A Mood Adjuster

It was a long weekend, and it is still not over, with guests still here! A friend from high school and Appalachian is studying abroad this term in Copenhagen Denmark and is doing a little europe tour on his fall break. He and a Brazilian friend got in Saturday night and will be here til tomorrow morning. It has been good to be able to show off Belfast and share my favorite places and what little knowledge of the troubles I have with someone. (Don't worry, I didn't forget about the political post that I promised, I'm working on it...)

I just read a blog of a good YAV friend in Guatamala. She had a rough day, missing home and shared about it on her blog. It made me tear up a bit, as I know very much how she feels at times. Her blog is really gettin to me, I hate to hear that she is unhappy, even if its only fleeting moments of homesickness. So, in order to cheer myself up, I thought I would blog and focus my thoughts on some great things here in Belfast and good experiences.

On Saturday night after youth club, Robert, another youth leader, asked if instead of my normal ride home if I would like to ride out with him to Funderland to pick up two of his daughters. Yes, Funderland, think thunder with fun, or NC state fairish. Having no real plans, and not knowing when to expect Seth, I thought it would be a cool idea. When we got there, Barbara, his 9 year old who goes to youth club and is super fun, begged him to let her and I go on a ride or two. Being a cool dad, he

TIME OUT- I just got a phone call from Tanzania... hows that for something to make me smile!

So Robert took us in, we met his other daughters and went on some rides. Michelle, who is 14 convinved me to go on some crazy rides that her other sisters wouldn't go on. Now, I don't know how many of you know what the Zipper is at US fairs, but its a big stick with two sets of seats on the end and it spins, like clock hands. The seats spin and the whole thing spins. It was intense. The one in the states you are in little cage things, this one was hangin free. It was crazy. The other intense ride I went on was the rainbow. Now, think fair again, goes up to one side, then the other then all the way around. I was expecting state fair. I got wiplash! It was so fast, all I could think was it will end soon and I'm too old for this! haha. It was a great place to see kids having good ol fashion fun, no alcohol or fighting. They need more of this in Nireland.

Yesterday Alison and I took Seth and Fernando up to Cave Hill and the Belfast Castle. We hiked all the way to the top this time, and it was breathtaking.... georgeous and cold!
The road up... Fernando and Seth Alison upside down
Alison, Seth, and I

I will try to get the rest of the pictures on my webshots soon. We spent this morning around city center and the boys are still there now. I am sure I will have some good pictures to share.

Last night at The Point, we talked about conflict. My youth did an amazing job participating and listening. It was wonderful! We talked about conflict in their lives, conflict in the bible, and the situation in Nireland. Their opinions were very interesting, most of them said that they don't really think about it. It is interesting that I often think about it and they don't when they face it and are more apart of it every day. I suppose coming here with the Troubles in mind also plays a role in it. When I asked them to share what they would tell someone there age from another country about the Troubles, many of them said they wouldn't really know what to say. It made me wonder if they really know what all the conflict is about. I came away feeling like I know more than a few of them, though I think that is probably incorrect. We also had an interesting conversation about the phrase "thats gay" as it was said too many times last night. Their opinions on homosexuality were interesting and whether the phrase is offensive or not. I left it at trying not to use it at The Point, not getting to preachy or opinionated knowing that the general opinion is more conservative than my own. Overall, it was a very successful night and good conversation!

I feel much better now. How can you look at those pictures and not smile. Plus, my roomie is home, yet I still have no idea where the boys are.... hmmm.