ROAD TRIP!
So this week has been quite a blast!
Besides all of the excitement of my new tapered pants, I had a couple of great nights out with friends (shaking my booty in them), going to athletics, and even attending a traditional Irish dance class! This has added on to the soreness from before, and I walk like I have no knees, but its all in good fun!
However I think that my weekend was the most memorable - my two roommates, a friend, and I all decided to rent a vehicle and take a road trip up to Belfast in Northern Ireland. Even though I was the youngest person in our group, I was given the privilege of driving most of the way because I actually had the most experience driving (since all the others don't drive until 18, and even then rarely drive a car!) At first I was quite nervous with taking on the task of driving on the other side of the road, but quickly it became a fun and thrilling experience! It took us about 6 hours to navigate our way through narrow roadways, rolling hills, and towns where the majority population consist of sheep, and the only thriving businesses are a petrol station and a pub. Yet, finally we arrived on Friday evening, with just enough time to do a little exploring through the Botanical gardens, then grab a drink at a little club!
(me at the wall w/ the roomies
)
So Belfast: a somewhat smaller city, but with a huge background of religious/political segregation, and issues that still remain today. The next day we visited the giant wall that separates the catholic living sector from the protestant living sector, murals of gunman painted alongside house walls, visited the Europa hotel (the most bombed hotel in the world) and told stories of violent action of the IRA that still exists today. Even as we drove home on Sunday, there was a news story that someone in Belfast had been shot that night before!
Ok so now that I have made you think I was crazy for visiting such a dangerous city, it was actually not all that bad. After our tour we spent the rest of the day happily shopping in the neutral city center. It was quite fun and I felt quite like a normal Irish girl - shopping with friends in a giant mall, eating at the foodcourts, and giving advice on what looked good on one another. We even managed to shop in the Gap, where I helped Judith pick out a pair of pants...I think my old managers at the Gap would be proud!
The next day we packed up and went over to the Giants Causeway, located above Belfast along the coastline. It is quite a magnificent geographical landscape with ridges made from volcanic lava explosions pre ice-age era, but the best part are stories the Irish tell that are the real reasons Giant's Causeway was made. Legend has it that there was a Giant named Finn MacCool (who actually obtained great knowledge from putting his thumb in his mouth) that wanted to get to the coast of Scotland to fight another giant, and he built a causeway to get there, but then hid from the giant (he sucks his thumb AND runs away from fights?? I don't know how much of a 'legend' this guy is!) by pretending to be a baby - when the Scottish giant saw this, he thought - "if the baby is this big, I don't want to see what the father is like!" so he ran away, destroying the causeway, which is what created the landscape that is visible now! So turns out that thumb sucking made him pretty clever....Now mom I bet you regret stopping me from doing that as a child - you would have one smart child to be proud of (either that or you would be forever Scottish giant-free!)
Then we made our way back home - and of course took the opportunity of having a car to load up on groceries! Now I am back into my normal routine, attending classes, getting excited about pants, that sort of thing. However, I still miss you all incredibly and think about my friends and family all the time! I also have been thinking about my sister Alison and her plans to be married at the end of December! I so badly wish I could be there to help her try on dresses, sample cakes, etc - I guess Melanie will have to take on that hefty task for me! Actually I just wish I could be there to give her a giant congratulatory hug! In fact I wish I could give a lot of people hugs, but I guess they will have to wait until December. So watch out when you see me: remember to plant both feet firmly on the ground, keep them shoulder width apart, and brace yourself for the enormous body tackle I will be giving you when I come back!
Ok well I think I hear my roommates calling for dinner - until next time!
xoxoxoxoxooooooooooo
)So Belfast: a somewhat smaller city, but with a huge background of religious/political segregation, and issues that still remain today. The next day we visited the giant wall that separates the catholic living sector from the protestant living sector, murals of gunman painted alongside house walls, visited the Europa hotel (the most bombed hotel in the world) and told stories of violent action of the IRA that still exists today. Even as we drove home on Sunday, there was a news story that someone in Belfast had been shot that night before!
Ok so now that I have made you think I was crazy for visiting such a dangerous city, it was actually not all that bad. After our tour we spent the rest of the day happily shopping in the neutral city center. It was quite fun and I felt quite like a normal Irish girl - shopping with friends in a giant mall, eating at the foodcourts, and giving advice on what looked good on one another. We even managed to shop in the Gap, where I helped Judith pick out a pair of pants...I think my old managers at the Gap would be proud!
The next day we packed up and went over to the Giants Causeway, located above Belfast along the coastline. It is quite a magnificent geographical landscape with ridges made from volcanic lava explosions pre ice-age era, but the best part are stories the Irish tell that are the real reasons Giant's Causeway was made. Legend has it that there was a Giant named Finn MacCool (who actually obtained great knowledge from putting his thumb in his mouth) that wanted to get to the coast of Scotland to fight another giant, and he built a causeway to get there, but then hid from the giant (he sucks his thumb AND runs away from fights?? I don't know how much of a 'legend' this guy is!) by pretending to be a baby - when the Scottish giant saw this, he thought - "if the baby is this big, I don't want to see what the father is like!" so he ran away, destroying the causeway, which is what created the landscape that is visible now! So turns out that thumb sucking made him pretty clever....Now mom I bet you regret stopping me from doing that as a child - you would have one smart child to be proud of (either that or you would be forever Scottish giant-free!)
Then we made our way back home - and of course took the opportunity of having a car to load up on groceries! Now I am back into my normal routine, attending classes, getting excited about pants, that sort of thing. However, I still miss you all incredibly and think about my friends and family all the time! I also have been thinking about my sister Alison and her plans to be married at the end of December! I so badly wish I could be there to help her try on dresses, sample cakes, etc - I guess Melanie will have to take on that hefty task for me! Actually I just wish I could be there to give her a giant congratulatory hug! In fact I wish I could give a lot of people hugs, but I guess they will have to wait until December. So watch out when you see me: remember to plant both feet firmly on the ground, keep them shoulder width apart, and brace yourself for the enormous body tackle I will be giving you when I come back!
Ok well I think I hear my roommates calling for dinner - until next time!
xoxoxoxoxooooooooooo
posted by Vanessa @ 3:36 AM
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