Visits, visits, visits

Okay. So it's been a while and I should really go to sleep but here is just the slightest of recaps with more detail to follow soon. In the last two weeks: Mary and Lydia came to visit from Edinburgh and highlights included plenty of culinary treats, city whimsies, and lots and lots of walking. Work has been going along really well and just as I was getting really in the swing of things, spring break snuck up on me and I was off to Istanbul to visit another good friend, Joey, studying there for the semester. Unsurprisingly, highlights in Istanbul included culinary treats, lots of sites and walking and people watching and soaking in the amazing city. Then this weekend yet another Mac friend, Jon, was in town doing a bit of UK touring on his spring break from studying in Salamanca, Spain. We showed off the Belfast sites, rode the Wheel of Belfast (London Eye for beginners one could say), ate some free stew, and tried in vain to find Van Morrison's childhood home in East Belfast...

All in all it's been a jam-packed few weeks and I've really enjoyed exploring more of Belfast with Mac friends and exploring a completely different, wonderful Istanbul.

More soon, hope you're all well!

City Legs.

Ulster Museum -Queen's Quarter, South Belfast.

Queen's Arcade, my first Lanegran slide. City Centre.

Claire, Libby, Eddie, Mary, Lydia. Crepes. St. George's Market, Markets District.

"Bagel: regeneration is social cleansing" ...commentary on Cathedral Quarter, North of City Centre.

Erin and I dance on musical pavement. -Prince Albert's Clock, Laganside, Belfast

"Every turn of the wheel is a revolution" -outside the John Hewitt Pub, Cathedral Quarter.

Fish.

Food Notes

Battered pizza- Mary introduced me to this delicacy my first night in Edinburgh. Like many things I've consumed in the British Isles, I felt on the verge of a heart attack as I ate this culinary masterpiece. Imagine combining the deliciousness of mozzarella sticks and fried dough, and you'll get battered pizza. I'm usually unable to access that part of my brain that tells me to stop eating, but lets just say in the battle of battered pizza versus Lily, battered pizza won.
Big British Breakfast/Ulster Fry- The UK is quite the enabler of heart disease and obesity (not that the US isn't putting in some solid efforts across the pond). An Ulster Fry consists of eggs, toast, bacon, beans, sausage, tomatoes, chips, mushrooms, and sometimes another meat or blood pudding... I tried my first in Edinburgh (thus the "Big British Breakfast" title) and I'm pleased to report it lived up to its reputation. Here you're somehow tricked into thinking that you're eating something that might be sort of somehow good for you (enter mushrooms and tomatoes!). Don't be fooled. Regardless, an Ulster Fry is so far the shining star of Nor'n Irish breakfasts, a high compliment coming from a breakfast-o-phile.
Our Saint Patrick's Day festivities (naturally) including a few pints of Guinness, a bit of Bailey's, and of course, a stop at Bishop's for some fish and chips smothered in brown sauce. It's been great exploring pubs and restaurants in Belfast, they combine two of my most favorite activities: food and drink and people watching. And watching as people consume such food and drink as the night goes on...

Kilts Galore

Last weekend, I went to Edinburgh, Scotland to visit my friend Mary and see some men in kilts. To be honest, I didn't have very high expectations for Edinburgh as a city and was kind of expecting something similar to Belfast. I was proved completely wrong. Edinburgh is a beautiful city full of cute cafes, old stone buildings, museums, and plenty of hills. Mary and I did lots of wandering around, eating yummy food of all sorts, doing some touristy site seeing, not to mention buying myself a fantastic wool sweater and scarf (no judgments people).

Major things of note: the Scottish Parliament building is new and modern and wild looking, check it out. We also stumbled across an antique map dealer and a cool children's book store so basically Mary and I are set for future jobs. We explored a farmers' market, plenty of tourist shops, walked the Royal Mile and saw the Edinburgh Castle, the Queen's Palace at Holyrood, and many other exciting and historic buildings. We also spent a bit of time coloring and trying on costumes in the Edinburgh Museum, but that's probably another story for another format. Mary took me to the Library Bar at the student union which was as great as you think it was, a few good pints, a lovely atmosphere, and excellent for people watching. All in all, definitely a city I’d want to return to and a much-needed break from Belfast. Now Mary is coming to visit Belfast this weekend!

"Good Guinness, Good Food, Good Craic"

So this past week was St. Patrick's Day (as I'm sure you're well aware) and its a state holiday here which means everyone of all ages was out and about celebrating in their own manner... We passed a bar with a blackboard out front advertising "good Guinness, good food, good craic" which seems to sum up both the day Wednesday and the past few weeks in in the British Isles. Just in case I forgot to mention in a previous post, the term craic is used here like someone in the states would ask what's good? or what's up? For our St. Patty's Day, we went to the city centre, wandered and people watched for a long time before getting some lunch and doing some pub hopping, ending our day with Bishop's Fish and Chips and a drink at the Queen's student union bar. Most of my coworkers seemed to treat the day off like I might treat Veteran's Day or MLK Day- an excuse to catch up on errands and maybe go for a hike or a bike ride. That said, there were definitely plenty of people celebrating with many pints and green enthusiasm.

It's been really hectic at my internship these past two weeks and I've been busy helping my supervisor with a series of projects in specific urban neighborhood renewal areas in Northern Ireland. I've been helping prepare for meetings, gathering images and setting up presentations, as well as compiling notes and images for sketch designs, writing community consultation reports, and learning my way around photoshop. I've also been getting to know my coworkers and indulging in endless cups of tea and scones. My tea and scone intake is definitely becoming an issue, but that's a topic for a different discussion.

On Monday last (as they say), we had our seminar in Belfast and went to Belfast City Council and the Northern Ireland Parliament at Stormont. I think we were all expecting to find the day difficult and frustrating, given preconceived notions of and previous experiences with politicians and political structures. Certain aspects of the day were difficult to accept and process: for example, Stormont is possibly the most inaccessible and uninviting political building I’ve ever seen. The whole place gave off a very controlling vibe and seemed unbelievably disconnected from the rest of the city. On the other hand, we met with 2 Good Relations officers at the BCC who spoke about creating shared spaces, focusing on access and perceptions of safety and ‘cultural value,’ which I found really interesting and physical access and transportation isn’t really something we’ve heard people talk about much here. At Stormont, we were able to speak with 6 representatives or spokespeople from 6 of the 8 (yes 8!) parties in the NI Assembly.

There are 108 MLAs or representatives in the Assembly, which come from 18 districts and represent a total of 1.5 million people. This ratio is pretty high but sort of necessary given the problems in political representation and the fact that NI has a mandated power sharing government. We spoke with reps from the Alliance Party, the Green Party, the DUP, the UUP, Sinn Fein, and the PUP. The Alliance and Green parties are two of the parties that do not have a national leaning or connection while the DUP, UUP, and PUP are Unionist parties and Sinn Fein (along with the SDLP) are Nationalist parties. The role of national identity in politics here is fascinating because in many ways it completely trumps social, economic, and other considerations. The sentiment behind much of the politics, even today, is that people vote along these lines because they don’t want the other guy in power. I could write and write about Stormont and the political system here but this post is already quite long so I’ll spare you. In short, I think we were all pleasantly surprised by the genuine nature and openness of nearly all the politicians we spoke to. While there was certainly a bit of rhetoric being thrown around, many of the individuals actually answered our questions, perhaps a bit surprising. Given how difficult it would be to get a Congress(wo)man or Senator to sit down with 15 foreign students in the States, the opportunity alone was refreshing.

Last weekend, the weather in Belfast was beyond beautiful and while 3 of our flatmates went to Dublin to see (MN hip-hop artist) Brother Ali, the rest of us spent as much time in the sunshine as possible. We went Saturday to the Ulster Museum: a really interesting renovated building, full of exhibits on art, history, and natural history. Always interesting to see how museums talk about local histories, especially when you’re studying that history. Then we ate burritos from our beloved Boojum in the park and had a relaxing evening in the flat. Sunday I went for a long walk by myself along the River Lagan and in some old industrial areas near the City Centre I haven’t explored yet. It was another beautiful day and a very different side of Belfast, which I really enjoyed and look forward to seeing more of. I tried to stop at a pizza place near us that looks potentially promising but it was closed so I went to the Spar and decided to try Sweet Thai Chicken crisps. Exploring another country’s snack foods could be a lifetime occupation in of itself.

Monday we were back in Derry for seminar. This time in the Fountain estate (essentially a tiny, Protestant enclave in the very Catholic, Nationalist Derry) meeting with a man from the community who told us the story of his community and his experience with politics, the police, and the Troubles. The discussion brought together a lot of topics we’ve been floating around including the tension between class and sectarian identities, the role of police, the underdog mentality that both sides seem to hold, and the obstacles to integration and peace in a place like Derry.

The past two days I’ve been helping with a conference for my internship called Grow Our Own, helping local groups think about setting up community farms and gardens. There were some really interesting speakers and it was nice to get out of the office and spend more time in different parts of NI and with my coworkers.

Parking the Beast

This entry is entitled “Parking the Beast.” The beast is otherwise known as the 17 seat mini-bus Nigel drives us around in and to be perfectly honest, many of the funniest moments of the last month have occurred in the beast or, occasionally, at the beast’s expense. It’s been a crazy week as we all settled into our internships and spent some time exploring Belfast this weekend. Internship placements seem to be going okay for everyone, but it has definitely been a stressful week. Personally, I’m enjoying my internship so far- learning a lot and trying to get to know my co-workers and the feel of the place. Unlike most of the other placements, this organization has never had a HECUA intern so I think we’re all trying to figure out exactly what my role will be. Needless to say, there have definitely been some rough evenings coming home from work and feeling pretty unsure of the whole thing.

Wednesday we had our seminar day and the whole program met up for the day in Belfast; each week we convene either in Belfast or Derry (usually on Mondays) to discuss our experiences, meet with organizations, and of course, ride around in the beast. This week, we went to the WAVE Trauma Center in North Belfast, which works with victims and survivors of the Troubles. After Nigel expertly maneuvered the beast through some very tight spots, we spoke with one of the organization’s leader who lost his wife and father-in-law in 1993 in the (Protestant/Unionist) Shankhill Road Bomb that killed 9 people, including one of the IRA bombers. The event caused quite a controversy because Gerry Adams, the leader of Sinn Fein (the leading Nationalist party), carried the coffin of the IRA bomber who was killed.

We’ve talked a bit about a hierarchy of victims, the idea that not all deaths should be treated the same, and it was really interesting and clarifying to hear this man’s story and opinions on the relationships between victims. It’s truly amazing how many people’s stories we’ve been able to hear; I know each one gives me a whole new set of questions and brings a new depth to my understanding of the Troubles and this society.

After WAVE, we went to Northern Ireland Alternatives, an organization centered around the idea of restorative justice and also one of the HECUA placements. We spoke with some of the leaders of the organization about what restorative justice means and what they do to promote justice at the local level. Then we had a tour of East Belfast, a heavily Protestant/Unionist/Loyalist area, and got to hear a pretty strong Loyalist perspective, one we haven’t heard much from. It was interesting to walk around the neighborhood and hear how socio-economic deprivation affects peoples’ thinking about conflict and division. It was another pretty intense day that ended with a Q&A with a leader of the UVF (a Loyalist paramilitary group).

It’s been really nice having seven roommates having parallel experiences and we’ve definitely had our fair share of bonding moments in the flat and on some really fun city adventures. This weekend we were all in need of some good craic (which is what the locals call ‘a good time’)… Friday we went to a Mexican restaurant, which was basically a Chipotle and so, so delicious even if it wasn’t an Anna’s burrito or a Los Ocampo al pastor taco. We explored a few bars and did some dancing and all really enjoyed ourselves. Yesterday we explored the St. George’s Farmers Market, the City Centre, and Victoria Sq. Mall- it was a beautiful day and a lot of fun to walk around, people watch, and do a little shopping.


Tomorrow we’re off to Derry for a seminar day and then back to work on Tuesday. Last night, Erin (a fellow Mac student and one of my Belfast flat-mates) bought tickets for spring break to go to Istanbul to, among other things, visit our friend Joey! And next weekend I’m off to Edinburgh, Scotland to visit my friend Mary and try some haggis, or something…

Belfast Girl

So when people asked me where in Northern Ireland I was studying abroad I said Belfast, it was much easier than saying Coleraine, Belfast or Derry, Dublin, then back to Coleraine. Really, would you know where half of those places are? Probably not, and given that I still get funny looks when I tell people in Massachusetts I go to school in Minnesota, I just said I was studying abroad in Belfast.

What’s weird is that now I am in Belfast. And even though we’ve been in N. Ireland basically a month, today was almost as scary a first day as the real first day. Maybe I was just nervous, but I think people in Belfast talk faster than other people I’ve met here, which didn’t help my nerves on my first day of work. The organization I’m working for does landscape architecture and helps communities transform public spaces- all the work they do sounds really interesting and I’m excited to learn more about what they do. Hopefully I’ll also learn more about what I’m going to be doing and get to know the people who work there better. In many ways, its completely different from other places I’ve worked but I’m really excited to learn and hopefully contribute.

The Belfast 8 (Real World Belfast anyone?) moved in yesterday to Stranmillis College which is in South-ish Belfast. We’re about a 15-minute walk from Queen’s University and about 30-40 minutes from the City Center. Our flat is basically one extra-long hallway with bedrooms (and a bathroom for everyone!), a kitchen, a bathtub room, and some other doors that we can’t open. We don’t really have a living room or common space, but we do have a room with just a bathtub so I guess that’s something.

We moved in yesterday afternoon and after Nigel took us to a Tesco-extra (if Super Target and Super Walmart had a baby and it took steroids you’d get Tesco-extra) to stock up on groceries, we tried to fit 8 people’s groceries into a mini-fridge. What is possibly most comical about our flat is that while we have a kind of inadequate fridge, we have a freezer so large we each get a fairly sizeable shelf. Oh well, it’s definitely a funny place but we’re enjoying it so far.

After settling in, we walked to the Botanic neighborhood, which is between Queen’s and the City Center. It’s sort of a hipster/student/yuppy kind of place with hip-looking Indian and Mexican restaurants, a pub called Springsteen’s, a myriad of coffee shops, and plenty of fish and chips places. It sort of reminds me of a lot of places I’ve been- kind of a Coolidge Corner meets Uptown meets Greenwich Village meets Victorian-era Belfast. It’s exciting to walk down streets and see diverse types of people and stores. On today’s walk to the train station, I spotted many a Belfast-hipster and countless teenagers on their way to school in their smart uniforms, which makes them look way older and way cooler than I ever did as a high schooler. I’m already excited for the weekend; hopefully we’ll explore some of the sights and ride the big Ferris wheel next to City Hall (its not as cool or as big as the London Eye but this is Belfast, okay?)

Hey! Where is my mail, people? (Only my mother is exempt from this question- thanks Mommy!)

"A Wee Separate Bit"

It’s been a busy week here, one full of excursions and lots of time in the classroom. We just had our last day of seminars in Coleraine and had a phenomenal lunch at the home of our program director, Nigel, where we were spoiled with homemade soups, bread, scones, and sweets as well as hanging out with his two adorable, ‘wee’ children. After lunch, Nigel drove us to a beach called Benone beach to the west of where we’re staying. The short drive along the coast was beautiful and reminded me somewhat of Big Sur in California or the Oregon coast, we saw a few waterfalls coming out of the basalt rocks and a crumbling palace of an old archbishop. The beach itself was absolutely gorgeous, stretching for miles in either direction, most of us dipped out feet in and got a bit wet before taking some photos and enjoying our last day together before the 5 Derry and 2 Ballycastle interns leave tomorrow.

It’s been an incredibly challenging and fascinating few weeks and I honestly feel that I’ve learned more in the last month than I do in some entire semesters. I’m really enjoying getting to spend so much time focusing on learning about many aspects of one place and all that’s happened here. We’ve spent most of our days in class at the university with a wide array of speakers and discussions, examining different aspects of the history of Northern Ireland and the conflict.

They have been long days, but really rewarding in that I feel as though every session brings a new set of questions and constantly challenges what I’m thinking about. In addition, we spent two days on field trips, learning about the cities of Derry and Belfast and speaking with individuals from different communities. The only way to describe the situation and all that we’ve learned is that it’s completely overwhelming and challenging but in a lot of ways really exciting to be able to grapple with so many dimensions of conflict, history, violence, peace, communities, traditions, and so on.

A few notes on Derry/Londonderry (Protestant/Unionists refer to it as Londonderry because it was renamed for the London Company but Catholic/Nationalists just call it Derry and purely because its easier to just write Derry, that’s what I’m doing here): Derry is the second largest city in Northern Ireland but with only about 80,000 people and essentially no buildings over 3 stories high, it feels much more like a large town. Though Derry/Londonderry is mostly Catholic today, the city is very important for Protestants/Unionists because of the Siege of Derry in 1690. In the Siege, Protestants defended the city for over 100 days from a Catholic army with the motto “never surrender.” This mentality is still very strong in the Protestant community in Derry even though the city is majority Catholic today.

We spent time with a local tour guide on the city walls, in the Unionist Fountain housing community, and in the Catholic Bogside. We spent most of our time in the Bogside where we visited the Bloody Sunday memorial, the famous murals of the Bogside Artists’ murals depicting different aspects of the Troubles, the Museum of Free Derry, and had lunch and discussion in a community center promoting healthy living. It was an incredibly moving afternoon that raised many questions about how individuals and communities deal with trauma, violence, and justice. We were definitely all pretty drained but managed to enjoy ourselves on the way back to Portrush in the mini-bus, affectionately dubbed ‘the beast.’ Nigel has been playing music for us on many of the rides we take, speaking about what the songs refer to and where the musicians are coming from. We’ve been listening to a wide array of genres and artists but Wednesday night on our way home, Nigel cranked Semisonic’s “Closing Time” and (nearly) everyone sang along. It’s nice to have a group of people experiencing and processing along with me and I’ve really appreciated the diversity of opinion and perspective in discussions.

Belfast on Wednesday was a very different, but equally as thought-provoking and interesting, experience. We met in the morning with representatives from a Catholic Republican organization that gives political tours of the Falls Road, a Nationalist/Republican heartland. On the tour we visited a number of political murals, memorials, the Sinn Fein headquarters (Sinn Fein is the Nationalist political party), and a cemetery where the Republican plots are. We ate lunch at the Republican Club and had a Q&A with our guide and another representative who are both former IRA political prisoners.

After lunch, we hopped over to the Protestant, Loyalist Shankhill Road neighborhood, directly parallel and very close to the Falls, where we toured the area with a former UVF political prisoner. In the Shankhill, we saw murals, memorials, peace walls, and community spaces that parallel those in the Falls but express a very different sentiment. I think the tours of the Falls and the Shankhill, particularly our experience with our guide in the Shankhill, challenged many of us to think about different perspectives and facets to the conflict. I know I was personally challenged to think about notions of what peace means, the psychology behind being a former prisoner and perpetrator of violence, and the legacy of some of these ideologies and memories. In other words, it was another emotionally and mentally taxing but crucial day that ended with the Beast bumbling back towards Portrush.

This post is crazy, crazy long… I guess the only things left to say are about food and fun:

1. Smarties flavored McFlurries: would be better in Dairy Queen blizzard form.

2. Scones just keep getting better.

3. Mr. Chips fish and chips are going to kill us all.

4. When you ask for a lemonade at a sketchy Chinese restaurant in Portrush, they’ll bring you 7-Up.

5. Last weekend we experienced some serious Northern Irish partygoers both nights out, but particularly at Kelly’s, the dance club we went to Saturday night where one of my flat-mates summed it up best as the most of the girls “look like they left half of their clothes at the Jersey Shore” …

Castles and Coastlines

Hello loyal blog readers! It feels like months since I last posted but I guess it was really only last week... Since then, we've gone on a retreat, explored the North Coast, and started classes at the University. We took off bright and early Monday morning to the Knockyland branch of an organization called Corrymeela where we spent the next two days. We learned more about Northern Ireland, what we'll be doing here, spent a bunch of time outside looking at sheep and breathing the fresh air, and determined who would be going to which internship site. I'll be going to an environmental action organization in Belfast located on a peace line. I'm not exactly sure what I'll be doing there but I'm really excited to see what they do and how their work is influenced by where they are located.

Last week we had a tourist day of fun and went to the Giant’s Causeway, which was formed by a volcano and basically looks like a huge jetty made entirely out of hexagonal rock pillars. It was beautiful and really great, again, to be right on the sea. After that we had some fish and chips (greasy, fatty, delicious) and went to the Bushmill’s Distillery- the oldest legal whiskey distillery in Ireland. We got a tour and had a sample and while it was cool to hear about and see the process, it wasn’t as exciting as I had imagined. After the distillery, we went to Dunluce Castle.

The castle is on a beautiful cliff overlooking the sea and was built hundreds of years ago. It hasn’t been in use since the 1600’s when the cliff fell into the ocean, taking the kitchen, dinner, and some servants down with it. We had a great tour guide who told us tons about the castle’s history and showed us what parts of the castle would have been used for what purposes. He also told us that one day when it was too windy for tours to see the castle, he and some of his co-workers built a fire in the fireplace and had a barbeque in this castle ruin! Some of us talked about how different that experience was from historical sites in the US. You would never go and just start cooking dinner in Paul Revere’s house or ring the Liberty Bell… it’s interesting to think about how history is just a part of the landscape here. It’s a completely integrated part of the landscape. Naturally, history is a part of the landscape across the US but I think we tend to mark or highlight certain parts of our history as “more historic” than others.

The rest of the week and into this week we have seminars all day at the University. While they are pretty long days (I don’t think I’ve been in a classroom this long since fifth grade practically), I definitely feel like I’m learning a lot- or at least getting a lot of facts about the history of Northern Ireland and the relationships between the different groups here.

One highlight of this weekend was watching the Ireland-France 6 Nations rugby game at one of the bars in Portrush. The tournament has been going on since we got here and I’ve really enjoyed watching the games on TV. I thought rugby would be a lot more like football, but its so much more enjoyable to watch because it doesn’t keep starting and stopping. The players are so fast and there seems to be more teamwork than most other sports I’ve seen. Not to mention the rugby players- on both sides- are not torturous to look at. Ireland lost but I had fun nonetheless and look forward to catching some more matches while we’re here and hopefully going to one myself.

The rest of this week will be more seminars and a visit to Derry/Londonderry where 5 of our group will be interning. I’m excited to be in a city and see some of the places we’ve been talking about and hear more from people outside the classroom. Derry is also pretty famous for its political murals- I’m pretty jazzed. Before we go to Belfast in a few weeks some of the group and I are thinking about going to Galway in the Republic for a few days. It’s supposed to be a really great city, full of young people and live music. Anyone have any good Galway suggestions?

This post is getting pretty long but a little food update: There is a chain grocery/convenience store called Spar where we probably go at least once a day to buy food-which goes quickly given the miniature nature of our fridge...So, digestives: still delicious, still confusingly named. Fish and chips: greasy, delicious, heart disease. On the crisp (re: potato chips) front: salt and vinegar Tayto or HunkyDory chips are most delicious. I’ve tried cheese and onion, bacon, and prawn cocktail. So far I’m just enjoying everything smothered in vinegar. I also had some homemade Irish stew at a café in Coleraine- so hearty!

A Wee Bit of News

Greetings from Coleraine, Northern Ireland! This post is mostly for those with mothering tendencies and I'll post more in the next week after I've had a little more time to think and more to say...

So, I'm writing this from the University of Ulster campus library on a mildly gloomy, albeit warm, Saturday afternoon and it feels like I've been here for much more than two days. A quick recap: The flight (my first trans-Atlantic one) wasn't bad except for the fact that I didn't sleep much so I was pretty tired and jet lagged Thursday and yesterday, getting really tired for a short period before being really energetic. It was interesting to leave Newark at night, flying over New York City, Connecticut, Providence, and Boston and landing in Belfast in the morning. The area between New York and Boston (what up megalopolis) is so dense and bright and urban, especially this time of year. On the other end of the pond, the first thing I noticed once we broke the cloud cover was how green everything was. Yeah, I know, its the Emerald Isle and all of that but I wasn't expecting it to be SO green in February! This fact was only compounded by how rural it is here. While I've flown across the Midwest many times, the landscape here is much more similar to rural New England (minus the trees) than the large industrial looking farms of the Midwest. Plus, most of these tracts don't seem to actually be farmed, more like grazing pastures except I've only seen a couple of sheep and a handful of cows :(

Moving right along: After we met our program director, Nigel (extremely sarcastic and very helpful), we took about an hour bus to Portrush on the North Coast of the island. Portrush is part of the "triangle" of Portrush, Coleraine, and Portstewart. For the first 3 weeks we'll be taking classes at the University of Ulster in Coleraine and commuting by train (yes!) about10 minutes one way. Portrush is pretty sleepy and a little rough around the edges- we've been told it used to be the height of seaside tourism in decades past but now everyone just goes to Spain or Italy or other actually warm places.

The 15 of us are split between 4 flats, which are very pleasant and cozy. The best part is that we're about 10 seconds from the sea. So far, we've explored a bit of Portrush, including a couple coffee shops, bars, and restaurants, and gone for some walks on the "strands" (re: beaches). Yesterday we came to campus for the first time and did a bunch of administrative stuff before heading into the town of Coleraine, which seems to the most happening of the three towns. We got our phones (and lots of intel on the local scene), wandered around a bit, and had lunch before heading back to our flats. Last night we all went out to a bar where there was a cover band playing lots of songs we all knew (with a singer who looked exactly like Alec Baldwin minus the star treatment). We all had some drinks and danced and had a good time- it was a little odd, or so we all thought, because very, very few people were dancing on the dance floor or even with their friends. So far, everyone I've met or spoken to has been really nice and friendly, giving lots of information about places to go and things to do. We certainly stick out, particularly when we travel in a pack, but so far people have been really accommodating, if not amused, by us. This weekend, I'm planing on fully unpacking, exploring Portstewart, finding myself some fish and chips, and definitely going for another walk on the beach. I think that's all for now, hope to hear from all of you soon!

Oh! I've decided at the end of each post to make a few notes on food and drink that I try. That said, In the past few days not much of note has been consumed other than my first pint of Guinness- delicious, a hard cider called Magners- also delicious, and the chocolate digestives (basically graham cracker cookies with a chocolate covering) which sort of creeped me out by name but are pretty tasty (and sadly have all been eaten). Next up: Fish and Chips!

The Waiting Game

After what feels like a decade of deliberations, forms, changing my mind a million times (collective eye-roll), and some weird searches in the bowels of the US Passport and Visa buildings, I'm finally off to Northern Ireland! Well, sort of... I'm actually writing this from the unseasonably warm suburbs of Boston but after over a month at home, I'm so ready to go I decided to get this blog going.

I'm leaving Boston for Belfast via Newark next Wednesday and in the mean time I'm busy getting all my ducks in a row, making sure my teeth are cavity-free, and eating my favorite foods like they're going extinct. I'm planning to use this blog to keep all of you oh, so devoted readers updated on my experiences, travels, and studies in Northern Ireland and beyond. There will undoubtedly be lots of talk of food, the famous Irish sarcasm, rain, and reflections on all of the above. Please feel free to leave comments here or email me or whatever you like. One final note about the title of this blog, it comes from "Sabrina" (the one with Audrey Hepburn, not the one with the teenage witch) and I chose over the many Lily-the-Leprechaun suggestions, try again next time kids!