catch up ...again.

*Camping was excellent. The weather wasn't great, but clear enough for some lovely walks and damp enough to not feel guilty for a 4 hour Saturday afternoon nap. Our tent neighbors, however, were not so great, and spent the better part of Sunday wee hours screaming and yelling and cursing at each other. It was a bit frightening, and really sad, because I am certain that it's exactly what a lot of our kids and yp are exposed to at home. But. Aside from those 3 hours, it was a wonderfully refreshing weekend.

*This past weekend I spent in Belfast and it felt so good to not go anywhere. A free Saturday afternoon was golden!! Our friends at QC had us up for a traditional Sunday Dinner (on Saturday). It was Thanksgiving in September- AMAZING. H took the lead on that and treated us to one of the best English traditions.

*A German vol from several years back and his friend were in Ireland for a holiday last week. They were the best possible guests, cooking for us and with us, helping with dishes, good conversations, and, best of all, led several jam sessions. They had been hitchhiking around the country, busking with a guitar and violin, so we made them play for us and with us. We rocked out on lots of worship music, and it felt so Irish to be sitting in a house session.

*Finally got to take a tour of the Crumlin Road Gaol last Sunday. It only lasted about an hour, but it was interesting to see the jail behind the big wall that I pass at least a few times a week. And, morbidly enough, I think jails are fascinating. The whole idea of prison reform and punishment verses rehabilitation (is that even possible?), and an entire population of people living in an alternative society just baffles me. It was a bit uncomfortable to be one of the token Americans in the group, though, as our tour guide was talking of the 17 hangings that took there. The presentation was very much skewed toward the archaic nature of the death penalty, and it felt so true. And then I had to remember that the country that I am from STILL kills people like that. And, even worse, the state I am from is second in the country in terms of how many people get the death penalty. It turns my stomach and makes me sad for our country. So much of the world can't comprehend killing one of their own, why can we?

*My housemates and I hosted dinner for our guests and some FS workers who knew them. J and cooked 3 types of quiche, which all turned out really well. It's so nice to have people over and to be able to host a nice evening. I think we'll probably do a lot of that this year. (It also makes me really happy about the rearranging of the room. We use our dining table daily. It's amazing how furniture arrangement can so drastically change a space.)

*And then began birthday week. Three German vols had birthdays three days in a row. The first was on Tuesday, and he decided we all needed to go clubbing at the Limelight. Clubbing is a stretch for me and on a Tuesday even more so. I wasn't excited, but it turned out ok. It wasn't a bad night, although I did have to laugh at the situation: a club in Belfast, on a Tuesday, in a group of one NI guy, TWELVE Germans, and me. Who'd have thought?

*Afterschools has been nuts lately. Moments of goodness surrounded by TONS of chaos. I got whooped in Memory by a boy who has the foulest language, and generally rowdy behavior, but LOVES beating adults at the game. And I opened the door yesterday for another boy who I haven't seen since I've been back and he, literally, jumped up into my arms. Still makes me smile to think of it, which is good, because lots of the other things he does make me cringe. One girl set out to organize a craft a few days ago, and spent 15 minutes getting out ALL of the craft supplies, but she had all of the girls sitting at the table, excited for an art project. Those moments make the rest worth it- getting hit in the back by a boot throw from across the room and sitting with kids during a 10 minute time out are a little easier when the redeeming qualities of our kids are obvious, too. (I am fully aware of the ridiculousness of a 10 minute time out, but frustration won out and I needed the break as much as they did!! :) )

*So those "recreational riots" a few weeks back?? Well, the neighbors got angry enough to halt youth clubs at FS. They've made attempts at organizing themselves, although, they're still not settled on what kind of outcome they are hoping for. Half of them want the club closed for good. The other half want equal provision for Catholics and Protestants. And we can't do both. So for now, we can't have any youth into the building, which stinks. However, I think there's a major blessing in the midst of the mess: we get lots of time to focus on detached outreach. We've had several great nights out on the street. The weather's been crap- detached in lashing rain isn't so nice- but we've consistently seen several groups of yp and had really great conversation and football games.
The whole situation is intriguing. It's understandable that the neighbors are upset. It's lots of pensioners (who the heck thinks it's smart to put pensioners in government housing on the peace line? There's a reason the wall is up...) and other people who have had windows put out and houses bricked. But my first reaction is "why should these people have so much control over what we do?" And then I remember that it's a community centre, and I believe they should have a say in their community. It would be helpful if they had a good community organizer (and, in my biased opinion, one on the side of the club!!) who had good mediation and communication skills. Their feelings are justifiable, but I think their solutions avoid the problems. And meanwhile, our work has to change. The yp that we work with seem to be starting to understand that their actions led to the club's current closure, and they keep telling us how they haven't been rioting (although none are willing say they'd stop for good), but it's out of our hands now.

*Got tickets for the Swell Season!! It's Glen Hansard and Marketa Irgova from the movie Once and I AM SUPER EXCITED. Show isn't until November, but it'll be good.

*This weekend should be another good one. Shopping with K, volunteer lunch in town and the proms tomorrow (proms= big BBC orchestra concert on city hall lawn). Hope yours is good, too.