A weekend in Dublin

This past weekend Claire, Abby and I headed to Dublin! We took a crowded bus filled with the 6 nations rugby fans for the Ireland vs. Scotland game mid morning and got down there around noon! We were meeting up with Lesley who is a family friend of my Aunt Mary and Uncle David Laird who live in Vancouver. She was great, and showed us all around Dublin on Saturday. We went to the Dublin City Center, Christ Church Cathedral where Strongbow is buried, and Dublina which is a Viking museum connected to the church. We had a chance to have a bite to eat with Lesley and her son Barry who met up with us. Our true reasons for going to Dublin were our connections to Minnesota rap artist Brother Ali. It was a small venue, and not too big of a crowd but I think we were all surprised to see how many people supported and knew his music. It was great! We actually ran into a kid from St. Thomas who came up from Spain. Small world!

Sunday, Lesley took us to a suburb of Dublin called Dalkey. It is right off the Dublin bay and we were so fortunate to have a beautiful day outside. We walked along the pier and saw some people swimming, kayaking, boating, scuba diving you name it! We had a chance to see some fancy houses where supposedly the writer or producer of "The interview with the vampire" live, and where U2 spent some time recording music in a beautiful house until the Republic of Ireland made artists start paying taxes so they moved to Belgium. hmmm... It was a wonderful weekend and we'll be heading back to Dublin at the end of April with the rest of the group so hopefully we will be able to sight see a wee bit more, and maybe meet up with Lesley again.

Today was one of our seminar days in Derry. We met with a man named William who works at a community center in an area called the fountain. Derry is a heavily Catholic populated city and the fountain area is the protestant area. There are now only 300 residents living in the fountain, and this community faces a lot of discrimination, and violence still with it's youth especially. Most of the time we had with him was asking him questions, and I had asked him at one point of whether or not he thought the conflict had, had an affect on the mental health of the people of Derry or the Fountain specifically and if that was a barrier to seeking a peaceful future. I was surprised to hear him say that no he doesn't think it's a barrier. He felt that the events and things that the people have seen in this country have hardened them in a way that it has no affect. I thought it interesting because I think maybe this is an older generational view of looking at how to deal with environmental changes such as violence, sectarianism, or maybe it is just because there is that fear of even talking about personal issues such as depression, or ill mental health, let alone talking to other communities that feel as though they are being discriminated against in the same way. If the communities in Derry, the Fountain (protestants) and the Bogside (catholics), both fear each other then why can't they find a way to realize this fear and work together for a peaceful, safe and secure society? I've come to realize that not all my questions can be answered here, for the people are still trying to find the answers themselves. It's a society deeply rooted in history yet how can the people of Northern Ireland find a balance between not repeating the past and moving on to a better tomorrow? Many questions have rose within the past 7 weeks. YES! 7 weeks have gone by, which means we are half way done. It has been a wonderful journey thus far. I have learned so much about myself, the world, relationships, people, etc. etc. And I know there will be more to come!

Past 2 weeks/St. Patrick's Day!

So I have neglected to update my blog now for the past two weeks. My apologies!

I left off on Monday March 8th. The Belfast kids bused to Derry for one of our seminar days. We spent the day at an organization called Children in Crossfire. One of our peers is working there, and we had a chance to meet with the Director of the organization Richard Moore. Richard Moore has a very moving story and we were all thankful to be able to listen to it. Richard grew up in Derry in the midst of the Troubles and when he was 10 he was shot in the face with a rubber bullet. From that day on he would be blinded for the rest of his life. He has a book out called "Can I give him my eyes?" When Richard was rushed to the hospital and they later found out that he would be blind, his father asked the doctors if he could give Richard his eyes. He eventually went on to meet the man who shot him, and has an amazing sense of forgiveness. Children in Crossfire works both on a local level and an international level with countries in Africa to face poverty and hunger issues. In the afternoon we talked about the first weeks at our internships with Nigel and everyone else in the group!

Last Tuesday March 9th I was a WEE bit under the weather and decided to go experience Northern Ireland's health services. I was directed to an office just down from Stranmillis and within 20 minutes saw a nurse, doctor, and got a prescription for Penicillin! WOW! Didn't have to show my passport, paid 10 pounds for the medicine at the General Chemist (pharmacy) and all was grand! Take that health insurance! The rest of the week I was still recovering and drinking lots of liquids and taking lots of medicine! I am feeling much better. Later that evening I had a phone interview with Jared from Camp Buckskin. I had applied for the camp in January, which is based in Ely, Minnesota and works with kids with learning disabilities, Aspergers disorder, and A.D.D. The interview was rather long and we were doing role plays. My battery on my phone died so the interview was postponed.

On Wednesday March 10th, James and I met up with Nigel to go over my learning agreement that we had worked on the day before. I will be writing two policy papers. One which I am currently working on is about employment rights and opportunities for those struggling with depression, and then the other one will be regarding education and depression, and how the programs at AWARE are working towards getting rid of the stigma and discrimination associated with depression at a young age.Towards the end of my time at AWARE I will then have the chance to go meet with MLA's, and present my papers to them, and receive feedback.

On Thursday night I finished my interview with Jared and will find out soon whether or not I got the position. Thursday and Friday at work I was working on an outline and doing a lot of research for the papers. Also was looking up research and articles for the group study project that four of us are focusing on. We are looking at the interfaces and peace walls in Belfast. More specifically the history/theory, the physical, emotional, and mental affects they have on the communities and relationships, what local organizations are doing and what the future holds for these communities.

Friday night a few of us went out to the Pavilion Bar which is near Justin's internship. We hung out for a little bit, played pool and then moved on to the Parlour bar where we were last weekend. We danced some more and talked with some local students. It was good craic!

The following morning we were all a little groggy when we made our way to the Europa bus station for our travels to Derry. We met up with most of the group and Nigel with
"The Beast" (the van)for we were going to Donegal! Our first trip to the Republic was beautiful. We first went to Grianan Ailligh which was a large stoned-wall fort! It was a windy day but the views were beautiful! Then we stopped for fish and chips in the town for lunch and then in the afternoon we went to Glenveagh National park. It is right in the heart of the Derryveagh mountains in the Northwest part of Donegal. GORGEOUS! And there is a castle! Of course! Nigel than took us to see the Atlantic Ocean. We played a WEE game of Rugby and climbed cliffs and sang Enya songs. Enya is from Donegal and supposedly Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick have a holiday home there. We also later found out that Matthew Broderick was in a drunk driving accident in Enniskillen and killed two people. Just a little known fact about Matthew Broderick! ANYWAYS, We didn't get back till really late last night cause we had to drop the Derry kids off so we crashed when we got back!

On Sunday March 14th I tried to get some of the flatmates to go to Ian Paisley's church. Though we didn't know exactly where it was and we were running late for the service. Also no one was really all that motivated to go to his service probably because no one likes him. Ian Paisley was a MP(Member of Parliament) as well as a MLA (Member of Legislative Assembly) of the DUP (Democratic Unionist Party) until may 2008. He is also a preacher of the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster. He has very extreme views regarding Anti-Rome, Anti-catholicism,and has campaigns against homosexuality. Ian is in his 80's now and doesn't have good health but his son Ian Paisley Jr. is an MLA currently and on Monday March 15th during our seminar day we had the chance to go up to Stormont to listen in to a session.

Later on Sunday night Eva, Abby, Erin and I went to the John Hewitt bar. We talked with the locals, found someone who looks like they couldve been John Hewitts son, sent him a biscuit cause the bar was closing and laughed about it on the overly priced taxi ride home.

Monday morning we were at Belfast city center talking with Caroline Wilson and David Robinson about Northern Ireland Politics and their roles within the good relations unit at the city center. Then in the afternoon we went up to Parliament, the Northern Ireland Assembly, Stormont, whatever you wanna call it! We sat in one of the sessions. Then had MLA's from every party except the SDLP come and give us a brief overview of what they were doing and we had time to ask them questions. There was one MLA Shannon from the Progressive Unionist Party who was an American! It was a friendly surprise to hear a familiar accent.

On Tuesday I worked some more on the outline and did research for the employment policy paper. Then Erin came down to Belfast from Ballycastle and her, Abby, Claire and I headed over to the Crown bar by Europa and then to John Hewitt's again for a pint or two and met fellow Americans who were spending some time in Ireland for a St. Patty's day holiday! We later than met a man from London who was a general surgeon, and talked about how the first nose job was done in 300 b.c. in India. Supposedly! The next day would be St. Patrick's Day, which means we got the day off!

ST. PATTY'S DAY! We all slept in, then Erin, Abby and I headed down to Belfast city center area to watch the parade. Tons of people were out and about supporting their green colors and red hair of course! We later ventured to a little restaurant in the Queen's arcade area called the Fountain. Got a pint of Guinness, some Haddock and garlic chips! It was delicious! We were all pretty exhausted already so we went back to the flat for a wee nap than woke up and went out to the Queen's University Union bar area.
It was pretty packed and we met some new friends and their cousins, and brothers, etc. There was a traditional Irish band playing as well. It was GRAND!

The next day was a little foggy at work for us all :D Worked on putting together the policy paper, as well as some homework for HECUA such as our daily internship logs, and our individual essay proposal. I'll be doing research for that about the relation between those who lived through the conflict and their mental health. How the environmental changes of the violence, death, and sectarianism affected their well being. Today there were some bomb threats in Derry where 5 of our peers are doing their placements. They could not go to work because of bridges, and streets being blocked off. We don't know too much about the details of the threats but everyone is well and that is all that matters at this point! Mom don't worry!

Tomorrow Abby, Claire and I will be taking a bus to Dublin. My aunt Mary got me in touch with one of their family friends Lesley and we are gracious enough that she will be hosting us tomorrow. We will be sight seeing a little bit, and then in the evening getting our "Minnesota on" with Brother Ali at the Crawdaddy. The weekend shall be good, and hopefully I won't neglect my blog for this long again!
:D

First week in Belfast

Oh what a week it has been! The 8 of us moved in to our accommodations at Stranmillis College University on Sunday afternoon. We each have our own bathroom, shower and room! It is great. Monday met my supervisor James Knox at the city center which is about a 30 minute walk, and then we walked down to the AWARE office which all together is a 45 minute walk from where we are staying. The first day I met fellow co-workers, read, and caught up on what the organization is working on. They are having a depression awareness week towards the end of April which unfortunately I will not be able to go to for we will be doing our week trip to Dublin! :( But I will be there for the launch event the week before! Most of my time at Aware within the following weeks will consist of researching and writing 2 policy papers in regards to education and employment rights and opportunities for those struggling with depression. Then I will have the opportunity to meet some MLA's (Members of the Legislative Assembly) and talk to them about these issues!

On Wednesday the whole group (including those placed in Ballycastle and Derry) met up in Belfast. From there we traveled to an organization called WAVE trauma center. They work with victims and survivors of the troubles and a lot of individuals who work there have also been affected by the conflict in some way or another. We talked with a man who had his wife and father in law killed in the early 90's from a bombing. He has now dedicated his life to helping those heal. In the afternoon we traveled to Northern Ireland Alternatives where Abby is working. They are located in East Belfast which is predominantly a loyalist/protestant area but has many interfaces, or peace walls where a lot of conflict, and violence still exists today, especially with youth. We went on a walking tour and saw more of the loyalist murals, and then went to a community center to talk with someone who has been in jail for his membership and actions in the Ulster Volunteer Force.

Thursday and Friday I spent my time in Derry with Andrea who does training programs, and presentations for youth, adults, individuals suffering from depression, etc. We were at St. Columb's College which is an all male catholic school and the program was called "Mood Matters." I shadowed over the first couple sessions on Thursday and then on Friday I talked a little bit during her presentation. It was very interactive with 14 and 15 year olds. Got them to talk about the stigma associated with mental health, depression and suicide. It was fun to see some of the programing that aware does firsthand!

Friday night we discovered a restaurant called Boojum which is very similar to Chipotle. We then bounced around the Queen's University area, and went down to a place called Aunt Annie's. We didn't stay there for long cause we were heading over to the Parlour Bar. We talked with some students from Queens, and danced! Yesterday we went to the farmer's market in St. George's pavilion (or something). It was filled with a lot of kiosks of different types of food, arts, jewelry, clothing, it was great! Then Abby and I walked around by Victoria square and shopped around a little bit. By the time we got groceries and other necessities we were both pretty exhausted so we headed home! Last night was low key and we all went to bed early which was much needed. Tomorrow we'll be heading back to Derry for one of our weekly seminars with the rest of the group. Should be fun! :D

Belfast trip

This week is our last week in Portrush before we all go our different ways for our internships. On Monday we spent time with Derick talking about the importance of relationships, and diversity, equity and interdependence. Tuesday we had a speaker Neil Aldred come in to talk to us about his experiences in Africa and transferring these to the issue in Northern Ireland. He spent 15 years in Africa in different countries but never really experienced democracy, mostly dictatorships, and it was interesting to hear him speak about change, fair trade, freedom of religion, and other topics. Than we had Clare Magill come and speak to us about her work on a qualitative research project involving the perceptions of the conflict that young people had. They compared the responses of those youth in Northern Ireland to those who faced conflict in Bosnia in the early 90's. It was interesting to hear audio of youth who would like to be a part of integrated schools, and to hear them respond to what they do and do not know about the conflict. A lot of youth may not have been exposed to both sides of history of the conflict.

On Wednesday we traveled to Belfast for a day trip. I met with my supervisor James Knox with AWARE-defeat depression. The 8 of us from HECUA who will have internships in Belfast will be moving in on Sunday and then we begin our internships on Monday. Afterwards we got a tour of the nationalists side of Belfast from an ex IRA prisoner. We saw the Bobby Sands mural who was the first hungerstriker to die. We saw many more murals that were related to international conflicts such as the palestinian/israeli, and civil rights movement in the U.S. We then had lunch at a place for nationalists and republican families more specifically those prisoners who had served time. There was a museum with IRA artifacts and memorabilia from the troubles. We than got to speak with an ex IRA officer who had served 16 or so years in prison, but because of the Good Friday agreement was released in 2000. Some of our questions were answered with the republicans but a lot of them were not.

After lunch we got to meet with the first loyalist person. We met him on the otherside of the peace wall. He told us his personal story about growing up admiring Ian Paisley, and became a member of the UVF (Ulster Volunteer Force). He openly admitted to killing 4 people and after 16 years in prison, and integrating back into the community, he openly admits that what he did was wrong and that he is sorry. He was the first person that answered most if all of our questions. He didn't dillydally around the questions and told us the truth from the beginning. It was good to see such a contrast between the ex republican prisoners and loyalist prisoners.

On Thursday we spent time talking with Derick again about preparing for our internships, and being a critical friend! Then later we met Nigel's wife and kids and had some soup and bread! They are so cute, and I think all of us felt a little homesick! We than went down Benone and dipped our feet in the ocean!

Last night we all got together one last time before the Derry and Ballycastle folk depart today for internships. We went to the Springhill pub which has international student night! It was good craic (fun/enjoyment)! I will hopefully have a better internet schedule in Belfast to skype and email more consistently! More to come soon I'm sure!

A Day in Derry/Londonderry

On Wednesday we journeyed to Derry/Londonderry. Those who have their internships in Derry met with their supervisors while the rest of us explored the city a little bit. We went to a couple shops, and then met up with the rest of the group and our tour guide for the rest of the afternoon. We walked around Derry and saw the peace wall that divides the protestant and catholic communities. They close the doors that connect the communities each night at 9 and have cameras placed everywhere. The political and religious murals are a sign of each community and there is a huge contrast between the two. We heard personal stories from our tour guide, and were in the heart of where Bloody Sunday occurred. We also got to speak with a brother of one of the victims who died that day. He has now dedicated his life to educating people of those events that happened that day. He owns the Museum of Free Derry where there are loads of artifacts from that day. We than had the opportunity to hear his story about the process that has been going on the past years as far as the trial of those who killed people that day. None of the PARAS have admitted to killing anyone that day except for one. It was a very emotional, fact driven day, and it has taken and will take some time to process the reality of events that have occurred in Derry and the continuing struggle for peace that is occurring in Northern Ireland.

Yesterday we had the chance to hear Sean Farren speak about his involvement with the Good Friday agreement, and then today we just heard Ken Harland talk about the role of masculinity within this culture and the programs that he is involved in to help educate and work with marginalized groups. This weekend we all went out to the Anchor bar in Portstewart just about 10 minutes from portrush. We all had a lot of fun dancing and talking with locals. Then yesterday Erin, Abby and I went to Coleraine and tried to do some shopping but Erin and I were unsuccessful. Though we did find a semi-mexican restaurant on our way back to the train station called Cactus Jacks or something? It was the best we could do for our mexican cravings! They didn't have margaritas but we had chimichangas and nachos which were just as good! :D That night the gang went out to Kelly's night club which was jammed pack with people and about 7 different bars and music areas. It was a fun night filled with dancing! :D


This next week is our last week in Portrush. We have a day trip to Belfast on Wednesday, and those who have internships in Derry and Ballycastle leave on Friday, and the 8 of us who are in Belfast leave on Saturday morning. Should be another fun week in Northern Ireland!

Social Work, Murals, and Gender in N.I.

Monday we had the chance to listen to a Social Work professor about his experience working in the midst of the Northern Ireland conflict. It was very interesting to here his personal stories about growing up in a certain area and the predetermined ideas that people would have on him based on his name, accent, and where he grew up. I found it particularly interesting to hear the struggle he had, just like any other helping professionals have, about the balance between personal and professional identities that each of us have. It is even more so of a challenge for individuals going into this field because you have to put your ideals and beliefs about what the state of Northern Ireland should even if the views of the person you are helping are different. When he talked about some of the personal stories it was hard not to feel empathy for the people of this country especially Social Workers who are not always respected.

In the afternoon we traveled to the UNESCO centre where we did a joint session with 10 postgraduate students from the University of Ulster, who are all going to high school history teachers. The lecturer started out with an exercise to see how much each of us knew about our own history, American and Northern Ireland. It was difficult for both parties, but we managed through. :D We continued on with a slideshow of all the different political and religious murals and paintings that have been expressed through many different towns and communities throughout Northern Ireland and the times of the troubles and the peace process. There were many interesting pieces of art and connections to American history, like certain presidents, slavery, the confederate flag...

Today we had a woman come in to talk to us about gender in Northern Ireland and how just like in any other country the role of women in politics and religious affiliations has been a difficult one. If you want to know more about what our lectures have been about the past few days let me know and I will be glad to send you a message! We ended today with two dramatic films one a documentary about the Battle of the Bogside, which was a violent battle against the RUC (the police at the time, powered by the protestant unionist state) and the catholic, nationalist community in Derry or in the Bogside aread. Than we finished with a movie called SUNDAY, and it was about bloody sunday. It was a very emotional telling of the 17 people who died in 1969 at the start of the civil rights movement in N.I. We will be heading to Londonderry/Derry (Most catholics/nationalists refer to the city as Derry due to the British affiliations Londonderry has with it.) tomorrow where hopefully we will begin to make some more connections about the events of Battle of the Bogside, Bloody Sunday, as well as take a look for the first time at the murals, paintings and peace walls.

"The ways we were and the ways we may yet choose to be."

Last weekend was relaxing as we all tried to get as much rest as possible before the busy-ness began. Which it did right away on Monday. The HECUA group traveled to Corrymeela Knocklayd near Ballycastle, where we spent 2 days at the housing arrangements there. Corrymeela is an organization that works on peace reconciliation with in certain community groups around Northern Ireland and the world. Knocklayd is the smaller of the locations and they also have a location in Belfast and Ballycastle. We went to the Ballycastle location on Monday night, got a tour, and talked with the volunteers and workers there. On Tuesday, we spent pretty much the whole day talking about the details of each internship organization that we all will be working with. In the afternoon than we spent the time deciding on who gets to go to which internship. With that, I will be working at a place called AWARE-defeat depression. Here is the website to check it out: http://www.aware-ni.org/ It is located in Belfast and I will begin this new journey on March 1st.

On Wednesday we had a very touristy day. It began by going to the Giants Causeway, then continued on to the Buschmills Distillery, and than lastly the Dunluce Castle. All beautiful places!

Yesterday(Thursday) we were working on our Curriculum Vitae's and cover letters. After that Erin and Abby and I participated in the social scene here at the University of Ulster by doing their 3 legged pub crawl which was apart of their RAG week where the money went to Haiti. Except since there was 3 of us, it was a 4 legged pub crawl! :D I was stuck in the middle since I'm the tallest, and only lasted till 930 because our wallets would not allow anymore!
Today we had a brief overview about Irish history, and than an exercise about whether or not the conflict was religious or not. It was all very interesting and really the first time we've had time to talk as a group about some of the issues surrounding the conflict.

Tomorrow there is a rugby game against France which we will enjoy, and we may make a stop out to Kelly's which is a bar/nightclub in Portrush. More to come...