Autor: Timm Clauberg

The last few days weren’t that special. Except that we had to dismiss from Peter. We invited him to Germany and he said if he comes around in Berlin sometime again, he is definitly going to see us. After cleaning up our apartment we went a last time to the pub „The Hatfield House“, and drank some of their own brew which is quite a decent beer and talked to a guy we’ve met there before. He was often around the area because his flat is just a 2 minutes walk away and after playing some pool billiard me and Leo went home. We’ve planned to take the bus at 1 o’clock and we reached it 15 minutes before it has departed. The drive to the airport was nice, since the Translink Goldline busses are very well build for the comfort of the passengers. After going around the Terminals we ended up in the Aer Lingus Line and when we were finished with the luggage, we already saw Martin, René, Nick and Maria. We waited until they had finished and went on to the secruity checks. It took several minutes until we passed them and then we strolled around the even bigger part of the Airport. It was like a big maze, there are so many ways to go and so many shops that you could fill the whole day walking around in the area I think. We had a breakfast and then sat down at the gate waiting for the boarding. The flight itself was quiet, but I had a cold and was really pressure-sensitive at this time so I felt pain while the plane was going up and down. I was happy when we safely landed in Germany. All in all I enjoyed the stay in Belfast and I think that the overall experience was helpful in terms of improving my english and social behaviour in other countries.

Just in the mid of the last week we had to accomplish another big task Tony gave us. Today we had to go through all buildings on all floors and write down the telephone extension numbers of every single phone. All in all I guess it were over 1000 phones and it took a lot of time. After that we had to move some PCs to other desks because a big contractor needed more space for it’s employees. But like the german saying „Too many cooks spoil the broth“, it was a big mess in the end and we had to exchange a lot more equipment then we were told.

In the afternoon me and my flat-mates started to sort out all our stuff we’ve got in the apartment. The time here in Belfast comes to an end and I think it’s worth to spend the time now instead of having a stressful Friday where every one is rushing around. I hope that the luggage that I carry with me hasn’t got too much overweight since I’ve bought new stuff and it feels a bit heavier then just 2 kilos.

Today we’ve been invited by Intern Europe for an analysis of the stay here in Belfast, after a bit of becoming mentally awake we had a little talk about our experience and filled out some forms that need to be held in their archive. It was about how we liked our work-placement and the overall internship abroad. After that Martin, Nick, Eric, Marco, Max and me had a breakfast in a tiny but great restaurant called „Meat in a Bap“. Later that day I maybe go to the gym or to the cinema (since a few new movies were released which are worth the watch), it depends on what the others will decide for.

On Sunday I had to get up really early, because Martin came into our apartment quarter to 9. We had planned to take a trip to Bushmills and at 3 after 9 René, Martin and me managed it to start our walk to the Botanic Train Station which was almost too late. I never took a train during my stay in NI before so I appreciated the extras they had to offer. In every train there is an open Wi-Fi which you can use during the ride, which is in my opinion useful and impressive as the route is along rural areas and the train speeds up to I think 70 – 80 miles/h between the stops. After we disembarked at the Colerain Train Station we had to wait 30 minutes for the 402 bus which is called the Causeway Rambler. During the rapid bus ride we had a few awesome views over the coast including all kinds of countryside, from steep cliffs to nice beaches. Only minutes before the distillery has opened we arrived there and were included in the first group that entered the complex that day. We first went to the gift shop to see what they are selling there and then we took our lunch in a canteen which  is directly connected to the shop. When we’ve got back from the lunch to the entry hall, one of the clerks there told us that the next tour is going to start in 5 minutes and we should register for it now. We did what he told us and participated in it. It was interesting to see how the whiskey is produced from the mesh, to the fermenting, to the destilling and at the end the ripening. We got to know the differences between the types of whiskey and after that we we’re led to a bar where we were able to try out the product. I’ve had a glass of the 12 year old distillery reserve which you only can buy in their shop and it was in my opinion a real good spirit. The tour took us 40 minutes and after we’ve got the some souveniers we went back to Belfast. It was a nice day and I think it was worth the journey time. So as the next week is going to be the last one here, I wish everybody who is staying in (N)I that the last week will be a great one.

On Friday there was again not much to do in Concentrix. Eric, Max and me had to do several little tasks and after they were done and the time has come Peter allowed us to go home. Yesterday we went to a Pub near the Queens University. There were many people on the streets, probably the Q-Con where Eric went to was also a factor – but when we got back home the density wasn’t that high anymore. In the pub (that claimed itself to be a World Cup bar – with big posters on the outer walls) were many local Irish people that are celebrating every goal, for Ghana and Germany. I think they weren’t really biased towards the game and they just were happy that the game was exciting at all. The atmosphere was relaxed. They had a big choice of beer, wine and softdrink brands and when the game was finished and after we had a few drinks we went back home again. I’ve liked the pub, except a few people which weren’t really interested in watching the game and disturbed the people who wanted to.

Due to a quiet work week I haven’t got that much to write about it yet. Peter has much stuff to do so he’s often around the buildings but we can’t help in the most cases. We had to reassemble a room with PC’s because there were too less work areas for the employees and they needed 4 in addition to the current configuration, which was quite difficult because the room is small. We somehow managed it with some squeezing and tightening up all the equipment but if I’m honest, I wouldn’t want to work in there. On Monday a few of us went to Intern Europe for watching the football game, which was nice at all – especially because there were a lot of portuguese people around. After the match started and Germany scored the first 2 goals, the atmosphere was a bit heated up (I think because of the temper and the national honour) but they accepted the success of the German team at all. In my opinion it was nice from Intern Europe to invite us to watch the game with them, and If they send out another invitation I will attend there again for sure.

Saturday evening Eric, Marco, Nick, Leo, Martin and me went to a pub around the corner to watch the football game (England vs. Italy) in a pub. The pub itself was quite nice and they equipped every wall with at least one tv. With adding all of them the number would be around 15 screens where the game was shown at. We expected the pub to be more full but there we’re only a few groups of people with us. They weren’t really happy that England lost but the atmosphere was okay at all. We played a bit of billiard and table soccer and after a few funny hours we went back to our apartments. The sunday was mostly eventless. Leo and me walked a bit through the botanic park which is really nice and always a place where alot and all kinds of people are around. Since there are only to more weeks to go and I want to visit the distillery of Bushmills at least once Martin and me decided to go there next weekend too. It requires a bit of travelling but I think it’s worth the effort.

On Saturday I went to the Ulster museum for a lecture I’ve had registered for. It was about cartography in the past times, and was held by a doctor who presented his own scientific work. He and one of his students created a map where Ireland was displayed with a grid overlay on it and other different informations in unique representations. The overlay was an abstract way to show the deviation between todays exact data and the old map they took as base. He explained different philisophical meanings of maps and talked about how (with trigonometry and walking down the landscape) they were created. The earliest dated maps displayed Ireland in the 17th century and before that it is even today totally unknown how the people created them (but still they existed). In the last part of the lecture he explained how the old maps are being digitalized and reviewed. All in all it was very interesting and I would like to hear more about the topic. After that I took a quick stroll through the museum, but since it’s very big and I wanted to go to city center to exchange some euros to pounds I only was able to visit 2 sections of it. I planned a more extensive visit for next weekend and I will keep you updated. After leaving the musuem I walked down to the city center and found a possbility to exchange money in the tourist information. On my way back home I went to a bookshop in the Botanic Avenue and spend a few bucks in it. It was specialized in crime novels and is called NO Alibis. It’s just a small shop but it was well frequented and the other costumers had a talk with the salespersons there. When I left it they offered me a few postcards for free and I took them. It was a nice Saturday not at last because of the nice weather and I hope the last weekend will be that nice too.

Yesterday and today we had a lot of work to do. Again there were many PCs to move but since we had to check that the whole equipment is in the same constellation like before we only were able to pick up 2 at once. Tuesday is like in Dublin cinema day too. The price is 3 Pound for each film and they are showing the newest blockbusters. Eric, Leo and me went to „The Edge of Tomorrow“, it was an impressive movie in my opinion and definitly worth the watch. Tomorrow we need to move fully packed lockers, which will also take a lot of time as we have to move the  stuff which is in there seperatly. If this is done, I think it will be a bit quieter at all. I’m looking forward for the weekend because I’ve planned to visit the Belfast Zoo (which is near the Cave Hill) or the museum, so if you are interested in the experiences look out for my entry.

After the Comic Con we decided to drive back to the city and go to a few shops again. Martin was interested into the Nintendo GameCube which was actually sold at a pawnbroker called CashConverters. Before we went there Eric, Joel and Nick were interested in visiting a store called Forbidden Planet which was  something  like a mixture of all convention stands we of the Comic Con and sells everything what is related to the drawn art. The shop was overran, I think because of the event earlier the day and after looking around a few minutes Martin and I decided to go ahead of the  others to CashConverters. On the way to there we found a similiar shop which was way larger and we looked after games that we know from the past. Since we found some of them but nothing which interested us any further we left it and we’re heading back the original destination. Martin bought a black version of the console and a game and after meeting up with the others we went to Iceland to buy some groceries. When we got back home we made some burgers in the evening and had a good time. The Sunday was mostly eventless and after having a relaxed day it’s now bed time for me.