10 February 2024
I've been in Northern Ireland for two weeks now, and they have been some of the best weeks of my life. I wish I could have done more journals like this, but I have been so busy that the moment I sit down at the end of the day I immediately pass out.
I can give you a rundown of what my typical day looks like though. At 7:30 my alarm goes off and I get dressed and head downstairs for breakfast. Depending on the day, breakfast usually looks like yogurt with granola, a bagel or a pastry, and a cup of tea.
They really do play into the stereotype of tea here because all of us have somewhere between three and five cups of tea a day, if not more. On Monday through Thursday, we have morning classes from 9:30 to 12:30 and afternoon classes from two to five, with one being around 1:00 pm.
This term I am taking five classes: Masters of Irish Literature, Peace and Reconciliation, Intercultural Communication, Humanities, and Irish Art and Culture.
On Fridays, the group of us takes a field trip to a predetermined location around Northern Ireland. For example, that could be visiting the capitol building, touring Parliament, seeing historical locations that we learn about in class, visiting castles, or walking around ancient forests for three hours.
These are just the things we have done so far, and later this term we will visit the Titanic museum, take a trip down to Dublin, visit the coast, Or any other number of things.
Once a month we get a long weekend where groups of us can pick a destination and then go. For our first free weekend, my group is taking a trip to London and then hopping on a train down to Bristol. Other groups are going to Paris, Rome, Wales and Scotland.
It has been incredible to see so many different places and meet so many people from a variety of backgrounds. I can confidently say that I have made good friends with most of the people in this house, and we have already spent many a night just talking and getting to know each other.
We've had movie, game, and gossip nights, Where we just sit and drink tea and enjoy the presence of others.
Every Sunday we visit a different church. The first week we went to a very modern and contemporary fellowship which reminded me very much of the ones in America. In the second week, however, we attended a Catholic mass in a beautiful Cathedral.
Considering I'd never been to a Catholic mass and had no idea what to expect, it was actually quite an enjoyable experience and I would not be opposed to going again every so often.
I have so many stories to tell and so many pictures to show you all, but not merely enough time. so, I will try to put as much as I can here when I have the time and energy, but it might be slow going considering how busy they keep us here.
Below I will include some of my favorite pictures with a brief caption of where they were taken.
I hope you are all well and I hope it brings you some joy to know that I am doing well here. Though I do miss home, friends, and family both, it is not an overwhelming sadness, the likes which I expected.
It helps to keep in touch with people back home through Instagram. I also post a lot more photos over there :)
Комментарии