Day 12: The Finale

Today marks my last day in N. Ireland. This morning we went to church at the church Carole's mom was raised in as well as got married in. The service was really good though a bit more traditional than my home church. After the service we met five Americans from the Minneapolis area who were here for a missions outreach in the Kilkeel area, where the church is. 

After lunch we all went down to a restaurant right by the Irish Sea harbor in Kilkeel. There were 30 of us total at the restaurant, all cousins, cousin's children & fiancées, and siblings and other relatives of Carole's. Actually, the restaurant was extremely warm, and I spent the latter part of the time outside the restaurant under an overhang so I could get fresh air without getting wet in the rain. Today was the first day it really rained. The joke is that we Americans brought the good weather and we're taking it home with us.

At one point while I was outside, some teenage boys set up a ramp about 3 inches from the wall's edge into the water and a kid biked down the drive, onto the ramp, and with a few choice expletives, splashed into the water. When you love in a small town like Kilkeel, you gotta find some way to entertain yourself.

When we left there were plenty of tears shed and hugs galore amongst all the relatives. I gave plenty of hugs myself though I didn't cry. I was close cause I am the world's biggest sympathy crier. Plus I cry at, like, everything. Toy Story 3, anyone? Up? Return of the King? (Yes, I cried during Return of the King. And I'm not ashamed.)

Then it was back to Aldra & Stephen's to pack up the bags and head back to Jim & Maureen's. At Jim & Maureen's, we all re-packed with everything. It took me forever to pack everything. Sheesh people. Making me bring you back stuff. I'm pretty sure my suitcase weighs all of the 70 pounds I was allowed. Yeech. 

But, overall, it was an amazing trip. I really enjoyed meeting everyone that I did here, and I'm ready to go home even though it'll be right back to work when I get home. I'm truly blessed to know such amazing people as the Hudys, and I'm so glad they invited me to come. If I have the chance, I'd definitely come back. 

So, g'night and g'bye N. Ireland, it's been nice knowing you, and I hope we meet again.

"The thrill of coming home has never changed." - Guy Pearce 

Day 10: The Mourne Mountains

Today was our first whole day with Carole's cousin Aldra (and Aldra's husband Stephen). The view from their home is stunning: a perfect view of the Irish Sea. The guest room I'm in has a skylight that, when open, lets in the fresh smell of the sea and the lovely breeze coming off the water.

Yesterday was exploring Dublin day. Dublin is quite large and a huge cosmopolitan place. There were tons of tourists everywhere. We took a morning bus tour, which was very informative. We passed by a 5-star hotel which is owned by Bono of U2. The tour guide made cheesy jokes (of course I laughed at all of them), and kept a running commentary on everything we passed. After Dublin, we met Aldra & her husband for dinner at a place called Fitzpatrick's, which had lovely food. The restaurant has world-famous chowder of which I did not partake.

Today we all walked down by the path running alone the Irish Sea and into the little village that is nearby. The village is small and quaint, and thanks to the beautiful weather today, I have a tanline on my nose from my sunglasses. Who says you can't tan in Ireland?

Differences I noted today:

Day 8: Catching Up (Europe's Largest Hotel / Dublin Nightlife)

I didn't write two days ago for two reasons. 1) It was a relaxing day so we didn't go touring really although we did walk around Randalstown. And 2) I was too tired and lazy. Today though was a lot more touring and interesting anyways!

Yesterday morning we packed up to leave Maureen & Jim's home until Sunday evening. We met up with Carole's cousin Kay and her husband Norman at a Hilton hotel for coffee/tea/juice and scones. Then we left with Kay and Norman for a stop in Belfast on the way to Dublin.

In Belfast, we went to the Titanic Museum, which was so neat. It was also quite a sad museum because the Titanic is definitely a very tragic story. I learned a lot of interesting things about the building, as it was actually built in Belfast. It is thought that it took approximately 3,000 workers to build the Titanic, that there were 8 deaths during construction from work accidents, and that it cost £26 for a First-Class ticket. The Titanic was re-discovered in 1985 by Richard Ballard, and it is now a protected site meaning that it is illegal for anyone to take anything from the shipwreck site.

The average shipbuilding worker (called "Islandmen") made about £150 a year. The Titanic is thought to be one of the three most written about topics in literature today. The other two are Jesus and the American Civil War. 

Day 5: Built in 1018

Today consisted of visiting Carrickfergus Castle, which was built in 1018 by the Normans (Normandy). It is the most well-kept castle in all of Ireland. It is in almost pristine condition. There are a few stairwells that are blocked off, and you can't go underneath the castle at all (aka dungeons) sadly, but it was still amazing seeing it all.

The castle, when it was built, had a wall added later on in the 13th century, and also another wall extension added on in the 14th-15th century. The castle now only has the first of the two extensions, but there are illustrated photos and a small scale model of what the castle would have looked like back in the 15th century. 

One interesting thing about the castle is that all the doorways are so small! People were much shorter back then, and the doorways prove it. Either that or the people were fond of bending over every time they walked through a door. I have a hard time believing the secon theory...

There is one stairwell in particular that was fun going down. It's an old spiraling one that's very narrow and all the steps are uneven from age. You could only go down so far, which was unfortunate. I would have liked to have gone down further.

In the castle courtyard and up on the wall' sedge there are several cannons. Several are pre-World War I, and the larger ones up on the walls are WWII. The larger ones have an accuracy rate of 3 miles. Pretty good, all things considered. 

No idea what tomorrow holds.

A few differences noted today are that:

1) They don't tip in cafés and restaurants. If it's a really nice restaurant, you might. Some places add service charges to your bill.

2) Their windows and doors don't have screens. So if you open a window to let a breeze in, you're also letting the flies in. 

Day Four: Traditional vs Non-Traditional

Today, Sunday, was a simple day of church, good food, and relaxation. In the morning, we went to the church where Mrs. Hudy's cousin Helen's husband Will was preaching in Killead, a military-base town. The service was very traditional, hymnals, book of prayers, etc. I also had my first taste of alcohol today. In church no less! All I can say is that my disinterest in drinking alcohol is even stronger now. This evening I also went to the evening service at one of the other parishes Will & Helen are in charge of. Will wasn't preaching at this one though. The evening service was much more contemporary, and reminded me more of KCF (my home church). It was quite amazing singing these contemporary worship songs in a church built in 1841.

After the morning service, we went to Helen & Will's home, which is the house provided by the parish where the evening service is held. Interesting fact about the house is that even though it's only 3 years old, the outside of the house was built to look much older. It's an interesting concept. (Obviously the weather has to be taken into consideration too when building: rain, rain, rain.) 

Lunch was amazing. If I ate like that everyday I'd turn into a beached whale. A verry happy whale at that. We had a chicken & broccoli casserole (I don't much care for broccoli), various types of bread, potatoe salad, two kinds of coleslaws (chili cheese & cranberry of which I ate neither) and salad. For dessert we had pavlova and a fruit trifle. Pavlova has the consistency of the inside of a marshmallow and the trifle is yoghurt with fruit mixed in on top of a layer of crunch on the bottom. 

Day Three

Today is the first day that it's rained. And rather on and off the whole day only in a light sprinkle. The sky was overcast all day, but it was still rather humid. All the shops in Belfast were extremely hot because many of them don't have or didn't put on air conditioning since warm weather isn't vedy common. Their coffee shop, Costa, that's in the Belfast mall, ran out of ice for their iced drinks because everyone was ordering cold drinks.

But again, another shopping day in Belfast. A few new differences I noted today are:

1) In general, all the young people dress exactly alike. While many of the young propel are dressed in a way that would be considered stylish or fashionable, they're all wearing the exact same styles so there's little diversity, and there isn't much personal style. I've seen maybe 4-5 different styles of shoes, and more high-waisted jeans/pants/trousers and crop tops than ever before. 

2) To get a bag in a store, you have to pay 5 pence: aka 5 cents. So, when you buy something, the cashier will ask you if you want a bag. If you say yes, 5 pence is added to your bill. The only exception is grocery stores. But, if you're ever shopping in N. Ireland, make sure to bring shopping bags with you!

Day Two

Today's adventures consisted of seeing the Giant's Causeway and also the rope bridge at Carrack-a-Rede.

Giant's Causeway is only about an hour's drive from where I'm staying, but because of how small N. Ireland is, the locals mainly consider an hour drive quite long. An 8-hour drive would almost be unheard of. (This is a generalization of course. Not all the Irish think an hour drive is long.) 

The scenery on the way to the Causeway is beautiful as always. There were lots of sheep, cows, and horses spotted on the way. Also, right by the Atlantic Ocean, there are numerous fishing villages. Many of the fishing villages I saw had maybe 15-30 houses tops. There's always wild flowers growing along the roads and in fields, and they make for a bit of a color change. The sky was bright but overcast as it has been the last two days, but it didn't rain at all today again.

To get down to the Causeway there's about a 10 minute walk: almost all downhill, which is great until you have to walk back up! The Causeway itself is amazing. A spectacular work of nature coming forth from volcanic activity and the inspiration for shape of 2 of the British currency coins. It's not quite as long as I thought it would be, but it's even more spectacular than I imagined. The view from the trails is beautiful, and you can even see Scotland way off in the distance. 

After the Causeway, we went to the famous Carrack-a-Rede rope bridge. Pictures make this bridge look so much longer, but there's still a thrill walking over it. I mean, a tiny rope bridge suspended over a 200-ft drop as your only access to an island? The view from the island is spectacular. You can see the Scottish coast even better from the island.

So, a few more differences from back home. The main one I thought of today is how even though all the people are so friendly from the moment when you meet, they don't greet each other on the streets like we do in the States. To further explain: when I'm taking a wall and I pass someone, I say hello or nod my head in acknowledgement. Here in N. Ireland I've noticed that people don't really do that. They're not being rude, obviously, it's just an interesting difference. Also, in stores, the workers don't really come up to greet you or ask how you're doing like back home.

The First Day

Yesterday was my first full day here in Northern Ireland, and I must say it was absolutely fabulous. It all started with my lovely breakfast, and ended with a wonderfully long, nice chat with my new friend Loren. Loren and I share a love of traveling.

Yesterday's adventures consisted entirely of a day-long visit to Belfast. It was bright and sunny about 70% of the time. The weather here is a bit unpredictable, not unlike back home in Cleveland. Belfast is even more unpredictable though. One minute it would be sunny, and the next it would be overcast and looking like rain. But the rain held off.

In Belfast, I noted another few differences. Many of them I noticed on the bus tour we took. The bus took us all around the city showing some very interesting historical sights, including the shipyard where the Titanic was built. One thing I didn't expect though, was the slight American influence in certain parts of the city, mainly food. I spotted three Subway restaurants, two KFCs, and an Auntie Anne's as well as stores, like Gap.

Another thing that surprised me was how similar the styles are in sense of dress. In fact, some of the young people dress more stereotypically American than most Americans! Plaid button-ups, white Converse, etc. Another note on style is that there were a lot more young guys wearing jeans like a second layer of skin than back home. Hopefully that'll never become popular back home. 

Another difference is even their automatic doors. I generally call them automatic sliding doors (if I'm using the full term), but here in Ireland they slide open pushing out/in. They turn and slide. I almost ran into one of the doors not expecting it to come out at me. 

The Arrival

Sitting in the Cleveland airport, I wasn't sure we (the Hudys and I) were gonna make it. After receiving about four or five updates saying our flight to Newark was delayed, the chances of missing our connecting flight from Newark to Belfast were getting high.

The Cleveland-Newark flight delay was due to weather. The Newark-Belfast delays were thanks to a 14-year-old girl dropping her phone into an air vent on the plane. Two hours and 30 maintenance crew later, we were finally ready for take-off.

But despite the delays, we made it, and now I'm sitting at the table of Maureen and Jim, Northern Ireland natives and cousins of Mrs. Hudy. Watching the adults talk was quite an experience. I'm not sure they stopped talking for even a minute. But it wasn't really unexpected. Hearing the Irish accents is so fun. I've always been quick to pick up accents, and I've heard myself starting to pick it up already. Be prepared, family. 

There are so many differences between the USA and Northern Ireland, but not too many of them have been surprising. It's still taking a bit getting used to the differences, but it's fun learning  and seeing new things. The very first difference was the driving. The roads are marked differently, and everyone drives on the left side of the road but right side of the car. One of the two other big differences that are noticeable right away is how old everything is. The stone wall that runs alongside the road is 400-500 years old, for example. And where else would there be a 400 year old castle by the roadside?

One of the biggest differences is how much smaller everything is: houses, roads, fridges, etc. Northern Ireland is only 90 miles long and 80 miles wide so compared to the USA, everything has to be scaled smaller.