Weekend Adventures

What a way to wind down my time in this beautiful place=)

On Thursday night, we turned in our last final...and are now down with all schoolwork for 6 weeks! Upon completion, and for celebration, we competed in Erieband. I was able to halfway fulfill a dream of mine-singing "Needful Hands" by Jars of Clay-the other half would be to be able to play that same song on the guitar and sing...at the same time. That might take some coordination. Then Ana and I sang "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" as a duet, and it rocked! The rest of the acts were absolutely wonderful, and I can't wait to see what the "real" Airband looks like next fall at Taylor!

Later that night, we got our housing conformation for J-Term and the spring...I was blessed to be able to room with Megan (my amazing other half), and blessed to be on the first floor (no stair climbing when moving in), and in Olson (near almost everything). I was also blessed to know that my other favorite roomie, Leah, will be on the same floor as us. Even though we wanted the three room (mainly for our own bathroom!), we will settle for same floor rooming/community bathrooms. Apparently, all sorts of great things happen in there...like sing-a-longs, homework problems, poetry readings, etc. This could be fun=)

After finding out where everyone else was staying, my roommies and I went down to the Beach House Pub for one last Rock Shandy for Dr. Maloney. We laughed. We cried. We made it awkward. It was all good.

On Friday, the roommies had another great date, with one last hurrah in Dublin. Bewley's Coffee, Grafton Street Christmas lights, and crazy Irish people. Everyone is getting in the Christmas spirit, from the smells, to the sounds, to the sights. It is beautiful at night. After an afternoon in Dublin, we hooped the DART north to Howth. None of us had ever been there, and all of us wanted to go. It's a port town at the very end of the line, and we were told it was beautiful. Thus, we went. It was dark by the time we got there, so we walked the tow of the piers, soaking it in. The boats on the water, the lights from the city, and the outline of the moon made it a perfect night. We ate fish 'n' chips, ice-cream, and Digestives. After walking and taking lots of evening pictures, we headed back to Greystones.

This morning, Kyle set up a few stations for us to "reflect" on our time here in Ireland. It was absolutely wonderful. There were places for us to pray, write, listen, and talk. It was a really neat way to thank God for all He has done for us here and to pray for the future, our plans, and our friends and families.

This afternoon, I decided to be brave and ride the DART to Malahide, all by myself. The thought of riding an hour and a half to a city I'd never been to was a bit intimidating, so I wanted to conquer that fear. I went to Dublin where I had to make a connection, but I didn't realize that the next train to Malahide wasn't for another hour. I decided that I didn't want to waste one of my last hours in Dublin by sitting in a train station, so I headed out to Grafton Street, got a coffee, and killed an hour. The street players are starting to preform Christmas carols, which were beautiful. I love Christmastime. I made my way to Pearse Station, caught my train, and went to Malahide. Unfortunately, by the time I made it there, it was dark, so I stayed on the train and went back to Dublin, then Greystones.

I officially learned everything I need to know about navigating cities, public transportation, and mass crowds in a foreign country. Think about it...I didn't learn it at home, and I won't learn it at Taylor=)

Well, tomorrow after church will be a Thanksgiving dinner, a white elephant gift exchange, and finishing packing. Boy-if I could ever drag my feet on any activity, it would be packing. Most definitely. I hate it.

Can't wait to see you all! Can't wait to eat American food! Can't wait for cheap prices! Can't wait for Christmas! Can't wait to see the animals! Can't wait to experience Taylor for the real "first" time!

Much Love From Dublin,
-Rinny