The wall that divide the protestant(left) and catholic(right) community
We often hear of people coming back from study abroad “discovering” whom they are. Although I am not lucky enough to say the same, I can truly say that I am discovering who I am not, and along with this, is the ever-changing state of my mind. This state of mind will be expanded upon more when I return to the states. What I am about to write here, will fail in comparison to what I experienced in Ireland at the peace conference. There is so much I want to say, but I can’t the words and it is difficult because my mind and experience is so scattered.
One of the Actors of one the most powerful plays I have experienced
During the first half of our Fall break, I, along with 9 other students from IAU were blessed with an opportunity that had profound impact on our study abroad experience. We went to a conference in Ireland on Divided Societies that was student lead conference. The first day of the conference, we stayed at a university in Dublin Ireland. Obviously with it being a Fall break, most of us that were going imagined a lot of sight seeing. Well, that ended up not happening. To begin things off, we went from a nice 75 degree weather in southern France to a 40 degree temperature when we arrived. Luckily, we all brought our somewhat winter jackets, but the fact remained that it was cold!
We waited for about 45 minutes for our bus to come pick us up at the airport because of some type misunderstanding. As the wind blew, and cold freezing temperature sank into our bones, it became easier to complain. However, we had to keep in mind that all of this was being paid for and that there were other students who would die to be in our situation. Therefore, everyone kept their mouth shut, and endured the cold the best they could. Finally, the bus came and we headed to the university where we would be staying the first few days. All I really cared about was how amazing it felt to be warm again.
We waited for about 45 minutes for our bus to come pick us up at the airport because of some type misunderstanding. As the wind blew, and cold freezing temperature sank into our bones, it became easier to complain. However, we had to keep in mind that all of this was being paid for and that there were other students who would die to be in our situation. Therefore, everyone kept their mouth shut, and endured the cold the best they could. Finally, the bus came and we headed to the university where we would be staying the first few days. All I really cared about was how amazing it felt to be warm again.
The first thing I noticed in Ireland was that everyone drove on the left side of the lane instead of the right! I was about to lose it, but I figured the bus driver knew what he was doing so we let him do his own thing. When we arrived at the university finally that evening, we were all jetlagged and hungry. However, just like the bus, the food was coming in a little late. Luckily there were other students who were at the conference. Half of them came from Europe in the countries of Germany, Croatia, Spain, Belgium, and Ireland. The other halves were students from all over the US who were studying abroad in various parts Europe. As we got to know each other, the experiences and stories shared, broke the ice and prepared us for the topics we were going to discuss in the morning. Again, the topic of the conference was Divided Societies and how to overcome these divided societies and create peace.
The next morning, everyone got up early and got ready to begin the day early. The worst thing for me that morning and all the guys, was the ice cold shower we had to take. We waited for 10 minute with the water on hoping it would warm up, but with our luck, nothing changed about the water temperature. Anyways, we eventually got ready and began the first day of our conference. We began the day off with a presentation about the Irish conflict mainly in Northern Ireland in which most of us felt ignorant about. Due to this conflict, we would later see why Ireland is literately split in half when we got to visit Derry. In any case, we did not realize the violent history that had torn Ireland in half up till mid 2005. After we were finished with the historical presentation, we began an exercise that put us out of our comfort zone.
The next morning, everyone got up early and got ready to begin the day early. The worst thing for me that morning and all the guys, was the ice cold shower we had to take. We waited for 10 minute with the water on hoping it would warm up, but with our luck, nothing changed about the water temperature. Anyways, we eventually got ready and began the first day of our conference. We began the day off with a presentation about the Irish conflict mainly in Northern Ireland in which most of us felt ignorant about. Due to this conflict, we would later see why Ireland is literately split in half when we got to visit Derry. In any case, we did not realize the violent history that had torn Ireland in half up till mid 2005. After we were finished with the historical presentation, we began an exercise that put us out of our comfort zone.
The issue with society today is that we have become so complacent; we resist looking at things from a different perspective. The way exercise was set up required you to choose a side of agreement or disagreement. It was not an easy thing because we had some very controversial topics that were brought up, and you had to approach it as a black and white answer. This made us realize how much we generalize other things and that for resolution to occur, we must learn to find the middle ground. We finished the conference off by spending the next day in Derry where we really witnessed the division of the society with the Protestants on one side and the catholic families on the other.
The biggest part of the Ireland trip that changed me was the 2 plays we attended. The first one was a Palestinian soldier whose daughter was murdered by an Israeli soldier. The big change however, was that the soldier did not want revenge or anything of the sort because he wanted the violence to end. He said he only wanted justice, not to get back at the soldiers and retaliate. The second play we saw, involved actors who grew up during the peak of the Irish conflict the in the mid 80s who played who they were during that time. We got to hear both sides of the story, as the aggressor and the oppressed. Standing face to face well aware of their history, they forgave each other for their past sins. I truly wish I could express what I experienced on this trip, but it will take a book to give a full detail. I can definitely speak of this, better than I can write it. One thing is for sure, my world view has been changed, and this arguably, is one of the highlights of my study abroad experience.
The biggest part of the Ireland trip that changed me was the 2 plays we attended. The first one was a Palestinian soldier whose daughter was murdered by an Israeli soldier. The big change however, was that the soldier did not want revenge or anything of the sort because he wanted the violence to end. He said he only wanted justice, not to get back at the soldiers and retaliate. The second play we saw, involved actors who grew up during the peak of the Irish conflict the in the mid 80s who played who they were during that time. We got to hear both sides of the story, as the aggressor and the oppressed. Standing face to face well aware of their history, they forgave each other for their past sins. I truly wish I could express what I experienced on this trip, but it will take a book to give a full detail. I can definitely speak of this, better than I can write it. One thing is for sure, my world view has been changed, and this arguably, is one of the highlights of my study abroad experience.