Day 7 - June 7th

I am missing two days in my blog because I came down with a horrible stomach bug that a few other ambassadors also had to deal with around days 5 and 6.

Today (Friday), we started the day off meeting a sitting member of the House of Lords in the British parliament, Margaret Ritchie. She talked about her experience coming up through the ranks as a politician, telling us that she didn't think it was even possible to reach the houses of parliament. She talked about what her role was as an Labor Party MP, which mostly consisted of scrutinizing legislation drawn up by the House of Commons. She told us that a united Ireland was achievable and almost inevitable, and that she herself envisioned a new progressive Irish society protruding from a unification of the north and south.

After our talk with MP Ritchie, the ambassadors took part in team-building exercises out on the water. We learned the basics of canoeing, including how to properly paddle, navigate our boats, and get the sides of our canoes as close to the water without taking on too much water and sinking. After our training came to a close, we raced in groups of two up and down a stretch of water before heading back to shore. Unfortunately, as we were heading back to home base, my partner and I rocked the boat (literally) and ended up sinking our canoe. Luckily, we sunk it in knee-height water so it was easy enough to retrieve, though we ruined our shoes.

I ended the night with a few other ambassadors at Macken's Pub back in Newcastle for some live Irish traditional music. Sadly, there was no banjo despite there being two guitars, a bodhrán, several flutes, and enough fiddles to fill a small orchestra. Otherwise, I definitely would have joined in.