Suffering

Suffering

I’m thankful for the darkness

As the tears stream down my face

I wonder if you’re there Lord

And you fill me with your grace

 I wonder why we suffer

Why you allow these things to pass

I need your blood and body

I need your Christian Mass

But, Lord were learning as we suffer

To know that you are there

It may be through the rain drops

To know your loving care

The many sleepless nights we sleep

To know that we depend

Lord, your love is so unfailing

You love will heal and mend

English Vintner

Love

How can I say I love you,

in a thousand different ways

How can I show you love

when it’s not on my mind

My love for you is paling

Compared to how you love

Scars and feelings tearing

Freedom slowly flows

Art is an expression, 

of my own love for you

But how can this expression

be more than my inflection?

My love for you is failing

compared to who you are

It’s scary to me also

how shallow my life is

There’s nothing other in me

but somehow carry on

What’s wrong is the beginning

the beginning of a song

English Vintner

What is Organic Food?

What is Organic Food? Wilkipedia defines it as Foods that are produced using methods that do not involve modern synthetic inputs such as synthetic pesticides and chemical fertilizers, do not contain genetically modified organisms, and are not processed using irradiation, industrial solvents, or chemical food additives.

This definition leaves a lot of leeway on how to grow things ‘organically’. If you walk into a grocery store and see the label Organic it can be somewhat of a disillusion as to how it was grown. From the definition it might sound like a plant grown naturally, without the use of pesticides, fertilizers and GM seeds. However, ‘Organic’ doesn’t prohibit the use of those, only limits the options of what you can use. Most ‘Organically’ grown food is grown with the use of pesticides, herbicides and fungicides, the difference is that they are ‘naturally’ derived not synthetically made. I say ‘naturally’ because some could argue about how ‘natural’ it is when you subtract it and use it in high concentrations. At this point you could ask the question how is it any better? Organic farmers can still use hybrid seeds, pesticides, herbicides and fungicides. Why grow it this way if you are going to call it ‘Organic’? Easier: marketing and money. The label ‘Organic’ drives the price very high, resulting in food sold for even twice as much as other food. 

Is ‘Organic’ really any better? It seems that we still have to use pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides, we still use hybrid seeds. So is there any real difference? If you look at the ‘Organic’ agriculture you will see that the difference is probably not huge, some even argue that ‘Organic’ farms use more pesticides on their crops. Potatoes and apples for instance, grown Organically use lots of herbicides, pesticides and fungicides. However, if you look at the crops on a whole, only 2-3% use poison control. The preferred method by many is the use of insects which prey upon bugs damaging the plants. 

But still, why should we go Organic? We still have to use some form of protection in the form of poisons or expensive insects, don’t we? Well, we do live in a fallen world. The curse is on everything, from the rose on the bush to the tall strong oak. We don’t have perfect soil or plants any more. However, through the use of good organic practices we can obtain some form of agriculture method that can result in a pesticide free, herbicide free, fungicide free farming. 

How can this be done? First of all let me tell you what good organic farming looks like. Tilling is something that man has done for centuries, and yet, is it really necessary? In fact it is not necessary. Look around you, in the forest. What do you find there? First you find a layer, of dead leaves and branches that form a thick mulch not allowing many weeds to penetrate into the soil in which to grow and become a ‘nuisance’. 

Second, if you dig underneath the mulch you will find a loose, friable, airy soil, that smells clean. How does it become like this? This is the result of the decomposition of leaves being pulled under by earthworms and being composted by bacteria. 

Thirdly you will find soil that is not overly dry or wet. The mulch on top displaces the water when there is too much, and holds in water until it is full, like a sponge. Do the trees ever get watered except by rain? Do the trees get fertilized, except from the composting of the dead leaves and droppings of animals? Do the trees need a herbicide to keep down weeds? Or pesticides or fungicides? The answer is no. Generally you find healthy plants growing by themselves without our help.

How can we take this and put it into our farming methods? Composting and mulch are the two answers. The use of good compost will do several things. Compost holds much more water than soil does, resulting in less watering. It also provides nutrients from the decomposed matter as well as a soil that is light, airy and rich. 

Mulching does several things as well. The first thing it does is it provides a barrier between the soil and the rain and sun. This keeps the soil from drying out and getting packed down. Second if you are using a mulch such as wood chips, the outer surface of the mulch is dry and seeds will not germinate on it, meaning weeds are no longer a problem. Thirdly it holds in lots of water as well as breaking down into compost while on the soil.

Okay, so you have a good soil that holds water and doesn’t require buying fertilizer. But don’t you still need to use some sort of pest control? Well, let’s first address the reason why bugs eat plants? Bugs eat plants to live, but the interesting thing is they eat plants that are unhealthy. Deficient in a nutrient or under stress. So now our goal is no longer to keep bugs from eating the plants, but to figure out the problem with the soil and fix it. We are no longer trying to cover up the wound, but trying to clean it out and fix the problem. Once we have a soil that is airy, rich in nutrients, holds water, and doesn’t have weed problems our plant can grow healthy and strong, and a strong plant can withstand a lot. 

We now have a strong healthy soil that will produce healthy plants. Work is minimal, cost is minimal and the return is very rewarding! With a method like this the yield is higher than conventional and the food is healthier! I believe under the right system, Organic Farming can result in higher yields and a sustainable growing system that will support us for much longer than conventional farming methods. I believe that despite the curse, God’s creation shows a good example of what good farming methods look like, look to God and see what he has made and learn from Him.

English Vintner

Organic Foods Unhealthy and Bad for Environment

Aug 3, 2009 Brian Anderson @ 1:25 am GMT 

• Biological

13digg

The other night Penn & Teller: Bull! aired a new episode discussing Organic Foods and interviewed several scientists as well as organic food activists in order to determine whether organic foods were actually healthy or not. Some interesting facts came about and all the arguments for organic foods were suddenly debunked.

toc_collapse=0;
Contents [hide]

• Good for the Environment
• Better Taste
• Healthier
• Naturalists

The LA Times also reported on Organic foods as well supporting Penn & Teller's conclusions.

Good For The Environment

Organic food supporters kept discussing how organic food is better for the environment, with less toxins being absorbed by the soil and little to no preservatives or pesticides.

Turns out, pesticides and preservatives are used in organic food. In fact, in order to not use "synthetic" pesticides (which the American cancer society has found no link to a cause of cancer and pesticides) these organic companies have to use more poisonous and even more deadlier pesticides that damage the environment.

The amount of land used to grow organic foods actually means that more trees are cut down and more green land needs to be destroyed.

If all farmers in the world went organic, there would be 3 billion people starving (and many more who cannot afford it). Price of food would skyrocket, that can lead to war--so stop eating organic food and support world peace!

Better Taste

The Penn & Teller: BS episode tried various blind taste tests, and it seems like the non-organic foods actually taste better most of the time and no one can tell the difference either.

The idea of organic tasting better seems only to be psychological in nature.

Healthier

Organic food is frequently claimed to be healthier. Due to more poisonous pesticides being used, it's probably not.

The LA times article as well as Penn & Teller both conclude that there are no extra nutrients in organic food. The article also concludes that there are very little differences in terms of the growing of organic foods (only in pesticide).

Naturalists

Lately, we've heard from many people who are under this growing belief that cancer rates are skyrocketting--that diseases are caused by chemicals in our foods--or that unnatural or chemical-based products are bad for you.

This fear is generated by a lack of knowledge of chemistry, biology, and a lack of attention to scientific journals and constant bad news that is spread by the media (because bad news generates more viewers).

Don't get started on genetically enhanced food, that scares everyone. Even though most genetic engineers will tell you how harmless it is and how well researched everything is (one even compared it to cooking).

Of course, that doesn't mean go and buy all the artificial products and supplements in the world (chances are, you don't need them).

However, it would be good for you to know that, since the 1950s, cancer rates have dropped in all categories (whether that's because of treatments or reduced causes of cancer, we may not know for certain). The reason we hear bigger numbers for cancer deaths are because of population increases.

Now here is a comment left in the comment section by someone, I thought it was well written and good thoughts on the matter.

First of all, the environmental impact of organic farming is less than that of conventional farming, because organic farming practices actually maintain carbon levels in the soil, thus creating more sustainability during weather changes, droughts, etc.

Second, the yield for organic farming may be worse for some particular crops (like potatoes for example), but is actually comparable or better in some cases for other crops like (meaning the same amount of land needed -- no more trees cut down than conventional farming). Given this information, on top of that, the impact on the eco-system surrounding organic farms is lessened and it has been shown that the diversity of wildlife is higher in areas where organic farming is implemented.

Synthetic pesticides that are used on conventional farms have been shown to kill animals, reduce reproductive capabilities, and has been shown to harm some people that eat the food. Also, the Soil Association's guidelines for organic farmers only allow them to use 4 types of pesticides--where conventional farmers use over 300 different types. Of the four types that organic farmers can use, they are composed of materials like softsoap or rotenone (natural origin), or simple chemical products containing copper and sulfur (which break down naturally with sunlight minimizing any environmental effect). As for the copper compounds, the copper is already naturally occurring in the soil, and most conventional farmers actually have to manually add copper to the soil to correct for their copper deficiencies (because their soil is nutrient deficient). I'd love to see the references that Pen and Teller have for their claim that organic farmers use much more deadly pesticides, because the research out there just doesn't support that claim. It is true that organic potato farmers and organic orchard farmers use pesticide spray more than conventional farmers (in many cases)--but in terms of overall farming, organic farmers spray only 2-3% of their crops.

As for the nutritional benefits of organic food versus conventional, number one the animals that eat organic feed are healthier overall as their diet is closer to what they naturally eat anyways, and contain less deadly pesticides. Due to higher overall health of the animals, there is no need for routine use of antibiotics, so the residue that is often found in conventional farmed meats isn't a problem in organic farmed meat. In terms of nutrients in the food that we eat, many studies have shown that organic food is higher in antioxidants, flavinoids, and other vitamins. Organic produced milk is higher in healthy Omega-3 fatty acids, Vitamin E, and Vitamin A, than non-organic milk. Organic standards also prohibit a huge list of additives that are present in non-organic food reducing food allergies and many adverse health effects.

The United Nations Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO) actually agrees that organic farming will help meet the needs that global food needs require, better than conventional farming for numerous reasons including sustainability, less resources needed, less irrigation needed due to better water retention in the soil, etc. I think the evidence speaks for itself. The Pen and Teller conclusion was based on false pretenses and cherry-picked research if anything. They should have looked at global evidence and overall research if they weren't so concerned with their own personal agenda.

-Lagius

English Vintner

This is unedited, and I don't have the time to edit, otherwise I would've.

I just had someone threaten the existence of all that I have worked and believed in for the past three years. What do I think? The person who it was I had great expectations, I expected to love him, his work, and what he had to say about the environment. What I was met with was not what I expected. I wasn’t judging him by the first, or by the second lecture, I’m still not judging him, I think he has a lot of good ideas and is doing a good job, and I even agree with him on many other things, but when he THROWS out, yes throws out that organic agriculture has actually ANY good at all, and that conventional modern agriculture and science are the way to do it, I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Afterwards I regretted asking his opinion because, after knowing it, I’d rather I hadn’t known. How can someone say that? In other words until modern genetic engineering and artificial growth hormones, and fertilizer we were killing our selves by growing organic food. 

I don’t think I want to get into a personal conversation with him, that will make me dislike him more. 

I am still in shock, I didn’t realize that people out there actually, really believed that GMO was GOOD for you!? I can understand a company like Monsanto, or someone working for them, and only for the money, but to actually think they are much BETTER? 

I have done hours and hours and hours of research over the web. I’ve read books and books about health, food, and agriculture. I have personally seen the results of Organic gardening.

Health issues I take with GMO. 

First, when you start mixing up genes you start raising some eyebrows, but when the genes you are putting in are from a pesticide? You’ve really got me worried. And then the fact that when you do that you are altering the protein form (like in GM Wheat) which alters it in a way making it harmful for your body when you eat it. But if you think GMO is good, where does it stop? Do you believe in poisoning the soil to the extent of killing of all forms of bacteria and beneficial insects? How can you actually believe that plants grow better on artificial forms of NPK and NOT have trace minerals and elements, and then they are HEALTHIER? I just don’t understand, how something growing in poor soil can be healthier.

Agriculture, well. Let’s just say I don’t believe he’s seen the right methods of Organic Agriculture. I’ve done hours of research on Organic gardening, farms, and methods of Organic Farming, and I’ve seen results that were better than conventional.

Sustainable agriculture according doesn’t seem to line up with GM grown crops. Chemical fertilizers add salt to the soil which will build up and cause a problem. They also kill or force insect and bacterial life out of the soil. Organic gardening done the right method doesn’t need fertilizer, water (except at planting), pesticides or herbicides in a good system. All these can be done with simple organic practices. 

The more I hear from the GMO side of the debate the more I want to spend my career showing that Organic Farming can result in higher, healthier, and reduce the amount of water, fertilizer, and poison use in farming. There are many places where groups have gone in and changed the farmers from conventional to organic and the result was a yield 5x higher! They actually started making money and having a surplus for themselves.

The reason why America has the agriculture that it has is because of money. A good organic farming system would be cheaper than the billions spent on farming each year, thus the fertilizer companies, pesticide/herbicides companies would all but go out of business and not be making nearly as much money. The agriculture system we have comes down to money. What makes more money, GMO crops or Organic? Organic might on the outset look like more intensive labor, but with the right system could easily be much cheaper. Conventional farming uses chemicals to make the plant grow, and chemicals to keep insects of the plant as it grows, thus requiring vast amounts of money to grow it.

With perfect soil having all the nutrients (that includes trace nutrients) a plant will be completely healthy. A healthy plant will not attract insects to it, thus a healthy soil results in a plant without the need for insecticides to grow. Conventional Farming doesn’t fix the problem, it just covers it up for a while. 

English Vintner

Sunrise

There really are few things more energizing and beautiful than a good sunrise. The colours explode all over the horizon, tinting clouds and sky alike.

I can't seem to get enough sunrises, the really good ones that just light up the sky from head to foot. That make me laugh out loud with joy because God is so beautiful and amazing!

There is a stillness, a quietness to the morning. YOu can be alone with God without the busyness of life getting in the way. To have the combination of quiet, peace with God, and seeing his creation, few things compare.

Why did God put such beauty here on earth? And the sunrise? It's amazing how beautiful the simple rising and the setting of the sun.

I can't think of a better place or time to begin your day. Out in creation, alone with God, reading His Word, praying, and seeing his promise of a new day.

The sunrise is God's promise of a new day. His sunset is a close to the day, and a promise of the coming dawn.

English Vintner

Nature; God’s Sanctuary 

With a Bible in one hand and a mug of tea in the other he headed up into the woods. The soft rays of sunlight filtered through the green foliage around him. There was peace, a silence, something that drew him towards nature. To get away. To be alone, just him and God. To read His word, talk, pray, and just have some time to be with Jesus. The farther away from people, the closer I feel to God. The wildness of nature, the untameness, the unknown. Nature, God’s Sanctuary. Where his handiwork is still present, untouched by man. Where we marvel at his greatness in the big and small. A simple sunrise lights the sky a crimson red. This simple act of emergence, the beginning of a new day. The cares of yesterday forgotten. A fresh start to life. Everything made new again, wounds are healed and sins forgiven. To breath the cool morning air, to fill your lungs with life, feel the Holy Spirit present. As the sun sets, an end to the beginning, a promise of the dawn. Night lasts for a moment and the light of dawn will set you free. A new start a new beginning, bringing promise and reward.

English Vintner

The beginnings of a poem I came up with while talking with God out in the woods one early morning. Lord, out from all the other people, Why me? It took from death to create life, And set me free.

English Vintner

Sunrise

Why I love getting up early and seeing the sunrise. Mark 1:35 And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.

English Vintner

The End of Ireland

Tuesday, April 10
I woke up at 7am. We were leaving at 8:30am to the mainland. We left for Westport dock and loaded up into the car. We went to town, picked up supplies, and at 11:30am went to come back. We then found out we’d left the phone at home and didn’t know his number. So we asked around and found a woman who had a phone book with the number. We called them and told them we were ready to be picked up. We came back to the house and hung out, played games, and after supper which was Salmon soaked in beer over rice, we took the boat to an island an chased sheep all over it. We found two dead sheep on in some old ruins. I went around barefoot and ended up stepping on a stone and bruising the arch of my foot (it was so bad when I went to bed I could’t really walk on my left foot). Then we went to the boat, got in, and when Uncle Bill pushed the boat out to get in he slipped and is camera came out into the water. He picked it back up and we went home. He took it all apart and dried it out. The three girls and I watched the Prestige (Josiah watched the first 20 minutes), staying up till 1am.
Wednesday, April 11
I got up at 7:30am, got some yogurt and then ate breakfast with two cups of joe. At 8:30am we left for the mainland. We got to Clough Patrick around 9:15am and started climbing at 9:35am. I made it up the mountain in 1hr33min going pretty slow at times to wait for Lydia and Londa. They had the most trouble because they were not in very good shape for climbing. I found that interesting since I don’t do a whole lot of climbing, maybe it’s the wheelbarrowing of tons of manure, and keeping up with running on a regular basis. We got to the top and took some pictures, then we ate lunch that we’d brought with us. While we were eating people started coming to the top, we were some of the first ones to climb and get to the top. I noticed a lot of girls where spandex or leggings when climbing (after going to Dublin I found out that’s just the style in Europe, sometimes they where tights with mini skirts or shorts, but more often then not it’s just tights) up the mountain. There are some pretty good lookin’ Irish chicks over here. : )
After we finished eating we made our descent. Uncle Bill made it down in 29 minutes, I did it in 57 minutes without hurrying very much. After I made it down I dropped off my cloak and started back up. I soon got to Lynnea and Josiah who made it down a little after me, then Londa. I went up almost a mile when I met Lydia. She was wearing one boot and was barefoot on the other foot. Her boot had come apart half way down the mountain, thus slowing her down further. Uncle Bill had come back up as well and we came down together. Once down we had ice cream and took some pictures. We found a memorial of the famine, a bronze cast boat with skeletons on it. We pretended to tickle them and feed them ice cream, all sorts of disrespectful things. :) We drove back to town, picked up some groceries and then went into the coffee shop next door that had wi-fi. I had some coffee and then took a nap in the corner, imagine Strider at Bree, minus the pipe. LOL We picked up a dictionary at a used book store. We came home by around 7pm and put a roast in the oven. We made soup and ate it as an appetizer. After we ate the soup Lydia, Lynnea, Uncle Bill and I took a walk. We went down to the side of the Island with big waves coming in from the ocean, on the west side of the Island. When we made our way back I put earbuds in and listened to my iPod as I ran/walked back. It was glorious. We came back and ate the roast with cider and beer. After supper Lynnea, Londa, Josiah and I played Uno and then the dictionary game. I went to bed at 11:30pm.
Thursday, April 12
I woke up at 6:15am and went back to sleep for another hour. I got up and ate breakfast, we had scones and Muesli. After breakfast we cleaned the house and packed. It feels weird that today is the last day here. It definitely feels like home, it’s very comforting to come home after being out for the day. We played Uno and ate lunch. I made oatmeal into an oatcake and we ate it. After lunch I took the kayak out for a little bit and Uncle Bill took the boat out. He drove around in circles around me creating big waves that splashed on me. I came back and Lydia and Uncle Bill went out, he dropped her off at an Island to find sheep to hold and he came back and took a walk. The rest of us watched A Good Year. We finished the film and played Telephone Pictionary. We had a blast playing it. Uncle Bill came back around 4pm, Lydia came back closer to 5:30pm. After supper we took the boat out and did some sweet jazz in it! Josiah’s hat (my tan one he was wearing because I bought a new one) came off and we were not able to find it. So it lies on the shore of Ireland to this day. After we got back I washed the dishes and we played Catch Phrase. After I was done washing we played Telephone Pictionary again. It was amazingly funny, my stomach hurts from laughing so much! Afterwards we played Uno.
Friday, 13 April
I woke up at 7:15am and took a shower. After my shower I took a walk/run up the Island, my last farewell to the Island. I got back and ate breakfast with everyone else. After breakfast we packed, cleaned and did laundry. We would’ve left earlier except we were washing all the sheets and pillow cases for the bed which delayed us. We played Uno and Catch Phrase. I think we have exhuasted both those games! I got some pictures taken of myself for some senior shots, then we got some pictures of us in front of the house to send to Paul. We left the house at 11:30am, it really feels like home, leaving it is very hard. I enjoy the quite lift, wake up to the sunshine and birds chirping, 25 minutes to the nearest town via a boat, no internet and limited phone access lets you enjoy peace and quiet. The small town has a couple of bars, butcher shops, two fish shops, three grocery stores, and lots of nice Irish folk. I’ve really fallen in love with it. We got a picture with Patrick before we left, and we gave him a bottle of whiskey in thanks for transporting us across from the Island to mainland every time we went out. We stopped briefly in town to pick up some bread and cheese for the road. After we got everything packed in the car we headed out. We stopped at a castle and got out. We couldn’t walk to it but we did walk around it and get a picture of it. We stopped at another castle which people have been living in for 14 generations. They had gardens and a stream which supplied the town with electricity from 1890-1950. It also is home to the largest telescope built in 1840 and was the biggest one until 1970. It was quite impressive to look at. We couldn’t tour the inside but it looked very cool. We left the castle and headed to Dublin. We got to our hostel and unloaded. Josiah and Uncle Bill went to the airport to drop off the car and took a bus to get back. After I had carried our baggage up (we were on the 3rd floor, up 6 flights of stairs) I went out. The hostel looked like it hadn’t changed since 1970 when they put in the lights, carpet, and painted. I couldn’t stand to be in it, any problem was fixed with scraps, it was nothing compared to the other hostel. I look back and reason as to part of the reason why I don’t like this hostel as much. It’s at the end of the trip, we’re all depressed some, and a being in a big city doesn’t add to anything. I went out to take a walk, I expected to walk around the block go check out some places, see where things were, maybe be out for 30 min and come back. I walked into two different stores, I went into Tesco and had to hurry because they were closing, I finally found some water, sparkling, that was in my budget (I had 95cents) so I bought it. I then started my way back. At this point it is 8:15pm and getting quite dark as well as stores are closed or closing up. I made my way back to where I thought was our hostel but couldn’t find it, I knew the general area because of the spire of the cathedral, but I couldn’t remember how to get to it. I had my hostel paper that told the name of the hostel. I asked a girl if she knew how to get to it and she said she didn’t know. I asked a mexican if he knew where it was, he didn’t. I finally found a store that was still open and asked him about it, he only knew of one nearby and pointed me to it. I had a map with me, but wasn’t sure where I was on the map, and where the hostel was on the map. I went around the block, found the hostel but it wasn’t mine. I came back asked the man to show me where I was on the map. He showed me and told me that if I went to any hostel they would know where it was and could tell me. So I started my way to the hostel, was getting close when I heard Uncle Bill from the other side of the street yell “Hey, I know you!” I was very much relieved to hear his familar voice. I was even glad to be heading back to the ugly hostel. We got back in around 9:30pm, I’d spent the whole time walking around Dublin. I wasn’t sorry I’d made the decision to go out, but I should’ve stuck closer to the hostel or figured out where I was on the map. We had chocolate and cider for supper! :) We ended up eating some cheese as well later on that evening. We skyped briefly to my Dad so Josiah could get some money transferred to buy a train and ferry ticket. We played Telephone Pictionary and then started Up and Down the River but stopped at 12:15am because Londa wanted to go to bed.
Saturday, April 14
I woke up at 6am when Josiah got up and packed. At 7am we said our goodbyes to him and he left. He was taking a bus to the ferry that would take him over to Wales, and from the ferry would take a couple of trains to get back to University. He had a book bag with him that he had books in, and as he was going down the outside steps it fell off and ripped. So we threw down a backpack for him to use. It feels like the Breaking of the Fellowship. None of us are all that happy to be here, in a sense we’d all rather be home right now. Big cities are all the same, adn just like I wouldn’t like to be in downtown Charlotte right now, I’m not a huge fan of Dublin. We like the quiet life we were living, a small town made up of half a dozen blocks, where you coudl drive around the town in five minutes. At least we will be seeing Josiah in a little more than two months. I don’t feel ready to get back into my busy schedule, my last part of senior year. Life amazes me at times. . .how much it seems I have to do. . .but it is just a moment in time. I would be very depressed if Uncle Bill was not here and I’d have to be responsible for everything. We ate breakfast that was provided for by the hostel (one euro per person). It was toast, hard boiled egg, cereal, and juice, coffee and tea. After breakfast we walked all around Dublin, I don’t know how many miles, but probably between 8-10 miles. We visited a couple city gardens, the biggest Cathedral in Ireland and Dublin Castle. I got a mug for my boss at the Cathedral gift shop. We visited a Zoo that was more like a museum. All the animals were stuffed. We finished that and ate lunch: cheese, bread, and chocolate. We walked all over the place. At 6pm we went to a restaurant and ate dinner, a three course meal. I got an appetizer of Calamar (squid), a main course of grilled chicken, and Tiramisu for dessert. Uncle Bill had Guinness and I had Cider. Today would have been way more fun with Josiah. After we ate we stopped by SuperValu and picked up a few groceries. I got a 6 pack of cider to bring back to the States. From there we came back to the hostel. It’s nice to have a place to relax, but it’s still a depressing room to be in. I went to bed around 11pm.
Sunday, April 15
I woke up at 7am, went back to sleep until 9am. I got 10hours of sleep but I was still quite tired. I probably could’ve slept for another 2-3 hours. Uncle Bill went downstairs to get coffee, the rest of us took showers and ate pastries and apples for breakfast. After breakfast we walked to the church in town. The service was interesting, mostly what we did was sing songs, talk about the Titanic, and read bible passages that are about shipwrecks. Afterwards we met some people while having tea. (having Tea after church is like having Coffee after church in the US) After we had lunch back at the hostel we went to the Zoo. It was fun, got to see the animals, see some cool birds I hadn’t seen before. I took a picture for a group of teenagers, they were somewhat abnoxious, but they were more tolerable than teenagers in the US only because of their accents! LOL We picked up some fish and chips on our way home. We skyped with the Barrs for a while, and before then we listened to a sermon, since we didn’t really get one at church. I went to bed at 11:30pm after repacking all my clothes.
Monday, April 16
I woke up at 6:50 from Uncle Bill. Packed the remaining clothes and ate a scone for breakfast. We left the hostel at 7:30am to go to the bus station. We got on the bus and arrived at the airport at 8:10am. We checked our luggage and went through Dublin security. Uncle Bill had around 70 Euros to spend so we stopped by the Chocolate Lounge Cafe and ate breakfast with coffee. I had a Bailey’s Mocha, it was quite good. Uncle Bill bought two bottles of whiskey that you can’t buy in the US to use up his money. After eating we headed to our gate. We had to go through US customs and security, and as a result almost missed our flight. We got on the plane a little before 10:00am and it was leaving at 10:15am. We weren’t the latest ones either, I don’t think a lot of people knew we were going to do customs in the Dublin airport. The first film was Sherlock Holmes a game of shadows, that was fun to see again. They showed three others but they weren’t very good. The food was better this time, flying from Dublin to US then from US to Dublin. They had real butter, the cheese tasted better. We arrived in Atlanta around 2:15pm, Lynnea’s mom didn’t have a phone so we couldn’t call her to ask where she was. We said good bye and she left. We weren’t able to transfer out luggage so we Lynnea couldn’t get her checked luggage (we bought a ticket for Lynnea from Dublin to Charlotte, stopping in Atlanta because it was cheaper than Dublin to Atlanta, however, she got off in Atlanta and didn’t board for Charlotte) so we’ll send it back with our grandparents who are coming at the end of April. We got to our gate and waited around until 4:00pm when we boarded the plane. The flight was so short it didn’t offer any drinks or snacks. At this point I was quite tired (my body was saying it was 11:30pm) and I slept off and on the 55min flight from Atlanta to Charlotte. We arrived at 5:35pm and picked up our luggage. My dad brought Uncle Bill’s car and we got in and came home. Everything was so green and it was very warm here. It definitely made it less depressing coming home to everything being green. We got home around 7pm. We unpacked, greeted our family, and made pizza for supper. We sampled some of the cider I brought back and gave gifts that we’d brought back and souveneers we’d gotten.
And thus ends the Fellowship, or rather the Trip to Ireland. Uncle Bill and Lydia left the following day to go to Virginia Beach (Uncle Bill lives within 5 minutes of the Barrs). It has been an amazing trip and I miss it very dearly, time to get back to life though. Following are some Irish trivia I’ve thought up.

Irish Trivia: in Ireland
1.The guys wear skinny jeans the girls wear tights
2.You can’t buy white eggs, and they’re all free range
3.All products go bad much faster because they use less or no preservatives in the food
4.Buying age of Alcohol is 18, but you can drink it at home at any age
5.The teenagers are tollerable because they have an Irish accent
Everyone drives stick shift because they’re not as lazy as Americans :)
Irish beef is grass fed or fed some grass during their lifetime
Organic gardening and methods are much more in practice and much larger (percentage wise) than America
The roads are often so tight you have to pull over onto the grass and stop to let the other car through
I hope you have enjoyed learning what it was like to be on a trip with 5 crazy Englishes and 1 crazy Barr. God bless and good luck to ya!

English Vintner