FINISHED!

I’ve been back in the states for just under 24 hours and let me tell you it is so good to be home!  Let me tell you about our trip home.  We left Dundrum at 6:30 AM to drive the 2 hours to Dublin.  Early morning… got up at 5:45 to be up for the next 24 hours.  The flight out of Dublin was a half hour late.  Great way to start the day.  We all boarded and we had a seat near the front of the plane, which was nice.  The 7 hour flight was grueling! I watched 3 movies and an episode of friends and still had time to read! I think it was a combination of the length and the desire to be home more than anything in the whole world!  Then our layover in Newark! We (usually referring to me and Mel) had to wait over a half hour to get our bags to recheck them.  Everything went fine and easy in customs.   Then we had to take a air train to the other side of the airport and we found our terminal.  The problem was there were 3 security check points and we went through the wrong one initially.  Had to go back out and the find the right security check point all the while we think our plane is boarding.  We finally get to the right gate and everything and the plane has not been boarded.  We boarded a half hour late and then sat in the airplane for another hour on the tarmac in terrible airplane traffic!  The flight was really bumpy and not smooth at all.  We finally got to XNA and my friends Sarah and Jamie were there to pick me up.  We go to wait for my luggage and only 1 of my bags made it home!  There were about12-15 people who were missing bags from our flight.  The biggest problem with not getting that bag is that I am going to Houston today to see Bradley and that bag had my shoes and make-up and some of my gifts in it.  We had to organize it to get the bag to XNA and then sent on to Houston and I should get it sometime this afternoon.  It’s nice to be home in the states.  I still don’t quite feel like I have a home at this point.  The trip overall was a success and I am glad that I went but so much more glad to be home!

Today was our last day of anything school related!  It was quite a long day full of finals and presentations and last papers getting turned in.  My finals went well and I felt good about them at the end of each test.  I gave my art presentations with good vocab and was pleased with my final project.  There was such a sense of relief today to be done with school for real.  I still have one more paper to do but it isn’t due until next Friday.  All the stress of having an extra 6 weeks of school added on to the end of the semester was a little harder than I anticipated.  I’m so glad that it’s all done.  I went on a two hour walk with Melinda tonight.  It was good to get away from the group for a while.  People are really to go home and you can feel the tension rising as we get closer to our departure.  Tomorrow is packing and cleaning because we leave early on Thursday to go to Dublin to catch our flight home.  I can’t believe that it is time to go home!  I’ve been counting down for a while now and it’s kinda hard to believe that the time is actually here. 

I'm working on getting my pictures from the North Coast online.  I'll post a link when they are up.

I forgot to let everyone know that I wouldn't have internet over the weekend while we were at the north coast, but I have updated the blog from the last 3 days.  I would have done it last night, but I was studying hard and having internet issues.  I hope you enjoy

June 9, 2009
We went to see Giant's Causeway today.  It's the most popular tourist attraction in Northern Ireland, but to be honest I was a little disappointed. It's a really cool sight to see and to say that I've seen it is awesome, but there's not a lot to look at there.  The rock formations are cool and it was fun to walk around for about 10 minutes and then I was ready to go.  Not to mention that it's a hike to get down and back up from the Causeway.  We left the North Coast after that little tour.  I was way tired today because I didn't sleep well last night.  It was nice to come home after being gone all weekend.  I was actually surprised at how quickly the weekend went by.  The lack of internet made me focus on being at the North Coast, but I am very happy to have it back.  There was a lot of studying done tonight.  All of our finals are tomorrow and everyone is freaking out a little.  It really feels like finals week.  I just have to keep reminding myself that I'm getting 9 hours out of all of this and I get to graduate a semester early.  There are times when the days drag by and others when I can't believe that I've been here for 5 weeks.   I'm really glad I came, but I am ready to go home and actually get to enjoy summer.  

June 8, 2008
    Sunday means another church in Ireland.  We attended a church Colermaine, which is about 20 minutes from our hostel.  We attend Causeway Coast Vineyard.  I had heard of Vineyard churches for a long time and have always wanted to attend one.  The service was the most lively and charismatic one we have been to in Ireland.  The worship was very contemporary and the entire congregation was into it.  It kind of reminded me of a youth conference worship set.  The church believes very strongly in healing and there was a testimony given about being healed at the beginning of the service.  The sermon was very powerful and you could feel the Holy Spirit in the place.  It was by far my favorite church in Ireland.  I think that some of the team was a bit overwhelmed by the experience, but I truly enjoyed it.  We ate lunch at a little garden café that was quite good.  We had lectures this afternoon and concluded our Lit class with a poetry reading.  If you want I’ll let you read the poem I wrote sometime.  We had a couple of hours to ourselves, where I did a good bit of homework and preparation for my finals on Tuesday.  We had an artist as a guest lecturer come tonight to talk about his artwork.  His name is Ross Wilson and we have seen some of his sculpture work since we have been here.  He was a very interesting man, but I didn’t enjoy his paintings as much as I like his sculptures.  The conversation that occurred over tea included talk of American politics and the specificities of Arkansas.  Ross is coming to JBU in October to speak in chapel.  It should be a good time had by all.  We leave the coast tomorrow to head back to Dundrum to finish homework and prepare for our final days in Ireland.  

June7, 2008
We left Dundrum this morning for the north coast.  The drive was only a couple of hours, but it was by far the grossest smelling ride since we have been in Ireland.  We were out in a much more rural part of the country, which equals lots of animals and their poop filling the air.  We went to the outlet mall in Northern Ireland.  Not going to lie, it was pretty lame compared to the outlet malls in the states.  We are staying in a town called Bushmills in a very nice hostel.  This is the nicest of the three hostels we’ve stayed in since we have been here.  We don’t have Internet so this won’t get posted until we get home on Monday.  We drove to Carrick-a-rede to go to a rope bridge.  It’s right on the coast and view was incredible.  There were cliffs covered in grass and moss and it looked like a movie setting.  The bridge was cool, but a little scary.  Only 8 people were allowed to go across at a time.  We completed a meditation exercise on who we are, what are major concerns about life are, what changes we think God wants for us and what we could do to foster those changes.  It was a very refreshing experience.  We each went off by ourselves and just had time to be alone with our thoughts and ourselves.  It was refreshing and calming in the midst of everything else going on.  Then we went to Dunluce Castle.  This castle was much more in ruins but you could still see what each thing once was.  All of the castles are kinda blending together at this point in the trip.  I still think castles are really cool, but after awhile they lose their spark.  We went out to eat and I had sausages and champ (mashed potatoes with onions).  I’m trying to eat good Irish food while I’m still here.  I think it’s actually starting to hit me how little time we have left.  Sometimes I get a wee bit sad, but most often I’m ready to come home.  I know I will look back on this trip with fond memories, but 6 weeks is a long time.

Our internet was down last night and that's why this is getting posted late.
Our day today got started a little late.  We were told to be ready by 11 but didn’t leave til 1.  Typical Irish time.  We went into Belfast to look at a couple of art galleries because we have to critique a painting by an Irish artist.  I’ve decided to use a painting called “Girl with Red Hair.”  I sat and stared at it for some time, so I would have lots of good info for my paper.  Then we had the rest of the afternoon in Belfast.  I’ve decided that I’m glad we didn’t stay in the city.  I feel like we’ve spent too much time in Belfast as it is, at least the last few days.  I decided that I need some time away from EVERYONE and so I left the group and went off by myself.  I know the main area well enough now that I was quite comfortable.  I went into some shops and then settled down at the Roast, which is a coffee shop with comfy couches.  I sat and did homework for 3 hours all by myself.  I didn’t do homework the entire time.  I listened in on some interesting conversations and ate dinner.  There was another American in the shop and I think I understood a little better why Americans get the reputation for thinking they are just so amazing.  This guy really did.  It was quite funny.  It was nice to relax and not have to talk to anyone about anything.  I know… a shocker!  Rissa didn’t want to talk?!  It’s true!  I’ve just been so overloaded with people and conversations that the break from it all was wonderful.  Our time is dwindling here and I’m trying to keep sane and not focus on how badly I want to go home.  It’s really hard, but I’m trying.  I think that 6 weeks is a little long for a vacation.  One more day of real classes before we head off to the North Coast!

Sleeping in this morning was glorious!  I did have some strange dreams about Bradley’s job situation early this morning though.  The weather was true Irish weather today with cold, wind, and rain.  It was such a change from the last couple of days here.  The weather is supposed to be good for when we go up to the North Coast this weekend.  We went to Carrickfergis this afternoon to see a real castle.  It’s built on a rock that’s basically a peninsula.  It has walls all around it and is set up like the castles you see in movies.  It’s way cool.  There was a banquet room and an upper room that now has games in it.  I played chess against Ali and lost.  It was a good game though.  We got to see down into the dungeon, but couldn’t go in.  There were big canons along the wall to attack ships coming in from the sea.  The wind and rain made all the outside stuff not as enjoyable as it would have been say yesterday.  Then we drove out into the middle of nowhere to see a monument built for the soldiers who died in WWI.  It was really tall and in a beautiful spot to see the city.  With the weather like it was today, everything looked a little eerie.  We ate kebabs in Belfast before we headed home.  I had a lamb and chicken kebab in bread, which is basically a pita pocket.  It was really good for a fast food-esc place.  We watched a movie tonight called An Everlasting Piece.  It was about 2 guys selling wigs during the Troubles in the 80’s.  It was really funny and gave a good picture of what life was like nearly 30 years ago.  We were given an outline of homework stuff for the rest of our time here, and there’s a lot left to do before we go home.  I’m feeling a little overwhelmed, but I know that when it’s all done I will have 9 hours to my name and hopefully 3 A’s as well.  The next couple of days are going to be crazy so I just have to stay focused.  

Today was a much slower paced day compared to the last weekend.  We had class this morning and once again I can only sing Hadden’s praises.  He is such an insightful man and I really enjoy his lectures.  I wish more of the team would get involved in the class discussions though.  He has so much wisdom and offers great insight into the topic of the Christian life.  We went to Tolleymore Forest this afternoon.  It’s a national forest just outside of New Castle.  It has tons of huge trees and it’s a beautiful sight.  We spent an hour an a half there.  Mel and I stole away from the big group and found a nice patch of grass to lay on and just relax.  I love being out in nature like that, when I can soak in my surroundings and realize that God created it all and that I am part of that creation.  It’s a very humbling experience.  We had the afternoon to ourselves.  I worked on some homework as our final projects are fast approaching.  Then I went and watched Gray’s Anatomy.  Irish commercials are interesting and don’t make a lot of sense.  It’s also strange because the tv shows don’t start on the hour or half hours.  They don’t have a lot of commercials so they just start the next show when the previous one is over.  Strange.  We get to sleep in morning and I’m so looking forward to that!  

Today we went to Armagh, the Ecclesiastical capital of Ireland.  It was an hour and a half drive this morning to get there.  That is one bad thing about where we are staying, it’s so far away from everything!  We went to see two cathedrals in Armagh, one Catholic and the other Protestant.  They were both called St. Patrick’s Cathedral.  It’s one thing I found very interesting about Ireland, that both Catholics and Protestants claim St. Patrick.  He is such a revered saint in this country.  The Catholic cathedral was very elaborate and more ornate than the protestant cathedral.  There were tile mosaics on the floor and all the walls.  The ceiling was beautifully painted and the entire building was just breath taking.  I decided that to worship in such a building would be very distracting for me.  I think I would be looking around all the time and counting tiles and such.  We ate lunch in a little restaurant and I had salmon.  It was really good and different from anything I have had here so far.  Then we took a little drive to Naven Fort or just Naven to go a museum-esc thing.  The Naven center is dedicated to the myths and legends of Ireland.  We watched a film about the legends and some were disturbing.  Then we went to the living museum portion of the trip and that was really cool.  We went inside a house that would have been traditional thousands of years ago.  It was made of sticks and straw but the walls were so strong.  There were actors telling us about their lives in the village.  One was a young woman looking for a husband with lots of cows because that’s a sign of wealth.  It was the coolest part of the Naven Center.  Then we went on a tour of the grounds.  That part would have been a lot more fun if it wasn’t so hot.  I know that sounds crazy to say, but it very warm here today.  The forecast yesterday said it was supposed to rain.  I just don’t believe them anymore.  I might as well be living back in Phoenix where they say it’s going to rain, but it never does.  Haha!  We got ice cream on our way home and it was really good.  We watched an Irish movie tonight called The Field.  It was interesting.  I wasn’t a terribly big fan of it on the whole but it’s part of the experience, right?  Needless to say, it was a very long day.  Tomorrow should be lighter with school in the morning, but we are supposed to have a free afternoon.  With four full days in a row, I’m looking forward to the break.

Sunday is a major church day in Ireland.  Most churches have a morning and an evening service and both services are attended regularly.  In the morning we went to Bellynahinch Baptist Church.  It’s the church where Hadden pastured for 15 years and where we saw the choir perform.  The Baptist church was the closest thing we have been to that reminded me of home.  It was a very modern church with modern architecture and somewhat modern music.  I wasn’t a huge fan of the worship, though.  The worship leader is very touchy feely and it kinda made me uncomfortable.  At the service, Hadden was named Pastor Emeritus.  It’s basically just an honorary title for the work he does with the church and makes his work more formal.  After church we went to Hadden and Betty’s house for lunch.  It was mainly finger foods, but it was a good lunch.  We only had a couple of hours at home before we left to go to Killileah to go to the evening service that was the culmination of the mission trip.  It was an ordinary service needless to say.  We have been to 5 different churches and services since we have been here, and all I keep thinking about is the church that Bradley and I recently started going to in Siloam.  I miss it.  I miss my church.  This is our last full week and the team is getting a bit catty.  We are all feeling home on the horizon and want to get there as quickly as possible.  I am trying to soak in what is left of the trip, but I’m ready to get home at the same time.  I don’t want to leave Ireland with any regrets. 

Today was a Belfast day.  We got to sleep in this morning, which was glorious.  I got some good rest that I had been missing lately.  It was a very warm day.  It was the first day that I didn’t have to take a jacket or sweatshirt with me when we left the houses. We left at 11:30 to go into Belfast.  We had reservations at the Crown pub to eat lunch.  We had to wait when we got there so we went to look at a statue outside the Europa.  It was of two women and it was dedicated to the plight of the woman worker.  The statue was somewhat disturbing but also intriguing at the same time.  It showed how hard it was to be a mother/house keeper and have a job outside the home at the same time.  Then we finally ate lunch in the pub, late as usual.  The Irish really have no time schedule to keep.  We ate in a snug, which is an enclosed booth.  They were built for people who wanted to have a drink, but didn’t want the whole world to know about it.  It was an interesting set up.   Not many places have air conditioning around here and we sat in a very sunny part of the restaurant and it was quite warm.  Then we had the afternoon to ourselves to hang out and go shopping.  I had to get some money out of the ATM and one thing I haven’t mentioned is that there is no standard currency here.  Each bank makes their own money so the notes all look a little different.  I can’t imagine how difficult it is to deal with counterfeit money with so many different kinds.  We met up and read poetry together and went to the John Hewitt Pub.  The name may not mean a whole lot unless you’ve read much Irish poetry.  Hewitt was a poet who inspired another poet by the name of Michael Longley.  Longley built the pub in Hewitt’s honor.  It was a nice pub and there was some Irish music playing while we were there.  We ate dinner at Pizza Hut.  It was nice reminder of home.  Two heavy meals in one day made our walk (mine and Melinda’s) a necessity.  We went up to Dundrum Castle, which is all ruins and hung out and talked.  It was nice and relaxing.  Our schedule for the rest of the time we are here keeps getting smaller and smaller.  I can’t believe that I have been here for nearly a month or that I will be home in 12, well really 11 days!  

Vocab:
Car Park: parking lot

So, first of all I had a bad attitude about today’s scheduled events.  Being told that we were going to a linen museum just didn’t sound very exciting to me.  We loaded up the van this morning and drove to Lisburn, which is about 45 minutes from Dundrum.  We got the museum for our 11 o’clock tour and the first room we were taken to was a large room with portraits hanging on the walls and were told a very graphic story of beheadings that took place in the town.  Not the best way to start the tour.  Our guide was a very energetic man who appeared to really like his job and therefore he made the tour fun.  We learned that linen comes from flax and the entire process of getting flax to linen is a time consuming and tedious process.  I actually got to spin some flax on a spinning wheel.  It’s not as easy as it looks.  We were told that girls starting spinning when they were 6 or 7 and that it took 9 hours to spin a hank’s worth of thread.  A hank is a mile long, but used way faster by the weavers.  The mothers and daughters were the spinners and the fathers did the weaving.  The term spinster comes from spinning flax until you were old and never being able to attract a husband.  We saw a wedding dress made out of linen that if it were sold today would be worth 40,000 pounds or 80,000 dollars!  CRAZY!  One nice part was that the tour was only 45 minutes long.  Then we had a couple of free hours in Lisburn to hang out and go shopping.  I ate the equivalent of chicken tenders for lunch and they had some interesting flavoring to them.  Not bad, just different.  We came back to the houses for what turned out to be a very quiet evening.  There isn’t much to do on a Friday night in Dundrum.  I worked out with Mel tonight.  We went on a run and it was very invigorating.  It was nice to have a relaxing night after a pretty crazy week.  We also watched Princess Bride tonight!  “Anybody want a peanut?”

Sorry about not writing yesterday.  Our days are not as eventful as they were when we first arrived.  Yesterday was our C.S. Lewis day.  We went to see a statue of Digery (from the Magician’s Nephew) and the wardrobe.  It was kind of a random statue outside a library in the outskirts of Belfast.  There was a letter written by Lewis engraved on the statue explaining that the Chronicles of Narnia is a story that depicts the story of Christ.  So don’t let anyone tell you differently.  Then we went to the church where Lewis’s grandfather was the Rector.  It is called St. Mark’s.  Lewis’s parents were married in the church and Lewis was also baptized as an infant in the church.  We ate a late lunch at a really good fish and chips place in Belfast.  A lot of the team need some home and ordered burgers instead.  I stayed true to Ireland and got the fish and chips.  It was some of the best I’ve had since being here.  We had the evening to ourselves and I did homework.  So far I’m doing well in all of my classes and that makes me very happy.
    Today was a long lecture day.  Sometimes these days are more tiring than the days when we are out and about all day. One strange thing did occur while we were in Christian Life.  This massive fog rolled in over the bay and you couldn’t see anything through it.  It was a glaringly white fog that covered the entire bay and everything around it.  It stuck around for about 4 hours before rolling away toward the Morn Mountains.  I have never seen fog like that and I’ve experienced some crazy fog in Siloam Springs.  We did have a bit of an adventure tonight.  We went to the Down Patrick library (where I have a library card to) to see a gallery of artwork by a local artist.  It was a very long gallery where the artist, James Miles, took us through a book he painted of scenes in County Down where we are staying.  The paintings were mostly landscapes and mostly done well.  Some of the paintings were of places that we have visited in our time here and that was really cool.  Now here’s the entertaining part… he played guitar at a point during the exhibition and he sang a song about potatoes.  He also raffled of a huge sack of potatoes that our professor Hadden won!  It was so funny.  His wife was not so happy about getting a sack of potatoes though.  Hadden was happy because he had never won anything before.  We didn’t get back to our houses until after 10, one of the latest nights out for us.  I promise I will try to be better about writing everyday until I leave.  Only two more weeks!

May 27, 2008
The last few days have not been terribly eventful, therefore I have not felt the need to write on the blog.  I’m sorry to those who have been troubled by this.  I will briefly recap the last few days.  On Saturday, I went wedding dress shopping with Ruth, my new Irish friend.  We spent all day walking around downtown Belfast going between two shops. Based on the shops we went to here, I have a good idea about the kind of dress I want to get. YAY! I ate dinner with Philip, Michael, and Ruth that night and had a very interesting conversation about religion and politics.  Ask me about it sometime.  It was too in depth to recreate on my blog.  Sunday, I went to an American football game that Philip was playing in and was out in the cold wind for 7 hours.  It was a very long day and not the most fun.  It was strange to watch a bunch of Irish men play a sport that I was very familiar with.  Philip’s team won, which was a highlight.  I came home to Dundrum on Sunday night because I was ready to leave the city.  Yesterday I sat around and didn’t really do anything.  It was amazing.  I slept in and hung out with the people on the team that stuck around Dundrum for the weekend. 
    Today, school started again.  We have a lot to cover in the 2 weeks and 2 days remaining in the trip.  I’m amazed that we will actually get all the work in.  It does mean making sure that I am staying up on my homework and reading for class.  I’ve decided that I really like Christian Life and my professor, Hadden.  He is a wise and insightful man.  I really love his lectures and he has such wonderful things to say.  We are watching an Irish film tonight called The Quiet Man.  It is part of our art and culture class.  Gotta experience Irish movies.  The weather was dreary and rainy today for the first time since we have been here.  I think it gave a slight migraine and I have not felt well most of the afternoon/evening.  Hopefully I can sleep it off tonight.  We have a big C.S. Lewis day tomorrow and I am very excited about it.  See, one blog entry was enough to cover it all.  No worries.

Yesterday was a busy day that ended with me talking Bradley really late, so I didn't write.  I hung out with my friend Philip and his friends Michael and Ruth.  It's been amazing to me how the Irish go about making arrangements to get things done, or rather the lack of arrangements that are made.  Everything is done very hap hazardly and willy nilly.  I like structure and schedules so much better, but learning to make adjustments.  We didn't get started doing anything until the afternoon because Philip and Michael had papers due yesterday.  Then we walked into the main part of Belfast and I went and tried on wedding dresses!  We went into a little store on the main strip and I tried on 4 different dresses.  Of course I wasn't planning on buying anything but it was so much fun to look and get a a real idea of what I like and what I would ultimately like to wear on my wedding day.  We went to this entertainment place The Odyssey for our night activities. The Odyssey was the Millenium project for Northern Ireland.  It has restaurants,  a bolling alley, a movie theater, dance clubs and other stuff.  We went to a Spanish restaurant for dinner.  It was tapas so we had an assortment of food and it was all really good.  Then we went to see Indiana Jones.  I've never seen any of the other movies so maybe it didn't mean as much to me.  It was corny at points, it was scary and made me jump out of my seat several time, and I would say entertaining. One funny thing we saw as we were leaving last night was at a club in the Odyssey.  There has been a new no smoking indoors ban and so they had a caged off area where everyone was smoking.  It was comical and gross all at the same time.  It was fun hanging out with people who live here and have normal lives.  All the tours and grave sites we have visited since we have been here has taken the normalcy of the country out of the entire experience.  I learned a lot of new stuff from the locals yesterday:

Street signs are the side of buildings not on the corners of the streets
The tallest building in Northern Ireland is really short compared to the buildings we have in America
Vocabulary:
cinema: movie
money-off voucher: coupon
bunged: full
spide: trailer trash

I didn't write yesterday because there was really much to write about.  We had lectures all day and I didn't really venture outside the house.  Hadden, my Christian Life professor came to our houses and lectured for the first time.  He is a great man and has a lot of very good insights.  I am really looking forward to the class on the whole.  I am a little afraid that it is going to mean a lot of homework though because we started the course so late in our trip.  Hopefully I will be able to handle it. 
Today began our free weekend.  I think the free weekend is very strategically placed in the trip.  Everyone needed a break by the time today arrived.  I am spending the weekend in Belfast a friend's flat, his name is Philip, from the states.  I'm staying at his flat, which is university housing while he stays with a friend.  It's nice and free!  I've decided I like Belfast more than I like Dublin.  The city is nicer and so are the people. I was shown the Botanical Gardens and they were beautiful.  It's gotten rather cold and wet the last couple of days so the flowers were not as perky as they were a couple of days ago.  We met up with another friend of Philip's tonight for dinner at the Crowne.  I ate beef and guinness pie with chips.  It was really good.  Another truly Irish meal under my belt.  One thing I've noticed is that they have potatoes with EVERY meal!  Makes sense why the potato famine had such a terrible effect on the country. We continue to walk EVERYWHERE.  I feel like I've gotten more exercise here when I am walking around the city for an hour or more than when I'm on the elliptical at home.  At least I'm getting out and moving around!  It's really kinda nice to be away from the big group for a few days.  Living with 14 people 24/7 is quite the adjustment.  It's also nice to do what I want to do while in Ireland.  For instance, we, Philip and I, are going wedding gown shopping tomorrow and I am very excited!  The weekend should prove to be a nice break from the school work as well.  We have gotten our schedule for the two weeks and a couple days when we get back from our free weekend.  I can't believe we have already been her for 2 and a half weeks!  This week has flown by and I am secretly hoping that the next 3 weeks go by quickly but that I can soak in as much as possible at the same time. 

Today, was not the greatest day of our trip up to this point.  We started the day with a lecture and had lunch as usual.  Then we drove have way to Derry to go to Balaghy Bawn.  It was a museum of sorts that combined the history of bawns/plantations with Seamus Heaney.  The tour guide was not good at all and the "museum" had only 3 rooms in it.  Our group could barely fit in them comfortably.  It was one trip that could have been avoided and I would not have felt deprived at all.  Then we went to this black smith shop that Seamus wrote a poem about.  The old man that used to use it talked to us about all the nic nacks in his shop.  He was cute, but very hard to understand.  We even stayed there a bit too long.  We spent twice the amount time driving to the site visit today as we actually spent at the site.  It was annoying.  That made up the bulk of the day and then it was normal night at home.  We continue to have internet problems when all 30 people staying at the Holiday Homes try to be on the internet at one time.  It's made things difficult at times, but I much prefer having some internet than no internet. I have definitely gotten more homesick than I thought I would be.  I am very much looking forward to going home while still trying to enjoy my time here.  It's hard to find a good balance.  I've got my free weekend plans nailed down and I'm excited about doing something different away from a big group for a change of pace. 

New Vocab:
bawn: fort

That's all I've got...

Today was all about the Northern Ireland Government.  Well first, we were supposed to have an art lecture this morning, but by the time we all got the house for the lecture, we were informed that one of the choir vans had got into an accident and that Billy and Mindi had to go take of it and help with vans and such.  It made for an unsure morning.  When Mindi got back, we headed to Stormont, which is a part of Belfast to the Parliament Buildings to learn about the Northern Irish government. I learned so many things today and I will try to cover as much as possible.
-    Parliament has 8 parties represented
-    There are two leaders of the Parliament: one Unionist and one Nationalist
-    There are 108 MLAs (members of the Legislative Assembly)
-    The MLA’s always vote with their party or they leave the party. 
-    There are some powers that are still held by Westminster and not given to the parliament (police force, etc.)
-    The prime minister can close the building down at any time: done so twice in past, once 1972 and again in 2002
-    There are 18 members elected to go the House of Commons to represent the 18 constituents
-    People over 60 get free public transportation
-    They have academic selection based on a high stakes test: 11 plus test
Those are some of the major points of interest.  We stayed there all afternoon and then came home to work on our papers that are due tomorrow.  I was one of the first to turn mine in, which felt good.  We made up our art lecture tonight.  I’ve decided that class should be good and not very difficult.  We have lots of school stuff this week before our free weekend.  Should be interesting. 

Sunday is supposed to be the day of rest.  Well for us today, Sunday meant going to church twice.  This morning we attended 2nd Presbyterian in Killyleagh.  The town is about 25 minutes from where we live.  Overall, it was not the most pleasant of experiences since being in Ireland.  The pews might have been the most uncomfortable seats I have ever had to endure for an hour and a half.  The seats were too short and the backs were straight up 90 degrees.  We were also a little squished in the pew, not for lack of general seating. We just clung to our group. The pews had doors on the ends, which was a bit strange.  The choir was made up of a bunch of old ladies and a few old men.  Let me just say I’ve heard way better singing in my lifetime.  It was not the most worshipful experience.  Then the pastor’s son was screaming and crying the entire time he was in the service!  We all just wanted his mother to take him out and she didn’t.  When he wasn’t crying, he was running around the church and up the stairs to see his dad.  It was terrible, but I guess that’s a new element of Irish culture I learned today.  The sermon was mediocre and the team did not enjoy the service at all.  Part of that could be that half the people didn’t want to go to church in the first place.  For me, I love going to church.  I always have.  I love the feeling of connectiveness to the body of Christ.  I tried to get as much out of it as I could, but it was difficult.  I spent my afternoon doing homework and wedding stuff.  Check our wedding website and sign our guestbook.  So maybe I could have gotten a little more homework done, but can you blame me?  Tonight we went to Bellynahinch to see the JBU Cathedral Choir perform.  It was half concert and half church service.  It was the choir’s last performance after they have been touring Ireland for the last 2 weeks and they sounded great. There was one song that a quartet of boys sung that was AMAZING!  The performance was held at a Baptist church.   Mindi told us that the Baptist church is looked on in Ireland as being the more liberal church.  I had never heard such a strange thing in my life.  Apparently the Episcopal and Anglican (Church of Ireland) are much more conservative here than they are at home. It felt like walking into a church back home.  It was nothing like the Anglican churches we have been to in Ireland.  We had comfortable seats, worship songs being played on a keyboard before everything started, and no décor or decoration.  It was kinda strange but good all at the same time. Our Christian Life professor used to pastor the church and he spoke tonight about the beatitudes.  It was a much better mini sermon than the full sermon we heard this morning.  Now we are back at home and I’m back to doing homework trying to prepare for the week ahead of me.  We have a lot going on school wise this week.  Almost half way done!