If You're Not Going To Clean Your Room...

Don't complain about not being able to find anything. If you're not going to exercise, don't complain about being out of shape. If you're not going to try to be a part of the solution, do not complain about the problem.
When I left Seattle I was fed up with the status quo at home in the states, frustrated and looking for an alternate view of the situation. I was big on complaints and non-existent as far as taking any real action to address any of the problems that were frustrating me. I crossed an ocean hoping to gain a new perspective of said issues, assuming that seeing them from the outside would offer up some sort of answer. Listening to the ideas, assumptions and opinions of the residents of Belfast concerning America, Belfast and life in general has been eye opening and educating for me. I've been open to anything that anyone has had to say to me and I've had no problem letting the occasional jab roll off my shoulders. Before I left, I mentally prepared myself to hear a good amount of negative opinions about America from people in Northern Ireland other parts of Europe. However, I was the opposite of prepared to hear it from a girl from Seattle. After a two week trip through Holland and Germany, constantly hearing was how "awful" the states were and how much better everything in Europe was, I literally turned into a redneck, flag flying, Team America member. It was shameful, and even now I don't know why I got so defensive. The whole time we were traveling I just wanted to remind my friend that it must be nice to be born an American where just by being born we have been gifted more rights and privileges than any other person in the world, hence being able to country hop in our 20's. I regained my senses upon my return to Belfast as well as a new outlook on the states. After listening to the barrage of complaints about all the problems in America and not hearing one proposed solution, I got alarmingly motivated to come back and start working on solutions myself. It was much more intriguing to me to flee my own country with the admirable goal of helping the rest of the world, but it's equally as important to stay and try to fix what's broken within my country. There is a lot that is wrong with the US at the moment but I don't think it's fair for me, along with the rest of Generation Y, to complain without taking any action, especially when we are of the perfect age to do so. I'm no longer a constitution waving NRA member but I have decided to focus my energies back home instead of leaving and assuming someone else will do it.

Children of The Crumlin

I've been a resident of Belfast for two weeks and one day now. It's legit. I've gotten acquainted with Crumlin road and it's boisterous residents. Scratch that, it's bistros neighborhood children, namely a group of 3 girls; Jordan (9), Tori (7) and Jessica (3) and 4 or so boys; Luke (5), Joseph (7), Josh (5) and whatshisname (6). They are loud, covered in food and/or dirt, rambunctious and I love them. I divide my time with them between ruleless games of "basketball" and hiding from them because I'm too tired to play basketball. Favorite kid moment so far: Jessica Jumps so High. Jessica is three and doesn't really get the games and is somewhat incapable of participating on account of her wee size. Mid-Bball game I decide Jessica should be able to have some fun too (she was wandering around aimlessly, spacing out and getting bowled over). So I grabbed her arms and told her to jump, as she did I lifted her up and she went soaring into the air (I swear she weighs 20 pounds.) We did that for a while until I was tired and I set her down. OK, apparently Jessica has never played that game before because she was swaying from side to side and grinning like a drunk, arms still raised slurring, "again, again..." She literally looked like a tiny drunk person, wasted from FUN! It was too good.
Moving on to the Crumlin resident teens. Laura and I got picked up by a pack of sixteen year olds dressed in matching track suits. Boys wear track suits, girls wear neo-Madonna ensembles. It was the typical holler, "You guys wanna have a good time?" Chuckle amongst themselves, back slap, low five, the usual. We stopped of course and asked, "Really? 'Do we want to have a good time?'" Nothing better had come to mind apparently. We made them talk to us for a while and then called them out on their failed attempt and one kid, bless his heart, replied, "Oh, we were just being rude there." I love the honesty! It's all over the place too. From sixteen year olds to five year olds, ask a kid a question and you get a straight answer. There seems to be no fear of being reprimanded, contradicted or corrected. It's good and bad I know but is a breath of fresh air from the round about, elaborate stories kids come up with in Sea-Town. Aye-aye Belfast youth, aye-aye.