What's going on in Norn Iron!

I apologize for my tardy blog! My time here on this island seems to just fly by. I have been here for 5 whole weeks this coming Thursday. I continue to acclimate into the culture that is the ‘Norn Iron’ (aka Northern Ireland – what the locals call is for short) way. I will boast that my tea drinking capabilities are superb! I know it has been about a week and a half since I last posted so I am going to try and give a brief overview of all I have neglected to share!

I am quite content in our living conditions. The bed is pretty comfortable, the bathrooms are clean, and the heat works. There is very little that I can justifiably complain about. Unfortunately for my 6 colleagues who are doing their internship in Belfast the accommodations are not so pleasant, so we Derry folk are trying our best to hide our excitement of our pleasant life style. The seven of us in Derry eat dinners together every night which have been one of the many highlights while here. We each take a night to prepare and cook the meal. We continue to have an unofficial cooking contest. We have enjoyed everything from fajitas to freshly made scones! Hailey is the very talented baker and because of that we all agree it’s a good thing we have about a mile walk to work each day. (This photo below is of the River Foyle, which I get to see and walk near daily) The supermarkets are quite similar to home. I do have two complaints about them though. 1. They do not have good Mac and Cheese. 2. They package EVERYTHING. I am astounded at the waste that comes out of packaging fresh vegetables and other foods. I know that is done in the U.S. but I have seen it a lot more while here.

On to work! I continue to settle into my internship at The Junction. It is a very busy place with many different projects going on all at once. There is a huge meeting room that is used by many people in the community for meetings and events. So there are constantly people moving around the building and lots going on. What is quite interesting is that there are only 2 full time staff members at The Junction. My supervisor and her son the manager/technical/financial guru who practically runs the place! Other than that there are about 4 to 5 other people who are housed at The Junction but receive financial support through other grants and funding. It is all very confusing to sort out but I continue to learn something new every day! In addition to myself there are 2 other Americans working there, as well as a part-time intern. Sometimes I think the Americans outnumber the Northern Irish in the building! I continue to sort out finding my ‘spot’ in the internship. Jumping into such a small organization for only 7 weeks is an interesting task. I know I have learned a lot and will continue to view every day as a learning experience regardless of what I am doing. I just learned today that I will be planning and working on organizing 2 different events for community members. One I am really excited about because basically my supervisor asked ‘what are you interested in?’ and that was what the workshop would be based on. I will hopefully create a lunchtime event that focuses on the power of forgiveness and truth in the current future and society of Northern Ireland. This is really exciting because I think this theme can be implemented into so many different cultures and countries dealing with a post conflict environment. I will keep you updated on my progress with the rest of my work as it flows on!

Once a week the entire group, both students in Belfast and Derry meet with our program director Nigel to have internship seminars and usually to meet with another important figure in the Northern Ireland history. We have had two sessions. In those sessions I have meet and discussed themes of peace, justice, and politics with Alan McBride, a widower who’s wife died in a bomb on the Shankhill road in the nineties, staff members from the Alternatives organization that focuses its efforts on restorative justice in areas where otherwise paramilitaries would continue to do the ‘police work’, and Richard Moore, who was blinded at the age of 10 because he was shot by a British Solider. Richard has since started a worldwide organization ‘Children in Crossfire’ to promote peace and as of last year calls the British solider who shot him his friend. ALL of these figures have impacted the way I think about the conflict immensely. Their sides, their stories are so different and yet to some degree they have all suffered because of ‘the troubles.’ (This photo is of the gang at Alternatives with the staff member on the far left)

The current sharing government is such a fragile structure. Some people think it will last and some don’t. A very frightening thing that I heard the other day was when our group was in a meeting with one of the figures and the computer guy in the background piped up to give his opinion. He was a strong loyalist who came from a paramilitary background we later learned, and he did not think the peace would last. If the common people don’t have trust in the current shared government then will it really last?? To have faith in one’s government is so important and I just hope that someday soon the people here will be able to find theirs.

Now after those deep and profound thoughts, I know you have all been dying for the most important topic of them all! THE WEATHER! Well have no fear it DOES rain in Ireland. I think I have yet to see a dry full day. However unpleasant the thirty minute walk in the rain might be I think I will indeed survive. I guess there are many things worse in the world.

If you have gotten to this part, congrats! That was quite a long entry. I hope everyone is doing splendid and for those in classes keep going…..spring break is almost here!

Lots of love and hugs,
Sara

P.S. I just learned the news of Tuesday's happenings in the primaries and caucuses in the respective states. Although I am very thankful I don't have to watch Anderson Cooper on CNN repeat the same information over and over again on TV, I am missing a bit of the national excitement of the election process!

Also, here are some photos of my room and flat. Its a regular palace eh?!?