The photos that should correspond with the last two posts but I couldn't figure out how to do it =)

"The Aged" (They're trying to ban these signs here. A bit discriminatory, you know!)















Harvest at Nicola's church (The little wheelbarrow at the bottom contains turf, or peat. Kids back in the day had to bring a brick of turf to school each day so they could keep the fire going in their one-room national schoolhouses. Quaint, huh? :)

In other news, I'm attempting to visit Charlie in Switzerland tomorrow! Please, please pray for me. I'm REALLY excited. It'll also be nice to have a few extra days off work. I don't think I'm cut out for this full-time malarky! Hmm. We'll see.

I only have 2 more weeks left here in Belfast. Suddenly it seems like there's so much I still want to do! It's hard to believe I won't be calling this place "home" anymore... don't worry. I still know where my true home is. Trying to get details ironed out for France. I'll be in Paris for two nights, and finding a hostel is proving harder than I expected - if they're not nasty, they're expensive. Please pray for me in this, too.

Oh! I was going to say - I'm really sorry for not responding to emails. I thought I'd have more time than I do at the minute. Like I told Jess last night, I read your emails and pray for you and what you tell me. I know it's lame, but even if you don't hear from me please know I really appreciate your email and am thinking about you and loving you from afar.

What else..... Ah! I know, we'll play a little game for some entertainment. How about an Irish version of Two Truths and a Lie? You know this one. It's where you try to distinguish between truths and lies. Ready? Don't scroll down until you know the answer. Here we go...

1. In the Republic of Ireland (in the south), people drive on the right-hand side of the road like they do in the States, which makes crossing the border from Northern Ireland into the Republic a little bit tricky.

2. Britain's government is mostly modernized, except for the fact that while boys can vote from the age of 18, girls can't vote until they turn 21, and then only every second year.

3. The myth of the Leprechan has its roots in a tribe of Celtic people who lived in the south of the Republic and were known for steeping straw (which looked like gold) in large pots of water in order to make thatched roofs for their house.

Okay, now make your decision carefully...which one is the lie? Before you scroll down, be SURE you know! (shoot, i'm sorry this is sounding so much like a lame forward. hang in there)

Now scroll....









































LIES! ALL OF THEM! Well, I threw the last one in for those of you who might have been on the fence. But my sneaky roommates actually convinced me beyond a shadow of a doubt that those first two stories were true. Hook, like and flippin' sinker. Truths: people in the Republic still drive on the left-hand side like they do up here in the north, and BOTH men and women can vote from age 18. Fine. I was soooo mad when they finally confessed! However, two minutes later I had them believing that we sing the song "Happy Birthday" in Spanish because most of our population is from Mexico.

:)

Stupid is as stupid does, my friend (whatever that means).

Anyway. Enough from me, it's time for bed! I hope you've been thrilled and mystified and are feeling some good old Irish loving. Talk to you later :)