Six Days in Belfast
Mood:  don't ask
I'm just going to do one super long blog for Belfast simply because, well, I'm being lazy. So ya'll with just have to deal. :)

We left Dublin last Sunday around 1100 for Northern Ireland and Belfast, with a stop at Castle Ward along the way.

Castle Ward, as far as I can tell, was a walled estate that was pretty much self-sufficient in its heyday and is currently under the protection of the National Trust of the U.K. as a historic site. There was a tour of the house that one could do, but as I hadn't changed my Euros over into Sterling, I opted out of that experience. The grounds were more than large enough to suck up the two hours we spent there.

A small group of us, Laura, Katie, Caitlin and I, wandered around the grounds, slowly making our way to a spot on our roughly drawn maps that was dubiously marked 'The Temple.' As it looked like the coolest thing to see, we decided on that as our destination, and we weren't disappointed.

It took a bit of doing, but we finally managed to get around the small lake and climb our way up the hill to where the Temple lay. Laura and I even found some wild raspberries and strawberries to munch on! The view from the top was amazing. Being as it was a clear day, one could see for miles and miles, to quote The Who song.

We finally arrived in Belfast later that afternoon. Our accommodations were, to put it mildly, a disappointment. The only highlight being the kitchen with BOTH a microwave and a television! This discovery, I thought, would make up for the very scary mattresses in our rooms. I would discover later in the week, that this was not to be true, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

After what was supposed to be a brief meeting on our schedule in Belfast, about ten of us set out into the city to find something to eat. We found a wonderful Chinese restaurant called The Abacus. I think, after we were finished eating, that that was the fullest I've been since coming to Ireland. And the food was so good!

Monday we had our first day of classes and a city tour. Breakfast was interesting. Apparently this country has something against orange juice in large glasses. I don't get it. A body wants, no needs more than a shot glass's worth of OJ.

The city tour was interesting and kind of scary and depressing at the same time. Our fearless leader, Dr. Peter Collins, took us into some of the shadier parts of Belfast to show us the murals on the gable walls of houses in both Catholic and Protestant areas. We were also shown the 'Peace Wall' that was put up to prevent people from either side from killing each other in the night. Think Berlin Wall, only no Germans. Don't worry, they didn't let us off the coach. It probably wouldn't have been a good idea to march some fifty students down the streets!

That evening we had a special guest reading by Northern Ireland poet Medbh (pronounced Maeve) McGuckian. Like the city of Belfast itself, her poetry was interesting and moving, but at the same time depressing and kind of scary.

Tuesday was a much happier day as we headed up the Antrim Coast to the famous Giant's Causeway and Dunluce Castle. The pictures I got are amazing. I haven't posted any of them yet, but be patient. They will come.

Whether you prefer the legends of Finn McCool or the geological explanations for the creation of the Giant's Causeway, it's a pretty cool place. We weren't able to walk all the way down the path, as part of it had collapsed in the last few years, but what I did see was amazing.

Dunluce Castle was probably the coolest castle we've seen, and not just because it's rumored to be haunted. Granted, that added a bit of appeal to the place, but even without the ghost, it's still amazing, if a bit creepy. I didn't see any ghosts, but one could almost feel them around you.

Wednesday we had more classes and a visit to the Stormont Buildings. After we toured the chambers of Stormont, one modeled after the House of Lords at Westminster, the other after the House of Commons, we had 'roundtable talks' with representatives from Sinn Fein, the SDLP (Social Democrat Labor Party, and the UUP (Ulster Unionist Party). A member from the DUP (Democratic Unionist Party) was also supposed to be there, but apparently he forgot....yeah right.

'Roundtable talks' is kind of deceiving as the questions were submitted by us ahead of time and the party members also got to see them before the session. Even so, some of those who were asked to stand up and ask the prepared questions still were able to throw the politicians a few curves balls by not sticking strictly to the script. It was great. I've always enjoyed watching elected officials squirm and maneuver haphazardly for an intelligible answer that won't betray their party.

I don't know if it was reassuring or not to see that politicians are the same the world over....

Thursday was our last full day in Belfast, and I couldn't be happier. There is a conscious weight to the city that presses down upon a person. I wasn't the only one to feel it, thank God. Otherwise I would really begin to suspect that I was going crazy.

I spent the morning with Laura and Kate (not to be confused with Katie) shopping in the City Centre. We had skipped out on the Visual Culture session as none of us were in it. I was going to attend just for shits and grins, but quickly decided that I didn't want to be cooped up in a classroom more than I had to be.

After spending the last four nights on that horrible non-supportive mattress, my back was feeling more than a bit sore, but full-out rebellion didn't happen until we were at the evening reception with the Deputy Lord Mayor of Belfast. Full muscle spasms and no Flexeril in sight, and because the sidewalks roll up around six o'clock here, there was no chance of getting anything that would bring relief. Seona, our administrative director put me in a cab with Sara (a friend I've made while here), and sent us back to Elm's Village where we were staying.

I managed to get something that purported to help muscle spasms the next morning before we left to return to Dublin. I spent the rest of the day once we got back to Dublin pretty much in a semi-comatose state. I'm better now, but I don't think that I'll be running any marathons any time soon. What am I talking about? I've never run any marathons, and don't see myself ever running one. Must be the drugs talking. :)

Needless to say, most of us are glad to be back at our homebase in Dublin. The air here is much lighter, even despite the goings-on in London as of late.

More excitement to come later!