Rain, rain, rain...

Helloooooo, loves!

As predicted from yesterday’s exhausting scavenger hunt, I woke up completely sore from my waist down. And yet I still pushed myself to go running this morning. That was a terrible idea. I was rendered essentially immobile for the rest of the day, awkwardly hobbling around and mentally panicking whenever I had to go up or down a set of stairs.

Anyway, Derek and I visited the Educate Together office today and were able to meet all of our wonderful coworkers. A student who worked at ET last year certainly wasn’t lying when she described that the office was located “at the end of the face of the earth” (aka in suburban Dublin 12.We currently live in Dublin 2) The distance wasn’t too noticeable on the way there because Bill took a cab with us, but the journey back was quite the adventure. Let’s do some basic math: 10-15 minutes to walk from the ET office to the bus stop. Insert time spent waiting at the bus stop here; it felt like forever. 30-40 minute ride (maybe? I’ll watch the time the next time I get off) on the 151 bus from the Park West stop to a stop near St. Patrick’s Cathedral. 15-20 minute walk back to the apartment. Total trip time: Approximately 55-75 minutes, not including the agonizingly long time spent waiting at the bus stop. Oh, and then add in cold, non-summery temperatures in the low 50s, strong winds, and cold, pouring rain that was angled directly toward us, causing our pants to cling to our legs and our skin to freeze. ‘Twas a lovely walk.

But regardless of the distance, I was grateful that Derek and I were able to visit the office today and get a feel for the work environment and meet our coworkers. Everyone was hilarious and friendly, so we’re definitely looking forward to eating lunch with our coworkers every day and getting to know them better. Also, just like Esker ETNS which we visited yesterday, the office was a positive, supportive environment. Sarah (the lovely woman who picked up Derek and me yesterday) and Seonaid (the administration team leader) also explained to us that they wanted to give us the opportunity to work both as a team with the rest of the office as well as work on our own project together. They explained to us that we were always, always allowed to say “no” to a team task if we felt like we couldn’t handle it at the time. I was surprised by how much they trusted us to prioritize our own schedules and how highly they genuinely valued our opinions. We were treated as equals, as actual coworkers of the organizations, rather than inferior interns. Sarah, Seonaid, and Emer (our line supervisor) all explained that everyone in the office, not just the three of them, was dedicated to ensuring that Derek and I would have a positive experience and that we would grow and develop and take away much from our experience. I’m honestly so blessed to be working in such an encouraging office, and I simply cannot wait to start work on Monday!

After our long, treacherous journey home, I prepared for our next photo scavenger hunt. We were required to take five pictures of concepts that are found in Dublin but not in Durham. However, because Bill and Anthony were running super late, we ended up moving the photo scavenger hunt to tomorrow (to the relief of all of our sore legs). Instead, we went to a gastropub (a pub that sells nice food as well) tonight that was located in Temple Bar, a well-known area of Dublin that borders the Liffey River and has tons of pubs. The particular gastropub we went to was famous around the world for the hundreds of varieties of alcoholic beverages that they sold (I wish I could remember the name! I’ll edit the post when I find out.) Despite the cold and the rain, we ventured to this area because we wanted to watch the Eurocup game tonight between Ireland and Spain. Unfortunately (and sadly predictably), Ireland was crushed by Spain, 0-4. I’m pretty sure Ireland barely touched the ball for most of the game. The heavy rains, cold, and wind didn’t help our already somewhat disappointed moods as we trudged home. True story: I haven’t seen the sun for three days straight. I miss warmth and sunshine, but at least I have my friends’ crazy stories, arbitrary comments, and laughter to keep my days bright. (:

Hope everyone has been well! Happy Friday!

Smiles,

Anna :)

"What a Wonderful World"

Hi everyone!

Yesterday, I got my first taste of Irish weather. It’s been pretty chilly and cloudy, and rain has been spontaneously falling throughout the day. It’s incredibly unpredictable- sometimes it’s a misty drizzle, but other times, it is pouring so hard that you can barely see. I wish I could say that it’ll all be over by tomorrow, but, unfortunately, the weather forecast says that there’s a 70% chance it will rain every day until next Thursday. One thing is for sure: I miss my hot Georgia summers.

I also ventured into Northern Dublin for the first time yesterday. We were doing a photo scavenger hunt in which we had to find five things that you would find in Dublin but not in Durham. Each group was assigned to a different location, and Anthony and I got to stroll down Capel Street (which is located in Northern Dublin) and along the Liffey River. Finally exploring Northern Dublin for the first time, I can honestly say that I didn’t find many differences between the North and the South. The buildings were a little more worn, and the people did look a bit grungier and rougher, but the differences were extremely subtle. I also noticed that there was significantly more diversity (more immigrants and foreigners) in the North.

While yesterday was fun, today was an extremely eye-opening day. As I previously mentioned, Derek and I will be working at an organization called Educate Together. Essentially, 95% of Ireland is Roman Catholic. Unlike the United States, there is no separation of church and state in Ireland, and depending on what religion/denomination the patron establishes the school to be, a half hour class is taught, focusing on that particular doctrine. On the other hand, Educate Together schools are:

·         Multidenominational

·         Co-educational

·         Child-centered

·         Democratically-run

Educate Together defines multidenominational as denominations of all faiths. They are committed to ensuring that all children have equal rights of access to the school, and children of all social, cultural, and religious backgrounds are equally respected. For example, instead of teaching a half hour religion class, they teach a half hour ethics class instead. They teach religion in an effort to educate and expose students to the many beliefs found around the world, but they do so without establishing any one doctrine as the “correct” doctrine. 

Derek and I received the opportunity to visit an Educate Together school called Esker Educate Together National School (ETNS). Sarah, the volunteer services officer, explained on the drive there that today was a special day because an Australian ambassador was coming to visit the school. Esker ETNS is located in a pretty empty suburban neighborhood and a temporary building (since the school was opened as an emergency school in 2007 to give the large influx of immigrant children the opportunity for education). Upon entering the school, I immediately smiled. Despite their temporary accommodation, the school certainly looked like home with brightly colored pieces of student artwork and student projects lining all the walls. Sarah introduced me to Paul, the CEO of Educate Together, and Messina, the fundraising chair of Educate Together. Everyone was so friendly and welcoming; I honestly can’t wait to start working with these cheery, warm people!

The first thing that I noticed was that the school was extremely diverse, compared to the rest of Ireland (when walking through the Dublin airport, I saw headshots of several hundred Irish people that were part of an exhibit called “Faces of Ireland.” Almost all of them were white.). In fact, the fifth class I entered had only one Irish student out of the twenty-ish students that were in the class. The other children were from various areas of the world: Pakistan, Poland, India, etc. Sarah explained that because Dublin has several large companies in the area, such as Intel and Google, diversity has increased significantly in the last ten years. Sadly, much racism still exists in Ireland, but Educate Together schools have been working to combat discrimination by working towards equality and respect for all and giving children the opportunity to learn about other cultures.

While we were waiting for the other Educate Together members to finish discussing some matters, Derek, Sarah, and I entered the fifth class (fifth grade) classroom and got to interact with the kids and answer their questions! The children were extremely inquisitive and bright. They were eager to ask us questions about life in America. Favorite question of the day, “If you open your door, are there any dangerous animals that will come inside and kill you?” Apparently, this student Adam previous did a project on dangerous animals. I think he was disappointed when I explained to him that my neighborhood really only had deer and bunny rabbits and squirrels.

Afterward, we moved to a different room with third class and sixth class students. They were putting on a presentation for the ambassador and invited us to watch. The performances were absolutely lovely. An adorable rendition (complete with singing and dancing!) of Oliver Twist’s “Consider Yourself” opened the presentation by encouraging the ambassador to settle down, get comfortable and “consider [himself] one of us.” The third class proceeded to demonstrate how the school was multidenominational by putting on a “marriage ceremony.” They explained how weddings differed in various religions. It was literally the most adorable thing I’d ever seen, and it was beautiful to hear the teachers and students talk about how interesting they thought the different religions were and how much respect they had for them. Later, they raised the “Green Flag,” which is a flag that demonstrates that their school is committed to recycling and “living green.” Afterward, they sang their school’s theme song, which was Louie Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World.”

Visiting the Esker ETNS put such a large smile on my face and brought me so much joy. I definitely realized how genuinely thankful and grateful I was to have respect and equality and diversity come so naturally at the schools I previously attended. The children were wonderful, and the teachers were all so cheerful and encouraging. It was a positive, supportive learning environment that truly celebrated every student’s individual identity and culture. I was so blessed to have received the opportunity to visit such an amazing school.

Later, because Derek and I didn’t have lunch plans, Paul took us to the Leinster House, which is where the Parliament of Ireland is housed. He was speaking at a panel in which various parents and supporters explained the growing demand for an Educate Together school in the area of Portobello. Even though there are currently 60 Educate Together schools, they only comprise 3% of the total schools in Ireland. The Educate Together staff has recently been interested in surveying areas that display a heavy interest in ET schools and possibly transforming the Catholic/religious schools in the area into ET schools. However, there is one major problem: even though the government funds 95% of the schools’ budgets, the schools are privately owned by the churches and religious institutions, the patrons. Thus, in order for a school to be turned into an ET school, the ET staff must negotiate and receive authorization from the patrons themselves (and most are unwilling to do so). It was an incredible opportunity that allowed Derek and me to meet various members of the Irish government (including this one really awesome senator who we later had tea with!) and begin to really understand the political issues and challenges behind opening ET schools.

Afterward, we were split up into pairs and sent on a scavenger hunt all around Dublin (literally ALL around both Northern and Southern Dublin). I’ll attach pictures once I receive them from him of all the places we visited, but one thing was for sure: we were exhausted at the end. 4.5 hours of jogging/crying/being-frustrated/falling/dragging-myself-across-the-Irish-cobblestone was probably too much for me. But the scavenger hunt allowed us to see so many notable and historic and beautiful places in Dublin and meet the super friendly, chatty local folk. They were always more than happy to answer our questions and point us in the right direction.

Tomorrow, Derek and I are officially visiting the Educate Together office (which apparently is located at the end of the face of the earth) and meeting all of our coworkers. I’m literally bouncing up and down with excitement, despite my inability to move my super sore, tired legs. I’ll definitely let y’all know all about it tomorrow! Take care!

Smiles,

Anna (: <3

Orientation- Day 1

Hi wonderful people!

So my internet was being pretty wonky the past couple of nights, so I’m starting to finally upload these posts.

Today was the first day of orientation, which essentially runs from 10 AM-1PM for the rest of the week. We met Bill and Suzanne in a conference room in a nearby hotel where they gave us a calendar for the rest for the trip. We began discussing our personal goals, and Bill talked about the different dimensions that he wanted us to interact with during our time in Dublin. He wanted us to not only interact with the community and each other and our placements but also be mindful. Rather than going through the motions and doing the bare minimum of what was required of us at work, he wanted us to really be mindful and keep the bigger picture in mind. This was more than going “above and beyond” with our projects; it involved us thinking about the goals of our placements and why we were doing what we were doing. We had to think critically about purpose and the impact we were making on the bigger picture.   

We also discussed how we were sometimes put down by other people in other programs because we weren’t going to a third-world country or living in impoverish conditions. While I think that these other programs are equally important and powerful and impacting, it was really interesting to hear other people’s perspectives. We found that people were much more likely to slip into the “working for/serving/helping” mindset that DukeEngage Academy wanted us to avoid when they were in those environments, rather than “working with.” We also found that it was more difficult for us to explain ourselves because other people had pictures and schools and tangible results to, I suppose, “prove their effectiveness,” but our goals were much more abstract. We were contributing to our organizations’ causes and making an impact in different ways, aside from bring clean water to impoverished villages and building schools. I commend others for their service, but I wanted them to understand that we were making an impact as well, and that meaningful “service” can occur in other non-third-world countries.

Aside from that, we talked about our personal goals and listened to a lecture about the Rise and Fall of the Celtic Tiger (aka the rise and fall of the Irish economic system). As an economics major, this lecture definitely piqued my interest. I was able to draw parallels between the Irish economic decline and the US’s decline as well. Dr. Vincent Hogan also briefly mentioned the Spanish economic crisis, which I got really excited about because I had learned about it previously in Spanish 105 this year (gracias Profesora Romero :) ).

The rest of the day was completely free. We grabbed lunch at a gastropub, walked to St. Patrick’s Cathedral (which is beautiful… but “it’s no Duke Chapel,” as Mischa commented), and ended up relaxing in the park beside it. 

St. Patrick's Cathedral

I noticed that Irish couples are extremely affectionate and are comfortable with PDA-ing in public, perhaps moreso than American couples. But perhaps that’s because we keep on walking through (romantic?) parks and seeing them there. Later that night, Kiran and Sahil made Indian food for us (so delicious!), and we grabbed gelato on Grafton Street together. Overall, it was a super relaxing day. Derek and I are apparently visiting one of the Educate Together schools on Wednesday and meeting our coworkers on Thursday before we officially start work next Monday. I can’t wait to start working at Educate Together! The more I read about it, the more excited I get.

Pictures hopefully to come soon!

Smiles,

Anna

Jails and Soccer Games

Hey everyone!

Today, we visited Kilmainham Gaol (Jail). Suzanne apparently is fascinated with jails because she thinks they say a lot about the society and history of an area. Our tour guide was knowledgeable and was literally spewing fact after fact after fact. It was difficult to take all the information in, especially in our still-jetlagged states. But it definitely gave us insight into the former tension between Ireland and Britain, especially since many rebels and important leaders who fought for Irish independence were held in the cells. The jail was initially founded on the idea that “silence, separation, and supervision” would change the prisoners, but the model failed time and time again because the jails became cramped and filthy after the Irish potato famine hit. People would intentionally commit petty crimes to land in jail, where they were fed three meals a day and had shelter (somewhat) from the cold. This is only a slice of their tumultuous history, but it definitely was a fascinating piece of their story. (If you want to hear more about it, message me, and I’d be more than happy to talk about everything I learned!)

Kilmainham Gaol

One of the original cells

Afterward, Bill and Suzanne dropped us off at the Irish Museum of Modern Art. Hilariously enough, the IMMA was actually closed for construction, so we attempted to navigate our way back to the hotel on the bus without Bill and Suzanne’s help. We were successful. (But the bus systems are EXTREMELY confusing here. I miss how clear New York’s public transportation was).

Irish Museum of Modern Art

Later, we went grocery shopping and cooked pasta and salad for dinner tonight. We figured that cooking occasionally would be cheaper than eating out EVERY night, so here’s to hoping that I learn how to cook decently and don’t give anyone food poisoning :) Afterward, we dressed up in all the green, white, and orange we owned went to a local pub (which you can get into if you're over 18) to watch the Eurocup game between Ireland and Croatia, just as our taxi driver had suggested.. I never thought of Ireland as a huge soccer country, but the once busy streets were practically empty during the game. Although Ireland, sadly, lost, but it was interesting to watch the locals get fired up over the game. Once again, I noticed that it was surprisingly easy to talk to the locals. Another thing that I noticed is that it gets dark really, really late (especially since we’re so far up North). It didn’t turn super dark until about 11 PM, so my mind was tricked into believing that it was much earlier than it actually was.

Tomorrow, we begin orientation. I know I haven’t had very many insightful posts yet, but hopefully once orientation starts or once I start working in my placement, I’ll have more interesting things to say. :]

Smiles,

Anna

Jetlagged Loopiness

Hi, loves!

I’ve safely landed in Ireland! Yay! After 7 sleepless, exhausting hours on the plane, my energy significantly increased as I spotted Ireland below me. Because Dublin is on the East coast of Ireland, I got to see a large portion of Ireland’s beautiful landscape by flying over. The Emerald Island was, without a doubt, as green as, if not greener, than I had imagined. The clouds were also so thick that the horizon between the ocean and the sky completely disappeared. It was a breathtaking sight. Half an hour later, I’d landed and finally took my first breath of fresh (and cold) Irish air.

So much green everywhere!

I waited for Anthony to land, so we could share a cab back to the apartment together. Our cab driver was boisterous with a loud, hearty laugh. His accent was extremely thick, so it initially was difficult to understand what he was saying, but he happily pointed out various sights and “places where gangs hang out” (aka places to avoid). He pointed out the Liffey River, which divides North and South Dublin. Bill and Suzanne explained to us that the North side was rougher compared to the posh South side, but driving by, the economic disparities weren’t noticeable. But perhaps that was because I was trying to not have an anxiety attack by watching the driver zoom down on the left side (just like the British drive) of the complicated streets, which were filled with too many roundabouts and signs that made absolutely no sense. Thankfully, we made it to the apartment safely.

Upon arriving to the apartment, the person sitting at the front desk informed us that our rooms weren’t ready and that the other members of our group who’d arrived earlier may have gone to Beweley’s Café on Grafton Street. In order to get to Grafton Street, we had to walk through St. Stephen’s Green, a beautiful park. We unfortunately didn’t find them (because they had gone to a different café) and it was SUPER cold outside, so we headed back into the lobby to wait for everyone else to return.

The rest of the day passed in a super jetlagged, exhausted blur. We got bus passes and phones and had dinner together before heading back home. Despite my super loopy state, I did try to remain engaged and observant and noticed some characteristics of Dublin:

·         Grafton Street is brimming with talent and entertainment. While walking down the cramped shopping district, you can find musicians, balloon artists, spray-paint artists, human statues, people dressed up as leprechauns, etc. all performing for people’s change. I have yet to find any street dancers though…

·         Irish people are extremely talkative. Even if you aren’t asking for a conversation, Irish locals will come up to you and start talking to you. Maybe it’s because it’s evident that I’m not from Dublin. But they’re always more than happy to present fun facts about their country and point out their favorite places.

·         Green, white, and orange can be found EVERYWHERE. I don’t know if it’s just because the Ireland vs. Croatia Eurocup soccer game is coming up soon, but everywhere I turn, I see Irish flags. They seem to have tons of national pride, even more than Americans do.

I’m exhausted, but hopefully the next several days will be better and less scattered as I slowly overcome jetlag.

Smiles,

Anna

Goodbye Georgia, Hello Ireland!

Hi everyone!

For the past several weeks of summer, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading my friends’ blogs and living vicariously through their bright photographs and vivid descriptions.  Their ability to transport my imagination to a diverse range of countries (Kenya, Nicaragua, Ghana, Ethiopia, New Zealand, and Australia, just to name a few) with merely words and clicks of a camera has inspired me to keep a blog of my own to document my upcoming journey in Ireland. I hope to not only share my (mis)adventures with you, but also use this blog as a tool for reflection. As my friend Brian mentioned on his Kenya blog, I must remember to not see and hear, but rather observe and listen. So without further ado, I hope you enjoy! :)

(Note: I apologize in advance for the length. This is an intro post, so it will be pretty long in order to bring everyone up to speed. I also wrote this on the plane when I should’ve been sleeping to combat impending jetlag, so I also apologize for the numerous typos that are scattered about this blog post.)

I decided to attend Duke because they emphasized the idea of global citizenship. The DukeEngage program is the epitome of service on not only a community level, but also on a global level. DukeEngage sends Duke undergraduates (fully funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation) all over the United States and all over the world with the purpose of providing meaningful assistance. Upon combing through the long list of domestic and international programs, I eventually narrowed my many options to my top choice, DukeEngage Dublin. The Dublin program initially caught my eye because it was hosted by the Kenan Institute for Ethics, which also headed my transformative pre-orientation program Project Change (but my account of this experience requires a whole blog to itself). After doing further research, I found that it especially appealed to me because the program focused on working with refugees, a group I had previously worked with through World Relief Atlanta and grew increasingly passionate about through Kenan’s Winter Forum. Refugees are a group of people who have been forced to leave their homes because of at least one of five reasons: religion, race, nationality, political opinions, ethnicity, or because they are part of a persecuted “social group.”

I now realize that the description on the website was much simpler than our actual tasks and challenges to come. After the first week of orientation, seven other Duke students and I will all be working at different NGOs (non-governmental organizations) that focus on bettering the lives of resettled refugees in Ireland.  Derek and I will be working at Educate Together, an organization that works to establish multidenominational schools in Ireland. Once I actually start working at Educate Together, I will go into more detail about the organization. While we may not be living in challenging conditions like my other friends are, we are definitely being challenged in other ways.

Challenge numero uno: understanding the Irish accent. My mom brought home the movie Once and wanted to watch it with me because it was shot in Dublin. I agreed and loved the movie but also quickly realized one major problem: I could barely understand what the actors and actresses were saying because of their Irish accents. I told myself that my difficulty stemmed from our slightly malfunctioned speakers. It wasn’t. Sitting next to a guy on the plane who told me he was flying back home to Ireland, I sadly discovered that yes, indeed. I can barely understand the Irish accent. Even if I do (eventually) understand, it takes me a couple seconds to process, making me seem like I have extremely slow reactions/am not really paying attention to what he is saying to me. #awkward. Looks like work is going to be a major struggle. My friends Brittany and Alice have claimed that they won’t let me back in Georgia if I don’t acquire an Irish accent by the end of the trip, so I suppose I really need to practice understanding what Irish people saying.

But in all seriousness, I’m admittedly nervous and not all too confident about the challenges to come. During discussions, our program directors Bill and Suzanne have emphasized the importance of always being engaged and thinking profoundly about not just “what” but “why.” I’m afraid that I won’t contribute responses and questions that are profound enough to these discussions. I’m even more worried that I won’t contribute anything that is sustainable in the long-run and useful and profound to Educate Together, that I’ll disappoint myself. I’m not even sure what I can contribute to this incredible, already accomplished and well-established organization. But I’m staying positive and am going to definitely give my job my best, in hopes that I will leave some sort of good impact, big or small, on Educate Together. I’m also terrified that these eight weeks will whirl by and be over before I truly process what is happening. Bill and Suzanne have warned us that sometimes, the transition takes far too long and the period of “active, deep engagement” is, as a result, far too short. I’ve tried to lessen the transition period by reading the Irish news and information about Educate Together, but I’m still unsure of myself.

All I know is that I hope to grow. I hope to gain confidence. I hope to make new friends. I hope to not take any day or anything for granted. I hope to see some of the most beautiful sights in the world. I hope to actively participate in discussions and events. I hope to remain positive and energetic the entire time. I hope I create unforgettable memories. I hope I come back changed for the better. I hope I come back with stories to tell. I hope that I learn from others and am humbled by this experience. I hope to live in the moment. But most importantly, I hope to be engaged through this whole DukeEngage experience and beyond.