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!