Day Two: Family Ties

Today was packed full of activity. I started off the day going to breakfast with Maggie and meeting up with the rest of the group to board the bus and move to our next location, Bellaghy and Derry. Once boarding the bus we were surprised with a visit to the Carrickfergus castle which is a very well preserved castle originally built in the 1178. From there we moved to the Seamus Heaney museum where we learned about his life and works before given free time to explore and collect inspiration for our own work. After the visit to the museum we moved on to Londonderry and spoke to Sue Divin, a young adult fiction author, about the writing process and the history of Northern Ireland. Divin walked us around the walls of Derry where I took this picture. The view from the walls were incredible and I couldn't help but take pictures of everything I saw. After the walk we went to dinner and talked about our day and told stories about our families.

Today was, for me at least, a day about culture and relationships - whether to family, environment, or communities. At the castle I learned about dynamics between different groups of people from different nations or political parties, in the Seamus Heaney museum I learned about the relationship the Heaney had with his surroundings and childhood, and with Divin I learned about the power of storytelling and how it can bridge the divide between groups of people.

When I had free time I wrote a bit about the things as I learning as well as just things that came to mind. I found that writing about ties between people is a topic I really enjoy. I feel that even though my work obviously isn't as well known as Heaney's or published like Divin's, I still use it to connect with people as well as connect with myself. It speaks to those who understand.

I will talk to you all tomorrow!

Love,

Rowan (Roan if you want to say it like the Irish)