Finding Freedom

The last 2 weeks in Coleraine went way too fast.  We finished up all 3 of our final papers and spent a lot of time just sitting around trying to spend time with each other before we had to separate. I wrote a reflection on our time in Dublin, an independent project about punishment attacks and a group project with Adam on masculinity theory in Northern Ireland.  Instead of giving a group presentation, the UNESCO Centre and Nigel decided to have us do a presentation on our experiences in Northern Ireland.  We did that on Wednesday the 15th at Skainos in Belfast.

Our presentation went really well and I think everyone who attended was really impressed by what we had to say.  My part was to give some final reflection and conclusions on my time.  I talked about 3 big things that made my semester great.  The first was the way we got to learn.  Nigel always reminded us not to separate learning from emotions.  Also, the whole of Northern Ireland was our classroom, not just a stuffy classroom at the University of Ulster in Coleraine.  The second thing was my internship with Public Achievement and working with the BCC WIMPS crew.  Everyone was so welcoming and made me feel like I was making a difference there.  The third thing was our group.  I talked about how we come into Northern Ireland as complete strangers and were leaving as best friends.  It was because of how the program is set up that we became so close.  We got to learn, experience and reflect on everything together.  My final conclusion was that despite being very shy when I came to Northern Ireland, I was able to open up and find a community for myself there and I'm very proud of that.  I wasn't sure how well I really was able to convey my feelings about Northern Ireland, but I took comfort in the fact that I had made people laugh and cry. It was also nice to see my supervisor, Davy and my coworker Jayne one more time, as well as see a bit of Belfast again.

On our last weekend in Northern Ireland, we took a day trip to Portrush.  Right when we got there, we discovered Barry's, a small amusement park right by the train station.  We decided to go on the Hellraiser, which is a Waltzer (Tilt-a-Whirl).  We had tons of fun on that as the worker made us spin very very fast for a long time. My legs had turned to complete jelly by the end and I was feeling a bit dizzy.  After that we took a dander around the town, went into a few shops and visited the beach.  It was so beautiful and I got to put my feet in the cold ocean water for the first time.  We then went to supper in a fancy restaurant and had a delicious three course meal. I ate whole fish, like with the heads and tails still on them.  It was interesting and I'm shocked that I actually did it.

Our last week in Northern Ireland was emotional but we got to do a lot of great things.  We revisited Murlough Bay on a sunny, beautiful day, stood on the incredibly amazing Fairhead cliffs (and had a funny incident with a tap where I tried to drain the ocean), and walked across the terrifying Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge.  I was especially proud of crossing the rope bridge since I'm so afraid of heights. They were all so lovely that it was hard for my mind to comprehend it.

On Friday, we dropped Anna Mae and Jaira in Belfast.  It was a tough goodbye.  Those girls mean so much to me.  Before dropping Jess off, we took our time driving around Belfast and even visited the little fair in Bangor.  Too soon, we were heading back to Coleraine minus 3 great people.  On our last night in Northern Ireland, Mallory, Rebecca, Megan and I hung out for awhile then tried to get a bit of sleep before our flight.  We were at the airport by 9am and on our plane by 11.  It was also tough saying goodbye to Nigel, who has done so much for us, and Adam. Us 4 girls flew to Newark together then Mallory headed off to Detroit, Rebecca to Sioux Falls and Megan and I to Minneapolis.

It was surreal coming home and Northern Ireland felt like a crazy, amazing dream I'd had.  Leaving so many friends and my heart in a place where my dreams had come true was the hardest thing I've ever done. I'm going to keep in touch with everyone as much as possible and I'm already planning to go back and visit next summer after graduation.

This semester has done so much for me and I feel like the luckiest person in the entire world for all that I got to do and all the amazing people I had the privilege of meeting.  I've also changed in a lot of ways.  I've come out of my shell and found freedom and independence that I've never had before.  It's hard to put in words what that felt like but I know for sure I want to hang onto that here in the United States.  It might mean I need to make a few changes in my life but I feel like it's worth it. I don't want to settle back into my old habits here because I love the new person that I've become.

Last few bits of advice: take risks! Try new things, get out and meet new people and have fun! It will be the best thing you've ever done for yourself.

The Rocky Road to Dublin

The last 2 days of my internship were emotional and tough.  On Thursday, we had the meeting that I’ve been helping to plan during my time there with a bunch of different organizations in Belfast and I think it went really well.  We had a good turnout, the young people from the WIMPS Belfast Central Crew that came were really impressive and we got a good start on the youth voter registration campaign.  I wish I could be there to see it through.  That night, I also attended my last WIMPS BCC meeting.  We did a bit of storyboarding for their “Meet the Crew” video and joked around.  They got me an adorable caterpillar cake for my last night and I brought candy bars for them.  I also got the chance to do a short interview for them answering questions about my experiences in Northern Ireland and Public Achievement/WIMPS.  I’m going to miss them quite a lot but I know we’ll keep in touch.

My last ever day at Public Achievement was so hard.  Before work, I grabbed a bunch of ice cream bars and two cards, one for everyone and one for my supervisor, Davy.  I was emotional while writing in them that I had to go upstairs to the training room and have a good cry.  I thought I was doing a good job of keeping it together after that until they presented me with a bunch of going away gifts and I lost it while trying to express my appreciation for everything.  They got me a Belfast sweatshirt, cupcakes, an American cookie cake, an Ireland trinket box with a shamrock on it, a card, my very own journal and a WIMPS Crew t-shirt, my favorite thing of all.  I cried every time one of my coworkers came to say goodbye for good.  It’s amazing how you can become so attached to people in such a short time.  They said it was like I’d been there forever and assured me that they were sure I’d be back.  I felt very loved that day.  I also wrote an article on Monsanto for the WIMPS site that day.

That night, I got to go out with a couple coworkers for my friend’s 30^th birthday.  We started at her house and had a couple drinks then headed to a club called Mynt.  We had a good time there and danced the night away.

On Saturday morning, I got on a plane to London to meet up with my bestie, Victoria for the weekend.  I was pretty nervous about getting around London by myself but I finally made it to the hostel around noon and we got some lunch and walked around a bit. We had both gotten up pretty earlier so we took a rest at the hostel for a bit then rushed over to make our tour at the Harry Potter Studios by 5:30pm.  It was amazing and a dream come true!!  We spent two and a half hours that way, just freaking out and taking tons of pictures.  Due to various transportation difficulties, we got home about 11 and fell into bed. 

The next morning we grabbed breakfast and checked out of the hostel to explore the city.  We took the tube over to Waterloo and saw the London Eye, Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abby, the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace and a bit of the British Museum.  I had a really lovely time and it was great to see Vicky again.  Unfortunately, I had to rush over to the airport a lot earlier than I wanted to.  I was worrying about missing my flight due to delays on the way over when I met 14 Irish guys who had been in London for a stag party and were also flying to Belfast.  I pretty much stuck with them till we all got on the flight. I got back to Belfast and we went our separate ways though I ended up running into one of them on the walk back to Stranmillis.  It was funny.

On Monday morning, we reunited with the Derry people and piled into the van to go down to Dublin.  On the way down, we stopped briefly in south Armagh to talk about the violence around the border.  We then got to visit Newgrange, which is a famous burial site.  It was really interesting to learn a bit of history about it and how the Winter Solstice lines up with the small window above the entrance to light up the tomb.  It was also a beautiful day and I really enjoyed it.  We made our way down to Dublin and checked into our rooms at All Hallows College.  It was super fancy and nice with comfy beds, private bathrooms, heated towel racks and a huge window with a great view of the front lawn.  That night was pretty quiet, we just had supper at a pub and headed to bed.

The next morning, we were up bright and early for breakfast before heading to Trinity College to view the Book of Kells.  It was really interesting to learn about such an ancient and studied piece of work.  They also had an amazing library there (I secretly want to be a librarian for the rest of my life) and I decided I would’ve gone to Trinity if I’d had the opportunity.  We then headed over to Kilmainham Gaol Prison to take the tour there and then over to the Guinness Storehouse.  We learned how to pour the perfect pint of Guinness and then got to enjoy our pint in the Gravity Bar which has a wonderful view of Dublin.  That night was also pretty quiet.

The next day we got to meet two politicians, one from Fine Gael and one from the Labour party. They talked about their views on Northern Ireland and what their party is up to in the Republic.  Afterwards, we got a tour of the parliament buildings and sat in on a debate of a transportation bill.  I enjoyed the tour but the debate was so dry and boring that I fell asleep multiple times up in the balcony.  I was glad to leave and go get a yummy burrito at Tolteca (just like Chipotle).  That night I went with a couple girls downtown to get supper and have a drink at the famous Temple Bar.

On Thursday morning, we headed up into the Wicklow Mountains to visit Glencree Peace and Reconciliation Centre.  We got a tour, presentation and did some activities there.  It was such a nice day out that we kicked  soccer ball around for a while then journeyed through the beautiful mountains over to Glendalough to walk through and see the sights.  I’m so in love with the countryside here and I’m going to miss it dearly.

The next morning, we checked out of All Hallows and made some stops in south Armagh again to talk about Nigel’s experiences with the conflict.  It was a lot of time on the road that day but it was a good time.  We stopped in Belfast to eat supper at Build-a-Burger (amazing!) and then finally got up to Coleraine back to our apartments.

It upsets me that I leave this amazing place only two weeks from today.  I think that if someone offered me a couple more months here, I would take it.  I’ve done so much and come so far and I’m really proud of it all. It’s going to be strange being back in the United States. There’s so much I’m leaving behind here.