I actually live here...

I actually live here…

Yes, that’s what I feel like after this past week and weekend. I actually did normal things and it was wonderful!

I spent nearly all week on campus. Monday I had class all day and then spent the evening in my apartment uploading pictures and working on my blog. Tuesday I had to meet with my group before class to finalize our 5-minute presentation. Then we had class at 1:15. We got our group paper back and scored a 70% on it, which is a first on the UK grading scale! Our presentation went well – how hard could it be when each person is only allowed one minute to speak? Tuesday night was our final small group Bible study, and I think it was one of the best discussion-wise. Of course there were lots of fits of laughter from Nicky and Jo, but once we got past that we worked through each other’s tough questions. After discussion, we had a food fight with the sweets Paul had brought. It was brilliant! Great banter so it was. Wednesday morning I went to the library intending to start writing my 3600 word paper that was due on Friday, but I spent a couple hours socializing and checking out Facebook instead. Oops! I went to Modern Irish Society at 11:15 and afterward went back to my apartment to nap. That night I stayed in and started working through my management of change notes so that I could write my paper. Thursday I spent almost the entire day in the library working on my paper. At 3pm I went back to my room to calm my nerves before my phone interview with Covenant Harbor Bible Camp, a Christian camp in Lake Geneva. The interview lasted about an hour and I think went pretty well, although the fact that I’m not getting home until June 5 could potentially be a problem. It’s all in God’s hands though and I trust that He will provide! Following my interview, I walked to the side entrance of campus where Elsie picked me up for dinner at her house. This time we actually had something other than spaghetti Bolognese – Irish stew! It was delicious and the perfect meal for a cold, dreary Northern Ireland day. Elsie brought me back to campus at about 7pm and I went to my last CU at around 8. The topic this week was spiritual warfare and how to encourage both yourself and others in the faith. I learned some valuable lessons from that “sermon.” With over half of my paper left to write, I left CU as soon as it was done, but I was feeling pretty homesick that night, so I called home first. Then I stayed up until 2am working on my paper. Friday I got up at 7 and worked on my paper all morning until I finished and handed it in at 2:15. Last assignment for the semester finished, it was time for the weekend!

As soon as I got back to the apartment, Amanda, Kara and I called a taxi and went to the cinema to see 17 Again. I’m a sucker for cheesy movies. This one was so cute. It may or may not have helped that Zac Efron’s super attractive little self is in it. Following the movie, we took the train back to campus, changed out of our rain-soaked clothes, and then Amanda and I went with Gav to his house for a chippy night. Basically, chippy night is when we drive to the Frying Squad close to Gav’s house, buy some delicious fried food like fish and chips, and take it back to Gav’s house to eat it and hang out. The hang out part consisted of playing some Guitar Hero and Articulate and watching plenty of YouTube videos. Hanging out with Gav, Leanna, Charlie, Johnny, Emma and Amanda felt like a normal Friday night at the Grove, which is exactly what I needed after feeling homesick during the week.

Saturday was another pretty normal day too. I was originally supposed to go to Scotland for the weekend, but after driving all over Ireland, I wasn’t too thrilled to see more of some very similar scenery, plus I wanted to save myself some money. When Amanda and I decided not to go, we had to figure out something else to do for the weekend, so our friend Stu suggested that we all go to the Dublin Zoo together. It was so much fun! We all got a work out from either laughing so much or being scared to death, one of the two. I would tell you the funny stories, but they are the type of stories that you had to be there for in order for them to be funny. On the drive back from the zoo we had a great time singing along with some of our favourite Disney tunes. Also on our way back we stopped in Belfast to pick up some pizzas. We brought the pizzas, garlic bread and chips back to our apartment and ate together while watching Wedding Crashers. It was such a chill day, but so much fun! Sunday was a really lazy day spent working on my Italy blog, cleaning my room and doing laundry. Nothing too exciting, although I did go to church last night and afterward we went to Gav’s house and made our own Ulster fry. Delicious!

Just a normal week in the life of a Jordanstown resident…