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