The second part of our trip to
Northern Ireland we were in Belfast. We were a little nervous going there
because we had heard about some rioting in the weeks preceding our visit. There
was rioting because Protestants and Catholics hold parades throughout the year
and they sing songs and march in each other’s areas. A parade commission was
started so that they could regulate where people marched and they wouldn’t be
marching in each other’s residential regions. Some people decided that they
weren’t going to follow these regulations and that is what caused a stir in
Belfast. Jacquie assured us that we were staying in a safe area though and we
wouldn’t have any trouble. Our hostel was near Queen’s University so there were
lots of students out at night. It was Fresher’s Week, which is where all the
students come back to school, and the freshmen have their first week of college
so it was fun.
On Saturday we had a guided bus
tour of Belfast and we learned about The Troubles there too. A lot of the
information was similar but we went through different parts of the city that
were segregated by high walls. The walls were high enough so that you wouldn’t
be able to throw anything from one side to the next. Our tour guide told us
that they did a survey on both sides asking if people wanted the walls down and
about 20% said definitely take them down, 20% said absolutely not keep them up,
and the rest said they should be taken down but that they weren’t ready for
them to be down yet and to wait. In my lifetime, I have learned about
segregation but I have never seen it so clearly as it was in Northern Ireland.
Later that day we went to the brand
new Titanic Experience. The Titanic was built in Belfast and it is one of the
reasons that the city grew and maintained its workforce. We went through its
building, sinking, and discovery. Since its new, it was very busy but it was a
really cool museum. It had tons of interactive components; my favorite part was
looking down into a glass floor and seeing a virtual video of the Titanic in
the ocean!
This has
been my favorite excursion so far; I learned a lot about the politics of
Northern Ireland and I also got to see a bunch of amazing sites!
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