Quick update on my fabulous long weekend!

Hey everyone! I promise this will be kinda short seeing as how I have to go to work soon, but I just thought I'd write about my 4-day weekend, because it was pretty much amazing! Friday night we went out to the metro (we were going to go to a club, but it didn't open til 11 and so we stopped at metro for a drink and ended up just staying there!) for a little bit just to relax and have fun, but fully aware that we would have to be on a bus to donegal at 8am...or so we thought...

Unfortunately the belfast people missed their bus and so we didn't leave until 11 which we were all appreciative of!! Donegal was amazingly beautiful! We had sing-a-longs most of the way down and as part of that learned a good chunk of galway girl(which came in handy monday night)! Highlights include standing atop an old fortress with really strong winds, walking on the castle grounds in the national park, and dinner with nigel at our flat! After dinner we headed off to a going away party for one of sarah's coworkers and then went to bed early!

Sunday was a lazy kinda day, Sarah made delicious crepes, and then we did a little bit of shopping! After dinner we watched Hamlet 2 again cause Lindsey and Justin hadn't seen it yet and then went to bed because we had to leave by 8:30 for belfast the next morning!

Monday was a long but interesting day because we went to the U.S. Consulate and Stormont (NI Parliament) and talked with representatives from most of the major parties. It was really interesting and some of the representatives caused mixed emotions and reactions from the hecua group but I think that was probably a good thing. After we dropped off the belfast people we went to a little restaurant and had dinner before heading off to Ballycastle for the night! We ended up being able to stay at corrymela (a retreat and reconciliation center where justin is interning) and enjoyed both traditional irish and scotish music, and karaoke! Fun way to celebrate st. patty's day...between leading a bar in this little light of mine, and justin and Sarah's rendition of friends in low places it was perfect!

Tuesday we strolled along the beach and walked around ballycastle before taking a bus and a train home to derry! By that point I was exhausted and coming down with something so i just went to sleep! Yesterday I had to leave work early cause I was so sick but I'm hoping I'm really feeling ok enough to go into day! Wish me luck!

I'll write more and add pictures tomorrow before I leave for Rome and Barcelona!

With Love from Northern Ireland!
Katie

The Craic...(aka What's been going on...)

So of all the weeks to slack off on blogging this week probably wasn't the best to choose, but I was working a lot and the internet in the flat wasn't working most of the time so yeah...Anyways I didn't go to work on tuesday because my supervisor was sick which wasn't too bad except that i need to make up those hours now but oh well i figure it out. Tuesday night I went to meditation with the girls again and then we continued our tuesday tradition of following meditation up with going out for a drink. We got/shared a pitcher of a drink called frilly tutu-weird ordering it but it was really tasty! The irony of going to meditation then drinking isn't lost on any of us, and I think we're just finding peace in all sorts of ways...

Wednesday was somewhat uneventful just work, oh and a delicious family meal of stuffed tortelini and veggies. Oh and we play phase 10 which seems to be a new tradition...

Thursday I worked and while I was at the youth club I got a first hand look at the increased tension and ongoing conflict between kids in the fountain and kids from outside of it. It just made me realize how much different their lives were because as they were standing at a streetcorner arguing with other kids, I went back to the flat, made dinner and played phase 10. Quite a contrast... Oh and i booked my and drea's rooms for spring break so I don't have to sleep on a park bench!

Today started early as I had to be on a bus to dungiven at 8am (which is late considering i was going to take a 7am bus!) from there my supervisor picked me up and we headed to a conference in belfast! It actually wasn't too bad and I got some booklets that might be helpful in writing my research papers so that worked out well. Plus we stopped at a roadside restaurant and I had this delicious tomato, mozerella cheese, and suite onion wrap. And on my way home I stopped and got a carmel machiatto from the starbucks in the mall and it was the perfect friday afternoon snack! After doing a little window shopping I made it back to the flat ready to relax! Oh which reminds me to mention that due to recent events including the interception of a 300lb bomb (which I heard might have been on its way to derry/londonderry) there has definately been an increase in police visibility. Prior to the killings the only police i had seen were outside bars as they were closing, however they were checking cars when I got a ride home last night, and today as I walked back along strand rd. I passed three police officers. I should probably point out that unlike the cops in the U.S. being friendly is not part of their image. They are very serious looking as they stand there tightly gripping their m16s! And yet in a way its kinda comforting to know that they are out there keeping us safe.

As for this weekend...we'll probably go out tonight and tommorrow is our day in donegal! It should be fun, and Karen and ben are coming up from belfast for it so it'll be a little more than just the derry group!

Oh and in case anyone was wondering St. Patty's day is going to be low key because its normally crazy (and not necessarily in a good way) but with recent events and increased tension we all just want to celebrate in the flat!

Still loving N.I.!
Katie :)

P.S. More pictures coming soon!

Short and to the point?

So first off, as some of you may know there was an attack on an army base in Antrim, which resulted in the first soldier killed since 1997. It certainly came as a surprise to us, but to my understanding their had been rumors that dissident republicans were planning something so I suppose others might have been expecting something to happen. I'm not really scared of something happening, I mean I feel like I should take this incident as a reminder of where I am, but at the same time I don't really fear for my safety. Besides the fact that I usually get the sense that people can tell I'm american(or at least not from the UK) just by looking at me, in general everyone has been kind and welcoming so I'm just going to be aware of myself and my surroundings and continue living, working, and playing in Northern Ireland!

As for an update on this weekend...we went out Friday night to this bar/club where our ids were carefully checked, only to feel like we were the oldest ones there! To make things more awkward it felt like we were at a high school dance! Complete with guys and girls dancing in same-sex groups, that is when they were actually dancing because the girls were so decked out in dresses and heels that they found it hard to actually dance! Needless to say we went home early and watched Hamlet 2! Awesome movie and the perfect end to the night!

Saturday was just kind of a bummy day, we all slept in and did nothing which was really nice! Later we watched some movie about david bowie and iggy pop's relationship, it had christian bale and jonathon rhys myers need I say more!

Today my big accomplishment has been going to the grocery store! Except I didn't time it quite right and ended up walking up hill in wind and rain with a few too many groceries! It really wasn't that bad and I needed food so its all good I suppose. I think we're having another family dinner which are always fun, and then going out somewhere for a little bit because our seminar tomorrow is here in derry, and well why not go out!

I don't have to be me til Tuesday!

So last night was a bit of a long one, I got home at like 9 from work which is starting to get kinda interesting. Anyways after I ate some delicious pizza and procrastinated with the girls for a little bit, before we were interrupted by the world's longest fire alarm! It was probably 20-30 minutes before we could get back in. By that time I really needed to finish my paper which took a little longer than expected, but its all done and it's the weekend! So it's all good.

So there's a store in town called supertramp, and I pass it everyday on my way to work, and whenever we go into town, so for some reason I decided to stop in on my way home even though I was really tired and it was raining. The store has a few cute dresses (including one I bought in Coleraine!), cute t-shirts, and then it has a lot of neon clothes and tutu! Yes you read that right, tutues like the ones ballerinas usually wear. Not exactly what I would have expected from the name, but none the less interesting. Oh and when I was on the bus I found the piercing place in town, not to be confused with the tattoo parlor, but it's called something like "Ring in my thing" Oh I just keep noticing more and more about Derry and I kinda like it.

Oh and we're spending the weekend here in Derry now so I had to get a nap in before we go out tonight! I'm actually excited for it cause we've only been out once in Derry and even the people at St. Columb's Park house ask me where we go out and so far I've had to say well we just kinda stayed in and watched movies(Don't get me wrong last weekend was fun, but still)

Still Loving Northern Ireland and its ever changing weather!

Lets see...First off the internet is very tempermental, meaning it only works at sometimes inconvient times (grant it we don't have to leave the room so I guess that's something to be thankful for!) Oh and I'm starting to learn how to do something that kinda resembles cooking...and so far the meals have looked and tasted great!

Today was our first seminar day and it was in belfast. It was really nice to see everyone (the sad thing is that it had only been like 4 or 5 days since we were all together! Originally the plan for this weekend was to go out in derry, but now it looks like Becca, Sarah, and I are going to volunteer at Corrymela with Justin and Lindsey is heading to Belfast to hang out with the rest of the gang! And the following weekend we are going to take a day trip to donegal, which should be amazing! I'm really excited for this weekend, and I don't know why but hopefully its a good one! Tomorrow is my first day really working with one of the youth groups and I'm a little unsure of what to expect, and a little nervous that I won't understand what they're saying because of their accents but with any luck mine will sound just as odd to them!

:)

First Day of Internship!

So yesterday turned out to be pretty interesting I must admit! I got lost on my way to work, because there's a leisure center with the same name sorta next to it but not really and I got off one bus stop late, but I still got to work early so it all worked out fine! I think I'm going to be a tea drinker after living here, because tea is offered throughout the day and I've already become a coffee drinker (Mom you'd be so proud of me I drank a whole cup of coffee with only one sugar and no milk) Anyways I spent the morning/early afternoon reading up on St. Columb's Park House and their projects, and then went to the Fountain and walked around the area for a little while before going to a meeting. It was definately a little harder to understand some of the people in the fountain because they seemed to have a heavier accent, but I'm sure I'll get use to it in no time.

So the internet was down last night, so we watched LA Story with Steve Martin...interesting movie. Oh and we were interupted (but in a good way) by two students one of whom is running for overall president and then the conversation somehow turned to west wing (which the other student is obsessed with too!) and where to go out to (each day has a different hot spot of course!) And then he was like "yeah the student union bar opens at 11, but wait you guys don't drink then, only the irish drink that early!" And I must admit 11am is a little early for drinking especially during the week!

So I don't start work till 2:30 today(hence why I'm writing this now) which is good I guess, it was just weird waking up as everyone else was leaving for work, hopefully I'll get use to it cause I think this internship is going to be really interesting to say the least!

I think that's all for now...oh and I'll try to add more pics soon!

A sunday stroll through Derry...

So last night, after having a delicious feast we ended up just watching wedding crashers and hanging out. It was fun to just chill, but I'm definately looking forward to going out somewhere next weekend (is that bad?), just because it's fun to go out too! Today was pretty low key, I just did a little laundry, ate a lot, and took a walk into town...all by myself! From that walk I learned a few things: 1. That although Derry is cute, its still a major city 2. I actually kinda like just walking around. Now I should probably point out nothing happened to me, and there weren't that many people out being that its a sunday. One thing I did notice was people, and more specifically men around here tend to stand outside bars drinking, smoking and talking during or after football/soccer games, and it was almost exclusively men (large groups of them). The other thing was that on my way home (while carrying a large pink duffle bag mind you) two guys passed me on the main road and two seconds after we passed each other I heard this loud noise...One of the men had just thrown his half full glass of beer over his shoulder(like how some people throw salt over their shoulders)! I'm pretty sure they were just so drunk that they didn't realize how close I still was to them cause one of them kinda muttered "oh sorry" I'm not going to lie it kinda freaked me out a little bit, but I certainly don't think I have to be worried walking in and out of town during the day. I mean I'm not scared to walk around downtown chicago by myself, I'm certainly not going to be scared to do it in derry. Besides, in general most people are really friendly here so I'm not worried!

Tomorrow I start my internship...this should be interesting! :)