First of all: So so soooo sorry for not having updated this in a while, and for failing to Skype like everyone I told I would skype. Things got surprisingly busy!! And this week is no exception, but luckily I finished my paper earlier than planned and took this time to (quickly) update the last two weeks since I won't have time from now until when I'm back from Rome!
Before I left for my study tour, I went riding with my host sister Laerke, which was SO nice! It felt so good to ride again and especially on suchhh cute ponies! Despite the fact that it was freezing, it was so fun and I hope I get to go riding again before I leave!
So- IRELAND: Greatest of all countries, mainly because of the accents
We were in Belfast, which is Northern Ireland, and part of the UK. I don't think I can possibly recap the entirety of Northern Ireland politics I learned, but here's a short rundown.
There are the Catholics/Nationalists/Republicans. They want to be part of the Irish Republic and resent British forces in their country.
There are the Protestants/Loyalists/Unionists. They want to remain part of the UK.
The IRA (Irish Republican Army) is the paramilitary group of the Nationalists.
The UVF (Ulster Volunteer Force) is the paramilitary group of the Unionists.
Basically, they have been fighting each other since the 60's. One thing after another, between British soldiers killing 14 marching nationalists on Bloody Sunday and the IRA bombing and killing unionists. They reached the Good Friday agreement in 1998, but tensions are still very, very high. Consider these points:
- Almost everyone in Northern Ireland goes to a segregated school (Catholic/Protestant) (not universities)
- Almost everyone grows up in segregated neighborhoods
- A good percentage of families would not approve of cross-community marriages
- Children writing "Kill all Tieges" (slang for kill all catholics, and spelled wrong, it should be Taigs)
- Certain sports jerseys banned in bars for fear of violence
- Using one word over another can identify your entire background and stance on the issue (your name, your primary school, gold/orange, Ulster/6 counties, Derry/Londonderry, how you pronounce your H)
- They have more 'peace' walls around Belfast now than they did when they reached the Good Friday Agreement
- The nationalists want the national language to be Irish, therefor the unionists created a new 'unionist' language Ulster-Scots
- Kids my age witnessed and heard about their classmates being shot for wearing the wrong school uniform through the wrong neighborhood walking home
Our time there was really interesting, and it was crazy to see such a segregated culture in something we usually think of as so similar to ours. There were times in our trip where my classmates and I really just wanted to ask "Can't you just suck it up and get along?" but there were other times when we understood where they're coming from, like when they talk about their best friend, father, uncle, or husband being murdered. But at this point, far fewer nationalists even want to join the Republic of Ireland due to their shitty economy, so we're not sure what the fighting is for other than over past feuds. Which is just silly. But, regardless, I learned a lot about some really interesting stuff that really makes you think. A lot of people we talked to tried to compare it to American's tensions between whites and blacks and now with middle eastern cultures, and as much as you don't want to admit it sometimes they seem similar. I'm still shocked and dismayed that such a segregated culture exists in a country I always considered perfect green rolling hills full of wooly-jumpers, but studying it really helped me to actually understand where they are coming from, even if I don't agree.
While we were there we...
- Toured Falls Road with a former IRA member who spent 10 years in prison. he was pretty nice and less scary than you would expect (how can anyone with an Irish accent be scary though...?)
- Toured Shankill Road with a former British soldier who pulled body parts out of the rubble of an IRA bombing
- Visited Derry/Londonderry, the site of the Bloody Sunday massacre (don't know it? youtube the U2 song) and talked with the Bogside artists who painted murals along the road where the massacre happened commemorating the lost and trying to reach peace
- While in Derry, rolled down a lovely green Irish hill.. where Chloe rolled through dog shit hahahaha
- Visited the Titanic experience museum at the shipyards where the ship was built
- SAW THE SCRIPT IN CONCERT. and yes it was awesome. stay tuned for videos.
- Visited the BBC Northern Ireland
- Had tons and tons of my new favorite foods: beef stew, potato and leek soup, and Guinness.
- Visited the Northern Ireland Parliament and talked with a member of the Alliance party (the biggest of the few parties working towards integration and peace.. and by biggest I mean 8 members, compared with the two largest Unionist and Nationalist parties, with 38 and 29 members respectively)
- Visited Queen's University in Belfast
- Visited Trinity University in Dublin
- Went on a musical pub crawl in Dublin... yeah it was as awesome as it sounds.
- Discovered the best Irish pub in Belfast with cheap(ish) drinks, live traditional Irish music every night, and lots of Irish couples being merry and dancing
- Had a class Irish dancing lesson. Really wish there was a video of that!
Then, we flew home on Saturday night and after sleeping allllll day Sunday I anxiously awaited Frankie arriving on Wednesday!!!
After lotssss of trouble with his flights (first flight being delayed an hour an a half, barely making his next connection, and a 7 hour flight for someone who hatesss flying), he finally arrived!!! :D
.... without his suitcase :(
So we spent all of Wednesday relaxing and on hold with the airline, who eventually said they would deliver it to my house on Thursday. Which was helpful except we had tickets to see La Bayadere with my class that night and sadly sweatpants aren't really allowed.
Luckily, Frankie and my host dad Bjarne are similar sizes!
La Bayadere was beauuuutiful, of course. Probably less exciting for a super jet-lagged Frankie than it was for me but he was a good sport :)
Spent all of Thursday navigating a cold and windy Copenhagen, and I use the term navigating loosely. Despite being here for 2 months I suddenly forgot how to read a map (even though I was known as 'the' google map in Belfast) and we ended up just seeing a lot of the same circle of Copenhagen in my quest to find the Black Diamond. But, we did see some important stuff and got some good pictures!
Friday we FINALLY got his suitcase by going all the way to the airport between my classes. Annoying, but worth it so Frankie could wear his own clothes again. Major props to Bjarne for lending Frankie his:
- Pants
- Jacket
- Gloves
- Scarf
Friday after class we explored the city a little more, got my favorite lunch crepes, went up the round tower, and accidentally spent like $30 on candy... most of which he left me here to eat by myself.. uh oh. We also played cards with my host family (one of my favorite activities ever) anddd while I didn't win, I did beat Frankie, fair and square (he would tell you otherwise!)
Saturday we spent a cold day at the Copenhagen Zoo! Got sooo many pictures of the most adorable of animals, and spent lots of time with the polar bears (who were very disturbingly and violently eating half of a horses head... so not okay), and the cutest of monkeys.
In our effort to go to a nice dinner Saturday night, we took a recommendation from my host dad, who said it had gotten great reviews but he didn't know about the price range or food type. Upon arrival we quickly learned- before being explained the menu situation we were served a potato-egg-caviar dish. Then the waitress explained the 4 course meal to us which included stuff neither of us liked, and cost a whopping 600 kroner ($104) per person. Naturally we freaked out cause we can't, and don't want to, afford a meal like that, and so we very awkwardly and politely explained to the waitress that we weren't aware of the price situation before we came, and that if we could pay for our first course and service we'd be very grateful. She was so nice about it of course but we felt sooo bad, but saved ourselves a whole lot of money and then went to a delicious Italian restaurant! Lesson: when you see caviar, make sure you figure out the price super fast!/ maybe restaurants should update their websites with prices so people don't have that confusion in the first place!
Sunday I had to take Frankie back to the airport :( and now we're looking forward to Tyler Place 2013 in just two months!! :)
Upcoming Adventures:
1. This week of assignment hell
2. March 22-24: Scotland to see my favorites Erin and Jim!!!
3. March 25-30: Rome with my art history class!
4. March 30 - April 4: Dad visits Copenhagen!
5. April 12-16: London for Stevie's 21st and exploring London with Faye!!
6. April 16-20: Milan to visit my one-on-one Ginevra and her family!
Stay tuned for pictures and videos on Facebook! :)
Love,
Colleen
