I studied abroad through the Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE). I participated in the program in Spring 2017 located in Belfast, Northern Ireland which concentrated on peace, conflict, security, and culture in the region. This program has since become inactive. I chose this program because my first choice, Turkey, was not an option due to travel advisories from the State Department, but also because I wanted to live and learn in a post-conflict society. I got to study at Queen’s University Belfast, one of the top universities in the United Kingdom. Below is a picture I took of the university. I took 3 classes at Queen’s and 1 class with the CIEE staff. See this link for more information on the university: https://www.qub.ac.uk/.

At Queen’s I took two class on political science, British Politics and International Organizations, and one anthropology class on the conflict in Northern Ireland. My class, British Politics, was particularly well-timed because Brexit was still relatively new at that point, so there were constantly new developments and topics to discuss in class. This was enjoyable because many of the individuals who study at Queen’s come from England, so they had different perspectives on it than I had heard before. Furthermore, many Americans know very little about Brexit, so it was exciting and informative to get to discuss it with students who were well-read on the topic.

The class CIEE ran was also informative, but I acquired information mostly outside the classroom. We went on many field trips to learn more about the conflict in the area including to the church where the peace negotiations were held and to the city where the conflict began: Derry/Londonderry. The picture below shows one of the many political murals that are omnipresent in the city. This one depicts one of the most famous political prisoners who died as a member of the British Parliament during a hunger strike. I also got to learn about how many Catholics in Belfast identify themselves with Palestinians in the Israel-Palestine conflict. This was interesting to me because I had studied the conflict before going to Belfast, and I found myself noticing more often Palestinian flags and symbols among the Northern Irish murals.

While the community in Belfast is insular because it is a post-conflict society and still distrusts foreigners, I was able to integrate myself into the community through an international buddy program. I was paired with a student from Belfast and we got together on multiple occasions to discuss politics and share our cultures with each other. My Northern Irish native showed me the best pubs in the city and introduced me to one of my favorite things about the city: traditional music. This music is played in almost every pub in the city at least for a few hours every day, and it was particularly interesting to me because I play the cello and string instruments are the main instruments used. Even though it is almost two years now that I have been home from Belfast, I still love to listen to traditional Northern Irish music and have played some of it on my cello with some other Pitt students. The picture below shows one of the most famous, historic street in Belfast for pubs and traditional music.

Furthermore, I got the opportunity to travel to other European countries while I was abroad as well. I traveled to Cologne, Germany (pictured below) where I learned about the Roman occupation of the city and the experiences of local Cologne citizens during the Holocaust. I also explored Amsterdam in the Netherlands and a nearby historic windmill farm (pictured below). I loved learning about windmill technology and how they are still utilized today to make certain products. Additionally, I traveled to Alicante, Spain where I got to witness firsthand the Arab influences on Spain. As a student of Arabic and the Middle East, I loved seeing how the cultures have fused in many ways to create a beautiful and unique city.