Belfast #2

I have a few weeks to catch up on and boy did a lot happen. First I will start with my trip to Belfast. After Thanksgiving (we threw a really big pot luck style dinner that was packed with more than 20 people in our small apartment) Chelsea and her friends and I all took a train up to Northern Ireland.  How more perfect can you get, reading Harry Potter on a train in Ireland sipping an oat milk latte! My smile a day that I'm in Ireland sure wasn't hard. 

On the left and right are Faith and Kenzie Morgans friend and sister

When Asa and I came to Belfast I'm really not sure where we were staying or geographically where we went, however, we definitely missed the hot spots of town. Northern Ireland is completely different than the Republic of Ireland. Belfast is much more artsy and edgy for sure. There are murals that to a traveler are a nice addition to the buildings, however on further inspection, they hold deep political meaning and dot throughout the town to remind the people of their history. 

I mean you have to laugh. They really don't like Trump over here....can't say that I do either though.

The first night we went to some really cool pubs and hung out into the night. For those traveling here, we went to the Dirty Onion, The Thirsty Goat, and The Duke of York. We were told to go to Filthy McNasty but didn't make it. Guys, I cannot make up these names I'm completely serious. The pub scene is very different here than what I suppose the American bar scene is and very very different than the frat scene. The pubs are the heartbeat of the city and where relationships are built. They always have live music that makes the experience that much more enjoyable. I would say the Irish, though they may drink more, can hold it much better than Americans which is refreshing. 

The next day we wandered into town and stumbled upon a Christmas market at the Belfast town hall. We perused around for awhile. Here's a beautiful photo of Chelsea and Jon. After this, we took a black cab tour. Basically, it's a cab drive around the city where the driver explains the history of Belfast and what different murals around the city mean. 

Basically, to my understanding, the story goes as follows. Protestants and Catholics didn't/don't get along. The Catholics wanted to keep their Irish heritage and join back with the republic of Ireland. However, the protestants are loyal to the British crown and want to stay with the UK. The protestants had most of the voting power. They had a law that if you owned a business your vote counted 6 times, most of the Protestants owned the businesses. You only got one vote per family, because the Catholics had more children the votes weren't fairly representing the population. The Catholics became more and more upset that their voice was not being heard to keep their Irish heritage. 

This is a wall where different photographs of peace walls around the world. Belfast literally has a peace wall to separate the Catholics and Protestants. Our taxi driver thinks they shouldn't take it down until the kids are schooled together. Right now they are separated and the hatred continues. On either side of the wall are homes. They all had metal roofs because of the pipe bombs that could be thrown over. Some even had fences on the roof down towards the ground a few feet away from the home to keep the bombs off.  People are encourage to write on the wall. I wrote, "This place is not our home, praying for peace". No matter the conflict on earth we can be assured this earth will always be falling apart until Jesus returns hallelujah! 

Many of the murals pointed towards other fights around the world such as Nelson Mandela in South Africa, Martin Luther King Junior in the US, and Catalonia in Spain currently. it was a sobering tour but I sat in the front asking all of my questions and really enjoyed it. The taxi driver revealed at the end that he is catholic but only cares about the unity of the Northern Irish people not necessarily the politics. He talked about how his father and brothers went to jail during the heat of the fighting and when he visited them, they told him not to get involved or he would end up in jail. 

Payson, Eline, Chelsea, Jon, Nico, (Taxi driver...oops), ME, Jules (pronounced shoe....umm what (he's dutch) ). 

The next day everyone left but I had another day in Belfast before heading over to Germany. I had met a girl named Shannon from Belfast who came down to my church with her college's Christian Union. I told her I was coming up to Belfast and she invited me to dinner at her flat (ok I kinda invited myself). She attends Queens college which is just absolutely stunning. We had a grand time playing chess while the veggie stew cooked. They taught me Northern Irish slang and explained from their perspective the conflict in Belfast. They said they really didn't notice it at all. 

From there a friend of a friend of a brother picked me up and kindly let me stay at their beautiful home for a night. They were a lovely Scottish family with three daughters that reminded me so much of the girls from The Holiday. I was blown away that day at beautiful people who opened their homes to me. This time abroad has shown me to just ask people and they will say yes if they can. I grew up never wanting to ask people for anything. I would go to a friend's house and their mom would offer me water and even if I was dying from thirst I would say no. But why? what good does that do? People love being generous and sharing what they have and inadvertently it makes you (or should) more generous and open. Anyway, I wanted to stay at that home forever with their wood-burning fires and precious Christmas tree but I had a 6 am bus to the Dublin airport the next day.