Going back to this morning, the group went together to church at St. Brigid's Catholic Church a few blocks from the UPC. We were at the 10:30 service, which turned out to be a folk Mass. They have six Sunday Masses there, most of them traditional (with choir and organ). At this 10:30 service the sanctuary was full, with about 600 people (difficult to estimate...the place was quite large). From where most of us sat near the back, it was often difficult to hear the service because the room was so large, and because the numerous children around us seemed especially noisy. The cross in front was in the distinctive design of St Brigid's Cross. The building itself is modern, with sleek wooden pews, and the Stations of the Cross are illustrated on the walls as a series of stone plaques. The Bible passages for the day were from 2nd Maccabees 7, 2nd Thessalonians 2-3, and Luke 20; several students expressed surprise later at the use of Maccabees, unfamiliar material because it's not in the Protestant Bible. The liturgical readings and responses all went notably quickly, with no space between them and little time to ponder meaning afterward. The homily was also very short (not more than five minutes), and was a commentary about the Eucharist. As this was a folk Mass, all the music was done by a small choir singing popular-style pieces in one or two parts, accompanied by a band that was acoustic guitars, a harmonica, and several fiddles. It surprised those of us who had expected a Roman Catholic service to be always in a "high church" tradition. We were also surprised that no mention was made of Remembrance Day; the Protestant communities make a big deal of the holiday, and we've seen many people around town wearing red plastic poppies this week in memory of a veteran, so (we were told later) the Catholic communities consequently do not take a big part in celebrating it. (It's apparently one of those "they're doing it, so we can't even though we believe it's worthwhile" sectarian situations.) The prayers did include supplication for the current hardships in Nicaragua due to the storms. Because the sanctuary was so full, communion was served in many different places, not just at the front. After the service we had free time until 2:00 for lunch and any last-minute walks around Belfast...the weather was beautiful.
(See also our supplementary page about the roots of the conflict and the British monarchies of the 17th century. It's all difficult to keep track of, so we'll give at least this summary of the major threads as we understand them so far.)
The presentation this morning wasn't about that, however; it was about the structure and role of local government since the latest (1973) restructuring of the city council. Rather consistently, the SDLP has held the majority, followed by Sinn Fein, and then the other parties. Council members have four-year terms, and a Mayor and Deputy Mayor are appointed to one-year terms from among the councillors (as we saw in Belfast). In the four-year rotation, the four parties with the largest representation get to choose which of the four years they will have their own mayor or deputy installed. The man who spoke to us (the deputy's assistant, Cahill Crumley) is from Sinn Fein, and explained that their mayor will be in 2000. The current mayor, Joe Maller, is from the DUP (i.e., the radical conservative Protestant right), and (according to Crumley) had originally stated that he would refuse the appointment if the deputy would be from Sinn Fein (radical Catholic left)...so, Sinn Fein chose this year indeed to put up their deputy, Lynn Flemin, so she could keep constant political pressures on him. The mayor then chose to accept his post after all, warily; we weren't told what the options would have been if he hadn't. We then had a question and answer session about other local issues such as unemployment (up to 70% in some Catholic areas), the building industry, highway infrastructures, and attempts to bring Derry up to be a more centrally important point in the country, rather than just an outpost. Local government hasn't felt that it's had much power to do anything until recently, anyway. We'll hear some of the DUP's points of view about all this next week. This morning and during last week's presentations by various parties, we have always tried to keep in mind the fact that almost everyone in politics here tends to get into adversarial positions on any issue...there is no such thing as a completely objective presentation by anyone, and nobody is a neutral observer. Of course not; it's a politician's job to persuade people to his/her party's point of view as forcefully (and sometimes as subtly) as possible, and it's an ingrained habit. Everyone has facts they can use for their own advantage, and everyone's point of view is completely valid to them. (So, as outsiders trying to figure out what's going on, do we choose to side with someone with whom we tend to have personal sympathies, or do we choose the huge task of trying to construct a composite middle-ground reality out of everyone's disparate stories, being skeptical of everything? That's a difficult habit to develop, because every speaker is persuasive and obviously sincere. This is certainly giving us a useful view into American politics, as well.)
In the afternoon, the students split into smaller groups to visit social service agencies around the city. The options were: Derry Peace and Reconciliation Group; Women's Centre; Youth Action; Waterside Churches' ACE Scheme; and the Gobnascale Family Centre. These were good opportunities to hear about ongoing programmes for improvement, and to interview the people who are making things happen. In the evening, the student worship committee put together a worship time similar to the one we had one evening in Belfast: a time for readings, singing, prayer, and sharing time together. This was a nice time to reflect on what we've been thinking about and experiencing here in Derry.
Three of the students were especially enterprising this evening: they wanted to hear Garth Brooks on his current tour, and did. They were able to find tickets for sale, got bus transportation (round trip from here to Belfast) and overnight lodging for the trip, and planned it all so they'd be back in plenty of time for tomorrow morning's group activity. It all went smoothly, and they reported that the concert was terrific. (This independent trip certainly violates the spirit and rules of the "poverty day" exercise, but we'll make an exception for such a special event. Besides, those who went have reported that because of what they spent on the trip, they'll be scrimping on food and other comforts for the next week or so from a real lack of money, not just an exercise.)
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Philip Bergey: Fedlimidh Bergaigh
Paul Berry: Pól Ó Caor Tim Good: Tádhg Ó Maithe Aaron Histand: Arán Ístáid Darrick Hummel: Dárrach Ó Homíl Jon Kratz: Seán Ó Rattaigh David Kuhns: Daibhidh Ó Cunnaigh Todd Shenk: Tódd Ó Sreanc Scott Stauffer: Scót Ó Stófeoir Matthew Thomas: Maitíu Mac Thómais Derik Trissel: Dárrach Ó Triseal Thai Vuu: Tadhg Bhú Brittany Culbertson: Britanaigh Níc Chúlbeirt Jeanette Good: Sineád Ní Mhaithe Melissa Hayden: Melíosa Ní Éadán |
Kelly Hess: Ceallaigh Ní Fhios
Keri Kauffman: Ciarraí Ní Chaffaí Angela Kratzer: Aingeal Ní Ráttaigh Courtney Maines: Courtnaigh Ní Mháinigh Trisha Maust: Pádraigín Ní Mhuist Diane Meehan: Dí-Áine Ní Mhechán Karen Miller: Carín Níc a Mhuileann Amy Neil: Ámie Níc Niall Erinn Raborn: Éirinn Ní Rathbúrn Sherrie Reinford: Seirís Rín Phort Christina Smith: Cristín Níc Ghabhan Trina Trotter: Caitrína Ní Throtóir Jen Yates: Sineád Ní Gheadaigh Gloria Rhodes: Glória Ní Ródaigh Brad Lehman: Breád Mac i Léigh |
We have heard that Dave Kuhns' article made it into the Weathervane (EMU student newspaper) recently. We haven't seen it, and it probably won't arrive to us before we're back home, as the earlier ones have arrived several weeks after publication. We've all felt a bit odd over here, hearing about campus events and discussions that seem so distant (and maybe relatively trivial?) compared with what we're experiencing. We've also been following the fortunes of the sports teams and wishing we could be part of it!
One of the pages of the exam is this reference sheet about the 17th century British monarchs, as we realised we all needed to make sense of the background that Irish and British people take for granted as common knowledge. The students are also welcome to use their lecture and study notes to help pull everything together. In all the exams and projects we've been trying to encourage habits of reflective thinking, synthesising something meaningful out of all the threads that have come our way. We hope that's a way of learning which is more lasting than simply memorizing facts and dates, and spouting them back during an exam. History, geography, religion, the arts, social issues, and politics are really all one huge and complex cultural topic, even though we all typically learn them separately and focus on the parts we enjoy. When we all look back on this trip later, we'll probably find things really crossing over in our minds into an interdisciplinary experience that has been our semester in Ireland and Northern Ireland (not to mention our own microcosm of living together as a group, a community). Plenty to think about and take home with us.
An news article about us was in today's Belfast Telegraph, including a photo of Brittany Culbertson with some of our other students in the background. The caption was, "A group of young Americans help clear out the former Claremont church building." The article:
After a short break, we had a session with Mervyn, who was once again terrific in bringing a helpful perspective to both sides of as many issues as we could think of (we simply questioned him for an hour on anything we wanted to know). He explained what drives the radical Unionists and Nationalists to make the claims they do, and what makes them unwilling to compromise much. He especially helped us today with understanding Catholic and Protestant differences from the standpoint of religion (rather than merely as sectarian labels). He helped us comprehend how deeply the issues of power and control are enmeshed into any religion. He reminded us that as bad as conflicts get, normal everyday life is of course still foremost in most people's minds; they don't go around brooding daily about sectarian problems. And he began an explanation of the peacebuilding that needs to happen if there is to be any resolution in this country. Peacebuilding deals with attitudes and structures, and involves plenty of listening and honest acknowledgment that wrong has occurred. It requires tolerance, forgiveness, mutual respect, and understanding. (He will continue this topic in his next session with us.)
At 2:00 we met at the Royal Ulster Constabulary (i.e. police) station to hear about their programmes, structure, and history. We also had a session there trying on their riot gear and examining their weapons, which surprised us (they seemed awfully big and powerful to be "defensive" weapons). It is only recently that the RUC has been trained adequately to handle all this; 30 years ago they rioting was controlled by British troops, not the police. In the next few years the RUC staff will be cut in half, which is worrisome to them because there are plenty of other non-military crimes which have been relatively neglected over the past 30 years. If they can barely keep up with the workload now, what will they do with half a staff?
Concluding our rather full day, we next went back to Magee for our political science exam, an opportunity to pull together all the pieces of understanding we've been picking up. This is a major exam, 30% of the political course grade. Between this and the take-home history exam, we're in academic "high gear" to start this week.
In the afternoon we had another excellent session with Mervyn about redefining reconciliation and peace for Northern Ireland. Again he tied together any loose ends we had. He has been so helpful in his perspectives, plus of course in all his administrative work for us. (He was our contact person to set up almost everything for this semester.) We can't imagine anyone better than he has been for us this term.
After this class, we all received our free-travel allowances, which brought tears of joy and relief: it had never been certain until now that there would be any money at all to give back for this week. But the group has done very well all term at choosing to save money whenever there was an option about things to do, and has lived responsibly. Now there's enough for everyone to have a decent week of relaxation before heading back home to EMU.
The final class was with Mervyn Love. His lecture meant the most to me. He had us write down our definitions of Peace and Reconciliation and then share them. The definitions for these words showed that these are actions requiring work. They are not passive ideals. They are a way of life, Christ's way of life. I felt this helped bring closure to the conflict situation for me, a way to deal with and work with the conflict toward peace. It takes individuals to make a difference. - Jon Kratz
Up into the highlands, the road through the desolate bogs is terrible. The land really isn't suited to growing anything, so it is cut up and burned for fuel. We arrived at Dunlewey lake and visitors' centre (near Glenveagh National Park) at noon. About 1/3 of the group set off to climb Mount Errigal, the second highest mountain on the island. The rest went on to the town of Dungloe for some shopping, but it was disappointing: many of the shops were closed for lunch from 1:00 to 2:00, and even though we waited until 2:15, the sweater shop we especially wanted to go to hadn't reopened yet...their loss and ours. While we were in town, we picked up two of our students who had gone to Donegal yesterday to work on their independent projects. They had stayed overnight in this town, but we didn't know that. We just happened to run into them on the street, and they had been worried about getting back to Derry by nightfall at all, not to mention finding us anywhere today. Yet here we all were in this remote town....
We got back to the Dunlewey centre for lunch (soup and sandwiches) by 2:45, and the bus went back to Mount Errigal to collect the hikers. They had duct-taped and buried a map in the boggy mountainside, making a sort of time capsule (there's an area up there to leave markers recording the names of climbers). They reported that they couldn't see much in the mists up there, but had fun climbing and walking on the spongy ground anyway. We had some time to shop at the visitor centre's gift shop, our last opportunity in the Republic. We left at 4:00, by which time it was already getting dark quickly. It had been a grey and rainy day, and everyone was weary by the time we got back to Derry. We cancelled the scheduled evening group processing session in favour of free time.
We arrived soon after 11:30 and had two hours to explore the town and get lunch. The area which was bombed in August is on the main downtown street, a few blocks from the courthouse. The investigation into making arrests still continues, as we heard on the radio today. The ruined area is fenced off, and those destroyed buildings have been cleared away to make space for new ones. A small display of flowers is at the fence to honour those killed. Some of those businesses have reopened in alleyways temporarily. The last shop on the street next to the fence is selling off all its stock at reduced prices, with "all goods considered as damaged;" some of us bought candles. Omagh just looks like a normal medium-sized town, other than in this area. There are police posters up on the windows with photos of the car that was the bomb, and asking for any leads about that car. It was a moving experience to be there, with the juxtaposition of normalcy and tragedy.
We went next to the Ulster-American Folk Park a few miles away. This is an outstanding museum complex about Irish who emigrated to the U.S. The outdoor area has several dozen buildings, typical of 19th century residences and businesses here in the Old World. We then passed through a replica of a ship, and emerged to another several dozen buildings which are reproductions of 19th century America in Pennsylvania and Virginia. Some of the landscape and buildings looked startlingly much like rural Pennsylvania (which was, of course, the point). Employees of the park were on hand through all this to demonstrate crafts, give tours of the buildings, and talk about the history. Then we went indoors to the visitor centre, and there is another extensive museum about the emigration, along with galleries to display artwork by teenagers. This Folk Park is directly linked to the American Frontier Museum in Staunton, VA. It also reminded us a bit of the folk park around Bunratty Castle, the place we saw on the way to Limerick so many weeks ago. We got back to Derry tonight at sunset, and many went immediately to check their e-mail at a place where they can do so for free. Such places quickly become common knowledge in our group!
Clearly, we're all a bit weary and have been disengaging since yesterday (when, not coincidentally, the last big take-home history exam was handed in). We're tired of storing facts and interpretations into our brains, and tired of moving around. It's been a terrific semester, and in retrospect we've seen and heard and experienced and learned a tremendous amount about Ireland and Northern Ireland. Now we're ready to rest, and to have a week's vacation travelling wherever and doing whatever we want to (mostly in groups of two to four). We'll meet back at Corrymeela for a retreat to wrap things up.
Health-wise, the trip has gone remarkably well: the only incident so far that has required any professional medical attention was a couple of flea bites. (The women who stayed in room 4 of the hostel here in Derry picked up fleas from the room; at least the hostel has agreed to pay for the medication.) Otherwise, the rest of us weathered the normal array of colds, bumps, sore muscles, and minor cuts which are just part of travelling and being in close quarters together for three months. At least four portable CD players have expired from being dropped, or from just wearing out from use. Nobody has yet reported anything lost through theft, and only a few have misplaced things themselves along the way. A big box of unwanted clothes will be left here for a thrift shop. The less we have to lug home, the better!
There are many new friendships, and perhaps some new romances. At the retreat we'll talk about how we hope to go on from here, re-integrating ourselves back into our families and friendships at home as well as keeping these new relationships going. We're coming back as different people. When you all back home ask us, "So, how was it?", you're going to get hundreds of different responses. We've experienced so much! Where do we begin to tell you about it?
This will be the last web journal entry before we go home, at which time we'll write about Corrymeela and our "disorientation" back at EMU. There's another week of schoolwork there, wrapping up all five courses. In the words of Tigger: "TTFN...ta ta for now!"
(To those of you meeting us at Dulles Airport on the 3rd: we're still confirmed on the United flight from Boston to Dulles arriving at 9:00 p.m. The few of us continuing back to EMU that night should arrive sometime after 11:30.)
What a dinner! We booked a room at the Causeway Hotel, next to Giant's Causeway. Michael, his wife Kathleen, and Mervyn joined us for this Christmas banquet. Did anyone finish the huge portions brought out? Each place setting included a Christmas cracker, which most of us hadn't seen before. (It's a cardboard tube wrapped in Christmas paper, and when you pull the ends, a cap inside makes a cracking sound. The tube contains a paper hat and other prizes.) We took group photos, and Mervyn had gift books for everyone. Heavy fog made it tough to get back, so we took the coastal road to Corrymeela. Everybody was far too full to take any of the evening tea and biscuits provided in our suite.
About ten of the students put together a remarkable Thanksgiving meal for all of us: mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, corn, string beans, peaches, breads, pies, cakes, ice cream. Yesterday we had tried to get turkey on the way through Ballycastle: Michael stopped the bus in the middle of the street and yelled in to his friend the butcher. There weren't any fresh turkeys available, but they could get us ten chickens, cooked and delivered to us in the afternoon today. Great! The students prepared everything else, mostly from scratch, and it certainly was delicious! And we have a lot to be thankful for, celebrating Thanksgiving as a group.
There is a large group of eight-year-olds from Belfast at Corrymeela this week. Those of us who went to the evening worship session (Corrymeela has worship twice a day) packed into the Croi with them and enjoyed their enthusiasm. Then back in our own suite many of us stayed up watching three or four movies on a video player and eating the leftover ice cream. Some were at this until 3:00....
We flew from Belfast to Shannon, only a 45-minute trip, then rushed to get through the pre-immigration checkpoint. There certainly wasn't much time for this between flights. We had filled out our dozens of VAT (value-added tax) refund forms ahead of time and were ready to have them stamped as required, but there was neither the time nor apparently a booth for this, despite what the forms said. (If we can send these in later, we might still get back part of this enormous 17% goods and services tax that has been built into every price we've paid all term. We've collected the forms from merchants in the Republic, especially; businesses in the UK tend not to participate in this tax-back programme for non-European tourists.)
Anyway, we made it onto the plane shortly before take-off, had a snack, watched the in-flight news, and lunch is now served at 2:45...that's 9:45 a.m. in the eastern U.S. The flight is just under six hours, so they're delaying the feature movie (The Parent Trap) with a few hours of short fillers about various things. Should we try to stay awake all day, or try to refresh ourselves with naps? Our landing in Boston Logan was a little rough, with the plane bouncing back up into the air after the first touch. We went through customs more quickly than expected, then had four very long hours to wait for the next and final flight. At one point there were five card games going on at once at the boarding gate. By 7:00, time to board, we're all tired and giddy...it's midnight on our bodies' time. Then the flight stayed on the ground longer than scheduled. Will we ever get home?
At 9:00 when we walked out of the plane at Dulles we were greeted by a huge crowd of family and friends waiting for us! After all these greetings and luggage collection, most of the students had a few hours' ride home from there with family. The six of us going back to Harrisonburg piled into a school van, and arrived on campus at 11:40 too tired to be coherent. We did notice that EMU looks pretty small after we've had an entire island as our campus this term.
Harrisonburg is so hot and dry, with no rain! We're used to wearing our coats and taking umbrellas every day, but here it's over 70 degrees and all the greenery is dead and brown. (We heard a good joke in Ireland: some American tourists are so weary of the frequent rain that they ask a small boy on the street, "Is there ever a day here in Ireland when it doesn't rain?!" The boy replies, "I don't know. I'm only six!")
When we see people we know, and they ask how the trip was, where oh where do we begin? How can such an extensive experience be boiled down into a few minutes?
We're all having plenty of other "reverse culture shock" experiences this weekend, as well, finding the subtle differences. This will continue for quite a while. For example:
It's strange being back on campus and not seeing all 30 members of the group every day. I forgot that a lot of people even went to EMU. I began to think of EMU as just us, but now it's not. It's weird to talk to people on the phone, too. I call people in the group and they sound really strange. I'm never quite sure if I'm talking to the right person. Eventually I'm sure people will sound normal to me on the phone. - Diane Meehan
It's been a rich term, one that we'll all remember in different ways. In some ways we're glad to be home, and in others it's hard to fit back into life here. We're all coming home changed in probably more ways than we realize yet. And we're thankful that it's all gone so smoothly! Thanks again to those of you who have been our support people back home during this adventure. And thanks to Dr. Mervyn Love and all our other hundreds of new friends on that island over there. You've all helped in so many ways to make this trip a wonderful experience for us to remember and treasure.
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Philip Bergey Paul Berry Brittany Culbertson Jeanette Good Timothy Good Melissa Hayden Kelly Hess Aaron Histand Darrick Hummel Keri Kauffman Jon Kratz Angela Kratzer David Kuhns Courtney Maines |
Trisha Maust Diane Meehan Karen Miller Amy Neil Erinn Raborn Sherrie Reinford Todd Shenk Christina Smith Scott Stauffer Matthew Thomas Derik Trissel Trina Trotter Thai Vuu Jennifer Yates | |
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Gloria Rhodes, EMU: primary leader
Bradley Lehman, EMU: assistant leader, journal author/editor Mervyn Love, University of Ulster: contact person, activity coordinator, lecturer, and so much more ...plus the dozens of other lecturers, guides, coordinators, drivers, and host families for the term... | ||
See the maps page.
© Eastern Mennonite University
Revised: December, 1998