Joyce Meng

So much has happened over the last week, including a wonderful trip to Northern Ireland, a cheery holiday foray to London, and then major preparations for my Uganda trip. As a testament to how much Givology has grown, last year, it was so simple for me to take off for weeks at a time. Now, with our 2009 Holiday Campaign, partnerships, marketing and outreach work, chapters development, legal paperwork filing, and holiday newsletter series, even when I leave for just a couple of days, I am inundated with new e-mails and items to do when I return. Notably, I have to complete a number of business school and college letters of recommendations for Givology team members and interns. Over the last few days, I’ve spent a lot of time writing these recommendations carefully – with deadlines all compressed in early January, I need to submit before I leave for Uganda.

Trip to Northern Ireland

This entry will need to be short, given that I have a lot to report on. On Tuesday, I took a dreadful 4:00 AM bus to Gatwick Airport, from which I flew to Belfast International Airport. One of my flatmates invited me to visit his home, and I eagerly accepted the invitation. Having been at Oxford for more than a year now, I find it a travesty that I haven’t yet ventured beyond England in the United Kingdom (though I have made it to United Arab Emirates, Italy, and France). My friend had a car, so we had a chance to explore so much! On Tuesday, we started in Derry, the second largest city in Northern Ireland and one of the most historical.

As many of you know, Northern Ireland descended into violent conflict between Catholics and Protestants in the late 1960s, and only recently in the late 1980s, did a peace process bring greater stability to the region. A useful resource to understanding the origins of the “Troubles” can be found at this BBC page. Today, even though peace has been restored, the Catholic and Protestant communities remain segregated de facto and tension remains, as evident in the murals scattered across the city. We visited the Free Derry Museum, located at the center of the Bloody Sunday conflict in 1972. My friend specializes in international relations and is very knowledgeable about the history, politics, and culture of Northern Ireland, so this visit was particularly meaningful. I didn’t just rush around to see the sites, take pictures, and leave – rather, I had a chance to ask questions and try to understand (albeit partially) the complex sociopolitical context of the country.

Regardless, the city of Derry is truly scenic and filled with interesting little shops. We walked along the old city walls, and I had a chance to enjoy a very rare sunny day. Below is a picture of the Guild Hall, the meeting location of the town council.

Afterward, we drove along the Atlantic Coast and visited the quaint seaside towns of Portrush and Portstewart before arriving at Bushmills. Along the drive, I had a chance to see the Mussenden Temple and the Downhill House of the misanthropic Bishop of Derry. I found the scenery stunningly beautiful, especially when set against the sunset. In the cold winter air, I experienced a profound sentiment of desolation when visiting the derelict castle/house, which only contributed further to its appeal. That evening, we had dinner at a really good gastropub in the area, where I ate Irish salmon with roasted root vegetables. Alas, with so much good food this Christmas season, I wonder if I’m getting too spoiled!

On Wednesday, I went to Giant’s Causeway, a really striking geological formation that resembles the back of an armadillo. According to the legend, Finn McCool (an Northern Irish Giant) built the causeway to walk to Scotland to fight Benandonner (his Scottish counterpart). When Benandonner realized he could not win, he ripped up the causeway in his escape to make sure Finn McCool could not follow. [As a random side note, I think Finn McCool is a wonderful name – Grace, I think you should name your next stuffed animal after him!] The rocks were rather slippery, but it was a lot of fun climbing along the causeway and out to the sea. Because of the chemical structure of the basalt, produced from a former volcanic plateau, all the rocks possess a distinctive hexagonal shape.

Then, we took the coastal route to Belfast. Words cannot describe the beauty of the scenic route – even if I wanted to record what I saw in pictures, it would be impossible to capture the serenity and splendor of the bucolic scenes – that wondrous combination of mountain, sea, green hills, wide plains, and ocean coast. For me, the most distinctive aspect of Northern Ireland’s natural environment is the sheer diversity of its geographic features – truly, the country compresses so much natural beauty into a small area.

I found Belfast a very cheery town with joyful lights strewn everywhere (B’festive Belfast). Outside of the city hall, I had a chance to browse a very festive continental market, where I wished that I could have bought everything in sight, from trinkets to decorative items! As a nineteenth century city at the heart of industrialization, Belfast has a very distinctive architectural theme. With reconciliation and stabilization through the peace process, the city has experienced a rebirth of sorts with economic expansion, influx of new immigrants, and revival of tourism. We didn’t stay in Belfast too long, but I found the buildings, such as the Old Customs House, really pretty. The division among the Protestants and Catholics remained evident even in a very compact setting, the former located in more prosperous streets of the city. Because communities tend to self-segregate (other than the intra-faith areas that are prone to disturbance and homemade bombs), public schools tend to not integrate across religious lines, and as a result, one can easily grow up without knowing many people from the “other side”. Truly, the peace process has been one of the greatest successes of the 1990s, but I do hope that one day, the integration of schools would be championed as a further cause. As studies have shown, the best way to combat an individual’s misconceptions or prejudices is for him or her to have one good personal experience with someone from the “other” group.

That evening, I stayed with my friend’s family in Hillsborough, a really picturesque town on the outskirts of Belfast. His family invited me to a really tasty dinner at a local restaurant, where I feasted on smoked haddock and banoffee pie! The next day (Thursday), in the full glory of a brilliant clear day, I had a chance to see the town fully. As a highly secure and peaceful area, Hillsborough contains many important government residences. For example, Hillsborough Castle is an official government residence for the Secretary of State of Northern Ireland and the official residence in Northern Ireland for the HM Queen Elizabeth II and other members of the British Royal Family when they visit the region. I think Hillsborough would be a wonderful place to grow up –it has the charming feel of a small New England town with plenty of fresh air and delightful shops, but with the benefits of a large city nearby and beautiful coasts, mountains, and sea for weekend trips.

Afterward, we drove along the country roads to the seaside town of Newcastle, situated at the foot of the Mourne Mountains. Evidently, according to my friend, it only takes about half a day to ascent to the summit. One day, I hope to return to hike this mountain! Especially in the spring, I can easily imagine taking a weekend off to hike, bike along the seaside coastal roads, and taking in the fresh air and beautiful scenes. After Newcastle, we drove to Strangford Lough, another seaside town. We took a ferry across the Lough to Portaferry on the Ards Peninsula, which I thoroughly enjoyed! I cannot imagine a more enchanting setting with the deep blue of the lough framing the pleasant township bordering its waters. We had a tasty seafood lunch in Portaferry, before returning back to the car for a delightful drive back to Belfast International Airport. We made a few detours to villages along the way, and I truly marveled at the captivating scenery. We had some extra time, so we returned to Belfast to properly see the campus of Queen’s University Belfast, founded in 1810. By then, it was extremely dark so the pictures I took of the magnificent main entrance turned out to appear rather ghoulish.

Unfortunately, getting back to London turned out to be a disaster. Unknown to me, a blizzard (by English standards) had hit London so all planes were delayed. My easyjet flight turned out to be the last plane allowed to land at Gatwick airport. As you can imagine, landing a plane under severe adverse weather conditions is not particularly amenable to a comfortable flight. Due to poor traffic conditions, my bus ended up being about two hours late – by then, I had already wasted an hour and a half waiting outside in the freezing weather. I arrived back at Oxford at 3:15 AM, stumbled into bed, and awoke the next day somewhat bewildered.

Reflections

I had wanted to write this entry for ages, and I know that even if I attempted to capture everything, I would inevitably fall short. I am deeply thankful to my friend for taking the time to show me the splendors of Northern Ireland, planning such a comprehensive itinerary, and answering all my questions while driving! Not being able to go home for Christmas, I really enjoyed the homestay experience and appreciate the kindness of my friend and his family. Even though I look forward to going to Uganda, I miss my family very terribly. Having been away from home so long, my homesickness has turned into a dull ache that never seems to leave me, rather than the tear-inducing hysteria of years past. Yet, what I would give to return home to Grace, mom, and dad to celebrate Christmas all together! From calling home, I can just imagine a very cold house (dad doesn’t turn up the heat), but warm hugs, lots of green tea, erhu music, a big tasty ham or turkey, the smell of dad’s fresh bread, mom’s excited chatter, long gaming and vid-watching sessions with Gracie, and most of all, family time together – may it be shopping, taking a walk, running outside, sharing a hot pot together, or leisurely strolling in Washington DC. This year marks the third year that I have missed Christmas at home – hopefully, also the last.

I’ll post up a short entry about my quick foray to London and my preparations for Uganda a bit later – I have too much to do.

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