Two weekends ago, I visited Dublin for a weekend with Sarah.  We went on a tour bus, did a walking tour, did some Christmas shopping. It was a blast!  This past friday, Reverend Robert Buick took us on a little 1.5 hour drive up to the Giant's Causeway on a day trip.  It was incredible.  I would love to go back there again.  Here are a few pics! Hope you enjoy!

Here are the remembrance statues next to the River Foyle in Derry and here is My Carlisle Road Presbyterian Church with my host dad in front (with the red hair)!

The view from Sarah Song's host family's home here in Derry. I love Sarah! She's my best friend here and from Chicago!

My first attempt at making black pudding. For those of you that don't know what black pudding is, its dried blood and its amazing.  I'm really going to miss it when I go.  Its supposed to be in little round circles but mine fell apart. haha.

Here are my flatmates! (I know its a little late).  The tallest one is Aoife.  She is from Dundalk in the Republic of Ireland.  The girl next to her is Lora and she is from New Castle here in the North.  The girl with my is Rebekah.  Shes from Belfast! The girl in the picture alone is Lisa and she's from Germany.  

     Sorry its been so long since my last post! These past few weeks I have gone to Germany to visit my best friend Lydia.  Lydia stayed with my family for a year in the states and she has come to visit us every year since then. This was my first time visiting her in Germany! I might go visit her over Christmas as well.  Her apartment is in Munich and her home is in Ottefing.  I met her parents for the first time. It was really nice.  We also went to Tegernsee and rode the cable car up to the top of the alps, where we continued to hike around. That was my favorite part.  This first picture is there and Lydia is in the picture with her dog Kimmy, who we took with us.  Lydia and I visited a few beer halls and I tried on her traditional bavarian dress.  Some women just walk about in these dresses.  They are so beautiful.  I loved the beer halls. All tables are very long and so you just sit next to whatever stranger.  The huge pints of beer were the best.  Lydia and I also went to a nightclub and a bar and met some of her friends.  I bought chocolate in Germany and it was some of the best chocolate I've ever had.  I was only in Germany for four days but we went to lake tegernsee, the english gardens in Munich, Bavarian film studios, Lydia's University, Residenz theater and the Women's church right next to the town hall in the center of Munich.  The english garden is a lot like Central park in Munich.  Lydia and I got there late in the day and climbed to the top of a hill where we watched the sunset. It was beautiful. The bavarian film studios is a giant place where many famous German movies have been filmed.  One of my favorite films, the Never ending story was filmed there and I got to sit on top of the dragon!  The Residenz theater is a beautiful old fashioned theater where many famous shows, ballets, and operas are performed in the center of Munich.  Lydia's university was giant! It even had its own cathedral and marble floors and staircases.  The classrooms were quite large, as they had to hold 500-1000 students at one time.  The women's church, like most of Munich in October, was under construction unfortunately, but we were still able to go inside and tour it and take pictures.  One of my favorite parts of Germany, was having a traditional bavarian breakfast with Lydia and her family at their home.  Her mom made pretzels, yogurt and fresh berries, white sausage with sweet mustard, and prawn salad.  I still miss tasting that white sausage with sweet mustard. It was so delicious! and unlike anything I've ever tried before. 
        The second picture is of London when my friend Sarah and I were traveling up in the London Eye.  It is like a giant carnival wheel where each piece holds about 20 people.  You could see all of London on this 30 minute ride.  My friend Sarah, who is also an American exchange student at Magee campus, picked out a swiss cottage youth hostel where we stayed for four nights.  It was my first time staying in a hostel.  I thought it was decent but I did not like the feeling of no security.  I always carried my wallet everywhere I went with me, even to the shower.  Everyday Sarah and I took the short walk to the tube station and rode to various shopping centers, the Green Park, etc.  We took a free 2 hour walking tour around London and saw every major building in London.  We saw the Queen Elizabeth tower which houses the Big Ben bell.  We saw the parliament building and Buckingham palace.  We saw the changing of the guard at Buckingham.  We also saw Westminster Church.  Our tour guide, ironically, was not from London but from Tipperary, Ireland. haha.  Sarah and I ate at two different Italian places and we stopped at one Indian food stand while in London. haha. The food in London is pretty much the same as the food in Londonderry.  We also had a pancake, ham and cheese sandwhich from one of the food stands, as well as chocolate covered bananas which we ate while we were waiting in line to go ride the London Eye.  Sarah and I toured the British museum and the Sherlock Holmes museum.  The British museum was giant and we spent almost a full day there. They had exhibits from almost everything under the sun.  The highlight of the British museum was seeing the Rosetta Stone. The Sherlock Holmes musuem was filled with various objects from the old sherlock holmes episodes.  We also went to Leicester square, which was very comparable to times square, even with all of the bright light up ads, etc.  There were many shops and cafes in leicester square. We also saw the London Tower, bought some chicken from Tesco's and sat on a bench next to the London Tower while watched the sun go down and staring at the beautiful London Bridge beside us.  As the sun went down, the London Bridge lit up and we couldn't take our eyes off of it.  Well, theres more to come! I'll be in Dublin next weekend!

October 7th, 2012.
This past weekend, I went to Malin head with my host family to stay with my host mom's father. Malin head is on the tip top northern coast of the republic of Ireland.  It was my first time in the republic of Ireland.  So far, Malin head is my most favorite place in all of Ireland.  Its absolutely gorgeous.  It is what we imagine Ireland to be.  All farms, sheep, bright green hills, mountains, and fresh Atlantic saltwater ocean. I tried Dulse seaweed which is found naturally right on the coast.  It is a dark purple seaweed that you just wash off, dry and eat like a snack.  It is a very acquired taste.  It took some getting used to, but now I think I like it.  It is the saltiest thing I've ever eaten (obviously).  Anyway, I also tried egg and onion sandwiches which are made from half boiled eggs, mayo, and freshly chopped onions.  It was very delicious.  Bernie and I walked all around Malin head to the Pier, the British tower which overlooked the entire town and the beautiful cliffs below.  We also walked up to crough a lough.  Crough a lough is the size of a large pond.  It is made of salt water and wayyy up in the tip top part of the mountains!!! Also, Crough a lough goes in and out with the tide.  It is the strangest thing I have ever seen! A total miracle! It is very very unusual to see a body of water way up in the mountains, let alone, salt water.  Many people think this place is a holy place and they leave various crosses and rosary beads around the lake.  The lake is filled with white stones and it is tinged a reddish color by the Peat.  Peat is a thick heavy clay/soil that is very common here in Ireland.  Many people pick it out of the ground in log shapes and burn them on the fire for warmth.  Along the coast, there is an old church (now its just mainly ruins) that was built in the early 1700s and a cave alongside it.  This was also thought to be a holy place because it didn't matter how many people were attending mass, they could all fit in the cave for shelter.  Beyond this church, there was a giant series of rocks along the coast.  In one of those rocks, was a little cove where the tide goes in 

and out and in the middle, is a rock in the shape of a big chair.  This is called the wishing well and you are meant to climb into the cave and make a wish.  Unfortunately, the tide was up and crashing against the rock, so I could not. But it was one of the coolest things I've ever seen. Sadly, I didn't bring my camera with me but I will definitely be back to Malin head before my departure in the middle of December.  Along the coast, some parts are rocky and some parts are completely sand.  There are not as many shells as there is seaweed.  My host mom told me that all of the seaweed on the coast is in high demand for beauty products right now.  On slag beach, depending on the season, it is either all sand or all rocks.  There is an American woman living here in Malin head with her Irish husband and three children that Bernie told me about.  Before we left, Lexie and I went to the Presbyterian church (also along the coast) for a traditional Presbyterian service.  It was one of the best services I've ever been to.  And then after the service, you step out onto the gorgeous scenery.  Mountains behind you, with sheep dotting the mountains and hillside and the Atlantic ocean right in front of you. (Yes, sheep climb the mountains and cliffs here) Apparently in the winter, this church floods.  Every winter! Its that close to the coast.  I am so in love with Malin head and all of its charm!    

A few days ago, I went walking on the city wall of Londonderry with my host mom, Bernie.  The city wall goes in a circle and its only about 1.25 miles long.  You can walk it, like the wall of china.  Along the city wall are various churches, cathedrals, and shops, cafes, and pubs, along with a few shopping centers.  The wall is like the center of town.  It is very popular.  Bernie and I stopped for a cup of tea in Blooms cafe and then walked the length of the wall.  Many of the cannons still on the wall are original.  We stopped in St. Columb's Cathedral, which was built in 1628.  It was really exciting! There was an American flag in St. Columb's and it only had 48 stars on it.  It was from the 1940's when there was an American Naval base here in Londonderry.  Many of the American navy men took Irish women home with them.  The tour guide told me that his cousin was taken to America with a navy guy and he wasn't too happy about that. A short distance from the wall, is "Free Derry", where most of the violence of the troubles happened, including bloody sunday.  This is the most run down part of Londonderry.  Many people here who don't like the british, call Londonderry Derry and they get very offended if you call it otherwise.  There are many violent murals painted on apartment buildings in Free Derry, which I have included here.  Along the wall is a cafe called cafe nervosa, from the famous american sitcom called Frasier.  Isn't that funny? Also, the huge orange/brown building is the guild hall.  This is the center of town.  The Guild hall is probably the biggest building downtown and the most beautiful.  It was designed after a larger cathedral in London. Outside of one of the Churches of Ireland along the wall there was a small church where my host mom's daughter was recently married.  Outside of St. Columbs, you will see many flat grave stones on the ground.  These were built because during the old war, there were many enemies trying to disturb the graves and break them, so to preserve the bodies, the stones were placed flat on the grounds.  Also, during the old war, St. Columbs used to have two huge cannons on top of it that would shoot across the River Foyle that divides Derry. Fascinating stuff!

Sept. 24th

I start school today.  My schedule is like this: Management of Change from 5:30-8:30pm Monday nights, Business improvement from 5:30-8:30pm Tuesday nights and Marketing Management from 9:15am-12:15am Thursdays and that's it!! Some of you were asking about the weather. The weather is in the low 50's and it rains on and off every single day.  I don't really mind it because i'm in IRELAND! haha. I have four other flatmates that I have briefly touched upon. Aoifa (pronounced Eifa) is 24 and a nursing student.  She is from the Republic of Ireland.  She is very sweet and kind and smart.  Rebekah is 29 and a social work student.  She is a very big christian and very sweet as well. She is from Belfast here in Northern Ireland.  Lisa is from Bavaria, Germany.  She is very sweet as well and she is about my age I think.  Her major is computer science.  Laura, is about 24.  She is from Northern Ireland as well and she is getting her phD in psychology.  I love all my flatmates and we get along very well! I was very lucky! I have decided to show all of the pictures of my room, our bathroom, kitchen, and living area.  Its all very large and nice.  In the bathroom, there are two shower stalls and two toilet stalls.  Not very glamorous but many of you wanted to see so here it is! :)

Sept. 24th 2012

         Over this past weekend, I had Irish stew with Lexie and Stephen Mcfeeters.  It was delicious and they added this sugar and salt brown sauce on top of it, which was very good.  Then we all had tea in their living room and soon after drove up to Portstewart.  Portstewart is a little town that sits right on the coast.  It was breathtakingly beautiful.  Lydia and I stayed at the Mcfeeters extra home in Portstewart, which was very nice and only a few blocks away from the coast.  Outside our back window of the home was a field of cows! The first night we got there, it was very late so we just went to sleep soon and woke up in the morning.  We got up at ten and left at noon and didn't get home till about 7pm!  We walked all over Portstewart.  We walked along the rocky coast, the town with all the cute little shops, the playground on the coast, and then the 2 mile long beach and back through high grass fields.  When we walked along the rocky coast (which was right next to a golf course), there were so many full beautiful sea shells.  I've never seen so many in perfect condition in my life.  I collected quite a few. I wasn't afraid at all to walk through the high grass because here in Ireland, they have no harmful beasts! That means no snakes, wolves, or bears! Absolutely none! Lydia and I stopped in town to have our very first fish and chips, which i will show here.  When walking towards the beach, we passed a very large church/school on the cliffs.  There was a wall along the cliffs that we walked with the ocean below us.  It was so beautiful. We saw these beautiful snail shells that were red, black, and yellow and they live in these tall grasses among the sand.  Lydia and I were so tired after walking everywhere so when we went home, we just had a frozen pizza and watched funny british sitcoms in bed. The next day we debated going to Portrush but we didn't have as much time before Lexie's firefighter friends picked us up to return us back to Derry, so we decided against it. We spent most of the day in their extra home just relaxing and cleaning the home.  Well, the pictures say it all, so enjoy!