Tuesday was our first day in Ireland and the UK. We landed in Dublin at 6 a.m. and got to Belfast by 10. I was exhausted. I only got about an hour of sleep on the plane, and it definitely caught up with me. Luckily for me, I had the entire row to myself on the flight to Dublin.
Once we arrived in Belfast, we hit the ground running. Our first stop was St. Peter’s Immaculata Youth Centre, where we got an introduction to the facility. Right after that, we headed to Belfast Castle and explored both the inside and the gardens. There were cat statues and symbols everywhere. Even though I was running on almost no sleep, I still enjoyed walking through the castle and seeing how the elite used to live…
Back at the youth centre, we hung out, had lunch and tea, and I got in a round of darts. I hit a perfect bullseye.
After checking into the hotel, we were told not to sleep since it could mess up our internal clocks for the rest of the trip. I still took a 30-minute nap. Later, we walked around the area near the hotel before meeting up for dinner as a group.
In the evening, we returned to the youth centre to meet some local teens and had a lesson on the Troubles and how the centre works to break down community segregation. After that, we had free time, so I ended the night by exploring the city.
Wednesday started with a mural and peace wall tour. It was very interesting to see how on the Protestant side of the peace walls, there’s a bunch of decoration and graffiti, whereas on the Catholic side, it’s clean. This is because the Catholics see the wall as the main line of defense for their homes, which are close to the wall from a Protestant attack, whereas the Protestants’ homes are already quite a distance from the wall, and the area is seen as more touristy. When going to the wall, we were told that since the war was between groups of people who looked the same, there were small details that could point you out as a Protestant or a Catholic. For example, if you had bleached tips in your hair, you were seen as a Protestant and could be targeted for that, or if you supported Celtic instead of Rangers, you were identified as Catholic. Green vs Blue. This felt very similar to how gang wars are portrayed in American cities like LA or Chicago. Rival Colors, neighborhoods, and sports team fandom…
After the wall, we went to Stormont for a tour of the space. It’s the main assembly place for the Northern Irish Government and looks almost identical to the House of Commons. The best part of the visit was the drive up to Stormont with such an amazing front lawn…
After Stormont, we went to the Ulster Museum. I’m used to things like art and dinosaurs being in separate museums, but the Ulster has everything all in one. Art, dinosaurs, mummies, and jewelry.
We wrapped up the day with dinner at John Long’s, a fish and chips shop. I’m not the biggest fan of seafood, but I still gave it a try and ended the night with exploring the city some more…