Thursday, March 20, 2014

Happiness


In honor of the International Day of Happiness:

Matthew 5:3-10

3 Blessed are the poor in spirit,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
    for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
    for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
    for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
    for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
    for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
    for they will be called children of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Instead of reading it as "blessed," we can read it as "happy" for our happiness, our joy, comes from the Lord. 

3 Happy are the poor in spirit,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4
Happy are those who mourn,
    for they will be comforted.
Happy are the meek,
    for they will inherit the earth.
Happy are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
    for they will be filled.
Happy are the merciful,
    for they will be shown mercy.
Happy are the pure in heart,
    for they will see God.
Happy are the peacemakers,
    for they will be called children of God.
10 
Happy are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 


Share the love today (and all days). Smile at someone you don't know (and someone you do know). Give your spouse, significant other, or best friend that one thing that makes them wiggle with pleasure (and then give them something else). Smile some more (just because you can). 

If you don't feel like smiling at the moment, if you're finding yourself in a rut today or this week, if you think it's just going to get worse, put that aside for a few minutes. Allow yourself to be happy even for just a few moments despite the current struggle. It may be difficult, but it may just be worth it.

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Drawbacks



Living in Belfast (well, Norn Iron in general) comes with its drawbacks. 



Roads blocked because of protests/parades - There has been a Loyalist protest at Twaddell Avenue since last July because they are upset (as if I really know what they're really feeling) with a decision made by the Parades Commission. The road is blocked every night from 7:30-8:30. We use this road daily.

 

Belfast Lord Mayor Máirtín Ó Muilleoir hangs paintings by local artist William Conor in the City Hall's Lord Mayor's Parlour. The two paintings are Orangemen 1918 and The Hurlers 1948.Being hyper-vigilant about what you say and to whom you are saying it.  A few weeks ago, the Lord Mayor of Belfast visited the Quaker Meeting I attend. After the meeting, he spoke with Steffi and I about Quaker Cottage for a bit. During the talk, he asked us which road we take to come down the mountain. There are two roads: the Ballygomartin which heads down into a Protestant area and the Whiterock which heads into a Catholic area. In a backdoor sort of way, he was asking which side we supported more. Although he seemed like a very nice man trying to right the wrongs of the past, this question seemed out of place and inappropriate. This is the way conversations can often go. People just have a way of knowing whether someone is Catholic or Protestant based solely on what you say. Don't you dare let on that you're from Ardoyne (Catholic neighborhood) if you're in the Shankhill (Protestant neighborhood). Should I say Derry, Londonderry, Derry~Londonderry? Gotta be careful which sports team you claim to support. Even the way you pronounce letters (H can be 'aitch' or 'haitch' depending on where you're from) can tip someone off.

Security alerts - We had a security alert today in the neighborhood of one of our afterschool children and nearby several others. This forced us to make phone calls to their mums, reroute our bus runs, and find ways to avoid the roads that were closed off or severely backed up. A security alert essentially means that there could be a bomb/pipebomb/suspicious bag in the area. This is not the first time that I've dealt with a security alert. Sometime before Christmas, Becky, Steffi, and I ventured down to the City Centre. On the walk there, we passed by a cathedral. An hour later, we walked back along the same route and found the area around the cathedral cordoned off by police officers. Once home, I found this article. Essentially, a bomb had exploded nearby where I had walked an hour earlier. 

And on that note, I'm not sure if I'll ever get used to seeing police officers walking around in full body armour and carrying assault rifles.

Roads closed because of closed gates - In certain areas of the city, there are peace lines in place. Basically, they're walls that cut off one neighborhood from another. There are some roads that cross these lines, so they have gates on them. Although I've only been blocked by a gate once so far, the potential annoyance is there. I understand the purpose they serve, but man it would be great if they weren't necessary.


I have been told that you can't truly understand the situation in Northern Ireland unless you live there, and after six months here, I have to say that I still question the extent of my understanding. In fact, I'm not even sure if anything I just wrote might be construed as inappropriate or choosing sides.


Sunday, March 9, 2014

New Mums

I need to start this post off with a confession...  I wore my socks on the wrong feet last week. Some of my socks have the letters "L" and "R" on them, and for the first time since I bought them who knows how long ago, I did not abide by the letters on my feet. And you know what? It was totally freeing! As my co-workers will readily tell you, I maybe, kinda, sorta am a wee bit OCD about certain things. I just like things to be neat and ordered. Anyway, I wore my socks on the wrong feet and have do so twice more since then.

It's been awhile since my last update. The biggest change since then is that eight new families have started their year at the cottage. It's very exciting to meet the new families. Each family brings a new story and a fun new experience. They each bring with them the hardships that they have faced, but the hope is that with time and a bit of effort, they will learn something from Quaker Cottage or find something in themselves that will bring them back to stability. The previous group that started in October seemed particularly difficult. Some of the mums were (and still are) in a bad place, and they bring that mood with them when they come up the mountain. Despite it being difficult at times to deal with this, I am so glad that they have the opportunity to come to Quakers. Now, the reason I am mentioning the previous group is to illustrate the contrast between them and the new group. The new group is (so far) energetic, garrulous, and flirtatious . You may be asking how I know they're flirty. Ahem....Well, uh....Being that I am the only young male worker that they see at Quakers, it's easy for them to find a target.

Here's the story. It was their first day coming to Quaker Cottage, and I was lucky enough to be driving the bus while we went out to pick everyone up. My supervisor was in the back of the bus in order to chat with them. The first mum we picked up was the protagonist (or antagonist, whichever way you want to see it) of this story. She steps onto the bus, and my supervisor introduces me to her. She gives me a look and proceeds to compliment my smile and say how wonderful it is to meet me. I wasn't thinking too much of it at this point, but my supervisor was. She was the real instigator of it all. She continued to mention me in conversation throughout the rest of the bus ride and telling the mum that she should sit up front beside me. So as fate would have it, the mums did not all fit in the back of the bus (they had their babies with them too), so this mum, who happened to not have any babies with her, had to sit up front. At that point, the mum began the heavy flirting. Among other things, she said, "Well, I have a boyfriend, but I've only been seeing him for like two weeks, so it's not anything serious." Trying to be professional, I just talked to her like I would anyone else, but somehow my being nice came off as returning the flirts. Eventually, I was getting embarrassed because the other mums were a bit clued in on our conversation. It was at this point that I made a huge mistake. Because the back of the bus doesn't have vents, I had the heat blasting and that leaves the front extremely warm. Well, I was just too hot, so I turned to the back and said, "Is everyone warm back there? Because it's getting hot up here!" Instantly, I knew I had dug myself a hole. But it was too late...the words had already come out. My supervisor's response? "Oh, you're hot? Well, I think "Amber" is in heat!"

The next six months will certainly not be dull.

Speaking of six months, I am officially halfway done with my term of service here in NI. Not sure how I feel about that.

I suppose I should talk about the new children too. The babies are fun. Whenever we have a new group start, we have to be extra prepared to deal with crying babies. On that first day, one toddler had fallen asleep on the bus, so when he woke up in a new place surrounded by strangers, it must have been like the whole world had crashed down around him. I have never seen a child cry so violently. He was dry-heaving in between gasps for air and body-shaking sobs. This continued for what felt like an hour but was likely half that long. I was certain he was either going to be sick or pass out from exhaustion. And once one child start crying, the others followed shortly after. Thankfully, they were easier to calm down.

I still haven't met all of the new afterschoolers, but I have met the new preteen group. Here's a quick story from one of the new boys. We had just finished an egg challenge where we wrap up an egg with whatever you can find and then drop it from up high. After unwrapping it and discovering it was still intact, one boy grabbed the egg and, without a thought, smashed it on his head. The kids were all laughing, and the staff stood there in a semi-shocked speechlessness. Yes, what he did was funny, but we see this type of behavior from a different light. This boy is a glutton for attention. He instantly loved me because I am American, and he loves all things American. Does he really love everything about America, or is he trying to find a source of attention from me? He is unable to sit still when we're all having discussions and is continuously cutting into other people's conversations. Basically, his social skills are not where they should be. Through our interactions with him, we can see that something is likely missing from home or school, and just like we do for all of the children, we attempt to help them learn the skills they are missing or need work on while they're with us.


Outside of work, I went on an overnight trip/hike with the Ireland Young Friends group that I have connected with. Although the hike was somewhat disappointing, the time with this group is always good craic. It's like going back to camp.











I went to a park with Becky and Steffi last weekend and saved a bird caught in fishing line. It took ages, and the bird was not a happy chappy. I felt like I was in one of those commercials that shows workers cleaning oil off of coastal birds.


At the Waterworks, a park in Belfast
The sun is shining longer and longer each day finally. It was not so pleasant seeing the sun set around 4:00pm most of the winter. It's also raining less often (at least it seems like it) which means that the sun has a chance to peak out from behind the clouds now and then. 

And lastly, instead of celebrating Fat Tuesday here, they celebrate Pancake Tuesday. As a pancake lover, I can get behind this day of pancake gluttony.