Friday

foreshadowing

Here was my inner dialogue this morning:
"...and then I'm going to the office and it's going to be so great!"
"...maybe I'll stop and top up Viv's bus pass on the way to the office."
"...oh! I can top up the gas card while I'm topping up the bus pass."
"...I should probably get some more stamps, too."
"...this is going to be so great!"

Okay...I'll admit those are a bit hyperbolic (and not my pictures), but the walk to and from school wasn't exactly this, either:

As I squish-squish-squished walking along Marlborough Park South, I reconstructed my schedule. New plan: work from the apartment.

This is the main reason for the decision: leaky boots.

 

Still, it's no reason not to celebrate rain because I wouldn't be on the Emerald Isle if rain didn't make it so.

This playlist should help you get into a rainy mood.

Drippy umbrellas and boots got set aside to try as soon as I got back to the apartment, then I vroooomed around with the Hoover. That done, I cleaned up breakfast dishes, put away laundry, and started thinking about Hyperbole and a Half (which I do frequently).

As I Hoovered over by the sliding glass door, I saw these lovely flowers on the at the door. What a fantastic surprise! Thank you, Nice Person who made my morning wonderful!

 

At first I thought I'd go to the office once the rain stopped, then I checked my weather app and as it opened I heard mocking laughter:

 

So today will be website work and journal article reading!

Thursday

I woke up completely psyched about my day because look at that awesome schedule!

 

 

It was the last day of Shared Education information for the principals from East and West Jerusalem and I was glad I'd had a chance to meet so many new people who feel passionately about education and making the world a better place. 

 

Tony, Gavin, and Gareth were given gifts of thanks and friendship before the bus took the guests to the airport. 

 

 

 

 

 

  

After I said my goodbyes, I headed back to the apartment because I had a lot of work to do and wanted to sit on the sofa, earbuds in, with the sliding doors open to enjoy the weather. 

When Viv and I got home, Viv read her encyclopedia for a bit, then watched a show until the neighbors stopped over. We dragged out chairs and a table and enjoyed not working while the kids played. It was just the break I needed!

As we settled down the the night, I asked Viv if she wants to stay in Belfast or go somewhere this weekend. Yay!  She said go somewhere! Since we won't fly until her ear fluid is dry (ew), we will take the train to Portrush and stay Saturday night. Yay!

Viv wants to find:

• A mood ring
• More blue tac

I want to find adventure. 

(Sorry - I can't make links with my phone app.)

http://www.portrush.org.uk/

"Hello, Siri."

"Did Hitler bomb the United Kingdom?"

Well, that's a question I never expected Vivian to ask an iPhone.

Her class continues their unit on WWII with a lesson on VE Day and Vivian's homework was to research VE Day.

Then she asked if she could have an app so she can do research so she can be a Fulbrighter. (cue: awwwwww.)

Now Vivi is in her room talking to Siri. Enquiring minds want to know:

"Will chickens rule the world?"

She asked this right after the Hitler question. The correlation isn't apparent to me.

Now our wee ace reporter would like to fill you in on the status of her ear:

 

Let's backtrack to this morning and work our way chronologically through the day. I needed to get up to Queen's to meet with the administrators from Israel and Palestine for school visits so Jennifer, the babysitter, came and stayed with Viv for a about 15 minutes, then drove her to school.

The bus is pretty crowded so Gareth and I drove in his car to meet at the first stop, St. Colman's Primary School and Fairhill Primary Schools, which participate in Shared Education together.

 

What hosts! Lining our entrance, kids from both schools stood in cold drizzle, smiles lighting up their faces and polite "hello" and "good morning" salutations chorused. Piped over a speaker was a flute -

 except it wasn't a recording! It was a little boy playing the flute! He was remarkable! I took a video so you could hear him, but I didn't want to film him and mess up his playing so that's why you see the banners and foyer.

The principals of the two schools gave inspiring talks about Shared Education, but it was the kids who stole the day. Four students spoke their passionately in their own words about the difference Shared Education is making in their lives. They love having friends from the other school; they don't see "other"; they see peers.

 

The kids are partnered with a student from the other school and one activity they did was make shirts for each other.

The students performed Irish Dancing for us -- it was brilliant! -- and I have video but didn't include it here because I don't have signed permission.

East Jerusalem, West Jerusalem, Northern Ireland - education changes the world

From there we went to Phoenix Integrated Primary School

 

 

Their school is modulars, but they make it work beautifully. The space is spotless -- really, really clean (and they'd just had lunch in their Great Hall before we arrived!) and incredibly inviting with bright, fun, happy colors and excellent uses of space. My favorite thing is their garden area. Little kids were moving dirt in wheelbarrows, shoveling, raking, planting, and playing. It was beyond my expectations of what learning by play can be.

every space is used effectively -- even corners

The storage shed is tricked out to look homey and inviting

Our technical arts students could make these!

you know someone in our area can donate a couple tractor tires :)

  

these are examples of repurposing in the best way!

I don't know where they got paint this bright, but it's stunning. Plus, the shady tree is lovely.

I'm looking at you, creative people.
I know some artistic people who could do this on our playgrounds and future gardens.

 

How do I love thee, School Garden? Let me count the ways (via hopscotch)

I don't know how to make this, but it was a huge hit with the kids. Are there any weavers out there?

Let them build! Big!

Kids always love drawing on the boards in classrooms -- give 'em what they want.

They had a lot, but didn't need much storage space.

I mean, come on.
This is awesome.
Every kid who passed by maneuvered over these dozens of different ways instead of walking around them.

  

Headline: Fluid in the ear halts everything

Last night Vivian woke up crying about her ear hurting so I brought her to the doctor today. This thrilled her because she didn't have to go to school, because she did get to go on a bus, and because so long as she has Tylenol or ibuprofen in her system, she is okay.

All the work I planned for today. Scrapped.

The plus side? Random snuggle day!

I will admit I keep giving work the side-eye like Lucille from Arrested Development:



I figure I can make up the time this weekend since we won't be going to Paris. The doctor says no flying (or swimming) for a couple weeks. We're flying to Amsterdam April 9 for a river cruise:
AMSTERDAM - ALPHEN ON THE RHINE - GOUDA - ROTTERDAM - AMSTERDAM

Then we'll take a train to Rotterdam to stay with Vanessa, another Fulbrighter, and hopefully get together with two additional Fulbrighters, Al and Tom.

From Rotterdam we'll take a train to Brussels to see Tiffany (yeah...you guessed it...another Fulbrighter) and fly from Brussels to Dublin.

As of today I look at all our travel in terms of flights and fluid in ears.

Steve Martin helped me figure out how I'll impress Vivian this summer with awesome diving moves.

High five!

HIGH-FIVE! from Almost Twins

Shared Education

Tony Gallagher, my mentor at Queen's University Belfast, works on Shared Education and has extended the idea to Israel and Palestine. Today I was able to participate in a presentation on Shared Education by Tony and a visit to Belfast Model Girls School, thanks to Tony, and my office mates, Gavin and Gareth.

The group met in the Old Staff Common Room at Queen's:

As background, this article should give you a good idea about Shared Education:

Here are a couple pictures:

It was a great day meeting new people and finding out about education in other parts of the world and how Shared Education can help bring people together.

Mother's Day (Northern Ireland version)

Happy Mother's Day!

The weather this morning was warm and sunny with blue skies and puffy white clouds and it couldn't have been prettier. What to do? What to do? What to do? It's Mother's Day here in Northern Ireland? Oh! Well then I'll open all the windows and clean the apartment. I have a sneaking suspicion I am joined in this Mother's Day activity by thousands of other mums. Also, today is Daylight Savings Time so there's an hour less to get everything done. Happy Mother's Day!

Viv got to play with kids from neighboring apartments, which she looooooooves so she bopped around while I cleaned and did laundry and I gave her the countdown warning we'd be leaving to do to the dreaded Tesco, though I told her we'd stop at a park before the store.

She played and played and played, the played some more. Then she dragged her feet and looked forlorn as we packed the bag with bags for the store. She cheered up as soon as we rounded the corner, though, so her short term memory worked in my favor.

These are photos from the internet. The place was PACKED today, which was awesome because Vivi had a lot of kids to play with while she was there.

About Drumglass Park:

Drumglass Park is named after Henry Musgrave, a well-known landowner who was elected an Honorary Burgess of the City of Belfast in 1917. He lived in Drumglass House, one of the most prestigious houses in the Malone Road area. 

Musgrave died on 2 January 1922, leaving six acres of his property to the city to be used as a public park or children's playground. 

The park was initially named Drumglass Playcentre and it was opened to the public on 9 September 1924 by the Lady Mayoress of Belfast, Lady Turner. The house and site's remaining grounds now form part of Victoria College Girls' School. 

Drumglass Park contains a private gate lodge, located near the Lisburn Road entrance to the park. It served as the original lodge for Musgrave's estate and was built in the Queen Anne revival style around 1882. You can still see the Musgrave family monogram above one of the doorways and on the sandstone tops of the gate pillars.

I sat on a bench in the sun next to a man who is from Lebanon, then Paris, then London, then Nottingham, now Belfast. His daughter is a year younger than Vivian and attends a different school in the area. He said he sees us every day on the walk to school and now will happily be able to call "good morning" to us. We had a lovely conversation about everything under the sun and I loved hearing him talk about the beauty of each place he lived. It's still funny when people comment on my accent. He said, "it's wonderful every time I hear an American accent! The sound is so smooth and flows." I'm not known for a nice speaking voice so I apologize to all of America for being your "voice" during today's conversation.

In Fulbright news , I'm taking a module with a woman I met a few weeks ago. She'd invited me to a reading group where I got to participate in a discussion with Professor Michael Freeman.

The module is Children's Rights - Research and Practice

I've been reading the following articles:

• Balancing a child's best interests and a child's views
• Minding the gap? Children with Disabilities and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
• The future of children's rights
• Why it remains important to take children's rights seriously
• Incorporation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in Law: A comparative review
• Children’s rights and research processes: Assisting children to (in)formed views
• Children’s rights and educational policy in Europe: the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child
• 'Voice' is not enough: conceptualising Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child
• The UNCRC and social workers' relationships with young children

And that's not the only exciting thing! Tomorrow educational stakeholders from Israel are coming to Queen's University Belfast to meet with members of the Centre for Shared Education. Each day is focused around different aspects of implementing Shared Education and I get to tag along for a great deal of it -- I'm tremendously eager!

Meanwhile, I have two websites done and with my administrators awaiting approval and I'm working on my third, which is for the Institute of International Education.

Huzzah!

Daytrippers

We sailed (ferried) off to Scotland for the day!

I wanted to take the ferry pretty much ever since we got here, but this is the first weekend it worked out for us to take the ride to Cairnryan, then back to Belfast.

When we were at Carrickfergus Castle, I saw the ferry in the distance and got shivers of excitement. On Friday, walking to school, I told Vivian how excited I was to take the ferry and she said, "I know. You talk about it a lot." Fact.

My theory was that motion sickness wouldn't be as bad on a ferry as plane or car and I was fine, but it also may be due to the motion sickness tablets I got from the local chemist.

We don't have a car and essentially the only thing by the Scottish port is the port. So I scoped out some possible things to do and Lochinch and Stair Estate and Castle Kennedy are within cab distance. Thanks to a gorgeous forecast, I packed some sandwiches and a bottle of water in my backpack so we could picnic.

Jason, another Fulbrighter, and his family met us on the ferry!

On board:

 

This seems like a real bargain to me. That's round trip!

We arrived at the port and there was a bit of a taxi mishap, but all worked out because we ended up arriving at Castle Kennedy at the same time as Jason and his family!

After walking through the tea room, we emerged in a sun-drenched field with old castle ruins ahead. Like a scene from a movie, four women sat on chairs in front of the ruins, laughing and having a grand time. 

I walked up and said, "seeing you girls makes me miss my girls back home!" And they promptly made me feel welcomed and part of their girl posse. 

 

New girlfriends!

Scotland: these girls should be your official ambassadors. 

 

Let's turn left here.
Okay.
Oh, look...a castle!

Let us in!
(or is it, "Let us out!!"?)

I think it was "Let us out!" 

 

 

 

This is where we stopped to enjoy our sandwich and water picnic lunch. 

 

 

 

No daffodils were harmed in the taking of these pictures. 

 

 

I hate to ruin how lovely these bridge photos are, but full disclosure: she'd just spit in the water.

Let's end where we began: with the Beatles: