2/8 - The second day in Northern Ireland was better than the first since we were slightly less tired and hadn't been on a plane all day.  We had breakfast at 8:30am, did some orientation things, took numerous tea/coffee/biscuit breaks, had lunch at 1, did more orientation things, and then had supper at 6:30.  The Corrymeela Community volunteers make good food and I never go away unsatisfied.  I'm also newly addicted to biscuits, their version of cookies.

We had the night free so Nigel offered to take us down to Ballycastle to go to the pub.  We started in McConnor's where we all got our first Irish beer (I got Guinness).  We then proceeded to go across the narrow street to McHenry's where we spent the rest of the night.  I had a screwdriver and spent most of the time we were there talking to Nigel about women's rights and politics in Northern Ireland and the US.

2/9 - The next day we had the same type of morning and we had planned to go to Giant's Causeway but it was raining again.  Instead, Nigel took us to the Old Bushmills Distillery for a tour and a free drink.  It was really interesting learning about the process of making whiskey.  It takes about a week to make before they let it age in barrels.  Unfortunately, I decided that whiskey is just not for me even though I tried Irish Honey which is supposedly marketed towards girls because of its sweeter taste.  It didn't taste sweet to me!  I tried my friend's Hot Toddy and I liked that much better.

The rest of the night was pretty quiet. We all just sat around together, talking and laughing and telling stories and getting to know each other.

2/10 - I'm shocked that I've already been here for over 3 days. Despite the short time, I feel like I've known Nigel and everyone in the group for much longer. I guess that happens when you spend every minute together.