As our time here in Belfast is coming to an end, it was great to get out and learn more about the history of this great city. It’s hard to understand and relate to the stories about how bad the religious tension was, and still is in some places of Northern Ireland. Hearing people talk about the bombings and beatings that took place regularly during their time growing up has been a very eye opening experience. Our day spent visiting the Peace Wall really helped put the history into perspective and gave us all an idea of the type of tensions between religions. It was cool to see the different art work and graffiti on the walls along with the messages people had written. Not only were people writing their opinions on the wall, but also many inspirational quotes and thoughts about peace that struck home with a lot of us.
It’s depressing to think about all of us splitting up in a couple days, but I can’t wait to see all the great things that everyone accomplishes in their different cities. We have all bonded so well over the past week and have become great friends in such a short period of time. It has been great to spend time with the Maguire family and the whole SCL team while we have been in Belfast. Working with Aimee and Marc has been very enlightening and they have done an excellent job preparing us for the year ahead. It’s a bittersweet feeling as we all spread out across the island to impact the lives of others, and I can’t wait until Thanksgiving when we can all reunite again.
