Some famous jazz person lived here...

*names have been changed to protect the innocent... and the not so innocent. My thanks to the people that drug me around all weekend. You were excellent tour guides and fantastic people with great stories.

Well, I took a much needed vacation/exploration trip last weekend. I decided to head south... way south to New Orleans to see a good friend of mine. Aside from Florida I've never spent anytime further south than North Carolina, just like I've never spent time out west. Us East Coasters tend to be East Coast-centric.. we know there's a south, and a west and even a mid-west, we'd just rather not go. That being said, New Orleans is a city that is unique, wonderful, and like nothing else I've seen in my limited explorations of the US.

My friend, Jim (he gets that name because he reminds me of my uncle) was sure to get me out to do all the touristy things. I had a hand grenade at the Tropical Isle on Bourbon Street, a hurricane at Pat O's, and more things that I can't remember from that night. But I can tell you that the bars on Bourbon close.. that's right, they do actually close! At about 5am, and really no one wants to see what anyone else looks like at that time... trust me.

After much sleeping (and getting yelled at because I decided to wake up at 9 am, go back to bed!) We started to move about 3 pm. Then it was off on the street car again to meet up with more people at the Carousel bar on Royal. Really, it is a carousel in a bar and it moves, let me tell you that screwed me up more than I'd like to admit. Not that we were sitting on the moving part mind, we were sitting on the part that doesn't move and when I'd look up I'd get confused. Course, it doesn't take much to confuse me.

From there it was back out to Bourbon for the honorary tour of the classiest strip joints I have ever had the pleasure to see! Or rather the only strip joints I have ever seen... Have you ever seen a stripper light her nipples on fire? I have! Yes girls, you too can aspire to be a stripper on Bourbon, all you need is two 1 dollar bills, nipple rings and a lighter... I'll let you figure out the rest. There was also a girl who we were certain had no bones in her body... not a one. No human can move like that, maybe she was part snake? I will also admit to falling asleep, quietly, at the strip club. Yes, I'm old and lame now and a 5 am night followed by a 3 am night did me in.

Sunday I got the grand tour. Mostly because someone thought that the po'boy shops would be open... ahem. Know your city!! :) Just kidding. Anyhow, we (Jim, me, and Jim's friend, Kate who is a fantastic tour guide, her knowledge of random NOLA stuff is astounding) started at the SOS Festival (Save our Sandwich). Yes, you read right, a festival and street party dedicated entirely to the po'boy. New Orleans loves the po'boy (for those of us from above the Mason Dixon, its a hoagie) and its suffering a slow and painful death at the hands of corporate America. So why not have a party to bring it back? Kate (she gets that name because she reminds me of one of my favorite bartenders) mentioned to me that she had moved back from Baton Rouge because she couldn't get a decent piece of bread. These people take their sandwiches very seriously. And their festivals, why not combine the two?

Also, I got to eat a Snowball.... stop it, I've had snow before, this was more like... the shaved remnants of an ice sculpture in a cup, with a flavored sugary substance and condensed milk... what a fantastic idea. Highly recommended. Especially if you're still tired from Bourbon Street, there is nothing like a good sugar buzz to fix that. And I got to see a second line (a brass band that marches down the street, don't roast me on technicalities, I'm still learning). From there we decided to go get a po'boy instead of waiting in line... let me cut to the end of the story, about 5 hrs later we finally got food, but in the mean time I got a great tour of the lower 9th ward, the projects, Lakeview and other areas of the city. We ended up back in the quarter where my friend was very grumpy about not having eaten, and his friend and I were hysterical with laughter. I think we annoyed the waitress because she ignored us. Oh well, life is just too damn short to be that unhappy.

We went down to see police HQ which was destroyed during Katrina. As we're getting a quick and dirty tour of the area Jim says:
"Yeah, there was some big stink when they wanted to build here. It involved tearing down a house that was important. So they compromised and left that street sign, Jane Alley over there. Apparently some famous Jazz person lived here or something"
So Kate walks over to read the plaque and I hear...
"Jim! Louis Armstrong was born here! some famous jazz person... how about the famous jazz person"

He still hasn't lived that one down.

There was also some discussion about RIP T-shirts, which include an airbrushed sunrise (birth) and sunset (death) date along with a silk screened picture of the dead person. These are more popular among the... lower income classes. But it was made all the more funny when Jim was trying to find me a picture of them on the net and the news came on to tell us that a body had been found and they hadn't identified her, but she was wearing a pink tank top with a picture of herself silk screened on it... really? I mean, really? Was she already prepared for her murder? Was it a birthday gift gone wrong? I guess I'll never know....

All in all it is a fantastic city, and if you're one of those nay-sayers that thinks we should have let them drown, shame on you! The big easy has more vibrancy and history than you do in your little toe. Think twice before you bash New Orleans, they're pretty good at identifying and laughing at their own flaws, they know what's up, and they know you're tired of hearing about them, but go visit, have a po'boy and beignets at Cafe Du Monde, watch the bands play and revel in a town that knows how to extract the best parts of life, put them together, and laugh when it just doesn't quite work. But hey, you got up today right? That deserves a celebration!

http://www.cafedumonde.com/main.html
http://www.nola.com
http://www.poboyfest.com/
http://www.parasols.com/
http://www.hotelmonteleone.com/leisure/carouselbar.html

ps. for those of you worried about crime... I was there 4 days, there were 7 shootings, 1 stabbing, 1 medical, and 1 suicide. Baltimore, DC, and NYC have the same stats, they're no different than any other major city. Stop worrying, get your ass on a plane, and go support the economy, you need a vacation anyway.

Curse you stomach!

As many of you know I've been battling pretty severe stomach issues since April... some of you have even had the unfortunate experience of being around me when the pain occurs, my sincerest apologies.

I've been to the doctor and learned nothing (mostly because she refuses to call me back... ahem). And as I'm losing my good insurance on Nov 30th its not worth the battle at this point. Except for today. Today is Thanksgiving, a day where food brings us all together with the friends and family we are so grateful for (or at least for the stories they give us). I had every intention of going to a good friend's house, his mom is a fabulous cook, the family is great fun, what better day could I have? I had some yogurt this morning because I know its not a good idea to fast, as it got closer to time for me to head out the worse and worse I started to feel. I had to call and beg off because of the massive stomach spasms that took over my body.... stomach why do you hate me?!?

So, now that I've missed Thanksgiving (and I am hopeful that my friend's mother will send me leftovers) I've spent some time looking into what this may be. I started by making a list of what problems occur and what things are causing it. My mother has recently been diagnosed with IBS and because of that I'm at a higher risk. Also, I've lost close to 20lbs since the end of Aug without trying, and while I can stand to lose some weight, I'd rather be in control. Given everything I've tried, what the Dr said before she stopped talking to me, I've decided it's time to go gluten free.

Or as close to it as I can. For those of you who have no idea what gluten is, its the stuff that holds food together. Its wheat, rye, barley, oatmeal, and the hops in beer. I'm not looking forward to this unless it makes me feel better. Trust me you don't want to hurt the way I do on a daily basis. I figure I'll give it a try for the next few weeks and see if I feel better, if I do then I've figured it out, if I don't.... well then I get to eat pizza, po'boys, and brownies again. Oh yeah, this also means I have to figure out how to cook....

Really, this is too easy. Thanks to a good camera person, we have our esteemed leader of the free world attempting to talk turkey... maybe he finally found someone who understands him. Or he's still trying to figure out what that thing on its nose is...

For those of you who don't know the history, the first turkey was pardoned by President Abraham Lincoln. His son, Tad, wanted to keep it as a pet. After that our esteemed Presidents received turkeys, both alive and dead, until 1961 when JFK pardoned a turkey. There is also a runner up in this turkey lottery of a lifetime, just in case the first turkey is unable to perform its duties as the official national turkey... oh yes, they have things they have to do! It's not just a life of leisure. They have to attend events, like the 2005 Thanksgiving Day Parade in Disneyland where they (both the National Turkey and the first runner-up) were grand marshals of the parade. Oh yeah, and don't forget to enter the contest to name them!

I suspect that the rest of the bird nation may be plotting against these birds... when the chickens revolt I don't want to be around.

Happy Thanksgiving all!!

Week 3 Summary

I'm going to sum up week three. By this time we're all pretty exhausted and learned out. The most poignant moment of this week was meeting Lawrence McKeowm and Alan McBride. Lawrence was a hunger striker in the H-Blocks. He was a Nationalist and was imprisoned for political reasons. He talked to us about the hunger strikes and the things that ones body goes through from fasting for 45 days. He said the most memorable thing was the sense of smell. They'd wax the floors and everyone else would be fine, but the hunger strikers would be absolutely sick from the smell of the wax.

Alan is a Protestant that grew up in Belfast. He and his wife and daughter lived there. One day he took his wife to work at her fathers shop up on Shankill Road. She did that once a month to help out. He dropped her off and then went for a bike ride with his daughter, who was about 4 at the time. When he got back his friends came by to tell him that there had been an attack on Shankill Road. It was the IRA bomb of October 1993. It was a bombing that went awry. The IRA Volunteers were supposed to give the people in the shop an 11 second warning so they could gain some space, but instead the bomb went off killing 11, including Alan's wife.

It was an unbelievable thing to have these two men in the same room together. Both men affected strongly by the Troubles, on either sides, and wanting us to know about their beliefs. Lawrence works now to tell people about political imprisonment and to help their understanding. Alan has started WAVE, a group that goes into the areas and works with survivors.

There was a very large discussion of victim's rights going on within Parliament while we were there. And it's to be understood that the definition of victim is still being decided. To the Protestants who want to continue to be a part of Britain the Sinn Fein and the IRA are forever linked and they are intrinsically evil and a terrorist organization. They don't believe that any IRA man who died or the hunger strikers were victims of this political war. If you ask a Nationalist, the Unionists and government who have oppressed them and prevented Ireland from being united, they are the victims and the people who have died keeping the North a part of the UK are the terrorists. This makes it almost impossible for the Parliament in Stormont to decide on what defines a victim, let alone what victims deserve as compensation. Whose to say what lives were more important than others? Worth more? How would you feel if someone told you your loved on, who was taken from you in a bomb, was only worth x number of dollars (or in this case pounds)? It's a hot topic, and in my opinion, not one that will be resolved soon.

Politics

Ok this was a long day all about politics in Northern Ireland, which is more complicated than you'd imagine. Lets start with the basics.

From some of my previous posts you may or may not be familiar with the terms Unionist, Loyalist, Nationalist and Republican. Lets get some definitions.

• Unionist- A person who wants to remain a part of the Union with the United Kingdom. Predominantly Protestant.


• Loyalist- loyal to the United Kingdom, also predominantly Protestant. Tends to be more concerned with the Loyalists in Ulster as a community with only conditional loyalty to Brittan.


• Nationalist- Member of a community that is defined by blood, language, church, ect. Concerned with winning independence. (Traditionally Catholic


• Republican- Want of a representative government, emphasis on citizenship. More concerned with power exercised within the State. (Traditionally Catholic)

We visited Stormont, the home of NI parliament, as well on this day. We got to hear from a panel of representatives of the different parties, including Sinn Fein, DUP, SDLP and UUP. Stormont was constructed in 1923 and occupied in 1931. 1922 was the first session of Parliament. The way the political parties work is Sinn Fein is a Republican party, they have what is known as an all Ireland Agenda, the SDLP (Social Democratic and Labor Party) which is a slightly more middle of the road group than Sinn Fein, then there is the UUP (Ulster Unionist Party) who wants to stay with Britain but is more middle of the road than the DUP. The DUP (Democratic Unionist Party) is the leading party in NI and its leader, Rev. Ian Paisley, has been throughout the Troubles one of the most vocal about staying with Britain.

Things got heated when these people got into the room together. Keep in mind this is the first time that Stormont has held parliament in more than 50 years. Most of the DUP party considers Sinn Fein to be terrorists. I personally liked the SDLP party as their beliefs made the most sense to me, however they aren't the strongest party. The two strongest parties are the polar opposites, Sinn Fein and the DUP.

Derry/Londonderry

Wow, I don't even know where to start with this day. Today we visited Stroke City, Londonderry or Derry depending on whom you talk to and whom you agree with. I was in awe to be able to walk around the Bogside and visit an area that was for all intensive purposes the start of the Troubles.

I've stolen this history from localhistories.org... my thanks to them.

EARLY DERRY
Derry is an ancient settlement. Its name is believed to be derived from the Gaelic word doire meaning a grove of oak trees. From the 6th AD onwards century there was a monastery in Derry. (Tradition says St Columba founded it). In time a settlement grew up by the monastery. However for centuries Derry was a rather small settlement. It did not become truly important until the 17th century.

In 1566 Derry was captured by the English. However they did not hold it for long. In 1567 a gunpowder store exploded and the English departed. The English captured Derry again in 1600.
A new town was founded at Derry in 1603. King James gave a charter founding the new town and a large number of merchants and tradesmen settled there. However this first new town was destroyed by Cahir O'Doherty and his men in 1608.

Nevertheless a second new town was created soon afterwards. King James confiscated large amounts of land from the Irish. He then settled large numbers of Scots and English people in Ulster to try and create a loyal population in the area. As part of the Ulster Plantation several new towns were created.

King James invited the merchants of London to help him settle English Protestants in Northern Ireland. They agreed to build a new town at Derry. It was to have 200 houses and a population of about 1,000. The new town was called Londonderry. It was given a charter in 1613 and had a mayor and corporation. In 1617 it gained a grammar school. By 1630 the population of Londonderry was probably about 1,000. Streets in the new town were laid out in a rectangular pattern. In the years 1613-1618 walls were built around Londonderry. St Columb's Cathedral was built in 1633.

During the Irish rebellion of 1641 Derry was besieged but the Irish were unable to capture it. In 1649 during the civil wars between king and parliament Derry was besieged by royalists for 20 weeks but again the city did not fall.

The most famous siege of Londonderry took place in 1689. In 1688 the Catholic king James II was deposed. However the Lord Deputy of Ireland, The Early of Tyrconnell stayed loyal to James so did most of Ireland. Londonderry was one of the few places that remained loyal to William. A Catholic army attempted to enter Londonderry. On December 7 1688 13 apprentice boys shut the Ferryquay Gate against them. As a result Protestants fled to the town, swelling its population.

In March 1689 James landed at Kinsale in an attempt to regain his throne. The siege of Londonderry began in April 1689. Since they were not strong enough to take the town by storm the besiegers tried to starve the defenders into submission. Conditions inside the city grew worse and worse. There was a terrible shortage of food and the defenders were reduced to eating horsemeat and tallow. Disease also broke out. Nevertheless the defenders held firm.

In June three ships arrived from England, carrying supplies However for several weeks they were unable to reach the city as James's men had erected a wooden boom across the Foyle. Eventually, on 28 July, one of the ships, The Mountjoy, broke the boom and the city was relieved. Three days later the besiegers realised the game was up and they left.

DERRY IN THE 18th CENTURY
In 1704 an Act of Parliament stated that only Anglicans could hold office in Ireland. Presbyterians were excluded. Partly as a result of this measure many Presbyterians emigrated from Derry to North America in the early 18th century. Despite this Derry grew larger in the 18th century and suburbs appeared outside the walls. Boom Hall was built in the 1770s at the point where the boom crossed the river during the siege.

A number of new buildings were erected in Derry in the 18th century. The Irish Society House was built in 1764. Long Tower Church was built in 1784-86. Bishopgate was rebuilt in 1789.
From about 1750 a linen industry grew up in Derry. Until the end of the 18th century there was only a ferry across the River Foyle. In 1789-91 a wooden bridge was built. This greatly boosted trade and industry in Derry. The Derry Journal began in 1772.

DERRY IN THE 19th CENTURY
In 1821, at the time of the first Irish census, Derry had a population of 9,313. It grew rapidly during the 19th century and had reached a population of 40,000 by its end. In the early 19th century large numbers of Catholics came to Derry from the countryside looking for work. The Courthouse was built in 1813. Derry workhouse opened in 1840. The railway reached Derry in 1845. Magee College was founded in 1865 to train men for the Presbyterian ministry. St Columb's College was founded in 1879. In 1863 another bridge, this one of steel, was erected across the Foyle. Carlisle Bridge, as it was called, was demolished in 1933. St Augustine's Church was built in 1872. St Eugene's Cathedral was built in 1873. Its spire was added in 1902.
Derry Guildhall opened in 1890. It burned in 1908 and was rebuilt. It was bombed in 1972 then refurbished.

In 1831 a man named William Scott began making shirts in Derry. From the 1850s the shirt making trade in Derry boomed. By the 1870s shirt making was the main industry in the town. There was also a shipbuilding industry in 19th century Derry. Meanwhile the port of Derry prospered.

During the 19th century many emigrants from Ireland to North America left from Derry. Today they are remembered by an 'emigrants' sculpture.

DERRY IN THE 20th CENTURY
Brooke Park opened to the public in 1901.

A War Memorial was erected in Derry in 1927.
Our Lady of Lourdes Church was built in 1976.
Craigavon Bridge was built in 1933 to replace Carlisle Bridge. Foyle Bridge was built in 1984.
In 1932 Amelia Earhart, the first woman to fly the Atlantic, landed at Ballyarnet. From the mid-19th century a shirt-making industry boomed in Derry. In 1997 United Technologies Automative factory closed. This was a severe blow to the city.

During World War II Derry was a major naval base. There were also air bases around the city. Large numbers of American and Canadian servicemen were stationed in the city. From the late 1940s a public housing estate was created at Creggan. In the 1960s the council demolished slums in Derry.

On October 5 1968 the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Movement attempted to hold a march in Derry. However the Northern Irish goverment banned the march and when it went ahead it was broken up by the RUC in Duke Street. The Battle of Bogside occurred in August 1969. Tension between Catholic and Protestant had been building for some time and it eventually erupted into violence. On 12 August 1969 the annual Apprentice Boys march was routed past the Catholic Bogside area. As the Apprentice Boys marched past there were clashes between the RUC and Catholic civilians. There followed 3 days of rioting which ended when the British army was sent in.

In 1972 came the tragic event known as 'Bloody Sunday'. On 30 January 1972 the Derry Civil Rights Association were holding a march through the town when the British 1st Parachute Regiment opened fire, killing 14 people.

Today Derry is a flourishing city. Foyle Valley Railway Museum opened in 1990. Tower museum opened in 1992. Foyleside Shopping Centre opened in 1995. Rath Mor Centre also opened in 1995. Derry Visitor Centre and Convention Bureau opened in 1997.

DERRY IN THE 21st CENTURY
In 2001 Creggan Indigenous Enterprise Park opened. Millennium Forum opened in 2001. Creggan Country Park opened in 2003. Today the population of Derry is 72,000.

The Titanic Quarter and City Hall

Today we toured City Hall and explored the old Harland and Wolf yards where Titanic was built.
I've "borrowed" this from the City Hall website.

For centuries, Belfast had been a small settlement. Everything changed in 1613, when a Royal charter gave the city town status. Belfast expanded rapidly as a result, becoming an important port and manufacturing centre. By the end of the 19th century, Belfast had outgrown its status as a town and was a major industrial powerhouse, known for its shipbuilding, ropemaking, engineering, tobacco and textile industries. In 1888, Queen Victoria gave Belfast the title of city and it was generally agreed that a new city hall was needed to reflect this change in status.

Building work

Negotiations to acquire the one and a half acre White Linen Hall site, located in Donegall Square, began in 1896 and a price of £30,000 was agreed. The new hall was built by local firm H+J Martin, following a design from Alfred Brumwell Thomas, who won a public competition with his classical Renaissance design. Funding for the new building was raised from the profits of Belfast Gasworks for which Belfast Corporation (now Belfast City Council) had responsibility. The first stone was laid in 1898 and work was completed eight years later. In total, Belfast City Hall cost less than £500,000 to build.

Opening of Belfast City Hall

Belfast City Hall opened it`s doors on 1 August 1906 during a great time of prosperity for the city. The magnificent building is a lasting memorial to Belfast`s success and is a great source of civic pride.

Functions of Belfast City Hall
Today, the City Hall`s functions include:

* hosting the 51 members of the Council on the first working day of every month
* providing tours of its facilities for tourists and members of the public
* hosting public exhibitions, such as ` No Mean City` photographic exhibit
* providing registration services and marriage and civil partnership ceremonies
* hosting civic events.

Belfast Coat of Arms

Image: Belfast City crest The present Belfast Coat of Arms dates from 30 June 1890 when the Ulster King of Arms made a Grant of Arms to the new city of Belfast. The motto 'Pro tranto quid retribuamus' comes from Psalm CXVI (116), verse 12 of the Bible. Translated from the Latin, it means 'what return shall we make for so much'. The precise origins and meanings of the symbols contained on the Coat of Arms are unknown. However, images such as the bell, the seahorse, the ship and the chained wolf were all used by 17th century Belfast merchants on their signs and coinage. The seahorse, which is used twice, shows the maritime importance of Belfast, as does the ship at the base of the shield.

The name 'Belfast' also originates from the Gaelic 'Beal Feirste', which means 'mouth of the river'.

The Titanic Quarter is an area of the city that Belfast is rebuilding and reclaiming. At one point H & W was the largest make of steam ships in the world. Belfastians to this day are proud that they were the ones to build the Titanic, and they'll take pains to remind you that they were not the ones to sink it. The captain did and he was not from there. Now this area is used for film sets and history tours.

Film

I'm dedicating a separate post to this one. We had a class this evening on film, more specifically, Troubles films. Gordon did a great job examining the portrayal of the North in film. Just remember all of the films involve a crazy woman with red hair and an Aran sweater, someone with a horrible Belfast accent, and an IRA man.

Here's a list of Troubles films:

• Ourselves Alone
• Odd Man Out
• Hennessy
• Patriots (Which was the Outsiders in the USA)
• Angel (Danny Boy in USA)
• Cal
• A Prayer For the Dying
• Hidden Agenda
• Patriot Games
• The Crying Game
• In the Name of The Father
• Blown Away (no one is sure where Tommy Lee Jones got his accent for this movie, but it sure as hell wasn't anywhere near Ireland)
• A Further Gesture
• No Surrender
• Harry's Game
• Nothing Personal (loosely based on the story of the Shankill Butchers)
• Any Mothers Son (About the 1981 hunger strikers)
• The Devil's OwnThe Jackal (semi-remake of Day of the jackal)
• Ronin
• The Boxer
• Resurrection Man (Also loosely based on the Butchers)
• Titanic Town
• An Everlasting Piece (more of a fun look at the Troubles, comedy)
• The Most Fertile Man In Ireland (Also a fun look at the Troubles, comedy)
• Michael Collins
• Divorcing Jack
• Mad About Mambo
• Oh Mr. Porter!
• Silent Grace
• Bloody Sunday
• Omagh
• Man About Dog
• The Mighty Celt
• Mickeybo and me
• Breakfast on Pluto
• Freeze Frame
• Closing of the Ring (yet to be released)
• The Craic
• High Boot
• BennyShergar (based on a true story about the IRA stealing a racehorse and asking for money, but they didn't know what to do with it so they shot it)
• Puckoon (Monty Python-esque)
• Wild About Harry
• Johnny Was (lowly based on a Stiff Little Fingers song)

Phew, that's quite a list. Keep in mind that most of the people in NI (including Gordon and Dom) will tell you that the portrayal of the paramilitaries is complete crap, in most cases

Drama and Music

As many of you know theater has a long history in Ireland. This morning we discussed the many different types of theater in Ulster as well as some of the general history of Ireland, including the Abbey Theater in Dublin. In the afternoon we heard from Stuart Bailie who worked for the BBC about music in Ulster. Punk apparently brought the North together. During a time when anyone coming into Belfast City Center would've been searched by the RUC, kids started making the trek into town at night to see bands like, Stiff Little Fingers, Them, Rudi, and maybe the most well known Northern Ireland boy, Van Morrison. Many of you may not know that Snow Patrol, a chart topping band in the US, is actually from Bangor just outside of Belfast. Also, that Ash performed with U2 on the stage in Belfast when Bono called David Trimble and John Hume up on stage to have them promise peace. I'm a fan of Stiff Little Fingers. The song they became big over was Suspect Device. It's a song about you being the device that subverting society because of what society has planted in your brain. Punk kept Ulster night life alive and brought the youth together. Several places and bars were bombed but the people kept trying and the artists understood the risks.

Later in the day we heard from a fiddle player who was an American but had been in Belfast for many years. He spends his nights going around looking for a pick up in pubs. These are open nights where musicians can just show up and play together. The pubs allow them to come in and use the space. There was a time when this wasn't safe either and they had to be wary of where they went, but now he informed us it was difficult to actually find a space to play that wasn't already full.

Symbols, Psychology and the John Hewitt

On Friday we had 2 very interesting lectures. The first was Dominic Bryan's pet project, symbols and their use (aka policing the boundaries). He discussed how the use of flags, paint and parades would effectively mark out different territories. It was interesting to see the footage of the Orange Parades throughout the city and how police officers had to patrol these things. A word on policing in NI. You knew I was going to do this at some point. The police force in the North used to be called the RUC- Royal Ulster Constabulary- and their job was to try and keep peace. The problem is that there were several major paramilitary groups that had far more power than they did- the IRA, UVF, and UDA. So what you have is devolution of legitimacy. People stop trusting or going to the police (a representative of the state) and turn to the paramilitary organizations to get things accomplished. The recent peace talks and treaties had the police force renamed the PSNI- Policing Service of Northern Ireland and there is a big push to make it 50/50- Catholic and Protestant. The problem is that the distrust is so deep that it's a huge campaign to try to make this work.

There is a reason that the police structure is important here. Who usually polices parades? Marking off routes? Exactly. So what you have on July 12th - the Orange Order's main day- is traditionally a police force that is at their beck and call. They have to police where the order wants to go, and historically that was through Catholic neighborhoods with bands and posters. Eventually there was a Parade Commission started to look at and approve the routes that the Orangemen wanted to use. The Orangemen found themselves increasingly blocked from doing what they wanted to do and would then see that as a direct attack on them (and Briton since they feel they represent the state). These parades are fundamental to their beliefs and there are still tensions between them and the new PSNI.

Funny side note. At the begining of the lecture annoying Aussie lady (who insists on constantly reminding everyone that she is NOT an American, she is an Australian) raised her hand to ask if she could wear flip flops tomorrow. This threw Dominic a bit as he's never had that question before. That started him off on a tanget about questions and putting it on the website, ect. Some how he arrived at National Anthems (think when talking about symbols and identity). He then proceeded to tell the Aussie that Australia had the chance to have a really great national anthem, Waltzing Mathilda. And that their flag should have a giant cockroach on it because that was all he saw when he was there. After all, wouldn't it be fantastic if they won at the Olympics and got to play that song and raise a flag with a cockroach?

Right, after that Cliff came in to talk to us about some statistics. You see, the troubles aren't about religion; it has nothing to do with one group thinking that they're right or wrong, it has to do with politics. It just so happens that a majority of Nationalists are Catholic and a majority of Unionists are Protestant. There was some overlap originally, a few Catholics that were Unionist or a few Protestant's that were Nationalist, but people were eventually forced to one side or the other. So what Cliff studies is identity, community, and culture.

From there we were taken into the Cathedral Quarter and to Clifton Cemetery. Clifton Cemetery is important because rich and poor were buried side-by-side, catholic and protestant.

Clifton is the cemetery of the poorhouse and workhouse of Belfast. The most famous person there would be Henry John McCracken, the person who started the United Irishman. Now, here would be a time to note that McCracken was a Protestant and founded the Irishman. His sister Mary dedicated her life to the poor after her brother died and was famous in town for her help. She moved into the poor house and gave up all that she knew. 

The cemetary also contains the first known use of the phrase "Emerald Isle."

There are so many bodies in this cemetery that there is no ground without a body in it. This is because during the Cholera epidemic and the famine they dug a pit and didn't cover it over for 7 years. They just kept dumping bodies in it.

Now a bit of disturbing history. There are 2 walls on the Clifton Street side of the cemetery, an inner and an outer wall. When the cemetery was taken over by the state and cleaned up they left what was in between those walls untouched. This is because during the Cholera epidemic there really were people wheeling around carts picking up dead bodies (ala Monty python). Now if they weren't sure if a body was dead they would take it up Clifton Street and toss it over the outer wall so that it would land between the inner and outer walls. They knew that the cemetery might not take them so this was their solution. Another quick side note would be the body snatcher. People would steal bodies from the cemetery and get them over to Scotland so Dr's could use them to study. The average person could receive well upwards of 700 pounds for a body, which at the time was substantial. Now the trick was they would use wooden shovels as to not make noise, leave the shroud so that if they were caught they didn't get caught steeling, and take the teeth out so that dentists could make false teeth. The reason they never took the shroud was because it was often bought by a family member and therefore was stealing, as for the body, who does a body belong to?

From there we went to the John Hewitt Pub. Which is a great little place often having live, traditional music most nights. It was here I found out that Dominic knows Tina and Bob Mahony- my program directors at Catholic. My world just got so much smaller.

About the Shankill Butchers

There is a song out there by the Decembetists called Shankill Butchers. It is in relation to an actual occurnce of events and is rather haunting. To listen to that song here, know about the events, its just creepy. But I think that most Americans (who would know the song) probably don't know about the events, so here is what Wikipedia says about the Shankill Butchers.

First, the lyrics:

The Shankill butchers ride tonight

You better shut your windows tight

Theyre sharpening their cleavers and their knives

And taking all their whisky by the pint

Cuz everybody knows

If you dont mind your mother's words

A wicked wind will blow

Your ribbons from your curls

Everybody moan everybody shake

The shankill butchers wanna catch you

Awake

They used to be just like me and you

They used to be sweet little

But something went horribly askew

Now killing is their only source of joy

Cuz everybodys knows...[repeat]

The shankill butchers on the rise

Theyre waiting till the dead of night

Theyre picking at their fingers with their knives

And wiping off their cleavers on their thighs

Cuz everybod knows...[repeat]

The shankill butchers wanna kill you

The shankill butchers wanna cut you

The shankill butchers wanna catch you awake

The "Shankill Butchers" were a group of Ulster Volunteer Force members in Belfast, Northern Ireland, who abducted Roman Catholics usually walking home from a night out, tortured and/or savagely beat them, and killed them, usually by cutting their throats. Most of their victims had no connection to the IRA or any other republican groups.

The leader of the Shankill Butchers was Lenny Murphy. Born in 1952, he was possessed by a seething anti-Catholicism perhaps exacerbated by the fact that his surname was a traditionally Irish one and so more associated with Catholics. At school he was a bully and a thief, and as soon as he left at the age of 16, he became a member of the Ulster Volunteer Force.

By 1972, age 20, Murphy gathered together a gang of equally violent young men, the core being Murphy himself, Robert "Basher" Bates, and "Big" Sam McAllister, who used his huge frame to intimidate the Butchers' victims. In what is said to have been retaliation for the Bloody Friday bombings by the Provisional IRA, a Catholic man, Francis Arthurs, was abducted, beaten, and stabbed for over an hour before being killed.

The murder of Tom Madden is seen as one of the most terrible examples of the Butchers' brutality. Madden was abducted and then stripped naked. He was hanged upside down from the beam of a lock-up garage, and slowly skinned alive. He eventually died of slow strangulation.

On September 28 1972, Murphy shot and killed William Pavis, who was suspected of selling arms to the IRA. Murphy and his accomplice, Mervyn Connor, were arrested shortly afterwards and held in prison awaiting trial. However, Murphy killed Connor in the prison, just after forcing him to write a confession to Pavis' murder. The charges against Lenny Murphy relating to the murder of Pavis collapsed, although Murphy was held behind bars for a number of escape attempts.

In May 1975, Murphy was released from prison. He married and fathered a daughter, but like the rest of his gang he cared little for domesticity and would spend most of his time hanging around pubs on the Shankill Road, drinking heavily and plotting crimes. That October they raided a shop, and on finding out the four employees there were Catholics, Murphy shot three of them dead and ordered an accomplice to kill the fourth.

Another key figure of the Shankill Butchers was William Moore. He had worked as a butcher and had stolen several large knives and meat-cleavers from his old workplace, tools that would be put to a horrific use. Over the coming months, the gang began kidnapping Catholics late at night and viciously killing them.

Francis Crossan, aged 34 and father of two, was walking home from a night out, when he was spotted by one of the gang. This was around 12-12:30am. He was hit from behind with a wheel brace, and dragged into a taxi, which drove into the Shankill area. Francis was then tortured and badly beaten. He was repeatedly hit by Murphy, both punched and with the wheel brace. Murphy repeatedly said things like, "I'm going to kill you, you bastard!" Francis was then dragged into an alley, and his throat cut almost through the spine by Murphy. Pieces of glass found in Francis' head showed that a beer glass had been shoved into his head, either in the black taxi, or in the alley. The other victims were killed in a similarly horrific manner.

The Shankill Butchers also got into a feud with another loyalist gang, which quickly ended when Murphy brutally killed a member of the rival gang. There is much evidence to suggest Murphy and his fellow murderers were more like serial killers than terrorists, and that the political situation in Ulster allowed them a respect within their community they never would have had otherwise. They occasionally used guns, but preferred knives and cleavers (serial killers tend to prefer 'hands-on' weapons that involve getting up close to the victim), and rather than carry out crimes that were carefully planned, the gang usually went out hunting on a whim, usually at night after spending all evening drinking heavily. On one occasion Murphy and Bates impulsively shot and killed two people, believing they were Catholics, when in fact they were Protestants.

In March 1976, Murphy shot and injured a Catholic woman. He was arrested and subsequently pleaded guilty to a firearms charge. He ordered the murders to continue, and over the next year, with William Moore acting as the new leader, several more Catholics were abducted, tortured and hacked to death.

Sightseeing Shankill and Falls Roads

Today is Sunday, and I may actually get caught up! I somehow made it to breakfast, though I threw my alarm clock this morning when it went off. After that I went back to sleep for an hour and then met Anna to go on the hop-on hop off sightseeing bus. It was really worth doing. Today was a beautiful day to do it, sunny and warm. We rode it around once and then went to Whites for lunch. After that we got on it again and went up to Shankill Road. Prior to that though we learned that they're filming a Tom Hanks movie in the Titanic Quarter in downtown Belfast.

So we get off the bus at the top of Shankill with the intention of walking down Shankill, up Falls Road and over to Lisburn and back to campus. The bus dropped us off right in front of the Rangers (protestant) club. There were men drinking in the outside area that were like "come have a pint with us!" We (wisely in my mind) didn't choose to do that. We just said no thank and have a good day. Now I should mention that we went to do this walk because we were tired of trying to take pictures of things from the bus. They tell you it is safe to walk these roads, but I wouldn't do it after dark unless you were with a local. There s a certain tension you feel a part of, but outside of because you're a tourist and they can see that. Anna isn't catholic but we both agreed that if we had been asked in for a pint on Falls road we probably would where as on Shankill there's no way we'd be in that position. In my mind I was sure I would've offended someone. It had nothing to do with a fear for my safety, but eventually I suppose that's what it comes down to.

So as we're walking we get asked again for a pint at the bottom of the street. Apparently we looked interesting, or they don't often get 2 girls wandering around, either way. We found a little pocket of murals near the July 12th bonfire site in an area called Shankill Parade. The bonfires are traditional and were so hot that they melted the traffic lights and a lamppost (see photos). I also have a picture of the gates between Shankill and Falls Roads. They still keep them closed during the weekends.

From there we headed over to Falls Road and didn't find any new (to us anyway) murals nor did we get asked in for a pint, but Falls Road had much more life on it than Shankill. I did take a picture of the Divis towers. These were some of the Catholic public housing and the British army was stationed on top of them. They had the upper 2 floors and the location was ideal for them being as it was at the bottom of Falls Road. So enjoy the photos!

Oh and in case you were wondering. I got a call from Gerard today and we didn't miss much at Ollie's. Apparently it was over crowded so they left anyway. But don't worry too much we'll catch up later this week. Cheers!

Giants Causway, Antrim, and Out on the town

Right, so o Saturday we boarded a bus and headed out of town to the Giants Causeway. On the way we stopped at Dunluce Castle. This was really great because they were having a fair that day so we got to get some local foods and see some great things. From there we headed up to the infamous Giants Causeway. Now the causeway itself that everyone sees (the hexagon pillars in the pictures) were created by lava flow. You'll see in the photos there are 3 identifiable lava flows in the area. It's a beautiful area, though a little touristy. It was also much smaller than I thought it would be. There's really not much more to the history than that.

From there we headed along the Antrim coast to see Ballycastle, Ballygally, and Carnlough. It really is a beautiful coastline. In Ballygally the locals were jumping into the very cold bay and some of our fellow travelers chose to partake in the insanity. I say insanity because you had to get back on a bus and the water was so cold that most of the locals had wetsuits on... but hey good for them! Its life affirming!

When we got back I called Gerard to see what they were up to. He and his friends were headed to a local haunt called Ollie's. So Anna, Leigh, Meghan and I went downtown to get some food and a drink at Morrison's to kill some time. When we got to Ollie's it was packed! And we were certain not to pass dress code. I didn't pack anything really nice because I was thinking, it's Belfast, how dressy could they get? Boy was I wrong. Quite a few places it seems have dress codes stricter than DC. Think no jeans or sneakers. And we all know how I do with places like that. So we called Shane, one of the PhD students who is helping out with our program and met him and his friend Garrett in front of City Hall. From there we went to The Fly. The crowd there was certainly interesting and drunk! One guy stopped me because he was convinced he went to grammar school with me, I guess I have a double. Then I was stopped by a very drunk woman in the bathroom who just wanted to touch my hair (she said it looked so Irish). Garrett also told me that he loved my hair because it was so classically Irish. Now I have to say, that's a compliment I would never get in the states. It also was something I never thought about. When the Fly closed at 3 we walked over to a chip shop on Lisburn to get some food and then headed back to the Elms. We had run into one of the CA kids while we were at the Fly and he was fun to try to get home. He kept talking to every girl on the street, but we met some nice people!

Ulster American Folk Park

On Thursday we went out to Omagh and the Ulster American Folk Park. This outdoor/indoor museum is run for the Center for Migration Studies and their director is Dr. Brian Lambkin. The Center is a great place for people to go who wish to research their ancestors that may have come from Ulster. Their database isn't available to the public yet but they're in the process of developing it further and will be launching it and oral histories to the Internet sometime soon.

The park starts off with an indoor museum that discusses pressing topics of the day, i.e. food, housing, sickness, work. They also have a temporary exhibition there from the Ulster Museum (which is undergoing renovation at the moment) that focuses on clothing. From the indoor museum the visitor is lead to an outdoor museum that is divided into 3 parts, Old World, New World and the Streets and Ship Gallery.

The old world is mainly different types of housing, schools, and churches. It shows the difference between how Catholics and Protestants lived, what their lives were like. The key to the park is the Mellon Estate. Most of you know who Andrew Mellon is, but Thomas Mellon was the first immigrant from the family to go to the US. Their house and lands were the first pieces acquired by the Center and the original start to the park.
We got a little turned around at this point and went directly from the Old World to the New World and into PA. The New World focuses mostly on what life was like in rural PA when the immigrants got there because it is where the Mellon Family immigrated. They chose to show what a middle class farmland would look like (including pigs), the land layout and housing (which was a vast improvement).

We then walked backwards through the streets and too the ship. I guess you could say we didn't like America and chose to go back to Ireland. I never realized how small steerage was. Granted the people were shorter and smaller then, but I hit my head at every turn.
While at the park they provided lunch, which was edible though not very good at all. At the end we were given time to research our ancestors and talk to the staff about the different projects they are working on at the time.

On the way back to QUB we stopped in Omagh at the memorial to the people killed in a bombing in the late 70s. I don't have pictures of this yet, but the story goes that the police got a phone call that a bomb had been planted at the courthouse. So the police evacuated everyone down high street to the bottom of the area. What the caller didn't know was that the bombers had not made it up high street and had left the bomb at the bottom. The police had inadvertently moved everyone into the path of the bomb. It was one of the worst losses of lives and serious injuries as part of the troubles.

Quick Post on the Digs

Ok, a number of you have asked about the housing situation. Really they are very nice dorms, and had I chose to go to Queens for grad school I would have stayed in them. However, I'm fairly certain that the only person I know who could really use that shower is maybe Penny. Take a cruise ship shower and cut it in half. Aside from that the bathroom and bedroom are a fair size. But the bed is one step up from the army cot. It's a plastic mattress (this allows them to Clorox them in between students, who needs a new mattress?) and mine lists to the one side.

There is a communal kitchen but it doesn't have any utensils or pots and pans. Normally students would chip in for some, but since Im here with a bunch of 18 yr olds, and we're only here for 3 weeks its highly unlikely that we will buy pans. I stole a fork from breakfast today and I'm keeping it! Well, at least until my 3 weeks is up.

I have some pictures of the place, be sure to note the ones with blue sky. We see blue sky once a day but the weather is highly unpredictable. It also stays light until 1030 or 11 so my body is really confused.

There are some shots of the University in here as well. So enjoy!

Day 4

So the Internet still doesn't work. I think that's fate telling me I should do other things. But tomorrow we have a field trip, so by the time you all see this it may be next week.

Anyway, today we learned about... um... literature, that's it! We heard about the Fenian Cycle of myths and the Oisin Cycle of myths. Most of you would be familiar with the Oisin myths; they include more magic and such. After that this absolutely adorable old man talked to us about geography, This guy had to be 80 and couldn't come with us to the Giants causeway on Saturday because he was going to be exploring the Galapagos Islands. Most of us couldn't get over his pants! They were these blue cargo things that had more pockets than I had ever seen! Also, he was as tall and thin as a beanpole, it was great. But he knew his stuff. We had two hours for lunch and then back into the room for 2 hours on Irish Migration. He guessed from our names whether we were Irish or not and yes mom, he guessed that I was.

We headed out to Lavery's Tavern for some live music (made famous in the story called Eureka Street)-

- Had good cover band/music person at first.

- Met up with man who couldn't stop staring at my chest because he was so drunk

- Girl from other school showed up and couldn't find friends, had major fight with boyfriend who is here

- Kept drinking

- Good cover person left, man singing about friends (and gonorrhea and HIV) in a really high pitched voice arrived

- Woman gets on stage, sounds jewel-like and way too shaky so we leave

- Discuss fact that Spar is open 24 hrs but that you have to go to a little window and ask for what you want and the little SPAR man goes and gets it for you... might not be a bad idea for the States.

- Get home, get ready for bed, eat non-moldy bread (bread molded within 3 days... apparently its damp here),and I went to sleep.

Day 3

So I give up on Internet here. It keeps locking my computer out and no one is around except between 9 and 4. So, by the time you see this it may be long past Day 3, but bear with me. I'll get there.

So it would appear we have a group that seems fairly normal. There's Anna, Meghan, Leigh and myself. Anna is from New Hope, PA, Meghan is from Tennessee, and Leigh is from Boston College. Today we sat in class and I fell asleep (still adjusting to the time change... ahem). But today's class was all about Irish history and Northern Ireland's history. I have to give Prof. Gray credit, 400 years of turmoil in under an hour and a half... very impressive.

Roisin spoke to us about Northern Ireland and the important dates there. I never realized that if you said 1916 in the Republic or to a Nationalist they would automatically think of the Easter Rising where as if you say 1916 to a Unionist or an Ulsterman they will automatically think you mean the Battle of the Somme (where over 2000 men from the 32nd Ulster division were lost in WWII). Those are 2 very important events in the history of the Troubles. That's not even mentioning Bloody Sunday in Derry (13 lost) or Bloody Friday (IRA set off 22 bombs around Belfast and set up fake bombs as a diversion). We learned about internment and the H-Block hunger strike, all caused by the Special Powers Act that allowed the police to arrest and jail people without trial. The first day they arrested 132 Catholics hence the rioting in Belfast and Derry. Sounds a bit like Guantanamo wouldn't you say? (And I realize that may piss some of you off but the fact is the politics between the USA and Iraq is strikingly similar to that of Britain towards Northern Ireland... trust me).

Dominic also defined the different political parties within Northern Ireland so that we can understand that Loyalists only vote for their people and Nationalists only vote for their people. But each group has 2 or 3 parties to choose from.We got out early and headed downtown to see city hall and the shopping area (I bought a hair dryer.. yay!) Anna and I decided to pick up some brochures for different tours. I want to see Carrickfergus and the Bushmills Distillery and she wants to see the rope bridge by the Causeway. As we were walking around I saw what could possibly the most well maintained mullet in the history of mankind. I am truly sorry I didn't get a picture. It was gelled and sort of... fluffed on top with some serious shoulder length hair in the back. I suppose it isn't that odd, Belfast fashion appears to be stuck in the late 80s. Skinny jeans, big belts, spiky hair and most of its pink to! But let me back up for a moment and tell you about some of the people in our program.

Most of the program comes from California through a college. To protect that college (and save my ass) I'm not going to mention it by name. The kids (and I reserve the right to call them kids as they're not old enough to drink in the states... by a long shot) don't know much of anything. And I mean basic stuff... one of them didn't even know who Tony Blair was! And for those of you who are now Googling him, shame. He was the British Prime Minister who worked with the Taosaich Bertie Ahern on the Northern Ireland power sharing agreement that was just signed. There is also another older woman from rural Wisconsin (that should be your first clue). I think her clothes are made out of hemp, she drinks from a mug that is made entirely from corn, and sits in lectures with her shoes AND socks off. She seems to be enjoying the program but does creep some of us out a bit.

Dominic was expounding today on Americanism while he was trying to explain why the Unionists don't want to give up their British connection even though Briton really would like it if N. Ireland went away. (Though its safe to say the Republic doesn't really want them either, it would fuck with the economy but that's another story). Anyway, he starts talking about American's need to carry arms all the time. He couldn't understand why we still arm people and all these other Americans are shooting each other in the name of patriotism or defense.... Our response... guns don't kill people Dominic, people kill people.

Day 2- Murals!

Well I woke up completely confused! I had no idea if I was on the right time frame or not. I kept hearing doors in the hallway and thought I was really late. After getting showered in my very tiny shower (mom it's actually smaller than the shower in your suite) I headed off to find breakfast. At breakfast I met Megan from Indiana and Christina from Barcelona. I would also like to use this moment to expound upon the glory that is bacon here in the UK. It is salty, and flavorful, and not like any bacon in the US. I love it.

Anyway, Christina and I headed over to the university about 9 for our first lecture. They got us registered and gave us our computer information (yay!). After that Dr. Dominic talked for a while about the history of the university. Then we pared off into groups and took a quiz. It was all fun and games; we made asses of ourselves and didn't know too much. I met Anna from New Hope, PA and Leigh from Boston. Leigh is actually from Boston College and was in their Irish Studies program but is now in English with a concentration in Irish. There are some very young people in this program. The age range is from 17-55.

We were then given a brief tour of the College before heading to lunch.

From there it was onto see some of the murals in Belfast. For those of you who don't know, the murals were a way to identify one area or another since most Nationalists felt they weren't being heard. Most of them are still around but are slowly being toned down or covered up with new murals. The interesting thing about the sections of Belfast is that West Belfast is traditionally Catholic and Nationalist while East Belfast is Loyalist or Unionist and Protestant. If you pay attention you can see what area you're in. In the Loyalist areas they'll fly the Union Jack, paint the curbs red, white and blue, hang the Orange order flag and the murals will be about the U.V.F. (Ulster Volunteer Force), Ulster Freedom Fighters, and will contain the Red Hand of Ulster. Closed the Red Hand symbolizes the UFF open it is just a symbol of the 6 counties and Loyalist pride.

In the Catholic areas (Falls Road in particular) it was interesting to see very few flags but every sign had English and Irish written on it. They weren't as vocal about their support but made sure it was known. Also, it is very important to note that if you're seen wearing a Glasgow GAA Football Jersey it identifies you as a Loyalist and if you wear a Celtic GAA jersey you're a Nationalist.

There are a lot of things going on with the murals and such. But the biggest thing we learned was that you just need to pay attention to where you are. Note the picture of the wall that I took. That wall divides Falls Road and Shankill Road. Shankill is a predominantly Protestant area and Falls in Catholic. There are gates that can be closed and locked when police feel that trouble between the two areas may happen. That is still a reality in some areas of Belfast. Northern Falls road and there is an area in East Belfast where there is a pocket of Catholic houses near the UVF murals you see. I'll probably talk more about this later as I find it really fascinating but for now I'll let it go.


Later tonight we met the Vice Chancellor and had wine in the visitors center. Then we headed to a nice little pub for some drinks and Tesco for some food for my room.

And now since my computer keeps restarting itself, I'm going to bed.

I Made It!

I don't mind long flights, honestly, but this one wasn't fantastic. Virgin Atlantic is a very good airline, don't get me wrong, but I sat next to the most selfish woman on the planet. Oh yes, I met her. See the woman who was supposed to sit next to me switched seats so she could be with her children, leaving the seat next to me open. And since it was 4 across seating that was nice. Well there was an Indian couple that had the other 2 seats. As soon as the woman who moved got up the other woman planted her stuff on that seat. Then she spent the next 6 hrs stretched out across her husbands seat, her seat and the seat next to me. Normally this wouldn't irk me but she kept kicking me with her feet and hitting me with her head. Then she'd look at me like it was my fault! The nerve.... Anyway the rest of the flight was uneventful and the food was eh, ok.

When I got to Heathrow it was chaos. Or at least chaos around me, I wasn't really with it. You have to love jet lag. There were no gates open so they got us off the plane old school (using stairs) loaded us onto buses and took us in. Then I had to take another bus and go through security again. I'd like to point out that I did all of this without ever clearing customs or seeing my bag. It was only right before I boarded to Belfast that I actually spoke to a customs agent. And he was the nicest person I spoke to... that tells you something about the people in Heathrow.The hour between London and Belfast was great, I slept like a log.When I got to Belfast I had a very pleasant surprise. Gerard Keenan (a friend of Tom Gallagher's) had actually made it to the airport to pick me up. He was supposed to be in Antrim attending a class all day but they got out early. So we made it to the university, I checked in and we went to get dinner. Well, lets call it late afternoon lunch. It was like 430 here.

The weather is currently gorgeous so we ate outside near the river and then he gave me a driving tour of Falls Road. I saw the Sinn Fein HQ amongst other things. After he dropped me off I walked around the area a bit to get a feel for what goes on. I also stopped at the SPAR (our equivalent of a Wawa or Sheetz) to get some food and water for my room. I haven't really met anyone yet but there are a ton of people on campus and floating around. The only thing that's currently annoying me is that I have no idea how to hook my computer up to the network.... I'll deal with it later.All in all I like it here.... It feels like home.But I do need to get my wits about me. I'm sure I sounded like a complete moron talking to Gerard today. I'm blaming jet lag.