B'fast

On Wednesday we went on our field trip to Belfast. In the morning people met with their supervisors, got coffee, etc. Then we met an republican (an IRA man) to give us a tour of the nationalist/Catholic neighborhoods. He showed us murals and told us a little about himself. While we were with him he took us to the cemetary where the hungerstrikers are buried. There is a special section for those who died serving the IRA during the troubles. This is a mural of Bobby Sands the first hungerstriker to die.
While in the nationalist neighborhood/The Falls, we also went to the Irish Republican History Museum. There were many artifacts from the troubles and even before. It is soley run but donations and volunteers. We also ate lunch with the republicans and were able to ask them questions.

After lunch with the republicans, we met up with an ex Loyalist. He shared a little about his past, that he was in prison, how long, etc. He showed us the murals in unionist neighborhoods/ the Shankill Road.

The last place he took us to was a memorial for the Battle of the Somme. It was a battle during WWI where 770 or so Ulstermen from Belfast went to fight for the British and only 70 some men came back. The Unionists want the British to never forget that they served them and lost man along the way. Overall the trip to Belfast was good. It was very interesting to get both persepectives, unionist & nationalist, even if they were more towads the extremes of loyalist and republican.

Thursday we debriefed/reflected about Belfast and prepared for our internships. In the afternoon we went to Nigel's for lunch. All of us got to meet his adorable family. Everyone enjoyed seeing and interacting with children because it is something we are currently lacking. After lunch and spending time with Nigel's family, he took us to a beach near his home. It was kind of chilly, but many of us took our shoes off & ran in the water. Some of us raced along the beach, took jumping pictures, and other ridiculousness that young people do. It was fun and my feet were frozen by the time we left. Thursday included packing and cleaning, as well as going out in Portrush once more before leaving.

Friday was moving day, so the Belfast crew left at 8am and we left at 2. We arrived in Derry at our flats and the keys didn't work. We thought we needed a locksmith, but it turned out it was just new and sticky. Most of us unpacked and went and got food.

Yesterday we wandered around the city exploring. We walked along the city's walls, through the city center, and to the grocery store. I found a Catholic Church, so I went to mass this morning. It was nice except it was a big cathedral and seemed somewhat impersonal.

I start my internship tomorrow morning at the Junction. I'm excited about it but also a little nervous. That's about it for now. Oh, also a few of us planned our spring break, we're headed to Scotland!

Field trip to Derry, my day of birth and beyond

Last week was our first “real” week here in Northern Ireland. We started classes and had many different speakers who came to talk to us. We learned/talked about Irish history, the conflict being religious or not, the murals, identity perspectives, gender in Northern Ireland, the Battle of the Bogside and Bloody Sunday to just name a few.

On Wednesday we went to Derry/Londonderry for a field trip. Derry is what nationalists/Catholics call the city, and Unionists/ Protestants use the name Londonderry.  Some people call Derry/Londonderry “the Stroke City” because of the / in the name. I’m going to use Derry because it is shorter and more convenient. Derry is where the “Battle of the Bogside” took place as well as Bloody Sunday, just two of the horrific events during the troubles. While in Derry, those of us interning there met our supervisors, while others explored the city a bit. I met Maureen, the director of the Junction. I start at the Junction next week. Here is a picture of a paint "bomb" on the wall.

After meeting our supervisors, the group gathered for our tour of Derry. Our tour guide was a native of Derry. He showed us around the Fountain, a unionist neighborhood, took us on the walls. Derry is also known as the Walled city because it has walls around part of the city. He then took us to the Bogside, which is a Catholic/nationalist area. We also stopped at the Free Derry Museum to learn more about Bloody Sunday. A woman whose brother was killed on Bloody Sunday told us her story and now her involvement in the peace process. It was moving to hear her talk about him and the stories of others who died on that day. She also told us about the investigation that looked into the event and tried to make sense of the events. It just came out last summer and brought some of the families closure, while one man, a father I believe, said he hadn’t learned anything new about that day. On Tuesday before going to Derry, we had watched a movie about Bloody Sunday, and at the time I had thought it was powerful until I heard the personal stories about those who were killed on Bloody Sunday. It was an emotionally draining day for everyone. It took some time to process. I’m still not sure if I’ve processed it all.

Wednesday was my birthday so after our field trip and a nap, we went to a nightclub to celebrate. It was Kelly’s, the biggest nightclub in Northern Ireland. It was fun, but not exactly everyone’s cup of tea.

Thursday we reflected on our field trip and got to go on a walk in the afternoon. WE went to Mountsandel Wood. It was the earliest record of civilization in the whole island of Ireland. It was a simple and not particularly beautiful place located along a river in Coleraine, where the University of Ulster is located. It was very peaceful, and it was nice to get away from the group and constant noise.

Friday we had speakers talk about young men and Social Work in Northern Ireland. Both topics were quite interesting. I could relate to a lot of what the Social work speaker talked about. It was similar to what I had learned in my Human Services classes. For example he spoke of congruence between your personal and professional lives, humility, personalization/person based care, critical consciousness/intentionality and continual learning.

Friday night we went to a pub and listened to live music. One might think it was traditional Irish music, but that wasn’t the case. It was actually pop and some random other stuff. One thing that I thought was a wee bit bizarre about that night was the fact that there was a dog just chilling in the bar. Somebody brought their dog to the bar with them! It was well behaved and all, but it just wasn’t something I was expecting to see.

Saturday some of us rode the train to Coleraine to explore. It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining, and we were exploring/shopping/wandering around. We weren’t really looking for anything in particular so we ventured into what felt like 20 shops, including bookstores, thrift stores, clothing stores, and a mall. We happened to run into Nigel, our program director, and his family. He has 2 adorable kids and his wife is very nice. When we returned to the flats we bragged to the rest of the group about getting to meet his family. Also I watched the sunset on Saturday. It seems like such a simple thing, but being next to the ocean makes it that much more majestic. And it was the first one I have seen that wasn’t obstructed by clouds.

Saturday night I received a belated birthday gift from my flat mates. It was fake mustaches. So while hanging out around the flats we wore them. It was pretty fantastic and ridiculous. Never before had I seen 7(ish) adults wearing fake mustaches, side burns, eye brows, and a soul patch. Unfortunately they were falling off of us before heading out to karaoke. We went to another local pub to do karaoke. About half of our group performed a song. The crowd loved us. I’m not sure if 1. It was because we Americans, 2. We were awesome, 3. We were terrible, or 4. We danced a lot. Either way it was a lot of fun. 

Sunday was just a relaxing day. A few of us went to church at the local church, a Church of Ireland. It was nice and we got to witness a baptism. I think it’s neat to experience different church services, especially when something exciting like a baptism takes place. 

So since I’ve been here in Ireland, my flat mates think I’m a really good cook. My dad will be proud. I’m not saying I’m not a good cook; it’s just something I hadn’t thought of before. I guess most of them don’t cook or aren’t as creative as I am. I’ve made tacos, pasta, fajitas, grilled cheese, and homemade garlic bread. Really it’s nothing too out of the ordinary, but apparently stuff that they have not thought of. I enjoy cooking at the end of the day. It gives me time to distress and add some creativity.

That was last week. This week we go to Belfast on Wednesday for a field trip; then on Friday we move to Derry or Belfast. It going to be weird to split up, but I’m excited to start my internship. Also once I get to Derry I’ll hopefully have easier access to the internet, so Skyping will be more of an option to keep in touch with people. Hope all is well for everyone reading this! Love you and miss you all!

address...

So I may have given everyone a much too complicated version of my address. Here is the updated version...

Marcy Mueller
Room B140B
UNESCO Centre Office
University of Ulster, Coleraine BT52 1SA

The Beginning...

We arrived in Northern Ireland after a ridiculous flight. We had a medical emergency while we were flying over the Atlantic, so we had to backtrack 300 miles and find an airport in Canada. As we were descending you could see about 20 lights sporadically spread out on the ground. We ended up in Gander, Newfoundland. There isn’t exactly too many people in Gander or the surrounding area. Feel free to Google it and see where we were for a few hours. After that little detour the flight was good. Although we ended up being on the plane for about 12 hours compared to about 6. We piled into a van and drove to the grocery store. Let me tell you going grocery shopping isn’t the first thing you’d like to do after being on a plane for half a day. We were all a bit confused and couldn’t find things. After shopping we found out where we would be staying for 3 weeks. We are staying in Portrush, on the Northern Coast, in flats (also known as apartments). I have 4 other roommates. We share a kitchen, living room, and 2 bathrooms or toilets as they call them here. The first thing we noticed about our flat was the epic view. The rest of the day and Sunday we just hung out and got to know each other. We went to a pub Sunday night to watch the Superbowl. At this pub we also met Garth Brooks. Not really but there was a man singing karoke and at one point he disappeared and showed up again in a silk shirt and cowboy hat. Let’s just say people here really enjoy country music. A few of us finished watching the Superbowl in another pub where we talked to a few locals. It was our first experience talking with locals except for Nigel.

            On Monday morning we went to the University to get our student IDs. We then all piled into the van and drove to the Knocklayd Retreat Center. Nigel, our program director, drives us around in a 16 passenger bus/van. We named our beast of a van Carl. We spent 3 days at Knocklayd getting to know each other, learning more about our semester here, selecting our internship placements, relaxing a little, and touring some sights on the North Antrim Coast.

            On Tuesday afternoon we picked our internships sites. It was a democratic process; we each gave our top preferences and worked together to make everyone happy. I found out I will be doing my internship at The Junction. The Junction is a Community Relations Resource and Peace Building Center. It is located in Derry/Londonderry. Half of us will be in Derry and the other half in Belfast, with one person being in Ballycastle, which is out in the country. I’m happy with my placement just as I would have been with half of the internships.

Internship selection didn’t take too long, so Nigel took us to what he says is one of the most beautiful places in Northern Ireland. I’d say he was right about the beauty, and it was a very peaceful place. I could have stayed there for hours except it was quite chilly. It kind of funny because on Saturday when we arrived in Northern Ireland we all thought it was warm, but now that we are right near the ocean, it’s a bit more chilly. I’m not sure of what the place was called, but it was over looking Murlough Bay. That evening we visited Corrymeela Retreat Center, where one of the guys in our group will be doing his internship. It is a retreat center that is for groups and individuals looking for education and rest. Corrymeela has been around since the before the Troubles.

Wednesday was our “fun” day. We started with Giant’s Causeway. It was pretty cool. It is made of basalt rocks shaped like hexagons. The story is that the giant from Scotland was going to come over and attack the king/ kingdom, so the king hid in a large a cradle and pretended to be a sleeping baby. When the giant came to see the king, the queen said that he must be quiet as to not wake the baby. The giant saw how large the baby was and decided if that was the size of the king’s child he didn’t want to see how big the king was. So the giant went back across the Causeway and destroyed it so the king could not use it to visit to Scotland.

After the Causeway we went to the town of Bushmills, where we ate lunch. We were then off to the Bushmills Distillery. We toured the place, learned how they made whiskey, and got a free sample. Bushmills is the oldest legal distillery in Ireland, if not the world. They received their license in 1608 and have been making whiskey ever since.

The Dunluce Castle was our last stop for the day. It was my first time being at a castle. This castle was donated to the state in 1921 and has been preserved and minimally restored since then. Our tour of Dunluce was the first time it had really rained on us since arriving in Northern Ireland.

I’m really excited to be here in Northern Ireland doing the HECUA program. I know it is going to be an amazing experience with awesome people. Every time I see something new here, which is quite often, I have to stop and think “whoa, holy crap, I’m really in Northern Ireland!” For example every time I see the ocean. I’m jealous of people who get to see it every day. It’s kind of mind boggling that I’ll be here for three months, but I know it’s going to fly so I’m just trying to absorb every minute of it.

If you need my address here in Northern Ireland it is…

UNESCO Centre

University of Ulster

Coleraine, County Londonderry

BT52 1SA, Northern Ireland

Ready to go & Delayed...

I am a junior at Saint Mary's University of MN, double majoring in Youth Ministry and Human Services. This semester I will be studying abroad in Northern Ireland with HECUA (Higher Education Consortium for Urban Affairs). I will be studying at the University of Ulster for the first part of my semester and doing an internship in either Derry/Londonderry or Belfast for 7 weeks. There are 15 people in my program. We are all from different places. The majority of us are either from Minnesota or go to school in Minnesota. We haven't had a chance to meet yet, except for those who are from the same school, so we'll be meeting for the first time at the airport.
With the wonderful snowstorm that is currently hitting a huge portion of the country, all our flights have been cancelled and rescheduled for Friday. Luckily, I have an awesome cousin who lives near the airport and offered to let me stay with her. So I'll be hanging out in Chicago until I leave on Friday. These next couple of days should give me some time to finish my required reading before starting the semester. I'm excited for this experience, but it doesn't feel real yet. I'll try to keep this up to date while I'm in Northern Ireland.