Last post from Belfast...eeeeeek

wow. what an amazing trip. my love for traveling was defiantly confirmed. Anne and Mack were both ready to head home, to their own bed and their pets, while I could have continued to travel forever. oh the joys of no attachments. Plus, I knew leaving Italy would mean coming back to Belfast, to face my last three days and lots of goodbyes. Needless to say, I am pushing emotional wreck right now. It is so weird to leave, to go back to the states, and not know when I will return, though I know I will. I packed last night, trying to get life together. This morning I went into town one last time, to my favorite coffee shop (Roast!) for the usual tea and amazing raspberry muffin. I rain a few errands, then got one last taste of super cheap shopping at Primark. Why I decided to buy anything when I am having enough trouble fitting everything is beyond me, although it doesn't really surprise me.
I have spent the rest of my afternoon packing, doing my last load of air dried laundry for a while, and getting ready for my open house tonight! YAY open house! I have always wanted to have all my friends from all different parts of my life together, so what better time to do it than now? It will be a final chance to see everyone and just have a bit of craic. Tomorrow, my last day in Belfast, I will go into Newington Day Centre in the morning to see the members and the staff one last time. We are having a lunch there and then Joan and Teresa and I will spend the afternoon doing what we do best together, having a great laugh over a bottle of wine. I leave Wednesday morning at 8.55 and arrive home at 9.10 or so in Raleigh. Truly mixed emotions.
I could tell you about my trip, but that just doesn't seem right at this time. There are tons of pictures and stories to tell, from Europe and this year and I look forward to telling them in person with you soon. Thank you for reading this during the year and taking an interest in what I am doing. I am still debating whether I will continue posting from NC, but check back soon and I will have made up my mind!
I don't really know exactly what else to say, but I want to share with you my last newsletter I sent home. It is the beginnings of a reflection on my year here, and I used the bulk of it for my final Sunday at church, only tearing up when reading the paragraph about friends and making eye contact with Pamela McCormick who has been my dear friend, my surrogate mum, and my rock when things were hard.

Hello one last time from Belfast! It is crazy to think that a whole year has gone past and I will soon be returning to North Carolina! I don’t know if I have shared this with you yet, but prior to this year, I have never been out of North Carolina for longer than two weeks! And yet, how shockingly fast this year has gone! It is hard to reflect on the past month when my heart is trying to really process this whole year! I have been busy with new activities, which seems to be the trend over the year. I have been working with a summer camp at a community centre which usually has a PC(USA) volunteer. It has been fun to meet a new group of kids and work with two new women. But it truly is hard to think about when my mind is so focused on leaving.

This year has been a truly amazing year. I have learned to use the word craic properly, spell the word colour with a u, and to play cricket, kinda. I have learned a great deal about the troubles in Northern Ireland and have learned how very complex the issues are. I have taught a child to tie his shoes, become accustomed to sitting among the front pews in church, given blood for the first time, and mastered washing a sink load of dishes by hand. I have seen a stunningly beautiful part of the world, learned about true hospitality, pronounced some of the hardest names in the Bible during readings in church, and cooked tacos for a family who had never even seen them before. I learned how to clean the tea stain out of a cup from Heather, discovered that I am not a natural on horseback, and witnessed some brilliant badminton players on Wednesday nights. I answered more questions about American culture than I can count, proved the notion that all Americans love George Bush to be false, and saw more rainbows than I have and probably will ever see for the rest of my life. I adapted and never leave the house without an umbrella, crave tea come mid afternoon, and know what it feels like to run out of oil in January. I have seen stones fly, learned to convert degrees F to C, taught the youth that suicide is never a joke, and found a new love for chocolate. I have fallen in love with walking everywhere and even choreographed scenes from Oliver. I have learned different lessons than I ever expected and can’t quite even grasp what my original expectations were.

One of the most important things I have learned, the one I am most grateful for, is the nature of friendship. Prior to this year, most of my friends were from my generation. My parent’s friends, while hysterical and fun, are not my friends. My campers at camp are a blast, but are not my friends. My grandparents are wonderful for advice and take a great interest in my life. For that I am so very thankful, but they as well, are not my friends. This year, my best friends have been women older than I am, some the age of my grandmother, the others of my mother. I have learned amazing things from them, had too many laughs with them, and shared my life with them in a way you only share with friends. I was constantly amazed at the amount of things we had in common, our shared sense of humour, and fears and questions. I will miss them greatly, but am so thankful for the experience of really branching out of my social norm. I have been blessed in return and hope to continue to keep my friendships cross generational as I think there is such a value in life experience and the ability to find a bit of ourselves in others.

I have found great truth in the saying ‘if God brings you to it, He will bring you through it.’ I have grown in many ways- having to answer some of the tough questions in life and lead my youth through the big issue questions when they brought them up. I have learned to keep my mouth shut when my opinion isn’t needed and to work and live with people different from me. I have learned to stop expecting to see results and to just trust that God is working through me. In that way, it is hard to say what I have actually accomplished here in Belfast, although I know that my impact has been widespread. I have seen what it means to hate, to love, to destroy and to rebuild.

Overall, I am still very much processing this year. The stories are easy to tell. Some of the things I have learned as easy to pinpoint. The big picture, however, is still a bit hazy. I recently heard someone congratulate Northern Ireland for its progress towards peace, praising them for giving still war-torn parts of the world hope for a peaceful future. While Northern Ireland still has a ways to go, I got a glimpse of the big picture: this world is changing, one country at a time and I have been blessed to have been a part of it.

I wish you all the best in the end of your summers and look forward to returning home to see you all. Thank you for all your prayers for and interest in my time here in Belfast. I happily await sharing more with you in person!

As the famous Irish Blessing says, until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of his hand.

Peace,

Libby Hunter