A break from the busyness

Double rainbow - what does it mean?!

Today was good.

David agreed to take me on the Cave Hill hike I missed a few weeks ago, and the weather was perfect for the trek. Apparently my daily walk to work hasn't been quite as taxing as I'd hoped, because I found myself to be quite out of breath on the way up! While my body is exhausted and empty this evening, my spirit is full. Today was just what I needed.

For those who don't know, Cave Hill is a prominent feature visible from most of Belfast. The outcropping of rock resembles the profile of Napoleon, tri-corner hat and all, and is said to be the inspiration for Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels. It is just about 2 miles from our house, but this was the first time I'd made the trip.

It was so refreshing to be out in nature. The scenery is gorgeous, and reminded me what is so special about the place that I now call home. I've been so bogged down in bus schedules, difficult interactions with young people at work, rainy days and late nights in the office, that I forget to take a look at the wider picture and appreciate what is around me. I didn't get any photos of the more foresty bits of the trail, but just picture Fern Gully meets Never Never Land. The wind rustling in the leaves reminded me to breathe for the first time in weeks.

About halfway up. We're going to the very top!

 

My mind wandered most of the way up the trail. Every challenge I encountered became a symbol of things I've been struggling with for the past few weeks: the feeling of helplessness as I couldn't find my footing in the slick mud, my initial unwillingness to get my hands dirty. The difficulty I find in admitting my weaknesses and reaching out for (or accepting) a friend's hand to pull me up. Thankfully, David was a patient guide, letting me stop often to catch my breath (under the guise of taking a photo) and take my own sweet time getting up the path.  

Surprise rain storm!

I may have labeled today's post under "small victories" - but I think overall, reaching the summit was much more than that for me today. The gift I have been given, allowing me to spend this year in a place that feels so close to the divine, should not be forgotten. I need to take more time to enjoy the journey!

View from the top

I've sung in mountain cathedrals, with steeples rising high. With altars made of evergreens and windows made of sky...

Success!

Homecoming

So, while I was preparing for my grand adventure, I had several people ask what I would do when I was finished. My answer was generally some version of, "this year is meant to change my life, so I'm going to wait for that before making any big plans". The problem with this, however, has become apparent:

It's already time to book my flight home. 

No, this hasn't changed from "A Year of Service for a Lifetime of Change" to "Six Weeks of Service...", but to ensure the church gets the best rates, they book our flights home almost a year in advance. Hence the whole "time to book your flight home" scenario in which I find myself.

This shouldn't really be a problem. I mean, it's not like I have to have a job waiting for me in order to book the tickets, but it does raise several questions I thought I'd have a little more time to answer: e.g., Do I want to travel after my placement is complete (stupid question)? Where and for how long? Do I want to pursue higher education? If so, when do classes start? All of a sudden, the questions I thought I had some time to put off have become immediately pressing.

Time to do some research... and praying!

FAQ: Stateside edition

Whenever I tell people where I'm from, there are always many questions. I've compiled a few of my favorite / the most popular for your reading pleasure:

Image via google search from here

5.   Are there cowboys in Kentucky?
4a. Where is (insert name of state)? or alternately,
      4b. How far is ____ from ____?
3.   Where do Amish people live?
2.   Do you know Christina / Zoe / Linnea / ...?

And by far the most popular question I receive:

1.   Do you have Kentucky Fried Chicken there?

My obsession

Tunnock's tea cakes are delicious.
That is all. 

Sorry to those for whom those
delicious cakes were intended.
They are in my belly.

Facing History

This has been a very full week, and I will do my best to synthesize all the thoughts running around in my head into one semi-coherent thought!

With Amanda at
TITANIC Belfast

First things first: last Tuesday, I had my first visitors! OK, so Amanda was really in Ireland to visit her family, but I was totally the beneficiary of this trip when they came to Belfast on my day off and I was able to go do "touristy" things with them. I was particularly excited to take the bus tour, hoping to receive new insights on the murals which Doug had only touched on in passing during orientation. As it turns out, Doug is such a fantastic tour guide that he gave us more information in passing throughout the city than the fellow whose job it is to provide this service! Hooray for Doug!

It was interesting, however, to see the murals through a different lens. I've begun to see how people can quickly categorize others around here, as the perspective of this nameless tour bus driver was quite different from those I've experienced... so my first thought was automatically, "I wonder if he grew up in a Nationalist neighborhood?"

On Wednesday, Anna, David and I went to an event hosted by David's placement site, the WAVE Trauma Centre (introduced here). As part of their week-long Autumn Seminar Series, they hosted a night exploring the use of comedy as a peace-building tool. It was an interesting insight into a coping mechanism of those living in Belfast at the height of the Troubles.

The following night, WAVE hosted a discussion of the film Judgment at Nuremburg as an example of their Facing History series. Clips from the video were shown interspersed with discussion about the psychiatry of compliance and conformity of the German population. Of course, for an Anthro/Soc nerd like me, it was a blast hearing Durkheim's collective consciousness discussed in casual conversation... but the heart of the conversation seemed to carry through my experiences for the rest of the week. Essentially about what it meant, both in Nazi Germany and Belfast at the height of the Troubles, to be an ordinary person in extraordinary circumstances, and individual complicity therein. How do we move past this to rebuild a healthy society?

On Friday, my coworkers from Fortwilliam and Macrory went to the old Crumlin Gaol (jail) for the unveiling of a report given for Bridge of Hope, a program of the local Ashton Community Trust, entitled Transitional Justice: Grassroots Engagement. I was intrigued by this model, exploring the place where conflict ends and rebuilding begins. Much like the discussion on Thursday night, there was a focus on the high costs related to the "survival skill" of moving forward from conflict without looking back and recognizing where you've been.

Transitional Justice launch
at Crumlin Gaol

The goal of this report was to look at the past and to have those difficult conversations, in an attempt to show the young people in their communities that they are committed to moving forward and ensuring a future that is peaceful and prosperous for future generations. 

The Transitional Justice model has five key pillars: 

1. Truth-seeking and fact-finding
2. Trials / criminal accountability
3. Reparations
4. Institutional reform
5. Memorialization and collective memory

In essence, as a trust-building measure each party must be willing to listen to the other about their disparate experiences related to the same conflict. Different neighborhoods in Belfast have different experiences of the Troubles, which highlights a deep divide in this society. Much like the Judgement at Nuremburg film, it is important to face the truth of our past to help the survivors of this conflict, to recognize that harm has been done or trust has been broken, and to step up to the responsibilities of individual needs that arise from this. It is important to recognize where mistakes were made or systems were flawed in order to move forward efficiently, but it would be a disservice to those who have been affected by past injustices to move forward without recognizing the realities of this past.

The very location of the event was meaningful in that the jail is where many political prisoners were held during the Troubles until the building was decommissioned in 1996. For reference: the report states that 30,000 people spent time in prison due to the conflict. Many of these former prisoners have been internationally recognized as playing a positive and critical role in conflict transformation. A few of these were instrumental in this project, and in attendance at this event, which made me wonder what it would be like to go back in such a different time - facades repaired, cells repainted... completely whitewashed for public consumption.

    Original cells in unfinished side                                          Refurbished cells for public tours

      Dirty, peeling paint and general disrepair                      What a difference a fresh coat of paint makes!

In the spirit of looking back, next weekend is the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Ulster Covenant. This document essentially stated at the time that the undersigned would like to remain loyal to King George (and by extension remain a part of the United Kingdom), and is still very important to many people in this community. The key phrase included, however, is "...defending,... using all means which may be found necessary...", which has been used by some as a rallying cry for violence. With this important anniversary approaching, as well as the recent uproar over parades, much of the city is bracing itself for potential unrest to occur over the next few weeks. It remains to be seen whether this concern will be valid. 

I realize that this post has expanded to record length, so I will leave you with words from my supervisor at Fortwilliam & Macrory, the imitable Reverend Lesley Carroll:

"In the short-term we face a parade on September 29th with the potential to have civil unrest around it. In the longer-term we face the challenge of how to live with each other even after all these years. We face the challenge of how to let each other off hooks, how to do things that will help the other side to trust us and step out on new roads of relationship. We face the challenge of building and not tearing down, of offering hope to young people who as things stand right now don’t even have the hope of a job, at least not many of them. We face the challenge of working out what mutual respect actually means and looks like in society. We face the challenge of what to do about the truths yet to be revealed and we kid ourselves that a good dose of some truths will put things back the way they should be with the good people looking after the governance and the bad people either shamed or in jail. It simply won’t work. In the longer-term there is much to be faced."

Rev. Lesley Carroll

(I encourage you to visit this page and read the rest of her post on transitional justice.)

What I'm listening... 2

Ben Folds + Fraggles? Yup.

A week in the life

We had gorgeous weather for our first week or so in Belfast, but now the weather has returned to what we can expect from a traditional autumn. The rain has started back intermittently, and it's fairly chilly in our little house. We're trying to add layers to delay the inevitable day when we'll have to work out our notoriously difficult heating system... so the hot water bottles I brought from home are definitely in rotation!

We started work last Wednesday, but this has been my first full week at work, plus the first time I participated in a few of our programs. Since school just started back last week, there was a bit of easing in to my work since they didn't all start at the same time. So without further ado, here's a snapshot of a week in my life:

Mondays are mostly reserved for YAV meetings with Doug. I also had the ability to attend a Kirk Session meeting this week to introduce the new session members to what is going on at FMPCI. Fun fact to my friends on session at Second Pres - when you are elected to session here, you're elected for life. No more complaining about 3 year terms! Also, since I'm a ruling elder in the States, I've been invited to their meetings throughout the year.

Tuesdays are my day off. I still haven't completely settled in, which would have been a perfect task for this week, but I was still coming off last week's cold and decided to spend the day laying low with a hot water bottle on my poor freezing toes! Anna and I also hit up the Ikea in an attempt to introduce a little more organization into our inherited apartment. Don't worry, I'll share photos when it's a little better put together.

Walking to work in the rain!

Wednesday is my full day at the Vine Community and Advice Centre. Mums and Tots group in the morning is an opportunity for infant/toddlers and their carers to come have some social interaction. That afternoon we have JAFFA - which stands for Jesus A Friend For All. Kids aged 3-10 or so come in for a Bible story, some games and of course Jaffa cakes!

Thursdays are my busiest days. I have office time at Fortwilliam and Macrory in the morning, followed by a seniors lunch and then homework club at the Vine. I'll occasionally head from there to Bike Club at Macrory, but the addition of a new YouthLink worker this week has lightened my load a bit. I'm back to Macrory in the evening for Boys' Brigade. I help out with the Anchors, who are the youngest brigaders at 3-10 years old. BB and it's counterpart GB are extremely popular in Northern Ireland (I think most of the YAVs are involved at a BB or GB group in each of their churches). My best description is that it's a bit like scouts, but with a more prominent church connection and a bit of a military flair.

Fridays are mostly office days at FMPCI, working on some programming and preparing for Sunday's service. I go to Football Club in the evenings, where I cheer from the sidelines, keep score and pour juice. Luckily Mark is a semi-pro footballer and can take care of the parts that require actual athleticism!

Saturdays, I come to garden at church in the mornings. I will occasionally join the walking group in the afternoons as well. In the evenings, I have Youth Club (everything is a "club" here!), which should be quite exciting. It is mostly an outlet for local kids to come hang out, and I'm excited to try my hand at leading my first kitchen project next week.

Sundays I'll lead a Bible class during church. I may have the occasional responsibilities in the afternoon, but for the most part I get a bit of a break!

So that is a look into my crazy week! As we know, the first job of a YAV is to be flexible, so I know this will change as the year progresses! This is already a ridiculously long post, so I'll save some reflection for next time...