Kabosh Theater Tour

    The next day, quite a few of us used our open morning to explore a bookstore we had seen down the street. Oxfam books was very cute and very little. I most enjoyed people watching through the windows. I had started to observe that there was a higher concentration of people with individualistic style than in America. I saw many that looked very confident and stylish, but their aesthetic was original and didn't reflect the look of every other person. Following the bookstore, we joined the rest of the class to make our way to Victoria Square. There, we split off to find lunch and shop around for a moment. We were really just window shopping, but I made a mental note to come back at a later time. There were so many stores, and the mall setup made me feel like I was in a slightly more European Kansas City mall. There were a lot of buskers, which I didn't expect and they all relatively respected each other's space. It was very interesting to see how they spread themselves out and how they presented themselves.

    Our class that day consisted of a walking tour/play about growing up as a gay man in Belfast. The tour was presented by the Kabosh Theater, and I found it very interesting. We listened to an audio performance of a character walking through Belfast as he thinks back on his experiences. As we listened, we walked the paths he was describing and saw the aspects of the city as he described them. This was a fantastic way to see the "queer quarter" of Belfast. It gave a sentimental background that really humanized that area which we had never been before. At the end, we stopped for pizza and got to chat with our fantastic guide. She spoke to us about her job and what it is to work at the Kabosh Theater. Even though it wasn't luxurious by any means, it sounded like the coolest job ever. Kabosh's performances are so often rooted in culture and history in the area, and all of the performances are so outside of the box. I really enjoyed hearing about what they do.

    The day ended with my classmates and I heading to the bar next door to us called Filthy McNasty's. The only Filthy part of McNasty's was the bathroom, but I didn't spend much time in there. We secluded ourselves upstairs to finally get some time to get to know each other with a full night's sleep under our belts. I tried my first Guiness and stopped about halfway through because I just did not enjoy it. As the night petered out, the remnants of our group sat closer to the karaoke night going on downstairs. There, we were introduced to four young musicians. These young men were very excited to meet Americans, and we were very excited to have people to talk to with no obligation to sugarcoat anything. They spoke about how ridiculous they found the American government. They then spoke about how ridiculous they found their own government. The four of them were in favor of a united Ireland, and one even spoke about Palestine and the oppression they are facing from the Israeli government. The night ended with one of them serenading the bar. Turned out he was a pretty good musician.