Hello there!
So, the past couple of weeks have been pretty busy. As usual, I’m getting stuck into the archives and I’m getting lots of writing done. I really wanted to write a post about how to write 1000 words a day but I’m so drained after all the writing I do during the day that I really haven’t been able to bring myself to write about writing! 🙂 Soooooo, here is an amazing blog post that inspired me to become a more committed writer. Have a read if you want to get some serious writing done.
Recently I attended a counter-demonstration against Silent Sam, a statue of a Confederate soldier on campus here at UNC. I wasn’t prepared for what I experienced. When I walked towards the site of the counter-protest the first thing I saw was a convoy of cars and trucks all flying at least one Confederate flag. Some were flying multiple. I thought it was pretty crazy because I believe that the Confederate flag cannot be separated from racism. Especially one that has a belt hanging from it in what closely resembles a noose. Shocking stuff. At the end of the day, four million black people were held in slavery when the Civil War broke out in 1861, for no other reason than the colour of their skin. For centuries they were forced to labour from dawn to dusk, beaten and raped. Their children were taken from them and they were separated from their spouses. Sure, there were degrees of slavery and some masters were more lenient than others but the myth of the happy slave is exactly that. A myth. The way I see it, the Confederacy cannot be separated from that history of racism, prejudice and oppression. Anyway, you can read more about the counter-protest here.
I also went to the State Fair in Raleigh with some of the Boxing Club crowd. For Irish people reading this, it was basically like a much bigger Funderland. But the food… The food was amazing. Basically, you could get deep fried anything: cheeseburgers, oreos, cheescake, mac and cheese…The list was endless. You could also get these massive turkey legs that smelled delicious and really buttery corn on the cob. Mmmm. I’m drooling just thinking about it!
Deep Fired Oreos
Then, of course, I celebrated Halloween! A friend had a house party that we all dressed up for. It was really fun. I had to get creative with my costume. There are no costume shops in Chapel Hill and I wasn’t in the mood to go shopping for one so I dressed up as a …. zombie! The only thing I bought for my costume was fake blood. I did crazy make-up, messed up my hair, ripped my tights and made some cool cuts out of eyelash glue. I think it turned out pretty well!
Today, UNC were playing their rivals Duke in football. And they won 66-31! I didn’t go to the game but I went to a pre-game tailgating party.
Next week I’m going to Washington DC to visit a friend I met at the Fulbright Orientation program so I’m really excited about that. I’ll fill
you all in when I get home.
Slán go fóill!
AnneMarie Brosnan 