Belfast: Starting to say goodbye

Belfast City Hall

Amazingly enough our adventure is beginning to come to a close. This past week was the first major step with my Fulbright End-Cap Meeting in Belfast, Northern Ireland.  The British Consul and Fulbright brought together the remaining twelve American teachers for a few days of meetings to share our experiences and talk about the re-entry process as we prepare to finish our exchanges and make our way home. Additionally we were treated to some live music, a bus tour of Belfast, school visits, and a trip to the recently opened Titanic Belfast exhibit. This was the first time since September that I have seen the whole group of Fulbright teachers and I couldn't wait to see everyone again and hear how all the exchanges have gone.

Titanic memorial outside of the Belfast City Hall

Albert Memorial Clock. Completed in 1869, the tower leans four feet to the side.

The Fulbright group outside Queen's University

We started the year with nineteen American teachers in the UK, but seven were on a term exchange and went home in December. Through the magic of Facebook we have been in contact throughout the year, but hadn't been together as a group since our embassy visit in London last September. Teaching overseas has been an amazing experience, but certainly comes with unique challenges. The Fulbright group has been a tremendous source of support during the school year and I'm very thankful for the friendships made.

This year's group had teachers at a variety of locations, from elite boarding schools to small, rural primary schools in England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. During the meeting each teacher gave a presentation about their experience and we shared quite a bit of laughter, and even some tears listening to everyone's stories. We talked about our personal highlights, what we've learned, how we contributed to our host schools, and how to implement our experiences back at our home schools. I felt very proud of the work done by my colleagues this year and admire the way all of us challenged ourselves with new experiences and persevered through the difficult stretches.

Titanic Belfast Museum. Click here to visit the museum website.

On our last day the teachers were divided into groups for classroom visits at local schools. Four of us spent the afternoon at Belfast Royal Academy. The school was quite beautiful, with its stone buildings and pristine landscaping. The school might not have been the most typical of schools (a bit "posh"), but surprisingly there was a warm, casual feel to the classes. Make no mistake, when it was time to work the students got right to it, but overall there was a happy atmosphere about the school and a good relationship between the staff and students.

A bonus to our visit was spending time with a Maths (they add the 's' here) teacher who had recently been on exchange to the United States in 2009-2010. He had been teaching in California and shared his experiences about coming home after the exchange. Re-entry issues were a big theme of our Fulbright meeting and it was interesting to hear how he adjusted to life back home after his year abroad. If you had to go home, the Belfast Royal Academy would certainly be a nice place to return to.

Entrance to the Belfast Royal Academy

We concluded our stay in Belfast with a bit more paperwork and some emotional goodbyes.  After three years of applications, interviews, a whole lot of waiting, and the actual exchange, this adventure of ours has been a lengthy process. My group came together in Washington D.C. a year ago with a million questions and a fair amount of anxiety and excitement. To be honest it was quite surreal to be sitting around the tables together on the other side of the exchange wondering how it can possibly be coming to an end soon. This first round of goodbyes was tough, as so many of us have leaned on each other this year for support, and strong friendships have been built. The folks at Fulbright have been equally fantastic and I can't say enough about the support they provide throughout the exchange.

We really are nearing the finish line, but there's still a ways to go yet. Two more weeks of teaching, end-of-year activities, and a few more adventures around the corner. Next up, Prom!

Finishing up paperwork at the British Consul