Double Day and Birthday Photos

Happy Birthday, Mr. Piccolo!
Woodvale Methodist Church surprises me with a cake on my birthday.

So in my last blog, The Long Blog About Christmas and Overcoming Homesickness in Belfast, I refer to "the family" that took me in on my birthday and on Double Day (Christmas and Boxing Day). This family also takes me in just about every Sunday for dinner. Vera, the mother, jokes that I am her "adopted son." They're a real Belfast family: honest, blunt, loud, and loving. My year wouldn't have been the same without them.

So, even though my birthday was waaaaaay back in October, I thought I'd share some photos from these holiday events I spent with that family. For those of you who are unfamiliar with blogs, you can see bigger version of the photos by clicking on them.

DOUBLE DAY

Simon and I celebrate Christmas the only way we know how, by being overbearingly manly.
See? He's even holding a small dog named Toto.
Courtesy of Holly

In my last blog, I wrote about crackers. If you look carefully, I'm holding the gift you get inside.
Courtesy of Holly

Jaime, Leanne, Holly, and I
Courtesy of Holly

Samantha, one of the four sisters, unfortunately was at work during this picture. I believe she's studying philosophy at a local college her. She's hilarious and likes South Park, so we get along well.

Holly, the farthest sister on the right, is currently a member of the Methodist Tom Travelling Team. They are a mission group that travels the island of Ireland, bringing programs and happiness to all the churches and schools in the area they stay in for a week. Yes, they are kind of like Christmas. Later in the year they will be visiting Woodvale Methodist.

BIRTHDAY

Simon, Granddad Billy, and I

If you look closely, Granddad Billy is sticking out his lower jaw, displaying the only two teeth he has left. He often jokes about his teeth and pulls on them to gross the family out. He's hilarious.

Simon, who is married to Jaime, is a really funny and intelligent man. He's quite knowledgeable about the Troubles and current politics, so I learn a lot form him. He also loves Father Ted. 'Nuff said.

Vera and I

In the best of ways, Vera epitomizes a woman from the Shankill, one of the locations I work in. Unfortunately, Shankill can sometimes still get a bad reputation for all the stuff that went down during the Troubles. It's people like Vera that disprove this bad rep without compromising any of her Shankill heritage and culture. She'll tell you exactly what's on her mind and what she likes and doesn't like, and she'll pile mountains of food on your plate while making it clear she's glad you came over for dinner. Without a doubt, she and her husband Sam are two of the most caring and hospitable people I've ever met.

On a side note: Shankill has come a long way since its turbulent history during the Troubles. Currently most of the riots are taking place in East Belfast (Shankill is in the West). Barely any riots, if any at all, have occurred in the Shankill these past months.

Vera made me a cake!

Jaime and I

Jaime is a gifted teacher and our current head Sunday School leader. I love working with her in Sunday School because I learn something new from her every time. The kids all love her and she has a unique, organic way of nurturing their development without babying them. She's a very genuine person, and, like Vera, is also a great cook that will often have me over to eat. It's always great to sit next to Jaime at Bible Study or Young Adults because she'll crack jokes and get away with it.

Leanne and I

Leanne is a nurse and is one of the strongest Christians I've ever met. She's constantly thinking up ways to further unite the Woodvale Methodist community. For example, she had our Young Adult group that she leads put together sketches and dance performances for the church's Christmas dinner. The people at the dinner loved it, and want an encore for next year.

But she also finds ways to reach out to the Greater Shankill area. With her leadership, our Young Adult group were able to deliver Christmas ornaments to a nearby elderly home. She's recently taken a leadership position in a community cafe project at Shankill Methodist Wednesday and Saturday nights. Even with a busy schedule, she rarely misses a church event. I can count on her to pray for me, to give me lifts to church, and to just be there for me if I'm having a low day. She's a great friend and I can't wait to see what Christian endeavors she accomplishes in the future.

The Long Blog About Christmas and Overcoming Homesickness in Belfast

City Hall Christmas Market
Courtesy of Courtney

This Christmas was a different one. No one here watches Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown. Some of my favorite Christmas carols have different lyrics here (singing Silent Night was NOT the same). I wasn’t with my family. But you know what? It was an AWESOME Christmas, and it’s one I’ll remember for a long time. Gather round children, and I shall tell you the story of T.J.’s Very Merry Belfast Christmas Special!

Merry Christmas, Belfast!
Courtesy of Courtney

I couldn’t help but feel like something was wrong during December, you know, thee month of holiday cheer. The thing is, I was so wrapped up (unintentional pun) in the Christmas chaos, I didn’t even realize I was feeling that way.

Streets of City Centre
Courtesy of Courtney

One day I was at City Centre and stopped to think about how I was actually feeling. After some processing, I realized I felt empty and like something was missing. But why did I feel that way? I was having a great time in Belfast! I helped with a couple different Christmas dinners. I saw Santa with Little Steps and Special Needs Club. I even had a place to go on Christmas and Boxing Day! Why was I upset? So then I thought about it even more.

I had graduated. I wasn’t stressing over finals, exams, and school projects. I wasn’t going to the Chicago Christmas Market with Mike. I wasn’t participating in Secret Santa with my old roommates. I wasn’t going to my summer camp staff Christmas party. I wasn’t texting friends to work out times to see them over the break. I wasn’t purchasing train tickets back from Chicago to Michigan.

Heck, I wouldn’t even be in Michigan. Which meant…

I wouldn’t help with the weird tradition of wrapping unique meats into stocking stuffers for my dad’s stocking. I wouldn’t see mom staying up extremely late to wrap presents she hadn’t gotten around to yet. I wouldn’t be making my sisters laugh during the Christmas Eve service when we should have been paying attention.

I was homesick.

As soon as I realized that, I became very homesick for a solid two days. Didn’t sleep well. Wasn’t energetic. Petty, depressing thoughts kept creeping into my mind, like “Are people going to realize I’m not home?” and “Who will still be my friend when I get back? They’re changing. I’m changing. A lot. Will I be too different?” and “I don’t really know what’s going on in certain people’s lives that I miss.” Even with the solid support system here that I have with Doug (the site coordinator), the YAV’s, the Trust, and Woodvale, for the most part I kept the homesick feelings private. I didn’t want to draw attention to it. I missed family. I missed friends. I missed stupid things like driving mom’s minivan with the Mickey Mouse antenna topper to McDonald’s at midnight with Jessie or Preston.

It could have went on. And on. And on and on and on and on. But I prayed about it, had a wake-up call, and realized it wasn’t going to go away until I nipped it in the bud. So I started thinking about Christmas with the family from Woodvale Methodist that invited me. I realized how God blessed me with them. They feed me just about every Sunday, they had me over for my birthday and baked me a cake, they tumble dry my bed sheets because it’s a total pain to wait for them to air dry.

That made me feel better.

Then I thought about how the church and 174 Trust were really awesome about making sure I had somewhere to be for the holidays. They also gave me a slew of cards, sweets, and biscuits! It was incredibly thoughtful. Bill and Geoff had gotten me a gift, and so did Lesley and the volunteers from the café. Doug even got us Kraft Macaroni and Cheese based on an inside joke from the retreat we went on! I participated in two different Secret Santa games, one with the YAVs and one with the café, and both of those were really fun.

That made me feel great, too.

Good friend and former YAV Sarah also sent us a gift. David and I sent her this beautiful picture in response.

I continued to choose to find all the great things about Christmas in Belfast. All the good things God blessed me with. David (my flatmate) and I ran into a family the North Belfast YAV’s have befriended. They chatted with us and gave us a card and a tin of biscuits. David put up lights and even managed to grab us a small, live tree. He and I opened one present each on Christmas Eve (technically Christmas morning). David, Tricia, and I went to Anna’s church for Christmas Eve that she and her youth put together, and it was fantastic. And I should mention that City Hill had a beautiful Christmas Market with a big tree and that the entire City Centre area was decorated. It was just great to walk through.

With prayer and a positive attitude, I beat the homesickness. Sure enough, soon after, it was Christmas/Boxing Day (which I officially call “Double Day”). Oh, and it was my first Boxing Day. Boxing Day is basically just an extended Christmas. Originally, I think it had something to do with giving gifts to servants, but no one here has really given me a straight answer. I probably should ask Doug...

Anyway, so I went over to the family’s for Double Day and it was definitely one of my favorite holidays for sure! We had the infamous Belfast Christmas dinner! See, over here, no one plans Christmas parties like we do in America. It’s all about these magical Christmas dinners that everyone eats during the month of December in preparation for thee Christmas dinner. They are everywhere. Every church, organization, and charity has them all over the country. They are big, three-course dinners with ham, turkey, gravy, juice, peas, carrots, mashed potatoes, and my personal favorite, roasties (kind of like roasted potatoes and fries, but not quite). The portions you get are massive, by the way. People here like to tease me about the fast food industry in American and how much we consume over there, but you eat dinners with these guys and it’s like eating a tiny mountain. Also, every Christmas dinner has a cracker, which are in America but aren’t nearly as popular. Basically you and another person pull on both ends of a wrapped container. The container pops and whoever has the bigger end…wins? Loses? I don’t remember, but you do get a joke and toy on the inside!

So on Christmas we ate, watched A Muppet Christmas Carol, went for a walk, and played Monopoly and Cluedo (Clue). I, of course, skyped with my family when I got home. On Boxing Day, we did more of the same and it was wonderful. Vera, the mother and chef goddess, made a wonderful meal yet again that had lamb, beef, and a ton of different desserts (including Bailey’s Cheesecake—yum). We laughed a lot those two days, and had a lot of, as people here would say, “good craic.”

It was a refreshing holiday season. After being so homesick, I felt extremely loved. I was definitely where God wanted me to be: with a caring family. Not a bad way to spend my first Christmas away from home.

Now if you’ll excuse me, that last paragraph was so sincere and corny I need to go throw up. See you next time with a shorter blog!

Apology & Testimonial

Does this picture of me riding a dolphin please you?
A statue of Fungie the Dingle Dolphin. It's in Dingle.
Courtesy of Annette van Heerden

So...I've been away from the blog for a while...yikes.

You guys, I'm very, very sorry about that. I promised to keep you guys updated and I dropped the ball on that one. Just know that it's because I'm living in the moment and hitting what's in front of me with all I got, which is no excuse. I'll be better about informing you all from now on, and First Presbyterian Church of Alma, please expect a spectacular presentation when I get back!

Anyway, on to the blog.

Recently the PCUSA asked some of the YAVs to produce a testimonial that was a couple sentences long. I've never quite had a way with words, but I thought I'd share it with you all.

            I’m only about four months into my YAV year and it has already taught me that, even though my future is still unclear, trusting in God will get me through the uncertainty. I no longer fear it. During this year I can sort out my past in a positive way while still living in the moment and enjoying every minute of it. Being a Young Adult Volunteer is even helping me in small ways. I am cooking and exercising more, learning to budget better, attempting to force myself to go to sleep earlier (I’m getting there). I’m working with new people in solid placements that are working towards commendable goals. All of this while learning about a new culture and making friends that I hope to be in touch with for years to come. I couldn’t be happier with my decision to become a Young Adult Volunteer.

—T.J. Piccolo

Belfast 2012-2013

So that's that. Obviously I'm still loving my year, I still can't thank you all enough for your support, and I'm currently working on some more blog posts right now.