donegal and derry.

Unrelated to weekend trip: best cupcake of my life at this shop in Blackrock: vanilla cupcake with buttercream frosting a shortbread cookie on top and strawberry jam in the middle.

This weekend we took a trip with Dr. Baker, our Irish Literature professor currently visiting, to Donegal and Derry, near Northern Ireland. We visited many sites briefly which were mentioned in literature we are reading such as Yeats poetry.

Dooneey Forest, mentioned by Yeats in "The Stolen Child"

See the giant laying down?

This statue looks like Gollum. I'm not sure why. But this is a Yeats poem.

Donegal Castle

This is a location mentioned in an Irish novel we read, Reading in the Dark. The main character's uncle was killed here (fictionally).

 These are the Bogside Murals in Derry, painted in representation of the Battle of the Bogside which took place regarding the struggle of the North in whether or not it would remain a part of Britain.

This town is still sometimes called Derry and sometimes Londonderry, depending who you ask. What people call the town gives you a hint of their political stance on the North being part of the UK. The city was also completely surrounded by a wall, which we walked on around the city.

Lough Derg

We rode in this out to the island.

The setting was stunning. The day was breathtakingly COLD! We toured the island regardless. This island is also known as Station Island, which is the title of a Seamus Heaney poem, and it is also called St. Patrick's purgatory. Historically and today people have made pilgrimage to this island in order to do penance. Today it is required that people who come to do this pilgrimage do specific things: they must be barefoot all three days, fast for a day and a half, pray rather than sleep the first night, and it is all laid out for them. They are almost never alone, however, as all who go to do it are in the same areas. They say the same three prayers over and over: Our Father, Hail Mary, and the Apostle's Creed. Many members of our group discussed whether they would do this. Many said they could never do it; many said they really really wanted to. I really appreciate the ideas behind it, but I personally think I would prefer to do something like this with freedom to make it more personal and in solitude and silence.

We are continuing our literature class this week. I have a friend, Conny, visiting Dublin this weekend who is from Germany and who I became very close with when she was an exchange student at my high school, so that's really exciting!

I'm sure many of you are wondering about Turkey as I keep saying I'm expecting news soon. Well, I have little more to report, which is frustrating. My contact in Turkey has told me about a few families who are possibilities, but she is vague and has given me no contact information thus far. I am trying my best to wait patiently and trust the Lord that all is well in the process. I'm also aware that a big reason this could be frustrating to me is due to cultural differences - it could very well be that to her "soon" means something very different than it does to me. Please continue to trust in prayer with me that the Lord is going to provide as I trust Him to as His daughter asking in faith.

I'm also working on scheduling for next year's classes and considering changing my major concentration from International Studies, Cross-Cultural Ministries to International Studies, Peace Reconciliation and Justice, because my credits would fit together more easily and I could still take most of the classes that appealed to me for the prior choice as well as some really great ones for the latter one. Also, I've been accepted to live in Taylor's new dormitory for next year! I'm so excited about this, but I don't yet have a roommate, which is a difficult thing to deal with when I'm not there to talk with people.

I feel I'm doing a lot of waiting lately on other people to respond and figure things out for me. This is hard, especially when email communication is sporadic. However, I have more than enough to occupy my mind here! I'm doing so well, deepening friendships, learning so much, and embracing the country! Thanks so much to all who are so supportive and lifting me up in prayer. It means SO much to me; there's possibly nothing more encouraging than that.

My love to you all!