Sorry for a hiatus in updating my blog. I will have another post from Alex about his time here and hopefully one from my mother as well that will include our other travels over Easter.
A lot of programs shut down before and after Easter so when my parents came I had more time off than usual so we visited London and Paris. Which I will blog about later.
What else have I been up to?
This past week we had our family night with the Girls' Brigade to conclude our year and it was absolutely fantastic. It made me really happy to see such support from the girl's families and also from the members of Garnerville.
The night consisted of a dance to "Under the Sea" by the girls, the story of Creation told by the girls, and showing off their jump roping skills. Another part, which was my favorite came when the girls had to have their families play some of the games we play on a Wednesday night with them. I loved watching the parents run and compete with each other. It was funny to see how competitive some of them got and it was good craic.
All the girls got prizes for being a part of GB and afterwards there were refreshments. I enjoyed it a lot and was sad to have it be over. But it has been a really good experience getting to help out with it and getting to know the girls and the other leaders.
On another note, a few of us went and saw a local Belfast movie called Good Vibrations this past week.
You can watch the trailer here:
I didn't really know much about the background .. or even really what the movie was about before going but afterwards I really enjoyed it. The movie is about Terri Hooley.. who opened up a record store on Great Victoria Street in the height of The Troubles, and was instrumental on developing Belfast's punk rock scene. But while watching the movie, I realized he did much more than develop the punk scene. He created an outlet for angsty teenagers in a time where an outlet was incredibly needed. And in doing so... he broke down a barrier amongst Catholics and Protestants.
There is a scene in the movie where he is traveling with several of the bands he has helped record and the van they're in gets stopped by the British Army. The comment that stuck out to me in this scene was when one of the officers realized there were Catholic and Protestants in the van together and questioned it.. and Terri just basically said that they came together because of the music.
The movie showed what life was like during The Troubles in Belfast and there were parts that were terribly unnerving that gave insight into the fear that people must have felt during that time. I'll never be able to relate to people who grew up and lived during that time in what it was like but seeing movies and feeling the fear during different parts gives me a short glimpse of what it was like and I find that very moving.
It was a movie that showed you how life was in Belfast then and how there were dark moments but there was a lot of hope and light too through people like Terri. He didn't let anything or anyone stop in the way of his dream and he changed people's lives while achieving it.
I don't know if the movie will reach the U.S. but if ever given the opportunity I'd really recommend watching it.
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