On December 28th Brian came to visit Belfast and maybe he wanted to see me as well. Since he arrived we've been on a whirlwind tour of Northern Ireland, and a bit of the Republic. My last visitor from home was my dad in October and my next visitor will probably be my mom in March. Having someone visit from home served as a personality barometer or looking glass even. The changes that have slowly molded my life in Belfast were reflected in the familiarity. The separation from my daily routine revealed again the power of this year on my life, reminded me not to take any of the moments left or spent for granted, and challenged me to look forward at how God is preparing my heart for the life I'll return to in the summer. So I'm at the turning point, almost five months finished and five months to go. At the turning point I got to be a tourist and have a little fun on vacation, I had a chance to reflect on the impact this year out has already had on my life, and I had the chance to relish the expectation of what the year will bring. I also got to play tour guide and feel how Belfast has grown in my heart as a city of great beauty, history, and character. Here is a bit of what we saw.
St.Anne's Cathedral
"The Fish" each scale depicts a portion of Belfast's history and the sculpture itself embodies the connection with the sea and shipbuilding.
The Albert Memorial clock, presented by Queen Victoria to honour her husband Prince Albert. It leans, not just in the picture, but in real life and engineers even consulted folks in Pisa to get advice on how to help the clock survive.
The Girl on the Ring symbolizes peace, which is everything in Belfast according to my roommate Alison.
On to Downpatrick on Saturday where we visited the St.Patrick Centre and Brian modeled period clothing from early Irish history.
I think Dr.Sherrard would be proud that I decoded Roman numerals and used an abacus to beat Brian in some math problems.
Other than all the fun we had the St.Patrick Centre used Patrick's confession to lead you through his life from his time in slavery when he prayed at least 100 times a day, through his travels, up to his legacy and some of the earliest monks who recorded the oral tradition of Patrick's miracles. We also visited the place where St.Patrick is said to be buried.
That night when we got home, Libby noticed that the radiator was no longer producing heat. We checked the oil and it barely registered on the stick. Slowly our hot water disappeared too and we spent the next few days taking cold showers, cuddled up in many blankets, and overusing the kettle for cups of tea or hot water bottles. We had a space heater that we put in the living room, but the wind still whipped through the house even blowing plastic bags around in the living room. So who said that the Northern Ireland YAV's don't have to struggle every now and then too? But it didn't stop us from enjoying the New Year. We even stayed up to watch the ball drop in New York and we discovered that American football does play in Northern Ireland. It just comes on at 3 am!
On Tuesday we took a bus along the Coastal Road to the Giant's Causeway. We walked along the top ridge, down the Shepherd's steps and past a mudslide to get to the famous hexagonal volcanic stones. That night we got to attend a Scottish music club meeting with Bob from Whitehouse. Bob taught me that Scottish music is like a square with distinct corners and turns, while Irish music is more like a spiral with no end and no distinction between one theme and the next. They even played "Belle of Belfast City" which has become our house favorite.
On Wednesday and Thursday the entire crew of 6 girls and Brian took a bus to Dublin. In our first few minutes off the bus I managed to find a statue of Poseidon, complete with his trusty trident for all my Tri Delta friends out there! Unfortunately I was not able to climb the height of the building and therefore will probably not be pictured in next month's Trident magazine.
At Trinity College we saw the Book of Kells which is renowned as the most beautiful book in the world, containing copies of the gospels from 800 b.c. The Long Room in the Trinity College Library was also part of the tour. After all the shelves were filled so quickly, the architects quickly made plans to expand the ceiling and add another level. The extensive, precious volumes are humbling as well as the many busts lining the corridor.
Since Alison had studied in Dublin, she acted as our tour guide a bit and walked us through some of the famous areas like Grafton Street and the Temple Bar area.
As we walked back to the hotel, past the famous bridges of Dublin, I noticed this sign with the Irish for Belfast on it. It means the "mouth of the river Farset" which is where Belfast was established.
Libby, Brian and I started early on Thursday to tour the National Museum of History where we saw Ireland's extensive gold exhibit. It turns out that the bogs effectively preserve gold, fabric, and other materials. The best part is that most of the discoveries were made by potato farmers or by people cutting turf. We met the rest of the group at St.Stephen's Green where we saw statues of Wolfe Tone and Oscar Wilde.
"Nothing that is worth learning can be taught." -Oscar Wilde
There were even palm trees in the park! I think I've shared with at least a handful of people the story of how the Civil War began in South Carolina, but again I was reminded how I love to see a third grader's eyes light up when they hear the story of the palmetto tree.
We passed Christ's Church Cathedral...
And then were on to the Guinness Storehouse where we learned that massive amounts of barley, hops, water and technology are used in Dublin daily to produce one of the world's most popular brews. I was fascinated that Arthur Guinness so much believed in his product that he signed a 9,000 year lease on the building and the nearby water source. I had my first pint of Guinness in the bar on the seventh floor which overlooks the city of Dublin in fantastic panoramic views.
Friday we toured City Hall. We saw where Belfast City Council meets and sat in seats representing almost every spectrum of the political rainbow here. Brian even sat in the Lord Mayor's chair!
We spent the afternoon shopping before we headed off to dinner with Liz and her family. Brian got to experience a carvery, which outdoes the Southern Sunday buffet by a mile. More than once on this trip has he been in awe of how much food is consumed in this country, but when it came time for dessert he did finish his tiramisu and have a double espresso too! It was something else to add to his list of firsts and accomplishments.
Yesterday we enjoyed a serious walk from my house to the Belfast Castle, who knows how far exactly, but with a bit of sun it was a really enjoyable walk. We ended our day in City Centre with some shopping and then the Odyssey for a movie.
So tomorrow I start back to work at the afterschools and Girls Brigade. Today three youth from my Alpha group joined the church and we shared in the first communion of the New Year. As things pick back up and the time continues to fly in I am continually grateful for the blessings God has given me this year and in 2006. I look forward to the girls youth club starting at the Trust, getting back into the primary schools locally, and continuing to push myself in the activities I'm blessed to be involved in each week. Thank you for your prayers and support. Happy New Year to you and your family!
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