Irish Highlights

I’m back!!

Do you remember how when we were kids we all had to do essays about “My Summer Vacation” almost every beginning of the school year? Well, that’s how I felt about blogging about my Christmas break! But unlike those summer vacation essays where you write about the usual went to the beach, watch TV, and all that, I actually have special stuff to write about—coupled with the excitement of being back in cyberspace. It is a small miracle that I survived the limited internet connection I had during my break but then again, I thought it would be pretty pathetic to be holed up in a room surfing the net when I should be out enjoying my first time in Northern Ireland! So there—hopefully that will excuse me for my long absence from cyberspace.

Anyway, what was it I was going to say? Oh yes, highlights, highlights of my Northern Ireland adventure—oh how do I count the ways?? Anyway, here goes..

A Blast in Belfast
Not the political sort, thankfully, as Northern Ireland has experienced peace for about 10 years. I had fun scouring through different shops and just enjoying the sights of Belfast—including going on a bus tour on an open top bus on a rainy day! The tourist guide’s Belfast accent was so thick that I did a double take at one point on her short spiel about the docks where the Titanic was built (they claim not to be responsible for the sinking!) and pointed out the presence of “two giant yellow Koreans” that was a testimony of the busy shipyard of the Belfast past. Koreans?! Oh…cranes! Oh well, she almost got me there. (And yes, I did manage to go a few rounds in the Belfast wheel!)

Awesome Sites

I loved the walks down the beach that I did with friends on Christmas eve and on other occasions—though nobody would ever-ever dream of going in for a dip, except maybe for a few odd Irish who has made it a ritual to freeze their behinds for a few seconds, I guess just to check out how it feels like to get hypothermia! Anyway, I was happy enough to hear the sound of the waves crashing while some of my friends decided to lie on the sandy shore in their warm jackets—a pathetic but funny sight, if I may say so!!

And wouldn't miss the chance to see the famous Giant's Causeway--even if my hosts rolled their eyes when I asked if I could go there--apparently, they have been there a million times, since every single visitor who goes Northern Ireland wants to see it. One of my hosts happily obliged--wee!

Irish Hospitality

I spent time with a number of friends and that meant sleeping in a total of 5 beds in 5 different houses over 20 days—which meant literally living in my suitcase but it also meant being able to spend extended times with friends and getting to know their friends and family as well. I think I can safely say that I know half of Northern Ireland’s population—and if you talk about six degrees of separation, I think I must be then “know” every single person in Northern Ireland somehow—you see, I found out how all my Irish friends knew each other, or at least knew somebody who knew them who knew me. Oh well, you know what I mean!! The Irish culture is such a warm inclusive culture that it didn’t take too long for me to feel at home (which also meant lots of tea, coffee, potato bread, minced pies, Christmas pudding and chocolates.) Speaking of chocolates, I found out the secret of winning the Irish over--just feed them chocolates!

White New Year

THE highlight of my stay turned out to be the fact that my holiday was snow-capped—literally!! You see, on my third to the last day in Ireland, I decided to spend it staying overnight with a retired couple who are long time friends (from their days in the Philippines) in the seaside Irish town of Newcastle. The plan was for them to drive me back to Belfast the next day at about 530pm after I have seen the sights. So we spent that day enjoying the sights—the fact that the wind was strong and bitterly cold by the shore and up the Mourne Mountains did not deter us (though it was the first time my cheeks were frozen!) from enjoying the sights. Almost the whole day, there were drops of ice that intermittently rained down and each time I would look eagerly at Sam, my host and ask, “Is it snow?” and he would say no each time I asked (which was problem a hundred times) and then finally 530pm came and it was time for them to drive me back to Belfast so that I can catch my flight back to England early next morning. By 530pm the sky was already dark and so I could hardly make out the shapes outside the window. So how was I to know that the lumps by the side of the road as we drove more inland was actual snow? Until Sam pointed it out to me, “There you are—snow!!” The more inland we went the more excited I was as I saw the white sheet that seemed to cover thing around the countryside—but as our car came to a crawl and as we looked out at the gazillion of red taillights in front of us, thrill turned to worry. After twenty minutes of inching our way and sometimes just waiting on standstill, we were able to ask the cars on the other side, seeming to be coming back from Belfast and realized that most cars were unable to go up the slopes because of the slippery road conditions. So my hosts decided to take another route and with the same results! So we decided that I should just miss my flight the next day and book a flight two days later just to be safe. And so I did miss my flight and returned home with my hosts in Newcastle-but hey, I was not really all that put off—who would since missing flight meant enjoying an hour a half’s walk on 6 inches of snow (it felt like taking a tour of Narnia when the Ice Queen still ruled), taking in the awesome sights around me and building my wee snowman? (I could hardly go into snowball fights with the retired couple I was with so had to settle with crunching on snow--which was just as great).

Back to Reality

There is so much more to tell (Like my first fox and reindeer sighting, like the first time I ate blue cheese...)!! But alas, since my flight was three days late, I came back to college hitting the ground running—that is, having to do all my pre-class readings, housekeeping, etc etc. It is indeed back to reality, and after hugs and hellos from classmates, it was great to find out that even though this meant the end of a great break, I was still happy to return to Gloucester.

May the New Year be a great adventure with the Lord--for me and for you.