Hi, Derry! The above picture is technically not *right* where I’ll be because stone temples are drafty and damp and I thought as long as there were flats available, I’d go for that (although the ocean view is a perk).
Above is the actual city of Derry–at least, part of it, since it’s the second largest city in Northern Ireland. First of all, I’m going to study abroad in Northern Ireland; there’s a difference between this and “Ireland”, or what is officially known as the Republic of Ireland. Northern Ireland, although it borders on the Republic and you still have to get to England/Scotland/Wales by ferry, is technically apart of the United Kingdom and has been since the 1920s. Northern Ireland has had it’s fair share of “troubles”, literally, since that’s what the fighting between N.I. and the UK is termed, and involved a lot of bloodshed and violence until the late ’90s (don’t worry, today it is just as safe as anywhere in the UK. They’re even polite enough to schedule their protests during certain periods in the summer and give advance warning!).
If you want a much better recap of history than I was able to give, and/or want to read more, the Wikipedia article is pretty interesting. Basically: Northern Ireland (where I’ll be!) is apart of the United Kingdom, and the Republic of Ireland (to the south) is its own independent country.
Derry is actually one of the few remaining walled cities anywhere, which is pretty cool, and sits along the river Foyle which looks perfect for some relaxation and nice scenery–not too far at all from the ocean itself as well!
I’m studying at the University of Ulster at the Magee College campus in Derry/Londonderry. The University of Ulster is comprised of its main campus in Belfast and Jordanstone College a few miles down the road, as well as the Coleraine campus which is a little closer to Magee campus. Derry itself and the Magee campus are actually a little over 70 miles from Belfast, so it’s going to be a (hopefully) scenic long ride there after I get picked up from the Belfast airport.
This is what they show you when you google “University of Ulster magee” and therefore I have no idea if it is entirely accurate or not… we’ll go with hopefully… but with all that Irish rain I’m thinking it may not look *quite* as idyllic as this in September. Still awesome, though!
These aren’t my pictures since I’m not there yet, so that will be the last one and probably the next photos I post here will be all mine!
Things are coming along; I’ve met one of my flatmates and that has really encouraged and excited me, she is a Christian as well (out of all the people to randomly place me with! What a blessing.) and we seem to have some things in common. These last few days have been a lot of stress since I was fine until about the 2 week mark, but right when that hit so did the feelings of WAIT, WHAT, I’M ACTUALLY GOING?!?!? It’s going to be the hardest to leave my family and none of us are looking forward to that airport goodbye, we’d rather be past that and sharing pictures and stories and counting the days till I come home. And I thought moving away to college the first time was scary… that’s got nothing on going to college in another country. Still, I’m excited, and I think the best illustration to describe my current feelings is if you’ve seen the Disney movie Rapunzel–she leaves home for the first time and is constantly back and forth between I’M SO HAPPY I’M LIVING MY DREAM to I CAN’T LEAVE HOME WHAT AM I DOING… very accurate 🙂
Pursuing the Road 