Derry

Quick mid-week post for the past weekend. It was a lot of fun. I went to a cocktail party with all the international students and traveled to Derry for some much needed shopping!! The cocktail party was supposed to be a dressy affair, so I actually got to wear some of those dress clothes I brought. It was awesome -- 2 flats were opened up and sort of had different music and themes in each room. Then only a few of us went to Derry on Saturday for a day of walking around the city walls, visiting one of the older cathedrals, and visiting all of the good malls there. I bought shoes!! We had a really nice day. Check out the pictures and I'll update the blog after this weekend. Alicia and I are planning on going to Enniskillen and Lough Erne (upper and lower) so we should have some great pictures! Also - thanks to everyone again for my gifts!


My new bed!
All my presents!
Thanks Uncle Kal!
Look how much better it looks!





St. Colomb Cathedral
Derry!

Maria and me!
Yassine and the rainbow!
The rainbow -- how perfectly Irish!

Fun at school!

Hello! First, Happy Belated Valentine's Day and a very warm birthday wish to Hayley! The weeks have been going by quickly here, but we haven't managed to do very much! Reading a lot for my Shakespeare course and eating all of the candy that I have received in the mail! Thank you so much to Mom and Dad for my amazing care package; my room really does feel more like a home complete with pictures and throw pillows! By the way, the Swedish fish and gum were perfect because its been rumored that red food dye is illegal here(?) I also want to thank Uncle Kal for thinking of me and sending me some fantastic truffles (YUM!)! I hope everyone had a nice week.

In terms of pictures of all of my favorite spots, I did manage to find some and will put them with this post. Its funny here because each night of the week is a certain bar and each night there are various deals only at that bar, so thats where everyone will be! So Mondays are the Uni Bar here on campus, Tuesdays the Anchor for traditional Irish music with a nightclub upstairs for those who want to party on, Wednesday is Kelly's with a free bus there and back, Thursday is the Anchor again if you didn't make it on Tuesday or its someone's birthday! Friday is the day off - typically all of the Irish students go home on the weekend so last Friday we made dinner for some friends and played cards. Saturday is usually the day we go somewhere and explore and if we make it out, okay, and then Sunday is the only day of the week devoted to schoolwork!

I have been going to a cycling class and I'm not sure I'm in love with it; I'm not use to riding a bike anymore and am feeling quite sore in certain areas! Hopefully this will fade! My roommates are messy, they never feel like cleaning in the living room so of course I have to do it just a little because it drives me kinda crazy! Classes are alright, everyone keeps asking, so maybe I haven't talked about them. I have 3 courses of which 1 may potentially transfer back for my major. I am taking a History of Hollywood cinema taught by an American, which is really nice, but the course is sort of mediocre; I don't really understand why they have seminar groups here because all we do is go over the same thing as in the lecture, and yet people still don't have any idea what's going on. Its really pathetic. :) I am taking a Shakespeare in Depth course and have been enjoying reading his works, although I am finding it quite challenging. I think its just been a while since I've taken any English courses!! I feel like I am learning in the class though which is nice and everyone is helpful so it shouldn't be too bad. Finally, I am taking an Irish Oral Traditions course where the focus is on the preservation and transference of Irish folklore. This is really interesting and my teacher is very bright. He's going to teach some of the American students a bit of Irish this evening to help keep pace with some of the names and places we will be discussing!

Other than that, I have been informed not to talk about how cold it is here because it has been so miserable at home! It has gotten slightly warmer though now its been rainy. Its just looks dreary and dull here when its like that, but there are really beautiful days as well. Alicia and I and Arnaud are heading to Derry this Saturday to explore the city wall and the shopping malls there! Ill update this upcoming week with pictures from our trip! I hope everyone is well and is getting excited about coming to visit!!! I can't wait, that's for sure -- get me out of this apartment for a change! Love you all, Megan

The metropolis that is Coleraine - City Centre with Alicia (L) and Casey (R)

At the apartment! Agnes, Betsy, and Alicia

B and me having fun!

At the Uni Bar on a Monday Night! All of my close friends here at school: L to R: Bottom: Betsy, Kim, Heather Top: Erica, Alicia, Me, Casey

Arnaud and me at the Uni Bar

At the Anchor! The local pub in Portstewart on a Tuesday evening. L to R: Rohit, Alicia, Agnes, Arnaud, Casey, Erica, Me!

Dancing at the Anchor to that good old Irish music!

B and me looking good!

Hopefully these pictures are just what you were looking for! I'll have some of Kelly's up soon and of my adventures here in Ireland!

Roommates!

Here are some pictures you haven't seen yet! Friends and me at Giant's Causeway and Bushmills. Also - other pictures of my roommates!

Me freezing at the causeway.
Arnaud, Azzedine and me posing at the causeway.

Besty, Me and Agnes (roommates!) at Bushmills
Alicia and Agnes (roomates!) at Bushmills drinking our whiskey.
Arnaud and Azzedine at Bushmills

Me at Belfast castle

My name on the Belfast Peace Wall

Group from the Black Taxi Tour in Belfast in front of the Peace Wall

Sharon (roommate!) looking beautiful

Me and Pat - our Black Taxi Cab driver!

PICTURES AND INTERNET!

I swear, someone must like me today - Finally, I have the internet working AND pictures on my computer. Here are the pictures of my room!

Other things!

Other things I forgot in the first post --

Tyler -- I wish you a very Happy 21st birthday; I know it was on Saturday, but I needed to let everyone know of this milestone! I hope the dinner with the families was fantastic.

Also -- Mom - no on the DVD for socks, we don't do socks, remember? Also, teach Hay to knit or send her over with yarn so I can. So sorry I missed the dinner too -- It would have been a lot of fun!

Hope you are well! Will post again when something exciting happens!

Belfast and more!

Hello!!! I have returned and want to sincerely apologize for the delay in this post. It has been a truly crazy week - 2 trips to Belfast, the start of classes, honestly, it was more than I was ready for!

First -- classes are alright, I have now been to a few lessons and seminars and I like them. They are different here though because the seminar groups are simply small groups of the class, and as far as I can tell, serve no other purpose than to reiterate the lessons of the lecture! Oh well, I already feel like I am over participating in them which I suppose is now just ingrained in my nature when I attend school, no matter what country I am living in. I feel like one of those kids you hate though because they ask too many questions and volunteer too much -- going to cut back next week!

Belfast and Eamon -

On Wednesday the 31st I went to Belfast for the 1st time and met Eamon there. For anyone who does not know Eamon, he studied at WVU last year and has since become a very close friend, more of my Ireland encyclopedia and big brother in one. It was an awesome day -- we toured city hall and I learned all about Ireland's tumultuous political past. I spent the evening with his family, including a wonderful home cooked meal which truly made me realize what a terrible cook I am! That night, we went out and partied at the Student Union for a bit and then Eamon took me to a gay bar! I had a lot of fun dancing, laughing, meeting his childhood friends, and having a good time; hopefully he did too. Then I got to sleep in his bed, he was on the couch don't worry, which was THE GREATEST BED EVER, at least compared to the box I sleep on! I returned the next day in time for class too; I'm saving all of my skips for when I get visitors!!

This past weekend, my friends and I all took a trip to Belfast again! We decided we would leave on Sat. and stay in a hostel overnight to maximize our time there. We stayed in the Linen House Hostel which for £6.50, approx. $12, was a good deal with bedding and a quiet atmosphere. We spent the day in the city, eating lunch at the Garrick -- the bar/restaurant Eamon works in, and then taking a Black Taxi Tour of West Belfast to see the murals. It was wonderfully interesting and I got some fantastic pictures; unfortunately, my camera still does not seem to want to load onto my computer, so hopefully this evening I can use someone else's and get some pictures up soon.

Belfast is a city with a fascinating history about a political division about who should rule Northern Ireland. For many, it became split along religious lines and turned into a Catholic vs. Protestant war. For now, things have slowed and people generally get along, but the effects of the division are still able to be seen all over West Belfast. Eamon's mom showed me where her childhood home used to be but was burned to the ground by a petrol bomb when she was 10. There is also what is called the peace line that splits the Catholic and Protestant neighborhoods of West Belfast. This has 4 gates that join the Falls (Cath) and Shankill (Prot) roads. These are locked at dusk and during the weekends. When I asked if anyone thought this wall could come down, I was told no one particularly wanted it to come down because they all felt safer with it up. I was amazed at the destruction and division within the city.

On a lighter note, all of my friends wanted to go home early on Sunday, so I called my only friend in Belfast, Eamon of course, and decided to spend the evening hanging out with his family again. I got a personal tour of Belfast from his mom, like I mentioned earlier, another fabulous dinner (a chicken potpie meal), real football and rugby (man. u and Ireland both won!), and some really great conversation, although I barely understand half of what they are saying. Honestly, they probably think I'm dumb just because I can't track what on earth they are talking about most of the time!

So, all is well here in Northern Ireland. We got our first bit of snowfall on Tuesday -- Agnes and Besty and I went outside and played, then went back to bed! We are expecting quite a bit more as well, which is somewhat of a surprise to me because someone told me it never snows here. Either way, it in no way compares to the horrible weather you have been experiencing at home and I am so sorry for you. Although, I do believe Hay and Holly you didn't have school much this week so I doubt you are too unhappy! I hope everyone is doing well and I love to see your comments on my blog. I will try and update this more frequently because I want you to check it and feel like you are getting something out of it when you do!

Love you all, Megan

Some pictures of Eamon and me in Belfast!

Eamon at lunch!

Andy, Eamon's best childhood friend, and his friend for the evening!

Eamon and me at the Queen's University Student Union

Eamon and me at the gay bar

Eamon having fun at the gay bar!

Cormick drinking his first Guinness!

YUM! Dinner at the McCrory house!

Eamon - take some good pictures of your family for the blog next time!