Back in Belfast

After a lovely four week holiday at home, I am back in Belfast, with a shiny new visa in my passport granting me 12 more months in "Norn Iron." It is cold here.

It's always so easy to acclimate to life at home: warm weather, food that I'm used to, Bravo marathons of Top Chef and Style marathons of What Not To Wear, always people around. And it's not as easy to settle in back here while I'm waiting on new roommates and holiday weekends to pass. Plus, it's really really cold (for July).

I intentionally came back for the cultural experience of the 12th of July. The 12th is a Protestant commemoration of the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. The celebration actually starts on the night of the 11th with major bonfires all through the city. I had heard the best ways to watch the bonfires is from above, with a view of the whole city. This was a great suggestion and meant that I could experience the celebration without worrying about toppling fires or burning effigies and flags. And then today there was the parade. Orange lodge after orange lodge, drums and flute bands each with their own banner paraded through the streets of Belfast. Spectators came decked out in red, white and blue with the Union Jack wrapped around them, painted in glitter on cowboy hats and flying Ulster flags. People were in good form at our part of the parade route, considering the tradition of drinking from the start of the bonfires straight through the parade the next day. If you're interested in more info, the wikipedia article on 12th of July is a decent overview. Stay tuned for pics.

It's been a good time back so far. I've caught up with lots of friends, and met several new volunteers around the city. It also helped to see two familiar faces, randomly about town, within my first three hours back in the city. This week is a holiday week at FS, but it's F's last week in town (sad). So there's lots of hanging out to do, Rose Week to attend, a Lisa Hannigan concert on Thursday (!!), and a house to get in shape for two new roommates. And a blog to keep updated...we will see!