Greetings from London!

Two weeks from tomorrow I will be on a plane heading home. That is absolutely unbelievable. But more on that in a bit...

The past few weeks have absolutely flown by but I have gotten to do some traveling the past two weekends which has been wonderful!! Last Thursday Matt, Johnny and I flew over to Edinburgh, Scotland. That night we hiked up Arthur's Seat with some of Matt's friends from Summer's Best Two Weeks and were afforded the most incredible view of the city all lit up for nighttime and for Christmas! Friday I woke up early and took the train to St. Andrews to visit Lauren, a friend from WIP. After running into a guy I graduated from Mason with (what a small world...) Lauren and I went out for brunch and then walked around the whole city. St. Andrews is quaint and small but beautiful! I love the university, its traditions, and the city. I definitely think I would have loved to study abroad at St. Andrews. After walking around for the entire day, Lauren and I went out for a nice dinner at a Mexican restaurant and then out with her friends and roommates to a club that was holding a rave to raise money for some charity. I had a really great time seeing the beautiful city of St. Andrews but what I loved the most was just spending time with Lauren, catching up and having a blast with her!! When I met her in DC back in July, I never would have imagined what a close friend she would become! WIP has been so so so great to me!! Back in Edinburgh on Saturday I spent the day wandering the city by myself while the boys went to Stirling to see the William Wallace memorial. I took a great 4 hour free walking tour and then went to visit the Edinburgh Castle which was also free because it was St. Andrews day! Talk about great luck :) That night, I went to the airport to say goodbye to the boys who were flying home annnnnnd to pick up Cortney who had just finished her semester in Italy and was coming to see me!!! I was so excited to be with my best friend in Europe for a second time! That night we wandered around the Edinburgh Christmas Market, rode the ferris wheel, reveled in the Christmas excitement and then hung out at the hostel drinking Cadbury's hot coco and catching up. I left at the crack of dawn the next morning to get back to Belfast but it was an incredible weekend in Scotland!

St. Andrews pier with Lauren!

View of the city from the Tower

Sunset at the beach

At the airport saying goodbye to the boys and hello to Cort!

Monday night, Cortney arrived in Belfast and spent the week with me there. It was so amazing for her to be able to experience my life here, fall in love with my city, meet my amazing friends and see what I've been up to over the past three months. She really did get a feel for my whole life in Belfast :) We made dinner at Phil's, went out with the guys from my flat, hiked snow covered Cave Hill, visited Belfast Castle, went to my small group, wandered around the Christmas market, went to see Four Christmases, had tea and biscuits with Cathy, hung out with my friends from theology, and saw Queens, Union and Belfast. Cort and I have talked constantly this semester which has been my lifeline, but it was different in an amazing way to have her actually experiencing everything I've been talking about and seeing for herself why I am so so happy in Belfast.

Out with Cortney and my flatmate Conor

My beautiful city!!

We got a bit lost...

But we found the path again! Snow covered!! :)

Thursday night we flew over to London to stay with Kim Mascher and Emily Wade - two friends from UVA who graduated last year and are now working in London. It has been so nice to be with them, in their apartment and to see London! Yesterday Cortney and I saw the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace and did the four hour free walking tour of London (if you're going to Europe, you should really check out the free walking tour company, Sandemans, they're amazing!) which took us by all the major sites! We were planning on going to the evensong concert at Westminster Abbey but I felt awful so we came back to the flat so I could take a nap before our big night. That morning we had gone to the tkts booth at Leicester Square and bought half price tickets to see the Sound of Music! The show was wonderful and we were eight rows from the stage in the centre! Cortney and I both absolutely love musicals and going to the theatre so it was a blast!! When we got back, we were joking with Kim that we'd set our alarms for 6 am to get a jump start on the day. Little did I know that it wasn't much of a joke for me as I woke up at 7 and couldn't get back to sleep. I have been fighting a fever, a cold and laryngitis since Wednesday which has been a downer. I literally could not speak at all Wednesday and Thursday (which Cortney found very amusing...haha) and recently I haven't been able to sleep. Not a big deal considering I'm in LONDON! but that explains why my time in London is being spent on the internet. Because it's 7:30 on a Saturday morning! But today have plans for tea and crumpets at the flat, a trip to the market at Portobello Road, the evensong concert at Westminster, Platform 9 3/4 at Kings Cross station and the Churchill war museum. I'll definitely post pictures of London and Scotland when I am back in Belfast tomorrow!

With Emily and Kim, our hosts!

Westminster Abbey

Apparently there are lots of people who have never seen the 1971 Disney Classic Bedknob and Broomsticks so you should watch this to appreciate the significance of this picture :) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqY1lHJYIgY

Quite a staple of my childhood years!

About to catch our train to Hogwarts!

I know I mentioned this earlier, but I can not believe how quickly the semester has gone by. I have had the best time in Belfast and I am not ready to say goodbye. I feel so torn because I am so excited to get home but I can not bear to leave this place. I feel like I have two completely rich and full universities lives on two different continents - I honestly feel as settled at Queens as I do at UVA and that makes it so hard to leave. Knowing that I might never see these people again and that the people I love the most here are a plane ride away from home is difficult! But mostly I am just looking at the situation in amazement because I am so blessed! Some people never find a home at any university or in any city. How lucky am I have to have two college homes? I am the luckiest girl I know. Mostly because I have friends and family like you all who have been there for me through it all! I absolutely can not wait to see everyone from home! I have missed you all so much!!!! <3<3

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Perfection. That’s how I would describe last night. I was really worried that I would be super homesick come Thanksgiving because it’s the first time ever that I haven’t been with my family. And I do really miss my parents and my brothers but last night almost made up for it! Matt and Johnny, two friends from UVA, flew over on Saturday for the week so it was already wonderful to have them here! Because we will be in Scotland at a hostel on Thursday, I decided we would have Thanksgiving dinner on Tuesday night. My good friend Phil lives in a house by himself so we ate over there so as not to have to fight over the kitchen in my flat. Cathy and I prepared the food – mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, wheaten bread (had to throw in some Irish culture for Matt and Johnny!), cranberry sauce and chicken (it’s impossible to buy a whole turkey here except around Christmas! Which I was completely okay with because I didn’t feel like roasting it :). Two other close friends, Ally and Julie, came over for dinner as well. After dinner, in traditional Thanksgiving style, we watched A Muppet’s Christmas Carol while sipping warm Winter Berry Cordial and eating hot apple pie. Thanksgiving dinner was a smashing success with the three Irish – they were all soaking up the traditions and claiming they should have been American! As I sat around the living room looking at the six friends there, I could not believe how lucky I was. I was in Northern Ireland, eating Thanksgiving dinner, and spending time with my four best friends from Belfast and two of my best friends from home. Absolutely amazing – words can not express how blessed I am!!

And some random old photos just for fun :)

The IFSA Family at the Guinness Brewery in Dublin

Belfast all lit up for Christmas!

Prayer Request

Hey guys :) I miss you a lot. Things in Ireland continue to be wonderful and I am still having a great time! Unfortunately this isn't one of those "I love my life in Belfast" posts...
There are only five of us with Butler in Belfast and we have all become incredibly close which has been amazing. It breaks my heart though to write that Dave's dad died early this morning. He flew home a few weeks ago to say goodbye and we had an idea that this could happen before he made it back to Oregon. He's going to stay in Belfast until Christmas, as planned, but this is obviously a really hard time to be away from home and with people you have only known for a few months. I was talking to him for a while today and he was just expressing how despite expecting it and being able to say goodbye, it is still so surreal. "Cherish the time you have with your parents, Emma. Please." If you all could say a prayer for Dave and for his mom, it would mean the world to all of us over here. All my love, Emma.

Operation SOS!

Saturdays in Belfast have quickly become my absolute favorite day of the week! All the students from Northern Ireland go home on the weekends - they used to feel lonely but have become a wonderful quiet time to chill out. Saturdays begin with a trip with Ally and Robyn to the St. George’s Market, my favorite part of Belfast! The Saturday Market is a wonderful fusion of farmer’s market, craft show and international food festival. I purchase my produce for really cheap, eat a delicious and inexpensive lunch I could never hope to make for myself, listen to music to local musicians and just enjoy the morning! After the Market, Ally and I head to a core workout class at the gym, another one of my top favorite places in Belfast. The gym at Queen’s is state of the art and the classes are great and free. I am obsessed! After core I get some work done in the peaceful, quiet common room of my apartment where I can be super productive…if I feel like it. :) Lexie comes over from her campus and we make dinner as we watch X Factor with my English apartment-mates. X Factor is the greatest reality TV show on the air!! It is similar to American Idol only a million times better. I am completely and totally hooked! Do me a favor and youtube Eoghan Quigg. He’s my 16 year old Northern Ireland love who is destined to win X Factor. Just you watch. I warned you I was obsessed...Finally in the Saturday line-up, Operation SOS begins at quarter to one. Lexie and I bundle up, meet up with some other friends, and head down into Belfast City Centre to raid the SOS bus. The SOS bus is an awesome charity organization that sets up a bus with a medical centre to provide medical attention, refreshments and rides home for anyone in need (though mostly people coming home from pubs and clubs). We don’t go out on Saturday nights because it’s not particularly safe for students but we still benefit from the tea, candy, crossiants, doughnuts, cookies, soup, etc. that the SOS bus hands out! Don’t worry though, we volunteer with SOS once a month so we’re not terrible people.
Saturdays are an amazing day of weekly rituals and fun times relaxing with friends – I love them and my experiences in this city in general!!

Preparing for Operation SOS

Success!

“Is maith an scéalaí an aimsir” - Time is a great storyteller

Warning: This is going to be a long post! Feel free to just look at the beautiful pictures :)

This weekend marks my halfway point in Ireland. Unbelievable!! But what better way to celebrate that than a visit from my Daddy! This week was my half-term break so I met my dad in Dublin last Thursday to do a bit of traveling in the Republic of Ireland. Here’s what we have been up to:

Friday – It was an absolutely beautiful day when we arrived in Galway so we dropped off our things at the bed and breakfast and headed straight for the Connemara region. The drive from Galway to Clifden was along a coastal route through picturesque villages and gorgeous seascapes. The landscape abruptly changed to really rocky and mountainous with deep blue lakes that were equal in beauty to the beaches! After strolling through adorable Clifden, we took the Sky Road, a loop along the side of a cliff overlooking the sea. We stopped by Dan O’Hara’s Homestead just for the namesake before a wonderful dinner in Oughterard! Throughout the day we saw castles, cliffs, rainbows, coastlines, livestock in the road...Connemara was a wonderful introduction to the beautiful scenery of Ireland.

I have 24 pictures of rainbows from the trip :)

Saturday – We had planned on heading to the Aran Islands but the weather was atrocious, even for Ireland’s standards. Instead we met up with a friend from WIP who showed us around Galway City. The rain was heavy and the wind was intense – I don’t think I’ve ever been so wet in my life! Despite the conditions, the city was really nice and it was fun to have Chris as our tour guide. After changing into dry clothes we went to see the Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. It was the second time I have seen it and is one of the best movies I have ever seen in my life. When it opens in the USA, please go see it!!

Sunday – We successfully made it to the Aran Islands! The trip over felt like a rollercoaster the sailing was so rough and it was almost comical watching person after person after person get sick. Luckily Dad and I both survived the trip! Once we landed in Inishmór we rented bikes to travel to Dún Aengus, a fort perched on the edge of a cliff. The wind was extraordinarily strong on the ride out there making it super difficult! My dad got a kick out of the fact that I kept informing him that I was not having any fun but in my defense, I felt like I was biking into a wall! Normally, if you are going downhill you can coast without pedaling but in this case you have to pedal even downhill!! We finally made it to the fort which was terrifying with strong winds at the edge of a cliff – my guide book says that “visitors have frequently been blown off and killed on the rock shelf below!” On the bike ride home we got incredibly lost and I was pretty sure we were going to be stuck forever on the island! But we made it back to Rossaveal and drove to Doolin in County Clare where we spent the night. I was really ill on the drive so we didn’t really get to enjoy Doolin’s charm but if I had to pick one town in Ireland for someone to visit to get a feel for the country, it would be Doolin! Right on the water, close to the Aran Islands, next to the Cliffs of Moher and a centre of Irish traditional music, it is a wonderful town!

Monday – In the morning we went to the Cliffs of Moher and then spent the rest of the day exploring the Burren. The Burren is a stretch of really rocky terrain across northern Clare with prehistoric grave sites, tombs, and stone forts. The geology of the Burren was actually really interesting and Ireland was constantly amazing me with its diverse array of scenery!! We spent the night in our favorite town, Kenmare on the edge of the Ring of Kerry. The owner of our B&B was fantastic, the town was quaint, dinner was amazing – I introduced Dad to all the essentials: beef and Guinness pie, banoffee pie, and sticky toffee pudding!

Tuesday – Our itinerary was “maddening” according to our B&B owner but we managed to tackle the whole Ring of Kerry and still made it to Dublin by 10 pm. The Ring of Kerry is the most popular attraction in Ireland and for a good reason! It is a 179 km circuit of unbelievable sights with medieval ruins, mountains, lakes, and beaches. I don’t think I will ever grow stop being amazed by Ireland’s beauty!!

Wednesday morning Dad flew back home and I took the bus back to Belfast. I was really sad to see him go but it was a nice feeling to pull into Belfast and feel like I was returning home in a way. All in all, I had such an amazing week!!

steaaamroller! and other adventures :)

Written 23/10/08

My time in Belfast is absolutely flying by – it has been six weeks since I arrived although I am starting to feel like I have lived here forever! Here are some highlights from the past three weeks:

• At the Fresher’s Bazaar the first week of classes, Cathy and I signed up for the Belfast Giants Fan Club just for the heck of it. The Belfast Giants are the ice hockey team that came to Belfast a few years ago. On student night, we convinced our flat mates to come out with us to the game. I am ashamed to say that despite living next door to the Washington Capitals, I had never actually seen an ice hockey game before (other than Miracle – the second greatest movie of all time J). We had a blast watching the game, getting into the cheers and chants, and enjoying the overall atmosphere. The icing on the cake was that Belfast scored with 1:18 left in the third period to beat Cardiff 1-0!

With Cathy at the game

GOOOOAL!!

• A few Sundays ago I woke up to absolutely gorgeous weather. The sun was out in full force (an extreme rarity in Ireland) and the day was warm with a nice breeze. My friend Ally and I quickly made plans to go on a trip we had been discussing for a few weeks. We took the train 30 minutes outside of Belfast to Bangor and planned to walk back the 8 miles to city center. It was so nice and relaxing to head out of the city and into suburbia with adorable little towns and neighborhoods. After a long detour to stroll through a Boot Sale in Bangor, we picked up the Coastal Footpath and headed back toward Belfast. The path was an easy walk right along the coast and was beautiful! We leisurely strolled along the path, stopping to take lots of pictures, play in the pebbly sand, and bask in the sunlight. It was really refreshing to take a step back from the city just for the day and enjoy the incredible day!!




Hiking the Coastal Path with Ally




• My Uncle Hugh has been involved with Washington Ireland Program for a number of years and it gave me the chance to meet a number of students from Ireland this summer in D.C. It has absolutely blown me away the hospitality that those involved in WIP have shown me since I have set down in Belfast. In addition to spending time with the students from the program, it has been amazing to have the families reach out to me to make sure I feel cared for while I am studying abroad. The past two Tuesdays I have had dinner with WIP families and after six weeks at university, it has been so nice to spend time with non-students and in homes! I am so, so thankful for all Uncle Hugh’s connections; they have made this experience even more rewarding!
• Last weekend a friend of mine from UVA came to visit! He graduated last May and is spending the year teaching in Wales. It was really nice to have a part of home and of UVA here in Belfast and was a really fun weekend. We spent Saturday doing the touristy thing in Belfast with a couple of my friends from Queen’s. Even though we’ve lived here for a while, most of us still hadn’t seen the sights of Belfast so together a bunch of us went on the Belfast Eye, took a Black Taxi tour, and had Guiness in the Crown Liquor Saloon. It was a really enjoyable day and gave Evan a great chance to see the Belfast sights!
  
• The Sunday Evan was here was one of the best days I have had in Northern Ireland! Lexie, Evan and I took the train to Derry, a walled city about two and a half hours from Belfast. When we first arrived, we were pretty disappointed to realize that absolutely everything seemed to be closed because it was a Sunday. We decided to make the best of it and took my guidebook’s walking tour around the city walls – it was an absolute blast!! Derry/Londonderry has an incredibly rich history with the Siege of Derry in 1688, the Apprentice Boys rebellion in 1689, the heightened tension during the Troubles and Bloody Sunday in 1972 (U2’s song Sunday Bloody Sunday). But obviously it wasn’t just the history of the city that I enjoyed on our walk; we just joked and laughed and had fun the whole way through. After our city wall walk, we ducked into a little pub to listen to traditional Irish music before heading home. Lexie and I loved Derry so much that we are returning for their huge Halloween festival on Thursday!

Playing in the leaves in Derry :)

The Legend of Finn McCool

I can not believe I have been in Belfast for three weeks now! I have been writing a lot of e-mails to people so I am going to try and touch upon the topics that keep coming up :)

Classes: I think my parents were starting to wonder whether I was actually going to be taking any classes this semester! Universities in the UK run on a schedule that is very different from back home so I just started my classes this past Tuesday - over a month after UVA started! I decided that I really needed a break from being pre-med so all three "modules" that I am taking are at Union Theological College. UTC is an absolutely amazing place! It is a small school and they are really big into fostering relationships student-student and student-lecturer so I feel like it is a little family and it is much easier to meet people that way. I was absolutely blown away last Tuesday when my first day of class included 3 breaks for tea, a worship service, and a free hot lunch. I only have 8 hours of class a week and although I have so much more independent study to do than at home, it is a nice feeling to able to structure my own day!

Living Situation: I live in university housing in a 10 person apartment. I have my own room with a bathroom and then share a kitchen and living room. The dorms are a lot nicer than at UVA though I am not used to living alone! I find myself longing for the insanity of the Quad almost everyday :) The two other Americans on my program are also on my hall but the other 7 kids are Irish first year students. The freshers are so much fun to hang out with and incredibly sweet! It is such an awesome and unique experience to be living with Irish students!

Friends: Believe it or not, I have actually made friends :) It was a bit of a catch-22 at first because the students my age already have their friend circles while the first years are scrambling to make friends for three years so why would they waste their time on someone who is only going to be here three months? I had an idylic idea that I would instantly have 150 best friends and feel so close to them which obviously wasn't realistic. I had to take a step back to remember that the best friendships take time (my closest UVA friendships weren't instantaneous!). Putting things into perspective made things a lot easier and as soon as I stopped fretting about it, things started to fall into place. I have met some really, really great people and have three awesome girls that I spend a lot of time with and who have been a huge blessing!

Church: I have found a really great church in Belfast that I am really excited about! It reminds me a lot of my church at UVA which is comforting :) There is an awesome 7 pm student service that is more contemporary and I have really liked in the past three Sundays.

Giants Causeway: Last weekend the international students were taken to the Giants Causeway which is probably the "must-see" site of the North. It is a beautiful coastline of 40,000 hexagonal rock stepping stones who's origin is a mystery! Legend has it that the Irish giant Finn McCool built the causeway to walk to Scotland to fight the Scottish giant Benandonner. It was absolutely beautiful scenery and was a really fun opportunity to get to hang out with the other international students.

A beautiful coastline shot!

At the Causeway with my incredible friend Cathy!

Gorgeous!

Family Visit: This weekend was our program organized family visit to Navan in County Meath, in the Republic of Ireland. The three Queen's students were all staying together with Collette and Ian Craig and their 7-year old daughter Emma (every other person you meet is named Emma!). I had an incredible weekend with their family! I loved sitting by the fire, drinking tea and chatting all day with Collette or playing jumprope for hours with Emma. It was so nice to be in a house, eating homecooked meals, in the presence of a family. Last night, under direct orders from Collette, Esther and I took each took a bubble bath, changed into our pjs and curled up in front of the fire with a glass of wine to watch a movie. What a relaxing weekend!

Beautiful Ireland!!

While visiting Trim Castle, Esther and I decided to re-inact Braveheart! (which was filmed at the castle)

Collette insisted we take a picture with the donkeys! :)