Adventures in the Unknown: "Well Don't You Look Official...."

Political Science Major Nerd Alert. Visit to Stormont, check!
(For all my non-political followers, Stormont is the Northern Ireland Parliament building)

So to get to Stormont from (London)Derry, we had to take the bus up to Belfast, then transfer to Stormont. Okay, not a problem, We've taken buses and trains everywhere. Problem? The bus we needed to take left at 6:10. AM.

The trip was fine (no good/embarrassing/disgusting travel stories here folks), but we ended up getting to Stormont an hour before our tour started. Hanging out in the Government Cafe with Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs)? Check. (Okay, sitting having a coffee when they walked in, got theirs, and left? Check.)

It was a pretty awesome experience. We started in the Senate room, which being used later that morning for a World War memorial. So we moved into an "education" room where we listened to a quick presentation before we got to meet and ask 3 MLAs questions. They were from the Sinn Fein party, Green party, and the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP).

It was awesome to get a chance to interact and talk with an MLA. The best part was that the tour guide said we asked some of the best questions she's ever heard asked. We brought questions that were substantial and that made one or two of the MLAs become taken aback. You could tell that they expected questions like "What do you do as an elected representative?" not "What kind of programs are you implementing to counter-act the unemployment and drug issues?"

So impressed with our questions that the tour guide emailed us for our suggestions on how to fix the Northern Ireland Government Process. Yup, we're kind of a big deal.

After Stormont, we walked outside around the building and the landscape was fantastic. I know, I keep saying that everywhere has fantastic landscapes. But seriously, everywhere does. With hills like the ones here, I would be more disappointed if the views sucked.

Anyway, we took a quick walk around Belfast (~3 hours), where we visited Queens University. Talk about a campus. The buildings' architecture were castle-esque, and the quads in between the buildings were so peaceful. Is this what an Ivy League school is like?

Oh, I almost forgot: we had knock off Chipotle (Boojum). Talk about satisfying a craving! And this place is the only place I have ever eaten at that had Valentina, the salsa/hot sauce I got in Alabama.
Story Time! I went to Montgomery, Alabama freshman year on an Alternative Spring Break on Immigration through the Newman Center at school, and we stayed in a house with some Sisters. The one night, Sister Veronica was using this hot sauce on popcorn (which sounds disgusting, but was life changing). On the final night, Sister Veronica gave me a bottle as a going away gift. I'm pretty sure I still have that bottle somewhere as a reminder of that trip.

Well, we got home, and it's time to sleep! Note to Self: 5 AM wake-up calls are terrible everywhere in the world, just slightly more worth it when you're in a different country!