Home Again

Hey All! So, I'm home now. I still can't believe it, though, any of it: that I went at all, that so much happened while I was there, that four months have passed since day 1, that over a year has passed since I got the call that I was going at all, and that all of a sudden, that particular adventure is over. Time is such a funny thing. Like I said before, though, I believe that the end of this journey just paves the way for something new, and I am excited to see what and where that is.

 Despite that, I can't deny that I very truly miss my home in Northern Ireland. It's been really weird being home. Driving home from the airport I started to freak out a little when my Dad got off the highway and onto the smaller roads, because I was so unused to driving on the right side of the road. It's sad when I look out the window and can't see the river running through the rolling green hills, or when I go on a walk and it's just not at all the same as taking a walk in the exquisite beauty of the country I fell in love with.

The last morning in my magical home. How am I ever going to recover?

I am not completely forlorn, though. In quiet moments I long for the British Isles,  but I still cannot deny that if I have to live somewhere that's not across the sea, Lancaster, PA is a wonderful place to do it. My brother Tony has helped by taking me on walks to a nearby park that has some really beautiful little nooks, making me remember how much I do actually love my hometown.

Even more so than the place itself, though, is something that means infinitely more- I am so so so so happy to see my family and friends. It's weird not living basically on my own like I have been, but it's much less lonely, and I love having people around me. I was so excited to see my friends, too. Within the few days I've been home, I was able to see some of my closest and dearest friends, and that felt really good.

Oh, while I'm mentioning friends, I have to give a big, enthusiastic, proud-as-heck shout out to the members of my University swing dance club, Sting Swing, who went to last weekend's Michigan Classic dance event!!!! My dance teachers have one of THE most spectacular routines, they both came in finals in their competitions, CJ won Newcomer's J&J, Kristen got into finals in her J&J, and HOLY CRAP Robert not only won the novice division J&J but also the Top Gun competition!!!! I cannot express how excited and proud I am of all of you and you have absolutely no idea how much I am looking forward to dancing with you all again in the fall.

MY DANCE TEACHERS EVERYONE

So yeah! Congrats, guys! Anyway, so being home has been a weird adjustment, and in about three days I'm going to have more adjusting- starting a summer science class and have two interviews for jobs (prayers, by the way, would be very appreciated for that). I will be happily throwing myself back into dancing as soon as I possibly can, and rediscovering Lancaster and the surrounding areas in hopes that that will make me miss Ireland a little bit less. 

I did have a couple of days left in Ireland after I wrote last, and I did actually do some stuff in that time. After completing the cleaning, packing, and check out process, two of my friends and I got a cab and then a bus down to Belfast. I had to clumsily drag my two huge suitcases, my carry-on, and my laptop bag along with me, which was not fun at all, especially when I parted ways to go to the airport and had to handle it all on my own. Thank you so much, Anique and Bree, for helping me drag my crap around. But I'm ahead of myself. 

In Belfast, Anique and Kelsey and I hung out for a bit before Kelsey had to go. We found a really awesome pub complex place called Lavery's and I had my last drink of Ireland; it started with a Guinness, and it ended the same way. I stayed in a lovely little hostel nearby Queen's University. Saturday was wonderful; in the morning before I met Anique, I took a stroll in the University's rose garden, which was really lovely. Then I found my companion and we went to St. George's Market for lunch before we visited the Ulster Museum. After that we did some last-minute souvenir shopping and met Bree for a picnic lunch on the lawn outside of City Hall. I finally got to buying my Claddagh ring, which is even now sitting on my right-hand ring finger with the heart facing outwards.  

They smelled pretty  :) 

Goodbye, Belfast! 

After that was when those two ladies were my heroes and helped me drag my things down to the station. They stayed with me for a while and we played 21 with some obnoxiously bright pink cards until my bus came and I had to say a final farewell. *sigh* I am really going to miss them. 

After that I had a ten hour wait before I could even check in for my flight. I couldn't even go sit in the area with couches because of my suitcases and not being able to take my little trolley through the doors. It was not comfortable, but probably for the best. Belfast International is a small airport and I didn't feel at all unsafe spending the night there, but with the volume of luggage I had I still didn't want to fall asleep. It ended up with me spending about eight hours crocheting (I totally finished that scarf that I began in February), maybe an hour reading before it made me start to nod off, and then some time just sitting and waiting. I was nervous about my luggage being overweight, but it was just the right weight, I didn't get stopped at all in security, and customs when I landed went quickly and smoothly. (Thank you, Jesus. <3) 

In the plane I was going to try and sleep, but I was promised food and didn't want to miss it, and then I got distracted by in-flight movies. (We're the Miller's, by the way, is hilarious.) That is how I ended up being awake for about 36 hours strait. I was thrilled to see my family, but I was incredibly exhausted, and passed out on the armchair in my living room, so didn't even make it to my own bed for sleep the first night back. Ahh, well. Turns out while I was gone I was bequeathed a pair of bright pink sweat pants, though, as well as a purple Snuggie, so that's fun. 

It's even phenomenally beautiful from the sky. 

I actually really enjoy flying. Takeoff is my favorite, but
I love being up above the clouds, too. 

So, yeah. Since then I've been taking walks, sleeping, seeing friends, and trying to get my summer endeavors in order. Back to normal life stuff, which is going to take a bit of getting used to. The job I'm looking at, though, if I get it, should be a really good challenge for me, and I'll hopefully get my science credit taken care of, and on top of that if those two things pan out, I should still have time to do some volunteering at Wheatland and have some semblance of a social life! Go me! 

Well, I think that's everything, to be honest. I'm hoping to do some local exploring, of course, but I have a feeling that my daily experiences and personal musings on life are going to be significantly less exciting to read about. I do hope to keep writing the blog, though, even if it might not be as often or contain nearly as many exclamation points. Thank you, though, for those of you who have found my writings of my United Kingdom adventures exciting enough to keep reading. If nothing else it is extremely encouraging to my writing major sensibilities. 

For the moment, though, that's that! Talk to you again soon! 

Oh wait! Here's a bonus. Because it's super catchy and stuck in my head. 

Kay! Well, that's all for now, folks. <3