Ireland

Abby and I went to Dublin and Belfast November 12-15. We were actually only there for two full days since we had a 9:30 pm flight Friday night and a 9:30 am flight Monday morning. It was a very quick trip, but a nice trip nonetheless. Br. Ralph drove us to the airport on Friday night and was his usual joking and random fact telling shelf on the ride to the airport. He is really nice and very helpful! He is always willing to come over and do any house repairs that we happen to need.
When we got to Dublin we successfully exchanged some Euro bills for coins and found the bus we wanted to get into town (the bus only accepts coins). We asked to get off at one stop but the bus was actually not stopping at that stop the bus driver told us we would only be about 2 blocks away which was fine with us. When we got off the bus the bus driver asked if we knew where we were going and then gave us directions! So nice! We had a map so we knew basically where we were going but it was really nice of him anyway. Since it was about 11:30 when we got to our hostel it was off to bed! We had to put the duvet covers on our duvets….and everyone else in the room was already asleep….it is interesting putting a duvet cover on in the dark!
Saturday morning we slept in a little but not a lot. We went out and walked around a bit and made our way over to St. Stephen’s Green. It is a lovely park with several ponds, a couple fountains and lots of trees. We took our time in the park and then headed over to the City Hall for our free walking tour of the city :) On the way, I was checking the map to make sure we were still heading the right direction and a lady asked if we needed any directions….we gladly took her directions and they were prefect! Another kind Irish person! Our walking tour was nice but we only stayed for the first half of it and ditched out when people split up for the coffee break because we were meeting Flannery, another AMA volunteer who is in Cork Ireland, in a few minutes. It just happened that she could take the bus up and meet us in Dublin which was great! We went to two museums, The National Gallery and The Archeology Museum (not the exact name). They were both interesting but I liked the Archeology Museum better. There was an exhibit called “Bog Bodies” that was really interesting. Basically it was a bunch of bodies that were found preserved to various degrees in bogs with facts about bogs and bog bodies. It was interesting and a topic I had never heard about before. After the two museums Flannery suggested a hot drink so we stopped at a coffee store chain called “Insomnia”. We were chatting and catching up in general when the lady at the table behind us interrupted our conversation to tell Flannery she should run a marathon (we were talking about running) and it turns out she was from Deephaven MN!!! Talk about small world! She was just on vacation with her husband. Crazy. Next we wandered down one of the main street admiring the Christmas/winter lights and the hustle and bustle of the pedestrian street. We walked with Flannery most of the way back to the bus stop and then headed to meet Elizabeth! We were all a bit hungry so we found a place for dinner, got caught up and then headed to a pub Elizabeth liked for a drink. It was a nice pub but sadly they weren’t playing traditional Irish music…just the radio. It was a nice way to end the day anyway.
On Sunday we went to Belfast. We had debated staying in Dublin, going to Belfast as planned or changing the plans completely and going to Galway. For a few reasons we decided to go to Belfast. On the bus ride there we entered an area of thick fog and it lasted a long time! I was bummed and was thinking we should have gone somewhere else or stayed in Dublin but magically about 10 minutes outside of Belfast it cleared up! Talk about perfect timing! As we walked towards the main streets from the bus station we heard some music. It turns out that it was a Remembrance Day ceremony taking place at the City Hall (which is MUCH cooler looking than the Dublin City Hall). Remembrance Day is like Memorial Day in the US and it was neat to see part of this ceremony. On the bus ride to Belfast, Elizabeth had mentioned that the British song “God Save the Queen” has the same tune as “America the Beautiful” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tN9EC3Gy6Nk). They played this song at the end of the ceremony and it was so strange to hear such a patriotic American song played in Northern Ireland with a completely different meaning. We took a bus tour of Belfast that took us to many interesting sites and told us some history of the city as well which was really helpful for Abby and me! We got off at Queen’s University and went to the museum there. It was a great museum and they had an exhibit about the troubles which I really liked because I had not taken the time to look up much information about the troubles before going to Belfast. There was a lot of science stuff in the museum too which I of course loved! We walked around a bit more and had dinner before heading back to Dublin. Abby and I went to the pub on the corner of the street our hostel was on for a drink and to listen to music since they had live music playing. It was great! The perfect way to end our first trip to Ireland (we are definitely going to plan a return trip to Ireland).

While one day in each city was not enough, I‘m still glad I got to see both cities.

This past Saturday (November 20), Melissa and I helped wrap presents for the Common Ground Christmas party. Sadly, it is on the same night as Kids Kabin dinner out and I’m not sure which I will attend since I would like to go to both.

We are going to have our Thanksgiving celebration next Monday November 29. We are inviting all the Kids Kabin volunteers and staff, the brothers and sisters and the other volunteers on the west side of Newcastle so we should have a pretty big group! I’m excited.

It rained all weekend and off and on all day today. There is precipitation of some sort in the forecast for the next week which is a bummer but there is snow in the forecast for Thursday – Sunday which I am excited about! I hope it actually does snow even if it doesn’t stick.

Half term trips and Alnwick Castle

A few weeks ago (Oct. 25-29) was half term, basically a week long break from school. During the half term breaks KK runs day trips and kids are invited to go on one of them based on their interests. I went on two of the trips, Tuesday and Wednesday.

On Tuesday it was the bike trip. Since it had rained a lot overnight the original plan had to be changed since it was so wet outside. So we biked to North Tyneside and went bowling! I was winning on my lane for the first 5 frames or so but ended up finishing in the middle. After the bowling alley, we continued on and biked to a park where the kids ran around for awhile. Then we continued on and rode through some pretty woods although the paths were really muddy and there were lots of puddles. Needless to say we all looked like we jumped in a mud puddle by the end of the bike ride! In total, I was told we biked about 13 miles which is a pretty good distance for 8-12 year olds (and 23 year olds)! Everyone was pretty tired by the end and some of the kids needed encouragement the last mile or two to keep pedaling. They kept saying “I’m knackered”! It was a tiring trip.

On Wednesday we went to a brick making factory in Gateshead. They had something like 8 million bricks on stock! Or maybe it was 800,000….anyway, it was a lot! It was pretty cool seeing how the bricks were made, the gigantic kiln they had and how the special shaped bricks were made. After lunch we had the chance to make a sculpture/mural that will be brought back to KK when it has been fired. It will be neat to see the finished project. Some of the kids were really cute and said some hilarious things on the trip, even the ones the normally give us trouble. It is always nice to see them in a different setting and catch a glimpse of their good side which we know exists. They were all proud of their work too!

Since I missed Common Ground on Tuesday I went on Monday instead because Melissa was unable to go on Monday like she normally does. Monday was great! Monday is the busiest day at Common Ground with a lot of people coming in for support, lots of donations coming in and lots of activity in general! I also went to Common Ground on Thursday like normal.

Since Abby and I had nothing to do on Friday we took the opportunity to go to Alnwick Castle (pronounced An-ick)! This castle is still lived in and St. Cloud State University actually has a study abroad program based there! I saw several signs that said “Private: St. Cloud State University”. It was a neat castle but what we were really excited about was the parts of the first and second Harry Potter movie were filmed there! I was super excited at one point when I walked through a gate and immediately recognized the area where they had their first flying lesson! We took a tour that told us where all the movie sights were :) That night when we went back to our flat we started watching the movie but only got about 20 minutes in before we were both asleep on the couch. I still need to finish watching to see all the places I recognize. We felt like total nerds but were also really excited about it! Sadly, there are 20 or so filming locations for each of the Harry Potter movies….so far we have been to 2. It was a nice way to spend a free day!

Last Week and this past weekend

Wed. Nov. 3
This week was the start of our winter “street sessions”. Since it is too cold and gets dark so early, we will now be going to various community centers and doing activities there a couple days a week. Today we went to the Monkchester Community Center for the first time. I brought decoupage and Abby brought pottery. Brioni will normally bring some music and do a dance activity but she had been sick and wanted to take it easy tonight. Several of the kids got really into the decoupage so that was good. Every Wednesday a group of parents have a dinner and activities for the kids while they sit and chat so we are just bringing new and extra activities for them to do. Part of the room usually has a football game going on and the noise level was off the charts but besides that, I think this “street session” will normally go pretty well. There were a bunch of kids who normally go to KK there but also lots that don’t so it was a nice mix of familiar and new faces.

Thursday Nov. 4
Thursday was a normal day except for the fact that we started night sessions at Daisy Hill youth center. It is a nearby center that has activities for 13-19 year olds, so basically it is a KK for teens. Bruce, Melissa and I went and brought wood carving as an activity. Well, as Bruce said at the end “that went”….and that was all you really could say. These teens made many of the kids at KK who give us trouble look like saints! They were older and more out of control. Some of them were really well behaved and got on with the activity and did a nice job carving but several others were wild and ruined a lot of wood. When we left the lady in charge said they had to close for awhile because the behavior was so bad…I can see why. She also said that it would be closed for another month or so but they recently opened again because the board made them open again. It will be interesting to see how this goes in future weeks!

Friday Nov. 5
Today was the first day that we had a new school group come in. A class from this school will be coming for 6 Fridays to do “art club”. I don’t think there is as much art in primary schools here as in the US or at least that is what it seems like. So we will run 4 activities while they are there: art (Melissa), pottery (Abby), woodwork (Will) and cookery (Me). I think it went really well for everyone this week and hopefully it will each week! It is really nice when we work with school groups because everyone is normally well behaved and even eager to clean up which hardly ever happens during the afternoon sessions.

The more exciting part of the day was Bonfire Night in Walker Park. On November 5, 1605 13 people tried to blow up the House of Parliament by placing 36 barrels of gunpowder in the cellar. In the process of blowing up the House of Parliament the King would be killed. Their plan was foiled and Guy Fawkes was caught in the act, tortured and executed. Bonfires were lit that night to celebrate that the King was still alive. Now it has become a big holiday and each year bonfires are lit and there are fireworks to celebrate the Gunpowder plot being foiled.

Historically, a Guy Fawkes figure would be put on the top of the bonfire to burn but our bonfire had a dinosaur on the top....seems a little more appropriate than burning something that looks like a human. The bonfire was HUGE! But sadly it burned down pretty quickly but it was nice while it lasted.

We went to the local celebration in Walker Park and helped sell “glow sticks” although they weren’t what I would call glow sticks but battery powered spinning or flashing things. There were spinning hats, star wars type light sabers, light up spinning stars, etc. Each year the city council sells these “glow sticks” to help raise money for the firework display the next year which seems like a good idea to me! We saw many people we knew throughout the night from Kids Kabin and Common Ground.

Saturday November 6

Melissa and I had a very lazy day on Saturday....we didn't even leave the flat! Abby left early to visit a friend in Birmingham so she wasn't around. I slept in till almost noon which was amazing! Then I spent the rest of the day getting my wireless internet to work again, watching tv online and reading. When I finally wanted to go out and do something active it was going to be pitch black in an hour so that didn't really give me enough time to do anything without buying a bus pass so I decided to just stay in. It is nice having lazy days sometimes.

Sunday Novermber 7

Although it was nice having a lazy day on Saturday I was determined to get out of the flat before we left for church. I made chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast, did some cleaning and then decided that since I would need a day bus pass to go to church anyway that I would go into town and take the bus over to Gateshead and check out the Metro Centre. The Metro Centre is a huge shopping mall so nothing really special but I have been meaning to go anyway just to see what it was like. It is huge!! I stayed in the shopping mall area but there are lots of other shops around it like an IKEA and Costco. I plan on going back and getting over to IKEA! When I went to add money to my phone in the Metro Centre, the guy who was helping me had actually been to Minnesota and Iowa! Apparently his wife is from the US and he has spent a good amount of time in the states. So we chatted for a few minutes and I mentioned that there were some things I missed from back home that I couldn't get here....and to that he said one thing he missed about the US was Taco Bell...haha! Not exactly what I had in mind! After the Metro Center, I wandered around Newcastle a little bit going to a few shops I wanted to go to and checking prices on a few items at different stores. I debated staying in town until church but decided that going home would be good since it gets dark really early and shops close earlier on Sundays.

Since they don't celebrate Thanksgiving, all the stores are already in Christmas mode! It is crazy and I don't like it!! I know there is probably a lot of Christmas stuff out in stores in the US already but I'm a fan of taking it one holiday at a time.

Monday November 8

Last week the weather was actually pretty mild but this weekend the weather made the switch again and it is colder and windier again. Bummer. I was hoping the nicer weather would stick around for another week or two. I had planned on finding the bike path near our flat that you can take into town this morning but there was a 90% chance of rain, lots of wind and dark clouds covering the sky so my plan was foiled. Hopefully I will be able to find the bike path before it gets really cold!

Halloween

Sunday Oct. 31
On Saturday we went on a pumpkin hunt and all found suitable pumpkins for carving although wandering up and down Shields Road looking at the selection the various produce stands had for sale does not compare to going to an apple orchard or pumpkin patch to find the perfect pumpkin! Even looking through the giant bins of pumpkins at Cub was more eventful than our frantic search for pumpkins. Oh well. We were very last minute shoppers for our pumpkins so we couldn’t really expect much. Also, we were looking for a pumpkin carving kit and never found one. We weren't sure how our kitchen knives would work but they ended up working just fine.

All our pumpkins - Melissa, Abby, Me

We all did various things in the morning, ignored one trick-or-treater at about 4:30 pm, went to church, ate dinner and carved pumpkins while watching “It’s the great pumpkin Charlie Brown”. We were not interrupted once by any other trick-or-treaters. We were told to avoid answering the door because the kids are not supposed to know where we live. It turned out not to be a problem, either there just weren’t many or they all came while we were at church. Since we have been going to church in town, the whole trip takes about 2 hours so there is a good chance the rest of the trick-or-treaters came while we were gone (between 6:15 and 8:15 pm). Halloween is growing into a bigger holiday here but it is nothing compared to Halloween in the US. We had a good time carving our pumpkins and put tea candles inside. By looking at our pumpkins you can totally tell that Abby is an artist and I am not! Her pumpkin design is many many times more complicated than mine! Melissa’s is more advanced as well. Mine was simple but that is fine with me. I had fun carving my pumpkin and since it was small, it was really easy to clean out! I hope you all had a fun Halloween!