I set off from Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix, Arizona on a flight to Chicago at around eight in the morning. I was kindly accompanied by my parents and my friend Kyle. Barely packed and having never been out of the country alone, I was a bit nervous to say the least. I was excited to get to my first connection in Chicago, where I was to meet with three of the young ambassadors from Minnesota and Wisconsin, Rya, Kelly Jo, and Brendan. I first met with Rya, the occupational therapist student from Minnesota and soon after Brendan (archaeology) and Kelli Jo (junior high education) from Wisconsin. we grabbed some lunch together and, realizing our flight was moved to a far away gate, we hurried to our flight to Washington DC.
The flight was late in arriving and the four of us found ourselves running through two entire terminals to make our final flight to Ireland. We were the last ones to board the plane, but once we were on, we settled in for our long flight. I had originally been seated between a very nice older man from Dublin who needed the aisle and his ailing wife who needed the window, but I was luckily able to give them some peace by moving tonthe empty seat by Brendan.Thankfully the flight was peaceful and I had a grand time getting to know some Irish locals and watching "Jack the Giant Slayer".
Flying over Ireland was such an exciting experience! So much green! It looked like a quilt of a thousand shades of green. We landed safely and met up with Matt (the linguist) in line (or "in the queue") for customs. Dr. Tim Campbell, the Director of the St. Patrick Centre in Downpatrick, along with Ryan (media broadcasting) and Caroline (art history) met us outside.
The ride to the North of Ireland was full of bumps and swerves, cows accidentally being called "sheep", castles, bonding, and excitement. The group as a whole grew close very quickly; by the time we arrived at our destination, it seemed as if we had known one another forever. I had actually gotten very carsick on the ride because i had left my motionsickness medication at home, so I do not remember much of the ride or what we did directly afterward.
We arrived at the beautiful cottage we are staying at and were absolutely floored! The house has multiple bedrooms, a few sitting rooms, fll dining and kitchen, and looks out onto fields dotted with cows and a peaceful late. There's many pretty paths scattered around the quiet property which are lovely to walk in the evenings as the sun sets (and it sets at around 11:30 pm here!). The view from our sitting room upstairs is my favourite; it is the most beautiful view I think I've ever seen from a house.
I was feeling very ill from the car ride, so while the others went out and got lunch, I soaked up the beautiful scenery and explored the house. As the day went on, I soon recovered and we made our way to the Saint Patrick Centre in Downpatrick for a lovely welcome barbecue and friendship ceremony. Not only was the food delicious, but we met some absolutely lovely people. Each of the seven Young Ambassadors had brought a stone from their respective parts of the world with their name and chapter name on it. At the friendship ceremony, Dr. Tim Campbell (who prefers we call "Tim") explained that the Saint Patrick Centre strives to find commonalities between both creeds of Christian faith and to bring peoples of different traditions together by their similarities. The Cannon there made an interesting point by having us recite the Lord's Prayer, a prayer known by heart to both Catholics and Protestants alike.
Later that night, Kelly Jo, Caroline, Brendan, Ryn, and I went out to a local pub in Downpatrick where Dr. Tim's friend's son Adam was performing. He was absolutely amazing! We met some very nice local people and had a grand time. Everyone was dressed to the nines as having come from Downpatrick horse races. The atmosphere of the pubs (We went first to Murphy's and then to Brendan's) was something I've never seen in the USA. There are entire families that go out, a wide variety of different generations congregated and enjoying themselves together. As my mom will enjoy to learn, they actually DANCE here! We had loads of fun and made it safely home with plenty of time to sleep and prepare to get up for a full day on Saturday.
I know that I am very late with posting this and you all have my sincerest apologies! we have just been so busy and enjoying our time so greatly that we have barely had time to even sit, much less figure out how to connect to the internet here! I am working on getting the pictures uploaded to my facebook and the other days written up! Hopefully I'll be all caught up by the end of the weekend!
Much love,
Kelsey Kelleher
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