Here's to my last update and last week in Ireland!
LIFE UPDATE:
Basically my life has been a crazy whirlwind for the past month. My family came, Morgan's sister and friend came, we had thanksgiving, we finished classes, I left for Belfast, went to Germany, came home, took finals and now I'm packing to come home on Saturday. Cork has crept into my heart and it's going to be very hard to leave. I tell people I'm equally sad to leave and ready to be home which is a good feeling. I've finally felt ownership of a place and created a life out of nothing that I'm proud of. I've felt lonely at times, but continually pressed on pushing myself to create community where ever I am.
CHURCH UPDATE:
I went to both churches for the last time on Sunday and was genuinely sad. At Grace church the pastor introduced himself to me again...however, at Trinity church the pastor and head elder both prayed over me and another student and sent us off. How beautiful is the body of Christ and the connection of Jesus we can have. I was able to give Colin the four hats I knit for the fisherman on the ships he ministers to and hug Youngshin a south Korean friend I made. The pastors daughter, Gabriella drew me a picture at Trinity Church and I sang my heart out to the Christmas carols. WHICH! by the way are completely different. They either have different words or completely different tunes.
SOCIAL LIFE:
I'm currently in my room with my suitcase mostly packed (yes it's Wednesday but I really love packing ok) and I can hear Chelsea in the kitchen cooking and listening to Oceans. I can't help but think about all the healing God has brought into my life over the course of this semester. I sang that song before I went to Guinea and I remember so vividly the Holy Spirit singing through me on the bridge that "I will go just send me". Guinea was not what I expected and was really a struggle. I came home and was angry from the reverse culture shock and was faced with many loved ones dying. I felt so distraught with my overseas living experience and felt like I couldn't make a life for myself in a foreign land even though I feel that's my calling.
Being in Ireland has shown me that I can do it! I can go out and find somewhere to serve where I feel purposeful, go to a church completely alone and having people to say goodbye to, I can study in another culture and (kinda) figure it out. I prayed a lot before I came for my roommates to be my community in Ireland. They have been one of the best parts of my experience here and I am forever thankful for God answering my prayer and perfectly placing them in Arcadia Hall apartment 13. I will forever remember the endless card games, the trading off of razzing each other, and the constant source of love from these two.
 |
| This is a photo of the inside of the UCC chapel! |
SCHOOL UPDATE:
I'm not going to lie. I did stumble my way through finals. I didn't really come to Ireland for the studies plus, they transfer back as pass/fail. I think I did ok on most of them. I wrote a paper about affirmative action, though the paper might not be top notch, I really learned a lot. I wrote another paper about Brandy Melville's one size fits all marketing approach. I took a test about family entrepreneurship and the life cycle of a family. I took a test writing out computer coding and explain e-commerce. And I finished with a test about different marketing techniques and how communities are formed around brands. I really enjoyed the different classes I got to learn from here and the different ways I was stretched to be a student. I have noticed a better attention span for reading here which is really encouraging and loved watching my brain in ethics class. I learned I really enjoy computer programming and that people in Ireland also hate marketing.
These photos are all taken from a little trip the roommates and I took to Cohb (pronounced cove). It's a coastal village a 20 minute train ride from Cork where the Titanic left last. These are some shots from a cute coffee shop I tried to study at while they went through the Titanic museum.
I think I'm too overwhelmed and fresh to think of too many concluding remarks but I'm thinking of a few more blog posts about different things I learned, Irish slang for starters, my travel guide for Ireland, and what I hope to bring home from this experience.
PRAYER REQUESTS:
- Smooth travels home
- The homeless situation in Cork, that housing would be reconstructed
- A transition home that brings what I loved from Ireland home and not disappointment
- Ownership and roots in Manhattan
- A beautiful experience in Ireland
- Wonderful roommates
- I did have a blast with my family
- Loving a place enough it's hard to leave
Add your comment