It was a 'Grand' experience.....so it was!

...Gosh! My last day in Belfast!!! What an unexpected experience!
So crazy how things turned in the end and how i ended up in Belfast! I still can't believe my Irish luck!!! I've had such an inspiring time here and met soo many interesting people...artists, youthleaders, community workers, drunkards, spides, French, clowns, Natty Wailer (allegedly The Wailer from Bob Marley!), millies, performers, musicans, Gerry Adams, Kenyan, Polish, more drunk irish, x-prisoners, Orange band members, Sinn Fein members, Priests etc.....i'm forgetting soo many but u see what i mean....

Had a lovely goodbye lunch with my organization...They were soo nice! And am having dinner with my lovely housemates Amrita and Marc and will thereafter go partying into the night to say my goodbyes at the Spring and Airbrake 'Extraordinary Sensations'! Hopefully then be waking up in time to catch my easyjet flight 6771 arriving in Amsterdam at 12:35! So hopefully i see you there and otherwise really soooooooon! nI'll tell you all about it when i get home...so many spaces to fill....

...The sun is shining bright today in Belfast and i'm really going to miss it all!!!

Lovely Easter Spring with duck eggs and cute lambs in Gweedore!

Community Dialogue in Dundalk!

After a crazy friday night with rowdy Belfast youth and police confrontation (not sure of the content...but quite some sectarian chanting taking place!) on the streets and the wild owneresses of the Spuds kicking out a drunk customer with violent physical force....and a knife!:O (on red high heels and bleached blond hair might i add) i woke up really early saturday morning to catch my 6.50am train to Dundalk!
I was off to Dundalk for a residential organized by Community Dialogue who i had earlier contact with. They organize these residentials about once a month and get a cross-section of all communities to participate. Even though the emphasis was on dialogue this gave me a great opportunity to hear all the different views, as well as see the interaction between the communities take place.
It was a beautiful trainride to Dundalk (though i dozed off most of it;) and suddenly and quite unexpectantly to be honest, realised i was in Ireland haha (all the signs were in Gaelic) whilst i thought i would be on the edge off the Northern Irish border. But anyhow funny misunderstanding to find yourself in another 'country'. The only inconvienience was that i had no euros on me.
Anyway i was 1 and a half hours too early (cause the next train would arrive too late) and waited. We were in a sort of cconference hall and everyone trikkeld in and guess who decided to sit next to me? A Kenyan! haha....the only 'dark' man there and he was from Kenya and he knows Braeburn (the school i went to there!) Very cooincidentel as one would not easily bump into a Kenyan here.

Mediation Training at CTRC!

I just had my first day of mediation training! Its a training organised by the New Belfast org (NBCAI) for artists who will be working on cross community projects in the future! It's a 2 day course (next thursday) and is given by the Director/Mediator of the Conflict Trauma Resource Centre. I had initially asked to just observe the sessions but instead i was invited to participate! Yes!:) It's a great opportunity for me to take this training as well as have the insights of the artists involved and hear about the issues they have to deal with whilst working on community arts projects! A great focus group!
By the way i just discovered that the Director/Mediator is a former paramilitary and has served a life sentence in the Maze Prison for his activities as a member of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)! Interesting info to know after hand....ahum. No but seriously i wouldn't have imagined this at all! He's such a lovely man...soo calm and friendly...i guess people can change their paths and He's a living proof!
I really look forward to the next session!

Circus & Corrymeela

...

Missing the first lecture!!!

I am supposed to be in room F-123 (W&N building, VU Amsterdam) at 13.30 today...but i am not!
As some of you may already know...i'm hanging around here in Belfast a 'wee' bit longer!;) Considering that i missed my first month of research (due to unforeseenable circumstances ahum...ref my first blog) i have been given extension on my stay here by the faculty...thankyou very much!:) Even though things have been going well for my research and i have obtained alot of information since i've been here i still feel i need some more time. I came here without any background info or specific research plan and just dove into it all! Basically i became very flexible...as i had to! I am really glad with these extra few weeks (still haven't pinpointed a date) and will use it to round up my research and get the focus necessary! However, this extra time here still puts me at a disadvantage to my fellowclassmates (timewise) and will miss many seminars etc.!
But what i feel i will miss most is not being there today to see everybody together and 'fresh' back from research!:( I wish i could be there to share the first meetings and experiences of everybody...!
But I'm sure Elena (my partner in crime;) will fill you in to many Belfast experiences too! Waved her goodbye yesterday early morning! It would be strange not having her around i'm sure...we lived together for 2 months! We had a good 'craic' together and it was good to be able to discuss the developments of our research with eachother as well as the 'natives'...hihihi!
So guys...keep some stories for me eh!;) Enjoy being back and watch out for the culture shock!!!;)

...

Our friendly neighbourhood police station...ahum!

Weekend....

Shared Future Policy Conference!

Went to Cookstown today, a city south of Northern Ireland. Had to change two buses to get there very early in the morning...yawn! I got to see some of the countryside though which was nice. It was thus a conference setup by the Community Relations Council and one i thought would be worth signing up for...considering my research. I felt a bit out of place when i entered...i was the only 'student' there. I sat way at the bak at a table, it was full of round tables. They had some speakers takling about the shared future policy and how much it has been implemented up till now. Afterwards there were dicussions

Derry & Donegall with Jero!

INTERFACE
Thursday i went to a lunch organized by Interface: Centre for Research in Art, Technology and Design. It was a great opportunity for me because representatives from many art and conflict related orgainzations were invited to have a discussion on (very concidently...or not) my research question!!! So it was really good information and feedback for me (and yummy salmon bites;)!

St. Partick' s Day

Replay

Replay is theatre organization i met up with last week.They produce theatre and plays for schools and provide educational packages with it. They are also involved in 'confidence building' and promoting good and positive behavior in schools using arts-based activities. I was thus invited to come along to one of these sessions...it wasn't cross-community but did give me a chance to go to another school and talk to the students and the teachers! It was pretty fun too! The boys (It was a boys school...many schools are segragated) got to learn some DJ-ing. Two professional Dj's came along with all their gear and 3 sets of turn tables and taught the boys to listen to the beat and to scratch! I learned a thing or two myself;). The facilitators of the project were very interesting to talk to as they had been involved in theatre for long and provided me with some good info and contacts!

Irish Music festival & the Mourne Mountains!

The Century Celebration!

Today was 'The Day!' The day that everybody at New Belfast (org) had been working on! I unfortunately felt horrible when i woke up that day....I had a horrible sore throat and had no energy and motivation...:s

...Updates explanation!

First of all you must have been wondering about the unfinished updates and those with none!...Oops! Well...my only explanation is that i haven't gotten around to filling them in yet!:s I haven't had a chance yet to sit and do so...believe it or not! I've just had quite a busy and intense time, running in an out etc. meeting people, appointments etc.etc. And my only chance of internet access is at the New Belfast office (God bless them). I was using the internet cafe in the begining but it was not very realistic...or comfortable!
Anyhow i shall try my best to recall and update and...this time with pictures...yeh!:)
So if you scroll down then you should find the pictures in the appropriate logs... though it may take a while but i will slowly but surely put them all up...asap!

By the way tomorrow is a big event...'The Century Celebrations', The City Hall is 100years old so New Belfast Community Arts are having a day full of activities in the Ulster Hall! It's a very important research day for me as all the community groups they have worked with will be having performances and workshops etc. So it's going to be a big mix of people and very cross-community...wink...wink;) It is also open to the public and is free enterance....so should be busy. I actually went 'flyering' around the city last week to promote the event (so i made sure people will come...important for my research hihi).
So i will be carrying alot of interviews etc. And i shall also be putting up a small stand where people can make some drawings...and will hand out some camera's for photo elicitation interviews.
*And guess what?...i'm gettin visitors again!:) Talita & Judith are coming tomorrow! Its really Great timing actually cause they are both art teachers and i'm sure they will enjoy the day too and plus they can help me out and might do some volunteering;) There will be more than 500 people coming so i can't be everywhere!
Unfortunaltey it started raining again since yesterday and i've caught a sore throat....and i have to talk all day tommorrow so wish me luck! I will let u know how it went.....i really don't know what to expect....!

EMU and the Interface Project

EMU stands for Education for Mutual Understanding

Sisters & Sightseeing!

Saturday: My sissies arrived Saturday afternoon! It was really good to see them! Took them immediately on a grand tour of the city. We basically did the Sandy Row (Protestant neighbourhood) and Falls (Catholic)! It was interesting to hear their reactions and see how they percieved the murals etc.
The New Mooon show case was on at the Crescent again that evening so it was a good opportunity for them to meet everyone and have a good time!

Sunday:We woke up really early the next day to catch up the bus to Giants Causeway! I had been waiting for this since i came to N.Ireland! I had been in the city for a month and was itching to see some countryside and nature! Having my sisters here gave me a good opportuniy and excuse to get out atlast!;) Elena's friend also was over so we all went as a big group! It was a lovely drive and we met all four seasons on the way there...(hail, snow,sun...) but luckily always dry and sunny when we stepped out!
'Me and Naseema in front of a castle ruin'

Womens Day...Ash Wednesday...and more *snow!

I know it's not officially Women's day today but i did celebrate it!;) I had made some contacts at the multicultural resource centre and they invited me to this 'afternoon of pampering'! The reason we celebrated it on this day was because the organizor was from Romania...and their Women's day falls on the 1st! Anyway no complaints there cause i got pampered!Yohooo!:) I did however feel slightly strange to be there cause all almost all the women there were with little children...making me feel....well 'young' i guess.
The women were from all parts of the world and are here for different reasons (marraige/work/study etc.). It was good to talk to them and hear some of their views of Northern Ireland. Ethnic minorities is quite a big issue here at the moment becuse of increased racism and discrimination...! It's actually not very surprising...i mean these guys can't tolerate eachother (even looking the same etc.) how can they others?! Very unfortunate!
I recieved a 'Metamorphosis'...a sort of pressure therapy on my feet and hands...didn't feel a thing to be honest but apparently it could work anytime. Also got a manicure too for the first time in my life...though it was a bit tough for the lady as i have almost no nails...ahum!
As for Ash Wednesday...well it was more of a discovery whilst walking into town. The first person i saw i thought they had a bruise or something but then more and more people walked by and yes it was ash indeed! It's funny...i hadn't seen that since Karachi (I went to a convent school)! Anyway...its interesting for an anthropologist i guess the indicator...one of the only days you can really differentiate between the Protestants and Catholics hihi...ofcourse not all do it...but still!

*Snow

Yes! It also snows in Northern Ireland indeed! It's really wierd somehow...i thought atleast...Its also wierd to see the surrounding hills (did i mention you can see the hills from the city centre?...well you can) Well these were all white instead of their usual green...interesting site!

btw. The alleged 'bombscare' was a robbery!...well that's what the police guy told me!

"Motion" and...Queens!

So there is perhaps a bomb scare right outside our office right now! It's just a few metres away...ahum! The roads been blocked and cutoff for traffic and the army guys and buses are here. Not that anyone is 'scared' here in the office....but still its not very 'common' anymore to have them these days. I guess i'll find out more on the news tonight...or i'll ask one of the army guys outside....no worries though...it doesn't seem that serious.....

Was at Queens University today having made an appointment with the teacher of Anthropology of Art. It was really nice...funny enough she turned out to be dutch and had studied at the UVA! So we were speaking in dutch which felt abit wierd after not having used it for some time. She was also really enthusiastic about my subject too which nice and invited me to join her lectures if i fancied to!
Am off now to the Grosvenor community centre again tonight for the girls dancing lessons. I interviewed the girls from the Protestant side last week and this week its their turn.
Wish me luck....

*So finally after a week of freezing in our cold house we got our heating oil....but that wasn't the end of the story because it still didn't work after...shit! Finally it turned out that there was an airlock in the pipes...and by the time that got fixed...brrrr. Yesterday though a 'Knight in shining spanner' arrived and fixed it! Hurray!:) Warmth again atlast...or atleast as much as our originally freezing house permits!

Lyric Theatre & Linen Hall Library!

I was at the Lyric Theatre today. It is one of the most prominent Theatres in Belfast and was one which stayed open to audiences during the "Troubles". It's pretty small and old but yet provides many facilities for people in wheelchairs, the blind, signing for the deaf, and head sets too! Isn't that great? I've never heard of these facilities in Holland! I did an interview there with the organizer of an outreach initiative, and got some really good feedback!

p.s.still no heating tonight...brrrrrrr

Shankill tonight!

Tonight i'll be off to the Shankill area (a Prostestant neighbourhood) . There's another rounding up of a "Trash Fashion" project! Should be interesting again to go to. Will let you know how it went...'The girls in their outfits which they designed and created from recycled or secondhand materials'

*Some Annoyances; My budget is quickly running out... have been spending my sterling english pounds like i would euros (don't bother converting each time) ....and its more expensive here (most things get shipped cause its an island)...not good!:s
Came home last night and the heating stopped working! Apparently one has to fill up the tank with oil yourself, plus its not included in the rent...gulp! So there was no hot water this morning either, plus its freeeeezing in the whole house!

The dancing initiative and BEAT!

Last night i went to the Grosvenor Community Centre in West Belfast for the dance lessons project. It was really exciting for the girls...and for me ofcourse. The girls got salsa lessons from a Columbian lady. So it was i think the first time for many of the girls to meet up with girls from 'the otherside' let alone a foriegner. This confrontation was interesting for me to observe. I shall be following these girls once a week.

Went looking for the 'Beat initiative' today in East Belfast. It's a carnival orgainzation which do many cross-community works, so a very interesting orgainzation for me. It's close to an interface area and a 'hotspot' so to speak. Many segragated areas are sometimes literally around the corner to eachother so you can imagine what close confrontation can do....the whole area infront of it looks like an urban battlefield.
'The hanger in which all the props of the carnival etc. are kept'

Weekend in St. Columbs Park!

I had a really good and inspirational weekend in Derry!
I took a bus at 6.45 Saturaday morning (crazy i know;) and arrived in foggy Derry (just the way i remembered it from last time on Bloody sunday...fog, fog...and more fog!;).

I woke up so early to be able to take part in and observe an orientation weekend for community workers and artists interested in a project (Phakama) who are setting up projects for marginalised societies (mostly ethic minorities) using artbased approaches. We basically carried out such activites ourselves to experince them first hand and get to know eachother. We were an interesting group of people ranging froms clowns to representatives from the Indian and Chinese community .
Learnt some really good art-based 'group-building' techniques. Also got my first interviews done (yes!) with the art faciliatators who have been carrying out many cross-community projects. It was somewhat of a detour to Derry i guess but still very relevant to my research and basically had a good 'craic' too!;)
Also went to an opening at an art gallery and had some really good chinese!

'That's us...the facilitators and the youth leaders standing in some branchy construction!'

Am off to the Dance project now....exciting! Will tell you how it went tomorrow!

p.s. I elaborated on my unfinished blogs below for those wondering at the spaces and ...'s

Meeting

Joined a meeting with community youth leaders at the Crescent Arts centre, one of the other organizations i'm working with. It was about a project which is being setup for 11year old girls from two community centres (one from West Belfast and one from South) I mentioned earlier. They will basically be following dance lessons together, from all over the world (Japanese/Indian etc.) and will be exchanging venues each time. The dance lessons aren't excatly the kind of art-based approach i was looking for but i'm still very interested in this particualr project to observe the interaction between these groups of girls who would otherwise not have met.
Oops...have to go buy some ingredients before the shops close...i'm cooking Pakistani food for the natives tonight!;)

...Gerry Adams!

There was a launch of the Hungerstrike commerorations at the Europa Hotel where Gerry Adams was the main speaker. So we HAD to be there ofcourse!!!;) And we were! We just entered the hotel and the conference room with no problem and Gerry was soon hanging around there with everyone else! It wasn't such a big happening as one might imagine but the small conference hall was soon packed. There were speeches made by some ex-prisiners and some family members of the hungerstrikers. It was a pretty short event, so the speeches were thankfully not soo long and draggy. So basically it was just a nice opportunity to have been there and to have seen Gerry Adams too (not that that's soo relevant for my research...but still u know;)
'That's him...chilling out!;)'

This afternoon I had a meeting with a lady carrying out research on community arts in Northern Ireland which was real handy, recieving many tips for orgs and literature etc. I still have a lot to catch up on!
Went to a fashionshow at a community centre in East Belfast (where i hadn't been yet). It was a rounding up of a past project (trash Fashion) for young girls which was interesting to have seen. Plus an opportunity to be in a community centre and check it out.

City tour, Murals, Music.....

I actually stumbled upon the director of 'The Wedding' play in a cafe a couple of days later! (Belfast is small ;) I approached him and will hopefully be setting up an interview with him soon! Thursday night we were invited to an opening at an art gallery, giving me another opportunity to check out the existing 'arts scene' in Belfast...which was nice!
Friday: Did some archiving research on reports and evaluations of previous projects at the arts initiative which is really handy! Thankfully all records are kept in conjunction with funding and self-evaltuaions etc.
Elena and i decided to take one of those city bus tours to get our bearings and some info etc. I have never been on a city bus tour (always think they're soo cheesy...and they are!;) But it did help to be viewing the city from atop (its an open double decker...and we were freeezing). The tour guide also made some corny tourist 'jokes' about the bombings etc. (which i guess is a good sign i suppose..if u can make jokes about it). We got a look at some of the 'peacelines' running throught the city and the divisions of the area.



Sunday: This day marked the commerorations of the Hungerstrike which took place 25 years ago. This is another 'landmark' in Irish history when 15 IRA and INLA republican prisoners in a British jail undertook a fast to retain their status as political prisoners. Ten of them died in consequence as the British government, led by Margaret Thatcher, demanded they be classified as criminals!
In honour of the hungerstrikers a new mural was unveiled on Falls rd. Elena and i went to see this. There are already as u can imagine already plently of murals commerorating the hungerstrikers but i guess this anniversary gave an opportunity to paint a new one! This particualr one only shows two of them.
After the ceremony we walked around the area taking fotos of the murals etc. We then decided to crossover to the 'otherside' to the Skankill Rd (the loyalist/protestant area). We walked through i guess what u would call an interface area, open space and some gates covered with paintings. Once on the 'otherside' we were approached by a group of very small 'gangster looking' kids (if i may say so...sorry) asking if we were 'Finn'ians'!(as in from the Sinn Fein, the republican side). They were only about 10yrs old! My first confrontation with sectratianism!
We walked along Shankill Rd. which has many murals too. and many Union Jacks Flags!
Anyway, we wanted to then crossover to the 'otherside' again but it had already gotten late past 6 which means all the gates close...which meant we had to walk all the way around! Fun!:s
That evening we went to the Culturlann (an Irish Culture centre) to an Irish music concert which was really good. This was a 'real' concert i guess, as apposed to the pub ones, the musicans also did some strytelling inbetween which was funny. I must say though i prefer listening to the music in a pub environment cause its more relaxed and its the kindof music which makes you want t get up an dance (not that anyone does unfortunately...but still) Anyway it was good fun.

'The Wedding'

No i didn't actually go a wedding yet!;)
Yesterday I got to see the footage of a community play which took place some years ago. A really ambitous 'cross-community' project ! It got community theatre groups from 'both sides' to get involved in making a play together and to influence the script. They actually switched roles...The Catholics played the Protestans and vice versa. It was called the 'Wedding' about a mixed marriage between a Catholic and a Protestant. The play first started off in a Catholic neighbourhood in someones house then the audience moved to the Protestants neigbourhood they then followed it to the church where they got 'married' with a party following afterwards in a pub where everyones mingled etc. I found this to be a really interesting concept as it is the excatly the kind of project i would be interested to follow. Its a pity its already taken place but I have however managed to get hold of the evaluation of the project and will try and meet up with the script writer/director and organizers soon!

*The sun is shining today again atlast!!! I just realised i haven't seen it all week! Its a really grey and gloomy place otherwise...and yesterday rained the whole day (yucky:s) the reason why there are so many pubs here maybe?!;)

Irish Music and Pubs!

What have i been upto these last few days? Well, the title speaks for itself i guess!;) But seriously, I have basically been out 'researching' to see what 'culture' Belfast city has to offer! Its just part of my research and a tough job i must say!;) I will try slot in some fotos as soon as i get the chance to.
Wednesday: Got my first real taste of traditional Irish music. Lovely! The musicans simply sit around a given table with drinks on them (you guessed it...Guinesses;) And they just play when they 'feel' like it. You get the fiddle, the guitar and the flutes (my favourite) and other instruments which i forgot the names of. I really enjoyed it cause it seemed to me more spontaneous and less forced like in a performance on stage. I can't really tell good irish music from bad but it all sounds lovely to me...maybe in the end i will have acquired a more critical taste.
Thursday: I walked into Crescent Arts Centre (another community arts org) to spread my horizons and meet up with the organizers there. There happens to be a really exciting project about to take place soon which i hope to be able to follow. It is a project working with teenage girls from both sides of the 'marginalized
communities', as they say, attempting to bring them together at venues on both sides (which is still a very sensitive issue in many parts). So it is quite 'ground breaking' so to speak and a great opportunity to follow this as i can be able to see and follow the beginings of such a project.
Visited another irish pub with irish music...really cosy. Met a girl who was a soloist singer for the Riverdance Show which tours around Europe!...even got a taste of it as she joined the musicans later on.

Friday: Got some more information on other art initiatives at the Forum. As many projects take place only once a week i hope to be able to follow more at a time to get a better understanding and fill up my time more constructively.
Met an arts student at a cafe and got a grand tour of the Arts college here. There are many students making art 'inspired' by the conflict (as one can imagine) and will try and hook up with some of them.
Visited another pub with irish music....
Saturday: New Belfast (the community arts organization) has been busy with a mural project for some years now since the Good Friday Agreement. They're getting communities to get involved in 're-facing' their areas . As you may know there are many segragated areas in Belfast and many of these are literally divided by walls etc. Many murals are painted in these areas marking territories and potraying in many cases agressive depictions and paramilitary propaganda. Its a really interesting project as its attempts to create more positive images and actually paint over the existing ones. The community get a chance thus to take control and to have a say in as well as design the images on the walls. This was not the case before ofcourse as these walls and buildings were 'taken over' by the 'gangs' on both sides of the community.

So i shall hopefully be able to catch one of these mural projects in action!!!
Visited The Crown Saloon, a Victorian style pub dating back to 1826, very pretty and carved completly out of wood. Its a 'neutral' place where one is not allowed to enter with football shirts or sing nationalistic songs. It was apparently owned by a Catholic/Protestant couple who wanted to be able to create a place where all could meet. One should be able to see it on a webcam.
'So here it is...nice and Victorian'

Went that night to the Cresent Arts Centre to the New Moon Party. Really fun!...kind of 'kraker' and full of poeple from the 'arts scene' basically, so a good chance to 'network' etc too. Also it is meant to be a place where 'everyone' from both sides of the community can come to so is an 'neutral place'. They basically start out with diverse performances and had a really cool surfer band playing from Berlin this! I was really lucky to get in though cause it was actually 'sold out'...the new Belfast crew sneaked me in at the back hihihi...

Sunday: Had a lazy sunday together with Elena. Took a stroll into town, had lunch and caught a movie.

Hope to meet up with a student from the Arts Research Centre who has been carrying out research on community arts for 2 yrs already. It'll be great to get some insights and discuss this topic with her.