We are officially in Ireland, and I would say we have been through so much in just these two days!! We first visited the Belfast Castle, which had stunning views. We also visited the museum portion of the castle, which I found especially moving. I had a conversation with Connor and Eamon about the World War II section of the history museum. My Great-Grandfather is a veteran of WWII, so talking with them was very insightful, and the artifacts were super interesting to me. There were also a bunch of cats, nine in total, but I only found a few, which I found super cute because I have two cats myself!

We then headed over to the St. Peter’s Immaculata Youth Club. This is the center where we spent a lot of time. We learned a lot about Irish history, met the young people there, and had good food! One of the most compelling things about our experiences at the youth center is the fact that these young people have this place as a safe space. They are not judged here and are reassured that they are welcomed, accepted, and everyone has the best intentions to help them succeed. This is the foundation of what is hoped to create a community for the young people to begin moving past all of the bad in their pasts and make friends from different communities.

We also visited the St. Peter’s Catholic Cathedral across the street, which was extremely beautiful and really symbolized a place of quiet.

Today, on Wednesday, we took a very historical tour of the Peace Walls. There are many murals with different symbols and historical contexts. On one side, the walls are extremely graffiti’d and written all over with messages, while the other side is completely bare. The feeling that each side radiates is totally different, which I found to stick with me and be a symbol of how different communities have different viewpoints on certain subjects.

We got to take a tour of the Parliament Building after that, and it was super cool! We visisted a few of the different rooms they use and learned the history and uses for each of them.

We then went to the Ulster Museum, in which I found myself in the art section for a lot of the time. I really enjoy looking at all kinds of art and reading about their histories, so I wandered around the floors here for quite a while. The different art styles and techniques really relate to different eras and events happening throughout history.

We are looking forward to moving on in our journey of Ireland and heading north tomorrow into Donegal and Carrigart!