October has been a pretty exciting month! I got some travel in and have gotten more involved in all my different arenas here. And I got sick. Currently writing this from a nest of blankets with tea and Kleenex beside me. But I'll look on the bright side - that means more time to write.The first weekend of October was Cork's Folk Festival, and my friend Megan and I went to a show at a local pub. Fantastic music.
 |
| Ye Vagabonds |
I'm getting to do various things with music myself! I'm in the Choral Society at school, and it's such fun being involved in a big choir again. That's a big part of my undergrad experience that I've missed these last several years.
I've also joined the Christian Union at UCC, and am now helping to lead worship for some of those meetings! This group has been a huge answer to prayer for me, not only to have a community of believers around me at school, but also a chance to exercise my passions of music and leadership that have been a bit dormant since August. God is good.
Halfway through the month I was so blessed to have my CA pastor and one of our church elders stop by Cork on a ministry trip they were taking through Europe. We met for dinner and talked about just about everything under the sun. It was wonderful to connect with people from home, and I left feeling spiritually refreshed.
Another new regular thing on my calendar is UCC's weekly International Student Cafe, which is facilitated by CUI (Christian Unions Ireland - reminds me of CRU in the States). It's a chill tea/coffee/conversation environment in a common room on campus that helps connect international students both with other internationals and locals who can help them continue to orient to Cork. Through this group, I've gotten a chance to do a bit of local travel, as they often take small trips of one or two carfuls of students to different locations. The first of these trips: Belfast!
 |
| Belfast City Hall |
 |
| The Salmon of Knowledge or more commonly, the "Big Fish" |
 |
| The Titanic was built in Belfast, so their museum details the evolution of the shipyard and the ship's construction as well as the voyage. |
One of the things in Belfast I was particularly interested in was the C.S. Lewis square. He was born there, so they have a small park/trail dedicated to him along with statues of some of his beloved characters. I did get to see it, but it was quite small, and the statues were gated off for some kind of refurbishment (but I still got pictures!), and my phone was about to die and I was alone in a strange city. Definitely an adventure!
(The end of that story is that I found home goods store that was about to close, bought a ready-to-use power bank, and took it across the parking lot to Starbucks for their WiFi and a flat white of relief. I will readily admit that, at least in an unfamiliar place, I am dependent on my phone. And I'm okay with that.)
 |  |
Finally, near the end of the month I got to take an overnight trip with the same group to do some sightseeing around the west parts of County Cork. This was incredible, as even though I'm in Ireland, so far I've only been in the heart of a metropolis (Dublin [briefly], Belfast, Cork). This was a chance to get out into some wilderness! Among the highlights were going to Loch Hyne at night—absolutely still and quiet—and disturbing the water to see the bioluminescence (difficult to see in the bright moonlight, but it looked like dim sparks on the water), and walking to the top of a hill before dawn to see the sunrise at the Baltimore Beacon (so. So. COLD. But worth it). Prepare for a barrage of pictures.
 |
| Pre-dawn |
 |
| As the sun finally peeked over |
 |
| The Beacon and lighthouse opposite the bay |
 |
| The illuminated lighthouse - with the moon in the sky! |
 |
| Freezing and windswept but reveling in the beauty of God's creation |
Bye for now—much love to everyone back home <3
