Belfast

Hiya!

This weekend I decided to go up to Belfast for a day, which was not long enough.  I may have put off paper-writing for that day, which may not have been the best decision for my GPA, but I think it'd be far worse to not see as much of this tiny rock in the ocean as I possibly can before I have to come back to the States and graduate (which, do I really really need to come back MU??).  So, while I was a bad student this weekend, I promise that I was connecting things I learned in Belfast to what I've learned as an ICD student, which I'm going to demonstrate here so maybe my professors (really just one professor this week) won't be too upset with the subpar paper he or she is going to receive!

I took a taxi tour of some of Belfast and saw some of the murals.  It was a great and very fair viewpoint of both the Protestant and Catholic viewpoints.  Here's the link

http://www.big-e-taxitours.com

(and thanks to my friends Anna and Ryan for the recommendation).

The murals used to be about what was happening nationally, but they decided to redo them with a local community theme.  I asked if people minded that tourists were always walking through their neighbourhood taking pictures, and my tour guide/taxi man said that they did not mind because it meant that their story was being heard by others, and also that the murals were based on the community so it was truly their story (which I obviously loved to hear).
The murals definitely made me think about Professor Storey and my original YAP supervisor Diana, who are both art therapists.  Here's some pictures of the murals!

One of the murals has a man with a gun, and no matter where you stand, the barrel of the gun is pointing at you.  I took a video walking around it so people can see what I mean.

One thing my tour guide/taxi driver said was that Protestants would try to destroy Catholic churches, which is completely against international humanitarian law (cough cough Dr. Cronin).  I visited a memory garden on Bombay Street as well, which was interesting for multiple reasons.  One of those reasons because it was much more impactful to see how Catholics in Belfast live, with high gates and barricade/shield type things so their homes won't be destroyed by things thrown over the well, and plastic windows instead of glass.  It was a reminder that cultural competency starts on the ground with people, and not from reading articles (Jenny! (although I hope this doesn't make it sound like you are the one who makes us read those cultural competency articles.))

See the shield on the home?  Now granted, that wall is high now, but the extension was only added in 2005, so homes were still being damaged because people were throwing things over the wall.

This one mural made me think of Rosi

and so did this one

(The Free the Five picture)
This wall is dedicated to International injustices.  People in Belfast think the peace process could have began earlier if the international community had stepped in and tried to help, so this is their way of acknowledging and trying to help for international injustices.

And my internship is all about program evaluation, which would bring me to Dr. Mathbor.  See, I was still academically-minded even on my one-day adventure!

I'd also just like to take this space to thank the staff at my hostel, Global Village.  Fun story, I used an ATM to take out money, and the ATM ate my debit card.  I called the bank whose ATM it was, and Ian the bank man told me that once the ATM eats a card, it goes into a box that shreds the card, so I could not get my debit card back.  Yikes.  I happened to be with my taxi tour guide (as I was trying to take out money to pay him), and he was very very nice and suggested we go back to my hostel and see if they would over charge my credit card and give me cash back, and then I could pay him.  If that was not possible, he said he'd just give me his information and I could send him the money.  So nice!  I explained what happened to the guy at the front desk at Global Village, and he said "Oh no problem" and paid my tour guide for me.  After he did that though, he found out he could not overcharge my credit card, but he was really calm about my owing him money and just had a "we'll figure it out" attitude, which I greatly appreciated.  I went out to explore, ending up not coming back until much later (luckily I found a pub that could do cash back with a credit card, so I was able to get cash to pay him back) and then he said he had something to tell me.  He and the manager decided that since my debit card had been eaten, that they were going to let me stay the night for free!  I said that I could use my credit card to pay, but they said it was no problem.  So I got a free night with them!  It was so surprising and thoughtful!  Also, they were all very nice, and I almost want to go back to Belfast just to hang out with them!  Here is the hostel's website in case you're going to Belfast

http://globalvillagebelfast.com

Sorry, but since they cancelled my booking for me, I can't leave a review on hostelworld's website, so I felt like I should do it here :)

It was a great day in Belfast, and I may have to go back before returning to the States (which again, do I really really need to do that??)

Una Noche

Tonight I had the pleasure of seeing a film being shown at the Jameson Dublin Irish Film Festival, and the movie and experience were both so fantastic I wanted to share them!

The movie, Una Noche, follows a girl (Lila), her twin brother (Eliot, and his best friend (Raul) in their lives in Havana. Elio and Raul are planning on building a raft and using it to get to Miami. Lila ends up joining their plan, and without spoiling the ending (which we all know I would do), it's such a powerful and moving story, I dont want to ruin it for anyone. Also, it will be released in the States in June, AND I really want it to do well while in the States, so you will just have to go see it yourself! It was such a simple story, but it shows the civilian side of Havana (it was shot there), uses non-professional actors who the writer/director found on the streets of Havana, and it was a truly captivating sort of love story as well. I highly highly recommend it.

Afterwards the writer/director, Lucy Mulloy, did a q&a. The movie actually originated as a short film and was her thesis for NYU's film school. She actually was nominated for a student Oscar for it. She gained funding from mainly UK non-film people having only a synopsis of the story, no script! She had relatively no issues with gaining permits to film in Cuba, but Cuba has now banned the film, which is unfortunate because they were hoping to put it in the running for Best Foreign Film at the Oscars next year, and I wholeheartedly believe it could be a real contender! (Maybe the UK will submit it?) She brought the film and the three principal actors to the Berlin Festival, which was the actors' first time leaving Cuba. She brought it and them to TriBeCa, but the day before the festival the actors who played the brother and sister went missing (they had become a couple in real life). She was worried and called Javier's (Elio) mom, but the mom was calm, so Lucy knew it had been planned. She heard from Javier after he and the actor who played Raul jointly won Best Actor at TriBeCa. Think about that: these two men who were literally found on the streets of Havana, with no acting experience, won Best Actor at TRIBECA. Woah! The actor who played Raul has also stayed in the States.  Oh, we found those things out because someone asked if she wanted to continue the story, and she said she had written it as a trilogy, but the actors were no longer available (which led to the story of how they ended up staying in the States).  Lucy also said when Una Noche is released in the States they are going to try to get the three actors agents.  Oh! And the film is based off a true story, which Lucy told us, and let me tell you, also an interesting story.

I'm not sure if I captured how fantastic an experience tonight was, but it really was! Such a fabulous film and such an interesting history. Go see it whenever you can!!

My First Week with YAP Ireland

I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little nervous to start my internship at YAP Ireland.  First, starting any new placement, whether employment or interning, can be a bit nerve-wracking.  More importantly, I've been fortunate enough (I feel comfortable saying I'm the luckiest MSW student who has ever attended Monmouth) to have the most amazing supervisors for my past internships in my MSW program.  I figured there was no way I'd be lucky enough to have both my past supervisors, be able to intern in Ireland, and have an equally great supervisor and coworkers at my internship.  Well, for some reason I am that lucky and have had a great first week with YAP Ireland!  (I'm hoping I didn't just jinx the rest of my time here).  Everyone has been incredibly welcoming and made me feel at home right away.  They gave me advice about moving out of the hostel (which I did, great decision!) and about other things about Ireland.  This week I also attended a meeting in the Meath office, in Navan, which was cool because I nearly immediately got to experience an Irish country town.  My supervisor also took me out to get a filtered water bottle (I had a Brita one with a flip straw that would leak all over my bag, so I give it a bad review!  But maybe the Brita one with the push/pull top is better?) and a hot water bag so I am not as cold at night.  By the way, this hot water bag is probably the second best investment I've made here, other than the short let :)  Anyway, my first week at YAP Ireland was fantastic and I learned about the organisation itself, as well as how it differs from YAP, Inc.  My coworker/colleagues (not sure what the PC term is because I think in a hierarchy I'm below them) and I also discussed differences between social work and social welfare between the States and Ireland and some social issues Ireland is now facing.  I was a bit surprised when, while discussing homelessness, one of my coworkers (let's pretend I am their equal) said she thought it was against people's human right for the government to not provide them a place of shelter.  I don't think this would be something someone outside of a homelessness agency would say in the States, and I'd be a bit surprised if human rights were brought up even in that context.  For me it highlighted how much more in touch Ireland (and I'd venture to say Europe) is to human rights and how much more aware they are of the concept.

This weekend I did some more walking around the city centre, maybe visited a pub or two, and also toured Trinity a bit.  I applied for a visitor's card for Trinity College, and this week I think I am applying for the same for University College Dublin (UCD), so I can do schoolwork in their libraries.  Hopefully they come soon so I can start acting as if I'm attending those schools :) I've also been trying to figure out trips to take while I'm here.  There's so much to see and do, it leaves very little time for schoolwork :)  On that note, I'm going to go back to reading about humanitarian issues in war.  It's exactly how I like to spend my Sunday night (joking).

Cheers :)

My First Weekend in Dublin

Hello! I can't believe my first weekend has passed and I start with YAP tomorrow!  This weekend I was very busy!  My mom's friend took me out Friday and Saturday.  We went to Howth, ate fish and chips, walked around Dublin, and saw an Irish play at the Gaeity Theatre on Friday.  On Saturday I went to eat breakfast with her at her hotel, which happened to be where the English rugby team was staying (there was a HUGE rugby match between Ireland and England today).  I chatted with a few of them, and they were very nice!  I felt conflicted about wanting them to win, because I love England and they were so nice, and wanting Ireland to win, because this is my home base for the next two months.  We ended up running into the Irish rugby team on a walk later in the day, when we went to walk around the Shelbourne Hotel.  This is a famous hotel, where the Beatles and Stones have stayed, and also where treaties were signed.  There was a mini-Shelbourne museum in the lobby which had a draft of the Irish constitution and guestbooks from a long time ago (early 1900s I think).  We walked through the Horseshoe Bar where politicians tend to go during the weekdays.  Today I met up with a different family friend, who also showed me around Dublin.  Two of my roommates and I all watched the rugby match, and later three of my roommates and I went out for dinner.

To be honest, the first two days here I felt very lonely and missed home terribly, especially my Casey Boo Boo Bear, because I can talk with everyone else I miss, but I (obviously) can't communicate with my dog.  Today I felt more settled, though, I think because I walked around and got lost, which helped me better learn the layout of the city.

Here's my Casey Bear, in case you've never had the pleasure of meeting her.

I know, she's adorable.

I discovered a couple of things over this weekend I thought I'd share.  First, it's much cheaper to sublet a room than to stay in a hostel.  It's actually about half the cost or even less than half the cost.  I really do like the hostel I'm staying in; it's easily the nicest hostel I've ever stayed in.  It's also extremely close to the city centre, a really great location.  However, a more residential location that is nearly half the cost of staying here, with my own bedroom and en suite bathroom, kitchen, and I don't need to lock my things in a locker/live out of a suitcase, is pretty hard to argue against.  I'm slightly torn about staying in the hostel, though, because it is such a great location and a great way to meet people, but I think in the long run having a more (for lack of a better word) stable home for the next two months will be better for me financially and psychologically.  I think, also, that with a sublet I can be more confident leaving my things at home for a long weekend, instead of having to pack ALL my things every time I travel outside of Dublin/need to change living arrangements.  This week I'm going to look at some rooms, so hopefully I find one fast and can save some money on living costs ASAP!

Another thing I discovered is that Dublin and Ireland really does have social issues!  It's kind of silly that it took actually coming here for me to accept this, but even knowing for months I'd be coming here to intern as a social worker, it was hard for me to imagine that a place as beautiful as Ireland could actually have social issues.  The one I have most been confronted with is homelessness.  I was kind of shocked to see homeless people on the streets of Dublin.  I know about the financial crisis that is going on, but I think it was always a distant reality for me until I saw it with my own eyes.  I've also learned which areas are safer than others, which I'm happy to have found out so early in my time here.  There was even a protest here this weekend!  I thought protests were things that "the people" supported, but I learned from a few conversations that a lot of people actually don't support them, at least not this one.  Protests here are not typically violent, but they do shut down city streets, which means it's hard or impossible to get through areas of the city, taxi drivers lose money, and more money is spent on Garda for patrolling the protest.  It was interesting for me, though, because I've never been near an actual protest before. 

That was basically my first weekend here!  I'm looking forward to getting into my schedule, and I have a feeling that time is going to move too fast once I start interning and writing papers for class.  I'm hoping to be able to explore a place other than Dublin every other weekend. Wish my luck in actually getting school work done so I can accomplish this :)

Have a great week!

T - 120 minutes

Hello!!!

This past week has been incredibly busy for me.  I'm a bit guilty of putting things off to the last minute, which I absolutely did with this trip.  I saved calling my credit cards, requesting my transcript for my LSW exam application, getting my LSW exam application notarized, notifying my cell phone company, and packing all for today.  Packing I saved for the very last hour before I left, which resulted in a bit of overpacking.  Ok, I also happen to be an overpacker, but I'm sure if I had started more than 60 minutes before leaving my home I would have brought a bit less.  Maybe this trip will teach me how to pack better?

Over the last week I spent as much time with my family and friends.  I am so lucky to have the support system that I have!  One of my professors even had my classmates sign a card for me!  Thank you everyone for making me feel supported and loved!  I'm going to miss you all!

I am currently writing this in the United Airlines Club as I wait to board my plane.  One of my mom's friends happens to be a gold member for United, and is also on my flight.  She upgraded my seat so I get extra leg room AND get to hang out in the Club with her until we board, with free food and drinks! I feel like I need to document this because it is unlikely that I will ever be in the club of any airline again :)

I am surprisingly very afraid of flying, so I don't want to jinx myself and my plane by assuming I will be landing safely.  I hope to be able to write my next post from Ireland!!!  Wish my plane a safe, turbulence-free, relaxing flight please :)