Strabane and Other Ramblings

Spent the weekend with my friend Rachel in Strabane. Strabane (Pronounced Stra-Ban, rhymes with fan) is in Northern Ireland, which is in the UK, so I was technically in a different country. No passport stamp though, seeing as the border with the Republic is an open one. I was prepared though, just in case!

Before I start with my trip, I'd like to ask for some prayers. Back here in Dublin, the DIT Christian Union is doing an event I'd like y'all to pray for. Next Thursday, 26 November, we'll be putting on a Thanksgiving dinner. We're inviting all of campus to the event. Pray that the logistics go well so that we can share Jesus with DIT's campus.

Strabane is next to the Sperrin mountains, absolutely beautiful country! Even in the somewhat dreariness of autumn, there's hundreds of shades of green. Although the city of Strabane isn't much of a tourist attraction, Rachel's mom was happy to drive us around the area. We spent Saturday in Derry, or Londonderry, (depends on where you stand on the unionist/nationalist spectrum) walking the walls of the city. From the walls we could see most of the city. It's another great example of Ireland's old-meets-new. We could see 300 year old churches and 10 year old shopping centers from the same spot. The walls were built in the 1600s, and have played a part in the city's history ever since. From early English-Irish conflict in the 17th century to the Troubles in the 70s. It was so odd to read info plaques on the walls about these terrorism type events that happened only 30 years ago, some even more recently.

Also on the itinerary for the trip was a visit to to Asda and its travelators. Asda is a Wal Mart owned supermarket, so I felt a bit dirty being there, but the travelators were worth it! What's a travelator you ask? It's an escalator without stairs! It's a moving sidewalk that goes up an incline! I've never seen one in the US. Although, I'm sure they're someplace, just not in Indiana. Asda wasn't much like Wal Mart though, from the looks of it. It took me to realize why it looked so different. Then in hit me: WINDOWS the whole front wall of the store was glass, there was natural light! You could see what the weather was from inside the store... such a foreign concept. Also, the whole 2 floors thing and the clothes looked like they might last more than a week. Being Wal Mart and in the UK means Asda has some of the best prices around, so the locals swear by it. There's so many ad campaigns in the Republic telling folks to "shop local" "shop Irish" etc because so many folks make the quick drive North to do their shopping. Even all the way from Dublin, because of tax differences and the Pound falling to the Euro. You can buy more sterling with your Euro and then pay prices that are lower anyways. Although, from what I can see, prices in the Republic have been falling with the recession.

That's a lot about economics and walmart, I'll put up another post soon about some more adventures from my weekend.