Week seven
Placements begin
Well, classes are over and our placements have begun. I work in The Women's Center here in L/Derry. I basically work as a receptionist, doing whatever it is that needs to be done. Everyone here is absurdly nice as well. I get along with everyone swimmingly, which is good when you are stuck with people for eight hour a day. The hard part about placements is the fact that you no longer see anyone. You no longer have classes to meet and say hello to everyone. Instead, you find yourself surrounded by 'the natives.' Which is new and very interesting. Everyone is interested in hearing things about America and my life back home. Everyone was also extremely interested to hear my opinions on the election. I was in trouble since I was from Ohio for giving up the election as everyone working here was very pro-Kerry. The Women's Center works with women of all ages, starting with teenage school-age mothers to the sweetest old woman that comes in for classes such as flower arranging.
The week before I started my placement, I had time to travel. I ended up going to London and Edinburgh with four other girls from the group, Mandy Wolke, Michele Bailey, Mollie Napier and Melanie Murray. This was a great time. We got to see all the sights in London--Buckingham Palace, Picadilly Circus, Notting Hill, numerous parks, the London Eye, Big Ben and all the parliament buildings, Westminster Abby, Charles Dicken's house, Tate Modern, Saint Paul's Cathedral, and many more that I can't name off the top of my head. We then rode overnight by bus to Edinburgh, Scotland. This was fun for me as I have Scottish heritage. We went to Edinburgh Castle, which was amazing. Though, all in all Edinburgh is an amazing city. An absolutely gorgeous city. It was simply breathtaking. Definitely a city that I want to visit again. Traveling around the UK was a nice treat after classes and before our placements.
Well, it finally feels like we are in the swing of things. You know that you are feeling comfortable when people stop and ask you for directions--and you know what they're talking about and can give them directions. I am beginning to get excited about going home, but at the same time I am not ready to leave yet. Fortunately for me, I won't have to. Three more weeks. And I guess I will just have to see what they bring.
Deb Armstrong
The new update is that our placements are officially underway and our papers are turned in. We now will be doing a new kind of work. Some of us are at schools, while others are at reconciliation centers and environmental conservation, just to name a few.
I have personally started work at a men's homeless shelter and am finding the work load easy but the job challenging. Many of the men suffer from addictions and most are not motivated to do much. My job is to sit with them and be their friend, I'm just another person to talk to. The first mission of the job is to establish trust with the men. Although it can be dull at times to just sit around all day. I am glad to be with the men when there are those really in-depth conversations.
The tin whistle and dance classes that we are taking are still up and running. We will be having our performance for the Mayor in a couple of weeks. Which should be fun as we laugh at ourselves while we try to dance.
Andrew
After a gruelling paper writing week and the Derry Halloween festivities, placements began this past Monday, Nov. 1. Though my experience has been limited, and will not be lengthy, I expect my tenure at the Culture Heritage Project to be beneficial. I will be researching the migration patterns of the Ulster-Scots (immigrants from Scotland to Ireland) to and within Poland around the time of the Great Famine.
Life seems less hectic now that our courses are complete and term papers have been handed in. I suppose the current challenge is to find activities to keep myself sufficiently entertained. I am sure that this will work out just fine."
Doug (Galen Alexander)
