I feel like I've hardly been in the office at all, I've been going on so many fun field trips! Yesterday, I went to a round table discussion at Trinity on the Special Court for Sierra Leone; I had just read the title of the discussion and told them to put me on the list, but when I realized who would be there, I was absolutely blown away. We heard from Stephen Rapp, the Chief Prosecutor (and former US Attorney, and former Chief of Prosecutions at the ICTR (International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda)); Justice George Gelaga King, the President of the Special Court; Herman von Hebel, Chief Registrar; and Binta Mansaray, Head of Outreach. It was fascinating. I even got to ask a question.
And now, I'm about to head out to the Pavee Point Travellers' Centre for a meeting on the plight of Roma immigrants in Ireland. Apparently there are a number of families "camping rough" on a roundabout in Ballymun, and a number of state agencies and NGO's are trying to figure out what to do with them. The Travellers' Centre was originally founded to advocate for Travellers, which are an indigenous Irish nomadic group, and now they're working on behalf of the Roma - I think this is a pretty cool development. So, I'm going to put off my research for a few more hours and go listen to that.
Not much else exciting is happening! I have to hang around on Saturday because the cable guy is coming, but Brian and I have tentative plans to go to Bray for the traditional music festival there on Sunday, so we'll see - maybe I will get out of town this weekend.
Oh, for those who are curious: "slainte" means "cheers" in Irish. It's about the only thing I can say.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Well, not that much exciting has happened in the last 24 hours except the following: I talked to my parents last night, which was wonderful; I helped a nun parallel park her car outside of the office yesterday, which I hope will put me on God's good side; and, thanks to my roommate Katie, I have become totally hooked on the show Prison Break. I think that's everything. I'm going to try to put some pictures up in the next few days.
Slainte!
Slainte!
Monday, July 9, 2007
Monday, Monday
I apologize for the dry spell - Kirsten was right, I do lose interest quickly! No, I think the real reason is that my routine doesn't seem as exciting now that I've been doing it for two weeks.
But I did have a good week. I am currently researching international standards of child welfare, and today I'm reading the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The work is really interesting, but it is going by fast; I hope that I will be able to accomplish something significant during my time here! I have also enjoyed my little field trips: apart from the SICCDA conference last week, I went with Catherine Hickey, who is the director of FLAC, to a ceremony at the Ballymun Community Law Centre. Ballymun is another neighborhood in north Dublin similar to Beaumont, where I live, and Coolock, where I will be working for the second half of the summer; they're all sort of villages that have been incorporated into the city. Ballymun was built in the 1960's or 70's as a place to house disadvantaged people who needed to be moved out of the city. They built the infamous "Ballymun Towers," huge apartment buildings like tenements, to give public housing to this group, and then sort of left them, and all kinds of social problems resulted. But they've really cleaned it up, and FLAC opened the Law Centre there in 2002, I think, and it's exciting to see how much has changed. The ceremony Friday was to honor some of the residents who completed a Housing Law course through the National University of Ireland-Galway. They gathered every week to listen to lectures and made recommendations to the Dail (the Irish parliament) on how Housing Policy could be revised. It was exciting to see these working-class people involved in shaping policy that actually affects them. There was a government minister there, handing out awards, and I met some of the professors and lawyers who had been involved in the project, and some of the students. And I got a free sandwich.
Friday was Grainne's last day, so a bunch of us went out to celebrate. We went to the Market Bar, which is in an old market building, complete with high ceilings, brick walls, and a balcony. We had tapas and drinks there, and then moved on to a couple of other places in Temple Bar. The people I work with are a lot of fun, and I will post some pictures of us soon.
My weekend was pretty uneventful. I just did some more sightseeing around Dublin. I was going to take a trip, but I'm feeling a little bit broke, and there's so much to see around here that I was satisfied to hang around. I went to church at Christchurch Cathedral, which is beautiful, and to the Dublin Writers' Museum and some art galleries. And, as it was actually sunny, I did a lot of walking around. So, nothing too thrilling, but a nice relaxing weekend overall.
And now it's Monday, and I should get back to work!
But I did have a good week. I am currently researching international standards of child welfare, and today I'm reading the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The work is really interesting, but it is going by fast; I hope that I will be able to accomplish something significant during my time here! I have also enjoyed my little field trips: apart from the SICCDA conference last week, I went with Catherine Hickey, who is the director of FLAC, to a ceremony at the Ballymun Community Law Centre. Ballymun is another neighborhood in north Dublin similar to Beaumont, where I live, and Coolock, where I will be working for the second half of the summer; they're all sort of villages that have been incorporated into the city. Ballymun was built in the 1960's or 70's as a place to house disadvantaged people who needed to be moved out of the city. They built the infamous "Ballymun Towers," huge apartment buildings like tenements, to give public housing to this group, and then sort of left them, and all kinds of social problems resulted. But they've really cleaned it up, and FLAC opened the Law Centre there in 2002, I think, and it's exciting to see how much has changed. The ceremony Friday was to honor some of the residents who completed a Housing Law course through the National University of Ireland-Galway. They gathered every week to listen to lectures and made recommendations to the Dail (the Irish parliament) on how Housing Policy could be revised. It was exciting to see these working-class people involved in shaping policy that actually affects them. There was a government minister there, handing out awards, and I met some of the professors and lawyers who had been involved in the project, and some of the students. And I got a free sandwich.
Friday was Grainne's last day, so a bunch of us went out to celebrate. We went to the Market Bar, which is in an old market building, complete with high ceilings, brick walls, and a balcony. We had tapas and drinks there, and then moved on to a couple of other places in Temple Bar. The people I work with are a lot of fun, and I will post some pictures of us soon.
My weekend was pretty uneventful. I just did some more sightseeing around Dublin. I was going to take a trip, but I'm feeling a little bit broke, and there's so much to see around here that I was satisfied to hang around. I went to church at Christchurch Cathedral, which is beautiful, and to the Dublin Writers' Museum and some art galleries. And, as it was actually sunny, I did a lot of walking around. So, nothing too thrilling, but a nice relaxing weekend overall.
And now it's Monday, and I should get back to work!
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
SICCDA Conference
Yesterday I went with some of the other FLAC employees to a conference at the Guinness Brewery sponsored by the South Inner City Community Development Association (SICCDA). SICCDA is a grassroots organization that has been around for 25 years, and we heard about what they have accomplished and what their future goals are, and we also heard from a number of speakers from other local organizations, the government, and representatives from an NGO in South Africa. It was fascinating to hear about the changes that have occurred in Ireland in the last few decades, and their response to the new economic growth. There seems to be a concern that becoming economically successful will somehow affect their society and communities in a negative way; one speaker said, "Economic strength does not necessarily imply an embrace of neoliberalism." The emphasis at this conference was on those left behind by the economic boom. And we went up and had a pint at lunch. (I might write more about the conference later, we'll see.)
I've added photos to some of my old posts. Above are pictures from the SICCDA conference.
Monday, July 2, 2007
My Weekend
I learned something important this morning: weekends go by too fast no matter where you are. I can't believe it's already Monday. I had two of the most relaxing, pleasant days I've had in a long time: I slept about 10 hours a night, read an entire book (The End of the Affair, by Graham Greene - it was so good, I couldn't put it down), and took lots of long walks. On Saturday I walked down the Royal Canal and went to Glasnevin Cemetery, where lots of famous people are buried. I couldn't find Michael Collins, but I did find Roger Casement and the big rock they have dedicated to Parnell (pictures will be forthcoming). Walking around cemeteries has always been one of my favorite things to do, ever since I was a little kid. I never get tired of reading all the inscriptions, looking at the monuments, seeing the things people have left.
On Sunday I headed out to the Irish Museum of Modern Art, which is a lot further from the city center than my Lonely Planet map led me to believe, so I had another good, long walk, this time through town. The museum is in an old hospital (I think it's called Royal Hospital Kilmainham), and the building and grounds are almost more interesting than the art. I spent a long time in the garden, imagining World War I veterans convalescing among the statues and hedges, and in the open courtyard, where there is a Miro and Calder sculpture exhibition taking place. I spent most of my time in the Lucian Freud exhibition; I'll have to go back to see the permanent collection and the Anne Madden retrospective. I'm glad I have an excuse to go back - I really enjoyed it! Sunday night I came home and ordered takeaway with my roommate Olivia and watched the Concert for Diana, which was kind of depressing and I had missed Lily Allen, so I went to bed early. And now it is Monday morning and I should get back to work!
On Sunday I headed out to the Irish Museum of Modern Art, which is a lot further from the city center than my Lonely Planet map led me to believe, so I had another good, long walk, this time through town. The museum is in an old hospital (I think it's called Royal Hospital Kilmainham), and the building and grounds are almost more interesting than the art. I spent a long time in the garden, imagining World War I veterans convalescing among the statues and hedges, and in the open courtyard, where there is a Miro and Calder sculpture exhibition taking place. I spent most of my time in the Lucian Freud exhibition; I'll have to go back to see the permanent collection and the Anne Madden retrospective. I'm glad I have an excuse to go back - I really enjoyed it! Sunday night I came home and ordered takeaway with my roommate Olivia and watched the Concert for Diana, which was kind of depressing and I had missed Lily Allen, so I went to bed early. And now it is Monday morning and I should get back to work!
(Above - Glasnevin Cemetary and IMMA)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
