47 days

ahh the count down begins.. 47 days till i leave my beautiful country and venture out into the unknown.. .. I just got word that my visa has been accepted or issued.. and is on its way to me from ottawa.. fingers crossed and it should get here in 3 days. after which i can hopefully book my flight.. hoping to fly out January 18.. but praying that another student. . one who i might be traveling with.. gets accpeted in time for us to book flights together. would be really nice for us to be able to travel together.. as we are both a bit nervous about flying by ourselves..

On a different note.. i had a good chat with a lady my mom met while she was in Winnepeg.. Her name is Claire and she is from ireland.. she actually lives outside of Belfast the city that i will be staying in.. pretty cool. She and i had a good talk and she told me lots that i actually never knew about ireland.

North Ireland.. the country i will be going to... is completely separate from the Republic of Ireland.. North Ireland is under the UK and under the rule of the Queen.. their national anthem is God save the Queen and they use all British currency. Most of the North Ireland people.. according to claire... are prodistant.. (although there is a growing catholic population) and therefore alot of the people in North Ireland dont celebrate st. Patrick's day because it is traditionally a catholic holiday.. and there is still a pretty big separation between the two religions. .

The republic of Ireland on the other hand.. is not under the british rule.. they have their own currency.. and their own national anthem. and their own President.. they really have nothign to do with the UK. . and there is still quite a bit of turmoil in the Republic of Ireland because irish people hold grudges pretty hard.

for those who would like to pray for me.. there is a few specific things that i can use prayer for.. ..
that my funds would all fall into place.. that my nerves would be calmed as i prepare to head out.. and also you could pray for the girl i would be traveling with. that she gets everythign together in time for us to book a flight together..

thanks for your prayers.. love you all.