Rain Rain Go Away...

Well, it is Friday at 3:30 in Derry, Northern Ireland. My day today has consisted of getting up and walking about 20 minutes to class and then going to the computer lab to stay in contact with the world outside of Ireland. Yesterday, we didn't have class because our professor is at a conference. Janna, Courtney, Ashley and I went shopping and walking around the town. We went out for lunch and then just went where our feet led us. It was amazing to find the little shops around town, but also watching people. There was one point when we just sat down by this statue and watched the people walk around the main road. Everyone seems to have a place to go, whether it is running out for lunch, or having a day off of work. After that I met up with Carrie and Sol for dinner and then walked home. There is a lot of free time on our hands over here, and alot of the stores close around 6pm. This is an opportunity to get creative with what to do to keep busy. Carrie and I love to read for hours on end, but we also love to sit and talk with our host family. That is actually what we did last night. Our parents were going to go out later so we sat and watched soaps on tv with them. It makes me laugh to think that I am watching soap operas in Ireland.
Outside of all of that things are going great over here. I am lucky to have Carrie as a roommate because she has done this before. She is also blogging, but about her clinical practice for student teaching. She is trying to work around teaching art while we are over here. Her first real day with students was yesterday.
Today the weather is cold and rainy. One of the first miserable days that we have had so far. I'm not looking forward to walking back outside into that mess! ;)
I think the weather at home is around 80 degrees.... it is amazing to think about things like that. How different things are from back home. The best part of this trip is that things are different. I have 15 people that I get to see who I really know, and then everything else is different.

The pictures that I am putting up today are just a few from the murals around the Bogside. This is where I am staying in Derry. It is the Catholic area in Derry that has a lot of history surrounding it. Look up the Bogside sometime and see the murals around and also read about some of that history.
Blessings and Peace from Northern Ireland! :)

Anna