Causeway Exchange: A Great Opportunity To Discuss About Identity

It all started the 31^st of October. A group of exhausted young adults, some of them had been up since 4am, from England came to Northern Ireland to take part in an exchange that would help them to get a better understanding of how politics work here and to discuss many issues around identity. IDENTITY!!! My biggest issue by far! I would love to take part in this - I thought - and I was so glad when I was asked to participate.

We spent three amazing days together having many discussions and different tours; I have to say that I went for my fourth bus tour since I was living in Belfast!!!... But I enjoyed it very much! We went to Stormont, for those readers who are not from here and they don’t have a clue of what that is; Stormont is the Parliament of Northern Ireland, such a gorgeous building!!! But my highlight tour was undoubtedly the ghost tour. Ghost tour? Yes, I know it sounds a bit strange, but it was Halloween and that trip was just amazing! A scary dressed girl guided us all around the dark and narrow streets in Belfast city centre, such a brilliant time! As a funny story, the same girl was our guide the next day for the bus tour, nobody realized at first! Apparently that same girl was the waitress that night in a local pub where some people went for some drinks, but I don’t know how true that story is as I did not witness this so can not confirm ;) If it were true, it would be impossible to be more hard working than her!

But my favourite session was about sharing a song that represented us in any way. I could listen to many different tunes, some of them related to the roots and others related to something on their daily lives, but all of them had something in common, IDENTITY! When I had to choose mine I didn’t have to think even for a second, I knew it immediately, “Nau” of “Luar na Lubre”. My country is Galicia, my nation is Galicia, my heart belongs to Galicia. I explained to them about the idea of Spain as a country made of many different identities together, where the Government doesn’t even give a chance to discuss about the future, to discuss if we want to go together in this ship or if some areas would prefer to travel independently to a better future… Everybody was shocked about the fact that in the northwest of Spain we were Celtics, and that the song I shared with them was so “irish”. Yes, in Galicia we don’t do flamenco and we are not all the time eating paella and attending bullfights!

Ship of the wind, ship of men who row in the immensity.

We are people from Galicia where land kisses the sea.

Ship of dreams, ship of hopes, ship of infinite caprice.

Who forgets his roots, loses his identity.

This part of the exchange came to an end creating a net; and everybody got a chance to thank the other participants. We built a lasting relationship, and the good thing is that we will meet in England again!!!!

The second part of the exchange started at 4am, when my alarm rang and I jumped out of bed. I was tired and sleepy, but looking forward to it!!! I knew it was going to be a long trip to Westminster, our first stop in London! I tried to get some sleep on the plane, but certain people didn’t make this part possible; ehem, ehem…

I am not going deeper with this part of the exchange as Emelie already explains everything in her post. But I would like to say that I had an amazing time in London. I enjoyed the city so much and I loved the fact that I could visit that massive place from a completely different point of view than my first trip as a tourist. Having this alternative tour of London around Brick Lane and getting the chance to discover all the street art in the area just made my day, and once again, all that talent placed on a picture is so related with the issue of identity!!! Some people may say I am obsessed with that, I prefer calling it being passionate, with coherence and strength!

My favourite session in London was when we shared a symbol, something that represented us in many ways. It was great hearing about other people’s interests, from memories to feelings or things to fight for, I loved the fact that everybody was so passionate about many aspects of their lives! Once again, I took this opportunity to explain to the crew about my identity as a Galician person. My symbol was actually a person, Alfonso Daniel Rodríguez Castelao, one of the biggest representatives within the Galician Nationalist Movement. My intention is not to bore anybody, so I invite you to “google” him and discover one of the most inspirational people in history.

(Sketch made by Castelao)

- You are a Galician

- And you are a stupid

Time to pack. Come back to the airport and return to Belfast. I want to come back, I definitely want to come back; as a visitor, as an inhabitant, who knows… I want to come back to London as me, Luís, to keep on growing my identity…

I hope you have enjoyed the reading as much as I enjoyed the experience :)

Luís

Alternative London

At home in the "wee” town again after spending the whole weekend in London with a lot of fantastic people. Concentrating on building relationship, sharing our experiences and gaining a deeper understanding of lives in different countries. Amazing! The whole trip was an incredible experience. Both Luís and I have been to London before, but to experience the city from a more local perspective was something else. Avoiding the tourist trail and see the "genuine” London has made me even surer that this town will be of importance for me in the future.

Seven extremely tired people met outside the PA office at 5:00 in the morning. Perhaps not the most excited crowd of people, but given how unholy early we had to wake up, I still think we kept the spirits up. An agile approach to Gatwick and we didn’t die (the only time I pray is when I fly). Met up with Rose and the other participants from Southampton and Leicester. We started the weekend with a visit to Westminster where we listened to an interesting introduction of the Parliament and visited the House of Commons where a " lively "  (not) debate was going on. After that we carried our bags directly to SHM 's office. Once there, had a visit from two passionate people representing the organization Fully Focused, who focus on trying to change people's perceptions through film - change at the grassroots level driven by young people in London. So interesting to hear about that sort of project and it probably got us all to draw parallels to WIMPS and how we could develop it further. The long day ended with a Vietnamese dinner, which gave the only vegan in the group (me) a lot of options. I took rice noodles and tofu, and I still hold my view that the Asian cuisines offering the best food. That's something I like the most about visiting a larger city – that there are so many options. You do not have to strain a lot to make a vegan pleased, because the options are so numerous. Another thing I love about big cities is the diversity of people. Staring at people from a café might be the best thing ever. Here’s everyone allowed to be who they are. Sadly, that will never be the case for smaller towns.

Saturday. Woke up after 9 hours of sleep (you can’t accuse me of being a party animal). Started off with some icebreakers at the office, a good way to learn about the other participants. Got a visit from a person who represented the Independent Police Complaints Commission, talked about the different policing problems in London. Very rewarding. After this we went to a ping-pong place where you could rent a ping-pong table and just play for fun, a perfect place to hang out with friends. Listen up Belfast; we need a place like that! After this we took a walk to St. Paul’s cathedral and the Millennium Bridge. It always strikes me how fickle London as a city is. New mixed with old. We walked back to the office and I regret forgetting my trainers at home cause my feet were killing me. We shared our identity symbols back at the office (I brought a feminism symbol, surprise!). The evening finished with some food and a few drinks at a pub. I was in bed before 10pm and have once again proved that I have the same day rhythm as my granny.

Last day, woke up refreshed but with a bit of separation anxiety. Went to Brick Lane in east London to do an alternative walking tour. Didn’t really have any expectations before, but it turned out to be one of the best walking tours ever (my mother is a history teacher so I have done numerous of castle tours, put differently: I know what I’m talking about). A young articulate man from the area took us around in what is usually called Banglatown and showed us all the amazing street art the area have to offer. All the paintings were so well done and as the guide himself described it: " Street Art breaks down the barriers of age, race, gender and ethnicity ". I love this part of London; the different cultures so naturally build into each other in a peaceful manner. There is no competition on who has the most right to be there, instead here is everyone allowed to be what they are – nothing more or less. After the amazing tour and some amazing Moroccan stew at the food market, it was time to say goodbye to our friends in London.

Thanks Rose and SHM Political Academy for your hospitality and for showing us London from inside. Thanks Sian for taking us with you, and for organizing the accommodation and flights. Thanks to all of the amazing participants from England and Northern Ireland that so openly shared experiences and knew how to have fun. Thanks Public Achievement! Last, but not least, a big thanks to myself as well, for being such an amazing participant. Well done, Emelie. I will carry this trip with me for a long time.

Yours truly.

Emelie

About Language, Humor And Energizing Spanish People

I wrote this text for my sending organization in November. Here you can read about my first two months in Belfast, enjoy!

Time flies. It's what you say, huh? I have now been living in my new hometown for more than two months, the National insurance number has just arrived and I'm finally part of the system. I've learned the shortcuts to work, what buses you should take, the opening hours of my local supermarket etc. Everything starts to get into place in the new cognitive schema I have forced my brain to create. I'm getting good at slang, using habituated expressions like "what's the craic?" and "Dead on”, replaced the word “little” with "wee". Mixing visits to cozy traditional pubs with going to the cheap cinema (£3 on Tuesdays!). When I dream, I dream in English and I have started to joke in my new language. Let me explain the latter a little bit further.

Swedes are among the people on earth who like to think of themselves as articulate in English, even though it is not considered as a second language. This could very much be true; mostly thanks to the influence of American culture and the fact that English has a high status in our society. I came to the green island with an understanding that I speak very good English for not having used it in my everyday life before. I hear this all the time. But can I really express my personality fully in my second language. This may not be entirely true. I have an advanced level of English, sometimes I throw myself with too formal terms in the wrong context due to all academic books I have been forced to read throughout university. I feel comfortable in my speech and I like to explore new concepts and words that are constantly given to me. But this is not the case for the humor. The irony that I use as a guiding principle in everyday conversations, the snappy comments that have become my way of being (note: I do not think I'm a real comedian) aren’t quite as smooth in the English language. We all uses humor in different ways and it defines us all in one-way or another. The person I am will then be different depending on which language I use. I feel that it has started to come off now. I think I have started to exchange the formal English with the informal language of everyday life - the unexpected comments and the non-coercive chat. This is very liberating. Not only for me but also for my new surrounding that has the change to experience my amazing linguistic development. Okay, enough said about language, otherwise I’ll just start talking about linguistic relativistic theories. I don’t think you’re up to hearing my view of the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis.

Otherwise, I am busy. Work is exciting and creative. It feels as if I add something to the team. Working with domestic violence with a group of young girls, they'll make a short film on the subject. Another group is working with school issues versus cultural differences. In this case it’s about language training for new citizens, the possibility of getting better food and longer skirts. Very instructive. I have also been away on training with work in their special "civic action model". My colleagues are fantastic; dedicated and qualified in their fields.

I socialize a lot with other volunteers, all from different parts of Europe. It not just feels like I'm learning a lot about Northern Ireland, but also about several other European countries as well. Above all, I learn from the crazy Spanish people who have become my closes friends here. Frankly, It’s quite difficult to avoid them in this city because they are all over the place. With the crises in Spain, more and more young people are looking for overseas jobs. Many of them have master degrees, without the possibility of getting a job back home. Sadly, but true. They are a lovely bunch of colorful characters, open and energetic. Even though they over and over again reinforces my stereotypical view of them. Where they lack in language comprehension, they win in their warmth and joy. They like to complain about the colorless food and that pubs close too early. They love to cook and hang out as a family. And I like them more and more each time we meet. Thank you Luis, Maria and Paula for making this experience so much better.

On the plus side: I found vegan baked goods at the market this weekend. I am ecstatic!

On the minus side: That I bought expensive rubber boots before coming here only because of the rumors that it is a rainy country. Where is the rain now huh?

Yours truly,

Emelie

Reflections On The EVS Experience So Far

I remember the previous days before starting the adventure for a whole year in Northern Ireland, more specifically in the city of Belfast. I was completely anxious and my nerves were on the edge. I remember myself sitting in the plane ready to start the adventure that I will never forget.

I arrived in Belfast the first of August, the last weeks of summer. Apparently it was the best summer for the last 40 years. I remember as well that during that first month it rained every single day…

Days went really fast, a good thing, and suddenly I was completely adapted to the place, the city, the people, and the language… I started to meet new friends from very different backgrounds and countries. I realized that almost everybody made efforts to make me feel comfortable here and at the end of the first four months Belfast felt as a “home” for me.

There is so much going on in this city related with the culture and the arts. I suppose that an area that has been punished so hard because of the conflict needs to express itself louder and stronger! Belfast is a living city and once you get used to the different timetables (the nightclubs usually closes at 2am!) and bomb scares, you can live very well and feel safe.

Living in Northern Ireland helped me to get a better overview of the conflict of the past and of today. I realized that the conflict is much more than two religions confronted, the reality talks about the politics and how two different points of view are living together. I noticed that everybody wants to move on and they don’t want violence back again, but it’s a difficult process and it’s been very hard to forget about the past and face the future.

In the organization, Public Achievement, everything goes great. It was quite easy to feel part of the team from the very beginning and apart from some language issues that I struggle with every day I can say that it is not difficult to evolve and progress on a daily basis. I have many chances to get different trainings that help me to gain new valuable skills.

It feels unbelievable that time goes so fast and I cannot stop thinking about what is going to happen in July when I finish this experience. But for every day it becomes clearer that after experience what is going on in other countries I don’t feel ready to come back to Spain, where the Government can’t offer anything to young adults.

Luís

Warm Welcome

Hello everybody!

We are Emelie and Luís, the new (well, 5 months now) EVS Volunteers in Public Achievement. We are going to take over the blog that Melissa and Aureliano started last year.

We are from Sweden (Emelie) and Galicia (Luís) and this blog will be a good way for us to share our opinions and experiences with you, all of our million readers.

In this blog we will have a space to write about everything that is interesting for us as volunteers within this organisation. And who knows - maybe some of our colleagues or volunteer friends want to share some thoughts as well.

We hope you enjoy reading it and find it useful, at least in some ways!

Emelie and Luís