Culmination

We are officially at home in Highland Park/Highwood. I think it is fair if I take this opportunity to speak for everyone and say a few things. 

This has been an absolutely unforgettable experience. The point of the program was to allow students to understand conflict and conflict resolution, and how to apply it to our lives at home. The ten days we spent in Northern Ireland have given us all insight into peaceful processes to resolve violent issues, and the application of those processes into different communities and people with different backgrounds. Without a doubt the six of us will be able to take what we've learned and apply it to our lives and school to try to better our community. 

But in addition to all of us learning about these serious issues, part of what made the trip so great was the familial atmosphere in our whole group. Between the rotarians, our host students and parents, ourselves, and our wonderful teacher, I truly feel that we have all made or strengthened relationships that we will hold onto forever. Because of our closeness we were all able to enjoy the trip all the time, whether we were in a meeting or just sitting on the bus. Many people mentioned tearful goodbyes because we're all going to miss each other, but I know that no matter what we will be able to stay in contact.

On that note I would like to say thank you to all the members of the Highland Park/Highwood and Belfast rotary clubs. I think it goes without being said that without you the trip would never be a reality. You made everything that we did possible, from setting everything up to making sure we were all happy and having a good time. We know that you are constantly working to improve the trip for the people in years to come, and this time around you did an amazing job. We all loved everything that we did, and we cannot thank you enough. 

I would also like to say thank you to all the host families. It is so kind of you to open your homes to us for ten days. You all made the six of us feel so welcome and comfortable. Without you our trip would not have been the same. To the McDowell's, my family, I don't think I can ever repay you. My entire experience would have been completely different if I had been with another family. I have never felt more welcomed into a home before, and I don't think I ever will. Thank you so much for everything. 

The message I would like everyone to take away from this is that regardless of the fact that this trip was meant to engage us in conflict resolution, it engaged us in so much more. Whether we were ice skating of meeting with the US Consulate, we had a great time. The six of us have learned things that we will carry with us for life, and our love and appreciation of Northern Ireland will always be with us. 

Rachel

From the Belfast Rotary Club

TOGETHER A Better Understanding!............

Welcome home!    On behalf of President Brian Clements, David Boyd and the rest of the TABU team, together with all the members of the Rotary Club of Belfast, can we simply express our appreciation of the time you have spent with us.  What a group!    You have all been impeccable ambassadors for your school, Highland Park and the Rotary Club.   You have impressed wherever you went and have joined in with an enthusiasm and a sense of fun in all the activities.  We note from your excellent blogs that you have taken away a set of experiences and we hope these will stay with you for a long time, together with a soft spot for this small corner of the world.  You have certainly earned a place in our hearts and we return you to your homes with a great sense of sadness at your leaving us, but also with a very large measure of optimism for the future which you will be forging for yourselves and your community.  

Thank you for your impact on us and all the memories you have left with us - they make all the preparation on both sides well worthwhile and encapsulate the unique aspects if the TABU programme.   

We wish you well in all your future endeavours and simply leave you with the words of a famous Irish blessing:

“May the road rise up to meet you, may the wind be ever at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face and the rain fall softly on your fields. And until we meet again, May your God hold you in the hollow of his hand”.

 

David

(tried to post this on your blog but could only manage to post a comment!)

last day

Well it's currently 6:41am while I an writing my last post on this blog. This trip has been a serious once in a lifetime opportunity and I think I can speak for the whole group when I say that we definitely will not forget the past 10 days. It seem like only yesterday that I was standing in front of Victoria Square, astonished by the fact that I was in Northern Ireland. Well time comes and goes and eventually it is time to say goodbye which is what I feel is the hardest thing. However, the progress that 6 kids and 5 host students made was unbelieveable. 10 days ago I just met these people and it's astonishing how we have come as one and have been united. Yes, it will be a difficult and tearful goodbye at Belfast International today. But the situation the students shared with the hosts really mirrors what needs to be done back at a place that I personally use to call home, Highland Park. This is unity. We need to use what we've learned and unite our community as a whole.
Ending my philosophical speech there, I would like to take this time to thank the Rotary Club for giving me this opportunity. A big warm thank you also goes out to Carolyn Watson, my host mother. Also a huge thanks to Tori Watson, my host sister. The previous two people have let me in their house for the past ten days and have made it an experience worth remembering.
As I type this post, it is saddening that I am leaving Northern Ireland. If it were up to me, I wouldn't leave. But I remember, home is where the heart is, which means I never really am going to leave the Watson residence or Northern Ireland.

-riques

Last Day

So....I'm crying. Maybe because I'm really tired but also because this is the end of one of the best weeks of my life.  Sure, we did the usual TABU stuff today.  We met with community organizers, the PSNI, and the US Consul.  Actually, that was really interesting.  I asked economics questions. It seemed normal until I realized, I was leaving tomorrow. We went to President Brian's house and spent some quality time together singing Irish songs near a piano.  No one can dance.  We gave speeches.  More crying. Bye. Ari....

Evelina

Hello all. Sorry about this being my first post, but Evelina and I haven't had access to the internet all week. Today was absolutely incredible. We met with two community outreach organizations in the neighborhood of short strand, which is an interface community where the sectarian divisions are very evident. However although the two community centers represented two "different communities" they were dealing with the same exact issues. This meeting truly brought a great sense of culmination to our trip because it discussed actual methods that are used to simply start the conversation about the issues within a community.
We are extremely sad to leave and we will miss all of those whom we've met along our journey here. I would just like to thank Eileen and Paul McGivern for being such great host parents and the Rotary Club for giving us this incredible opportunity and experience that none of us will ever forget.

Ari

It's really hard to believe it's our last night here. I was just saying a few hours ago how crazy it was that we were actually in Northern Ireland, but I think that fact really just hit us once we realized we were leaving. Bad timing. As Ari said earlier today was awesome and really wrapped things up. I'm definitely ready to go home but at the same time I don't want to leave and I think we all feel similarly. The experience has been second to none, and hopefully we will be able to bring what we have learned back to Highland Park and Highwood to tackle social issues there.
What's really been the most impactful thing for me is the people. Yes, we did come here to learn about conflict resolution and take advantage of the educational opportunities. But I've learned that behind every conflict and every peace process, there are people. In order to address a problem, you have to address the people it affects. So while a problem may seem insurmountabe or even incomprehensible, people are not and by working with others you can accomplish almost anything. The people of Northern Ireland have been truly remarkable, just so warm and welcoming and because of their kindness this trip has been amazing. The Chambers have been like a second family while I've been here, it really is just crazy. In the end, this last blog is a reflection on the entirety of the trip. It moved way too fast to take everything in while it was happening, but now I really feel that I can appreciate it all. As Ferris Bueller once said, "Life moves fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you might miss it".

Jacob

Wednesday- Cari

DUBLIN!!! We were up bright and early (not that early) in order to be in Dublin. We took a coach bus to Dublin and started the day off at a truck stop for some food and coffee. It was actually quite nice and the bathroom even had showers! How crazy! Our first real stop of the day was a British Cemetery, our tour guide had just gotten off a plane from the states but his stories were still amazing. He told us one about a man who was working on the job one day when two men came into and started causing some trouble, all the other men jumped and them and started kicking them to death before they could die the man whose tomb stone we saw jumped in and saved the two men, one turned out to be Adolph Hitler. It was a draw-dropping story and really made me think about how this man could have saved so many millions of people, he obviously didn't know which really shows we never know what is going to become of someone.

We finished off the cemetery and then it was time for lunch! We ate at a place called Kennelys (I could have totally made that name up, so....?) It was hard to find a table for six of us but we did manage. I had a really good sandwich with ham, cheese, and tomato (they say tomato differently from us) with some chips (fries). Then the TABU students walked around and shopped. All the girls bought green rugby jerseys, I also got some bracelets and a pin to add to my name tag. We walked through Trinity campus at the end, and that was absolutely beautiful (future college?). The bus ride back was uneventful, I spent most of it sleeping =)

Tonight we spent with our host families, my family and I went to Gaze, a chinese restaurant (http://www.nifoodreview.com/gaze-review.htm here is a website I found for it if anyone is interested?) It was super yummy and no matter how hard I tried to pay they wouldn't let me! This whole trip Kathy and I have been fighting to pay for each other =). We went home but stopped on our way to see a beautiful view of Belfast at night. We got out of the car on top of the whole and you could see everything, I'm in love. We headed home and Kathy and I played Mario Kart, I am terrible, she is amazing to put it simply. I'm going to go to bed now, with my nice and toasty bed thanks to a hot water bottle. Blog tomorrow! (I hope)

-Cari

dublindublindublindublindublindublin

So today we went to Dublin in the Republic. We all had to wake up early because the bus ride there takes about two hours I want to say(I slept through the bus rides for the most part). It was really fun. It rained a wee bit before I woke up but while we were at Dublin it was relatively sunny and warm!

We started our trip at Dublin with a visit to a British paramilitary cemetery. It was amazing to see all the history that could be stored in one small location!

Afterwards, we got some lunch at a cafe in downtown Dublin. We were right in front of Trinity College, Beautiful campus! A lot of people were relaxing on the campus since it was such a nice day. Us TABU kids and the adults then got separated and we all did our shopping in downtown Dublin. There's a street called Grafton Street which is basically the main shopping region in Dublin. We went to some stores and we got souvenirs for our families and a couple of Irish rugby jerseys for ourselves :)

Now I'm at home, waiting for dinner to be served. Tomorrow is our last full day in Northern Ireland. Have to make the most out of it!

-riques

Tuesday - Jacob

It's been a crazy past couple of days so forgive the time between posts but there really just isn't time to do much of anything else besides what is scheduled. We started today with a restorative justice information session with two judges from the courts of Northern Ireland, one being a youth judge specializing in restorative justice. They talked a lot about the process and the ins and outs of the law, which helped us understand the next session where we met with two restorative justice counselors for juvenile criminals (seeing a pattern here?). They drew parallels between the system for it in Northern Ireland and the one in the US, and highlighted the personal aspect of it all. It made us see that locking people up for some lesser crimes isn't always progressive and sometimes reconciliation between the perpetrator and the victim can be better for all involved than jail time. We then finished up our restorative-justice-filled morning with a meeting with two organizations for community restorative justice, one Unionist and one Nationalist. Obviously they focused more on the practicality of the system in Northern Ireland post-conflict and how to implement in communities, and this helped round out the topic.
We then went to Our Lady at St. Pat's Grammar School and sat in on a politics and Irish language class. Irish is a really tough language, but we all had fun trying. Afterwards some students from their senior class met with us to talk about all sorts of stuff ranging from sports to culture to future plans in life. They were really, really similar to us, reminding us yet again that even though we might be an ocean away none of us are all that different. Finally we went home for some dinner and then all met at the Dundonald Ice Bowl where we played some arcade games and skated for a wee bit. McDonalds was a quick stop for some dessert, and then off to bed because tomorrow we go to Dublin! I wish I could post a lot of pictures on this but I don't think I can. Maybe sometime soon I'll figure out how because there have been some amazing sights. Anyways its time for bed now, good night!
-Jacob