A lot has happened since my last post. I have moved to Derry/Londonderry,
(This is the view from my bedroom window and yes this is the sunrise. Crazy, I know that I was up early enough to see the sun rise.)
started my internship, began our weekly seminars in Belfast & Derry, had a surprise going away party and gone on a day trip to Co. Donegal. At the beginning of March, I started my internship at the Junction, a community resource and peacebuilding center. At first there wasn’t a lot to do, so I was kind bored. But I soon figured out I needed to take the initiative to find my on tasks and go to workshops and conferences. This self-directedness was one of the things that drew me to the Junction because I knew it would be more of a challenge than just being given lots of tasks and work to do. The first week at the Junction I got to go to a presentation about Ethical Remembering and Commemorating the past that my supervisor gave to a group of community workers, leaders and volunteers. One issue that is coming up in the next few years is how to commemorate the past without alienating or putting down “the other”. It’s quite an interesting topic. This past week I went to another conference about Being the Change You Wish to See. It was put on by an organization that focuses on international development. It was good and there was a lot of variety of participants, i.e. parents, students, community workers, professors, random people from the community, etc.
Last weekend those of us in Derry travelled to Belfast for a surprise party; one of the guys in our group hasn’t been feeling well for 2 months, so he made the difficult decision to go home to the States. He had no idea we were coming! It was great to spend a little more time with him before he left. It was a good trip to Belfast even though the reason we were there wasn’t the best.
started my internship, began our weekly seminars in Belfast & Derry, had a surprise going away party and gone on a day trip to Co. Donegal. At the beginning of March, I started my internship at the Junction, a community resource and peacebuilding center. At first there wasn’t a lot to do, so I was kind bored. But I soon figured out I needed to take the initiative to find my on tasks and go to workshops and conferences. This self-directedness was one of the things that drew me to the Junction because I knew it would be more of a challenge than just being given lots of tasks and work to do. The first week at the Junction I got to go to a presentation about Ethical Remembering and Commemorating the past that my supervisor gave to a group of community workers, leaders and volunteers. One issue that is coming up in the next few years is how to commemorate the past without alienating or putting down “the other”. It’s quite an interesting topic. This past week I went to another conference about Being the Change You Wish to See. It was put on by an organization that focuses on international development. It was good and there was a lot of variety of participants, i.e. parents, students, community workers, professors, random people from the community, etc.
Last weekend those of us in Derry travelled to Belfast for a surprise party; one of the guys in our group hasn’t been feeling well for 2 months, so he made the difficult decision to go home to the States. He had no idea we were coming! It was great to spend a little more time with him before he left. It was a good trip to Belfast even though the reason we were there wasn’t the best.
Every Monday we have a seminar which is our class. We alternate between Belfast and Derry. The first week we were in Belfast. We met a man whose wife and father-in-law were killed in a bomb in East Belfast. He talked about the pain and how he turned that pain into something productive. He is working on making Northern Ireland a better place. That afternoon we went to East Belfast Alternatives, an organization that works with youth and paramilitaries. They do a lot of work with restorative justice. They gave us the tour of part of the East Belfast neighborhood. Some of the little kids (like 5 year olds) were yelling at us and telling us to go away. It isn’t an area that is toured very often, so when a group of 15+ people are wandering around their neighborhood they probably didn’t exactly like it.
Last Monday our seminar was in Derry. We spent the day at the organization that does international development. A man who was blinded at age 10 talked to us and told us his story. It was amazing because he has never been angry about what happened. There has never been any bitterness in his life. It was incredible.
On Friday a few of us went out. We ended up at Peadar O’Donnell’s. There was live music, and it was a good time. Saturday Nigel took us to County Donegal. The weather was rainy & cold, but it was still awesome. We went the Glenveagh National Park. We toured a castle which people lived in until the 80s. The view was amazing!
We then went to the Atlantic Ocean and frolicked along the beach.
Some people wrote messages in the sand. Someone even drew the shape of Minnesota in the sand. We even saw a rainbow while in Donegal. We rocked out to music on the way back to Derry.
We then went to the Atlantic Ocean and frolicked along the beach.
Some people wrote messages in the sand. Someone even drew the shape of Minnesota in the sand. We even saw a rainbow while in Donegal. We rocked out to music on the way back to Derry.
Today I didn’t do anything exciting, but it was awesome to just relax and not really worry about anything. My flat mates (roommates) and I made burgers and fried potatoes for dinner. It was delicious! This week will be good. Tomorrow I’m in Belfast for our seminar. Tues & Wed I’ll be in Omagh for a workshop. Thursday is St/ Paddy’s Day, so I don’t have to work. Friday I don’t have to work either! It’ll be a little weird but brilliant.
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