Sunny Spring

Well Spring has sprung and what a lovely Spring it is shaping up to be. The people who keep track of weather and records and all that are saying this April is the warmest April on record for Belfast. If it weren't for the wind, I'd think I'd found my way back to California after this many days of sun.
Work is going well; I have a new "line manager" and she is fantastic. My former "line manager" is still around only now he's not dealing with communications. My move to the boarding school has been pushed back until my background check comes in. I am hoping it is all clear in 2 weeks.
Lately I've been hanging out a lot with one of the other American volunteers - Margaret. She is 69 and back in the States she splits her time between Virginia and the Habitat office in Americus, GA. She is a laugh and a real joy to be around. She's no nonsense and very independent and that makes for hilarious company.
While there is no big or necessarily exciting news to report, I am having a grand ol' time getting to know the city, following the football matches and enjoying the extra long days. Yesterday I went to Marks & Spencer and Sainsbury's with Margaret to run a few errands. At one point in our wandering up and down the isles in the food hall, I thought how odd it was that these are the places I buy groceries or whatever. I don't know why that was an odd feeling, but it was. I never had a moment of realization in Ralph's or Trader Joe's but there I was walking by crisps and OK! Magazines and rhubarb crumbles with the realization that this is home...at least for now. And it's amazing to see how quickly you adapt. You call bathrooms toilets and soccer football and elevators lifts. All without giving it a second thought. You learn to tell time on a 24-hour clock and that 22 degrees is rather warm.
I guess I am reflective of all these things because we had a group in from America. I feel like I should have worn a sign around my neck that said, volunteer for one year here and no I am not independently wealthy. In a way, the team reminded me of why I am here in the first place. I joined them one day for a tour around the city and it was interesting to hear their remarks about the peace walls and the neighborhoods. When I looked at the peace wall behind Clonard Monastery I thought, hey, I live on the other side of that. The visiting Americans thought about the Berlin Wall and petrol bombs. I guess when you live in division you become accustomed to it. And then maybe the need to fix things and remove segregation doesn't seem so urgent. Everyone goes to their own neighborhood and minds their own business and as long as you don't mess with me I don't care what you do. Hopefully people will tear down all of these walls soon and there won't be segregated schools and streets anymore.
Oh well. That is my deep thinking for the day.

Long time no chat

Last week I went on a lil' holiday with my friend April. We toured Ireland like good Americans should - in a car. We drove from Dublin to Kilkenny to West Cork to Connemara to Bushmills to Belfast. And, like good tourists, we snapped away on our cameras the entire week. Because it was the week after Easter, there weren't too many other tourists out and about and that was nice. We happened to be in Dublin on Good Friday and were surprised and amused to find that the city seems to shut down on that day. I kid you not when I report that every single pub was closed.

The weather for the week was uncharacteristically Irish- sunny and warm. As you can see from the photo I'm attaching, this weather makes for very nice photos. This pic was taken at Kylemore Abbey in Connemara (County Galway). Very nice part of the world, I say. I was tempted to just camp out there for good.



I returned to Belfast with loads of nice pictures and memories of my road trip. In the few days I've been back, I've been offered a new job of sorts. The job won't require me to leave Habitat or anything like that; I'll just be working as a residence mistress at a local boarding school. This gives me a chance to live in a great part of town for free, work with youth and get out of a not-so-ideal living situation. The experience should be hilarious since I'll be living on a school campus again and will be surrounded by girls aged 11-17. But I think this job will provide a terrific opportunity to meet new people, live in a charming part of the city and allow me to work with youth, something else I love.

It seems that my week away marks a turning point. I am excited about my new place of residence, looking forward to getting more projects at work and constantly daydreaming about travel plans for the rest of the year.