It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Well, December is certainly the month for Christmas fun!

City Hall decorated for the holidays and with the Continental Market in front.

Belfast is pretty similar to what I've experienced in the U.S. in terms of the pre-Christmas buildup. The opener of the season is a little earlier in Belfast than the U.S. because there is no Thanksgiving and Santa lives in a 'Grotto' that the kids visit and mail their letters to. But, just as in the States, there is lots of shopping! Interestingly, much of it appears to be in the City Centre rather than suburban malls (we, of course, love this idea). The City has a 'Continental Market' on the City Hall grounds that is quite fun - concerts, a carousel, gifts, food and drink (including mulled wine and beer tents). 

Watson's favorite food at the Continental Market
Bavarian mini-pancakes with chocolate sauce and whipped cream toppings

Watson on the Continental Market's carousel

There were gobs of people wandering around the City Centre shops and malls - here's a map showing you what the City Centre looks like: http://goo.gl/maps/03uRu. The markers are showing City Hall, a couple of malls in City Centre, and St George's Market which is the large farmer's market that is open on weekends. That whole area is full of pedestrians, especially on the weekends building up to Christmas. 

Most people seem to have at least one Christmas tree in their house, in fact, some have more than one, like Grace's family. It seems that fewer people decorate their yards, but the city and businesses decorate the outside with lights like those in the U.S. do. It sounds like there are even more Christmas parties to attend here than in the States - many people have an event every Friday and Saturday night in late November and throughout December. And, workplaces have big Christmas shin-digs. We didn't attend the QUB GAP party because it was the night before we flew to the U.S. But, we did go to our neighbor's holiday gathering that evening for an hour - Jane and Alan hosted (kids Nora 3.5 and Robbie 1) with games for the kids and mulled wine for the adults. Watson also made a Christmas scene at Jumping Clay, and we celebrated with Bob and Kath the weekend before we left - they had us overnight, we helped decorate their tree, and then Jubin and I went for our first date since July! We had dinner at the Balloo House (http://www.ballooinns.com/balloo-house/about), which was lovely. 

Some wrestling at Bob and Kath's... 

Fun decorating the Christmas tree!

Belfast schools are closed for approximately the same amount of time and during the same dates as in the U.S. Watson's school had a Christmas play, a traditional nativity play. Most of his class was part of the chorus. Here are some pix from that:

Watson's favorite teacher - Mrs Butler

 

And, of course, Watson wrote his Christmas letter to Santa, just as he would have in the U.S. We gave it to Jerry, our neighbor across the street who works in City Centre and he put it in the special mailbox to the North Pole at the City Hall. Then, a few or so later, Watson got his reply!

In case you cannot read that, he asked for  a water gun (he and the neighborhood girls love to have
water fights), some Jumping Clay (kind of like Play Doh but way better), and a yoga ball. 

About 2 weeks before Christmas, Watson got a gift from Mum and Dad - the very 1st weekend we lived in Belfast, Watson noticed that there was a Build A Bear Workshop in the Victoria Mall in City Centre and has been asking to build a bear ever since. So, Jubin said "for Christmas" and I took him there on a Dec weekday afternoon after school (have heard there are LONG lines on weekends) for fun. Here is a picture of him with his bear, Rose. She plays Rudolph and has Christmas clothing. For all of our parent friends reading this blog...be glad that there isn't a Build A Bear in Lansing!

Watson's advent calendar - added to Jan 23, 2014

Last year, someone told me about creating a homemade advent calendar and making the daily prize a book. Anyway, I've been thinking about this idea all year, and actually implemented it! I spent the month of November frequenting charity shops around town to collect used books and last week Jubin and I went to Craftworld in City Centre (fun!) to get the supplies for the calendar.

Below is a picture of the calendar I made from poster board, paper, and glitter. I then cut slits in the tree and put a little message in each (the square white pieces you see - each has a number (1-24) on it). The messages are clues that tell Watson where to go look for his prize. For example: I am in the cupboard in the smallest room in your house, I am under the smallest bed in your house, I am in something that carries your brother around.

My homemade calendar on the left and the calendar he got at the Market with Grace on the right.

It has been So fun! Watson was super-surprised Sunday morning and loves opening the clue each morning. He is able to read the clues all by himself, and then searches for his book. Every 6 days, I'll give him a different, small non-book prize (e.g., we have some fun gloves for him for the 6th). And, each evening we then have a new book to read! Some of them are chapter books that take a few nights to read and others we read in one sitting. This idea was so perfect for this year since we don't have many books here and the library isn't as convenient as the one in MI. Thanks to whoever gave me this idea (Brie?)!

Also, since we will have a pretty small Christmas gift-wise while in Florida (NOT going to transport gifts across the Atlantic in Jan and then again in July!), I made every 6 days a non-book, small gift day. Watson's 4 special gifts were: a jump rope (see below), Yahtzee, and 2 small giftcards (Jumping Clay and Build A Bear). Fun, fun!

Not so ordinary, ordinary days (Aug - Dec 2013) - updated Jan 2014

Since moving to Belfast, we've not really been "tourists". Instead, we have been living here. But, that doesn't mean that we haven't had some pretty amazing days! Below are just a few of our not so ordinary, ordinary days:

Very soon after arriving in Belfast, we noticed this place called Jumping Clay (http://www.jumpingclay.co.uk/) in Stranmillis, in between our house and QUB. In we went, and lo and behold, it is this really great place! Jumping Clay is sort of like PlayDoh, but better - the idea is that you create things with it and then let them dry. Watson did two "summer schemes" in August - these are week long 2-hr/day camps centered on a theme. He did the space and under the sea themed schemes, and below are pix of his creations. Since then, he has gone there many times for 1 or 2-hr classes or workshops to make all sorts of creations. And, he made a Christmas scene in Dec. Watson is so keen about JC that we have an assortment of clay at home that he uses as well. Very fun!

This pic is actually on the Stranmillis JC Facebook page. ;)

Shortly after moving here, there was a festival in the Botanic Gardens called "Mela". It is a festival of arts, culture, and heritage and featured lots of music. Here's a link to more info: http://2013.belfastmela.org.uk/Files/mela_2013_programme.pdf. We attended this festival with Bob and Kath, walking up to the Gardens from our house. We ate Indian food, watched Japanese drummers, watched the Kawa Circus, listened to  Ajo Arkestra (Afrobeat Ensamble), and made lots of children's crafts. The boys most enjoyed the Circus, which you can see clips of here: http://www.accessallareas.info/artist_article/37/kawa-circus.htm. At the end, Watson got a DVD to watch it all again (and again) and the next day it was reported back to us that Jubin could be seen in the audience on the TV News coverage of the event - he was even asked to stand up and prove to the audience that a prop being used was VERY heavy. Funny! Unfortunately, we did experience a little angst while at the festival...Watson very much wanted a tattoo, so he and I waited in a long line for henna tattoos. However, after getting it, Watson decided that he didn't want it anymore and wiped it all off before it dried (I think he was perturbed by it being cold and wet). He then spent the next few days admiring mine... Poor guy!

Also in August was Watson's 6th birthday. We had two parties in July before we left MI, one with all of Watson's friends mini-golfing and one with more friends and family at my parent's house. However, we still had a little something on the 21st with his and our new Belfast friends. Here are some pix!

One of Watson's gifts...that Jamieson obviously likes too!

Bob and Kath at Watson's party

Birthday cupcakes

Then, in September, we went to Belfast City Centre to the "Belfast Day" celebration (http://visit-belfast.com/whats-on/event/belfast-day). We listened to music, did lots of children's crafts, and ate some ice cream. One question we all had: Why do these festivals always (regardless of location) set things up so that the kids crafts a squeezed into a teeny tiny area, resulting in such crowding that it is practically impossible for kids to do the crafts? Here are a couple of pix from this event:

Then, in November, it hit home that there is no Thanksgiving here - what really made me realize this fact was how early the Christmas season started! On November 16, the Belfast Christmas Market opened, and Grace's family (Watson's friend across the street) had tickets to the opening celebration. Watson attended with Grace and her Mum, and had a great time. They saw the lighting of the big tree in front of City Hall, got some food, saw Santa (Watson didn't want to sit with him), and brought home a chocolate advent calendar. We haven't yet been back to the Market, but plan to go this weekend - there is a carousel! Here is a link to more info: http://visit-belfast.com/whats-on/event/belfast-christmas-market-2013.

A couple of weekends ago, right before Jubin had to submit a huge NSF grant, I took the boys to the Odyssey in the Titanic Quarter to go bowling (here's a map: http://goo.gl/maps/QkksE). We met my runner friend, ex-pat Lauren, and her 2 little girls there (5 and 3 yrs old). The kids had a GREAT time... there was a free train they could ride, they got along very nicely (the kids hadn't met before), the bowling was a bit hit, and we had pizza afterwards. Two cute and funny things about the bowling: First, Watson really likes bowling and was happy to win. Second, Jamieson bowled - Watson would line up the stand (aiming the ball) and put the ball on the stand for him and then Jamie would push the ball off the stand...he LOVED it! So funny... Here are some pix:

The kiddo bowlers - Watson, Jamieson, Ciara, and Lucy

Who knew that a 1-year old could bowl? :)

Finally, last weekend, we rented a car in Belfast for the 1st time. Jubin did a GREAT job driving on the left-side of the street. Funny thing - Enterprise gave us the car that I wrote about a couple blog posts back (Vauxhall Astra). Anyway, we didn't do anything very touristy with the car this time around, but instead did some rather ordinary, but special things around town. Saturday afternoon, Watson had his first Belfast birthday party to attend. It was for Antonia, a girl in his reading group at school. Her party was at the International Ice Bowl in Dundonald, in Indiana Land. Here is a map (http://goo.gl/maps/g7Xzk) and the link to this crazy entertainment place (http://www.theicebowl.com/home.asp) - I imagine that we will be going back (ice skating, mini-golf, climbing, etc...). Anyway, Indiana Land is an indoor jungle-themed play land for kids. Watson had a GREAT time, as did Jamie (they have a toddler area). Check out these pix!

Then, on Sunday, we went out to breakfast at the Lock Keeper's Inn near our house (haven't been out for a family breakfast since August!). This is a really cool little Inn that is on the Tow Path (i.e. River Trail) and is frequented by people walking, running, and biking (map here: http://goo.gl/maps/auHfd). So fun! If the City of Lansing built a place like this somewhere on the Potter Park property near the Red Cedar, they would rake in the dough! After breakfast, Watson played in the River Lagan a bit and then we went back home to do some cooking for dinner that afternoon. Later, we drove out to Bob and Kath's for a traditional, albeit late, Thanksgiving dinner. Paula and Ron Reimer were there too, and we had a very nice time (SO full!). The drive home, in the dark, was a bit more challenging than the way there, but we made it safe and sound and without any "detours".

Speaking at Trinity College Dublin (ROI)

I was invited to give a talk as part of the Department of Zoology Seminar Series at Trinity College Dubin (TCD; http://www.tcd.ie/Zoology/) at the end of November. I took an ~2 hour commuter train ride from Belfast to Dublin, then went just 2 stops on the DART train (Dublin Area Rapid Transit) and found myself at the edge of the Trinity campus. The navigating was made super-easy by my travel companion, Kath, who normally spends Tues-Thurs at Trinity, but changed her schedule this week to host me there (so nice!). While at TCD, I met with lots of brilliant students (undergraduate and graduate) and faculty (postdocs and professors) in the Department, and found them to be a very friendly group.   

I had a really nice lunch with some of the graduate students in the Department - they were really friendly and seemed like a very cohesive and productive group.

My talk was in a lecture hall in the Botany Building. In fact, it was in the lecture hall that was featured in the 1980's film "Educating Rita" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Educating_Rita_%28film%29). Here I am impersonating Michael Caine in that film!

My talk, titled "Understanding multi-scaled relationships between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems," was well-attended and well-received by a mixture of students and staff (~50 or so people I would guess). Unfortunately, my talk directly conflicted with another seminar that was being given by a big-wig who holds some funding purse strings...so, a few of the people who would have normally attended my talk had to go to that one instead (stupid politics!). But, I had a lot of interesting questions after the talk and discussions during the informal social afterwards. Note that this informal social included beer, was attended by undergraduate students, graduate students, postdocs, and profs, and it was held in the Zoology Dept. I really wish that MSU would relax its policies regarding such activities on campus. The atmosphere is so much more comfortable when somewhat socially awkward scientists can drink a beer while networking! One thing that I noticed was that the undergrads who attended were really quite amazing. My impression is that TCD is a very good school and that the Zoology majors all are required to conduct thesis research. Scientists in training!

Two scholars who I had conversations with and who could be future collaborators are Drs. Ian Donohue and Andrew Jackson (http://www.tcd.ie/Zoology/staff/). They are both super-nice and super-brilliant. However, it was pretty funny - the day was sort of a comedy of errors. Many of the Profs I was supposed to have formal meetings with had to cancel or rearrange their schedules at the last minute, and I ended up speaking to most of them more informally than was planned. Anyway, I will likely return to Trinity this winter to work with some of them.

A special thanks to Drs. Katherine Webster and Natalie Cooper for hosting me and helping with my 

travel arrangements. 

UPDATE: Here's the Trinity EcoEvo blog post about my talk. http://www.ecoevoblog.com/2014/01/29/seminar-series-kendra-cheruvelil-michigan-state-universityqueens-university-belfast/

What would it take to change US cars and drivers?

In one of my early posts, I mentioned the huge diversity of small, fuel-efficient cars here and how they seem to be designed to be useful - many hatchbacks, lots able to tow trailers, etc... Why don't these same cars exist in the U.S.?

We sold the Accord before we left since it was 15 yrs old and no longer fit our family (you should've seen poor Keya smooshed in the back seat...). Jubin and I have been talking about what kind of used car we'll look for when we return home and there are so few options to us! Criteria: 5 doors, good mileage (which is relative of course, but min of 25 mpg), less than 100k miles, and relatively cheap. Not many makes and models out there... So, why can't we buy these cool UK cars in the US? Market demand and the way that our markets are socially constructed, right? Ok, so what would change this situation? 

There was a used car for sale today on the Belfast a version of craigslist called a Vauxwell Astra 1.6 Twinport, which gets about 40 mpg combined city/hwy (you can click here to see a pick of a new one: http://www.vauxhall.co.uk/vehicles/vauxhall-range/cars/new-astra/overview.html). Note that this car is NOT a hybrid, it is NOT the most fuel efficient car in its class here, and it can tow over 2000 lbs (obviously with lower mileage!). The cars in the US don't even come close to this mileage... Anyway, the Astra's fuel tank is 13.67 gallons = 62 liters. Guess how much to fill the tank here in Belfast? Come on, take a guess!

Ok, I'll tell you...it costs 1.29 GBP per liter. So, that's 80 GBP to fill that tank, which is about $120. That's right, $120 to fill a 13.7 gal tank of gas. 

That's about double the amount I was paying to fill up our CRV every approximately 10 days to 2 weeks in Lansing (about $50/fill up). Now, the CRVs gas tank is about the same size at 12.8 gallons (58 liters) so it would cost me 75 GBP to fill it here, or $112 - more than double what I pay in the US.  Do you think that if gas prices in the US doubled, the consumers would change their behaviors enough to alter the cars being marketed there? I'm thinking maybe yes.

And, our CRV only averages about 20 mpg. So, to drive the same number of miles in the 2 cars, I would need to fill the CRV up almost 1.8X as often as I would the Astra (half the mpg, but a bit bigger tank). 

Let's play a little numbers game. The average person my age in the US drives 1250 miles per month (yikes! compared to my ~700, that is CRAZY!). If we use that number of miles and and the Belfast gas price of $8.79 per gallon, then in the Astra I would pay $275 per month and in the CRV I would pay $550 per month. Wow. Personally, I cannot imagine paying that each month! Do you think that people in the US would stop driving so much and would lobby for public transit if gas was almost $9 per gallon? I know that I would! 

Jamieson is very mobile!

Jamie is SOOO close to walking...Here are some pix of him pushing the toddler chair around the kitchen (he uses it like a walker, either on his knees or walking), standing unassisted, doing the stairs all by himself (up and down, up and down), etc... We thought that he'd be walking in mid-Oct, becuase he was so close to it then, but he appears to be a bit of a perfectionist. He doesn't want to let go and do it on his own until he is really ready. So, it is now mid-Nov and he is still SOOOO close. He spends all of his time walking around the walls, furniture, anything he can put a hand on to steady himself, and then he gets upset when he finally has to plop down and crawl. Soon, soon...

2 minute video of Jamie going up and down the stairs: http://youtu.be/60ZLMrxBTrQ

Where are all of the fat people?

One thing that Jubin and I noticed right away here, and keep being amazed by (and commenting on) is the rarity of obese people here in Belfast. Now, to be totally clear, lots of people here appear somewhat plump and a bit out of shape (think about all of the potato, meat, and beer consumed). But, we have seen very, very few obese people. Granted, we are coming from the U.S. with a 35.9% obesity rate. And, Michigan is ranked the 9th fattest US state, with close to 29% of the population being obese....but still, the difference is striking. Note that I am NOT passing any judgments in this post. I am simply stating what we are seeing and what facts I could dig up relatively quickly/easily.

Here comes trouble...above and below!

So ironic...Jamieson wants nothing to do with his stroller, but Watson is always happy to use it!

At first, we attributed the apparent rarity of obesity to life style - certainly, we are experiencing a much more active lifestyle here than at home. However, I decided to dig a little deeper because I was surprised that a country with so much rain, cool average temps, and long dark winters could really support that much better of a lifestyle than MI could. So, is there really a difference? I looked up obesity rates and found that 23% of the N Ireland population, as well as the whole UK population, is obese. That percentage is certainly lower than Michigan's 29%, but that isn't exactly a low percentage. So, where are they? Staying inside (the City is much less accessible than Lansing is...)? Living in the countryside (have scientists found differences in obesity rates in urban vs rural settings?)? Weird!

Jamie and I went for a walk last weekend (mid-Nov) when it was raining off and on.
On the way back home, we saw a rainbow.
We could see it end to end when standing with our backs to our house.

I then thought that perhaps it is the 'morbidly obese' who are so very visible in MI who might be absent from Belfast. What are the stats on that? These stats are harder to come by, but in 2011, 1.7% of men and 3.2% of women in the UK were morbidly obese, as compared to 6.6% in the US in 2010 (couldn't find rates for individual states). So, the small differences in rates of both obesity and morbid obesity between Michigan and N. Ireland might be contributing to our experience here. However, if we do a numbers game, and randomly pull 100 people in MI and 100 in N Ireland, we would expect about 35 people in MI as compared to about 28 people in N Ireland to be either obese or morbidly obese. Could this difference of 7 people out of every 100 really account for the difference in what we are seeing here in Belfast? It doesn't seem like it... Really and truly (no exaggeration), I can think of only 3 obese people I have seen since arriving here! So, that leads me to my title - where are all the fat people?

For those interested, here are some of the websites I found:
http://www.noo.org.uk/NOO_about_obesity/adult_obesity/international
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obesity_in_the_United_States
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/overwt.htm
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs311/en/