Welcome to Belfast!

The time was about 8:30 AM, the day August 30, and the place Belfast, Northern Ireland.  Continental Flight 94 hit the ground with eight anxious young adults aboard.  Those eight young adults being myself, Karl and six other individuals from around the U.S.  We arrived in Belfast extremely tired but excited to see our new home for the upcoming year. 

Doug and his wife, Elaine, picked us up with a car and a mini bus, loaded our luggage and drove us all to our houses.  We quickly stepped into our new homes, dropped our luggage in our rooms and proceeded to the next house.  At the last house we visited, we took a moment to enjoy our first cup of tea and scones (biscuits in the U.S.).  The rest of the day was pretty much a blur, as we spent it trying to stay awake in order to adjust to the time change. 

After getting a full night's rest, we all set off to begin touring each other's volunteer sites for the next three days.  As we stopped at each site, we toured the premises and learned a bit of the history of the neighborhood and about the community involvement of each site.  It is amazing how complex the conflict between the people of Northern Ireland is and how deep the Troubles have touched the communities that we will be working in.  I have a lot to learn about as the year goes on.

My site, Whitehouse Presbyterian, was the second to last stop for the whole group.  By this time, I was very anxious to see the church, reconnect with Rev. Liz Hughes, and meet others in the congregation.  In fact, I was so excited to see the church that I ran the 2.5 miles to and from to get a sneak peak the morning we were scheduled to see it.  (By the way, I had to be very conscious about which way the traffic was travelling when crossing the street). We got to the church and were welcomed with open arms and hugs.  There were a number of folks from the congregation there to meet us, and they were so hospitable and friendly!  I will be attending my first worship service this Sunday and will get to meet the youth group in the evening...I can't wait!

As an end note, here are some fun words that we are picking up and pictures from a walk to Scrabo (a tower outside of the city):

boke=puke
skint=broke
craic=fun/entertainment
biscuit=cookie
jumper=sweater
bap=bun/roll
come by you=pick you up