Monday we had our weekly seminar in Belfast. We met with the Good Relations Unit of the City Council. It was interesting to see all that they do and how busy they are. The Good Relations does a lot of work that goes unnoticed and is under appreciated. We also got a tour of the City Hall.
It was cool and really old. We were able to sit in a very important chair.
We then headed over to the Northern Ireland Assembly, also known as Stormont.
It was much stricter security-wise. We sat in on a session of official government business. It was kind of boring because government and law-making isn’t exactly my cup of tea. We then got to chat with different MLAs (members of the legislative assembly) from different parties. For example, we talked to a Sinn Fein, SDLP (Social Democratic & Labor Party) and a UUP (Ulster Unionist Party) representative. It was interesting to hear actually what their party is about in an abridged version. One might think they were different because they are in a power sharing government and in Northern Ireland, but they were still politicians and could talk the talk. It was an exhausting day of politics.
Tuesday I travelled to Omagh (which is about a 1.5 hour bus ride away from Derry) for a workshop, but once I got there I found out the workshop was cancelled. I was kind of frustrated, but those in charge of the workshop were very sorry. One good thing was I learned how event planning works. Those interested in an event must inquiry/ say they are interested in the event. Once enough people sign up, then the planners confirm the event and the event takes place. I felt silly for travelling all the way to Omagh, but in the end I learned something so it was okay.
Wednesday was a slow day at work because no one was really around. I think people were getting ready for the holiday on Thursday.
Thursday was St. Patrick’s Day. It was a bank holiday and a holy day of obligation, so let’s just say it was an official holiday! One of my friends, Sara, was organizing a group from her organization to be in the city parade, so the three of us who didn’t have to work volunteered to be in the parade.
In Sara’s eyes it was a disaster because it seemed like pure chaos. In NI there isn’t a lot of structure and no one is ever on time. So for us Americans it’s a bit tough sometimes. Our group eventually found our (ridiculous) costumes, face paint, place in the parade, and we were ready to go. As you can see from the pictures we kind of looked like Disco Dali Lamas or something just as outrageous.
It was a lot of fun, even though it was crazy. After the parade we went back to our flat to finish our papers before going out.
We went to a bar, Peadar O’Donnell’s, for a couple pints of cider. It was packed just like every other bar on St. Patrick’s Day. It was a good time and there was live music. There was no green beer in sight, but everyone in town was quite crazy. People started drinking in the morning so by the evening it got a wee bit ridiculous.
Friday, most of us didn’t have to work, so we relaxed and hung out. We stayed in and watched movies. Newsies was one of our choices, so I may have belted out a few of the songs that I may or may not know by heart. Kelly and I made Nigel’s famous Glenny wheaten bread recipe. We didn’t exactly have anything to measure stuff, so we guesstimated. Kelly called it soul food because you just go with it and see how it turns up. We only had 1 bread pan so we used a mini cake pan too. It turned out awesome.
Saturday was also another relaxing day. That night we met up with a high school friend, Tonya, who is also studying here in Derry. I felt kind of bad because I had been in Derry for 3 weeks and hadn’t seen her until last night. It was kind of funny because I thought I saw her from across the street, so being me I yelled her name. Luckily it was her, so I didn’t feel like a dork. We met up at a bar and had a drink. We swapped some of our NI stories and such. It was good craic.
Today I went to a new church. This one was a 30 minute walk compared to the 15 minute walk to the closest Catholic Church. I had no idea where I was going but apparently my sense of direction is better than I thought because I ended up where I wanted to be! It was a nice mass and much more welcoming than the big cathedral that I had gone to previously. Tonight Kelly & I made our second batch of wheaten bread; this one turned out a bit different than the last but I suppose that happens with “soul food”.
Tomorrow we have our seminar here in Derry. Hopefully this week will be more productive than last week.
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