And now for The End…We went to the Center for our goodbye reception and it was so sweet and simple. They presented us with official little program completion certificates and spoke a few words about the adventures. Anyone who has had contact with us or helped us out was invited so it was great to see some familiar faces. We were asked to say a few words  and I just didn’t know what to say. How do you begin to thank people for an experience like this? You really can’t. However personally I know I wouldn’t be here without a lot of people, so from the bottom of my heart I thank you all-you know who you are. We headed back here had a little family dinner and of course finished with ice cream. Now I am procrastinating on my packing but I should probably get to it. We had one heck of a travel adventure tomorrow with the time changes and all the flight changes…I’ll see everyone back on the other side of the pond!

As we waited for the boat the five of us stood there smelling of manure and salt water. I’m sure we were quite an eye sore. We headed straight to the adventure site and really didn’t know what we had signed our selves up for but I was excited. We ran off and put on our wet suits, got our helmets and threw on a life jacket and proceded to jump into this adventure van. He explained that we were driving about 10 minutes away and then would have a 15 minute walk to the cliffs. What do we do once we get to the cliff you ask? Jump into the Irish Sea.

It was at this point that I realized an important life lesson. Always figure out what you sign up for in advance. As we were hiking along the rain had now turned into a drizzle and it was absolutely beautiful. These cliffs just show years and years of amazing rock and the Sea was blue for miles and miles. Our guide Andy stopped above our first cliff and essentially warned us about the 230598234 different ways that we could die and how to prevent these from happening. It was at this point that I got nervous for the first time and then we started to decend the cliff. I was petrified and the rocks were so slippery from the rain. Now these are not cute little cliffs…these were cliffs that if we had bad foot work we would tumble to our rocky deaths. After some careful maneuvering we got to our first jump. I was already weak in the knees and now I was standing on the edge of a cliff about to jump into the Irish Sea. A few people had gone before me so I wasn’t feeling horrible about it but all I know is that I was looking down and just thought to myself, JUMP. The next thing I knew I was hitting the water waiting for my stomach to come back into my body and then I felt a rush of cold and a mouthful of salt. YUK. I came up to air and had the most wonderful feeling in the world. I had just jumped 30ft off a cliff into the Irish Sea! We did some rock climbing at water level so we scaled the cliffs. We went into caves, did cannonballs into the Sea at different jump points and towards the end the sun creeped out and I felt like I had an out of body experience. The three hours of this trip were one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. As we had to start climbing back up and towards the car I just thought to myself what a way to end the trip. We headed back to the car awkwardly (thanks to the wet suits), and ran back to change and get to the St. Patrick Center as we were running late…

What a day, I have to split it up! So this morning and afternoon were just the beginning of the day! We headed over to the center for 10am, and met with the local MP of Downpatrick. She was so kind and welcoming to us, and gave us yet another political opinion. It just amazes me how many active political parties there are in this country. We took a few photos with her and then headed off to the Viking Ship! We pulled up to Phillips property and headed down to the Viking ship which was a bit of a walk down the beach (this is important for later) and then we got on board our ship. Now for those of you who have been following along, the first time we were on a boat this trip we were wined and dined…not this time. We had to work to move this ship! We took shifts and then all of a sudden saw a big black cloud and could visibly see the rain pouring down in the distance. We headed back to the dock, but when we pulled up to the dock the high tide had rolled in with the storm and our dock was now floating in the middle of the lock. So let’s catch up on your visual picture…I’m on a Viking ship, it is raining and we are now stranded in the water. Three of the men on the ship jumped out in above waist deep in water and gave us ladies piggy back rides to shore.  They were great! Anyway, as we got on shore five of us were supposed to already be back by the bus to head to our extreme adventure. We had to book it back, and that is when we realized that with the tide….our walking beach had disappeared. We hiked up our pants and went through the water quite a distance on crazy sharp rocks. I know exactly where those crazy Vikings got the ends of their swords joust sticks. Okay-now back to our visual picture. I’m now above my knees in water, wading along with rocks jamming into my foot, it is pouring rain and I cannot stop laughing. Alright so as we start to see the shore we realized that all of the cow manure and animal manure had floated down with tide and to get to shore we literally have to wade through crap. At this point my laughter turned into an akward giggle which turned into a purple face trying not to throw up. However, at this point I’m already such a mess why not add a little manure to the mix. As we arrive on shore the rest of the people who were not going on the adventure stayed to have a BBQ and we heard a lot of screaming…while the men were carrying the women back to land they had forgotten to tie up the boat. As we looked off into the distance we heard splashing as they dove into the freezing cold water to go catch this Viking ship. This all happened before 2 pm and it was just the beginning….

It was such a calm day, and I was totally okay with that. We were able to sleep in a little bit, but of course for the most part we were all wide awake like we had to go to our placements. We headed over to Castle Ward which was just beautiful. It is so full of history, and had lots of great little features in the castle including hidden doors. I love a good hidden door! I was a little bothered by one of the displays with featured dead squirrels pretending to fight which was created back when taxidermy first began. I came around the corner and just about hit the ceiling because I saw these little creatures staring at me. Anyway, we looked around the castle (great views!) and then headed back to the center. We had some sandwiches out in the garden and then headed into Belfast.

We went into Belfast and Tim took us around to some West Belfast locations that were important to the culture. There is an absolute 100% divide of Protestants and Catholics in that part of town, and I just could hardly believe it. There was a point at which we went through “gates” which put us into the other religious area of town. Hard to believe that these problems are still alive and hindering every day life. Anyway we were able to do a quick little shopping spree, which prevented me from spending lots of money…thank goodness!

As we got back into town we headed straight for this restaurant to have dinner and watch the USA World Cup Game! These people are NUTS about the World Cup so I have to admit it was fun to be over here to watch the game. We had some great food; I had some great conversation especially with Andrew the education coordinator at the center and even had a pint or two. As we exhaustedly boarded the bus back to the cottages we of course had some ice cream and began the packing process. Tomorrow is our last day and we head out Monday morning for what promises to be a long travel day. I’m off to get some sleep; it’s going to be a long two days!

To kick-off my last two days, a few observations I have made about the area…

1.      They love Chinese food, I’ve seen more Chinese restaurants here than in any U.S. city.

2.       They don’t like or use peanut butter.

3.       There is only one degree of separation in Northern Ireland

4.       Craic is not a drug.

5.       Sprinkles are an important part of daily life here. 

6.       Everything is just 30 miles away.

7.       Country Western music is played everywhere and all the time.

8.       The roadways are just general guidelines.

9.       The clock is just a suggestion, there is no such thing as late.

10.   There have to be at least 1,000,000 sheep in this country, and they all have tribal signs on them.

I tell ya what. Our last day went out with a bang! We were picked up bright an early by Maynard who showed up in a pink shirt, a pink tie and cowboy boots. Needless to say, he set the mood for the day. We headed into the Belfast area and were scheduled to meet Chris from BBC Radio to do a quick interview about what we have been doing while in Ireland. He was so kind, and we were out on the dock of Donaghadee, the small coastal town we were in, and conducted the interview. The weather had shifted and by the time we were done it had gotten quick cold so we ducked into a little restaurant and had some tea and scones.

As we wrapped up meeting with him, we went on back towards Belfast to go into the office and say our goodbyes to the Ulster-Scots who have taken such good care of us. They were all so great to us during our time here and Kacie and I both know how lucky we were to have been placed with the organization. We met with Hazel, the CEO of the Ulster-Scots and just made sure that she understood how grateful we were and how much the people had helped us learn about the culture and about Northern Ireland in general. They gave us really cute fleeces with the Ulster-Scots logo on them and then we were on our way because we were starving!

We headed back to the little diner that we had started at last week on our first day with the Ulster-Scots. The food was just as wonderful as the first time and we got quite sad wondering what had happened to the last two weeks. Time has flown by! Then we got in the car and headed out to Maynard’s hometown so he could show us around what he said was the most beautiful place in Ireland. We got to his cute house and looked around at the beautiful area, he lives in paradise! There are mountains and the sea in the same view which to me was just astounding. As we left his house we headed towards the beach and I was super excited because he said we would be able to see jellyfish! When the tide rolls out, if the jellyfish don’t go with them they flatten out on the sand and just stay there until the tide comes back it. Essentially, you can walk up, and pick them up and they just lie perfectly still in pancake form. It was so fun and I picked up the jellyfish!

Our next stop was into the actual town of Kilkeel where he was born and raised and even stopped by his Mom’s house! He took us home to Mom! How cute! She was so kind and made us tea and put Maynard in his place. I don’t think many people can do that. As we left the house-we headed one of the most beautiful places in the world. Silent Valley.

Maynard had been talking about Silent Valley, but he didn’t do it justice. It was actually closed but Maynard got out of the car and sweet talked the guy to letting us go in the park. It was hands down one of the most beautiful things in the entire world. I was in shock and how simple and beautiful it was. We got down into the valley and the wind was whipping around but it was just so beautiful. Have I mentioned the world beautiful enough? I don’t think words can do this place justice. It was amazing.

We left there and headed to Downpatrick for our private concert with Bracken! They were so wonderful and I’m so excited for them to be in Milwaukee. They even let me play a tune with them! The show lasted about an hour and then we had to say goodbye to Maynard. I think I saw a tear in that man’s eye! He plays tough guy but I know he had a blast with us. I am SO thankful for the opportunity to have spent time with not only the Ulster-Scots but with Maynard. He is a damn good soul, and I’m thankful that I’ve met him. I’ll be better for it! We left the concert and Tim suggested that we all go out for a pint. After some good company and some great pints we have arrived home. I’m exhausted, it has been a long day but it sure was a good one…

Good Morning and Happy Friday. I can’t believe it is the end of placements, but I’m sure it will be a good day. We have a concert this evening so I’ll be posting later than usual-but be sure to tune in!