“Everything
has to come to an end, sometime.”
―
L. Frank Baum, The Marvelous Land of Oz
The American Fulbrighters in the UK were very lucky to be sent to Belfast last week for a two-day end cap workshop to help us start to wrap up our year. I headed to the airport right after school Wednesday to catch my flight to Northern Ireland, where I stayed until Friday evening. I've never really been any good at goodbyes, and so it was an emotional trip for me, more than I had anticipated it would be. But it was also a fun visit where I was able to make even more happy memories with all my Fulbright friends.
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| I think I can see Northern Ireland! |
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| Hello, Emerald Isle! |
One Wednesday evening, we all met up in the lobby for a late dinner, which gave us lots of time to catch up with each other and hear all the stories. The next morning, we started our workshop at the British Council offices. There were 16 of us there, and we all gave a presentation about our year. It was supposed to be just 15-minutes long, but I don't think a single one of us stuck to that time limit. It's just too hard to tie up a whole year worth of experiences in just 15-minutes! The presentations were all unique and so interesting. I loved catching a little glimpse into all my colleagues' experiences. Although we all had such unique years, we also all shared some common feelings and experiences, too. It was especially comforting to know we weren't alone in some of our challenges.
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| Giving my presentation |
That afternoon, the British Council sent us on a bus tour of Belfast and then later to Titanic Belfast, a museum about the making of the Titanic, which was built in Belfast harbor. Since Jessica, Rebecca and I had already visited the exhibit back in November when we came for my birthday, the three of us buzzed through pretty quickly, then took a little walk. At my request, we popped over to walk past the studio where they are filming "Game of Thrones." We weren't allowed to stop and take photos, but I didn't sneak in a couple cheeky pics!
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| On the ride with Rebecca S., Rebecca W. and Jessica |
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| Quick pic on Jack's staircase during the virtual tour with Cindy, Rebecca and Jessica |
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| There's the studio where "Game of Thrones" is filmed! |
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| This vehicle has an office blue "Game of Thrones" permit! |
Then we walked into the central part of Belfast for a little shopping before our big group dinner. The British Council fed us quite a feast at Pizza Express, which is a popular pizza chain in the UK. I mostly just enjoyed having more time to catch up with my fellow Fulbrighters.
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| We finally found our Irish boyfriends! Mine's even a newsie! |
After dinner, we also popped into a pub for a drink and caught some good Irish music. There was a pick-up band playing at the Duke of York pub, which meant several local musicians just stopped by and started to play together. We loved it!
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| Outside the Duke of York pub |
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| The pub has amazing decor, include whole walls of old Irish bar mirrors. |
Here's a wee video of the music:
Friday morning, we all split into small groups for school visits. My group went to the Belfast Royal Academy, which is funny because this was the same school I visited last July with People to People! Friday's visit was different from my last visit, though, because it was the school's annual sports day. So after we arrived at the school, we all got into a van and our host took us to the school's sports fields to watch some of the action.
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| Cindy, Jim and I at the Belfast Royal Academy |
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| Sports Day in action! |
Later that afternoon, we returned to the British Council's office for a couple more hours. We heard the last two presentations, and then our program leader Maggie talked to us about reverse culture shock. Back in DC at our pre-exchange conference, we'd spent a lot of time talking about the huge adjustments we would have to make upon entering our host countries. It seems like the return home might be just as challenging. We've all really changed this year; I can certainly see the changes in myself. I'll be returning home a different person than the one who left in August, and renegotiating my old/new lives might take some time. Luckily, I'm retuning home to the most supportive network of family, friends and colleagues, and I know just being around them will make re-entry an easier thing to go through.
Saying goodbye to my fellow Fulbrighters was a bit emotional from me. In fact, I pretty much just ran from the room rather than say goodbye to each of them individually--an act of self-preservation, I suppose. It's so hard to know what to say to these people who have meant so much to me on this whole journey, the people who've supported me, laughed with me, cried with me. I suppose there's not much to say except thank you.
I've still got a little over a month in England, which I am deeply thankful for. As I move into the last few weeks here, I know it's sort of the beginning of the end. I'm not quite ready to let it all go and say goodbye, but the end cap workshop did help me take a baby step in that direction. It also reminded me how quickly things come and go and how much we should treasure each day of each experience.
