AMAZED

Okay, so…I re-read my last post and have come to the conclusion that I must have been 1) extremely tired when I wrote it & 2) really excited to be in a new place. I came to this conclusion mainly because of the last line where I said I’m in a beautiful city…well, it’s not really actually all that beautiful. When I first pictured Ireland, I thought of a lot of green and hills and old buildings. Well, here in Cork….we’re on a river...and occasionally a swan passes by (and if you're lucky you might catch a glimpse of a seal). The closest thing to what I pictured as Ireland is my school campus (which is actually really sweet). Anyways, back to my point, Cork is a huge city with a million places to shop and eat. There are tons of night clubs and pubs. Anyways, it’s quite different than I had imagined.

However, yesterday I was able to go on a sort of pilgrimage to the towns of Youghl (pronounced like ya’ll) and Ardmore. The Chaplaincy at school was putting on this trip and so some friends and I signed up to go. I don’t even know how to begin describing to you how beautiful and perfect this trip was. There is that song that goes: You dance over me, while I am unaware. You sing all around, but I never hear the sound. Lord, I’m amazed by you, how you love me. You paint the morning sky with miracles in mind. My hope will always stand for you hold me in your hand. Lord, I’m amazed by you. How you love me.

This is how I felt. To begin, it is supposed to rain all week. It was raining on Friday and is supposed to rain this whole week. However, Saturday (the day of the trip) it was 40 degrees and sunny. (It still got cold after a while outside, but probably would feel heavenly for all you up in MN). When we arrived in Youghl we got a tour of the small town. It is a port town and actually where the film Moby Dick was filmed apparently. This was also the port where Walter Raleigh would have sailed out of and possibly Columbus at one point. The ultimate destination during the visit to this city was to the Church there which is the oldest church in Ireland that is still active. After some lady finished telling us about the church, we were free to roam about the town for an hour and grab lunch. Before we left the church however, this one lady who was working in the church made me and my roommate, Lindsey, sing for her because the acoustics are fabulous in there. It took some convincing, but we did it. It was really awkward, but sounded really cool.

Also, everyone in this town was extremely friendly. My friends and I commented at lunch on how it almost feels like we were in a small town surrounded by family. Everyone calls you “love” and asks you questions…don’t worry, Mom, I avoided the political ones thrown at me. Anyways, after we ate our lunch (and I got some delicious hot chocolate in me) and took some pictures, we got back on the bus to head to the town of Ardmore. This second part of the trip was definitely the highlight for me. We got to hike along the path of St. Declan. This definitely fed my hunger to see some of Ireland (and to go hiking instead of just walking around the boring city). St. Declan is believed to be responsible for the spread of Christianity in S. Ireland before St. Patrick.

We hiked along his path and saw the place where he probably had a hermitage & went to pray. We also saw his house where his body was originally buried, but eventually taken for relics. We were right on the ocean and hiked up this cliff and the views along the way are absolutely indescribable! Being my usual self, in my hurry that morning, I forgot my camera, but my roomie took enough pictures for the both of us! On the way down the cliff we walked past what was a church at one point. On the outside were what was probably an old way of doing stained glass windows. There were scenes from the bible inscribed into the rock. It was really neat to see.

What fascinated me most about seeing all of these old structures on this day was the appreciation that the people here seem to have for the past as being an integral piece of who they are today. In the U.S. we always seem to tear down the old and are constantly rebuilding and modernizing, but there they continue using what they can. Even cemeteries that are centuries old are still being used by people today in Ireland.

Also, a random story from the evening - we were walking home from where the bus dropped us off and there was a swan sitting in the middle of the road. It looked injured or something. We stopped and wondered if we should do something about this huge bird who was just plopped down in the middle of the street. Eventually, the Guarda showed up (they're the Irish Police). They didn't seem to know what they were doing. After a while the swan all of a sudden got up and proceeded to walk away and the Guarda shooed it off the road. It was the strangest thing! Apparently if there weren't so many people watching, the Guarda would have shot the swan! I like to think we saved it's life.. although the way it was acting, I think it may have been suicidal. Sorry for that random blurb, but it was a very interesting part of the day.

Sorry for making this blog post so long, but I just felt there was so much to say about that trip. It was absolutely fabulous & exactly what I needed!

I hope you are all doing well & miss you all A LOT! Also, if my sisters are reading this, please send me some pictures because my walls are REALLY boring & I’m missing your artwork. Katlyn I meant to bring that mosaiccy thing you colored for me, but it must have gotten lost in the vast abyss of my closet because it’s not here in Ireland, so if you find it, you should send it or draw me a new one because I really liked it. Okay, sending my love across the ocean and straight to every one of you!