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. 

The rest of the afternoon us females talked and the guys watched golf. I've never seen people so excited about golf in my entire life. You think football's bad. Wait till Jim's favorite player's not doing so hot! All in good fun though.

A little into the afternoon, Mrs. Hudy, Helen, Maureen, & I drove over to the Antrim Castle remains where there's some lovely parks and gardens that are open to the public. We walked around for a good while. The weather was perfect again: sunny and warm. 

The Antrim castle was built in 1610, and was burned to the ground in 1912, I think it was. The castle was obviously huge, and it was very interesting seeing the crumbled walls and the few ones that remain standing. 

Helen drove me home after the evening service, and that was today! A nice, relaxing day.

One difference I thought of today was that I noticed that, in general, tattoos are kind of different here. Not the type of tattoos but the way they're treated. To me it seems like you either have a sleeve or you don't have any. At least not any anyone can see. And I haven't seen almost any girls with tattoos. It's mainly been guys. In the States, tons of people get tattoos. 

Tomorrow's adventures: exploration of a castle.

Word difference(s) of the day:

USA: bathroom

N. Ireland: toilet/loo

USA: top priority

N. Ireland: top of the pops

USA: trunk (of car)

N. Ireland: the boot

USA: take-out

N. Ireland: take-away

USA: pharmacy

N. Ireland: chemist

The morning service church in Killead, built in 1710.

A row of military graves at the Killead parish.

A small bit of inside the Killead parish.

Tea time at Helen & Will's.

Pavlova: marshmallow inside!

Fruit trifle

The evening service church built in 1841.

The belfry of the evening service church. I sadly wasn't able to climb up to the top.

Castle Antrim gardens.

The only tower of the Antrim castle still standing.

Me in one of the parks inside the Castle Antrim park.

Riding in the passenger seat of a European car aka on the left side.

Late night snack: toast with butter & ham sandwich.