As you may or may not have heard, a car bomb exploded last night in the city of Londonderry (Derry) where I am staying. No one has been reported as injured, but there has been substantial damage. Here is a link to a news article about the explosion:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/northernireland/8042860/Northern-Ireland-car-bomb-explodes-outside-Londonderry-shopping-centre.html
I only put the pieces to the puzzle together that something was wrong when last night, Monday night, was far too quiet (this is the "party" night for students) and I heard a helicopter outside my window this morning (haven't seen or heard one of these since I have left America). With that said, I can assure you all that I will take precaution when walking into the city these next couple of days (about a 10 to 20 minute walk - approx. 1.5 miles from the Student Village). It greatly saddens me that such a wonderful city is still feeling the affects of the Troubles.
Also, as I'm sure you all have heard, there have been recent terrorist threat alerts in Europe. There is honestly nothing I can do about this (Northern Ireland is part of the UK) aside from being aware of my surroundings and staying updated on the news. On the other hand, as my grandpa said, all of this cannot stop me from living my life.
Sorry for all the bad news but I felt that it was important to document this time in my study abroad.
With all of this said, lets move on to happier news! This past Saturday, four of us from the University had an INCREDIBLE adventure exploring the coast of Northern Ireland. Absolutely no words can describe what we saw (and what we had to do in order to get there!!). A post on this trip will be coming shortly!! Look forward to loads of pictures!
Also, me and three other friends are taking a trip to London this weekend! I'm very excited because I never expected to be able to take a trip there! We leave this Thursday and come back on Sunday. I'm sure I'll have plenty of stories and photos to share from this trip as well!
Lastly, I promise I will do a post on the different words and phrases used in Northern Ireland/Ireland. I received so much positive feedback from the last posting (Q and A's) that I guarantee that you will enjoy this post just as much!!
That's all for now! Here's a little preview for my next post on our trip around the coast!
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| Yep, that's me!! |
What majestic photos you have captured!! I'm sure it is better in person, but my jaw drops at the scenery.
ReplyDeleteIt seems like you are adapting well to the Irish community and culture. What has been the most challenging experience you have had to deal with?
Thanks for sharing your adventures!
Thank you! I will be posting more pictures from the coastal trip very soon!
ReplyDeleteI can't exactly pinpoint a specific challenging experience that I've had. However, it is challenging (and I would say scary as well) to know whether or not something I might say or do may offend someone. For example, if you hold up two fingers (symbolizing the number 2) and the back side of your hand is facing the person(s) you are speaking to, then you are giving them a rude gesture. You must have the palm side of your had facing the person so that the gesture is not offensive. It is little things like this that I am still learning about. I was more afraid of offending someone when I first arrived in the country. However, for the most part, I am surrounded by people who are very understanding and are willing to explain things to me. Usually we have a good laugh about it = )
Hope that answers the question! Thanks for reading my blog!