When we got off the plane, we got picked up from the airport to go to Belfast by Eamon and Conner. They were from a local youth center in Belfast that helped young protestants and catholics to integrate with each other. When we got to the youth center, they talked about how separate the communities were even after the peace deal. There are still walls up from the troubles that are not being taken down because of the big divide between the two sides in the government. Also, only 3 percent of schools have both catholics and protestants, and do not talk about the conflict in school because of how polarized it is. After that amazing talk, we went to the hotel to check in and to get some rest before dinner. We had dinner at the hotel because everyone was very tired from the long trip on the plane and had gotten little rest. I got fish and chips, and it was good. I did not like the mush peas they were just not for me. We went back to the youth center and talked about how the troubles affect them now and how they are trying to make the two communities be together. Then we got some much-needed sleep from the trip and got ready for what we were going to do on Tuesday. We start off the day with a tour of the Peace Wall. I was interested to see that there was graffiti on the protest side, but when you are on the catholic side, there is nothing. He talked about how there were small details that could point you out if you were a Protestant or a catholic. Like if you say a word differently, you were recognized, if you were a green or blue soccer jersey, you were recognized. After the peace wall, we went to Stormont. It was really cool to see where the government takes place and see all the amazing architecture. Last but not least, we went to the Ulster Museum It was a cool museum that had anything you could think a museum can have. Overall, my first two days in Northern Ireland have been eye-opening. I expected there would be a lot of history, but I didn’t expect everyone to feel so personally attached to the troubles that much. The divisions of political and cultural really challenged me to think about how peace isn’t just the absence of violence, but the presence of understanding and connection with one another. It’s made me reflect on how easily we take unity and diversity for granted in the U.S.A. This experience has pushed me to look deeper at how communities form and how much work it takes to truly heal after conflict. Even in peace, the past never goes away, and I’ve learned that listening is one of the most powerful things we can do.