I finally have the time and energy to sit down and write a nice long blog about Ireland and Scotland... we got very lucky because on Friday and Saturday there was an air strike in Spain and so many of my friends who had tickets out of here to other parts of Europe were stuck in Spain. Our tickets were on Sunday, so we arrived in Belfast Sunday evening. Belfast was pretty, but rather like a normal city. They did have a great Christmas market though that had stands from all over Europe selling food and goods native to those countries... It was wonderfully delicious and colorful. We went out the first night and I had my first Guinness in Ireland, which was great! We also ran into some very drunk Irish guys that were hilarious and made our night. The next day we went on a Black Taxi tour. This tour was of the wall that goes down the middle of Belfast separating the Catholics (who want to be officially part of Ireland) and the Protestants (who want to stay under British rule). There was a huge conflict with these two sides that just ended about 15 years ago... before that people were being shot in the streets by the other side and there were many many conflicts between them. We went on a tour of the murals that are painted on either side, which were all representing political events or important people to that side. These murals are so sacred that no one is allowed to graffiti them, and no one DOES, because they're that important. There was one mural on the Catholic side that was painted by both a Catholic and a Protestant, but it is the only mural like that in existance. There is still a wall separating the city and the gates between them open at 6 am and close at 6pm. It just amazed me that these conflicts were so recent.
While driving into Belfast I was amazed at the resemblance to Oregon it had... It was like driving on 99W, though it was covered in snow and the cars were driving on the wrong side of the road. I was just staring out the window in shock. It was nice, that throwback to home. The only time it snowed on the entire trip was when we were in Belfast, and I was with a group of girls from California so some of them were overly excited about it as I think for one of them it was only the second time she had seen snow.
Anyways, from Belfast we went took a bus to Dublin, which was also rather city-like but had character! The first night we went out to several bars that were extremely fun, and my Spanish friend Montse and I succeeded in getting guys to buy us drinks... this was an economic decision for all of you judging me ;) But I met some really great people and at one bar there were some guys playing typical Irish music... I ADORED it, I wanted them to play all night but unfortunately it had to end. We also went to the oldest bar in Dublin which was pretty cool... it had several rooms that were all really quirky, and at the end of the night we ended up at a club. Irish people can't really dance, but that's okay! The club closed at 3:00 and I think we were all really shocked... I must be getting used to this Spanish craziness of staying out really late! The next day we went on a tour of Dublin and learned some interesting stuff about its history... but our favorite tour by far of the day was the Guinness factory!! It was quite a long walk to find it but it was really worth it. It was a self-guided tour in the Store house of the Guinness factory, and it was really well done. The guy who founded Guinness signed a 9,000 year lease on the property and its in a glass case right at the beginning of the tour. So you start at the bottom and work your way up to about 7 stories of tour, where they talk about the ingredients (Barley, Hops, Water, and Yeast), the history, advertising, and other interesting things. And when you get to the end you are in the bar at the top of the storehouse and you get a free pint of Guinness! The bar is amazing because of course it's at the top of the building, but its also circular and the walls are made entirely of glass, so you can see the entire city. Unfortunately when we finally made it to the top it was dark, but it was still pretty amazing.
Our next and final destination was Edinburgh (pronounced Edin-bur-oh). This was BY FAR my favorite city! It looks exactly like what you would imagine a northern European city to look like... a castle on a hill, old stone 5-story buildings and quirky little bars, cafes, and shops below, an old beautiful university, magnificent churches, and cobblestone streets. Just beautiful. I really felt like I could live there and really enjoy it. And it seemed to have great shopping. Montse studied abroad here for a year so she showed me all these really great places: a little village right in the middle of the city that was fairy-tale like, a cafe that donates all its proceeds to charity, the university dining hall... the first night we went to the christmas market they had and drank mulled wine (AMAZING) and met some Scottish people... Scottish people are SO friendly and helpful, we had a very pleasent time talking to them. The first night we went on a pub crawl and got discounts on many different drinks and ended up at a club that almost disgusted me with its amount of corny american music... Shania twain, footloose, YMCA. But again we met some really cool people while out! The next day we went on a tour of Edinburgh. When it was over, Montse said that there was a really cool hill very near to there where we could see the entire city. Unfortunately the sun was setting and our group was having troubles making decisions (like always), so Montse and I just decided to go for it, so we sprinted through the city towards this hill, trying to beat the sun so that we could see the city before it was dark (at 4:00!). I was PANTING when we finally made it to the top, but it was well worth it... it was beautiful! I could see everything and the sun was setting. Amazing. After we were done there and freezing, we went to a bar that had places where you could LAY DOWN and drink a beer, with decorative pillows and everything! So we laid there for an hour or so just relaxing, me adoring Edinburgh more and more by the minute, and then went back to the hostel to begin the celebration of Montses birthday! We went out to a club that night and had a great time. The next morning we left to Glasgow, where I basically ate food and went to bed at 6:00 pm until the next morning. I really needed the sleep.
Anyways, my trip was great! And I have another one coming up here soon... I am really going to be broke after this, and all my Christmas money is going to paying off my credit card, but I really dont care that much. I will get to see some great places and experience so much! I also discovered on this trip to Ireland and Scotland that hostels always have a kitchen, so to save some money I think we will buy food from supermarkets and eat THAT instead of eating out all the time in London and Belgium. As for classes, I'm done for the week. It went so fast! Today I taught a Christmas lesson where I made them write a letter to Santa saying that they have been good and what they wanted for christmas. And then I gave them christmas cards to color and fill out with some phrases I wrote on the board. It was my first year group who is usually very noisy, and it was the quietest I have ever heard them! I continue to enjoy teaching English, which is definitely a good thing. But I am already trying to find ways to stay here a little bit longer after I'm done here in Spain... Part of me wants to go home but part of me wants to enjoy everything that I can while I'm here... who knows when I'll be able to afford the plane ticket over here again?! The tricky part will be paying off my loans, and getting another visa. But I figure everything will work out how it should and the opportunity I'm looking for will present itself to me, hopefully soon!
