Belfast!

Ahh! Sorry it has taken me so long to blog, these last three weeks have been crazy busy! The last weekend in February, Arcadia, our study abroad program, took us to Belfast (which is in Northern Ireland).  Northern Ireland is very different than the rest of Ireland, since they are technically a part of the UK and disafilliate themselves with the Republic of Ireland.  Being there truly gave all of us a new perspective on a different way of living.  The city itself was similar to a regular city we had seen in Ireland, however, the people weren't like regular Irish people we had met.  Going out to a pub, "Flithy McNasty's",  we knew we weren't in 'Ireland' anymore.  We were not greeted with an Irish welcome and we did not feel as comfortable here.  We had no idea that by going only 6 hours north, that so much would be so different in a single country of only 6 million people. On Saturday, our group was taken to Giant's Causeway, which was one of the most amazing sights I have ever seen.  Causeway was absolutely gorgeous and the weather was incredible! Not a cloud in the sky.  The story behind Giant's Causeway started a long long time ago.  It is said that a Giant lived in Scotland and found out that there was another 'bigger' Giant in Ireland.  To find out for himself how strong this other Giant was, he built a causeway all the way to Ireland.  Well, the Ireland Giant and his wife knew that he was coming to test his strength, so to fool him, the wife made baby clothes and the Giant built a crib.  When the Scotland Giant made his way to Ireland, he saw how big the 'baby' Giant was and ran back to Scotland, destroying his path as he went.  It is a very interesting story to explain how this amazing place came to be.  Northern Ireland was a great experience and it allowed me to understand the struggles that Southern and Northern Ireland have gone through over a period of so many years that has drastically changed the lives of many Irish people. 


-Cheers!