Pamela Louderback, Day 75

Last night I decided to be adventurous (mostly because I was too spent from research to do any reading when I returned to my apartment) and take in a movie.  The cinema was only a fifteen minute walk and the weather, though crisp, was devoid of precipitation.  I settled on the "Way Back" film that is based on a true story of prisoners of war from a Soviet Union labor camp who flee their Siberian Gulag and begin a treacherous journey across thousands of miles of hostile terrain.  It was quite good and I enjoyed seeing Colin Farrell as I hadn't seen him perform in quite some time.  A very moving performance was given by Jim Sturgess and Ed Harris -- I would say Oscar worthy for both.  See it if you get the chance.  I also discovered after being here 2 1/2 months that Tuesdays are £3 night at the movies!  I really need to get out more!

Today, I had to do a bit of grocery shopping and I decided to walk a different way home from the Tesco Express.  I'm really glad I did since I discovered an alley way close to my apartment near the Crescent Centre on Lower Crescent street that had quite a bit of nice urban art.  I've walked past the area on a couple of occassions in the dark, but never in the light of day coming from that direction.  Enjoy!

Urban art in an alley way where trash bins are kept behind businesses.

Two cinder blocks once used as parking spots, painted beautifully amid debri and wire

I attempted to phone the principals from the Bunscoils again, but did not get through.  Maybe tomorrow I'll be able to make some contacts.  I then focused my research on cross border studies in Ireland.  In 1998 the then Irish Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, and the former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, took part in an historic  video-conference link between two schools, one in Northern Ireland and the other in the Republic of Ireland.  It was the first time that political leaders had used this technology in schools

This "virtual" meeting between the two heads of state with two classes of students and their teachers led to a program which has steadily expanded every year and now reaches 370 schools, 740 teachers and 26,600 students.  The meeting was the start of the "Dissolving Boundaries" project managed by the Schools of Education at the University of Ulster and National University of Ireland Maynooth. 

Of course, anyone who has tried to open dialogue across the border in Ireland knows that it is often extremely difficulty to persuade the Protestant community in Northern Ireland to get involved.  There remains large pockets of suspicion on the northern side of the border about a possible united Ireland and whether an organized North-South school link would be supported by parents and governers is in question.  So far, one of the most interesting outcomes in this link project is the way that the school in Northern Ireland was able to gradually win the parents over to a new perspective on school policy towards difference and diversity.  Hope springs eternal. 

I have a contact at the University of Ulster (Eileen's brother-in-law) -- I think I'll email him and see if I can get a first-hand account from the key players regarding this program.