Day 11: I finally got an Ulster Fry!

Day 11: Finally I got a Ulster Fry!

On Monday we woke up and left to visit Stormont. Stormont is the building where the Assembly and Senate meet in Northern Ireland (It is kind of similar to Capitol Hill). We went to meet with Clive McFarland who works in communication with the DUP. We got to learn about the building and the paintings. During World War Two Stormont was covered with a combination of tar and manure to darken the building so that it couldn’t be seen at night and bombed.

After that we went to one of Maynard’s favorite places to eat and got Ulster Fry’s. They were amazing! I love potato bread. Maynard ordered the Maynard special (It is named after him).

Then we went to Carrick Fergus. We went and learned about the advertising and media that was used in the community. We learned about different kinds of media outreach. It was really awesome!

Day 10:A Day of St. Patrick

 

Day 10: A day of Saint Patrick

Sunday we spent the day learning about Saint Patrick and going to all of the sights on the St. Patrick Trail. The entire group of Young Ambassadors met up with Dr. Tim and we began our day. We started off the day by going to Dundrum Castle and Fort. It was amazing! We got to go inside the castle and learn about it.

After that we went to Saint Patrick’s Cathedral it started as a monastery in 1183 AD. Later the Church was turned into a Cathedral. This is currently the Church of Ireland. One of the things that I thought was most beautiful about this Cathedral is that they celebrate St. Patrick every St. Patrick’s Day and invite people of all faiths because they believe St. Patrick is for everyone. This is where Saint Patrick’s tomb is.  We when and saw the tomb.

                  “In Down one Grave

                    Three Saints do fill

                 Patrick, Briged, Clomkill”  

 

After that we went to the Down County Museum. We learned about some of the animals that naturally live in Ireland. We learned about some of the history of Down Patrick. We learned about the Vikings and Kelsey and I got to try on Vikings outfits … Mine was a little too small. So I was the one armed Viking.

 

 

After that we went to Inch Abby. Inch Abby was built by John De Courcy during the 12^th Century. It is also one of the sites used on Game of Thrones. It is used as Rob Stark’s Camp. It is a beautiful set of ruins.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After that we went to Castel Ward. Castel ward is Winterfell on Game of Thrones.

 

Then we went on a beautiful hike up to where a there is a huge statue of St. Patrick. It was beautiful!

 

The second last thing that we did was go to Saul’s Church. This was my favorite thing I did on the entire trip. The church was on the top of a hill with a cemetery on the side of the hill. It was one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. It was a simple stone building with one stain glass window with Saint Patrick on it. We talked about our job as young Ambassadors and about the “Spirit of Saint Patrick”.

 

Then we got back in the car and went to The Saint Patrick Centre. We went through the exhibit and learned about St. Patrick. It was an incredible day! I cannot wait to share what I learned about him.

Day 9: Building a Wall

 

Saturday we woke up and went to the Mourne Mountains to build a stone wall. When we woke up it was wet and rainy, so we went to the Mourn Mountains. We got lost on the way and once we finally got there we put on steel-toe shoes and rain clothes. I was excited to wear steel-toe shoes for the first time! Then we went outside to learn ab0ut the different kinds of stone wall and the tools to build them. We had fun building the stone walls. After that I came home and took a VERY long nap. It was a lot of fun!

Day 8: Catching Up

 

Ok still catching up! Sorry that I am so behind. Friday was incredibly busy! Friday was so much fun Ciara, Maddie, Maynard and I had the opportunity to meet up with Dave from the Ulster-Scotts Agency we met up in Raphoe. After we went to the Ulster-Scots Agency office to meet Derrik we went to Derry in London Derry to meet up with Sarah Hines who was the 2012 Arizona Young Ambassador and is this year’s Arizona Colleen and Rose. Sarah was in Ireland for regionals, she made it through to finals at the Rose of Tralee (Congratulations Sarah!). Sarah was here with her sister Krissy and her mother Mrs. Hines and we met up with them to explore the City of Derry.

 

We started off the day by going to the First Derry Presbyterian Church. Then we passed through the city wall and learn about the Siege of 1688.  We learned about the Siege and looked at the wall and the different building. Then we went to the first Protestant Cathedral after the reformation St. Columb’s Cathedral. One of the really awesome things about this building was the fact that Cecil Frances Alexander attended this cathedral. She is a hymm writer, she wrote songs like There is a Green Hill Far Away. In this building they had a stain glass window to celebrate her and some the songs that she wrote.

Later we went to the town hall. It was amazing and beautiful! They had and exhibit about the plantations here in Ireland. It was very educational and we learned a great deal. Later we were taken up to see the council chamber!

Interesting fact:  The Gaelic word for Oak is Derry. (That is why the city got that name).

That evening we when to a Music Festival/ Parade in the city of Market Hill. We went to this event with Maynard unfortunately Sarah, Krissy and Mrs. Hines had to leave. Derrik had to leave as well. This was a very interesting event where I learned a great deal about the culture here in Northern Ireland. Many of these music events are seen as controversial here. They are often associated with the Orange Parades which often have a bad reputation. This was a Pipe and Drum Parade, this kind of music is associated with The Ulster Scot Community. Pipe and Drum are often taught as schools where Highland Dance is taught. I thought it was a lot of fun! The music was loud and wonderful. I even recognized some of the songs that were being played, like Yankee Doddle Dan Dee. I really enjoyed the music!

Day 7: Arts in Belfast

Sorry I haven’t posted in a couple of days. We have been getting home late and getting up early so I have gotten behind on posts. Thursday was a day about the Arts. Ciara, Maddie and I all love the arts in different ways and have very strong interests in the arts so we really enjoyed Thursday. We started off the day by going to Lyric Theatre in Belfast. Paul Crawford is in charge of the Creative Learning Programs. As a Theatre Education major this is one of the many job opportunities that I am qualified for. I was really excited to see the projects that the theatre is working on and how the world of theatre education worked here in Northern Ireland. He told us about some of the programs he is currently working on. He is doing acting training programs for pre-professional actors, as well as classes for younger students that are interested in theatre. He is also working on some really amazing projects, he is doing a workshop/ performances with the Royal Shakespeare Theatre where students could work with the company in a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. He is also working on expanding the group of people or the population that come to the theatre. The theatre has brought different groups to come learn about the theatre and what they do there. One of the groups that they brought to the theater was from a prison they taught them about how a theatre worked the jobs and others things. I thought that was incredibly creative. They also bring school groups, students with disabilities, and children from tough circumstances. We also went on a tour of the theatre. One of the huge sponsors of this theatre is Liam Neeson, he worked here for years. Another well-known actor to have worked with this theatre is Kenneth Branagh.

 

After The Lyric we went shopping in the City Centre in Belfast for a little bit. After that we went to the Belfast City Hall and saw the Belfast City Charter. We looked at the beautiful architecture and learned a little bit more about the city. The stain windows were incredible.

After that we went to the Linen Hall Library. It is an incredibly old library. In had tons of information on Theatre and Performing History in Northern Ireland which I found incredibly interesting.

 

After that we stopped by the Crown Pub in Belfast. It is an incredibly historical building (like most buildings in Northern Ireland). It is owned by the National Trust. One of the things that makes this place cool is the fact that the booths are actually little rooms with a door that closes, back in the day this was a common place for politicians to come because they could shut the door.

 

After that we went to meet up with an artist by the name if Dee Craig. We went on a Late Night Art Tour. We had the opportunity to see a bunch of different kinds of art that is happening in Belfast. During the tour we also saw an exhibit at Queens University. That campus is so incredibly beautiful. It was a really awesome day. We did a lot and had a ton of fun!

Days 5 & 6: Learning About the Ulster-Scots

The past two days have been crazy busy. Yesterday morning Maddie, Ciara and I met Maynard and started off the day. We started by going to Belfast we look at some of the famous buildings. We passed the Titanic Belfast, the Titanic Studio’s (Game of Thrones) the Europa Hotel just to name a few. We got out of the car and went to the Ulster-Scots Agency. We met many of the people and learned a little bit more about the organization and what they do. Everyone was very kind and friendly.

After Belfast we got in the car and went to Donaghadee. We went up through the countryside and explored on our way there. When we got there we went to the bay and looked at Scotland, after that we went to what is thought to be the oldest Pub in Ireland (there is a small debate that another pub could have opened earlier). It was opened in 1611 it is called Grace Meall’s .

 

We took the ferry back and then headed over by Downpatrick. On our way back to New Castle we stopped and had some amazing food.

 

Today we went out to meet one of Maynard’s very good friends he showed us around his home, which was beautiful. Then we went to learn about and visit The Orange Order. It was very interesting to learn about this organization and some of the projects they are working on. One of the major things that we learned about was how they spent their money and their quotas for outreach and cross community building. The Organization was in a incredibly beautiful castle. This was the home of the Brownlow’s. We got to go see a tour of the building. We even saw the rooms that the servants would have stayed in. President Eisenhower slept there during the war when he was checking on the troops.

 

 

After that we went to Lurgan Junior High. This schools age range is 11-14. We went and met Paul Moorehead who was teaching student’s film. It was absolutely brilliant. They had a studio with offices and computers and in the other room was filming room. The students were making news reports, and documentaries. The level of hard work and professionalism by these students is incredible. Some of these young students ages 11-14 were absolutely incredible, they could speak better on camera than most students. This school is doing something that is new in education. The school has received all sorts of awards and recognition for this program. They are often asked to cover stories and events, the BBC has even used some of their footage. As a future educator of the performing arts it was incredibly inspiring! It is amazing was students can do if an educator believes in them.

 

Towards the end of the day we went to Saint Patrick’s Cathedral in County Down. We learned a little bit about the church and some of the incredible things that are kept there. We also saw the amazing crypt. It was incredible.

 

 

After that we went and had some dinner. Then we went to the town of Ballywalter. We went to a Community Action Group Meeting. This meeting planned events for the community. It was really nice that we could what Maynard does and how his organization helps the community.  

Day 4: First day of placements

 

Today was our first time with our placements I was with Maynard Hanna. Maynard works for the Ulster-Scots Agency. This organization was made as part of the 199 Peace Day Agreement. Here is a bit of information from their website if you would like to learn some more! http://www.ulsterscotsagency.com/what-is-ulster-scots/language/

 

The first things that we did was drive from New Castle up into the Kingdom of Mourne. We passed through a fishing town of Kilkeel. Then we headed over to see Hanna’s Close which is the homestead of the Hanna’s. They built this homestead in the 1600’s when they moved from Scotland. It was beautiful and had a river running through it. The homes had been fixed up to look exactly the way they would have in the 1600’s.

 

We also went to the Reivers House. This was one of the organizations sponsored by the Ulster-Scots Agency. To me it seemed that many of the goals were kind of similar to the Arizona Irish Cultural Center, except that they were teaching people about Scottish heritage not Irish Heritage. The major goal is to teach people about their Scottish heritage. There were craft groups, music classes and dance classes to name a few. The dances groups study Highland Dance and even compete. Some of the music classes they teach are Pipe and Drum. We got to play on them and have a mini lesson. 

As we were driving we saw a wall that was made out of different stone and then we found out it was pieces of cement. The cement was actually a runway for planes used during world war two. After the war they turned it into rock walls and fences.

Then we went up to the Mountains of Mourne. They were beautiful! We stopped and got food on the way home. I learned so much yesterday I was exhausted by the end of the day which is why I didn’t post yesterday!  

Day 3: Adventures and rest

Today was the most relaxing day we have had yet! Today we slept in late and left at eleven to go do some adventuring. The first thing that we saw was a Legananny Bolman. It is a rock structure that's older than the pyramids This was the burial place of someone important at the time. It also would have had rocks around it. The stones are put together in the most amazing way! To make the stones stay together they created a ball on one part of the stone and a hole in the other and placed them together to create the structure!

 

The next place that we went was Finnis Souterrain/ Binders Cove. It is a undergrounds tunnel from around the 16th century. It was a place to protect yourself incase of an attack. The tunnel would lead from your home and you would go underground. The tunnel had low rocks that you could hit your head on and chambers that someone could pop out from and attack. This was one of the coolest most mind boggling things I am seen the whole trip. The fact that they could make this tunnel with the limited tools they had was amazing!

Mike, Maddie and I

After that we went to the country fair! The fair was held at Balmoral Park which was actually a prison during the troubles. It was fun there was a dog show and a dog completion which Maddie presented the award to the winner. We ate food and listened to music and some of us went shopping. It was nice. We also met Maynard who Ciara and I will be placed with, we start tomorrow. Maddie will be joining us for part of the time as well. After the fair we came home. On the way we passed by the Estate that the Queen stays at when she comes to Northern Ireland. After that we came home and made dinner it was a nice relaxing day. I am excited for tomorrow!

Also sorry for two posts in one day. I have been a day behind since I got here. I am now caught up! Hooray!

Day 2: The Giant's Causeway andothers adventures

Yesterday was awesome! We spent most of the day outside. We started off the day by taking the bus to Belfast. We had the wrong bus time but it ended up working out perfectly because Tim was running late as well.  Once we arrived in Belfast we hopped in the van and started on our way to The Dark Hedges. For all of you Game of Thrones fans it is the Kings Road.

 

  Then we went to the Carrick-a-Rede Bridge. It was incredible! It was bright and sunny and just beautiful! The cliffs were awesome and the water was completely clear!

 

After the Hike we hopped in the car and ate sandwiches as we went. Then we stopped by Dunluce Castle it was beautiful!

 

Then we hopped back in the car and saw The Giant’s Causeway. I was so excited because this was one of the things that is was looking most forward to. The legends tell a story of two giants between Scotland and Ireland and they created the Causeway. Each version of the story is slightly different so I don’t want to tell one that isn’t correct. The real way that the Giant’s Causeway was created was by Volcano’s here is a link if you are interested!  http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/giants-causeway/history/

It was amazing and incredibly beautiful we took the hike up the mountain right by the Causeway on our way back. Also there were people EVERYWHERE. I have never seen so many people admiring nature in one place. So most of the pictures have other random people in them.

      

 

On the way home Tim took us on some adventures and we passed by some beautiful historical sights. However I was in the far back of the van and couldn’t hear what he was saying so I fell asleep…. probably shouldn’t have done that. We stopped for dinner and explored a bit. I finally got my first fish and chips here! We also explore the pier and took pictures jumping off a wall.

 

After we got back in the car we went and looked at Slemish Hill. There are stories that Saint Patrick when up there to pray. No one really knows for sure since it was so long ago. The hill was beautiful and I loved them. Yesterday was awesome and the sun was out, it wasn’t even cold!