Pot o' Gold

Although this morning was quite sunny, the clouds rolled in as we got out of class. After going into Greystones with Mary and Ann, I returned to the harbor to take some photos. A rainbow stretched across the sky above the Irish sea.



The rainbow ended in the middle of the ocean. I suppose I won’t be getting a pot o’ gold without a boat.

Ireland update

Sorry it’s been so long since I’ve posted. I am continuing to settle into the seaside community of Greystones. It really is an adorable little town. It’s taken me a while to get used to the pace of life here. Everything is slower and more laid back, which is good and bad.

This past week wasn’t too hectic. The Harbins attempted to ease us into classes, but I’m afraid of what’s ahead. Next week we have three hour blocks of classes each day in addition to a spiritual renewal service on Wednesday and Friday. So far we’ve just done Celtic Christianity, so next week we start in on Irish History and Irish Literature. I think we also have an Irish step dance class on Thursday. I’m so sick of school.

Cooking has gone extremely well this weekend, although I’m exhausted. My partner, Mary, and I head up the kitchen crew here at the Y, so on weekends we’re in charge of meals. It takes a good deal of time out of the day, but I honestly don’t know what else I’d do with myself and I love cooking. All this time I didn’t realize how much of an English girl I was! BTW, Mary lived on Third North. :)

So, basically, life is slow and I’m still alive. How’s that for an update?

Dublin Hunt

Today class was a scavenger hunt in Dublin. Dr. Harbin randomly split us into groups of four or five, gave us a map and a list of clues and sent us on our way. Our train departed Greystones at 9:30 a.m. For most of the DART trip, my group read and slept, then two stops before Tara Street we got smart and started asking Irish people about our clues. They helped us out a lot, so we should have known where we were going when we arrived in the city. Um… not so much.

We found everything on our list and got back on the DART just before 1 p.m., although we spent a lot of time walking in circles. I still don’t know Dublin very well, but perhaps eventually I’ll figure it out. We weren’t too interested in staying in the city, so we didn’t linger. We ate our sack lunches on the DART (I drank Club Rock Shandy!) and discussed what it means to fall in love.

Greystones was a welcome sight after a morning in the city. I usually like cities, but Dublin just seemed so strange to me. I’m sure I won’t feel that way forever, though. As we walked up to Coolnagreina, we looked over to the Loft and saw the Harbins in the window waving at us. We decided to stop in and hang out for a bit and they offered us drip-brew coffee (all we’ve had is instant since we got here… ugh!) and gingerbread. We ate and talked and just had a really nice time. I enjoy the Harbins SO much. I’m so glad they’re our trip leaders.

Below is a photo I took of the River Liffey from the Ha’Penny Bridge, one of the most recognizable features of Dublin. One of my group members was trying to find out if we were on the right bridge, so she yelled out, “Is this the Ha’Penny Bridge?” An Irishman who didn’t want to be bothered said, “I don’t know.” His companion laughed and confirmed that we were, indeed, on the Ha’Penny Bridge.

A few photos!!!

So you're wondering what Ireland looks like. Hmmm... maybe I can give you a peak, but keep in mind you can't fit the world inside a 3x5. :)

Here's a photo of Brayhead (I think... I'm still learning what things are) from "Esther's corner" on the Brayhead trail.



This is our room! It's rather cozy, though it's freezing cold in the morning. Thank God for down comforters!



This is a man-hole in Greystones. Even their sewer covers are pieces of art!

Hillside and hike

Today was much better than yesterday. For one thing, it didn’t rain and I could actually see the ocean and mountains. I woke up to my alarm clock (no trouble adjusting to time here) and went downstairs to talk on the phone for a bit. Church started at 10:30 a.m., so a group of us walked over to downtown Greystones together to Hillside Evangelical Church. Everyone welcomed us. They were all used to Taylor students coming in. The pastor even prayed for us during the service! I knew almost all the songs we sang during worship and the message was incredible (on Exodus 2 & 3, Moses and the burning bush—or more precisely, Moses and the Unburning Bush). The pastor really spoke to my insecurities and feelings of isolation I’ve been experiencing so far in Ireland. Communion was a little different than what I’m used to. We tore our own pieces off of sliced bread and ate it as we passed the tray on to the next person. We also drank the grape juice in the little plastic cups and returned the cups to the tray before passing it on. After the service, I met a few young Irish people and a guy from L.A. (his wife is Irish). I know I definitely will continue to attend Hillside.

For lunch we had egg rolls and scones with NUTELLA. I’d had Nutella before in Monica’s room my freshman year, but I don’t remember enjoying it so much. I’m also looking forward to eating chocolate Panda. Today they just had “American Style” peanut butter Panda. Is peanut butter distinctly American?

After lunch, we went on a hike to Brayhead. It was muddy and rather chilly, but it was nice to hike. We went to the train station in Bray just as the DART was leaving, so we had to wait 40 minutes for a bus back to Greystones. Ann was sick and freezing, so she, Trista and I found a bowling alley that was open on Sunday. Inside, we had tea and coffee to warm up and I used Euros for the first time since I got here.

We got back to the station and waited around until the double-decker bus arrived to pick us up. Back in Greystones, we had dinner, meetings and ANN’S RING DOWN!!! Everyone already knew she was engaged and many of us had already heard the story, but it was exciting anyway.

Tomorrow we have our first Irish classes, but it’s all orientation. They say their going to ease into scholastics, but I’m definitely not looking forward to restarting class in any form. I’d enjoyed being on break SO MUCH. I’m just a lazy bum, I know, but I’m really starting to dislike school.

The story so far:

1/21

My journey began at 5:30 a.m. Evansville time when my mom woke me up to prepare to leave. After a “good-bye” phone call from my amazing boyfriend and a kiss on the cheek to my sleeping brother, my mom and I left for the Indy airport. We got to the airport without any problems and checked in. My bags were underweight (Hooray! Thanks to my grandparents for loaning me their bathroom scale) and checked all the way to Dublin. Mom and I ate Chick-Fil-A and continued to our gate.

The time to board came, but there was no plane. Alas, it was still in Chicago getting de-iced!!! So we waited another hour and decided mom would not continue on with me. When the plane finally got there, I said good-bye and boarded and sat for a good 45 minutes. Two men were asked to leave the plane because it was overweight, so again we were behind schedule. Finally we began to taxi but kept stopping.

When we finally arrived in Chicago, I was at least an hour off schedule. Fortunately, I’d planned to be in Chicago well before our Irish Studies Program class’ meeting time. I quickly traversed O’Hare and met up with the group. We checked in and went over to the food court where Deb treated us all to Haagan Daz (sp?) ice cream because we were “the best ISP class ever.” I think she was just happy we all made it before the Aer Lingus ticket counter opened. Anyway, everyone was supposed to get one scoop, but Trista got two because she was the only person in the group that said “hi” to the lady scooping the ice cream. I felt sooooo humbled. Why didn’t I say hi? Why was I so stuck in my excited haze over ice cream that I overlooked the poor girl serving me? Trista, you put me to shame. I hope you enjoyed your extra scoop. You deserved it, even if it wasn’t chocolate.

We sat in the food court for a while and played a game of Go Fish. Dan and Ann tied with seven pairs while Trista and I each had six. We finally went through security and no one had any real hang ups, at least not that I know of. Again, we sat at the Aer Lingus gate until our plane boarded.

Air travel is always a lot of hurry-up-and-wait. You rush to get to the ticket counter two or more hours before your flight then you sit bored and tired until they finally call your seat. Then you sit on the plane as it sits parked and when it finally starts to taxi, it takes at least twenty minutes to make it to the runway. I wonder if I could have made it to O’Hare at the same time if we’d just driven through. Oh well. This was much safer in the long run. A snow/ice storm hit Chicago just as we left. I’d have hated for my mom to have to drive in that.

The Aer Lingus flight was fine. It was shorter than the international flights I’ve been on before. I’ve never crossed the Atlantic, so that was exciting. The flight was also my first experience with the accent. I’d heard people talking in Irish accents before, but I’d never been so saturated. I basically tuned out of the cabin announcements because it didn’t sound comprehensible to me. My Midwest accent must be just as difficult for them to understand because I ordered a sprite and they gave me diet coke! Oh well. They put a lemon in my drink. That was exciting.

1/22/05

I’m sitting on my bed in room 6. My roommates, Trista and Ann, took the bunk beds, so I have a normal bed which is semi-exciting. How did I get here? Uh… let’s see if I can remember.

I didn’t get a wink of sleep on the plane. We landed in Dublin at 7 minutes to 7 a.m. (or 7 minutes to 1 a.m. Evansville time). Going through customs kinda stunk. I was the first one to go through and I couldn’t understand the guy behind the counter. It was probably a mixture of disorientation, sleep deprivation, and the man’s thick Irish brogue, but I acted like a total moron.

Annoyed Man: How long are you staying in Ireland?

Me: Ugh… May. But I’m leaving and then I’m coming back (that statement totally confused him. Come to think of it, it confuses me right now).

Annoyed Man: Have you ever been to Ireland before? We have no record of you.

Me: No. This is my first time in Europe.

Annoyed Man: Huh (with a “go-figure” attitude).

Annoyed Man: Where are you going to school?

Me: Taylor University.

Annoyed Man: No. Where in Ireland?

Me: Oh, well, it’s at the YWCA in Greystones… Coolnag—

Annoyed Man: Never heard of it.

Annoyed Man: What will you be studying?

Me: History. Literature. Irish Culture.

Annoyed Man: Oh, that’ll be a lot of heady stuff.

Me: Yeah, I’m really excited.

Annoyed Man: Yeah, I’ll bet.

So there’s a taste. I stumbled and fumbled so much I probably looked like an illegal immigrant or something. Ugh. Baggage claim was fine though. Everyone’s bags got off the plane!!! We met the Harbins a little before 8 a.m. and then Brian (our bus driver) took us out to Greystones. It was drizzling and, of course, everything is really green. A lot of the houses are pink though. That’s unique (whoa… just thought I’d throw in a random Kari-ism for the 3^rd South ladies).

The YWCA is SOOOOOOOOO different than what I expected. It’s right in town. I expected it to be in the middle of a field (kinda like TU), but no, there’s shops across the street and the harbor is a block away. So far, Ireland reminds me of Waimea more than anything in that it rains all the time and everything is green.

We got the grand tour of the YWCA campus, including the Main Lodge (where I live with the rest of the girls) and the Man House (which we are not allowed in ever again… fine with me). The Harbins have an apartment across the street, so we checked that out. It was SOOOOOOO excellent! It’s exactly the kind of place I’d want to live.

Then we went back to the Main Lodge and had tea and biscuits (cookies) and discussed how tired we were. After some needed sustenance, we got to work moving our bags to our rooms. It didn’t take me long to unpack.

We ate lunch and had a meeting and went to a walk around Greystones while it was pouring. We all got drenched and I missed my call from Cliff. I eventually got to talk to him, though, so everything is terrific now. :)

We’re basically orientating today-- lots of meetings and sitting around. Everyone is utterly exhausted, so we just stare at each other. It’s pretty pathetic.

The one sunshine in our lives is the new Y manager’s family. Jonathan and his wife Lisa just moved to Ireland from England three weeks ago and their two young sons (Joseph and Theo) are an absolute hoot. They entertained us for about an hour this afternoon.

I got to sleep about 9 p.m., wrapping up a long, emotional day.

By the way, they do get Scooby Doo in Ireland… just so you know.

My bags are packed...

I just finished packing and I'm about to go to bed. Today has been emotionally and physically draining. I'm sure tomorrow won't be much better. Around 2 a.m. Eville time on Saturday, we'll be landing in Dublin and be ushered into a new, very Irish life.

I don't know how often I'll be able to blog, considering we allegedly get 15-minutes of internet time per week (!!!). Something about the "ethos" of the community... ask Vance. Anyway, all that to say I'll blog when I can, so check back from time to time.

I'm not quite sure what to expect. There are lots of things I'm excited about, but lots of things that scare me, too. It doesn't matter though. My plane leaves tomorrow whether I'm ready or not.

Generation Ex

Ok, so it's been about two weeks since I finished this book and I'm just now getting around to reviewing it as I promised.

Generation Ex by Jen Abbas is incredible. If you are an adult child of divorce (an adult who's parents divorced at any point in his/her lifespan) or know someone who is, do yourself a favor and read it. It names the wounds children of divorce suffer with stunning accuracy and describes the unique handicaps we face later in life because of them. I would warn adult children of divorce reading this book to make sure a full Kleenex box is handy. If you're anything like me, you'll use every last one.

When I first heard about the book, I wasn't sure what to expect. In fact, I wouldn't have read it had it not been perscribed to me. I didn't know if I'd be able to relate to Abbas' story or if it would even name the struggles I'd faced since my parents' initial separation in 1996. Everything was in there, though, and so much more.

Ever since Cliff introduced me to John Eldredge, I've been learning about the importance of heart-wound healing. In Generation Ex, Abbas provides specific information for me and other adult children of divorce. She gives us hope for the future in that we are NOT doomed to repeat our parents' marital failure. We can break the cycle, if we rely on God to heal our particular wounds and choose to love others as God loves us.

I love how Abbas weaves her own story and the stories of others into her book. Many, many times, I could point and say, "oh my gosh, that's me!" I'm sure countless others have experienced and will experience the same thing.

I highly recommend this book. While not everything I read is immediately applicable, I'm sure I'll treasure this book and its wisdom for years to come.

7 days

A week from this moment, I'll be going through security in O'Hare's international terminal. At 6:10 p.m. (weather and flight crew willing), my plane will begin its taxi down the runway en route to Dublin. I will, of course, be flying my boyfriend's favorite airline, Aer Lingus (note: excessive sarcasm), but instead of connecting to London and Helsinki, my classmates and I will meet the Harbins and head for Greystones, Ireland in County Wicklow, my home for 14 weeks. Let's hope my bags decide to join me.

New links

I added two links to the sidebar. On Lighthouse Teams, you'll find updates from all of Taylor's JTerm mission trips (especially Paraguay with the lovely Jenny Kappel). I also added Katie Hesse's blog b/c she's adorable.

That's not even a state!

I took the State Quiz and this is what I got...

You're the Panama Canal!

While others are content to work long and hard hours, you're all about
taking the shortcut. While this has benefited you for the most part, it has required
starting several conflicts so that you could get your way. Your old profession doesn't
seem terribly lofty to anyone, and sometimes you've even needed to dig ditches to get by,
but you figure the results are worth it. Now, most of the time you're just
cruising.


Take the State Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

Blogging and mental health

On Saturday, the Evansville Courier & Press ran a religion column by Scripps-Howard's David Yount on its all-inclusive "Faith" section. I don't usually get into the Courier, but this column caught my eye.

Yount cites studies that found positive correlation between diary writing and psychological disorder. The more people record their secret thoughts for their own eyes only, the more likely they are to be mentally unstable. I found this tidbit interesting as I've always believed journaling to be therapeutic.

Yount goes on to discuss the Christian fad of journal keeping. He says if we follow the models of Jesus and Paul, we won't keep our thoughts to ourselves but will share the joy we've found in Christ with the world. What a concept!

So I started thinking... what does this mean for blogging? Blogs can be a type of journal, but since they're public, they can be a means by which we can glorify God by sharing ideas, thoughts and feelings.

I also felt challenged because I do keep a private journal, but I'm beginning to wonder why. If I don't want others to read my words, why record them? Instead of turning deeper into myself in the privacy and solitude of my journal, I'm going to hone my letter-writing skills and reach out in conversation. Human beings are made for relationships. It's one way we mirror the image of God.

An ellipsis

I'm back in Evansville again after taking my boyfriend to the Indy airport. He's now en route to Dublin from which he'll catch a flight to London and eventually Helsinki. I miss him so much already. It's going to be a long four months.

Friday Night Lights

Evansville theaters have allegedly raised their ticket prices to $8. Fascists. So instead of getting ripped off watching a movie we weren't really interested in, Cliff and I went to the cheap theater to watch Friday Night Lights.

Now, when I saw the trailer for this movie a few months ago before Collateral, I'd rolled my eyes commented, "Not another football movie." I don't really understand football (even after a year on O-Line for intramural flag) and never got into the high school hype. Friday Night Lights, however, left me pleasantly surprised.

I enjoyed the movie because it refused to glorify football. All but one player's college/professional football dreams dissipated in the arid Texas heat. It turned out that football wasn't all they had in life, and by the end of the movie they'd moved on.

I also liked that the ending wasn't cliche, but I won't ruin it for anyone who hasn't seen the film.

While I enjoyed the movie, it did have flaws. I got lost several times when the players mumbled stuff on the field. I figured I wouldn't understand it anyway, so I wasn't too upset. A few scenes at the beginning (party scenes) were difficult to watch. Fortunately, the activities in these scenes were not glorified either. And, of course, the ending finger-kiss scene between Billy-Bob and his movie wife was sufficiently cheesy. Those three seconds could have been used better elsewhere.

As a whole, I liked Friday Night Lights. If you have an extra $2.50 and a spare 2 hours, check it out. You probably won't regret it.

Happy New Year!!!

2005 is already off to an amazing start. I can't stop smiling... and you can bet it's Cliff's fault. ;)

"It's gonna be a happy new year!"