The Year in Northern Ireland 12/01

Hello,

it's been almost three months since I have started my European Solidarity Corps project as a volunteer just outside of Belfast, Northern Ireland. I meant to be blogging at least once in a month, but guess life is just being life. I have been posting a few pictures on Instagram here and there and wrote somethings down with it, so I will do a little recap over the past two months, especially December and January. Before doing that, I actually still can't wrap my head around that I am in Northern Ireland as part of the ESC and will be staying until December of this year, 2020.

06.12 The day we went to the airport, my parents, one of my brothers and me, the traffic was crazy but luckily and strangely the flight had a delay so all was good. My parents made sure I had all the necessary things with me and were actually really sad. I am not sure how I felt, I was sad too but with a bit of nervousness and excitement.
A year in a country I have never been before, a year at a place I have just a little experience in, and another year in an English speaking country was there waiting for me.

The first few days or even the whole week I would say was just hectic. But also positive. I had an issue with my insurance that needed to be sorted out, I had questions regarding my volunteering year, the insurance, the work that I had to be doing, basically everything. But the impressions were overall good and positive, at times it's confusing when you can't tell apart if people are being nice and polite during a conversation or they actually say no indirectly and just fill the gap and speak to speak- if that makes sense. But a year should be fine to figure that part out.

Another confusion regarding my work was the trainings and exams I needed to be doing, no one was really helpful regarding them, and I don't know if it was just me not being understood or people just taking things way to slowly in a way.

So what exactly am I doing here? How do I contribute and help? I am working as a volunteer in an adult residential care environment, and over here at this organization there are a few houses with different sizes, that means some houses just have two residents living and some over ten. The one I am helping in has four residents, and all have different diagnosis and different reasons to be here.

Christmas in NI
Have in mind I don't celebrate Christmas but ever since I stepped into Northern Ireland Christmas was around at the very beginning in whatever you were doing or seeing. Decorations, singing, plays, shopping, church services, preparations, clothes, more singing, food... you name it.
Christmas in NI started on the 24.12 for me, the midnight service in a chapel followed by a singing sessions to the cows. At around 1 a.m. I was in bed at that day.
At our Christmas lunch table in the house- we had a little Christmas miracle. One of the guys who normally has his meals on his own and therefore at a different time, joined us. We got even so emotional that a handful of tears where shed.
But during Christmas and even now looking back, you actually see and realize that people don't associate the same meanings for this holiday, and at times it can be even triggering.

January for me meant being without a phone, it was dropped down the loo and at this stage I am kind of still without a phone, mine is not really working but I have to stay I wasn’t ‘that’ attached to the device anyways. Still, it’s actually really worrying to be without one especially when your loved ones are happen to be in a different country that you reside at the moment.

But back to the good stuff. For my memory I would like to list all the nice events I have been to so far, and I am actually really glad that Belfast has a lot to offer- or maybe it's me noticing these events because I am actively looking for them?
 

The first event was by Apple, it was like a photography walk with one of the workers telling us about how to make the most of the little camera we have attached to our phones.
The Out For Lunch festival was around and they had lots of events during lunch, the one I went to was Latin/Spanish music, Los Dramaticos, paired with stories and a wee bit of pasta
BBC Radio is organizing some concerts and apparently you can apply for free tickets, the first concert I have been to was in January and the other one was in February. To see the Ulster Orchestra play in the Ulster Hall.. It was fantastic. And for free!
The cinemas offer cheap tickets on Mondays and Tuesdays, so far I was able to see "Little Women" and I hope I will have enough time to see "Parasite" too.

That's all for now from my side, I will be more wise clearing some time to actually sit down and write for the next time, and will focus on the OnArrivalTraining, how our little international group so far at my project is and select a few topics regarding Northern Ireland- the history, the identity and expressions- because guess what, Northern Irish people love expressions.