Northern Ireland (Or, Why I Saw More Blood Than I Expected to This Weekend)

On Friday morning our whole class piled onto a coach bus and headed to Northern Ireland for a fantastic overnight trip! It was really eventful, so this will be a pretty long post—feel free to skip ahead!

Political murals in Belfast. Photo by Jordan Hamilton

In case you didn’t know, Northern Ireland is a different country from the Republic of Ireland and is part of the United Kingdom. Its history has been plagued with violent religious and political conflict, called the Troubles, that occurs between Nationalists (mostly Catholics) and Unionists (mostly Protestants). However, after the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, most of the armed civilian groups have stopped their campaigns, but the memories of what happened there still scar the people today.

In order to better understand the country’s turbulent past, our first activity was a taxi tour of Belfast, the capital city where much of the violence took place. Our taxi drivers were also tour  guides who had lived through the Troubles, and they brought us around to some of the city’s many memorials and murals and explained some of their history. We also got to write a message on the Peace Wall that divides Belfast in half, separating Catholic and Protestant neighborhoods. After the tour we all got the chance to explore Belfast on our own. Once people had used the ATM to get pounds, we went into a semi-outdoor mall that had a tall glass dome and looked out over the whole city. Hannah, Ian, and I also visited City Hall and saw the staircase that the builder of the Titanic based his ship’s grand staircase on.

Looking at some murals in Shankill Road. Photo by Jordan Hamilton

Group shot in front of the Peace Wall. Photo by Jordan Hamilton

Belfast City Hall. Photo by Hannah Long

The Grand Staircase on the Titanic was based on these steps. Photo by Hannah Long

 We weren’t spending the night in Belfast, so everyone piled back into the bus and we headed for Ballintoy, a village consisting of ten houses, two pubs, 243546578 sheep, and the hostel we were staying in. As we walked around the town, we kept seeing signs advertising the “Scorpion ABC Fight Night” at one of the pubs. Perfect after-dinner entertainment! At 7:30 we rushed over, excitedly anticipating the brawls we were about to see.

“I can’t wait to see some tough Irish guys beating the crap out of each other!”

“I want to sit in the splash zone where I can get hit by the blood!”

“If a tooth lands in your glass you have to down it!”

As we sat down and time continued to tick on, we realized that we had not, apparently, had to get there so early. The fight didn’t look anywhere near to starting and we hadn’t even seen any of the boxers arrive yet. We were noticing, however, how many kids seemed to be there. Even as people crowded the bar and ordered drinks, more kids seemed to be piling in. They all looked the same too—gelled and spiked hair, athletic pants, sweatshirts that said Scorpion ABC…

Oh, God.

This was not a tough-guy Irish boxing brawl.

This was a kids’ sports match.

We were about to watch little kids beat each other up.

Suddenly I felt kind of creepy.

Photo by Jordan Hamilton

 The matches began with the smallest kids. They entered the ring with their protective headgear and gloves that looked too big for their skinny little arms to hold up. They barely swung at each other as they circled and bobbed up and down, and in the end the referee held each of their hands up, but it was still kind of frightening to watch. But it was only about to get worse.

Photo by Jordan Hamilton

The next weight class up was a real match. Within minutes there was blood splattered over one kid’s face and he began to well up as he realized he was going to lose. Actually, someone got a bloody nose in every single subsequent match; the ref had to keep stopping the fights so that the coaches could wipe the blood away from their athletes’ faces. There was blood everywhere—the faces, gloves, uniforms, floor, ref…oh, the horror! If I was a parent I would never let my child participate in a sport like that, let alone cheer them on—“Go Ryan! Double up on him! That’s it, get him in the head!” The small town youth boxing match was surprisingly violent—we still got the carnage we had been hoping for, we were just slightly more horrified by it.

Photo by Jordan Hamilton

The next morning we made our way down to the beautiful Ballintoy Harbor to soak up some sea air and take in the scenery. 

Photo by Hannah Long

That's me up there! Photo by Hannah Long

Photo by Hannah Long

Then we headed to our next activity for the day, the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge. This was a small bridge between two cliffs that led to an island where you could walk around. It wasn’t quite as thrilling as it had been billed to be, but we still had fun crossing it. 

Hannah crossing the bridge!

Me crossing the bridge! Photo by Hannah Long

The Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge from afar. Photo by Hannah Long

After the rope bridge we stopped at the Giant’s Causeway, a breathtaking geological phenomenon where lava cooled in hexagonal patterns and created natural step-like structures.

Photo by Hannah Long

Photo by Hannah Long

Ian and me at Giant's Causeway. Photo by Allyson Locke

Stephen, our Earth Science teacher, explaining the rock formations. Photo by Hannah Long

Finally, our last stop before heading home was Dunluce Castle, but by then we were all so tired that after walking around for about 20 minutes we were ready to head back home to Dublin, even if it meant piling back into the coach bus that was starting to smell. It was a packed but exciting weekend!   

Ian goofing around in Dunluce Castle. Photo by Hannah Long

Photo by Hannah Long

Photo by Sam Maslak

The Write to Right (Or, Why You should Click the Link in the Post)

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My Writing the City class went to Fighting Words, a creative writing center for kids in Dublin. Read about my trip on my  guest post at the Champlain College Dublin blog! If it's not there when you look, keep checking--hopefully it will be up on Monday.

Horsing Around (Or, Another Weekend Report)

When I was a little kid I used to have an imaginary horse named Bradley. He was brown with a black mane and a black tail. Later he turned into my two-wheeler and I would ride him around the neighborhood, down to the new street where the good hay was. I always wished that Bradley was real and that I could actually ride him.

On Friday I got my wish!

Photo by Lilly Johnsson

The school organized a trip to Bray to go horseback riding and so a small group of us signed up and made the trip with Lilly, the Operations Manager who's very nice and an avid horse-lover. When we got to the riding school we put on long black riding boots (shoes for Ian, since the boots wouldn't fit over his manly legs) and helmets and were introduced to our horses. I quickly realized that being on a horse would be a lot scarier than I had initially anticipated as they were enormous and had really big teeth. My horse, Levi, was the smallest horse available, so we were a good team. He was a sweetheart and made me feel very at ease. He was like, "dude, don't worry, I got this," and didn't need me to steer or stop him at all. He had ridden the trail plenty of times before and knew exactly what to do. It was a really pleasant outing.

Photo by Sam Maskak

The next day we went to the Temple Bar food market, also known as Heaven on Earth. It is now my Saturday morning tradition to make my way to this farmers' market and buy a crepe, maybe a loaf of bread, sometimes some produce. They have everything from organic apple juice to an outdoor oyster bar to bakeries and veggie vendors to artisan cheeses and fresh kebabs. Wandering around the market not only makes our mouths water, but lets us pick up on more of the Dublin culture.

Photo by Sam Maslak

It was sunny and warm on Saturday, so after the market a few of us made our way over to Phoenix Park and rented bikes for a couple of hours. The park has many kilometers of bike paths so riding around was easy and fun. We saw the Irish president's house, a few cool monuments, and a field of about 50 deer who were munching on the grass and seemed perfectly unaware that there were people staring at them only a hundred feet away. By the time we made it all the way through the park the sun has gone away and it was cloudy and cold, so we returned the bikes and headed home to warm up.

Photo by Sam Maslak

Today Ian and I celebrated Valentine's Day! It's not really until tomorrow, but since it's still the weekend we thought it would be a good day to do it. Ian cooked for me which is always a treat, and tonight it was simply amazing--surf and turf! There was salmon, steak, garlic mashed potatoes, and carrots. I made dessert--Bailey's white chocolate pudding with homemade whipped cream and Cadbury chocolate shavings; I know, fancy, right? I think we're a good team--he loves cooking, and I love making dessert! Ian even surprised me with my favorite Little Debbie Valentine cakes that he had shipped all the way from the US by his parents! (THANK YOU!) It was a great way to end the week! Back to classes tomorrow, and then Northern Ireland next weekend! Stay tuned!

The Bothers of Being Abroad (Or, The Post I Never Thought I'd Write)

It's almost been a month since we arrived in Dublin and I've already seen and done so much! It's stopped feeling like a really long vacation and is starting to become my temporary home. Even though I'm not in a country like Ghana, like my friend Hannah from WB is, there is still an element of culture shock as we try every day to adjust to being in a new country. But that's one of the reasons I came to Dublin, to get out of my comfort zone and experience things I've never encountered before.

That said, sometimes I do get homesick. Despite the fact that I went to sleep away camp when I was 9 and go to school in Vermont while my family lives in Massachusetts, I've never really gotten homesick. I've always embraced new experiences and thrown myself into my new surroundings instead of dwelling on what I left behind. But here, just knowing that I'm across the Atlantic Ocean from the things and people I love instead of across a few state borders makes me miss the comfort of a place where I know how everything works. It helps that I have a lot of friends here, but sometimes I still wish I could close my eyes and be at home.

But this is my home for now, and I will continue to see and do as much as I can while I'm here. Still, though, I can't help but notice some, shall we say, cultural annoyances that haven't quite been able to disappear. They're not big things, just little  things I can't get over about Dubliners:

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• Everyone dresses the same. At least the girls do. All of the girls around my age I've seen all wear, it seems, the exact same basic outfit. The staples are black leggings, skirts, black boots, and fancy coats, especially pea coats. They also love wearing a ton of makeup and putting their hair in messy buns on the tops of their heads. A lot of the Champlain girls have bought boots to try and fit in, because that is definitely the dominant footwear here. Although that doesn't really make sense because of all the cobblestones. 
• An obsession with cheese and onion-flavored crisps. Chips are crisps. Fries are chips. Something to remember when ordering in restaurants. But what the hell do Irish people love so much about cheese and onion crisps!? You can't escape them. They are the most popular flavor by far. The vending machine at school has three rows of them. But no plain. I don't gt it. I mean, they're good. It just seems like a weird flavor to be the national favorite. 
• People don't know how to walk or drive. I almost get killed at least 70% of the time I leave the apartment, and not always by cars. I'm not dumb, I know how to walk in a city. But people here are just maniacs. Crosswalks and street signs are mere suggestions, no one really follows them. And people walking down the street seriously need to learn how to pick a side. People strut down the sidewalks like they own them and don't move if they see a person coming, so you have to play chicken with them until one of you darts aside and crashes into a pole. Not that I did that today or anything. 
• Everyone smokes. It's disgusting. My lungs will be significantly blacker when I get back just from being outside. I've seen everyone from high schoolers to old men smoking. I know people smoke in America, but here it seems like everyone does it. I inhale secondhand smoke regularly. 

Those are just a couple of the things I've noticed in my first month that have bugged me about Dublin.  There are certainly other cultural differences, both good and bad, but it's all part of the experience. If I didn't notice these things then I wouldn't feel as though I'm really experiencing the culture!

Doing Dublin (Or, Why I'm Getting Excited About Spring Break)

A very quick post with more field trips to report!

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My literature class had another excursion day this week. We went to Marsh's Library, the oldest public library in Ireland, and St. Patrick's Cathedral. Both had a lot of history and were beautiful to look at. In Marsh's library we saw the chains that used to be attached to the books so that patrons couldn't remove them, and the cages they used to lock people in so that they could read without taking the books! The library still functions as a working public library, and people still come in to read the books under supervision (not in the cages thankfully). Saint Patrick's was amazing inside, but lost appeal after about ten minutes. Still, it was cool to see these parts of Dublin's history.

Today Patrick, Ian, and I took our own field trip to the Old Jameson Distillery. The tour was a little silly but still a fun activity for a very windy Friday. Patrick even got to be an Official Irish Whiskey Taster; he compared Jameson, Jack Daniels, and Johnnie Walker Black Label. After, we went out to lunch at a little cafe near our apartment. It was a nice little excursion, but I'm starting to feel like I need to get out of the city a bit. It feels like we've almost seen all the major tourist attractions! Our weekend trips are nice, but I'm excited to start planning spring break, where we'll have an extended time to explore other parts of Europe.

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