Life at Corrymeela

When we first arrived, the cliffside view of the coast reassured us that we were really here!

Now on days when we don’t have any other excursions, we’ve settled into Corrymeela’s morning schedule of 8:30 breakfast (which always includes fresh croissants), helping to dry dishes in the kitchen, then a service of silence in the Croí, the chapel on Corrymeela’s campus, which we learned is the Irish word for heart.

For some of us, that daily time for meditation grounds us and prepares us to take on the day. Every walk to downtown Ballycastle includes breathtaking views of the cliffside, and the roars of the crashing waves. The hike can be tough, especially because of the giant, steep hill on the way back home, but it’s always worth the adventure.

–Javier Reyes

Our walk to Ballycastle is longgggg, but enjoyable, especially in our first week, when the weather was unusually pleasant for Northern Ireland in May.

After 1:00 lunch, we often make our way downtown on laundry runs, or to visit the local Co-op grocery store for supplies. A highlight of any excursion downtown is the many ice cream shops with flavors not offered in the US, like Irish black butter and Guinness.

Every evening 6:00 pm we gather for dinner, which is always delicious, whether fish and chips, pasta, stew, or other tasty meals. We eat with Corrymeela volunteers, and any other visiting groups, whether North Irish schoolchildren, other U.S. college groups, or nonprofit groups attending workshops.

Once everyone is seated for the meal, one of the volunteers rings a bowl to call us together for a moment of silence, where we all pause to appreciate the hard work of those who prepared our meal.

After the meal, we have group check-in, where we discuss the next day’s schedule, then share our highlights and challenges we’ve encountered since our last check in. We sometimes do homework, play a game, or watch a movie until Supper time at 9:30, when the volunteers serve hot cocoa and toast.

–Norah George-Miller