On Wednesday we went to Belfast to explore the city, see our new housing accommodations, meet with two ex members of paramilitaries, visit a peace wall, and meet with some of our internship supervisors.

The day did not start out so great for me however, I got a wee little car sick as Nigel would say.  I am pretty sure that I got car sick because 1. There are not really speed limits, just suggestions. 2. The whole driving on the opposite side of the road thing throws me off. 3. There are very narrow roads, with sharp turns. 4. Those narrow roads I just talked about means that cars in the other lane are extremely close, and last but certainly not least. 5. We drive a mini type of bus that Nigel calls the “beast”, needless to say they aren’t like American mini buses, this one is a stick shift that is very top heavy I feel, so every corner or sharp or bump feels like we are going to tip over. I felt kind of bad for having Nigel stop because we were on the express way, and all of my classmates were sleeping (they were all a little scared when we abruptly stopped and I was on the side of the road).

However, my day did get a lot better once we finally stopped the bus in a car park and got some coffee. Being that I am interning in Belfast I got to meet with my supervisors. But before I did that I had to get some breakfast (we got there early and this normally does not happen). Nigel had told us to stay close the coffee shop that we were meeting our supervisors at, so I went to Subway and got a breakfast sandwich. I was surprised that it was cheaper to eat there then it was in the states at a Subway, also I got a free coffee/tea with my sandwich all for only two pounds, which is about three American dollars. I have not seen any McDonalds here yet, just advertising for it (most of us are very surprised by this). However, I have noticed an abundance of Subways, especially in Belfast they are on almost every street!! Now on to how my coffee time with my supervisors went. I met with two of the ladies who will be working with me, Dave could not make it as he had prior engagements. The first thing that they said to me was “WOW you are the smallest person we have ever had intern for us, how old are you because you look like you are twelve”. When I told them that I was 19 they were very surprised. We talked about what my jobs will be when I get there, which will include writing a mission statement for the good relations department, helping to come up with programs for kids-teens to do in the summer to keep them from the violence, and also helping to alert the community about the human trafficking problem in N. Ireland. I was also told that I will get to meet some local celebrities like the mayor, and possibly William and Kate (you know the prince and princess)!! My job won’t be all desk time though, it will also involve going to ribbon cutting ceremonies, and reveling of different things like stained glass windows around the city. After we had our business talk we talked about America and where I live, and how it compares to N. Ireland. The ladies also informed me of where the great shops, clubs, pubs, and restaurants were. All in all I would say I am very excited about my internship, and the great experience that it is going to give me. After the meetings we went on our first tour, but more about that in a minute. After all of the tour Nigel drove us around and showed us where we will be living, and working. For me it will only be about a two mile walk to work each day!! We will all be in different buildings in different parts of the town. My building will be impossible to miss because well it’s the capital of N. Ireland, and I would say it takes up about 2-3 blocks. I felt like I was in the movie legally blonde when I say that!!

Now I’ll tell you about my first tour, we met with an ex member of a paramilitary group, which was very interesting to say the least. He took us to a wall of murals and talked to us about different things that they meant and what they stand for. He then took us to Shankhill road where there was a massacre when there was more violence in the troubles, he then took us to falls road where another massacre happened. This was a very emotionally day for all of us because of the things we were forced to think of, see and hear. We also spent a brief time in a museum to look at memorable things from the troubles, as well as see what a typical jail cell looks like here.  It is a feeling hard to explain and talk about because you almost have to be there to understand everything. Our guide then took us to a cemetery where most of the people who lost their lives during the violent part of the troubles are buried. I noticed at the cemetery that the graves are not in a nice order like the states are, but rather all helter skelter. They are also buried only a few feet under (look at a picture I took below). After this tour ended we went to the felons club to have a meal. Yes, the felons club is for convicted felons! It was a very classy place with neat pictures and articles. I had curry for the first time there which was really good!!

After that tour we headed out for another one with another paramilitary man. This tour also took us to different murals and walls to see and talk about. This tour was very similar to the first one, except the men were from different sides, so we got different perspectives on the troubles. Both of these tours were bus tours, so we drove around instead of walk around the city.

Finally we ended the day with supper in Belfast at wherever you wanted to eat. I and five other people went to a Lebanese restaurant, which was AMAZING. This is defiantly a place that I will be eating at again. I had falafel there which is a vegetarian dish, it looks like mini doughnuts but doesn’t taste like them. For dessert I had baklava which is an amazing dessert to try if you have not tried it! We then took the long trek back home in the “beast”, everyone fell asleep once again.

I am sitting in a coffee shop called Ground in Portrush with a few of my friends, waiting for Nigel to pick us up and take us to Belfast. I am pretty excited about moving to a new place, which is quite a lot bigger than Portrush is. This trip has defiantly been the experience of a lifetime, I am learning so much about myself, and the world that I never knew before. I have found it quite liberating to not have internet access all of the time, or cell phone access, it is a nice break and gives me and the other students a nice chance to talk and explore the town. O and I suppose a chance to do homework too. Yesterday we got to meet Nigel’s family, he has two kids and wife. He took us to his house to have lunch which consisted of two homemade soups, homemade breads, homemade scones, and a very large array of homemade desserts (which everyone knows is the highlight of all of my meals). We also had tea and coffee which is a staple anytime anywhere here.