An easygoing weekend...

Nothing really exciting has happened here since Thursday, but that's exactly how I wanted this past weekend to be.

Thursday night Kara joined Kari, Amanda, Bethany and I at Christian Union. We are starting a new series called The I Am Series. So for the rest of the semester, each of the guest speakers are going to talk about the different "I Am..." phrases in the Bible. Thursday's was "I am the bread of life." It was a great reminder about the way Christ completes and fills us. After CU, we spent some time socializing with a few people from our small group and then we headed back to our apartments and headed to bed.

Friday I didn't have class, so Evelyn, Kari, Amanda and I planned to catch the 9:42 train into Belfast to do some shopping. I discovered that morning, however, that a package from home had arrived in the accommodation office, which didn't open until 9:30. I couldn't wait to get that package, so we all stood outside the office waiting for them to open the door. Let me tell you, it was worth the wait, and having to take a later train. I have enough dry goods to last me the rest of the semester! Adam and Lena drew me pictures and made a couple snow flakes for me to hang on my bare walls, and mom sent a bunch of pictures too! Those were the best part. Now my room is actually starting to feel like home. Thanks mom and dad!

Anyway, I picked up the package, ran up to my apartment to put it away, and then we took off for the train station. Once in Belfast we went to High Street, which is where Castle Reigh shopping center is. I found my new favorite store here - Primarck! Everything was either super cheap or very reasonably priced. I bought three shirts, a pair of black flats and a cute dress all for under 20 pounds! Unfortunately, we were on a tight schedule that morning, since I was supposed to be back around 2 pm to meet with my studies adviser. So, Kari and I raced to Iceland grocery store to buy all the necessary ingredients to make some hearty homemade chili. I guess we didn't race fast enough, though, and we ended up missing the train we had catch. The train we did get then proceeded to break down for a good five minutes at one of our stops. Needless to say, I got back to campus late and missed my meeting. But no worries, everything worked out fine and I'm now registered for the right classes. When I got back to my room, I found an email from one of the guys in our Bible study, Jonny, inviting us to go to the cinema with him and his friend, Dean. Going to the cinema meant getting back on the train to Belfast, which I wasn't exactly thrilled about, but it was more than worth it. We went to see Slumdog Millionaire - brilliant movie, highly recommend it!

Saturday, Evelyn and I were the only two in the apartment. I spent the day getting a few things done and doing some reading for my classes. You're probably thinking it's a sin to actually do school work while studying abroad, but I'll just remind you that it is in fact called studying abroad. Around 4 or 5 pm, Kari and Bethany came up and we made chili - from scratch, all by ourselves. I was so proud of us. And if anyone wants a good, no, great, recipe for chili, please contact my dad, Matt Drefs, chef extraordinaire! Evelyn, my roommate from Poland, even tried the chili and loved it so much she asked for the recipe so she could make it at home and treat her Polish friends to an American meal. The four of us spent the rest of the night just hanging out in our kitchen/living room, playing cards and watching the movie, Antwone Fisher. The only other thing worth mentioning about Saturday is that I didn't spend any money! That's huge!

I basically did nothing on Sunday. I was lazy all morning and afternoon, just doing some more reading for class. Our friend Andrew, from First Carrickfergus Presbyterian, gave me and three others a lift to the evening church service. We have yet to go to a normal church service there. This time it was an ordination service for three new elders. Since it was such a special occasion, though, we got the pleasure of enjoying tea, buns and tray-bits after service; in English, that's known as tea, sandwiches and baked-goods. We spent a good hour to hour and a half talking with a group of the college-age students in the coffee bar after the service. It was a lovely time and I feel like I'm finally getting to know Irish people! Topics of conversation ranged from what kind of music we like to true American names to politics and much more. Kari and I also mentioned that we were planning to go to London the last weekend in March. Many of them jumped on that opportunity and it looks like we may have a group of friends joining us, including Andrew who has been there many times and knows of a free place to stay and has a day-tour all planned out for us. We booked our flights today. This is going to be great!

Today, I woke up to an extremely dreary morning - foggy, rainy, cold and wet. I felt the first real pangs of homesickness too - not exactly sure where those came from. But after a very full day of class, I'm doing much better. The key is just to keep myself busy. Thanks to all of you who've been thinking of me and sending emails, letters and packages. Even more thanks for all your prayers as well. I am truly blessed...