Want to find out more about the Northern Slant team? Each Tuesday we put 10 questions to our community of contributors – about them, their interests and hopes for Northern Ireland’s future. This week we speak to Polona Rogina. You can follow her on Twitter @PolonaRogina.

 

1. Tell us about yourself, and why you got involved with Northern Slant.

Four years ago during my Erasmus exchange in Maynooth I came across a course at Queen’s University in Belfast and attended an open day. After my return back home, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. So, I applied, was accepted, I arrived and stayed.

After finishing my masters course at QUB I started an internship where I met Connor Daly (Editor of Northern Slant), who started his job on the same day as I started my internship. About a year after, Connor contacted me; he said that Northern Slant wanted to expand, and asked if I would be interested in joining its community of writers. First, I wasn’t sure what would I write about but I was up for a challenge and now I really enjoy it.

 

2. Describe Northern Ireland in 5 words.

Beautiful, hopeful, cold, friendly, small.

 

3. What makes you proud to be from here?

I come from Slovenia, a small lovely country surrounded by Italy, Austria, Hungary and Croatia. However, in the past three years I adopted Northern Ireland as my home; as they say, “home is where the heart is.” It’s an interesting country that has so much potential but likes to make everything so complicated.

4. Are you hopeful for the future?

Yes, I am. There have been many issues and challenges in the past for Northern Ireland and there probably always will be. However, things do change because people are hopeful that they can get better. Without hope there is no point, so I think we should all be hopeful that things can move forward if we work together.

 

5. If you could change one thing about Northern Ireland, what would it be?

This is a hard one as I have few improvements in mind. Religion and faith is very important for so many people anywhere, however, in Northern Ireland it is a huge cause of division as well. One thing that I would change is that religion would not dominate schools, government laws and people start looking at one another as a human beings beyond their faith.

6. Favourite NI celebrity?

Jamie Dornan because of The Fall.

 

7. Politician you most admire, from outside Northern Ireland?

I don’t think there is one politician that I can say I admire. They are people the same as everyone else but with a very public job. I haven’t met very many, so it is hard to say but the ones that I did meet I felt that their public persona is very much different to who they really are.

If I have to make a decision based on how well they are doing their job it’s quite hard as well because their decisions are not necessarily based on their thinking but rather on their party motivations.

 

8. Favourite place to bring a visitor?

Brown’s Bay near Larne – it’s just a small lovely beach that I love and I always take people there. But I also like taking visitors around Belfast to different bars like Kelly’s Cellars or Maddens bar.

 

9. Potato bread or soda bread?

Nicely fired potato bread. Soda is slightly too dry.

 

10. Snow Patrol or Van Morrison?

I don’t mind them, but I can’t say I’m a big fan either.

 

You can check out Polona’s articles for Northern Slant here.

Also published on Medium.