the lowdown.

Hello from Ireland.
I really need to get better at this whole "keeping up with the blog" jazz, but here is the low down, the 411, the happenins of the past few days. ENJOY (:

DAY 8-DAY 10

This week I had to remind myself of the definition of class. Having no classes from May 4-September 11 might be a big part of the issue. How classes work here is a little different than at home. Here, I only have classes Monday-Thursday. I only have one class everyday but one day I have two (5 classes/15 hours total). I am taking Irish Art and Culture, Philosophy, Theology, Capstone: Christian Life, as well as Irish Economics. I really enjoyed all of them with the exception of Economics. I don't think I could have been much more bored to be honest. Our classes our three hours long since we only have them once a week. Three hours is a long time... thank goodness for tea and Digestive breaks halfway through each class! Digestives are popular cookies here... so good. Other than constantly eating and responding to the side effects of drinking an abundance of tea, time this week was spent watching movies, playing games, and having dances parties... oh and of course doing a "wee" bit of homework.

DAY 11.

Each Friday, we get to visit a site in Ireland that has something to do with what we are talking about in one of our classes. This week we went to both the Catholic and Protestant St. Patricks Cathedrals as well as Navan Fort. St. Patricks was very impressive both inside and out. The details were fascinating. It almost felt as if no minor detail had gone without extreme thought and conversation. It is so cool to see how God's house can look so different throughout the world as well as for different denominations.

After visiting St Patricks (Catholic) we went to St Patricks (Protestant) which wasn't as big, but was older. The architecture was mostly original which I thought was really cool. One of the highlights of my day came from being in this Cathedral... the aisle. The architect who designed the Cathedral purposefully built the aisle crocked. The reason behind this was to put emphasis on Jesus' head falling to the side when he was dying on the cross. It really was a great reminder of the pain and blood that Christ shed so that we could have forgiveness and faith in Him. What a cool reminder of His sacrifice!!

The last place we went on Friday was the Navan Fort. The whole idea behind the place was to give tourists an idea of what life would have been like if we would have lived in Ireland years ago. Sounds cool right?! Well, here's the thing... it sounds better than it actually is. The whole time I was there I felt like I was gradually shriveling up from boredom. Dramatic I know. You know a place is bad when Rick Steves, king  of travel, doesn't even include the place in his book. It wasn't even in the "if you have extra time and you absolutely need something else to do" section... Not promising. What made the experience worse was the video about war gods at the end of the "learning experience." The only good thing that came out of the experience was a fantastic view of the Irish countryside. I guess it wasn't completely a waste of time but it was pretty dang close. Moral of the story: if Rick Steves doesn't put something in his book, there is probably a good reason.

DAY 12.

Saturday was a beautiful day... Not only did we get to sleep in and be lazy, but we spent part of our morning watching classic Disney movies. It was fantastic. Honestly, as much as I would like to say that it was a super eventful day, it just wasn't.

DAY 13.

Church this week was fantastic. I really appreciated and enjoyed everything about the way the service was conducted. The sermon was good and to the point, the music was a great combination of both hymns as well as contemporary music, and the church just had a cool feel all together. It is such a great feeling to be welcomed into different churches each week by these congregations! After church, we went to Hadden's (he is one of our professors as well as principle-like figure here) church where his wife had prepared a great lunch for us! When we got to the manor, my roomies and I had "roomie nap" time and after dinner the whole house watched She's the Man. It was a good day.

DAY 14-DAY 16

During these days I mainly went to class and hung out in the manor. We have been watching movies almost every night and have been playing lots of games. We have been joking that it is basically a three month long sleepover. Haha! Last night we all (even the boys) spent the night figuring out our life's through games of M.A.S.H. I have been really enjoying each and every person on the trip. We have such a great group of people! It has been so fun to see how 25 completely different personalities can blend together in such a cool way... It is defiantly such a God thing! We moved the tables to be connected into one, we have dance parties in the kitchen as we wash dishes, and we constantly have pointless conversations until we all look at the clock and force ourselves to go to bed... It is almost like we are a big family. It is such a blessing that I have been given the opportunity to get to know each and every one of these people wonderful people and I cant wait to get to know them even better these next few months! Oh and this week was also our second week of classes... I forgot about those. Haha.

We have been trying out Irish restaurants lately... Nando's is definitely a new favorite. Today, we tried White's Tavern which is the oldest tavern in Belfast. They had traditional Irish food. It was absolutely fantastic. I left with a happy tummy!

Well that is enough of me blabbering for now... Hope everyone is having a great week! Miss you all!

P.S. I have been adding pictures on Facebook that y'all should check out and if you find yourself bored at any point I love receiving letters (:

Color.

During the past couple days, our group has been touring all over Northern Ireland. The places that we have seen are like nothing that I have seen before. My family and I have traveled all over and seen everything from mountains to beaches and cities to old historic towns. I can't look back at my many past vacations to different beautiful islands and say that they didn't take my breath away, but there is something about Ireland and it's coast that is in a completely different category of beauty. God truly is an incredible artist and have been given the privilege to live in view of one of, in my opinion, one of His greatest masterpieces. I am blessed.

This week we have seen and experienced all different outlooks of Ireland. The beauty as well as it's depressing history that still effects it's people, but I have definitely taken note of a commonality. COLOR. Since I have been here there hasn't been a place that I have seen that isn't full of color. At times, the color part of nature or representational of the country's history. After looking through my photos this became overly evident. Whether it's the rich green fields that carpet the island, the flowers in one of the world's most impressive rose gardens, the vibrant turquoise that surrounds the country, or even the colorful Peace Wall that separates the Protestants and the Catholics, Ireland is definitely not black and white in any way.

Here's a recap of the past couple days...

DAY 4.

After spending the morning getting oriented and more accustomed to Ireland, we went to an award winning rose garden that wasn't too far from our manor. It was absolutely beautiful and once again it was filled with color. There were all different types of roses spread out over green fields. Gazebos, bridges, and archways also filled the land. The pictures does do the garden (or really anything in Ireland justice)

This pink flower was HUGE! It was about the size of our hands when they were open. The details and vibrance of flowers amazes me. 

SO incredibly thankful for these two sweet friends!! I am so beyond blessed to have been give the opportunity to spend the semester in Ireland with two of my best friends.

(^Me, Allison and Brian^)

Never a dull moment!

(^Garrett, Nick, Allison, Sara, and Brian^)

DAY 5.

Saturday was a great, but long, day. Billy wanted to show us a few of his favorite places in Ireland. The day included driving along the coast, eating the best fish and chips I have had for lunch, walking across a rope bridge to an island with an incredible view, hiking down to Giant's Causeway, and jumping into the 50 degree ocean. It was by far my favorite day I have spent in Ireland so far. Too many incredible, breathtaking views to count.

The rope bridge that we crossed that led to a small island. 

My view from sitting on the edge of the island.

Next we journeyed to Giant's Causeway. The rock formations were absolutely amazing to me... they aren't sure how exactly they got this way, but they think it might have something to do with an earthquake and an ice storm. 

(^Allison and I^)

We ended the day by jumping in the 50 degree ocean water. Billy called it "perky lake." Haha! If you want to watch our literally "cool" jump here is the link to the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9lcPCmzH0s&feature=youtu.be

The group of us who jumped in!

DAY 6.

Sunday began with attending Christ Church. We will be matched up with a Friendship Family from the church (basically a host family) and will attend this church every other week. After church, I thoroughly enjoyed talking to a couple Irish families. It was funny to hear some of the questions that they had. For example, a family that travels to the states at least once each year asked what I thought of Applebee's. They told me that Applebee's was one of their favorite places to eat in the US. They also raved about how lucky I was to live close to an Olive Garden because they love their breadsticks... hilarious, but who can blame them for loving their breadsticks?! 

Billy took us to where he grew up after we ate lunch. He also explained the problems that are a part of Ireland's past and present. The country has a large problem with the separation of Protestants and Catholics. For years, the Protestants (the people who want Ireland to remain connected with Great Britain) and the Catholics (those who want to unite Northern Ireland with the Republic of Ireland) have been involved in many disputes and shooting. Today, things have gotten a lot better, but a wall still separates the two groups of people who still feel so strongly about the situation. It is a very touchy subject among most Irish because it is so personal due to the many deaths/murders that have occurred because of it. The wall is called The Peace Wall.

While visiting the peace wall, I couldn't help but think about how the wall is not just built based on one issue among the Irish people, but man. All of us have walls of some form that are built inside of us towards something or someone, but one "wall" doesn't lead to a wall like this being built. The Peace Wall was not built because of one wall, but many walls. It was not one person's individual "wall" that made it necessary to separate the people of Ireland. The countries walls gradually were compiled together and grew into a big one. The country has a long way to go to reach a good place, but things are defiantly improving as Billy pointed out to us. There are now 12 mixed group school which is huge. 

Visitors from all over the world write messages of hope for a country that needs peace and lack of separation.

The Peace Wall

DAY 7.

Today, we honestly didn't do a whole lot. We had speaker who came to talk with us about his sculpting and paintings which was interesting. He actually told us a story about when he met Prince Charles of Whales... crazy, huh?! Besides that we enjoyed our last day without classes (at this point I have to remind myself what classes actually are) and some of us went into the city tonight. We walked around Queen's University and explored the town. Before heading back to the manor we tried some of Maude's famous Honeycomb icecream that was absolutely wonderful.

(^Allison, me, and Chelsea^)

After living in Ireland for a week, it is funny to think about the differences in the meanings of words or the usage of words that aren't common in America as well as the differences in culture. Here are a few examples:
- pants are underwear... If we want to complement someone's "pants" we should call them trousers so they aren't offended
- grocery carts are trolleys
- holding up a backwards peace sign is like giving the middle finger
- everything is "wee" not small,
- instead of being called "college students" they are called "university students" or "uni's"
- tea is served at least 4 times a day in the manor
- a popular cookie is called a "Digestive" (odd I know)
- Lay's potato chips are called Walkers here and have flavors such as Smokey Bacon, Prawn Cocktail, Roasted Chicken, Steak and Onion, and the only one that I like... Bacon Cheddar
- the fish and chips are incredible here and the fries are called chips
- TJ Maxx is TK Maxx here

Well, that is enough for now... It has been amazing to already see God growing our relationships as a group. His creation is wonderful and I still wake up each morning thinking "I'm in Ireland!"

Hope you are all having a great week at home.

Miss you all,
Sarah

Safe and Sound.

After traveling for 18 hours and being awake for 35 I am officially safe and sound, moved in, and rested. After being here for a full day, I still have to pinch myself to assure that this is actually real. Ireland is gorgeous. It's not as pretty as any picture I had seen, but prettier. I wish y'all could all be here to see, experience and enjoy it with me.

Now to recap the last 3 days...

DAY 1.

At the airport in NW Arkansas packed and ready to go! 

Final goodbyes to my parents before heading to security and my gate. 

Off to Atlanta to meet up with the rest of the group!!

After landing in Atlanta, we were reunited! Missed these 2 a lot over the summer! Can't wait to spend the semester with them and the rest of the group here in Ireland!

(^in the Atlanta airport with Allison and Brian^)

About to concur our 8 hour flight to Dublin! Here's to no sleep, movies, and airplane food!

These 3 wonderful girls are also my roomies for the semester (:

(^on the plane with Allison, Melissa, and Chelsea^)

Plane Dinner. I don't think there is a way to word a caption to make it seem any better than it was. Moral of the story: eat a bigger meal before long flights.

DAY 2.

It was actually day 2, but it sure felt like day 1 still... LONG day and the 6 hour time change was messing with me... it's still weird to think that I am about to go to bed and y'all at home just ate dinner. It will take some getting used to that's for sure! 

After hours in the air we finally got a peek of Ireland! This was my first view of my home for the next 3 months. At this point, I was absolutely exhausted. Sleeping and airplanes defiantly aren't a match made in heaven. I think I fell asleep for maybe 5 minutes and that's probably even pushing it, but I was in Ireland so my exhaustion wasn't an issue at this point. Luckily all 25 of us had our luggage make it to Dublin as well. From here, we got on a bus and traveled about 2 hours to Belfast. In Belfast, we were picked up and transported to our home for the next 3 months, Lakeside Manor.

After unpacking and getting organized in our room (I'll post pictures soon) at the manor we headed to Scrabo Castle. Here we could see a great view of the city we will be living in this semester. It was so windy! And no... we still hadn't slept at this point. 30 hours and going strong (or maybe it was just adrenaline)!! 

After arriving back at the manner we ate Irish fish and chips for dinner, showered and headed to bed around 9 our time. I'm pretty sure I have never fallen asleep faster... I slept like a rock.

DAY 3.

Day 3 began with waking up rested, having a team meeting, and eating lunch. It was so exciting to wake up here and get ready to spend our first 24 hours here!! We are all definatly still in as Billy (one of our leaders) called it the "honeymoon phase" and it is so apparent. Constantly today I found my saying, thinking, or hearing others talk about how cool and different everything is. I am thoroughly amazed and have enjoyed every second so far.

After lunch, several of us went on a bike ride. It was SO weird to ride on the "wrong side of the road," but was so fun to get to explore some of Belfast and the neighborhood surrounding the manor! 

(^Melissa and I with our bikes^)

(^Brandon, Allison, and Brian before our bike ride^)

We went to dinner at Billy's favorite pizza place in Ireland. It was called Pizza Express, but don't let the name fool you. When he told us the name of the restaurant we all kinda looked at him doubtfully, but it was quite good! 

After dinner we walked around downtown Belfast for a bit and saw the City Hall (above) which had a statue of Queen Victoria in front of it. The building was extremely impressive. So many details that it was hard to feel like you completely grasped the building to it's fullest.

We also saw the Titanic memorial. This is actually the 100th anniversity of it sinking so there is quite a bit of things around town that have to do with the Titanic in some way.

We spent the rest of the night at the manor playing Smash Mario Brothers and Risk, eating ice-cream, and drinking tea. 

Well, I think y'all are caught up of what went on the past 3 days! It is still so hard for me to actually believe that I am finally here! I already feel that God has great plans for our group here in Ireland! I can't wait to experience more of this wonderful city and tell you guys all about it! 

~ Sarah (:

God tweets too.

It still feels completely unreal for me to think that next week at this time I will be laying in bed, sleeping, in Ireland. A week from this moment it will not be 12:15 at night, but 6:15 in the morning. As of Tuesday when I wake up on a plane above Ireland, I will be living in an almost too good to be true, picture perfect place. Even after stating, writing, talking about, and processing that I only have 3 days left here in Arkansas it still doesn't seem a tinny, tiny bit real that the time has almost come to be in Ireland. Not at all.

Every morning I still wake up with an overwhelming amount of emotions, thoughts, and expectations. My thoughts literally go from one extreme to another... most days I wakeup and think about how blessed and excited I am that I get to go to Ireland for 3 months, but I'm not going to lie and say that I haven't thought to myself "why in the world did I sign up for this." Normally following that thought is me arguing with myself about the pros and cons. Productive huh? But really, what a huge waste of time.

Most people who know me really well are well aware that among my favorite things are movies, the show Friends, Instagram, and also Twitter. My friends and family also know that I am not what you call a morning person. To "cure" my morning crankiness, I lay in bed and catch up with Twitter. Every morning. There are always the funny tweets, the tweets where you think to yourself "no one cares to know that", and then the tweets that actually matter. Twitter is all about other people sharing what they think is important even if sometimes we don't actually care about what they are tweeting. It's easy to keep up with those who matter to us. I love Twitter for this very reason.

While laying in bed a couple of days ago, I, like usual, opened the Twitter app on my iPhone and began reading tweets. A couple tweet really stuck out to me. It was like God was tweeting exactly what I needed to read. To remember it and how perfectly it fit my situation I took screen shots...

So simply put, but all of my mixed emotions and expectations of Ireland were almost instantly put to ease because I realized how unnecessary they were. It was just another reminder of how great our God is. Not only am I reminded that He will be there for me every step of my journey, but I also hope that through this experience my relationship can grow with Him. The tweet reminded me why I am going to Ireland and that it is exactly where He wants me to be this semester. This semester doesn't include a whole lot that is predicable, but because of that I am required to trust in Him. Though leaving my safe life style is difficult and out of my comfort zone, He is constantly reminding me that He is going to Ireland too. What a comfort.

3 days (:

Be where I am.

There are so many things about these next few months that are hard for me to believe are actually reality. To start, I'm a Junior in college. It feels like just yesterday I was receiving a diploma in front of family and friends. I feel like I just started the count down of how many days I had till I moved into my Freshman dorm. It is incredible how fast things can change. Now I'm not only half way done with college, but I am counting down the days till I leave for Ireland. 11 days. 11 days till I spend a semester in Ireland. 11 days till I leave my comfort zone.

As my time here in Arkansas grows shorter, I can't help but to think about the changes that come with this semester. It is easy for me to immediately come to the conclusion that nothing will be the same as I left it when I arrive back to JBU after Christmas break. I love my campus and the people that fill it. I like things the way they are and don't want to come back to a school that feels completely different. I don't want to focus on what I am missing on campus while I'm gone. I think about the great conversations and memories that I could have had with my family and friends if I stayed in Arkansas this semester. At the same time, though, I can't and won't expect people to sit still and wait for me to return before they return to their daily lives. Times like this are when I wish I had a life remote so I could hit pause after I said my goodbyes and hit play when I return. I know that remotes like this don't exist and probably never will which is, honestly, a good thing. The word that comes to mind when I think about having a life remote is "control." Control is something that, as humans, we like to think we have but in reality God is the only One who is in control. He is the One who's plan actually matters unlike ours. Our plans only matter when they aline with His plan. He has a plan for what is going to come of my semester in Ireland as well as when I return to campus in the spring. When I make plans for my life and predict what could happen in the future I am not trusting in God to do what is best for my life and therefore sinning.

Since I'm not able to hit pause before I leave, I am left with a choice: to be where I am and enjoy every minute of it or to be focused on where I am not and can not be. I've come to the conclusion that it is completely okay for me to miss being on campus, but not to the point where I can't enjoy where I am. It becomes difficult to live in the way we should if we are focused on somewhere we aren't.

The thought of getting on a airplane in 11 days to go to a place that is completely foreign to me is in many ways exciting, but also scary at the same time. I know that God has something incredible planned for the time I spend in Ireland. I still am feeling lots of mixed emotions, but I am confident that Ireland is where he wants me to be this semester which couldn't be more comforting to know.

Let the packing begin!