Since there is so much to discuss about Belfast and what I am doing here, I will keep the next couple of posts dedicated to the different parts of my week. So it is only fair that I give each type of group I work with, their own post.
On Wednesday and Friday mornings, I work with Strand Playgroup. Playgroup is for children age 2 1/2 to 4 years old. They meet from 9:15am to 12pm. I work with two other ladies there and have an absolute blast. When they first come in, they get an hour of free time which includes playing with sand or water, painting, coloring, jigsaw puzzles, playdough or reading. They then have snack time which consists of toast with fruit and either milk or water. They get singing time next and then race around a gym-like room that is called a hall. They have trikes and cars and a slide so they can be a little more active. Story-time is the last thing that they do before they leave. I have absolutely loved being a part of this group of 16 children. I have been able to learn a little Polish because one of the children is Polish. The children are so attentive and ready to play and learn. It has been a highlight for my mornings and seems to keep me energized.
On a totally different note, I was able to go to Ballymena on Saturday with the Presbyterian Women (PW). By the way, most things in Belfast seem to get an acronym and I might start to do that also in this blog because I think its somewhat contagious. So just comment on an acronym if I don't explain it. Anyway, I took a coach (really nice bus) with the women involved in PW to do what I found out would be shopping. It turned out to be a beautiful day, though while we were waiting for the coach it was raining. The women were fantastic and extremely funny. I felt as if I was on a bus with the Golden Girls and some of the women off of the British sitcoms. They provided entertainment on the 45 minute ride back to Belfast by doing a fashion show down the aisle of the coach, with the items that they bought that day. One woman read a couple of funny sayings that had been on church signs.
The picture is an example of some of the newer murals that have been put up and it is my favorite of the murals that I have seen. The mural stands on the outside wall of the post office and directly adjacent to that post office is a local bakery. After the bakery is Strand Presbyterian Church, where playgroup is held. It is the brick building behind the mural in the picture. Oh and the bakery is quite amazing. I have to make a somewhat large breakfast after I run in the mornings that I go to playgroup because I might tend to gorge myself on their delicious scones.
Blooper of the Week: People in Belfast refer to time differently than in the US and very rarely say the actually numbers. They say half-nine or quarter past three and now I fully understand and don't have to translate in my head what that means. The first time I heard it though, I just assumed that I knew what time they meant and had to wait an extra 25 minutes because I was early.
Word of the Week: Mizzly which is a hybrid of drizzling and misty and has become one of my favorite words. That's good too because it is often mizzly in Northern Ireland and I had the benefit to experience it today.
P.S. I like mail... so feel free to send some, I can definitely give you my address friends!!!
