Dublin: Part 1 (Days 18 + 19 + 20)

Peace out Northern Ireland!

On our way to Dublin we stopped at a few different sites. The first was Navan, a place where ancient history remains extremely important to the Irish people. The main attraction of Navan is a large hill - scientists are pretty sure there used to be some kind of temple there at some point and there is a lot of speculation about what happened to it - we also listened briefly to a guest speaker talk about Celtic spirituality and the importance of hospitality, which I really enjoyed.

We jumped back on the bus after quickly eating lunch and made our way to an ancient monastery, with some of the largest remaining high-crosses in Ireland. The monastery and cemetery were absolutely beautiful, and there were also more than 10 stray cats wondering around (I didn't touch them, but I definitely took pictures!)

When we reached Dublin, we arrived at our Hostel... and I dragged my suitcase up many flights of stairs, which was actually very amusing. There are 4 of use in each room and there isn't very much room, but Dublin is extremely expensive so we saved a lot of money by not staying 6 nights in a hotel somewhere. There also isn't heat in our rooms so all of us sleep in sweatshirts and long pajama pants/leggings every night. Let's just say I'm pretty excited about having a comfy bed once I get back to school!

The first full day in Dublin we visited Trinity College and got to see the Book of Kells, which is an amazing copy of the four gospels from the Bible, not to mention a tremendous work of art. I can't believe how intricate some of the designs were! We also got to see the "Long Room" of Trinity College, which is a stunning library with books that go to the ceiling. It reminded me of the library from Beauty and the Beast! There were ladders for every section because of how high the shelves were. Afterwards we took a walking tour of Dublin with a student guide who knew what he was talking about. I always appreciate a good tour, and I equally detest a bad one.

Yesterday we took a tour of Kilmainham Gaol,  a jail where 14 of the rebel leaders from the 1916 rebellion were held and executed by the British army. While the tour was saddening, it wasn't very emotional since our tour guide was so matter of fact and he kind of gave off a vibe that said I do this all the time, the faster I can give them the information and finish the tour, the better. It was a different experience from some of our guides, since most of them have had a huge passion for what they've talked about and our guide in Derry was tearing up at some points. The saddest part was when I walked through the museum and read a letter from one of the rebel leaders to his mother (he was 18, and executed the day after he wrote the letter). He showed a great amount of courage, but he kept saying over and over how he wished he could see his mother's face one more time. I get choked up just thinking about it...

We had the rest of the day to ourselves and some of us decided to tour the Guinness factory - wow, whoever designed the museum and the exhibits is brilliant. It just goes to show how much money that company makes every year. We were able to taste some Guinness, which in my opinion is actually pretty gross. The coolest part was going to the very top level of the museum, where there was a bar and windows all the way around, which provided a great view of Dublin! Afterwards, we grabbed some lunch and did some shopping.

And then I got food poisoning... To be continued.

While waiting to go on the tour of the jail, these three got bored and buttoned/zipped themselves together.

Driving on the Left (Days 14 + 15)

Well... I have some bad news. It seems that my computer has decided to go kaput, at least for the time being. I've tried several times to shut it down and restart it and every time I try to open anything or click on anything it immediately freezes up. My roommate for the trip, Ally, is graciously going to let me use hers to finish my blogging endeavors. I'm hoping that I'll be able to take my Macbook Air in the the Apple store in Belfast to see if they can help me solve the problems I'm having with it. Poor Coral (yes, I named my computer).

Yesterday we departed from Corrymeela and it felt very freeing to leave a lot of the heavy things we talked about behind us. We stopped to visit some cliffs on the coast and we all crossed a rope bridge to get to our destination. The view was absolutely spectacular and everyone had fun running around across the green grass, peering down hundreds of feet to where the rocks met the pounding waves. After that we visited Giant's Causeway, which is full of rock that was naturally formed into hexagonal shapes. Millions of years ago there was a volcano in Ireland that overflowed with lava, and when the earth shifted the lava tilted and slid into these formations. It's extremely hard to comprehend and understand, but it was amazing walking across them and realizing that those geometric forms weren't made by humans.

Our last stop was at Dunluce Castle, where all 25 of us were given a map of the castle and let loose for almost an hour! It felt like we all turned into a bunch of elementary school kids on a playground - we were running through the castle laughing and making up stories and taking pictures along the way. When we got back onto the bus almost everyone fell fast asleep. But I stayed awake the whole bus ride and witnessed the sun coming out from behind the Irish clouds. As lame as this sounds, I was listening to "Circle of Life" from The Lion King on my iPod as I watched the country side go by and I felt completely at peace and utterly happy.

Today we took a very heavy and emotional tour through the town of Derry/London-Derry. I can't really go into the details right now since it might take pages to explain my thoughts and feelings but hopefully I can reflect on it in a blog post later. We've been writing a journal for our Theology class every day and maybe after the trip is over I'll be able to share some of those deeper thoughts.

Enjoy the pictures below, they are all from the destinations during the bus ride yesterday. I think I'm finally getting used to driving on the left side of the road, which makes me smile.

This is me jumping... by the edge of a cliff. I promise I'm further from the edge than it looks!

Death & Dancing (Day 7)

Today was once again very long and packed with a dozen different activities. We had class time in the morning and then toured the Necropolis in the afternoon (a.k.a. The City of the Dead). There are more than 50,000 people buried there and 3,500 headstones.  It was very powerful to walk through it and we visited the Glasgow Cathedral right after and took some time to journal our thoughts about how we want to be remembered once we pass away.

The activity for the night was much more enjoyable! We went to a Ceilidh (pronounced kale-ey), which was very much like Century Ball Room in Seattle, except that we were taught dances from Scotland instead of swing dancing. Everyone was very hot and sweaty, including our professors, and most people were drinking beer. (I also spent a majority of the time deciding which Disney characters everyone is… I was given Wendy from Peter Pan!)

We have a much more laid back day tomorrow, which I’m looking forward to since I need to take some time to read and journal for my classes. I’m missing the countryside and open spaces and I’ve been feeling a bit claustrophobic being stuck in the city. But hopefully visiting the country in a few days will help take care of that.

Goodnight!