of such an atrocity and not be able to do anything to help in the healing of the community. I was (and still am) so torn between knowing that as a Christian I’m called to love everyone, and really wanting to hate the British for what they did. It’s so difficult to let my faith win out in a conflict like that, and hopefully I’ll be able to process some of that and put it into action while we’re at Corrymeela.

After the tour, we went to see the Bogside Artists (a group of 3 men who design and paint murals around the world). The Bogside was the area where the massacre happened, and it’s a really strongly Catholic, republican area. Jon, the artist that we met, told us a little history of the area to supplement John McCourt’s, and then told us about a bunch of the murals in the area. They’re really talented, and the murals they do now are ones that promote peace instead of hate and division. I thought that was a really interesting idea. Apparently the citizens of Derry are really supportive of the murals, and the Bogside Artists are completely funded by the public. The idea of using art as a form of reconciliation was really thought provoking to me because I had never heard of it being used like that before. I guess when it’s an area as divided as Derry/Londonderry, people can use anything and everything to promote reconciliation. I also see how people can use anything to perpetuate the division too, though. There is the peace mural in Derry, and that really got to me, but then there are murals and graffiti all over the place supporting the IRA, and the iconic “You Are Now Entering Free Derry” mural. There is obviously still a lot of hate existing in Derry and there will need to be a lot of healing, and hopefully God will use people like John McCourt and the Bogside Artists to bring about that healing.

After seeing the Bogside, we went to Corrymeela and had a little bit of free time. I ended up watching a few movies with some people and then we just went to bed. It was a really long and emotionally draining day, and I really don’t think I’m recovered from it even now. I don’t know if I’ll ever recover from such horrifying imagery, and actually, I don’t know if I should. Some things you just need to know. Today was hard for such a number of reasons, not the least of which is my futile attempt to figure out what, if anything, people can do to make the hate and pain go away, or even just lessen.

1/19/11

Today, we had a lot of discussion. The first session was basically an introduction for all of us where we went around and said what so far has had the biggest impact on us as well as what a good outcome would be from our time here. My answer for the first question was the peace walls. To me, they just embodied such an unspeakable sadness, and I just felt overwhelmed by how much hate and fear and mistrust was built up in this country. As for the second question, my ideal outcome would be to take this experience and somehow apply it to how I use my political science major back home. Hopefully this has given me a decent understanding of seemingly unsolvable conflict and I can take what I learn back home to try to fix conflicts there.

The second session was a discussion of perspective and what shapes our perspective of our situation. We brainstormed about what some of the influencing factors were that informed the perspective of people living in Northern Ireland and came up with a huge list ranging from their physical environment and what they see every day to the way they were raised and what church they go to. It was really interesting to put that much thought into what happens here that perpetuates the conflict. I enjoyed talking about it, but it also kind of put me on edge trying to look at these factors in a way in which I can try to do something about them, which I clearly can’t. It’s so frustrating being here and seeing so much hurt and hate and not being able to do anything about it.

For the third session, Jeremy (our leader for our time at Corrymeela) told us his story of growing up in Northern Ireland. He was born of a mixed marriage (his mom was Catholic, his dad Protestant), and because of his parents’ choice to raise him Protestant he has Catholic family that he still doesn’t know. In his work as a Presbyterian minister, he had the opportunity to meet with 2 of the leaders of the UDA (Ulster Defense Association – a militant unionist group) to talk about why he was open to working with members of the Catholic community as well as the Protestant community. Through those talks, he was able to get the UDA to have talks with the Catholic Church for about 18 months. His story was really intense, and it just proved to me that no matter how much of a lost cause something appears to be, a new or unexpected outcome can always come about. His talk was really uplifting to me because I had just been in such a low state after hearing John talk about Bloody Sunday and seeing the peace walls.

Today was really emotionally heavy, but really refreshing at the same time. I really enjoyed hearing Jeremy speak and I’m so glad we had this opportunity.

1/20/11

Today was so awesome! We went to Giant’s Causeway this morning and it was GORGEOUS. We walked down by the stones and I think I got some pretty good shots (even though I didn’t have my Nikon with me L). It was really awe-inspiring, being so small against those gigantic cliffs, and then the contrast of being so tall after climbing them. It was just completely amazing…and freezing cold! The stones were SO SLIPPERY because there was still frost on the ground. Honestly, I’m surprised there were no injuries! It was really difficult climbing up the Causeway stones, but it was totally worth it. It just made me think about the absolute majesty of creation and the Creator. In a place like that, I really don’t think it’s possible not believe in God. It was absolutely breathtaking; there’s no way any caliber of photographer could capture the feeling of awe you get when you stand there surrounded by these magnificent cliffs, breathe in the ocean air and look at the amazing rock formations that look like they’ve been carved out by some master artist.

After Giant’s Causeway, we came back to Corrymeela and had lunch and a little bit of free time (I took a nap – it was wonderful!). We had another session with Jeremy, only this time it was arts and crafts (yep…I did arts and crafts). The assignment was to create something that represented how the trip so far has impacted us (not open-ended at all, right?). I made a collage that looked like a third-grader could have made it, basically just made up of my concept of the conflict. On one side, there were words that, in my opinion, seemed to embody some of the (very broad) reasons for the conflict. On the other were words that represented what peace and reconciliation would look like, and in the middle there were words that made up reasons why there is a wall between the two sides. After we made our “art”, everyone presented theirs to the class…I’m not a fan of presentations, but it actually went pretty well.

Then we had dinner and hung out for a little bit before a bunch of us went to a little discussion thing about the role of violence in movies…it was interesting. One of the girls there reminded me a lot of a girl that I went to St. Kate’s with…I’ll go ahead and leave it at that, haha! I didn’t contribute much, in an effort to not start something no one would want to see finished.

Now I’m just sitting in the dining room writing this and listening to music. I figured I’d put my time in for the day! I think tonight is probably going to be an early night, it’s only 10 now and it seems like people are winding down. We leave here tomorrow to head back to Dublin with a stop in Belfast (BELFAST!!!!!) for lunch. It will only be like 2 hours, but I’ll take whatever I can get in my soul-city! I love that place more than I can say. Now, I think I’ll have some hot chocolate and read, so I’ll post this all tomorrow when we get to Dublin along with an update for tomorrow!

1/21/11

Today I was shocked speechless by the beauty of an Irish sunset. I was sitting on the bus from Belfast to Dublin, and I looked up from my book out the window and all I saw was absolute majesty in the sky. I looked out the window and was greeted by a riot of color. By the horizon, it was a deep red-orange, and that tinted the horizontal clouds to a color that could almost be described as salmon pink. Between the clouds, I could see the dusky-blue sky, and the trail from an airplane made a discordant line through the clouds. It was breathtakingly beautiful, I couldn’t look away until the sun was fully down. I was thinking after I saw that, “How can a place with sunsets that beautiful have so much hatred and fear?” It breaks my heart every time I think about it. This class has been a huge blessing, but it has also been so painful because I see for the first time in my adult life what horrible things people are capable of doing in cold blood. I love this country, and it’s so hard for me to think of how much hatred can be contained in a place with fewer people than Minnesota. That said, I wouldn’t trade this experience for the world.

Today started off in Corrymeela. We packed up and left at about 10 this morning, and we took a bus to Belfast so we could eat lunch and switch to a bus bound for Dublin. I was able to visit Lavery’s one last time! I’m so excited that I could see that place.

Now you can too! Here's Lavery's:

After Lavery’s, we went to the bus station and headed back to Dublin. It was during that ride that I saw the amazing sunset. Needless to say, my mind didn’t switch out of overdrive until we got back to the hostel. We’re back at Jacobs Inn, where we stayed at the beginning of the trip. We had a little bit of dinner and then a few of us went out to the Temple Bar to hear some music. It would have been good if they hadn’t played Sweet Home Alabama 6 times.

Thinking back on the time at Corrymeela, I’m amazed at how much processing I did. It was a blessing to be able to take that time to think things over. I’m still trying to figure out why I’m here – what am I supposed to be thinking? I’m here to learn about the conflict, but I never expected it to affect me so deeply. Everything I learn goes straight to my heart, and it’s so hard to stay calm when I hear about atrocities being committed and the hate being perpetuated. I love this country and it hurts that there are such deep divisions here.

Hopefully I’ll continue to process throughout this week and after I get home and come to some conclusions about what is actually going on and what my role is supposed to be in it.

I'll post for today once I'm back at the hostel for the night!

Love,
Amanda

1-17-11's post

Today was rough. Very emotional…not fun at all. First, we went to meet with a guy who worked with the WAVE trauma center, which helps victims and families of victims of the Troubles. The man told us the story of how his wife was killed by an IRA bomb while she was working at her father’s fish shop. It was a very intense story, and obviously it had me in tears. He talked about his daughter and how she was only 2 when her mother was killed. The first thing that popped into my mind was “How can they do that to someone with a family?” Then I realized that everyone has a family, even if the only one in the family is God. That was a huge deal for me when I realized it.

After that talk, we went back to our “classroom” for lunch, and then we watched Bloody Sunday. Surprisingly enough, I didn’t cry at all during the movie, but afterwards we got in a circle to pray, basically one giant group hug, and I pretty much lost it. It was rough…I was in tears basically the whole prayer (which seemed to go on forever because I couldn’t stop crying, and then I realized that people probably noticed it, and then I cried harder, and on and on and on…). It was not a great little bit.

After that, we went back to the hostel and had dinner. That was when I realized that tonight was our last night in Belfast…that hit me like a ton of bricks. I LOVE this place, and now I have to leave it. We decided to go out to celebrate our last night in Belfast, and so we started off at Lavery’s (where I DID take pictures, so I’ll have those uploaded as soon as I can!) and then we went to this really fun little pub called Fibber McGee’s – awesome! They had live music, and the band dedicated “Galway Girls” to us Americans(just us girls, not the guys haha). It was so much fun!

Tomorrow we leave to spend the day in Derry, then we go to some place called Corrymeela (I still haven’t figured out what that is, but I do know it doesn’t have wifi – so maybe don’t expect any updates for a few days). After that is our free time, so we’ll see how that goes. I think I’m going with a group to Galway to see the Cliffs of Mohr and then Connemara because I hear they’re both absolutely gorgeous. That’s a 2 day tour, and then I’m not sure what we’ll spend the last day doing – I’ll keep you posted as I get wifi!

Love,

Amanda

Another free day, kind of

Today was really laid back. We started off by going to church. We split off into groups of three and went to all different churches - my group went to Windsor Baptist, which is right down the road from our hostel. It was pretty good, but the pace of the service caught me by surprise...it was so slow! It was definitely no Eagle Brook. After that, we went back to the hostel and picked up some more people and went out to lunch. It was this really cute French-style cafe, only they had Irish food. Mixed messages, but it was still good.

After that, a couple of us went over to the Botanic Gardens and the conservatory there - pictures will be added later, it's way too late to do that now - I should probably be sleeping right now! The conservatory was so pretty, I can tell why Grandma liked that and Como so much.

Then we went back to the hostel where I helped make an apple pie for one of the professors' birthday (even though it's not until August...I'm still not sure why we did that). I rule at peeling and cutting apples with a dull knife, as it turns out. After that was done, a couple other people and I (Sarah, Trevor and Neil) got ice cream at Maud's (YES, they have an ice cream shop named Maud's here - woot!) and then headed over to Lavery's to watch the first half of a soccer game before we had to meet up with the rest of the class. We all discussed our different church experiences, expectations, etc. for a while, and then we split up again for the night. Me and the group that watched the soccer game went back to Lavery's to watch the Jets/Patriots game (I bet on the Jets...and won!). Now, we're all back at the hostel and pretty much everyone is asleep now, so I guess I should be too.

I'll write more tomorrow...apparently it's supposed to be a pretty intense day, I didn't hear why though. We shall see. It's also our last day in Belfast unless we come back here on our free days, so I'll probably cry...again. I swear, Ireland/Northern Ireland makes me emotional (at least, that's what I'm going to blame it on!). So, more later, including pictures from the conservatory :)

Love,
Amanda

Free time!

Today was really fun, though it wasn't really what I expected it to be. This morning I woke up apparently much earlier than I needed to, and so I just hung out and did some homework and listened to music. When I found some other people who were awake enough to go out, we headed over to St. George's Market, which was really fun. There were a lot of antiques places, food stands, etc. It was basically a really big flea market (as if I'd know what a flea market was like! Haha). There, I found a present for Mom and Dad from one of the antiques guys :) It's awesome, even though I'm pretty sure we already have them.

After the market, we went shopping! We headed over to Victoria Square and looked around at some adorable little shops, got some clothes and gifts for people (I may have to buy more luggage for all my souvenirs...whoops!). It was really fun.

Then we went to lunch at this ADORABLE little cafe called Maggie May's. It was SO GOOD. I got what's called a 'full fry' which is an egg over easy, a pancake (AMAZING), sausage, bacon, potato bread, soda bread, some mushrooms and half a tomato. I couldn't finish it, because WOW that's a lot of food, but what I did have was SO GOOD. Yum. If those pancakes were all I could eat for the rest of time, I'd be fine with it.

Later a few of us went out. We started off at Lavery's for dinner, then we hopped around to a couple different pubs to see what was happening, and we ended up at this one pub called Bar Twelve, which was hilarious. Cougar city! It was so funny. There was a lot of Abba music going on there.

After Bar Twelve, we went back to the hostel, where we just talked for a while. All in all, a good day. The one thing I didn't get to do that I really wanted to do was to see the Titanic dry docks. I was really looking forward to that, but it was raining and apparently a mile and a half walk, so no one else wanted to go. I'll just have to come back again to see it! I could see Ireland being my vacation spot of choice for the next, say, 8 decades or so.

I think it's bed time, since it's almost 4 am here and I have church in the morning! Hoo boy.

Love,
Amanda

Long Day

Today was so long! And it wasn't even the fun kind where you're out doing stuff and interacting with people. All we did for most of the day was listen to people talk. They were relatively interesting, and they talked about different organizations in Northern Ireland dedicated to integrating communities and bringing reconciliation to the people, but if I had to sit still another 10 minutes my brain would have imploded. It was so weird, because normally I like lectures, but apparently not today.

After lectures, me and a few other girls went SHOPPING! The mall we were at was SO amazing. There were no doors to get into the mall, there was just kind of a dead end type thing at the end of the street where a roof started, and if you walked under the roof all of a sudden you were in the mall! Awesome. It was probably not as big as the Mall of America, but it was definitely cooler looking. We had a good time, needless to say!

After the mall, we went back to the hostel where we got a group together to go out for the night. It ended up being me, 4 other girls, and 1 of the guys (poor Ben!), and we just kind of wandered until we found a pub that looked interesting. We ended up at The Basement which had a really great atmosphere and was just really fun. There was a band there, and they were awesome. I finally decided that I loved them when they played "Friday I'm in Love" by The Cure...LOVE that song! AND it was in an Irish accent...absolutely wonderful.

Anywho, tomorrow we have the day off from learning (finally!) and we're free to just roam around the Belfast area. I'm not positive what I'll be doing yet, but I'll keep you posted!

Love,
Amanda

Smiley Face!!!

Ok, so I'll start where I left of yesterday...me, Emily, Sarah, the other Sarah, Caroline, Ben and Trevor went out...TO LAVERY'S PUB!!! It was pretty awesome (pictures to follow, they haven't been emailed to me yet!). It was just such a fun and low-key atmosphere, and we had some really awesome conversation and it was just the best. I wouldn't mind spending a lot more time there in the future haha!

So then we went back to the hostel, had a mini little dance party, and went to bed. We're pretty awesome.

Today we had lectures aaaalllllllllll dayyyyyyyyy. It was really interesting, and parts were absolutely hilarious, but it was just a lot of sitting when we could have been out experiencing Belfast. One awesome (kind of) thing did happen. I found Joy Street! I don't know if it was the right one though. The guy who is facilitating our Belfast leg of the trip, Doug, took me to find Grandma's house, which was 111 Joy Street...but the Joy street we found only went up to #36. I was (I'm going to sound melodramatic here, but it's true) bitterly disappointed. We tried to find another Joy street, or one that maybe continued on the other side of the fire station where Joy Street ended, but we ended up all tangled in loyalist neighborhoods (which are unionist - those who want to stay in the UK - neighborhoods policed by paramilitary groups) so we decided to just go back. I will find the house if it's the last thing I do though. It was just such a letdown to be thinking that I was going to get to see it today and then realizing that actually, I have no idea when or if I'll be able to.

Anywho, here's Joy Street:

The street sign

A plaque for an IRA man killed by British soldiers

The view down the street - not the best quality, sorry

After all the lectures were over, all 10 of us girls as well as the female professor (Pamela) went out to dinner with a friend of Pamela's who lives in Belfast. It was really fun and we had a great time talking. I got to ask her about growing up during the Troubles and I talked a little about Grandma, other Laverys and our history. And then I had the BEST chocolate cheesecake EVER...oh, how I love cheesecake (as long as there's no fruity crap on it!).

After dinner, we went back to the hostel and the girls minus Pamela hung out in the TV room and absolutely blasted girl music (think 'Man, I Feel Like A Woman' and 'Girls Just Wanna Have Fun', among others) and had a dance party...it was hilarious and so much fun! We had a great time just asking each other questions (there was no such thing as 'I plead the 5th'!) and praying for each other and just talking about life in general. Girls night is a wonderful thing.

Now, it's just after midnight and we're all getting ready for bed. We have to be at the bus stop tomorrow at 9:30 (I feel like I'm back in grade school!). I don't have a clue what we're doing though.

In response to the suggestions of where to go around Belfast, I know for a fact we're going to Giant's Causeway, and I think we're going to go to see where the Titanic was built. Other than that, we're going to have to plan everything if it's going to get done, and we have to be in groups, so I'll see how much I can squeeze in. I did see the Botanic Gardens when we went to the Ulster Museum, they're right around where the hostel is so we got to see the Como-like building. I can definitely see why Grandma loved it.

I guess that's it for today. Sweet dreams!

Love,
Amanda

Sorry! Two posts in one :)

Sorry about the lack of post yesterday! I was up until 2:30am chatting with some people and then I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

Yesterday we had a couple lectures on the conflict and integrated schools (here, integrated means that both Catholic and Protestant students have classes there). It was really pretty interesting. We also got to dig into some of the political implications of the Troubles and the lasting effects the crisis still has on politics in Northern Ireland. We didn't get too much into that, because 99% of the class is youth min, not poli sci. It would have been fun to be able to get a little more into that.

After lectures we went to the Ulster Museum to see an exhibit about The Troubles - it was very sad. There were a lot of pictures, videos, and just a lot of information to take in. It was a very heavy afternoon.

The H Blocks where Bobby Sands (an IRA hunger striker) died

Bomb explosion on Royal Avenue

I believe these are IRA men

The aftermath of the Ormagh bombing (the most deadly single attack of the Troubles)

Definitely a huge subject to tackle right after lunch...after the museum we went back to our meeting room deal and talked about what we thought about the exhibit.

After that we had dinner and then about 8 of us went out for dessert at this little pub/restaurant down the street from the hostel. Massive brownie with walnuts in it, vanilla bean ice cream, chocolate sauce, 87,000 calories...yum. Then we went back to the hostel and hung out for a while, and a couple of us had a really good conversation until we had to sleep or risk not waking up on time!

Today was a long and emotionally draining day. I cried somewhere in the neighborhood of 7 million times. Or like 5, same thing. We started off the day with a couple of lectures and talked for a little bit. After that we had lunch, and where we went next started the tears a-flowing.

We went and walked around the Belfast City Hall and as soon as I walked in I turned to my left and saw this:

YES, that is the LAVERY ROOM! The guy in the painting above the door is Sir John Lavery (1856-1941). He was an artist who did a bunch of the paintings that are currently in City Hall, and apparently he was good enough to name a room after. I couldn't get into the room though :( Super lame. So I cried...apparently just seeing Lavery in writing is good for tears with me. Not cool...

Here are some more shots from Belfast City Hall:

Stained glass memorial to the Great Famine

So THEN, we got on a bus and headed to a Presbyterian church on the Catholic side of a Peace Line Apparently whoever built the wall couldn't see the problems that might be presented by having a Protestant church in Catholic territory...now the Presbyterian church does a lot of outreach and reconciliation work in the local Catholic community, even though it has 11 people at services each week, not counting employees and children.
After that, we headed over to a Catholic Church and Monastery (Clonard Monastery) to talk about reconciliation work they are doing in Protestant communities. Here are some shots of the Church:

One of the priests told us about how, from his office window, he sees right down the peace wall and on both sides are schools, one Catholic and one Protestant. On both sides, there are playgrounds, and every day he sees kids playing on each side of the wall, separated by several feet of concrete and brick and barbed wire, oblivious to the other side's existence. That story made me really sad for the state (not State) of Northern Ireland now. The divisions are so deep that kids really aren't even free to choose their own friends, people don't feel safe walking in neighborhoods with certain flags flying, and people can even tell which side you come down on by what newspaper you read in the morning.

The other thing that made me cry today (and keep crying every time I thought about it) was that apparently Joy Street, the street Grandma Terry lived on, is apparently right around the block from the place we meet every day for lectures (Ormeau Avenue). Dad, you said that whether I realize it or not, at some point I would be walking in the exact place Grandma did years ago, and I have been, every single day. Every time I think about that now I start crying. This whole emotion business is really getting to be a lot to handle!

Anywho, I hear the music starting downstairs so I should go. This will be it for tonight, but I'll fill you all in tomorrow on the events of tonight.

Love you all,
Amanda

Tired!

First off, I am really craving ice cream and hot chocolate...it's a problem. Holy cow. Now, on to the day...

Today was pretty low key. We listened to another lecture on Celtic Christianity this morning, then had lunch and heard a really awesome lecture on the political aspect of the conflict - it was really fascinating. I took approximately 170,000 pages of notes. After that we went on a walking tour around Belfast and that was really interesting. We saw a lot of the murals they have around the city in support of one side of the conflict or the other - those were pretty sad.

We also saw the "Peace Lines" dividing Belfast. Basically a peace line is just a wall dividing the Protestant sections from the Catholic sections so they can't through bombs and attack each other without getting over or around the wall. There are a few roads where you can go through from one section to the other, but even those have massive gates that close off the roads for when things get tense. The wall just left me heartbroken that there is so much mistrust and hate and violence that a wall like this is necessary.

Catholic side

Gate

Protestant side

Now we're back at the hostel after our walk, we've had dinner and now we're just hanging out for the night. Everyone's in their pajamas and some people are downstairs playing a guitar and singing (well, they are youth ministry majors!).

That will probably be it for today. Like I said, we didn't do a whole lot.

Love,
Amanda

P.S. Dad - at the Italian restaurant last night I had spaghetti carbonara. It was pretty good, but yours is way better - we're going to have to have that for dinner after I get back! Love that stuff.

I'm in Belfast!

Right off the bat, I want to thank all of you who have been commenting on my posts - I love hearing from you!

I'll keep this post short, for the simple reason that we just didn't do much today. I, along with about 10 other students, went to church this morning in Dublin. It was the church Fergus used to teach at before he retired. It was a really good service, and the music was great. I really enjoyed it.

After church, we booked it to the bus station where we caught the 1 o'clock bus to Belfast. I'm in Grandma's city! We walked about a mile from the bus station to Arnie's Backpackers (our hostel - it's really small, we basically took it over!). After we got settled in, we took a little walk around the city and had a class meeting. Then we went out to dinner at this cute little Italian restaurant, and we came back to the hostel where one of the Bethel guys taught me to play Rook (I'm really awful - it's a bummer it's a team game haha! My poor partner!). Now, I'm calling it a night a bit early (1am, I rock!).

So now for the best part of the day - while we were walking around Belfast, we came across a bar called Lavery's! I don't have a clue if that is the same Lavery we're related to, but even if it's not I think that's just awesome! I'm definitely going to have to spend some time there :) I can't help but wonder, as I walk around the city, whether I might be walking where Grandma Terry once walked or if she had been to the places I'll be going to. I have a feeling this is going to be a very emotional leg of my trip.

No pictures today, I don't have time to upload them before I fall asleep. I did get a couple good night shots of The Queen's University in Belfast, so I'll add those tomorrow.

Good night!

Love,
Amanda

Cold, Windy, Rainy, Awesome

Today was full of bus rides, walking, and sightseeing. We took a bus tour around County Wicklow and saw a lot. We only stopped a couple places and got out to take pictures. the first place we stopped was Avoca, which had this really old textile mill that is still in operation today. It was really cool to see all the old equipment they still use, and it was fun to kind of learn the process by which they weave the yarn into different things. I bought a scarf and a hat that was made in Avoca when we stopped at the coffee shop/general-store-type-thing next door, they're SO SOFT!

After Avoca, we stopped at Gleann Da Loch, which translated means "Valley of the Two Lakes" and is exactly what it sounds like. We got to take about a 40 minute (freezing cold) walk around the valley and we got a lot of good pictures. It was really pretty, even if it was cold. I'm glad we were able to see it.

Then we continued our bus tour, and our last stop was a hill overlooking Guinness Valley. It was SUPER windy, I almost got blown right off the cliff! (Just kidding, mom!) We were able to see the house (more like mansion) that the Guinnesses still live in. The whole valley was just breathtaking. Our bus driver told us that the Beatles once stayed at the Guinness mansion, and that the valley was actually where Paul McCartney came up with the song "Yesterday".

Our bus driver was absolutely hilarious, and he kept singing random Irish songs (with some Elvis thrown in for good measure)!

After the tour, we got back to Dublin and had a light dinner at the hostel and me and two other girls (Sarah and Emily) went to The Celt, which is a pub near our hostel. I was told that it was basically the IRA bar, and I could definitely see that in the people who were there, as well as the types of things they had for decoration (Think a memorial to the United Irishmen and a "United Ireland" plaque on the wall...among many, many other things). There was a band playing there when we got there and they were really good. I could have definitely spent a lot more time in there talking to people and just hanging out. It was a great atmosphere!

So now I'm back at the hostel, attempting to get in bed by 2am (not going to happen, since it's 1:59 right now! Oops!). So that's my spiel for the day. Tomorrow we head to Belfast, which I'm REALLY looking forward to. I'm interested to see what the contrast is between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. I'm not sure how internet will be while I'm there, I hear the hostel doesn't have wireless, so I might have to find a cafe somewhere. Either way, I'll post more from Belfast eventually!

Love,
Amanda

Finally, RAIN!

Today was kind of low-key. We went to see a presentation on Celtic spirituality by Father John Joe at a hostel down the street. I was so exhausted, because we had some roomie bonding time last night...until 2:30 am. And then were out the door of the hostel by 9:20. Sleep deprivation and a lecture in a warm room are bad news when you're trying to stay awake, as it turns out. Good news though, I stayed awake!

After the lecture, a couple of us went out for lunch at this adorable little cafe called The Pantry and I had shepherd's pie and some AWESOME hot chocolate (Made out of Aero bar chocolate!) WITH MARSHMALLOWS! Win! At lunch, it was me, 3 other students (Mindy, Bryce and Neil) and one of the professors (Christian). We had a good long conversation about theology stuff where I basically smiled and nodded, and then had a little bit of politics talk - it's pretty fun when people disagree with you, but you're not worried about getting beat up or having your car keyed (Lookin' at you, St. Kate's!).

When lunch was over, we went back to the hostel and did some presentations on different chapters of one of our books. Luckily, I got the chapter with all the statistics and random facts (I LOVE random facts!). Our chapter was "Land and People". Apparently they couldn't narrow that down at all, because our one chapter was like a quarter of the book (OK, maybe I'm exaggerating A LITTLE BIT, but not by much!). It was pretty fun listening to all the presentations, I love picking up little tidbits of information.

Then after the presentations, about 15 of us went to a rugby game! It was Leinster (the good guys) versus the Ospreys (from Wales). I learned 2 things: 1) Peacoats are not waterproof, and 2) Neither are Pumas. Holy cannoli, that was cold. About 20 minutes in we got ponchos, but not before we were all soaked to the bone. 2 pairs of socks, jeans, 1 tank top, 2 long sleeved shirts, 1 sweatshirt, 1 coat, and shoes...not enough. I couldn't feel my toes the entire bus ride and walk home. But we won 15-10! Ha..."we". I keep referring to the Irish like I'm one of them. Man, I wish. Kind of. I can't imagine living here though, I love the USA and my family too much.

So then, dinner. We went to some kebab place right near the hostel and had...hamburgers. Haha, they were the cheapest thing on the menu! Budgeting is getting interesting. They were good burgers though!

I think I'm really going to enjoy being with these people for the rest of the month. This class has kind of been a shock to my system - it's so laid back, I don't know what to do! I kind of miss the structure of poli sci classes because I kind of thrive on structure, but at the same time it's kind of a refreshing experience to just be learning with a group of people who love what they do and seem to love each other. Everyone is so close! It's like a family here, and I can tell they're going out of their way to include me. It's really nice to know that people like that exist.

Love,
Amanda

Hello :)

Today was pretty awesome. Our group went to Fergus (our tour guide from yesterday) and Sarah's (his wife) house near the coast, on the outskirts of Dublin. It was gorgeous!!! They call it Narnia - that's even how they get their mail! There is no house number, it's just "Narnia" haha. Hilarious! Even if I didn't really like those books...oh well. While we were there Fergus gave us a seriously in-depth lesson on the Ireland conflict from the Protestant perspective. Hello, 5 pages of notes! I had a migraine during his presentation, so I kept kind of nodding off and then the guy sitting behind me would smack me in the head with his notebook to keep me awake. Ow! I guess that was probably for the best though, since I was sitting on a REALLY comfortable couch in the very first row...snoring during a presentation is probably seen as offensive in Ireland. At least, that's my guess! (And NO, I do NOT actually snore!)

This is Fergus and Sarah:

After Narnia, we went to Malahide Castle, which is beautiful! (Fergus told us not to go there because it's "rubbish". I think he just has impossibly high standards.) It was amazing. We couldn't go inside because no one wanted to pay to get in, but the outside of the castle and the surrounding grounds were AMAZING - well worth the trip. Here it is :)

And a couple shots I love from the grounds:

My most commonly used phrase while we were walking around the grounds was "IT'S SO GREEN!!! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT, IT'S JUST SO BRIGHT GREEN!!!"

After we got back, we had "dinner" (reheated spaghetti, bread soaked in butter, wilted salad with some sort of vinaigrette - can you guess how much of that I actually ate?). After "dinner", me and a couple other people (Jacque, Stefan, Emily, Caroline, Hannah, and Chuck) went to a pub called O'Shea's and had real food. It was a fun place - it was pretty slow when we got there because it was only about 9:30, but by 10 they had live Irish music playing - and THERE WERE IRISH DANCERS! It was so fun to watch. I can't believe people actually do that, I thought it was just a stereotype! Awesome nonetheless :)

I ended the day with a great talk with both Mike and Andrea - I love them both! I can't imagine what I would do without them. Ireland is great, but honestly, talking to them was probably the highlight of my day!

I've gotta go, we have to be up by 8:30 and it's almost 2 here - whoops! How do I keep missing bedtime?! Oh right...pub life :) Love it!

Love,
Amanda

WOOHOO!

So today, a lot of stuff happened - but it's 1am and I have to be up at 8, so I've gotta be quick.

First, we had breakfast at the hostel - mmm, toast! Haha there was not a lot to choose from, but hey, it was free! Then a guy named Fergus came to the hostel and picked up our group for a walking tour around Dublin. It was amazing! I'm falling in love with this city. We went to see the outside of Dublin Castle (GORGEOUS), and we saw some REALLY old illuminated Bible manuscripts (like, 150AD old) at the Chester Beatty library.

Then we went to a cafe for lunch (right next to the hotel where Handel's Messiah was performed for the first time EVER. That cafe had the absolute best hot chocolate I've ever had in my life. After lunch, we got to take a guided tour of Dublin Castle! That place was amazing. So many gorgeous rooms, paintings, and beautiful architecture! The chandeliers in particular caught my attention. There were so many, and they were so pretty!

And then, GUESS WHAT!!!!!!!!!! Dublin Castle has a complete listing of Irish Coats of Arms...and I got ours! It's being sent to the house - Mom, Dad, Liz, DON'T OPEN IT BEFORE I GET HOME!!! I cried when I found it, obviously. But they were happy tears, so it's ok!!!! I still almost can't believe it. My work here is done haha! Also, Liz and Andrea, I got you presents from the castle!

Then we celebrated the Laverys by doing an Irish click or two (that no Irish person probably ever does):

We're naturals, no?

Later, we came back to the hostel for dinner, and then about 7 people and I went to the Temple Bar - not just the area, the actual bar! It was awesome. Completely packed, but awesome. There was a band called Ladlane playing and they were amazing. I bought their CD, if anyone's interested in hearing it.

After the pub, we came back to the hostel and just hung out for a while, and now here I am! Time for bed...hopefully. These mattresses are like sleeping on concrete, and the pillows aren't much better. But I still love it here!

Love you all,
Amanda

(P.S. Pictures won't load, so I'll add them once I've had a chance to charge my computer. It's almost a goner!)

(P.P.S. Pictures are up, if you haven't noticed! 1/7/11)