Where do I start? 10 amazing days in Belfast, the trip to Letterkenny, and valuing the word trust more and more each day haha.
So on August 22, 2017, I can honestly say my life wouldn’t be the same after that day. Feelings of anxiety, nervous, excitement, exploration, adventure and more (feel free to insert any adjective you can think of). After 10 days in Belfast, there are not enough words to describe my emotions. Coming together with 23 different strangers, who are sharing the same emotions and thoughts as you. 23 different personalities, cultures and futures; all coming together to try to make a change and have an impact on multiple lives. I guess it is safe to say, that those 23 strangers are all 23 new friends, currently residing in the city of Belfast!
Belfast was so beautiful, from the street art to the people. Everybody here is nice, I guess coming from New York you don’t see that as much haha! Everything is so different out here, from the language/slang, food, accents, to driving on the other side of the road. The language/slang component is the most intriguing for me. For example: Wee= little, Boot= trunk or sneakers, Kits= jerseys, stag=bachelor, hen=bachelorette, and etc… It’s going to take me a wee bit of time, but by the end of the year, I will be a natural. Nevertheless, people actually look up to us and value our well being. We are kind of like superstars out here, people are so fascinated with us, it is so cool. It is so amazing how caring and genuine everyone is, especially the children. Knowing you can have an impact on a random person’s life, is what makes sport changes life some important.
Now let’s speak about the trip to Letterkenny. The car ride to Letterkenny was the longest/most crammed trip I’ve ever taken. Our designated driver (I won’t mention names haha), had forgotten to clean out his car. So getting our luggage inside of the car was the ultimate workout. However, 2 hours later, I arrived in one of the cleanest, most beautiful cities I’ve ever come across. The people here welcomed us victory scholars with open arms, even making us an amazing lunch. Our landlord is a great lad, one of the funniest people I’ve ever met.
The main thing I’ve gotten out of this journey so far,” is valuing the word “Trust.” Even Though you are with other victory scholars, you’re inevitably on your own. In order for you to make progress each day, you have to trust strangers. Even at the beginning of the program, you had to trust the other scholars in order to develop a bond. Just think about it, 24 kids from various places in America coming to a brand new country. Getting a new start, starting a new journey with new people, trust is key. The other day it really hit me, I’m really trusting people I do not know. I’m getting into random cars, going into random homes, getting food with random people, not knowing them from a fly on the wall. However, that’s all about growing up, you must step out of your comfort zone. When stepping out of your comfort zone, you must trust the process and as of now, I’m doing really well! Whelp, enough of my babbling because I can keep going. Check out my blog post next week! CHEERS!
Fun Fact-Since Faith, Mak and I are all from New York, we received the nickname “the yanks” haha. So whenever we’re in public, or a huge group chat we’re known as the yanks over here (like the Yankees)! I don’t know, I guess it’s kind of cool!
