Thanksgiving In Dublin

Thanksgiving morning I got up at a decent hour and made it into the apartments at approximately 10:30 am. I hadn't really slept well the night before but I found out that Nicky hadn't slept at all. He did however have a turkey soaking in a mop bucket in a brine solution with a ton of lemons. There were a couple of chickens too in case we ran out of turkey as we had fifteen people to feed. After he finished putting the appropriate spices and vegetables with the poultry, Nicky laid down for a nap while Patrick and I went to scour Dublin in search of some pie tins. The task was not as easy at one might think. It took us about an hour and about eight different stores until we found some in a Euro 2 store at which point I jumped up and down and "Show Me What I'm Looking For" by Carolina Liar was flowing through the speakers in the store making the moment all the more monumental.

Once back at the apartments Patrick and I feasted on Subway (I know it's not cool to get American fast food while abroad, it's only the fifth time I have) and waited for Nicky to wake up. When he did we set to work making sure we could make use of multiple ovens in the apartments as they aren't very big. Nicky put a chicken in his and a chicken in Casey and Teri's while I put my pumpkin pies in Caitlin's. The pies consisted of me mixing the filling and Nicky making the crusts without a rolling pin, and they turned out quite well. Later on others arrived to make their food. Toby set about making an apple pie, Anthony made a bucket o' salad, Laura made soup, Casey baked a green bean casserole, Teri mixed sangria to go with appetizers, Chris and Caitlin mashed potatoes, and the list goes on but those are the ones I witnessed.

The problem with having 15 people eat Thanksgiving dinner in one apartment is that there is not nearly enough table space, so we had to move tables and chairs from Casey and Teri's apartment along with Caitlin's dining room set down to Nicky and Patrick's via the elevator. We were able to get it all set up and a few of us ran around to different apartments, of people we were eating with, to make sure we had enough place settings. Once we were finished setting up at Nicky and Patrick's, Teri and Casey hosted appetizers in their apartment which is fully outfitted for Christmas I might add. Casey even put on some Christmas music to add to the spirit of it all and we enjoyed finger foods with sangria.

The big event of course was when we moved down to dinner and had a huge spread of food across three tables. Despite our concern for not having enough food, we had way more than enough. It was rather enjoyable and all of the food was delicious. We even adopted one of Kyle's family traditions of going around the table and saying what it is we were thankful for, which I know a lot of people do but most of us haven't. Most of us were thankful for the opportunity to study abroad, travel, and meet new people including everyone there. All of us are truly blessed to have this experience as so few people our age get to do what we have done. After dessert we played a game, I can't remember the name, but it's like telephone only with sentences and pictures. It ended up being hilarious, but once we finished it was time to clean up so those of us getting home by public transportation could make it in time.

I must say I think everyone was quite pleased at how far above and beyond everyone went. We had more than enough food and great company. It was by far one of the best Thanksgivings I have ever had and it was abroad with friends who have become family.

A Visit From Abroad

My dear mother came to visit last week and we had quite a grand time. She arrived Wednesday, November 18 and just tried to rest and relax. I took her for a walk around my neighborhood before dinner, at which point I went to a Thanksgiving dinner hosted by DBS and she had dinner with Mary and her friend Trina. Thursday we went to see the Book of Kells and the Long Room of the Trinity College Library. I most most impressed with the Long Room and had no desire to leave. Mama joked about having a slumber party there, I would be totally game for it. I had to go to class that afternoon so she took a bus tour of Dublin. Afterward we did a little bit of shopping but the weather was rather crappy so we went home for dinner.

Friday we got up and went to Howth so she could get out of the city for a bit. We saw seals, ate fish and chips, and wandered around for a bit before heading back into the city for a light dinner of soup. That night we met up with Casey and her family at the Brazen Head, which is the oldest pub in Ireland est 1198. Patrick joined us too. I got to introduce her to pub life in Dublin, outdoor facilities with heaters as the inside of the pub was crowded, and traditional live Irish music.

Saturday we slept in as the weather was quite ugly. The afternoon turned out to be beautiful so we went for a walk through St. Stephen's Green and strolled down Grafton St where quite a few buskers were performing. I was so glad she got to see them as they are definitely a part of the culture here in Dublin. After a few last minute Christmas gift pick ups we went home to settle in for the night with dinner and a movie. We watched Once which is a movie based in Dublin, if you ever get the chance watch it, it's definitely a great film with amazing music.

Sunday was her last full day here, we went to church and then hung out all afternoon at the house. Mary had been at a conference all weekend and wasn't due in until dinner time so we went to the store and bought food to make dinner for when she got home. Monday morning we had breakfast and we got on the bus headed for the airport. I had to get off in city centre so I could go to class and I had to leave my Mama to get to the airport by herself. I must say I can't wait to see her again when I get home, less than a month now.

Belfast

Friday, November 6, we got into Belfast with about two hours to spare before dinner so a few of us went out to explore the city. Abby, Andy, Casey, Toby, and I walked by Belfast City Hall and The Belfast Wheel. We ended up going into a mall that had a giant globe on top. We were able to go up and take pictures which was a ton of fun because they light the globe up at night. After wandering for a little bit longer we went back to the hotel for dinner which was pretty interesting as there was a mirror at one end of the room that had most of us looking at ourselves throughout dinner. Toby thought it would be fun to take a picture of us in it and he ended up using my camera because his wasn't turning out. After dinner Charity, Patrick, Andy and I wandered around trying to find a pub for about an hour, they aren't as easy to come by as they are in Dublin. We ended up at a place called The Beaten Docket where we met up with Jon and Kyle. It was karaoke night and the place was filled with a bunch of middle aged adults. We kept to ourselves and had quite a bit of fun.

Saturday after a full Irish Breakfast at the hotel we went on a double decker bus tour of Belfast. I was toward the back of the line with some of my friends so we ended up on the lower saloon of the bus, but it worked out in our favor as it was freezing outside. We only got pictures at the places where the bus stopped but we weren't popsicles by the end of the tour so it was ok. We had the entire afternoon free to just explore the city so we all went our separate ways. Abby, Casey, Teri, Kyle, Jon, Brady, Chris, Charity, and I all set out together to find St. George's Market. The market is indoors and there were a ton of food vendors, a few craft vendors, and even a mini petting zoo in the back. Casey and I got nutella and strawberry crepes for lunch and they were absolutely delicious. Teri discovered the petting zoo and then the guys had fun checking it out. We ended up going back to the mall so that everyone who hadn't been with us the night before could check out the globe. Casey took my camera and had fun taking candids of everyone for a bit. Once we finished there we went to Belfast City Hall for a tour. The building was absolutely gorgeous inside and it had only been open to the public for four weeks as it had been undergoing refurbishments for two years. I found the Johnston name again on an Honor Roll list in the building for those who had served in the Great War. After the tour we headed back to the hotel for a nap before dinner. Once dinner was complete a big group of us headed for The Beaten Docket for an night of friends, drinks, and great conversation. At one point Jeff, Abby, Katie, Erin, and I all ended up on the dance floor which was ton of fun.

Sunday we were due to head back to Dublin but not without a stop by the Northern Ireland Parliament Building first. All in all the weekend was extremely informative and educational in what has been going on in Northern Ireland in recent years. I was completely exhausted by the end of it, but I gleaned more from it than I ever dreamed I would.

Derry

Thursday, November 5 a group of Americans studying in Dublin boarded a couple of buses headed for Northern Ireland. I had been about forty minutes early, not wanting to get stuck in rush hour I headed out earlier than needed. I ended up taking a free Metro paper from a bag on the sidewalk and I put my suitcase against a wall along the sidewalk facing the buses to use as a seat. My friends started arriving about fifteen minutes later and we enjoyed a long bus ride with a break for lunch before heading to the Carrick-A-Rede Rope Bridge in Atrim. It was great fun walking to and across the bridge itself and the landscape was absolutely beautiful. Afterwards we headed for Giants Causeway where we watched a fifteen minute video on the origin of it. We pretty much made a mad dash to make it to the Causeway before sunset. It was absolutely beautiful and we had fun climbing around on it. Quite a few people got too close to the ocean though and the waves completely hit them. Once back on the bus we made our way to Derry where we had dinner and then were to stay for the night. I went out with a few friends to find a pub and we ended up in a nice little place for a drink.

Friday we woke up for breakfast followed by a walking tour of Derry which had us all completely soaked by the rain. One of the war memorials had a few Johnston's listed on it, which I was really excited about as my Irish roots lay in that name. My great grandma on my mum's side was a Johnston. We learned quite a bit of history on the tour and we got to see a lot of the murals that have been painted in memorial for those who died during The Troubles and on Bloody Sunday. We also walked past the wall that divides the Protestant part of town from the Catholic part. Just a note here for those of you who think the issues in Northern Ireland are about religion they aren't so much as they are politics and civil rights. It has nothing to do with what the Protestants believe versus the Catholics it's about social class and earning the same rights to land and life. The whole experience was rather heart wrenching and I was in a right state all day extremely close to tears. Our tour ended with a trip to the Bloody Sunday Museum. One of the men who works there has dedicated his life to the museum and educating people on the events of that day because his brother was one of the victims. The museum itself has many relics from that day including items from survivors and the victims. They even had a couple of computers set up with video footage taken that day which I sat and watched a bit of and tried not to fall apart. The whole group of us then went to watch a video on the events and victims. My interest heightened and I went completely cold when one of the victims was named as John Johnston who had not been a part of the civil rights march on that day but had been trying to avoid it while walking to a friend's house. I don't know if I would perhaps be related to the man but it's something I would really like to look into.

I was able to recoup a bit over lunch with some of the girls before our bus trip to Belfast which also gave me some time to just think and eventually take a small nap. The trip in and of itself up to that point had definitely been more of an emotional one than the trip to Galway which had been more about the beauty of the landscape whereas Derry was more about the people living there and what they had been through.

A note on the pictures: The first one was taken by the rope bridge, left to right, Casey, Me, Abby, and Teri. The second one is Giants Causeway. The banner is actually the same one depicted in the mural under the soldier's boot, and the stains on it are one of the victim's blood.