This weekend we ventured to Northern Ireland on a trip organized through IFSA-Butler (who, I must say, have done a fabulous job providing for us throughout this whole abroad experience). Unfortunately, the first day I was feeling a bit under the weather, recovering from an ugly stomach bug I had caught a day earlier. BUT, not to worry! I was a bit sluggish, but everything was so beautiful and enjoyable that I didn’t mind the cold, the rain, or the slug. We saw the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge which is this really cool rope bridge that connects two huge rock cliffs right on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. The water there was amazingly blue. If you used your very best imagination skills to block out the cold, the rain, and the cloudiness, it could have been a tropical coast line. It was that pretty! Then we went to Dunluce Castle, which was very beautiful. If we’re being honest (which is my general policy) it was really windy there and I was just a bit too tired to actually learn anything about it, but I have pictures! It’s a castle, it’s old, it’s ruined, it’s on a cliff by the sea. That’s all you need to know. Then we went to Giant’s Causway, which is one of Ireland’s most popular and astonishingly beautiful sights. Giant’s Causway is a really cool rock formation right on the coast line that was formed by a volcanic eruption millions and billions of years ago. The rocks are all hexagonal columns that form perfect stepping stones that you can climb up and walk out on until they fall off into the ocean. The legend is a cool story, but instead of explaining it all in this post, here’s the Wikipedia link if you want to learn more: Edumacate yurself!
The next day I was feeling much better, and was happy to feel like a functioning human again! In the morning we went to a farmer’s market a few blocks from our hotel and it was great! Tons of cool crafts, foods, and live music! I ate so many delicious free samples that I didn’t even need lunch. I got lots of cool handmade stuff for bargain prices! But what absolutely made my entire trip to Belfast is the story I’m going to tell you now: I was looking at these gorgeous tapestries handmade in Nepal. I knew I had to get one because there were just so incredibly beautiful. Two women standing near me were contemplating buying one also, so obviously I felt the need to chime in with my 2 cents, or rather, 2 pence. The woman looking to buy one loved it but wasn’t sure if she’d have a place for it and I told her she should buy it, and that it was so beautiful she’d definitely find a place for it no matter what. I agreed with the other woman whom I had overheard saying that it’s a worth wile purchase just because it’ll make her happy to look at - a philosophy that I embrace wholeheartedly. We got to chatting a bit (Helen and Aileen from Canada, mother and daughter, Helen grew up in Belfast) and before I knew it we had both made pact to buy a tapestry: “If you’re doing it, I’m doing it!” She asked which one I was buying and I told her I was going for the smaller one because it was more fitting for my budget. She pointed to a big blue tapestry that was amazing an asked “What about this one?”. So beautiful, but my wallet would disagree, sadly. She handed me £15 and said “Get the one you really want.” I told her I couldn’t accept such a gift but she insisted: “We’re Irish, we can’t help it”. So I walked away with a big, gorgeous, handmade tapestry for half of what it was worth thanks to the kindness of a perfect stranger. Remember how I said the people here are friendly? I did them an injustice. The people here treat you like they’ve known and loved you for years.
Later that day we took a Black Taxi tour of Belfast. They took us around the outskirts of the city and explained to us all about the Protestant-Catholic split which is still very much present in Northern Ireland today. And what a vicious split it is. Apparently it’s much calmer now than it was years ago, but we saw huge walls and gated neighborhoods separating Catholic and Protestant sections, memorials for those who’ve been caught in very recent Protestant-Catholic violence, and the most disturbing: a mural proudly dedicated to a single Protestant soldier who gunned down 16 innocent Catholics in the 80’s. Horrifying. It’s mind blowing to see that such strong divisions still exist in this day and age. We were warned not to broadcast even the slightest bit of Catholicism in public because it would cause a stir. Even though things are calmer now, our cab driver told us the scales could tip at any time and violence could break out. Is that not completely absurd? I got some really cool pictures of the graffiti painted on the wall that separates the Catholic from Protestant section of Belfast. People from all over the world have signed the wall and left notes of peace and love including Bill Clinton, The Dalai Lama, Rihanna, and Lady GaGa (AHHH!!) to name a few. Obviously, I scoured the wall for Lady GaGa’s message, but to no avail. I did get a picture of the “general vicinity” that she was seen signing so good enough, I guess. I did get a picture of where Rihanna signed which was really cool! The words are very faded but she wrote “We found love in a hopeless place”. Awesome right?! Apparently she filmed part of the video for that song in Belfast.
The rest of the day we roamed around the shopping section and at night we hit up a nearby pub with live Irish music – my favorite kind! Then it was back on the bus Sunday morning and home to do all the mounds of reading I had managed to push out of my mind all weekend. Northern Ireland, despite its shocking religious prejudices, was beautiful, entertaining, and definitely thought provoking. Everything a good trip should be.
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