Devon Johnson: Rostrevor Life

There’s something about living in a small town in the hills of Northern Ireland with no easy access to anything besides your tea and kettle that makes you appreciate some of the smaller things life has to offer. For instance, biking on the “wrong” side of the road in the rain (more like a torrential downpour for Californians) suddenly becomes romantic as you drip your way into the nearest chemist’s shop. Having enough milk chocolate Digestives for your afternoon tea suddenly becomes the highlight of your day and the bat’s you find clinging to your curtains at midnight is as close to a movie as you can get.

But really, we’re in Northern Ireland in a quaint seaside village with a surprising amount of beautiful sunny days. All twenty-five students are divided into different cottages and are learning to cook for each other, live with each other, and be intentional with each other. Living with seven other women in the house is much more challenging than I would ever expect (let’s not start about the hot water), but there is still a time when we can all come around a meal at the end of the day and appreciate one another.

Living in Rostrevor was definitely the part of this trip I dreaded the most, being one of few extroverts on this very English semester. However, I have found it has challenged me in some ways I never expected, mostly dealing with a lot of alone time that I never really wanted. But Rostrevor has helped me be productive in my alone time, whether it be getting out frustration about friends, or talking with God, or even just learning how to be comfortable in silence, I have definitely become better at it here. A saving grace has been the Ceili nights hosted by Liam (the Rostrevor Cottages manager) and several of his musical friends. It has been so fulfilling to all come together as “Friedmanders” and squeak out songs in Gaelic, tweek our voices singing “The Belle of Belfast City” and try out some of our own musical/poetical talents. I have loved being surprised by everyone on this trip as we share a new talent with each other through an old Irish tradition. Good’on youse!