Meeting Her Majesty

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It has been quite some time since my last entry and to friends and family at home I apologize for failing to keep you updated as things develop. To say that the past couple of months have been busy is an understatement. However, things are going very well and I am enjoying every minute of my experience in Northern Ireland.

This past Wednesday, however, I was able to take part in a once in a lifetime event. Two weeks ago I was asked by the School of English to represent the program in a "special event" that was to take place as part of the Queen's University centenary. I was asked not to mention it to any of my peers as it was to be kept quiet. I gladly accepted the invitation and the opportunity and did not mention it to any of my colleagues.

Wednesday arrived and I met the Head of the School of English and we made our way to the centenary event. You can imagine my surprise when I learned that the guest of honor was Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. I am sure that my jaw hit the floor. What is even more exciting is that I had the opportunity to meet her as well as her husband Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh. I would have loved to have had a camera, however, due to security reasons they were not permitted into the event.

I also had the wonderful experience of hearing a reading from Queen's University alumn and Nobel Prize winning poet, Seamus Heaney. To say his words are profound and majestic is doing him an injustice.

In short, the day left me speechless.

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