Today was super. Played all morning in a local park with the older afterschools, swam all afternoon with the wee ones. But the best was the bit of detached we did. A few years back the police in NI changed from the RUC (Royal Ulster Constabulary) to the PSNI (Police Service of Northern Ireland). Policing has been a major issue here since the RUC was largely a Protestant force. Popular opinion was that they weren't very fair and had their own agenda (to put it mildly). Recently, many old cases have been reopened in the hopes of airing out the collusion (A secret activity undertaken by two or more people for the purpose of fraud investorwords.com) that occured between the RUC and the Loyalist movement. So, basically, the police have had a tough time gaining any sort of authority. Positive changes have come; they recently have been given authority over neighborhoods that were paramiliary strongholds, they have strict new "positive discrimination" policies that require specific numbers of Catholic recruits, and a group called the District Policing Partnership has been created to encourage (require?) the PSNI to be accountable to its constituents.

Anyway...there's an effort to survey yp in Belfast to get their opinions on the PSNI. So we set out with the list of questions and ended up having really great conversation with some of our yp about their opinions and experiences with the police. While some were ranting just to rant, most had really intelligent things to say, and did bother to put a bit of thought into it. It was very cool to talk with them about something "bigger" than their plans for the night and how many fegs they smoke. And to top it off, they almost seemed to enjoy our company.

The Rough Life

I worked a full week finally...23.5 hours. I suppose it'll pick up even more this week as the afterschools summer scheme (the name for summer programs/summer camps in N.I.) starts and the photo project kicks into full swing.

It's been a good weekend, though. Friday was a "leaving do" for two German volunteers who head out in the next month (sad). Talk about a small little world of volunteers...turns out one of the volunteers had her German orientation with one of the guys I lived with in CA last year. But anyway, we ate out at The Kitchen Bar in City Center. To be fully N.I. I ordered "Paddy's Pizza" which is made on soda bread. Yum. Soda bread is, thus far, the best of N.I. eats. Then we hit up Frames, a low key place to shoot some pool or snooker. At least, that was the objective...I'm really, really bad at it.

Saturday night was a BBQ in our back garden, since it was L's last weekend in Belfast for a bit. The guys did an AMAZING job trimming trees and hedges and cutting the grass, and L cooked up a storm. (I washed some dishes...) Two other German volunteers came over and we ate, played ultimate uno, watched Ocean's 12 (thanks mom! stangely enough it plays on our DVD player), and roasted marshmallows over a fire in our fire pit. I wasn't quite expecting to come to Belfast and find myself sitting around a fire with five Germans, but basically, the whole weekend was fantastic.

Photo Project

The main group of young people I'm working with this summer is involved in a photography project. They take photos of where they hang out, their homes, the chinese and chippys they frequent, their side of the peace wall. Then, they meet with a group from the other side of the wall, with the end product of an album (print or online) of the photos both sides have taken. We met with the other group for the first time tonight. The groups went bowling together (I didn't go, I had to be at the center for afterschools stuff) and then to hear two ex-paramilitary men talk. It was really interesting to hear a former UVF man and a former IRA man give their thoughts on Belfast today. Both did jail time, and both are now working in the community to improve the quality of living in Belfast. The first man who spoke had some really great things to say to the yp about how you can stand for a cause without taking up arms, and how it doesn't ever need to come to killing. He was telling them that it's okay to go against the crowd and be different. It was just so wild to sit in a room and hear these men talk about all the events, people, and opinions that I have read about. Belfast today is so different, than even 10 years ago, they said, and it definately gave me a bit of historical context.

I'm pretty excited about the rest of the project, too. Next week we're supposed to take a tour with both groups through their neighborhoods. Most have never seen the other side of the wall or the neighborhoods behind them. I think there's also some water sports coming up, and maybe even developing their own photos in a darkroom. It's sometimes tough to picture the yp getting a lot of out of these events because they can be so unruly and wild most of the time, but it was cool to see them all listening intently while the men were talking tonight (and we'll just try to forget the chair they threw down a flight of steps and the bucket of ice cream they dug into...)

The most beautiful day in Belfast

...the view from my bedroom on the most beautiful day in Belfast. That hill is Black Mountian, on a clear day you can see Scotland from that mountain. The big building in the center of the photo is the church I've gone to a few times. Last week we sang Blessed Be, and they played Power of Your Love. Good times.

I was reading Ephesians this morning, ch 2:11-22. It's all about how the Gentiles are welcomed into the church just as the Jews, how strangers and foreigners invited in and all are considered one in Christ. The exact wording hit me today though, specifically in relation to Belfast. "For he...has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility..." Christ came to "reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility." He must be so sad to see the walls that have gone up here, those that use his name as a convienient front for their political disagreements.
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The main pastor at church is away for summer holiday, so a lady has been leading the services. We're reading through Ruth, and this Sunday she read the scripture as a dramatic reading, except, she didn't read, she had it memorized. They had music timed for the reading and I think it was the most vivid a Bible passage has ever been for me. Later in the service she did a monologue from the point of view of Ruth. It's always so amazing how different, how powerful, scriptures seem when you can picture the people they are about.
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We had an organizational meeting today at FS. We (they) evaluated last year's programming and planned for this year. It was really helpful to get concrete information about what they did and what they are doing. It was super exciting to sit and plan with D (full time youth worker). And then...I had an appointment with the GP (general practitioner/doctor)...talk about intimidating. I walked into reception and there are about 5 rows of chairs, all facing the front desk and this big sign that flashes your name when it's your turn. It tells you which office to head to, and then you walk through another door and look hastily around for the correct door, walk in and there's the doctor, sitting, waiting...weird.

So I have new roommates. J and MS moved in yesterday. It's good to have people around the house. It's a bit like resettling into Belfast...for the 3rd time. I had my initial move in, and then part two when I came back from Germany and got used to being here on my own, and now again, with a full house and real work schedule.

We went out to a nice Italian restaurant, and then spent the afternoon walking around town. We walked through Queen's Quarter, near Queens University, and then past City Center and over to the Cathedral Quarter. We had a really nice sit right on the river (I don't know if you can have a "sit" but now you can). It's amazing how close everything is when you're not confined to using the one way streets and bus routes. Photos are posted, but here's a few to get you hooked and entice you to click on the link :)

Photos Added!

Hi friends,
I have finally figured out how to make my photos accessible (I think...). So, the links are on the left hand side of the page, enjoy!!

Last week was the BVS Europe retreat in Bonn, Germany. It was a wonderful week to relax, explore Germany and get to know the other BVSers who are working in Europe. They are doing some amazing things...other than the four of us who are doing cross community work in NI, there were people working in Serbia (with an international peace network made up of women around the world), Hungary (with an eccumenical organization linking Christian students throughout Europe), Bosnia (working in the arts and film with young people in a war torn area) and Germany (with people who have developmental diabilities). We ate and drank foods from each country, had good conversations re: self care, secularism and the misuse of religion, current events. I also got to visit a German history museum (focused on post WW1), eat lunch on the banks of the Rhine River, and visit a castle in and around Bonn, and spend a day in Cologne touring the huge cathedral, other churches and Beethoven's Birth Home (scratch that- that was in Bonn too). I'm still rather in awe of the transportation system across Europe; my trip home required streetcar to train to plane to bus to taxi to minibus, and it was all remarkably easy.

This week has been one big attempt to get myself motivated to get out of the house. I've worked just a few hours (more on that in a minute) and haven't had any roommates (they move in tomorrow) so it's tempting to sit and read or just bum around all day. I did read 2 Jodi Picoult books (Salem Falls and The Tenth Circle- both good, but don't read them back to back, they are too similar), move into the orange room (which I love) and generally just poke around the house cleaning out linen closets and refrigerators. BUT, I did manage to get up and about and I can proudly say that I am a bus riding genius. Yesterday I ended up downtown running errands and scoping out good coffee shops. Today I managed to get myself to Sir Thomas and Lady Dixon Park for the end of Rose Week. They have all these roses from all over the world, and they are judged each year. So it becomes a big event with acrobats, bands, magic shows, face painting and lots and lots of beautiful roses (see photos!!). It was probably not a bad thing that my camera batteries were dying or else I would have thousands of photos. They were the most vibrant reds, pinks, yellows, oranges, whites and every little park led into another. I was just meandering through the mud and roses and all of the sudden there's harp music from a gazebo one section over...seriously, all I needed was a tea cup.

And in the midst of the fun this week, I even worked a bit. We'e been out on "detached." Basically that means that we walk a route that goes through all of the neighborhoods that we work with looking for yp out and about. We hit up the parks and the corners that they're typically on and just say hello and chat for a bit. We've brought a bit of sports equipment, but haven't yet found any groups interested in playing. Most of the yp who come through the club are recruited via outreach, so we see lots of the yp who were on the residentials, and some who used to come but haven't for awhile. It's just so different than growing up in a suburb. I try to think of something equivalent from home, and just draw a blank. No one hung out on street corners and parks (or maybe I wasn't cool enough :) ). Sometimes no one's about, it was actually a quiet few nights, but in general we can predict who will be in which location, and they're just there hanging out all night. At this point it's a bit tough to throw myself right into it, I'm still desperately trying to work out the accent and the slang (a week of German and American accents didn't help!) but eventually, I think it'll be very cool, and a very good way to work on conversation starting skills!

Next week I start up full time, and with two new roommates things should all change a bit...

oh, and today's the 4th of July. Happy Independance Day to all you Americans :) (it's nothing too special over here!)