ONE MONTH

Sorry that I haven't posted anything here recently, not a lot has been going on. Classes are moving into more substantial material which is really interesting. I know how to say lots of things in Irish and I'm learning a lot of interesting stories in my folklore class! My class about violence against civilians might be my only "real" class, and it is super interesting. Its challenging and the tutor is brilliant making it even more intimidating.

In the past few weekends I have found my most favorite place in Northern Ireland to date. Castlerock seems like just a stop on the bus to Colraine, a much larger town, but it has been the prettiest place, and I had the most fun there to date. The coolest thing about it was the ability to go right up to the cliffs and hang over them- literally. In Castlerock we played on the beach, climbed up to the cliffs, and explored the ruins of an old mansion, all for free. The north coast of Ireland is breathtaking and I don't think I'll ever be able to get enough of it.

 


This weekend we went on a trip that was organized by the international student department of Magee, and financed partly by the university chaplains. We went to Giants Causeway, one of the natural wonders of Ireland. The rock formations are very unique, and the legend behind them is as well. The giant of Northern Ireland, Finn McCool was said to have built the rocks in order to get from the coast of Northern Ireland to the coast of Scotland, which we could see barely from the causeway, to fight a giant from there. When he saw how huge the giant was, he came up with a plan: he disguised himself as a baby. When the Scottish giant saw how huge the "baby giant" was, he was so afraid to face the adult that he ran back to Scotland, tearing up the causeway as he went. There is the same formation of rocks off the coast of Scotland, so the legend is that they are the remnants.

You can see what I mean about the northern coast of Ireland? Absolutely beautiful. Unfortunately, the trip took longer than the chaplains were planning and we didn't get to see all that we were hoping; Bushmills distillery, Dunluce castle, the Dark Hedges, etc. That just means I'll have to find some way to go back! Next weekend is the Divided Societies conference in Maynooth, outside of Dublin. I can't wait to hear all about the subject from the experts!