The past week, weather-wise, has been absolutely gorgeous! Praise God for that! I did get a cold, which caused me to lose my voice, so I’ve been going around whispering to people the past two days. So annoying. But other than that, everything is going pretty well.
Today Elaine (Doug’s wife), Uncle Bobby (a man who attends Alex’s church – Alex is a fellow YAV), and the YAVs went to the Ulster Folk and Transportation museum. We didn’t go through the transportation portion – but the folk part of it was really cool: they basically deconstructed historic buildings brick by brick and then reconstructed them at this open-air museum. They had old houses, shops, a bank, a courthouse, churches, etc. My favorite part was the churches – they had a Presbyterian Church in Ireland building, a Roman Catholic church, and a Church in Ireland one. I think the things that I learned about the historical context helps me to understand why things are done the way they are now.
At some point I will write more about the history of Belfast – but right now I feel like I don’t really know enough to do it justice. We joined the library this past weekend, so I’ve gotten out some books that I think will help me understand the history a little bit better. But, if you google the Ulster Transportation and Folk museum you can get some information about the past culture in Northern Ireland. I would post some pictures, but unfortunately I forgot my camera :-(
Well, I better get going. Kevin’s waiting for me to go grocery shopping. Sorry this entry was so short and kinda boring.
People in Northern Ireland speak English, so it should be easy to communicate with them, right? Not really! It can be exhausting to listen to accents all day, especially because people here speak so fast! Also, people have different accents depending on what part of the country they are originally from. Some people are easier to understand than others. They also use words/phrases that are different from what we use in the U.S., so miscommunications can abound – and can be really funny! Here are just some examples:
Crisps = potato chips
Chips = French fries
Biscuits = cookies
Cream bon = cake with frosting
Baps = hamburger/hot dog/sub rolls
Wee = little, but is also used to describe everything (i.e. “take a wee seat.” “Would you like a wee cup of tea?” “Fill out these wee forms.”).
Trousers = pants (Pants actually means underwear!)
Break/tea = snack – usually “break” is used for kids and “tea” is used for adults, and different foods are served at each.
Tidy up = used much more often than ‘clean up’ or ‘pick up’
Grim = really bad. Can be used to describe a place (i.e. “the restaurant is really grim”)
Call = visit
Ring = call on the telephone
Brilliant = really good, awesome, great
Ginger = red-head
Toilet = rest room (Kevin asked for a rest room at a restaurant, and the server made fun of him – like it was a room to sleep in!)
Cock = valve
Jumper = sweater or sweatshirt
Minister = used much more commonly than “pastor”
Corridor = hallway
Boot = the trunk of a car
In Northern Ireland, if you need someone to drive you from one place to another, you ask for a “lift,” asking for a “ride” means you’d like to go to bed with them.
We have taught people here some of the words/phrases we use in So. Chester County. Lesley, the minister at the church, now knows the meaning of the word “skeezy” and what it means to “suck at life.” Haha.
Anyway, hope you all are well!
15 September 2008 (written)
Here we are at the start of our second full week in Belfast. Last week went pretty well – still not entirely sure what my weekly schedule will look like.
Anyway, my birthday this weekend was lovely. I woke Kevin up very early in the morning and made him sing “happy birthday” to me before he even was able to open his eyes. Not too long after that he gave me my first birthday present – brown shoelaces! The shoelaces on my shoes broke like the day after I got here, so it was a really nice gift. Then we went to Belfast’s City Centre for a good part of the afternoon to do some shopping. Kevin got me a hat that will help keep me dry in the all the rain. We did a few other errands/tourist type things. For dinner, we met the rest of our group at Hannah and Elizabeth’s (two of the other YAVs) house in Dundonald (a town east of the city). In honor of my birthday, we ordered Papa John’s pizza and had chocolate cake. Delicious! This really meant a lot to me – how nice it is to feel so loved by a group I’ve only begun to get to get to know.
Our trip home after dinner was a little complicated – but we did end up arriving home relatively happy and in one piece. To get to our place from Dundonald we have to take two buses – one to the City Centre and then one from there to North Belfast. We got to the City Centre just fine, but after waiting around for about 45 minutes for the bus to come, we thought something must be up. I called some of the other YAVs who we had traveled to the City Centre with and were taking different buses to get to their place – they told us that none of the buses were running out of the City Centre because of some event being held in the city. That made sense to us – while we were waiting for the bus we had been listening to the Ulster Orchestra, which was a really nice treat! Anyway, we decided that instead of walking up to the first bust stop outside of the City Centre and waiting for a half an hour to catch the next bus, we’d just walk home. It was a lovely walk, and it only took about 30-35 minutes. It was nice to enjoy the night.
Yesterday we went to church. The church we are working with is called the Fortwilliam and Macrory Presbyterian Church. It was at one point two churches located only a few blocks from each other– Fortwilliam Pres. and Macrory Pres. However, a few years ago the two churches amalgamated and meet at Fortwilliam’s campus. They still use the Macrory’s halls for community outreach type things, which it looks like they are hoping to expand upon. Anyway, we found out yesterday after church that we would be running the church’s youth group that meets on Sunday nights. So, that should be interesting…more on that to come I guess!
Today we met with the other YAVs and Doug to discuss what was going on, etc. We watched a really interested video clip about the issues of division in Belfast and talked about how while the specifics of Northern Ireland’s conflicts are unique, the situation is not so different problems in other places around the world. I think I will have to write more about that later since this post is getting kind of long! Anyway, I love and miss you all!
I am actually writing this post the same day I am posting it, which means...da da da...that we have access to the internet! While we still won't have it in the apartment where we are living, we have keys to the church (which is literally a five minute walk from our flat) and an invitation to use the internet when needed. Yay!
Anyway, yesterday we started at the 174 Trust. I'll let Kevin tell you about what he'll be doing there, but it looks like I'll be working in their nursery school and maybe with their afterschool program (very much like the aftercare programs the Y offers in South East Pennsylvania). A couple of evenings a week, I'll probably also be helping out with a group for people with disabilities. Today we went to the church and spent some of the day cleaning out the office...we probably could have spent longer doing that. But we'll be helping out with the church's youth group and a youth club they have for the community on Saturday nights. It looks like I'll also be participating in some Mothers/toddlers groups and some other things that are yet to be worked out. I'm pretty excited about this year. Looks like we'll be busy, so we'll just have to make sure to make alone time for ourselves.
I did finally put up our pictures on the website, but can't figure out how to get the captions to show. Oh technology ::sigh:: I guess if you have any questions about what the pictures are you can just e-mail us.
7 September 2008 (written)
We’ve been in Belfast for a little less than five days now. This morning we went to church for the first time. It was very nice to meet some of the members and the kids who are part of the youth group. Afterwards, the church’s minister drove us out to the country to have lunch with a family who attend the church. It was wonderful – they were very welcoming. They cleared up some misconceptions that I had about Ireland: Irish food is not all that bad ☺ and the sun does shine here sometimes. I am sorry to say, my fellow Pennsylvanians, that they do not like Hershey’s chocolate over here – the mother of the family said she even had to spit it out when she first tasted it. Don’t worry, we’ll try to bring some decent chocolate home with us.
After lunch (and a cup of tea, of course), we went back home and I napped so I had enough energy for the evening. Sunday afternoon naps are the best, aren’t they? This evening we went to a park in Belfast with the church’s youth group for a cook out, which was fun. It’s exhausting to have to listen so hard to understand what people are saying because of the accents. The last few nights I’ve come home and tried to find a show on TV that originated in the U.S. so I could give my brain a break. I’m sure it’ll get easier though.
03 September 2008 (written)
Since I’m in the U.K. now, that is how I have to write dates. Jet lag has definitely set in and all my body wants to do is sleep. We have about an hour before we head out again and we do not have internet access in our apartment, so I decided to write this blog that I can upload later.
Traveling here went very smoothly. We had no real issues – none of the flights were delayed. We traveled with the group going to India to London so that was fun. One of the men going to India lost his passport wallet, which had his money, credit cards, drivers’ liscence, and passport in it for a pretty anxiety-ridden, but brief time in O’Hare airport. It’s exciting to be here. I absolutely love the accents. Once we landed in London, I couldn’t help but think in a British accent – it’s such an enchanting way to speak English!
Kevin and I are currently unpacking our things into our flat (what they call apartments over here). It’s tiny, but very homey. We will definitely be living simply here – there is very little storage. See our pictures page to take a look at our place! We are down the street from both Fortwilliam and Macrory and the 174 Trust. We’re also less than 100 feet (not sure how that would convert in metric…) to a grocery store and within walking distance to tons of different places. We are for sure living in a city – Belfast is bigger than I expected! Elaine pointed out that there is a lot of modern buildings coming up right next to the older, more historic buildings. The new is nestled right in with the old. Elaine, by the way, is Doug’s wife, and Doug is the person who oversees the YAVs in Northern Ireland. Doug moved to Northern Ireland I think around 30 years ago and married Elaine, who is a Belfast native.
Alright, I’m just about ready to collapse from exhaustion. I’ll write more later.
Well, this will be my last post from the U.S.A.! I've been doing that all day - commenting on all the "lasts" I am having - the last night sleeping in the U.S., last breakfast, last shower...I'm trying to be dramatic so to sike myself up for going. It's still very surreal. Before I leave, I just want to say that the other YAVs that I have shared this week with are some of the most amazing people. All of them are so passionate, loving, open, funny...I could not have asked for a better support system. I think I learned more from them than the sessions (for real!). For those of you reading and who are keeping Kevin and me in your prayers, if you would, also keep my brothers and sisters going to Kenya, India, Peru, and Guatemala in your prayers as well as they travel to their respective sites. Thanks! I love you and miss you all!
Today is the last day of orientation and tomorrow we head out to Northern Ireland. What a week! So much was packed into it. It was a great opportunity to fellowship with all 30 other YAVs who are going to 5 different countries.
Our daily schedule usually went something like morning worship, Bible Study (we looked at Philippians), session, lunch, session, small groups (where we unpacked and processed what we learned during the sessions), dinner then possibly another session or small groups. During our down times we would either hang out a group of YAVs or rest. Sunday we went to church to worship with a local Presbyterian congregation. I know I can’t really give this justice because I really learned too much to capture it in one blog entry, but for those of you who are curious about what we’re learning at orientation, here’s a list of sessions that we had this week and a summary about what I learned in each:
Partnership: We pretty much talked about how to work with the organizations in the countries we are going to and to view them as equal partners. So basically, I’m not going to Northern Ireland to bring them something that they don’t currently have, but I’m going to begin more of a symbiotic relationship – both partners have to work together and have an equal amount to offer to one another.
Race & Sexism in Mission: This session was pretty much my first Human Diversity class squished into 3 hours. It was a really great session and we talked about how knowing how our “homeland” has molded us, and how we should move on to the “wonderland” (new culture) with and awareness and appreciation of our own culture and an openness to the new culture.
Gender Roles in Mission: Basically was a discussion about women in Guatemala, which was kind of disappointing, but people made good points about respecting the culture we are heading into, but being sensitive to the needs of the other YAVs we are with and how they are reacting to the treatment of their gender in the new culture.
Interpreting the Story: Pretty much was told to forget about this session…lol.
Interfaith: This session was pretty heavy on Theology, so I learned a lot about what Presbyterians believe and how that relates to working with people of other faiths. We also discussed how to work with people of other faiths respectfully toward a common goal.
Sexual misconduct policies and safety: Self-explanatory.
Integral health and self-care: We learned about different movements, exercises and touches we can use to help take care of ourselves and those around us. The woman talked about what is probably known to most people as “alternative medicine,” but it was really interesting. I am definitely going to try out some of the things that she taught us while we’re over seas.
Introduction to vocational discernment: This session was AWESOME! The presenter basically gave us a framework to view the process we go through when we try to discern God’s will for our lives.
Globalization: Wal-mart is the devil. Lol, just kidding! This session was a very brief overview of positives and negatives of globalization and how the church is responding to it. Interesting, but kind of over my head.
Last night a girl who was a YAV in Northern Ireland a couple years ago who answered all the questions our group had about going there, and pretty much made me very excited to go tomorrow! Can't wait to see what will happen once we get there...
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