Come Dance With Me In Ireland...: All of this is more than I have ever known or seen....

November 21, 2010

All of this is more than I have ever known or seen….

Sunday has come again and I have had yet another incredible week in Ireland. I would gladly like to report that I finished my papers and the person I turned them into told me that I did well. This, for me, a person who has not written a paper in five months and someone who is not really a good writer, was great! This week also brought our program field trip to Northern Ireland.

Going into this field trip I knew that it would be a lot different from our trip to the West of Ireland, but I am not sure I grasped how different. I feel like I should mention that “Northern Ireland” refers to the six counties in the northeast of Ireland that are still a part of the United Kingdom. On Wednesday we departed Dublin and arrived to a very wet and rainy Belfast. We were supposed to do a walking tour of the city with our program leader but due to the rain we did it on the coach. Not really the same and it was a lot easier not to pay attention. We saw many murals and memorial gardens. I am getting ahead of myself. Northern Ireland is much divided, more than I understood. It is divided between Protestants and Catholics, but these are not necessarily religious stand points but rather they are political standpoints. There is a long history of controversy between the two that I will not get into because I still cannot fully grasp all that has happened. To this day there is a peace wall in Belfast that divides one side from the other; and people do not cross the line. There are sport centers that are the exact same thing and only blocks away from each other except they are on different sides of the wall, serving different communities. You can tell where people stand by the technicality of their words or the newspaper they read, or so they told us, I personally could not tell. It was strange to know that I was still in Ireland but the way Belfast felt, you would think you were in another country.

Okay, so on the walking (bus) tour that we took we saw a ton of murals. On a lot of the sides of buildings there are huge murals that make political statements and they are all over the city. They make statements not only about Ireland but also about current happenings around the world. We also went to a couple of memorials for those who have died during the troubles of Northern Ireland. In one, one the Catholic (more Irish nationalists) side of the wall, I found two names that were interesting; Peter Blake (y uncles name) and also the surname McKenna. I was really happy to find family names from both sides of my family.

The second part of the day we toured the ship yard where the Titanic was built and docked. I did not realize that the Titanic was built in Ireland. It was really interesting to see the actual places where she was built. We also had the opportunity, which most people do not, to go into the building where she was designed and where Thomas Andrews (the man who designed Titanic and played by Victor Garber in the movie) worked every day. It was so cool to stand in the exact room where the ship was designed and see exactly where she stood. I felt like I learned a lot and gained a better understanding of how big the ship was and what a tragedy it was when the Titanic sank.

Thursday we went to Derry for most of the day. There we mainly learned about the Bloody Sunday of Derry. Bloody Sunday or the Bogside Massacre occurred Sunday January 30 1972 when a riot, which were common in that time period, took a turn for the worse and 13 died on that day. We went to a museum where the man who gave us he tour lost his 17 year old brother on that day. Walking through the museum almost made you sick. It was horrific, but I am also really glad that I was able to learn more about the troubles that have faced Ireland. Through the troubles neither side was blameless. I find it far more enjoyable to learn history as you are walking the streets of the place it occurred.

Friday was low key, we were able to go see a twelfth century castle in Belfast and to see one of the government buildings in Belfast. It was bizarre because on Friday we woke up and say blue sky and the sun, I almost did not know what to do with myself. I have found that I love going to castles and our visit to this castle only made my love grow. It was beautiful and very interesting to learn about it and stand castle that still stands as it did when it was built, which is incredible. The government building was beautiful and I enjoyed walking around the grounds on such a nice day.

Friday night was the premiere of part one of the seventh Harry Potter movie. There were about ten of us who went to the movie. I love Harry Potter and was so excited. Luckily I was not the only one, Jackie even dressed up, fantastic. I really thought that the movie was great and I love that I can saw I was in the UK for the premiere of Harry Potter.

All in all it was a good, relaxing trip. I love getting to see another side of Ireland. It was interesting to be in a place like I have never been before. I still feel so lucky to have the opportunity to do all of this. It is surreal that I only have four weeks left in Ireland. Four weeks to soak in all that I can.

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving. I am thankful that you all are a part of my life and that I get to share this adventure I am on with you.

Cheers,

Keely