fun in Derry?

I had a VERY blog-worthy weekend, and you lucky people get to hear alllll about it.

I went home with my roommate Jenni on Saturday afternoon. The bus ride was very lovely, got lots of blurry green pictures of the countryside and cows and sheep. The grass here is almost flourescent green and it's SO cool to look at. Here's a picture:


So that was all well and good...then we went to Jenni's house. It's huge and old. The back part was on the maps 300 years ago. IMAGINE! It even has a name - Bessvale House. I've never slept in a house with a name before. It was a beautiful country home. Jenni lives on a farm with sheep and cows and lots of good stuff like that. It was like stepping into another world...


Jenni's family's farm

A house on her farm that two families used to live in, paying about 12.5 pence a week for rent (about 25 cents)


The back of the house

After a HUGE Thanksgiving-style lunch with her family, Jenni and I went into town. About 15 minutes away is the city of Derry, or Londonderry, depending on your political persuasions. Nationalists, who want Northern Ireland to be free from British influence, won't call it Londonderry, which is its official name. I'll just say Derry because it's easier. Anyway, Derry's a walled city, about 800 years old. Bloody Sunday happened here, I think around 1972 (don't quote me) which started off the Northern Irish Troubles. There is a really poor Catholic area outside of the walls, known as the Bogside. Across town, and across a river, is the poor Protestant areas. I'm going to start a new post (I think this one's getting too big) and give you pictures of Derry, and also tell you the nail-biting tale of the afternoon.