Paris!!!

Well, I hope you all had a wonderful thanksgiving holiday. Mine was unlike any other thanksgiving I've ever had, even the one I spent with my brother in L.A.

Let me start at the begining. I went with two other girls named Jenny and Amanda, they're both from Texas, juniors, and have been roommates for three years. They were amazing! I'll never forget our time together in Paris!



We left Wednesday and headed to Belfast to grab lunch and our bus to the airport. Once we landed in Paris we went to go grab the bus into town. We saw a bus at port 12, but we were told to go to port 11 so we decided that probably wasn't our bus. After about 10 minutes I left my stuff with the girls and walked over to the next port to see if that was our bus. I leaned in and asked the man if he was going to the Opera house, which was our stop. He said (in broken english) yes but he was leaving immediately. I said okay let me go get my things quickly and he said "no, now! I leave now!!" And with that he shut the door and left. So I walked back and got the other girls and we went to the next port, where we stood in the cold for 20 more minutes waiting for our bus. I would say, though the French are known to be rude, this was the only rude encounter we had.

Once we got to our stop we started walking around, in the dark, with luggage, to find our hotel. We knew it wasn't far, but we didn't know where exactly it was. Our goal was to get there as quickly as possible. So, we were walking along a street...we thought was the right street. After we realized we were walking on the wrong street this older, short, black man came out of nowhere and asked us if we were lost. After the initial shock of a man appearing out of nowhere, we told him yes. He spoke amazing English. Come to find out he is an American, from Seattle, who had studied in Europe in college, and "realized [he] had a lot more learning to do" so he came back. He's been there longer than we've been alive he told us. He asked where we were from and made small talk while he walked around trying to help us find our hotel. He went into a local restaurant and got directions from the bartender. After we found our hotel he wished us the best and was gone. We talked about it later and were convinced he was an angel. He was wearing a touristy beret with 'Paris' embroidered on it, and speaking to the man in the restaurant he used the wrong greeting. You would think a man who has lived there that long who know which greeting to use, and wouldn't be wearing a tourist beret, trying to fit into the culture and be a local. None-the-less we were very thankful for him, and getting to our hotel.



We got a early start the next day, because we wanted to do everything! So this was our day in a nutshell: we walked around the Palais de Justice, trying to find Notre dame. Then we found Notre Dame, it was beautiful. On our way out we saw a movie being filmed, but didn't recognize the star. Then we walked to the Latin Quarter, and grabbed Croque Monsieur for lunch. (this is a white bread sandwich with one piece of ham in the middle, toasted, and like an inch of melted cheese on the top) It was an experience, but i wouldn't eat another one. The Latin Quarter was cool, but we didn't spend much time there. then we made our way to the metro, to head to the Louvre. There was a small symphony in the metro station we stopped and listened to for a while. They were really good...and looked like they were having fun. While at the Louvre we took tons of pictures, and saw the Mona Lisa, it was quite anticlimactic, but i was expecting that. On our way out of the Louvre we spotted the tip Eiffel Tower, and it was really exciting. We stopped to get a bottle of water and some very french eclairs before heading off to see the Eiffel. We went to the Eiffel to see it while it was still light outside, and watch it light up for night. We took some fun pictures while we were there hold up the Eiffel Tower because a old French man came up and was trying to pose us, it was hilarious. But the tower lit up bright blue, and had a circle of stars, it looked like the EU flag. After seeing the tower we walked to the Champs Elysees and it was light up with Christmas lights and a christmas craft fair! We walked up it to see the Arch de Triumphe, and then went to grab thanksgiving dinner on the most expensive road in Paris. We got French Onion Soup, another quite French dish, at a really fancy restaurant. It was fun and then we decided to try a different restaurant for desert. We found another cute little diner to sit and eat some creme brulee and coffee. (do you see a trend in all the food we ordered...we ordered the "frenchest" food possible. We were freezing cold, exasted, and our feet were starting to hurt so we grabbed the metro back to our hotel. To wrap our day up, we had a Mariachi band on our metro car.



The next day we got another early start, but not quite as early as the day prior. We started at the Opera house, which was probably the prettiest place we went the whole time. We walked around a took more pictures and it stunning. Then we went back to the Latin Quarter to eat at a small cafe and get baguette sandwiches. After the quick stop we got back on the metro, and in the same place the symphony was the day before was a mens polka band singing and playing their instruments. We got a little confused trying to find the metro to Versailles but we finally found it. It was beautiful, but they had a "Modern" art display which consisted on vacuums, and giant balloon animals, and an inflatable lobster hanging from the ceiling. I wouldn't necessarily call it art, but what do i know. Versailles was nice but it was so cold that we didn't get a chance to spend time in the garden, and they had the fountains off and the statues covered. We went to grab coffee after and I successfully ordered in FRENCH!!!! Probably the highlight of my whole trip, i felt so accomplished. We took the metro back, which was a little ridiculous since our Paris tickets won't work in the suburbs and we had to buy new tickets, but we made it there. We took the metro to the Eiffel, where we waited in line to go up! It was beautiful from the top, but again, quite cold. And, the tower sparkled every hour, which made it look kind of like a giant Christmas tree. After the Eiffel we went to grab dinner at a local restaurant, and then headed back to crash. Two full days in Paris and we were exhausted.



Saturday we slept in, (till 9:30!!!) we were exhausted and really sore from all the walking we did. We took the metro to the airport, and made it there barely before our gate closed. In the airport we met a backpacker. He had been all over eastern Europe, southern Europe, and was now headed to Belfast. He traveled with us all the way into Belfast because we knew what we were doing and knew our way around. We pointed him in the direction of his hostel, which was helpful to him, and he had some cool stories from his travels, so that was neat too.

We made it back to the holiday homes, and we were exhausted!!! ...but we sat around and caught up with the other girls and had a night of story telling. It was a good time. Now only 9 days left, 2 finals, 2 papers, and then i'm home! I can't wait. It's been a great experience and an awesome adventure, but i'm ready to close the door, and enjoy the memories.

(for those of you who made it all the way through that long post...congratulations and thank you)

Let me tell you...

Let me tell you about the girls on my team.

I will start by telling you that there are 11 of them, and they've each been a blessing in my life in a different way.


-This is a picture of a few of the girls...the ones in my house...


Last night the majority of us all sat around for hours and we just laughed, cried, asked each other questions, prayer requests, and talked about everything under the sun. We are all SO different, come from different places, and have different stories, but I know without a doubt that God hand picked each of us for this trip. He brought each of us here, to meet us here in a unique way. My experience wouldn't have been the same without these girls. We all hope and pray that these deep, Christ filled relationships will be lasting upon our return home.

They made my trip... Ireland is beautiful, and the relationships that were built with the locals I'll remember forever, but the friendship I've made with these girls can continue to be built and expanded upon. Things are going to be different next semester, and that's reality...Things will be different with my friends because they've had all semester to continue to grow relationships, and things will be different with these girls because we won't be in a quiet house together in Ireland with virtually no one else around... But, lucky for me, they'll still be around next semester, and God has opened the door for a handful of us to start a school sponsored bible study together when we get back, so we can continue to share with each other how God is growing and shaping us. I hope God blesses them in the same way he's allowed them to bless me...I'm really excited to see how God is going to continue to grow these friendships and meet us in unique ways when we get home.

I leave for Paris on Wednesday for my Thanksgiving holiday. My next post will tell all my stories...I'm really excited!! When i get back, I'll have finals, and then I head home. I'm on the downward slope. I said this before briefly, but I hope you really take time to sit back and think about all your thankful for... Much love. - Andra Beth

Monasterboice, the Shankill road, and the President.

So, I left off telling you about meeting the Irish president. Well, Tuesday morning we all got dressed up and were ushered to the front row of this event. There were community leaders there, and the president put her speech aside and spoke verbatim. She was a very eloquent speaker, and then our prof. Derrick Bingham spoke after her and presented her with a booklet that he wrote on St. Patrick. She was a beautiful lady, and from what I hear she is highly respected in the Irish community. It was a privilege and an honor to hear her speak and she came around and spoke with all of us afterward.

Wednesday we had class, and then got ready to go eat lunch at 'The Crown' which is the oldest pub in Belfast. It was really nice, the atmosphere was incredible. Billy and Mindi came in from JBU for a few days and took us to eat there before giving us a little Belfast tour. After lunch we walked across the street to the Europa, the most bombed hotel in all of Europe. It had been bombed roughly 75 times and so we went in for a cup of tea. Then we walked down the Shankhill road where Billy grew up, and he told us his testimony about being the son of a UVF terrorist. The murals on the buildings told a powerful story of pain and suffering, but Billy's testimony was a powerful story of God's grace. The Shankill road and the Falls road are the main roads in all Northern Ireland where terrorism activity took place. The Shankill road: protestants. The Falls road: catholics. This was probably the highlight of my trip so far.

That night me and a few others decided to walk to the starbucks that we were told was "right up the road." We didn't figure we would be going on a 5 mile adventure through Belfast. So, we took off walking. A little less than an hour later we made it to starbucks, 5 minutes before they closed. The whole walk took about an hour and a half, and we estimated it to be about 5 miles round trip, based on the shocked look in our professors face when we told him where we went, and also because there were road signs that said 'City Center' 2.5 miles... and as we got closer to the city center, we got closer to the people with cups. It was a really fun time though, and besides the blisters, it was nice to get our for a walk.

the last interesting thing we've done lately is the Monasterboice high crosses. We drove to see some famous High Crosses. they were very beautiful, and since I had to write a 2,000 word paper on them earlier in the semester, it was nice to see them and have a little prior knowledge about them. (there will definitely be pictures of this on my website, they were incredible).



Tonght we're going to a semi-professional rugby game, and other than that I don't know what else is going on in the next for days except that I leave for PARIS in a few days...(wednesday to be exact!)

hope all is well with you, and that you find lots to be thankful for this thanksgiving season!! Blessings. -ap.

Wilber... and the 'new world'

So, first I will give you a quick update of whats to come and whats been done, then i'll leave you with an amazing story.

First of all, I left off telling you we were going to Dublin. Well, in all actuality, we went to a museum, and then turned right around to go back the almost 3 hours to Dundrum. So the only park of Dublin we saw this time around was from the 'car park' to the building and back again. We went to the Nation Gallery. It had tons and tons of paintings. beautiful paintings. Some by Yeats, and O'Connor, and more people that you may know but that I cannot remember of the top of my head this late at night. Memorable, but a long day.

The next day, again long. Instead of headed south, we headed west, and went to a western county in Northern Ireland, called Omagh. We stopped at a place that was called 'Island Turf.' Turf comes from the ground here and is often used for fire. However as Ireland gets more peaceful, and more of a tourist attraction, turf has become more valuable as well. This place had turf everything! Turf crosses, ornaments, harps, shamrocks, angels, claddaghs, and pretty much any other sign or symbol that can be equated with Ireland. So that was a fun little detour. The purpose of the trip was to go to the Ulster American Folk Park. Though there weren't many 'folk' there, it was a blast! I felt like a little kid again.

So heres how it started out...it was a long museum trail. You start in the old world of Ireland and get to see some old colonies here, then you walk through town and visit a few of the old shops. We stopped at a printing press where they made us a ticket for the boat. After walking through the 'wee' town, we got on this huge ship, and got off on the other side...the new world. We had immigrated to America! So, we walked through the streets of America and sang American songs, since we were the only group there we were allowed to be slightly more obnoxious and patriotic than we would usually be. This whole museum centered around Thomas Mellon and his immigration to America. He founded the Mellon banks, and is the Mellon half of Carnegie-Mellon, the institution in Pennsylvania. It was another long, memorable day.




At the last house in America, we decided to take team pictures, so I propped my camera on a post, put it on self timer, and spent the next 20 minutes taking family pictures with the people that have played the role of my family for the last several weeks.

This leads me to Saturday...story time.

I had an interview project for an independent study that I'm taking while here in Ireland. There are two other girls who are taking the same study as I am, and so we decided to go out and find a nice old Irish man to interview. As we were walking to the local gas station, there was a man on the sidewalk that looked like a friendly, harmless old man. So I walked over to him and asked him if we could interview him...

a few weeks before....
my roommate went for a walk up to the castle in town and ended up making friends with an old man named wilber she came back and told us all about. We had thought about asking her to look him back up to interview him, but we didn't want to drag her into our project, or this poor old man. But a few of the girls had tried to return with Lydia to visit Wilber, but with how busy we've been there never was time.

back to the gas station...
After we asked him the question, he said oh your americans i'd recognize that accent anywhere. I know one of your kind, she and I had a nice chat a while ago. Immediately we were all like LYDIA! so one of the girls ran back to get her. He invited us over for a cup of tea so there ended up being five of us that went up there with this dear old man. We sat and talked to him, his son, Nigel, and Nigel's girlfriend ALL afternoon. Almost 3 hours! We compared cultures, talked, laughed, and crossed paths with people that I won't forget for a long long time, if ever.

Although I wasted one of my only free days, I got so much more information by spending the afternoon with them that it only took me two 1-hour settings to get my paper finished. I was just able to write about in detail everything that went on during my visit to Wilbers.

That's my story, and my update. We meet the president of Ireland tomorrow, and I'll write to you soon after to tell you how it went. Blessings. - Andra Beth p.s.-more pictures have been posted!

27 days and counting...

Well, we're on to our last month here, and honestly I would say it's a bitter-sweet deal. I'm ready to come home and see my wonderful family and amazing friends, but we're just starting to develop good relationships with people here. It takes time to build relationships, and it's just now beginning to take off. So, it will be sad to say goodbye and have to continue these new friendships online, but God is good and has blessed me by putting these people in my life for this time.

Well, the castle i mentioned in my previous post was actually not a castle at all. It was more like a mansion. A mansion that is the Queen's home whenever she comes to visit Northern Ireland (which is part of the UK). This is also where the U.S. president's stay when they visit Ireland. Their guest book was open to the signatures of George W. Bush, and Hillary Clinton. Afterwards we walked through an art gallery and went to a children's toy store. It was a good day, an another story to tell.

Sunday we went to our friendship families house...where I learned to make SUSHI! I was scared that I wasn't going to like it, but making it was so much fun!! We made crab, smoked salmon, and a veggie role (just in case). It actually all ended up being delicious. We had Japanese soup, sushi, and a traditional japanese desert of stuffed tofu with rice-- (or something of the sort, I can't quite remember). I love learning new recipes and trying new things so this was definitely a highlight of the week.

Yesterday the two daughters of our friendship family, Sam and Chrisie, came and picked up a few of us and took us to an indoor rock climbing gym. It was a BLAST! I made it to the top of a few walls, and didn't succeed at others. It was challenging, and something I'd like to continue to do occasionally. That family has been such a blessing in my life!! Saying goodbye to them will be one of the hardest parts of leaving Ireland and coming home.

This week consists of lots of homework and lots of fun. We have some faculty from JBU coming to spend the week and we're meeting the president of the republic of Ireland, we're heading to Dublin, and doing lots more! Check back in a few days to hear what else is going on in our last few weeks here in Ireland. Blessing everyone! -AP

as of lately...

As of lately, we've been pretty busy.

Midsummer Nights Dream in the park was good. It wasn't too cold, which was good. It was interactive, and I ended up with an Actor on my lap, and men fencing about 2 feet in front of me. I've never seen it done quite like this before...in fact, our group decided that the director may have just been on drugs when directing this film, it was quite "unique"...and i'll leave it at that.

The Fireworks Saturday night were beautiful!! Since I was out of the country on the 4th of July, it's been awhile since i've seen fireworks. The show went on for a while, and there was a beautiful cool breeze. It was one of those moments where you think to yourself, "wow, i'm in belfast, northern ireland watching fireworks on halloween!" Seemed almost surreal.

The Belfast Giant's game was SO much fun!! I posted pictures of it on my website. We were in the thrid row, behind the opposing team. The atmosphere was so fun and everyone was singing Irish Hockey songs. Even though we lost, it was a very fun experience. Maybe i'll become a big hockey fan...maybe not... we'll see. :)

Sunday we decided to go to night church, so we took that day to work on a paper. These next three weeks i'll write over 60 pages in different papers. It'll be a little stressful, but I haven't had a whole lot of stress so far this semester, so I suppose it's about my turn for some. Church was great! probably one of the better ones i've been too in a while. Our prof. Hadden preached on pain, and how Christ's power is made perfect in our weakness. After church he and his wife fed us dinner, and then sat around and taught us Irish folk songs. So we sat around for a few hours singing and laughing. He told us to laugh more, and stress less. I like that way of thinking.

Oh here's a funny story...So Monday we had a free day after class, and we have 7 books to share between 16 of us for this huge art paper. So a few of us who wanted to get out of the house, and find our own books, headed off to take a bus to Belfast, to find some works in the Queens University Library. Well, after spending an hour on the bus, we got to Queens and spend about 2 hours walking up and down stairs trying to find the books we needed. then up and elevator to floor 8 then realizing it was wrong, and then back to floor 2 to take stairs to floor one to find again where we needed to be...and it went like that for quite some time. After failing at our endeavor, we took a long walk back to the bus station, to spend another hour on the bus back to Dundrum. It was a failed attempt, however it was fun to say we've explored the Queens library.

Tuesday we had Irish Lit. class, where we read Dancing at Lughnasa, a play set in Ireland in 1936. That evening we went to a famous Irish Journalist's house. He was one of the mail journalists during the time of the terrorism in Ireland, and was incredibly interested in our politics. The reason we went to his house, was because he had over 5 million pounds (8-10 million american dollars) of famous Irish art. He had art EVERYWHERE. Hung on every wall, propped against chairs, against his desk, Stacked up on the floor. I mean this man had more art than he knew where to put it all. it was crazy. But the art was beautiful and he was a really interesting character. He asked us a lot of questions about christianity, and JBU, and our prof.'s and everything.

Yesterday we went to C.S. Lewis' church, and saw a stained glass window he had purchased and dedicated to his father that was housed in the church. The stained glass window was by one of the artists I'm writing about in my paper, so i really enjoying getting to see one of his works. Then we ate at McDonalds...(which made me feel quite at home) and went to see a statue of the wardrobe. AFter taking pictures by the wardrobe, we got to drive by his Childhood home. (Called Little Lea). Then we headed home, where I went and bought some Belfast Telegraphs that covered the election.

It's been a pretty busy, but very fun week. We're headed to a castle this afternoon, and I'm sure I'll have more stories come early next week. Hope all is well with you all...

P.S. I've uploaded more pictures if you're interested...
-Blessings. -AP <><