Today was one of my favorite days of the entire trip so far. The botanical gardens were beautiful. I loved the rose garden some of us visited before the museum the most of all. The museum was also fascinating because it had so many different areas to explore. The art exhibits were by far my favorite. We also had a great lunch, then Jolie and I explored the botanical gardens more. We found a field where a group of men were playing some type of bowling game, and we sat to watch them for a while. They invited us to join and we learned some of the rules, then got to try it ourselves. (Jolie might have been better than me. Whatever.)

Then, we went on our black taxi tour to learn about the troubles and the tumultuous relationship between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland. The tour was really fascinating because our guide was obviously Catholic, and he said he knew some of the people who got murdered or injured throughout the years without peace. I was thinking about how little people can be reduced to when they are defending a place, or an idea like religion. Seeing all of the names of people as young as five years old memorialized because they senselessly died at the hands of a stranger of a different religion puts things more into perspective. I realize it is more complicated than merely religion, but it is difficult to imagine what else could drive people to be so reckless. It is also interesting to think about the parallels in the United States, in terms of people being so defensive about Islam. I loved getting a chance to sign the peace wall as well. Most of the signatures were accompanied by a request for peace and equality, and I wonder how achievable it really is after I learn the brutal history of these places.