Working 9 to 5

It's been awhile since I've posted on here. Really it's been awhile since I've had time to post on here. Working everyday tires you out pretty  quickly. I now sympathize with all the 9-to-5ers. I now get the exhaustion. Despite the exhaustion the internship really has been pretty great so far. I've had the chance to get around to a lot of the different Alternatives sites. I have been out in the schools and out working with the youth on the streets. I had the opportunity to attend the District Policing Partnership Forum that brought people together from all areas of work in the community, the police, the government, residents and youth to discuss various issues. The main topic of discussion was underage drinking and antisocial activity. I was actually able to give input in the discussion, which was kind of a new thing. I have also been able to sit in on a board meeting for the organization. This allowed me to see the direction that the organization is heading in and also where they have come from. On Friday afternoon my supervisor took me out for lunch at one of the local pubs that all the community workers and artists gather at for political discussion. We had a great time eating good food (real meat that wasn't chicken!), having a glass of wine, and just generally getting to know one another better and also discussing more ways that I might be able to help out at Alternatives. I had a great time. 

On Saturday I attended the first meeting of a new youth program run out of East Belfast Alternatives. It brings together youth from the Protestant community, the Catholic community, and youth from Dublin. They participate in a 15 week long program that looks at living healthy, creating relationships across communities and borders, and teaches the children how to play ice hockey. Yes, a very few people do play ice hockey in Northern Ireland. The kids participate in a week-long residential hockey clinic at the end of the program. Volunteers come in from Canada and they work with the Coors Belfast Giants hockey team to teach the kids how to play. They piloted the program last year and had reasonable success. They are looking to change a few things and hope for more success this year. Yesterday was all about getting to know one another and the program. We spend the afternoon at a youth center playing ice breaker games and listening to a presentation about the program. Then we took all the kids to a Belfast Giants hockey game. They had extra tickets so Jordan and Drea tagged along for the game as well. It was quite the interesting experience. Within the first five minutes Jordan described the games as being similar to watching the team play their first game in Mighty Ducks. It was quite a different level of play than we are used to in Minnesota, but it was fun to watch and an experience I am glad that I got to take part in. The kids definitely enjoyed themselves.

Outside of work I haven't really been up to a whole lot. I'm exhausted when I get home and usually stay in after dinner. We did have the chance to see some live music last Thursday. One of our flatmate's supervisors was playing with his band at a performance venue. Really it is a townhouse that has been converted into a performance space/art gallery type of thing. They were promoting the Botanic Arts Festival that will be taking place next weekend. There was free wine and good music. We didn't stay very late, but we had a good time. Today we got out and walked along the river a little bit and went grocery shopping for the week. I have to work on a paper proposal tonight and then probably call it an early night. We are going to visit the U.S. Consulate and Stormont (the building that houses the Northern Ireland assemble) tomorrow. It's our study day so we will get to see everyone from Derry and Nigel too. Now that I'm more settled in at Alternatives I should be able to keep up with this a little bit better.

Before I sign off I should probably write a little bit about the events that have been happening in Belfast recently. I'm sure most of you have probably seen news about the shootings in Northern Ireland on the news by now. Last weekend two soldiers were killed and four others were injured in a shooting at a military base north of Belfast. Two days later a policeman was shot and killed just south of Belfast. These shootings were carried out by two different splinter groups of the IRA - the Real IRA (RIRA) and the Continuity IRA (CIRA). These are two very small splinter groups that split from the IRA awhile ago. The IRA no longer remains active, but these two, much smaller groups still do. The people in these groups are trying to ignite the Republican quest for a united Ireland once again. They are doing so by targeting security forces, like the British Army and the Police Service Northern Ireland (PSNI). They have said that they will continue to commit such acts until Britain leaves Northern Ireland. Political leaders and officials from all sides have said that they will not stand for this behavior and that they will not allow the actions of radicals to bring this country back into conflict. The vast majority of the Irish people condemn these acts and want the peace process to continue. The heads of the Loyalist paramilitary groups have promised that there is no talk of retaliation on the part of the paramilitaries. It was a very interesting time to be in the country because we were able to see on people's faces and in their voices the terror that these shootings brought back for those who have already lived through any part of the conflict. It brought people back to the days when they would hear of a shooting and have to wait to find out if it was a family member or someone they knew. Because of this terror, no one we have encountered wants to enter into that sort of dispute again. They are all very much committed to peace. So, in summary, I am safe, we are all safe, and we will wait with the rest of the country to see what happens next. The political leaders are all working to make sure that peace is maintained and that the process can continue to move forward. In fact, many of  Northern Ireland's political leaders are in the United States right now. St. Patrick's Day is one of the few times when they are able to step into the spotlight and use it to advance their cause and their goals for the future. 

I am being called to go make dinner now so I had better get to it. Miss you all tons and wish you all well!