Hey guys! So I'm still alive and back in Dublin.

Today was a pretty long day. First thing I did when I got up was look at the breakfast the hostel was offering and think "hell no- not again." The free breakfast they offer consists of toast, cereal (generic flakes and wheat thingies), and tea. I'd had it everyday for a few days, and I just wasn't feeling it. I didn't really understand the concept of bringing a long comfort food on the trip when Tammy encouraged us to prior to leaving home. My logic was, "I'm in a new place, so it's time to do new things." Which means leaving behind "home" things at home. By today, what my fourth week in...?... I really just wanted a good cup of coffee without going out of my way. And I wanted it iced. And I wanted something tasty to eat with it. God blessed me with a Starbucks one block from my Belfast hostel- THANK YOU! lol. So I dined on a scone (they're so good in Ireland) with jam and an iced mocha. =)

This morning I did the Black Taxi tour. It was freakin' crazy and really expands your mind. My American concept of growing up around violence (not counting living in Oakland) is something that happened decades ago- not something in my lifetime that I've had to live through. But the people in Belfast grew up in it, and are still going through it. There are certain parts of Belfast where the Irish Catholic aren't welcome and other parts where the Protestant Loyalists aren't. They don't cross sides. If you're caught, then you get your kneecaps busted or blown off. The IRA used to hang people from poles (still alive- not to kill them) after tarring and feathering them. I asked a guy if they still did that, and he said not so much anymore. He said the women get their heads shaved. I thought he meant their heads shaved instead of being tarred and feathered, and he corrected me by saying, NO, first the shaved head, then tar and feather. Holy hell. There are giant walls that separate various communities, like in freakin' Israel. The gates to go in and out open in the morning and close at night. In many places are the political murals- each side has their own set of them. Some of them are just so powerful to see. One piece of graffitti chilled me to the bone- scrawled on a wall were the words "Please Help Me." The black taxis were originally started because the public buses kept getting bombed- no one would ride or drive them anymore. So a brave set of guys, some of which were backed by the IRA, started charging a small fee to drive people where they needed to get to. Btw, all this bombing and the end of the period called The Troubles, was only 10 years ago. Everything is still fresh in peoples' mind, and the hatred hasn't subsided. Anyway, the black taxis now have agreements with the various neighborhoods to drive in and out of them without being harmed.

As you can imagine, all this kind of startles me. What bothered me the most was riding around in the Protestant Loyalist areas in the big green Paddywagon van. Some of the men give you dirty ass looks and one guy even flipped off the bus. I was talking with the manager of the hostel last night. He said one time he drove his paddywagon van down the wrong street and a big man walked out of the pub into the middle of street. The man spat on the van and told the manager to get the van the f*ck off that street and if he came back he'd kill him. That's how effing extremist some of these people are, and its BOTH sides, too. It's sad to see all the high fences, barbed wire, and oh my god, there are CAMERAS EVERYWHERE. Big Brother is watching, no freaking kidding.

Needless to say I did not walk anywhere far or alone (except one block to Starbucks this morning) in Derry or Belfast. I don't know which streets are safe. Some people said the hostel was in a relatively safe area, and others said you still had to be careful about which streets you went down. So to be safe, I just didn't go out much.

After the taxi tour I had a stomach ache- it all just made me feel sick inside. It was such a crazy experience. A new tour guide (Michael took the rest of the group to continue their 10 day trip; seven us were headed back to Dublin today with a new guide) took us to Belfast Castle. It's not a CASTLE castle (the kind with defense in mind) since it was built in the last 200 years, but it looked like one and it was pretty! He also took us to where the Titanic was built- yup, Belfast built it! They still have the giant yellow cranes, named Samson and Goliath, up. It's like a historical thing, so they can't tear 'em down. Before leaving Belfast , we also stopped at a library with a C.S. Lewis memorial. Yup- he was here, too! He grew up in Belfast and got a lot of inspiration for the Chronicles of Narnia there. The library had a statue of C.S. Lewis opening up a wardrobe. On the back of the wardrobe was a letter he wrote to a little girl explaining the meanings of the books. Pretty cool!

Anyway, I got back here in Dublin about 6pm. I went and grabbed dinner and now I'm on the internet. Tomorrow I signed up for a day tour to the Cliffs of Moher- it's a little bit south of Galway on the opposite end of the island. I'm really excited because it's supposed to be really pretty! Unfortunately I have to get up at 6am tomorrow, for the tour, and then again on Friday, to head to the airport. My flight leaves about 10am Friday, but I have to be there three hours early. Gonna be boring as hell, but I'll bring my journal to write in and a book to read.

I'm excited to see everyone and just to relax at home! I'm not sure if I will have time to post tomorrow night when I get back from my day trip, but I'll probably at least have time for a short post.

Luv yas!