Nestle Tollhouse, Rain, and the North Coast.

*This is a flashback to August 21-28 and an attempt to summarize. Sorry about any awful typos and about the length, I shouldn't have waited so long!*

I'll start at the beginning. Last Friday (August 21st) I arrived safely in Dublin airport. My flight over went really quickly actually and I arrived in Dublin a lot sooner than expected. Even after getting through customs and getting my luggage I was still about half an hour earlier than I thought I'd be. The twenty minutes or so of waiting for Phil to pick me up was long. I didn't sleep at all on the plane and so I was already a bit jittery, and waiting, wondering if I was in the right spot was a bit nerve-wracking. Right at 8:30 AM though Phil arrived with his parents. They were actually at the airport to fly out to Berlin that morning just for a weekend trip (to celebrate their 25th anniversary!). It was nice getting introduced and having a brief chat before they headed off.

Phil drove me back up to Limavady in Northern Ireland (a couple hours drive), and we stopped at a McDonalds (I know, I know, of all places!) on the way back. When we got to his house I got to meet his sister Emma, and then awhile later his brother Ian and his girlfriend Alison. Everyone was really nice and welcoming. It was a bit of a strange feeling finally meeting people who I'd heard so much about over the past two years, but strange in a good way. That night we got takeout for dinner, pizza and chips, and then just relaxed and watched a movie... I was pretty jet-lagged and drifted in and out of sleep a lot before I actually went to bed.

On Saturday morning I got up to go with Phil to take Ian (who works as a lifeguard) to Downhill beach. It was my first time experiencing the North Coast, and it was beautiful! The only downside of the ride to the beach was driving down roads that are much narrower and more bendy than what I'm used to. It made it seem like we were going really fast, and I was feeling a bit nausous. It was only about a ten minute trip though, and walking along the beach in the fresh morning air was lovely. After the beach (where I was also introduced to a few lifeguards that Phil and Ian have both worked with) we went to a viewing point where I got to see more of the lush, green Ireland landscape. Afterwards we went back to Phil's house for breakfast and then I baked chocolate chip cookies. This turned out to be a surprisingly cross-cultural experience! Phil had told me before that they didn't really have any equivilant to "American" chocolate chip cookies but I figured they'd have all the ingredients. They did, but the quantities were really surprising. I was especially shocked at the size of the bags of flour, the bags of sugar were also small, and so was the chunk of butter. I think the vanilla and baking soda were the only thing the same size as in the states. Then, when I was adding the chips (which I had actually brought with me) Phil's sister, Emma, was fascinated with the fact that they were Nestle Tollhouse. The reason? To make a long story shorter, so many people over here are obsessed with the T.V. show Friends. Apparantly there is an episode of Friends where Pheobe tells everyone that these cookies are her Grandma's secret recipe and that her Grandma's name is Nestle Tollouse (pronounced French sounding). Emma thought that it was hilarious Nestle Tollhouse actually exists. She was telling her cousins too, and they all had a good laugh about it. After cookie making Phil and I went to play squash with his friend Aaron. I had never played squash before and it was good craic (Irish lingo for fun). Aaron gave me some good pointers (he used to practice with the club at Queen's) and I improved some. My serve could use some work though! After squash we went over to Phil's Granny McCollum's house and chatted with her. She showed us pictures of when she was at Trinity (where I'm going to school). Then that evening we went out to eat in Colraine (a nearby city) at the Watermargin. It was this really classy Chinese place. It was pretty fancy, and the food was so delicious. I had crab wanton and cashew chicken with fried rice. Apparantly Chinese food is really really popular in Ireland. Following dinner I had my first cup of Irish tea. After the dinner we met up with Ian and Alison and went to a place called the Jet Center for bowling and a movie (we saw the Proposal). I got to try the sweet popcorn (a little different then kettle corn, but similar) that Phil always raves about.

The next day, Sunday, I went to Phil's church. It was a nice service and the people were all friendly. One lady after chatting with me for a bit said "I just love your accent." Ha. After church we went to one of Phil's aunt and uncle's houses for a big Sunday dinner. There were a lot of people there between cousins, and his grandma. There was also a lot of food! It was pretty traditional- beef, potatoes, yorkshire pudding (roll-like things), peas, etc. Dessert was delicious too, pavlova (meringue like cake with strawberries!), and then of course, tea. I like tea without milk or sugar which many people seem to find odd. People here almost always put milk in it. We sat around in the afternoon and looked at pictures from Ian and Alison's big trip around the world this summer (they went to Austrailia, New Zealand, Fiji, Hawaii, California, etc.), and Phil's cousin Mary's trip to Canada (Banff area). All of Phil's relatives were nice, they really didn't ask me too many questions (maybe in an effort not to overwhelm me). I did get the typical "What do you think of your new president?" question. Around 5 o'clock we had "tea" which actually refers to supper (not just on Sunday, but any day). There were scones, and other biscuit type things, and cake, and sweets and of course actual tea. We went to church again in the evening, then afterwards went over to Marcus (his cousin) and Sarah (Marcus' wife)'s house. They are in their mid-twenties. A few other of Phil's cousins were there, and it was really good craic! I think it was maybe my favorite part of the day because it was less intimidating just chatting with them, and everyone laughed a lot. They asked me if high school was really like it is portrayed on "One Tree Hill" and there were some other "Friends" references as well. Marcus and Sarah just got a springer spaniel puppy named Holly and it was fun playing with her too.

On Monday we went to Donnegal (about an hour and a half drive or so from Limavady). It is apparantly a popular vacation spot for area people, and there were quite a few British and people from the republic of Ireland as well. We brought a picnic lunch but unfortunately just as we were sitting down to eat it started pouring so it turned into a car picnic. It cleared up after a while though and we walked along the beach. When we got back from Donnegal we met up with Phil's cousins at Downhill beach (the one close to his house). We went jetskiing which was SO fun. I had never been jetskiing in the ocean before, the waves were huge! I also did a bit of body boarding. We all wore wetsuits so really the water was pretty bareable. I was expecting it to be even colder but I guess braving Lake Huron growing up has made me tough. :) Phil's parents got home that night from Berlin so we had a late tea (supper) with them. They really enjoyed their trip and told us a bit about it.

Tuesday Phil drove us to Belfast. He took me around Queens where he goes to school. Queens just got a new library and it is gorgeous. All the students seem really excited about it (the old one was apparantly quite run down) which was fun to see. The best part, in my opinion, was a beautiful C.S. Lewis reading room. It has huge picture windows and quotes from Lewis illuminated on the walls. I would love to study there! After Queens we had lunch, went shopping, then went to his Granny Dunwoody's for tea. She was so friendly and chatty and kept giving us more tea and scones and apple tart. After we left her house we went to Starbucks, just to sit and wait to meet up with Phil's best friend, who was doing a mission team near Belfast. I got a frappacino and having an iced drink was SO good. Over here ice is rarely used, and being an huge ice-lover I've missed it. We eventually met up with Mark and then actually went to someone (I'm not really sure whose) house from the mission team that he's been doing. They were having an end of the day debrief of sorts. Phil and Mark knew all the people so it wasn't too akward. The place they've been doing the team is in Carrickfergus. After the team meeting Mark left with us and we went for a walk along the Belfast Loch towards Carrickfergus Castle. It was a nice walk and I enjoyed finally meeting Mark (who I'd also heard a lot about).

Wednesday was a very laid back day which consisted of a run on the beach, a few games of squash, tea, a walk with Phil's mum, and watching a movie ("Meet the Parents" - appropriate chioce, no?). Thursday we played more squash (I actually think I might be getting worse though) then a tour of Phil's grammer school (Limavady Grammer). We went around the town of Limavady after that. It's not a big town, but not tiny either. There were quite a few shops in the marketplace and a lot of people out. I really enjoyed looking around, especially at a fruit/vegetable/flower market place. That night we walked around his neighborhood, Shanreagh Park, and then just relaxed and watched a few episodes of the West Wing.

Friday we went to the Giant's Causeway, which may be the most beautiful place that I have ever visited. We walked around, and up one of the cliffs. It was a pretty good day weather-wise (for Ireland) and the waves crashing up on the rocks were huuuuge. I have never experienced wind like that before either, honestly it was almost an out-of-body experience. Being at the Giant's Causeway reminded me of how small I am, and how big my Creator is. After the Giant's Causeway we drove along the coast past lots of cute port cities to Colraine and shopped in the city center shopping marketplace. Afterwards we went back to Phil's and that evening (later in the evening around 8:00) went to dinner with his parents and siblings, and Alison to Cromore Halt, a very fancy restaurant. I ordered loin of pork with carmalized apples and mustard stuffing and champ (basically mashed potatoe with scallions). It was all delicious! For dessert I shared a "Meringue Mess" which was basically meringue and stawberries mixed up with sort of a pudding-esque texture. After dinner ended (which was actually really late!) we went back to the house and Ian and Alison showed pictures from their summer adventures to Phil's parents, and then we watched some funny video footage of Phil, Ian and Emma when they were younger- funny stuff!

The next day Phil drove me to Dublin (where I'll be the rest of the semester) to drop me off...but I'll cover that in the next post, there is too much to add and it's getting late. This past week has been such a great one, it really felt like a vacation which was great to have before jumping right into city life and school. These past few days (since I arrived in Dublin) have been a lot more of an adjustment and there have been a few more struggles. I am looking forward to my semester here, but I do think it'll just take a lot of patience. I am quite overwhelmed right now. For the next three weeks I have class everyday (I'm doing a semester start up programme on history, art, and culture). Hopefully I'll update very soon with more details about life so far in Dublin and get a chance to reflect more on the cultural differences, funny sightings, etc.

I hope all is well in your end of the world!
Cheers,
Emily

leaving on a jet plane (soon).

You know that really strange feeling, when something that you've prepared for and awaited for a long time has finally arrived? Like high school graduation. Or spring break. Or the first day of college. That feeling is starting to creep in. Tomorrow I fly out of Chicago to Dublin to spend four months abroad! For the first week I'll just be on vacation, and will be staying with my boyfriend and his family (they live in Limavady, Northern Ireland). Then, on August 30th I'll move to Dublin, to live in an apartment in the city and attend Trinity College. Trinity is Ireland's largest and oldest university.

It still all feels a bit surreal, and I suppose it will for awhile. I've been focusing more on the vacation part of the trip for now and that's helped me feel less overwhelmed by details. This summer has gone so quickly! I have been working as an intern at a camp (Cedar Campus), coordinating the children's program. Having the role of a supervisor has been good, but also very challenging. In some ways I feel exhausted from the summer, but in other ways I feel renewed and rested. It has been such a blessing being back at Cedar, where I grew up. It has been a blessing living and working in Christian community, and being in such a gorgeous place. I'll miss the comforts of home, of Hope College and of Holland... but I think leaving will be good. Hard? Definitely. But good.

Something I realized this week: I'm awful at goodbyes. There were lots of friends that I didn't get a chance to chat with, call, email, or meet up with, and I apologize for that. I hope you'll understand, and that all of your end-of-summer adventures are exciting!