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
Thursday, March 31, 2011
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
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, March 30, 2011
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
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
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, March 29, 2011
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
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
Tuesday- Cari
Today was a bit of a rough start for me... oops! I was super late to the first meeting of the day, the traffic was terrible and we went to the wrong place first, but no worries we got there eventually, sadly I did miss the first meeting. The rest of the group heard Judge George Connors speak about youth justice, I'm sure it was amazing! (like the rest of this trip). We then headed off to the Youth Conference Service. We heard from Martin McAnallan and Yvonne Adair. They spoke to us about restorative justice. It's an extremely interesting idea that I think all countries should attempt. Instead of immediately sending a child to prison, the mediators attempt to work with victims and perpetrators towards a better end. Apology notes, community service, etc... Mr. Hubbard was very interested in it and how he could apply it to our school!
We then headed off (wow I use that alot) to see the Community Restorative Justice, they are two groups, 1 Catholic, and 1 Protestant who similar to the Youth Conference spoke about restoring justice. Instead of working through the courts and police they are community members who are trusted to attempt to mediate problems. It was extremely interesting and informative (I have 2 pages of notes!)
Next we went to school!!!!!!!!! I never thought I would be happy to say that over spring break =). Probably one of my favorite parts of this trip is going to visit schools, its just so interesting. We started in a political studies class where they were learning the difference between the Good Friday Agreement and the St. Andrews agreement, or if there was any difference at all. A little background The Good Friday agreement was established the Northern Ireland Assembly with devolved legislative powers and marked a deescalation of violence in The Troubles. It was signed in Belfast on 10 April 1998 (Good Friday) by the British and Irish governments and endorsed by most Northern Ireland political parties. On 23 May 1998 the Agreement was endorsed by the voters of Northern Ireland in a referendum (thanks wikipedia for so nicely summing that up!) and the St. Andrews Agreement which was an agreement between the British and Irish Governments and the political parties in relation to the devolution of power to Northern Ireland. The agreement resulted from multi-party talks held in St Andrews in Fife, Scotland from 11 October to 13 October 2006, between the two governments and all the major parties in Northern Ireland, including the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Sinn Féin. It resulted in the restoration of the Northern Ireland Assembly, the formation (on 8 May 2007) of a new Northern Ireland Executive and a decision by Sinn Féin to support the Police Service of Northern Ireland, courts and rule of law (once again thanks Wiki!) We then went to an Irish class, we learned how to say my name is... and where we were from, sadly i can't remember how to say those anymore. Language isn't my talent but Evelina was amazing! Then at the end of the day we just got to sit down and talk to some seniors about their lives! Then.... I TOOK THE BUS HOME!!!! The school we went to was Kathy's so we took a double decker school bus home, as they say here, it was good craic!
For dinner I had some good ole fish and chips! They were so yummy and I was excited to eat this Irish staple. Ice skating followed dinner with all the TABU students and the host teens, it was so fun and so funny to see people attempt to ice skate, including me. We just talked for awhile after, always one of my favorite things to do! So I'm going to bed now... but wait! In Ireland they have these things called hot water bottles (My host family offered me one the first night and I was like no thank you... why would i want hot water?) Turns out its a big rubber jug/bag about the size of a pillow that you fill with hot water and put in your bed and it makes your bed toasty warm. I'm coming home with at least 100 they are so the best things ever!!! Now I'm going to get into my toasty bed =) and get ready to see Dublin tomorrow!!!!
We then headed off (wow I use that alot) to see the Community Restorative Justice, they are two groups, 1 Catholic, and 1 Protestant who similar to the Youth Conference spoke about restoring justice. Instead of working through the courts and police they are community members who are trusted to attempt to mediate problems. It was extremely interesting and informative (I have 2 pages of notes!)
Next we went to school!!!!!!!!! I never thought I would be happy to say that over spring break =). Probably one of my favorite parts of this trip is going to visit schools, its just so interesting. We started in a political studies class where they were learning the difference between the Good Friday Agreement and the St. Andrews agreement, or if there was any difference at all. A little background The Good Friday agreement was established the Northern Ireland Assembly with devolved legislative powers and marked a deescalation of violence in The Troubles. It was signed in Belfast on 10 April 1998 (Good Friday) by the British and Irish governments and endorsed by most Northern Ireland political parties. On 23 May 1998 the Agreement was endorsed by the voters of Northern Ireland in a referendum (thanks wikipedia for so nicely summing that up!) and the St. Andrews Agreement which was an agreement between the British and Irish Governments and the political parties in relation to the devolution of power to Northern Ireland. The agreement resulted from multi-party talks held in St Andrews in Fife, Scotland from 11 October to 13 October 2006, between the two governments and all the major parties in Northern Ireland, including the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Sinn Féin. It resulted in the restoration of the Northern Ireland Assembly, the formation (on 8 May 2007) of a new Northern Ireland Executive and a decision by Sinn Féin to support the Police Service of Northern Ireland, courts and rule of law (once again thanks Wiki!) We then went to an Irish class, we learned how to say my name is... and where we were from, sadly i can't remember how to say those anymore. Language isn't my talent but Evelina was amazing! Then at the end of the day we just got to sit down and talk to some seniors about their lives! Then.... I TOOK THE BUS HOME!!!! The school we went to was Kathy's so we took a double decker school bus home, as they say here, it was good craic!
For dinner I had some good ole fish and chips! They were so yummy and I was excited to eat this Irish staple. Ice skating followed dinner with all the TABU students and the host teens, it was so fun and so funny to see people attempt to ice skate, including me. We just talked for awhile after, always one of my favorite things to do! So I'm going to bed now... but wait! In Ireland they have these things called hot water bottles (My host family offered me one the first night and I was like no thank you... why would i want hot water?) Turns out its a big rubber jug/bag about the size of a pillow that you fill with hot water and put in your bed and it makes your bed toasty warm. I'm coming home with at least 100 they are so the best things ever!!! Now I'm going to get into my toasty bed =) and get ready to see Dublin tomorrow!!!!
Monday, March 28, 2011
Sunday/Monday- Cari
Wow!!!!!! This has been the most amazing time of my life. So starting on Sunday which if you have read the other posts will already know it's a free day with the family! We had a wee bit of a sleep in and then headed of to St George's Market. If you have read Rique's post it's a place with food and and little shops. We walked around for about an hour and had lunch in the market. It was a good deal of craic (fun) We then went to the Irish Folk Museum! By far the most fun i've had. It's a little old time town with people working in the houses and telling you about things. Its pretty big and all outside and an amazing experience. Kathy and I went through the houses making up stories about people who could have lived their. That night we had a bbq at Paul's, everyone brought some food and we had so much to eat! (Tori made fantastic potatoes and didn't let anyone get away with out taking a plateful)
So Monday!!!!!!!!!!! Today was another fantastic day, we started with the reception at the Lord Mayor's Office in city hall. It was such an honor to meet him and he was such an interesting man to talk to. He was wearing this 14 pound solid 18 karat gold necklace, absolutely breathtaking. About halfway through the meeting Rachel and I suddenly felt faint, we think it was from being in the corner, everyone was so nice and got us water. Before you know it we were back on our feet! After the meeting we had a tour of city hall. My favorite part was in the center of the 2nd floor was a giant hole that showed you the first floor, another beautiful piece of architecture.
After the tour we spoke with a Jewish member of the Rotary Club, it was interesting, but a bit sad for me because of how little the Jewish population is in NI, only about 50 people. We then had lunch with the wonderful Rotary Club! The food and company were exceptional. We also each had to give a small speech, I was so nervous and soo lucky that I got to go first! (sarcasm on the last part) The speech ended up being fine, I talked about the SOS bus and why I had applied for TABU, each person talked about a different part of the trip.
Then we headed to hear a talk from Sean O'Baoill. He talked about mediating the problems. We had a very interesting start to the talk where he tried to guess if we were Protestant or Catholic, he then guessed. His point was you can't always know, but his problem was most of us were Jewish =)! His speech continued to talk about his work in the conflict
Tonight we went bowling with the Roteracts (I hope I spelled that right), they are Rotary University students, also along came the host teens. It was a night full of fun, similar to every night. I obviously beat everyone in bowling... yah right. Jacob Humerick won my lane, he is kind of an amazing bowler. Then we had some pizza and played arcade games! It was another great day in Ireland =)
-Cari Kraus
So Monday!!!!!!!!!!! Today was another fantastic day, we started with the reception at the Lord Mayor's Office in city hall. It was such an honor to meet him and he was such an interesting man to talk to. He was wearing this 14 pound solid 18 karat gold necklace, absolutely breathtaking. About halfway through the meeting Rachel and I suddenly felt faint, we think it was from being in the corner, everyone was so nice and got us water. Before you know it we were back on our feet! After the meeting we had a tour of city hall. My favorite part was in the center of the 2nd floor was a giant hole that showed you the first floor, another beautiful piece of architecture.
After the tour we spoke with a Jewish member of the Rotary Club, it was interesting, but a bit sad for me because of how little the Jewish population is in NI, only about 50 people. We then had lunch with the wonderful Rotary Club! The food and company were exceptional. We also each had to give a small speech, I was so nervous and soo lucky that I got to go first! (sarcasm on the last part) The speech ended up being fine, I talked about the SOS bus and why I had applied for TABU, each person talked about a different part of the trip.
Then we headed to hear a talk from Sean O'Baoill. He talked about mediating the problems. We had a very interesting start to the talk where he tried to guess if we were Protestant or Catholic, he then guessed. His point was you can't always know, but his problem was most of us were Jewish =)! His speech continued to talk about his work in the conflict
Tonight we went bowling with the Roteracts (I hope I spelled that right), they are Rotary University students, also along came the host teens. It was a night full of fun, similar to every night. I obviously beat everyone in bowling... yah right. Jacob Humerick won my lane, he is kind of an amazing bowler. Then we had some pizza and played arcade games! It was another great day in Ireland =)
-Cari Kraus
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)