So it's almost that time to say goodbye to Ireland. I think this will be my last post before returning home and I will do a followup when I get back with anything I need to add and links to pictures/videos/ect.
I had written a short bit about Dingle when I first arrived and afterwards it turned out to be a very strange but awesome place. The weekend I had gone was their cultural celebration weekend that included bands roaming through the streets, a parade and plenty of other strange events. I attended the first ever Dingle Pub Crawl hosted by a worker at the Hostel I was at (they fixed the door by the way). I met plenty of interesting people like Irish Kenyans, Australians ect. The next day was the parade which featured a lot of reggae bands around the town and kids in the streets dressed up in costumes. The funniest experience of the day came when I found the park hidden in the middle of the town. I had heard there was a famous reggae band there playing away and thought it would be a good way to kill some time. I arrived, sat on the curb, and out of no where I hear the beat start going and a huge crowd of Irish people appear and start dancing in sync to the music. I was so thrown off for a second until I realized there was a person teaching all of them how to dance to each beat. It was one of the most peculiar and fantastic experiences. The next two nights I spent hopping around with this Alaskan couple and their Airforce friend who I had got into conversation with when I told them they didn't have to tip the barman (this has happened many times with Americans and I). The rest of the weekend they for some reason kept buying me drinks even when I didn't want them. It got so ridiculous that the final night I had to literally take the drink, hand it to a random person, and walk out the back door so they would stop. No complaints here though!
After Dingle I went on to Killarney. The first day I biked all around Killarney and Killarney National Park. It ended up being about 50k worth of biking on the first day. The scenery was gorgeous even if it was riddled with tourists. It was all fun but I didn't enjoy having to go to sleep in a hostel room with two guys that smelled like feet and sweat. I took off to cycle the rest of the ring shortly afterwards first going to Glenbeigh to spend a night and then on to Cahersiveen. The first two days were brutal as I was facing Gale force headwinds that would literally stop me in my tracks on down slopes. Therefore the entire thing was uphill. Afterwards the weather turned more to my favor as I was able to bike all the way to Sneem and then back to Kilarney afterwards. In total, including Dingle, Killarney, and the Ring of Kerry, I was able to cycle 150-175 miles. It was a huge accomplishment for me and I was very proud when I finished up. I finally feel that I am getting back into the athletic shape I once was in and will be able to do more that I've been held back from for several years now.
After the ring I stayed on one more day and went golfing at Killarney Golf and Fishing club. The course was stunning and I had been itching to get a round in at least once while in Ireland. It also confirmed that I am a terrible golfer and did need 6 balls and one I found along the way to complete the course. To my credit though their rough is a bit too high and easy to lose balls in... I guess. Today I am in Waterford because I felt it was one of the last major cities on the Island of Ireland that I had not been to (the only other one being Derry in Northern Ireland). I sat people watching for awhile in one of the Grafton street like pedestrian shopping roads and was thoroughly entertained the entire time. I watched children trying to catch pigeons, little girls pretending to be Hannah Montana, and even an off-duty Elvis impersonator who passed me by. I always wondered what they did during the day...
So the plan for here on out is to hopefully go surfing again tomorrow but this time in Tramore which is just south of Waterford. It would be the exact opposite end of the Island that I surfed at before. I wanted to go kayaking but apparently it's too windy. Oh well! I'll head back to Dublin Wednesday and spend some time hanging out with the Irish cousins before (hopefully) properly boarding the plane to come home. Thanks again for everyone who has been reading this over the past 4 1/2 months and I'll be sure to put a follow up in the next two weeks with everything!
Monday, May 11, 2009
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Me, Myself, and I's Bodacious Adventure
Hello to all who may still check in on the blog. I decided to take time out on a gorgeous afternoon day in Dingle to inform you of and hopefully entertain you with some of the stories I've made since traveling alone. If you would like to know more about the time I spent with Emily and Mike then you're out of luck because I think it's her turn to tell that tale. Almost a week ago to the day started my independent vagabond adventure. I've bounced from the Callaghan home near Charlestown, Co. Mayo to Bundoran, Co. Donegal and now Dingle, Co. Kerry. I've surfed with cliffs in the background in the rain, cycled on windy mountain roads for over 30 miles, and have found myself with distantly related family riding in a local taxi in the early morning where no directions are required. I have been to or passed through nearly every county in Ireland and encountered people from every continent except Antarctica but I don't imagine I'll meet a talking penguin anytime soon. How's that for a primer?
Callaghan Home and Charlestown
Emily and Mike dropped me off at the Callaghan house in Mayo near Charlestown last Saturday after a lovely week of tight "2 way" roads and a GPS voice named Samantha who found it humorous to send us on the most rural of roads. The Callaghans were kind enough to give me a bed for Saturday and Sunday night and Aine was nice enough to come home for the weekend and keep me company. The daytime during the weekend was very relaxed as I played violin with Sean, football with Fergal and his friend, and cycling around the countryside with Aine. I was also fed more food than I have ever had in my entire life. I think they ate about 6 or 7 times a day and I had a dinner at 1:30pm! When they say "tea" it's closer to a main course. It was all very lovely though as we had a lot of good conversation by the burning turf fireplace and they were more than hospitable. They were even kind enough to give me a lift into town so I could catch the bus to Bundoran.
The nights around Charlestown were a bit different than the days. I have to say that I am still continually surprised by Irish towns. Charlestown, a population under 2,000, supports 15 pubs...
Saturday evening Aine took me into town where there were surprisingly a lot of people on an off-night. Everybody knew each other so I stuck out as a foreigner right away. We went to two different places and Aine knew the bouncers and most of the bartenders at both. As always I danced more for the amusement of others watching me and I think I was the only person in Charlestown that night that has/could dance to Flo-Rida. The most amusing part of the night for me however was not the pubs or my dancing antics but the "taxi ride" home. You see there are two taxis in Charlestown and after the night was over I think we were informed that the other had his license revoked. Aine called up Steve the taxi man and we met him and his minivan across the street from where we had been. You pay a flat rate and hop into the communal taxi. Directions weren't necessary in this taxi as it is such a small town he knows exactly where you live. Sitting in the van with 4 old men while speeding down dark back roads, I felt as if I was in "the flying coffin" near Villanova. The night was a good one and I much appreciated the cheaper prices compared to Dublin (about 40% less actually).
Sunday night Aine, her friend Eoin (Owen), and I went to the Cinema to see State of Play. On the way in we passed a Carnival that Aine wanted to detour to but unfortunately for her it was closed on our way out... We had a great night and Ben Affleck playing a serious role surprisingly didn't ruin the night. I think I was the only one in the theater that was angry about the Pittsburgh v Philly undertone that only an informed observer could pick out. Before going home we stopped at a Chinese place which for some reason, like pubs, exist in a disproportionate amount. On a one street town there were 2 Chinese places. I guess one of the most amusing events of the night happened while waiting for our food. Sitting on a bench inside we all of a sudden heard a very drunk 20 something yelling very loudly. Next thing we know a short argument ensued between the man working because he refused to serve him any food. The drunk man didn't really have much of a case though because he somehow managed to pop himself up through the window of the restaurant with half his body in and the other out. He felt that was a fine enough place and position to place an order while clearly the worker disagreed.
Bundoran
I left the Callaghan's house Monday morning and took a bus up to Bundoran with a change over in Sligo. This was the first time I was completely on my own and I admit it was fairly intimidating. Would I find the Surf Lodge I planned to stay in? Will I miss a bus change and end up in jabip (county youklasdlk)? I found the lodge easily enough as it was right near the bus stop. I didn't arrive until the afternoon so I really could only wander the town and get some food. Bundoran is kind of like the Jersey shore; during the off-season it's got 3,000 people and come mid-may it has 24k. I hit it before the summertime boom so at first I was a little disappointed. The town was nice enough but the most people in a pub at night was about 15 and that was for a Man U match. All of those worries quickly dissipated though once I got onto the water. I hadn't surfed in nearly 2 years and have always been self-taught so I really appreciated the pointers the guide had for me. It was also my first time wearing a wetsuit and sparing the embarrassing details it showed haha. The weather wasn't nice but the surf was good two days in a row. I stayed in a dorm room with an Irish guy and a German girl and both were good people. I can say that after two days of surfing I am much more confident in my abilities and can't wait to hit long beach Island when I get back. I also wish I could have taken a picture of the scenery that I was privileged to see as I was on the water. Bundoran was fun and I had a great time. Here was one amusing tid-bit: The first Pub I went into upon my arrival had the news on. Like I'm sure back home, the piggy flu is all over it... An Irish guy passed by me on the way to the bathroom yelling, "We're all gonna die!" over and over again. When he came back he looked me stern in the face and said, "Are ye dead yet?" to which I responded, "No.. not yet. Just steer clear of the Corona."
Dingle
Upon looking up bus time tables online, to my surprise and dismay the shortest bus ride from Bundoran to Dingle was 10 hours long with 4 changes. I decided to bite the bullet though since there was no alternative available and at 9am I set off on nearly the longest route in Ireland. Dingle is the Western most European town in the South of Ireland and Bundoran is in Co. Donegal which is the Northern most point. On Thursday I traversed the entirety of the West Coast stopping in Sligo, Galway, Limerick, Tralee, and finally Dingle. I helped a non-english speaking lady make it onto the bus before the driver pulled away, saw a child run onto the bus to say goodbye to her mom that was sitting right next to me in the cutest of fashions, and had my own personal tour guide in an elderly lady that sat next to me on the way to Tralee. On 3 different occasions that day I was mistaken as an Irish person even after speaking and several others where an Irish person picked up only a "hint" of an American accent after a few sentences. I finally pulled into Dingle, a remote town on the Dingle Peninsula, around 7:20. Hungry and exhausted I stumbled through the town in search of an ATM and some food. I'm not sure whether it was the hunger and exhaustion or not, but it seemed there was something strange in the water of Dingle. Everyone was eerily happy and every so often a random tin whistle and drum band would march through the street. I later found out upon entering the hostel, from an equally interesting soft-spoken character named Kat, that there is a cultural festival going on this entire weekend. That at least explained part of the strangeness around the town.
So every once in awhile you enter a hostel that is just comically bad in some ways. For what it's worth this one is fine, but a couple things stick out that you can really only laugh about. The first is that you are not given a key. The doors are all unlocked inside the hostel and the outside door, although a key code is normally required, is broken and by turning it a special way will open up. After laughing to myself at this absurdity I decided to get a shower as I felt kind of icky after my long trip. Upon turning on the shower and feeling the low pressure, I felt more akin to a Christmas ham being covered by a warm glaze. Afterwards I wandered down to O'Flahterys and made friends with the Barlady Angela because there was pretty much no one else in there at the time. I even got to use my Irish as the locals in Dingle speak it!
The next morning I set out of the first leg of my cycling adventure. I use the word cycling now because if you say you are going to "bike" something they get confused and think motorbike. They recognize bike as a noun and biking as a verb but "to bike" is not really used. The Slea Head Road was gorgeous and I'm very glad I did it but I regret taking the mountain pass on the way back. It is one of the hardest things I've ever done and I hadn't eaten a proper meal all day. I now know I need energy food before going out cycling. Along the way I saw some of the largest ocean waves I have ever seen in my life and this was on a calm day. There is some video footage that I'll post when I return home. I again was able to use some Irish when saying hello to some friendly construction workers that waved to me as I passed by.
The night time was interesting. The son of the Hostel owner who works it ran the first ever Dingle pub crawl. We were taken to places that were half-bar half-hardware store and half-bar half-clothing store. There was plenty of good music and I got to meet a lot of different locals and foreigners. Near the end of the night I found myself in the company of two Australians, a Kenyan born Dingle local and his girlfriends Dad. The Australian won a drinking contest so the Dad was buying him and his girlfriend drinks to which they didn't really have a choice. I had plenty of laughs and great conversation about Philadelphia and Ireland in general. When traveling alone you meet and talk to the most interesting people. Even with a single companion you are more likely to only speak to them than if you were flying solo. Sometimes it can be hard as you won't speak to a soul for an entire day but it is all worth once you meet a stranger or find yourself somewhere you never expected to be.
My adventure will continue as I will remain in Dingle until Monday and set off for Kilarney and the start of the Ring of Kerry. I will hopefully complete that 120 mile trek and if I have anything left in the tank I'll attempt the Beara Peninsula also (80+ miles). I'll try to return in one piece. God bless.
Callaghan Home and Charlestown
Emily and Mike dropped me off at the Callaghan house in Mayo near Charlestown last Saturday after a lovely week of tight "2 way" roads and a GPS voice named Samantha who found it humorous to send us on the most rural of roads. The Callaghans were kind enough to give me a bed for Saturday and Sunday night and Aine was nice enough to come home for the weekend and keep me company. The daytime during the weekend was very relaxed as I played violin with Sean, football with Fergal and his friend, and cycling around the countryside with Aine. I was also fed more food than I have ever had in my entire life. I think they ate about 6 or 7 times a day and I had a dinner at 1:30pm! When they say "tea" it's closer to a main course. It was all very lovely though as we had a lot of good conversation by the burning turf fireplace and they were more than hospitable. They were even kind enough to give me a lift into town so I could catch the bus to Bundoran.
The nights around Charlestown were a bit different than the days. I have to say that I am still continually surprised by Irish towns. Charlestown, a population under 2,000, supports 15 pubs...
Saturday evening Aine took me into town where there were surprisingly a lot of people on an off-night. Everybody knew each other so I stuck out as a foreigner right away. We went to two different places and Aine knew the bouncers and most of the bartenders at both. As always I danced more for the amusement of others watching me and I think I was the only person in Charlestown that night that has/could dance to Flo-Rida. The most amusing part of the night for me however was not the pubs or my dancing antics but the "taxi ride" home. You see there are two taxis in Charlestown and after the night was over I think we were informed that the other had his license revoked. Aine called up Steve the taxi man and we met him and his minivan across the street from where we had been. You pay a flat rate and hop into the communal taxi. Directions weren't necessary in this taxi as it is such a small town he knows exactly where you live. Sitting in the van with 4 old men while speeding down dark back roads, I felt as if I was in "the flying coffin" near Villanova. The night was a good one and I much appreciated the cheaper prices compared to Dublin (about 40% less actually).
Sunday night Aine, her friend Eoin (Owen), and I went to the Cinema to see State of Play. On the way in we passed a Carnival that Aine wanted to detour to but unfortunately for her it was closed on our way out... We had a great night and Ben Affleck playing a serious role surprisingly didn't ruin the night. I think I was the only one in the theater that was angry about the Pittsburgh v Philly undertone that only an informed observer could pick out. Before going home we stopped at a Chinese place which for some reason, like pubs, exist in a disproportionate amount. On a one street town there were 2 Chinese places. I guess one of the most amusing events of the night happened while waiting for our food. Sitting on a bench inside we all of a sudden heard a very drunk 20 something yelling very loudly. Next thing we know a short argument ensued between the man working because he refused to serve him any food. The drunk man didn't really have much of a case though because he somehow managed to pop himself up through the window of the restaurant with half his body in and the other out. He felt that was a fine enough place and position to place an order while clearly the worker disagreed.
Bundoran
I left the Callaghan's house Monday morning and took a bus up to Bundoran with a change over in Sligo. This was the first time I was completely on my own and I admit it was fairly intimidating. Would I find the Surf Lodge I planned to stay in? Will I miss a bus change and end up in jabip (county youklasdlk)? I found the lodge easily enough as it was right near the bus stop. I didn't arrive until the afternoon so I really could only wander the town and get some food. Bundoran is kind of like the Jersey shore; during the off-season it's got 3,000 people and come mid-may it has 24k. I hit it before the summertime boom so at first I was a little disappointed. The town was nice enough but the most people in a pub at night was about 15 and that was for a Man U match. All of those worries quickly dissipated though once I got onto the water. I hadn't surfed in nearly 2 years and have always been self-taught so I really appreciated the pointers the guide had for me. It was also my first time wearing a wetsuit and sparing the embarrassing details it showed haha. The weather wasn't nice but the surf was good two days in a row. I stayed in a dorm room with an Irish guy and a German girl and both were good people. I can say that after two days of surfing I am much more confident in my abilities and can't wait to hit long beach Island when I get back. I also wish I could have taken a picture of the scenery that I was privileged to see as I was on the water. Bundoran was fun and I had a great time. Here was one amusing tid-bit: The first Pub I went into upon my arrival had the news on. Like I'm sure back home, the piggy flu is all over it... An Irish guy passed by me on the way to the bathroom yelling, "We're all gonna die!" over and over again. When he came back he looked me stern in the face and said, "Are ye dead yet?" to which I responded, "No.. not yet. Just steer clear of the Corona."
Dingle
Upon looking up bus time tables online, to my surprise and dismay the shortest bus ride from Bundoran to Dingle was 10 hours long with 4 changes. I decided to bite the bullet though since there was no alternative available and at 9am I set off on nearly the longest route in Ireland. Dingle is the Western most European town in the South of Ireland and Bundoran is in Co. Donegal which is the Northern most point. On Thursday I traversed the entirety of the West Coast stopping in Sligo, Galway, Limerick, Tralee, and finally Dingle. I helped a non-english speaking lady make it onto the bus before the driver pulled away, saw a child run onto the bus to say goodbye to her mom that was sitting right next to me in the cutest of fashions, and had my own personal tour guide in an elderly lady that sat next to me on the way to Tralee. On 3 different occasions that day I was mistaken as an Irish person even after speaking and several others where an Irish person picked up only a "hint" of an American accent after a few sentences. I finally pulled into Dingle, a remote town on the Dingle Peninsula, around 7:20. Hungry and exhausted I stumbled through the town in search of an ATM and some food. I'm not sure whether it was the hunger and exhaustion or not, but it seemed there was something strange in the water of Dingle. Everyone was eerily happy and every so often a random tin whistle and drum band would march through the street. I later found out upon entering the hostel, from an equally interesting soft-spoken character named Kat, that there is a cultural festival going on this entire weekend. That at least explained part of the strangeness around the town.
So every once in awhile you enter a hostel that is just comically bad in some ways. For what it's worth this one is fine, but a couple things stick out that you can really only laugh about. The first is that you are not given a key. The doors are all unlocked inside the hostel and the outside door, although a key code is normally required, is broken and by turning it a special way will open up. After laughing to myself at this absurdity I decided to get a shower as I felt kind of icky after my long trip. Upon turning on the shower and feeling the low pressure, I felt more akin to a Christmas ham being covered by a warm glaze. Afterwards I wandered down to O'Flahterys and made friends with the Barlady Angela because there was pretty much no one else in there at the time. I even got to use my Irish as the locals in Dingle speak it!
The next morning I set out of the first leg of my cycling adventure. I use the word cycling now because if you say you are going to "bike" something they get confused and think motorbike. They recognize bike as a noun and biking as a verb but "to bike" is not really used. The Slea Head Road was gorgeous and I'm very glad I did it but I regret taking the mountain pass on the way back. It is one of the hardest things I've ever done and I hadn't eaten a proper meal all day. I now know I need energy food before going out cycling. Along the way I saw some of the largest ocean waves I have ever seen in my life and this was on a calm day. There is some video footage that I'll post when I return home. I again was able to use some Irish when saying hello to some friendly construction workers that waved to me as I passed by.
The night time was interesting. The son of the Hostel owner who works it ran the first ever Dingle pub crawl. We were taken to places that were half-bar half-hardware store and half-bar half-clothing store. There was plenty of good music and I got to meet a lot of different locals and foreigners. Near the end of the night I found myself in the company of two Australians, a Kenyan born Dingle local and his girlfriends Dad. The Australian won a drinking contest so the Dad was buying him and his girlfriend drinks to which they didn't really have a choice. I had plenty of laughs and great conversation about Philadelphia and Ireland in general. When traveling alone you meet and talk to the most interesting people. Even with a single companion you are more likely to only speak to them than if you were flying solo. Sometimes it can be hard as you won't speak to a soul for an entire day but it is all worth once you meet a stranger or find yourself somewhere you never expected to be.
My adventure will continue as I will remain in Dingle until Monday and set off for Kilarney and the start of the Ring of Kerry. I will hopefully complete that 120 mile trek and if I have anything left in the tank I'll attempt the Beara Peninsula also (80+ miles). I'll try to return in one piece. God bless.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Been a long time
Well, it's been over a month since my last post. Not to make excuses, but it's been a bit hectic that I literally have not found a good slot of time to actually write up a post. My studies are almost over here and for the past week I have been non-stop preparing presentations and papers (had to write a 2000 word essay in under 2 hours once!) As I am writing this I have 2 more classes left until I'm done with the school here and 3 papers I need to hand in. So I know what you're thinking now, what is the next grand adventure for the life of Andrew Clay, well it starts next Saturday. All the goodbye dinners and speech's about life changing experiences will be over and I'll say goodbye to all the american friends I've made. Emily and Mike will be flying in on April 17th and our journey westward beings during the week after that. Our basic plan will be to see family and go west, but we still need a bit more planning. After they depart my company I have a couple things on my list I want to do before I come home on May 17th:
Surfing at the Bundoran Surf Lodge for a weekend
Biking the Ring of Kerry
Dingle Peninsula
Cork/Kilkenny
Seeing the family farms both Touey and Callaghan
*if possible London
I have not planned any of this out but hey, that's what an adventure is all about. I will plan it out better later.
On to what I've been doing over the past month or so... well I've played in a couple traditional Irish music sessions at Devitt's, found myself at the all-Irish speaking pub on two different occasions, and met a lot of interesting players in Irish politics and the Northern Irish Troubles (Bertie Ahern spoke to us two weeks ago). Also, for a week, I was lucky enough to see Mom & Dad, Katerine, and Steve! They came during one of the craziest weeks in Ireland. While here they got to see Glendalough, Howth, all around Dublin, St. Patricks day parade (sorta) and the GAA Hurling and Gaelic Football finals, a great session at Devitt's, my 20th birthdayyyyyyy wooooo!!! and also Mom, Dad, and I were able to watch the crazy match between Ireland and Wales where Ireland won the Grand Slam! There's a mouth full right there. It was fantastic to see them and I hope that despite a city with no street signs or right turns, that they had a good time while they were here. I think they went to nearly 20 different pubs while I was here, party animals! I never thought there would be a day that they would call me while out and I would say I'm too tired to keep up! Also, thank you for the birthday gift, I can now add to my eclectic instrument collection.
Most of the past month has been spent in Dublin watching the seasons somewhat shift and the weather has actually been surprisingly not very Irish since I've been here. It doesn't rain nearly as often as you would think! If you have gone through my pictures at all, some of them were taken on a gorgeous day in the Wicklow mountains. We were led to one of the most serene lakes and I think I was the only one with a camera to capture it. If you notice a very large lake with ducks in it, that's the ticket.
After seeing family, Americans, and other friends families, I have realized how assimilated I have become into the society. Things that at first appeared strange no longer phase me. It is incredible the experience and knowledge you can gain by immersing yourself in another way of life.
I just wanted to give you a quick update in-between my classes and I will be sure to post more thoughts, experiences, and updates during this upcoming week. I will have much more time now that most of my work is out of the way.
Most Recent Photo Albums:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2006745&id=1480470118&l=51eafdd8c1
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2006748&id=1480470118&l=f761a3c8f9
P.S. I can't grow a cool looking beard, but I can go a creepy looking mustache... oh the things you learn.
Surfing at the Bundoran Surf Lodge for a weekend
Biking the Ring of Kerry
Dingle Peninsula
Cork/Kilkenny
Seeing the family farms both Touey and Callaghan
*if possible London
I have not planned any of this out but hey, that's what an adventure is all about. I will plan it out better later.
On to what I've been doing over the past month or so... well I've played in a couple traditional Irish music sessions at Devitt's, found myself at the all-Irish speaking pub on two different occasions, and met a lot of interesting players in Irish politics and the Northern Irish Troubles (Bertie Ahern spoke to us two weeks ago). Also, for a week, I was lucky enough to see Mom & Dad, Katerine, and Steve! They came during one of the craziest weeks in Ireland. While here they got to see Glendalough, Howth, all around Dublin, St. Patricks day parade (sorta) and the GAA Hurling and Gaelic Football finals, a great session at Devitt's, my 20th birthdayyyyyyy wooooo!!! and also Mom, Dad, and I were able to watch the crazy match between Ireland and Wales where Ireland won the Grand Slam! There's a mouth full right there. It was fantastic to see them and I hope that despite a city with no street signs or right turns, that they had a good time while they were here. I think they went to nearly 20 different pubs while I was here, party animals! I never thought there would be a day that they would call me while out and I would say I'm too tired to keep up! Also, thank you for the birthday gift, I can now add to my eclectic instrument collection.
Most of the past month has been spent in Dublin watching the seasons somewhat shift and the weather has actually been surprisingly not very Irish since I've been here. It doesn't rain nearly as often as you would think! If you have gone through my pictures at all, some of them were taken on a gorgeous day in the Wicklow mountains. We were led to one of the most serene lakes and I think I was the only one with a camera to capture it. If you notice a very large lake with ducks in it, that's the ticket.
After seeing family, Americans, and other friends families, I have realized how assimilated I have become into the society. Things that at first appeared strange no longer phase me. It is incredible the experience and knowledge you can gain by immersing yourself in another way of life.
I just wanted to give you a quick update in-between my classes and I will be sure to post more thoughts, experiences, and updates during this upcoming week. I will have much more time now that most of my work is out of the way.
Most Recent Photo Albums:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2006745&id=1480470118&l=51eafdd8c1
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2006748&id=1480470118&l=f761a3c8f9
P.S. I can't grow a cool looking beard, but I can go a creepy looking mustache... oh the things you learn.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Belfast/Giants Causeway/Antrim Coast & whatever else needs to be said
So I have a lot to tell since my last post and the info I need to provide seems somewhat daunting now in my mind. I'll start with the weekend twice ago. My room mates had gallivanted off to Italy for 11 days as we had our break last week. In doing so I was left home alone for the weekend with no plans until the upcoming Tuesday when my trip to Northern Ireland was to start. A weekend alone, more specifically a night out alone, can be interesting. Either you'll end up doing something you never imagined and have a fantastic night or you have an incredibly boring and disappointing one. Luckily of the many nights I've experimented with only one has been incredibly boring and disappointing while on a whole the others have led to great stories.
Thursday:
Thursday night I ventured out alone, not knowing what would happen or where I would end up. I was trying to get in touch with people but I lacked numbers at the time. I ended up walking to the Barge, where many young people frequent and is a big time meeting place for our program. I had a pint and no one came, the only word I had heard was that people would be in the Temple bar area (a very touristy over-priced nightlife section). Reluctantly I decided to hop a bus and check it out anyway. It can be great fun people watching in that area as you come across the strangest of sorts. I decided I was not going to come across anyone and would rather just sit down somewhere and listen to some music. The only place big enough to possibly have room was Fitzsimons so I decided to check it out (I had not ventured through it's 5 floors before). I found myself on the 5th floor which is half covered half open air which was really cool. Being a Thursday it wasn't packed so I was able to sit at the bar without much irritation. At this point in the night it would seem it would turn out to be a boring one, but it turns out the Barman was a riot. He was making fun of some american girls who were ordering and after he was done I said, "Hey americans aren't that bad" and he responded that america is the greatest place on earth. He even showed me his "Outlaw" tattoo on his back that he got because he loved Tupac. It was a great time as we talked politics, irish life and it's economy, cultures and life as a barman. I ended up getting home very late but had great conversation.
Friday:
I stayed in and watched some movies on the Friday night as I needed to catch up on sleep and what have you, I watched Man on Fire and really enjoyed it. I also was able to save some money by not going out so I didn't feel so bad. I was also experimenting all day making pizza's so by the time night rolled around I wasn't in the mood to leave.
Saturday:
Saturday night was very interesting. I eventually worked up the courage to take my violin out to a pub called Devitt's and sit in on a session. I got there around 10-10:30 and there wasn't many people there. The players were very welcoming and were fine with me sitting in the corner just trying to pick up on the tunes. I didn't play much because they played at a very fast pace and the songs were difficult, but I was able to come in on accompaniment to several original tunes that people had. Afterwards two of the musicians, Cormac and "Chipper" wanted to see if I would go out for a pint with them. I said fine of course and we ended up going into a very relaxed pool hall to meet several of their friends. They got to know me and when they heard I was learning Irish they responded, "Well good... you're going to need it where we are going next." They took me to the all Irish speaking pub in Dublin. It does not look like a pub on the outside as it's just a set of steps leading downwards to a closed unmarked door. You knock on the door to which you speak a little Irish and they let you in. We all signed a guest book at the front door and were on our way. They had obscure Irish beers, a couple musicians that we joined, and lots of Irish singing. It was very strange not understanding a word that anyone was saying. At one point, a lady came up to me and spewed off a sentence that I didn't understand at all, so I said, "I'm sorry I don't speak Irish." she smiled and said, "Love that's not Irish it's English. Is that the bathroom?"
The night was great and the only way I'll be able to pick up how to play session music is to keep going back and trying. I plan to this weekend.
Monday: On monday I went to Aine's 21st birthday party. We started down at KOH cocktail bar/lounge and I met a load of her friends. We had great talk and she would always introduce me as, "This is my american cousin, he's brilliant." Later in the evening we went to Bondi nightclub and we all danced like mad for her birthday. I think the only times I dance in Dublin is when she makes me go to a nightclub.
Tuesday: Tuesday I had to wake up early to go on our Peace and Conflict field study in Belfast. I had to take a taxi from my area to Connolly station because every bus that passed was full and I had to be on time. The taxi drivers here, by and large, will talk you up the whole way if you want them too (except for that one from Tanzania, not sure what his deal was). This one had a very interesting story that really defined the extent of the downfall of the Irish economy. He had lived in NYC for 15 years and worked as an Architect for a very large firm. When he returned to Ireland, there was no demand for new building projects, so he could make more money as a taxi driver than as an architect. How far it has fallen...
We took the train to Belfast, got off and made our way to the Taralodge B&B. My room mate was Wade Beardsley (for my own future reference). We had come dressed business casual because the first order of business was to meet with political representatives in Stormont. Our grumpy taxi seemed to drop us off at the wrong place because he drove up the mile long hill, turned around, and dropped us off at the bottom of it... making us walk a mile up hill for no reason wasn't very nice of him. We got through security and got the chance to sit in on a session that was in action. They were debating a public enquiry into extending Belfast's runway. We got the chance to meet with 7/8 represented parties (the eighth being a solo representative medical doctor). The eight parties included the PUP, DUP, UUP, SDLP, Sinn Fein, Green Party, and Alliance Party. Each came in for about 15 minutes at a time and I don't think they expected to be grilled by american study abroad students. Most seemed to come in expecting cream puff questions and seemed caught off guard when they were actually asked difficult ones. Here were some interesting ones:
Green Party: "The environment is the only thing that concerns me. It is the number one issue and all others, including the economy, take the back seat."
PUP: Q: Since you were formed out of the UVF, a loyalist militant group, do you feel you represent ALL working class or just the Unionist community? A: "We are still actually debating that within our party..."
DUP: Says what happened in the past doesn't matter anymore. Even says what Ian Paisley has done in recent times has been great so we shouldn't focus on his past.
Sinn Fein: Came in arm raised going, "Nua Erin" (I spelled nua wrong cause I don't know how to spell it, it means New Ireland) and saying his sole purpose in government is to reach a United Ireland.
We grilled these politicians and I was very proud of my questions (got some compliments!). I really don't feel the assembly, as is, works very well. In my opinion the leadership in Northern Ireland isn't doing enough or a good enough job.
Later in the evening we saw two monologue plays. The first an old man was talking to his pretend dog for an hour about his missteps in life and how he hates retirement. The second was about a young man who went all around the world and was basically mocking different societies along the way. Me and some of my friends ate dinner afterwards and we all had a great evening.
Wednesday: On Wednesday we went on walking tours of both the Falls road and Shankhill road. We started on the Falls road and were led by two former IRA activists who spent time in prison. Here are some interesting points from it. The former IRA man brought us to a school that overlooked a road that leads towards the wall. The school had bullet holes in the outside walls that he explained groups of IRA members (him included) would wait outside this school and fire on loyalists that would turn the corner of the road after burning a Catholic house or causing havoc. Some fired back which is why there are holes in the wall.
I also asked the second IRA member what a day in the life of an IRA member was like. He said when you joined, you expected a short term of duty. Usually within two years you were dead or in prison. He said every day you would wake up, call around to your group of about 15 people, and all day long search for opportunities to attack the British. You never slept in the same place bouncing from house to house an would only eat when you could.
I also asked the other IRA member if he thought the Loyalists had a cause. He had a tough time answering it, but eventually conceded, "I don't blame them for firing back. I can understand that if I fired on someone that they would fight back, I just don't agree with their cause." He also said that given the choice he would still do it all again. He had never been to Shankhill road and never would.
The next stop was Shankhill road where we met an Ex-UVF former prisoner nick named Plum. We got the chance to sit down and speak with him for about an hour and had a Shankhill road walk planned for afterwards. He came off as extremely biased even though he worked on the peace agreement. When asked questions like, do you think the catholics were treated like second class citizens, he responded persecuting america for treatment of african-americans and other society's as well. His answer was very unsettling, especially for someone to have worked on the "peace process". He didn't think Republicans even had a cause. I thanked him afterwards for sharing his perspective and mentioned how americans tend to only hear the Republican side, being mostly Irish-Catholics. To this he groaned... and I said, "... which I was raised in." and he gave me a piercing glare. It wasn't one of, past is past, but as a moment that he was actually passively aggressive.
We then took a walk of the Shankhill road with another former UVF activist. The most interesting part of that tour was near the end where he pointed towards a road. We asked him why he joined the UVF and he stated that at that road his father was rounding a corner after engaging in activities and was shot in the leg by IRA members positioned at a school, and because of so he joined the UVF... the guide for our Falls road tour was part of the group that had shot the dad of our Shankhill road tour guide, subsequently making him join in on the violence. The coincidence was extraordinary.
Thursday: Thursday morning we spoke with a representative of Healing through Remembering group that spoke of all the work they were doing to help heal the divide in the society. That was interesting and all but somewhat boring. We were later joined by the larger group that were coming for the "fun part" of our trip. They were taken on the black cab tour of belfast that took us to a couple more spots we hadn't reached before. The "peace wall" that we were taken to seemed like an oxymoron and most of the Peace and Conflict students took it a bit more seriously than those who didn't know anything about the conflict.
At night we took a bus up to Portrush on the Antrim coast. Our hotel room was awesome as it had one double bed and two twins (that I pushed together to form a double bed for myself). The view was really stunning as we noticed the next morning. Our breakfast was pretty great too (was was the B&B's from before). They don't really have bread like breakfasts with pancakes/french toast/waffles but the sausages are fantastic.
Friday: On friday we went to the Giants Causeway, Bushmills Distillery, and Dunluce Castle. The Giants Causeway was incredible with fantastic coastlines, ridges, and all the underwater magma cooled rocks that formed shapes like steps. I would recommend just looking at my pictures because I can't describe it appropriately. Bushmills and Dunluce were really interesting as well and we were lucky enough to not have rain our entire trip in the North which is really incredible. At night we ate at a local harbor place and the food was great.
Saturday: On the last day we went to the Carrik-a-reed rope bridge on the Antrim coast. The scenery was unbelievably gorgeous as you could see by my pictures. The rope bridge is used by fisherman for who knows what reason but it is pretty fun to go across. When all was said and done we made our long long way home and when I arrived back in Dublin it was madness. Luckily the bus strike was cancelled so I was able to get home on a day where people were going nuts about the Ireland vs. England six nations rugby match. Elizabeth Barr was in Dublin for the weekend so I HAD to meet up with her. I was able to shower and go back downtown to meet Liz and her friends at Messrs Maguire. It was PACKED and once in you really couldn't move. We got to watch the second half of a 14-13 victory by Ireland to keep them undefeated. For the evening we all ate at TGI Fridays (yeah I know...) and went to Fitzsimmons and Porterhouse. We met some interesting people singing some interesting songs and guys who were at some points clothed and others shirtless for no apparent reason, but ALL IN ALL it was a great night.
We hung out Sunday night as well and went to Cobblestone in the North west of Dublin. It is very much a traditional pub with music and I wanted to get Liz there before she left. It was a great time again and even though the week/weekend was hectic, having to fit my load of work in between all the activities, I got everything done and had a great time also.
Thanks for reading that novel and if I left anything out I'll be sure to put it in a future post. I ran into too many people that I actually forget all the look-alikes I've seen this week. I miss you all back home and can't wait to see my visitors over the next two months!
P.S. Surprise Surprise, all my room mates love MaMa Clay's cookies.
Thursday:
Thursday night I ventured out alone, not knowing what would happen or where I would end up. I was trying to get in touch with people but I lacked numbers at the time. I ended up walking to the Barge, where many young people frequent and is a big time meeting place for our program. I had a pint and no one came, the only word I had heard was that people would be in the Temple bar area (a very touristy over-priced nightlife section). Reluctantly I decided to hop a bus and check it out anyway. It can be great fun people watching in that area as you come across the strangest of sorts. I decided I was not going to come across anyone and would rather just sit down somewhere and listen to some music. The only place big enough to possibly have room was Fitzsimons so I decided to check it out (I had not ventured through it's 5 floors before). I found myself on the 5th floor which is half covered half open air which was really cool. Being a Thursday it wasn't packed so I was able to sit at the bar without much irritation. At this point in the night it would seem it would turn out to be a boring one, but it turns out the Barman was a riot. He was making fun of some american girls who were ordering and after he was done I said, "Hey americans aren't that bad" and he responded that america is the greatest place on earth. He even showed me his "Outlaw" tattoo on his back that he got because he loved Tupac. It was a great time as we talked politics, irish life and it's economy, cultures and life as a barman. I ended up getting home very late but had great conversation.
Friday:
I stayed in and watched some movies on the Friday night as I needed to catch up on sleep and what have you, I watched Man on Fire and really enjoyed it. I also was able to save some money by not going out so I didn't feel so bad. I was also experimenting all day making pizza's so by the time night rolled around I wasn't in the mood to leave.
Saturday:
Saturday night was very interesting. I eventually worked up the courage to take my violin out to a pub called Devitt's and sit in on a session. I got there around 10-10:30 and there wasn't many people there. The players were very welcoming and were fine with me sitting in the corner just trying to pick up on the tunes. I didn't play much because they played at a very fast pace and the songs were difficult, but I was able to come in on accompaniment to several original tunes that people had. Afterwards two of the musicians, Cormac and "Chipper" wanted to see if I would go out for a pint with them. I said fine of course and we ended up going into a very relaxed pool hall to meet several of their friends. They got to know me and when they heard I was learning Irish they responded, "Well good... you're going to need it where we are going next." They took me to the all Irish speaking pub in Dublin. It does not look like a pub on the outside as it's just a set of steps leading downwards to a closed unmarked door. You knock on the door to which you speak a little Irish and they let you in. We all signed a guest book at the front door and were on our way. They had obscure Irish beers, a couple musicians that we joined, and lots of Irish singing. It was very strange not understanding a word that anyone was saying. At one point, a lady came up to me and spewed off a sentence that I didn't understand at all, so I said, "I'm sorry I don't speak Irish." she smiled and said, "Love that's not Irish it's English. Is that the bathroom?"
The night was great and the only way I'll be able to pick up how to play session music is to keep going back and trying. I plan to this weekend.
Monday: On monday I went to Aine's 21st birthday party. We started down at KOH cocktail bar/lounge and I met a load of her friends. We had great talk and she would always introduce me as, "This is my american cousin, he's brilliant." Later in the evening we went to Bondi nightclub and we all danced like mad for her birthday. I think the only times I dance in Dublin is when she makes me go to a nightclub.
Tuesday: Tuesday I had to wake up early to go on our Peace and Conflict field study in Belfast. I had to take a taxi from my area to Connolly station because every bus that passed was full and I had to be on time. The taxi drivers here, by and large, will talk you up the whole way if you want them too (except for that one from Tanzania, not sure what his deal was). This one had a very interesting story that really defined the extent of the downfall of the Irish economy. He had lived in NYC for 15 years and worked as an Architect for a very large firm. When he returned to Ireland, there was no demand for new building projects, so he could make more money as a taxi driver than as an architect. How far it has fallen...
We took the train to Belfast, got off and made our way to the Taralodge B&B. My room mate was Wade Beardsley (for my own future reference). We had come dressed business casual because the first order of business was to meet with political representatives in Stormont. Our grumpy taxi seemed to drop us off at the wrong place because he drove up the mile long hill, turned around, and dropped us off at the bottom of it... making us walk a mile up hill for no reason wasn't very nice of him. We got through security and got the chance to sit in on a session that was in action. They were debating a public enquiry into extending Belfast's runway. We got the chance to meet with 7/8 represented parties (the eighth being a solo representative medical doctor). The eight parties included the PUP, DUP, UUP, SDLP, Sinn Fein, Green Party, and Alliance Party. Each came in for about 15 minutes at a time and I don't think they expected to be grilled by american study abroad students. Most seemed to come in expecting cream puff questions and seemed caught off guard when they were actually asked difficult ones. Here were some interesting ones:
Green Party: "The environment is the only thing that concerns me. It is the number one issue and all others, including the economy, take the back seat."
PUP: Q: Since you were formed out of the UVF, a loyalist militant group, do you feel you represent ALL working class or just the Unionist community? A: "We are still actually debating that within our party..."
DUP: Says what happened in the past doesn't matter anymore. Even says what Ian Paisley has done in recent times has been great so we shouldn't focus on his past.
Sinn Fein: Came in arm raised going, "Nua Erin" (I spelled nua wrong cause I don't know how to spell it, it means New Ireland) and saying his sole purpose in government is to reach a United Ireland.
We grilled these politicians and I was very proud of my questions (got some compliments!). I really don't feel the assembly, as is, works very well. In my opinion the leadership in Northern Ireland isn't doing enough or a good enough job.
Later in the evening we saw two monologue plays. The first an old man was talking to his pretend dog for an hour about his missteps in life and how he hates retirement. The second was about a young man who went all around the world and was basically mocking different societies along the way. Me and some of my friends ate dinner afterwards and we all had a great evening.
Wednesday: On Wednesday we went on walking tours of both the Falls road and Shankhill road. We started on the Falls road and were led by two former IRA activists who spent time in prison. Here are some interesting points from it. The former IRA man brought us to a school that overlooked a road that leads towards the wall. The school had bullet holes in the outside walls that he explained groups of IRA members (him included) would wait outside this school and fire on loyalists that would turn the corner of the road after burning a Catholic house or causing havoc. Some fired back which is why there are holes in the wall.
I also asked the second IRA member what a day in the life of an IRA member was like. He said when you joined, you expected a short term of duty. Usually within two years you were dead or in prison. He said every day you would wake up, call around to your group of about 15 people, and all day long search for opportunities to attack the British. You never slept in the same place bouncing from house to house an would only eat when you could.
I also asked the other IRA member if he thought the Loyalists had a cause. He had a tough time answering it, but eventually conceded, "I don't blame them for firing back. I can understand that if I fired on someone that they would fight back, I just don't agree with their cause." He also said that given the choice he would still do it all again. He had never been to Shankhill road and never would.
The next stop was Shankhill road where we met an Ex-UVF former prisoner nick named Plum. We got the chance to sit down and speak with him for about an hour and had a Shankhill road walk planned for afterwards. He came off as extremely biased even though he worked on the peace agreement. When asked questions like, do you think the catholics were treated like second class citizens, he responded persecuting america for treatment of african-americans and other society's as well. His answer was very unsettling, especially for someone to have worked on the "peace process". He didn't think Republicans even had a cause. I thanked him afterwards for sharing his perspective and mentioned how americans tend to only hear the Republican side, being mostly Irish-Catholics. To this he groaned... and I said, "... which I was raised in." and he gave me a piercing glare. It wasn't one of, past is past, but as a moment that he was actually passively aggressive.
We then took a walk of the Shankhill road with another former UVF activist. The most interesting part of that tour was near the end where he pointed towards a road. We asked him why he joined the UVF and he stated that at that road his father was rounding a corner after engaging in activities and was shot in the leg by IRA members positioned at a school, and because of so he joined the UVF... the guide for our Falls road tour was part of the group that had shot the dad of our Shankhill road tour guide, subsequently making him join in on the violence. The coincidence was extraordinary.
Thursday: Thursday morning we spoke with a representative of Healing through Remembering group that spoke of all the work they were doing to help heal the divide in the society. That was interesting and all but somewhat boring. We were later joined by the larger group that were coming for the "fun part" of our trip. They were taken on the black cab tour of belfast that took us to a couple more spots we hadn't reached before. The "peace wall" that we were taken to seemed like an oxymoron and most of the Peace and Conflict students took it a bit more seriously than those who didn't know anything about the conflict.
At night we took a bus up to Portrush on the Antrim coast. Our hotel room was awesome as it had one double bed and two twins (that I pushed together to form a double bed for myself). The view was really stunning as we noticed the next morning. Our breakfast was pretty great too (was was the B&B's from before). They don't really have bread like breakfasts with pancakes/french toast/waffles but the sausages are fantastic.
Friday: On friday we went to the Giants Causeway, Bushmills Distillery, and Dunluce Castle. The Giants Causeway was incredible with fantastic coastlines, ridges, and all the underwater magma cooled rocks that formed shapes like steps. I would recommend just looking at my pictures because I can't describe it appropriately. Bushmills and Dunluce were really interesting as well and we were lucky enough to not have rain our entire trip in the North which is really incredible. At night we ate at a local harbor place and the food was great.
Saturday: On the last day we went to the Carrik-a-reed rope bridge on the Antrim coast. The scenery was unbelievably gorgeous as you could see by my pictures. The rope bridge is used by fisherman for who knows what reason but it is pretty fun to go across. When all was said and done we made our long long way home and when I arrived back in Dublin it was madness. Luckily the bus strike was cancelled so I was able to get home on a day where people were going nuts about the Ireland vs. England six nations rugby match. Elizabeth Barr was in Dublin for the weekend so I HAD to meet up with her. I was able to shower and go back downtown to meet Liz and her friends at Messrs Maguire. It was PACKED and once in you really couldn't move. We got to watch the second half of a 14-13 victory by Ireland to keep them undefeated. For the evening we all ate at TGI Fridays (yeah I know...) and went to Fitzsimmons and Porterhouse. We met some interesting people singing some interesting songs and guys who were at some points clothed and others shirtless for no apparent reason, but ALL IN ALL it was a great night.
We hung out Sunday night as well and went to Cobblestone in the North west of Dublin. It is very much a traditional pub with music and I wanted to get Liz there before she left. It was a great time again and even though the week/weekend was hectic, having to fit my load of work in between all the activities, I got everything done and had a great time also.
Thanks for reading that novel and if I left anything out I'll be sure to put it in a future post. I ran into too many people that I actually forget all the look-alikes I've seen this week. I miss you all back home and can't wait to see my visitors over the next two months!
P.S. Surprise Surprise, all my room mates love MaMa Clay's cookies.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Pictures from Northern Ireland
I'll write up a blog post when I have time, I've been extremely busy with work and will be the next several days but look for a post before wednesday. Until then here are some photo albums from the past week.
Belfast 1:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2003492&id=1480470118&l=d200a
Belfast 2:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2003495&id=1480470118&l=6eaa7
Giants Causeway 1:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2003477&id=1480470118&l=6af08
Giants Causeway 2/Dunluce Album:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2003484&id=1480470118&l=e02cc
Antrim Coast:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2003465&id=1480470118&l=ffe19
My Walk to Class:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2003470&id=1480470118&l=d845a
Belfast 1:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2003492&id=1480470118&l=d200a
Belfast 2:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2003495&id=1480470118&l=6eaa7
Giants Causeway 1:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2003477&id=1480470118&l=6af08
Giants Causeway 2/Dunluce Album:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2003484&id=1480470118&l=e02cc
Antrim Coast:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2003465&id=1480470118&l=ffe19
My Walk to Class:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2003470&id=1480470118&l=d845a
Friday, February 20, 2009
Ireland Loves You! And you should all know that!
There is a general misconception amongst Americans that everyone outside of the states think we are all fat, dumb, and lazy. US Citizens often think that foreigners hate us and that when you find yourself in a European bar you should say you're Canadian and they'll be more receptive (they can't really tell the difference in the accents anyway). All of that is rubbish and if you find yourself visiting Ireland forget all of that nonsense... well except that they do really love Canadians.
Since being in Ireland I have noticed that far from being looked down upon as an American, that more frequently they love you for being one. Here is some evidence to that point. I first felt the love in Galway. The first night I was talking to a group of international students that came to Ireland to learn english. When they heard I was from Philly their eyes lit up and one of them put his hands in the air and said, "FLYERS!!!" while another did a Rocky impersonation. The band subsequently played all American tunes as all the Irish screamed along to the songs. The following evening in Galway, as a group of us were walking to the pub, a group of young Irish people over heard us speaking to each other with an American "twang" and subsequently turned around and yelled, "Americans!!! WE LOVE YOU!" to which of course being the only one who heard them yelling turned around and returned in kind that we loved them also. It was nice that even though they are fed MTV and all of our crap sitcoms that make us look bad, that they still love us... maybe Dr. Phil swayed their opinion with some soothing conflict management approaches.
The next evidence came at the Callaghan wedding. Now I know it's family so they are innately more receptive, but I had some very interesting conversations. Politically, the world looks to the US, and generally aren't as critical of it as people seem to think. Even when the US government does something that is viewed upon as the world as bad, the general disdain will be directed at the government and not at the US citizens. The one conversation that adds to the love came late in evening when I was speaking with some of the young men. One had traveled to America for a time of short study and business. He told me that he found the most intelligent people in the world were in America. He said he was floored by the amount of, what he perceived as, the brightest minds in all the world that America has. We spoke for a long while of politics and the global economic situation. The Irish are highly supportive of Barack Obama and follow our elections very closely. My teacher even stopped class to show the inauguration and we had a short discussion of it.
The last bit of evidence for you comes from last night. I was out on my own because my two roommates left for an 11 day trip to Italy while I have a trip to Northern Ireland on Tuesday. I went to Fitsimons in the Temple Bar area and went all the way up top to the open air part of it (5th floor, big place). I had a great time talking to Terry the barman. He was ragging on some American girls just to wind them up a bit and when he was done I mentioned that us Americans aren't all that bad. He responded, "Of course, I was only messin with them. I LOVE America. I've been there 18 times to all different parts NY, Boston, Philly, Miami, Texas, California... Absolutely love it, truly the greatest place on the face of the earth." We spoke all night, he was quite the showman up there and was very funny. He loves 2pac and has multiple tattoos showing so... like Outlaw on this back. He also told me he was one of the only ones in Ireland that could tell the difference between an American and Canadian accent... that the Canadians say, "eh" a lot.
It is hard to realize the influence of the US until you get outside of it. Half of the programing on my TV is American, the majority of the movies they see are produced in America and the music follows the same trend as well. Also, the Irish credit America with greatly helping the Northern Ireland peace process and they also give credit to the Irish-American community for helping keep their culture alive (e.g. Irish music was first recorded in America and helped to preserve it). In many ways, the strength of the Irish-American community has made them more Irish than the Irish themselves. To wrap it all up here is another piece of evidence that I had forgotten. My roommates met an old man traveling around Dublin who was American born and since has moved all around the world, staying for years in Italy, Africa, and now Ireland. He said, "Never lose your accent." The accent shows you're American and being American is something you should be proud of. I am proud of where I was born and raised as well as my heritage in Ireland. One thing I am very happy to have learned since being here is that it truly is a misconception that the world hates Americans... well except the French, they really DO hate everyone.
P.S.
Oh and I have to add to the sayings I hear all the time. The younger generation often says, "That's so class" when speaking of something cool. How was it? "It was sooo class"
I like it!
Since being in Ireland I have noticed that far from being looked down upon as an American, that more frequently they love you for being one. Here is some evidence to that point. I first felt the love in Galway. The first night I was talking to a group of international students that came to Ireland to learn english. When they heard I was from Philly their eyes lit up and one of them put his hands in the air and said, "FLYERS!!!" while another did a Rocky impersonation. The band subsequently played all American tunes as all the Irish screamed along to the songs. The following evening in Galway, as a group of us were walking to the pub, a group of young Irish people over heard us speaking to each other with an American "twang" and subsequently turned around and yelled, "Americans!!! WE LOVE YOU!" to which of course being the only one who heard them yelling turned around and returned in kind that we loved them also. It was nice that even though they are fed MTV and all of our crap sitcoms that make us look bad, that they still love us... maybe Dr. Phil swayed their opinion with some soothing conflict management approaches.
The next evidence came at the Callaghan wedding. Now I know it's family so they are innately more receptive, but I had some very interesting conversations. Politically, the world looks to the US, and generally aren't as critical of it as people seem to think. Even when the US government does something that is viewed upon as the world as bad, the general disdain will be directed at the government and not at the US citizens. The one conversation that adds to the love came late in evening when I was speaking with some of the young men. One had traveled to America for a time of short study and business. He told me that he found the most intelligent people in the world were in America. He said he was floored by the amount of, what he perceived as, the brightest minds in all the world that America has. We spoke for a long while of politics and the global economic situation. The Irish are highly supportive of Barack Obama and follow our elections very closely. My teacher even stopped class to show the inauguration and we had a short discussion of it.
The last bit of evidence for you comes from last night. I was out on my own because my two roommates left for an 11 day trip to Italy while I have a trip to Northern Ireland on Tuesday. I went to Fitsimons in the Temple Bar area and went all the way up top to the open air part of it (5th floor, big place). I had a great time talking to Terry the barman. He was ragging on some American girls just to wind them up a bit and when he was done I mentioned that us Americans aren't all that bad. He responded, "Of course, I was only messin with them. I LOVE America. I've been there 18 times to all different parts NY, Boston, Philly, Miami, Texas, California... Absolutely love it, truly the greatest place on the face of the earth." We spoke all night, he was quite the showman up there and was very funny. He loves 2pac and has multiple tattoos showing so... like Outlaw on this back. He also told me he was one of the only ones in Ireland that could tell the difference between an American and Canadian accent... that the Canadians say, "eh" a lot.
It is hard to realize the influence of the US until you get outside of it. Half of the programing on my TV is American, the majority of the movies they see are produced in America and the music follows the same trend as well. Also, the Irish credit America with greatly helping the Northern Ireland peace process and they also give credit to the Irish-American community for helping keep their culture alive (e.g. Irish music was first recorded in America and helped to preserve it). In many ways, the strength of the Irish-American community has made them more Irish than the Irish themselves. To wrap it all up here is another piece of evidence that I had forgotten. My roommates met an old man traveling around Dublin who was American born and since has moved all around the world, staying for years in Italy, Africa, and now Ireland. He said, "Never lose your accent." The accent shows you're American and being American is something you should be proud of. I am proud of where I was born and raised as well as my heritage in Ireland. One thing I am very happy to have learned since being here is that it truly is a misconception that the world hates Americans... well except the French, they really DO hate everyone.
P.S.
Oh and I have to add to the sayings I hear all the time. The younger generation often says, "That's so class" when speaking of something cool. How was it? "It was sooo class"
I like it!
Friday, February 13, 2009
Two More Weeks in Middle Earth
I haven't updated in over a week an 1/2 and I apologize for it! I haven't done anything to dramatically exciting in a small period of time so I had to stretch it out in order to make it a little bit more interesting.
As far as notable scholarly events, as I am one to partake in, we visited Newgrange last friday. It is one of the most decorated and architecturally impressive stone tombs of eastern Europe. It's also over 5000 years old. The chambers were my-size (very small) and narrow to get into, but once in it was remarkable how they made a roof out of stones. During the time of the year the sun is at it's lowest, it is designed for it to shine in to the structure. Of all though, I most enjoyed the initials "TGC 1800" on a nearby stone.
We also took a trip this Friday to the Museum of Natural History in Dublin on Kildare street. I couldn't take any pictures so you won't see them, but some of the objects are so ornate for their time period it's incredible to see. There was lots of gold jewelry and tribal horns but the best part of all were the bog bodies. There are four bodies that archaeologists have taken out of bogs in ireland that were well preserved from the nature of a bog. The most impressive one to me was a 6-6 man who's hands are perfectly preserved (and they are massive). Unfortunately for him he was sacrificed by being cut in half, beheaded, and thrown into the bog. This was the case for most of them so you don't really get to see whole bodies!
Other than that the classes have become very interesting. I'm learning more and more Irish even though I'm not great at it and for my group project two others and I are going to perform some Irish trad music. The Peace and Conflict studies courses have been fantastic. In the Conflict resolution one we have got into debates over current and past conflicts, to which I tend to sit back and observe because the class is mostly female, so the arguments tend to have different approaches than what I'm used to. In the history class we argued, putting it basically, security vs. freedom. More specifically it was, "When is it right for a government to repress a section of the population?" This was very intriguing to me because I've debated in my security classes a dozen times over the question of security vs. freedom and this was a class made up of majors that had never heard this question. For this reason I sat back again and listened to what the photography, theater, television broadcasting, and business majors had to say about it. Lastly, my class titled Northern Irish Perspectives has been phenomenal. It is a class instructed by highly recognized journalist Brendan O'Brien who speaks for about 40 minutes and then brings in a guest. The guests that he is able to bring in, once you have studied a little bit about the conflict, are incredible. For example, and this is mostly for Uncle Larry as I don't think most would know these people, these are the people we have heard from already: Dr. Brian Feeney (Author of "Sinn Fein", co-author "Lost Lives", political columnist, historian, former Belfast City Councillor with SDLP) Susan McKay (Journalist, author of "Northern Protestants: An Unsettled People" and "Bear in Mind These Dead") Martin Ferris TD (member of the Irish Parliament, senior Sinn Fein negotiator, former senior IRA activist). After that we hear from Ruairí Ó Brádaigh (HUGE figure in the conflict, former president of Sinn Fein, led during the 70's, the height of the conflict) Liz O'Donnell (Former minister of the state foreign affairs, Irish government negotiator at good friday agreement, former deputy leader progressive democrat party) Roy Garland (Unionist, former loyalist/Protestant militant, biographer of Gutsy Spence loyalist military leader) Col Mike Dewar (Military intelligence expert, former British Army officer in NI) Gareth Porter/Mary Metcalfe (H.U.R.T. Victims Group) and then a final speaker to be decided. As you can see, even if you do not know any of them, the list is quite impressive. Ruairí Ó Brádaigh is this up coming weeks lecturer and he was a surprise one. He is probably the biggest fish of all. If you want me to ask any specific questions let me know!
In other news, I've made my own pizza... thrilling. I've actually been experimenting with food since I've got to Ireland because it would be ridiculously expensive to ever eat out. This weekend I've had the kitchen to myself so I decided to try my hand at a home made pizza. I didn't make the pizza sauce this time but plan to in the future (I just have to find a store with all the spices I need) but I did make the most important part, the dough. Using a little help from Mr. Internet I found simple recipes to use. The first couple turned out fine, which I was very proud of, but I knew what I had to improve. Luckily, again, I was able to find out what my mistakes were online. I think by the end of the semester, even with extremely limited resources, I'll be able to make a half decent pie! That and I'm getting good at making killer breakfasts.
I've also had the chance to hang out with Aine Callaghan a couple times since I last wrote. I took my roommates with me last weekend to meet her at Bondi night club and last night Aine, Lorraine, Aisling and I all went out to various places. I don't have pictures but I know Aine does and once we figure out how to find each other online I'll be able to steal them (if you got the whole bebo email disaster that's why, she uses that). Also, I've planned one trip while I'm here. My roommates have already taken two (to Paris and currently in London) but I wasn't all about how expensive they would be so I held off. The one trip that we have planned now is Amsterdam, which happens to be over my birthday weekend. It should be a blast!
Sorry for not posting for awhile and a shout out to Mrs. Cain as my newest subscriber! I've also noticed Meg and Sarah are on board, hope it's worth it.
Phrases I've heard often:
Any good Craic?
He's a legend.
Stunning.
Oh that's deadly!
Half 9 (9:30).
Thanks a million.
Phrases they don't hear very often:
Awesome....
Dude.
Any surfer lingo every spoken.
Have a nice day, have a good one.
Peace homes... well I don't really say that but you know what I mean.
And for you Helen & Laura, no one over here says, "Aight. Yeeeah I seen dat. Choo know. Pssh guurl you better back up 'awf' me"
P.S. Remind me to walk around with 3 beautiful cousins all the time, it saves on cover charges!
As far as notable scholarly events, as I am one to partake in, we visited Newgrange last friday. It is one of the most decorated and architecturally impressive stone tombs of eastern Europe. It's also over 5000 years old. The chambers were my-size (very small) and narrow to get into, but once in it was remarkable how they made a roof out of stones. During the time of the year the sun is at it's lowest, it is designed for it to shine in to the structure. Of all though, I most enjoyed the initials "TGC 1800" on a nearby stone.
We also took a trip this Friday to the Museum of Natural History in Dublin on Kildare street. I couldn't take any pictures so you won't see them, but some of the objects are so ornate for their time period it's incredible to see. There was lots of gold jewelry and tribal horns but the best part of all were the bog bodies. There are four bodies that archaeologists have taken out of bogs in ireland that were well preserved from the nature of a bog. The most impressive one to me was a 6-6 man who's hands are perfectly preserved (and they are massive). Unfortunately for him he was sacrificed by being cut in half, beheaded, and thrown into the bog. This was the case for most of them so you don't really get to see whole bodies!
Other than that the classes have become very interesting. I'm learning more and more Irish even though I'm not great at it and for my group project two others and I are going to perform some Irish trad music. The Peace and Conflict studies courses have been fantastic. In the Conflict resolution one we have got into debates over current and past conflicts, to which I tend to sit back and observe because the class is mostly female, so the arguments tend to have different approaches than what I'm used to. In the history class we argued, putting it basically, security vs. freedom. More specifically it was, "When is it right for a government to repress a section of the population?" This was very intriguing to me because I've debated in my security classes a dozen times over the question of security vs. freedom and this was a class made up of majors that had never heard this question. For this reason I sat back again and listened to what the photography, theater, television broadcasting, and business majors had to say about it. Lastly, my class titled Northern Irish Perspectives has been phenomenal. It is a class instructed by highly recognized journalist Brendan O'Brien who speaks for about 40 minutes and then brings in a guest. The guests that he is able to bring in, once you have studied a little bit about the conflict, are incredible. For example, and this is mostly for Uncle Larry as I don't think most would know these people, these are the people we have heard from already: Dr. Brian Feeney (Author of "Sinn Fein", co-author "Lost Lives", political columnist, historian, former Belfast City Councillor with SDLP) Susan McKay (Journalist, author of "Northern Protestants: An Unsettled People" and "Bear in Mind These Dead") Martin Ferris TD (member of the Irish Parliament, senior Sinn Fein negotiator, former senior IRA activist). After that we hear from Ruairí Ó Brádaigh (HUGE figure in the conflict, former president of Sinn Fein, led during the 70's, the height of the conflict) Liz O'Donnell (Former minister of the state foreign affairs, Irish government negotiator at good friday agreement, former deputy leader progressive democrat party) Roy Garland (Unionist, former loyalist/Protestant militant, biographer of Gutsy Spence loyalist military leader) Col Mike Dewar (Military intelligence expert, former British Army officer in NI) Gareth Porter/Mary Metcalfe (H.U.R.T. Victims Group) and then a final speaker to be decided. As you can see, even if you do not know any of them, the list is quite impressive. Ruairí Ó Brádaigh is this up coming weeks lecturer and he was a surprise one. He is probably the biggest fish of all. If you want me to ask any specific questions let me know!
In other news, I've made my own pizza... thrilling. I've actually been experimenting with food since I've got to Ireland because it would be ridiculously expensive to ever eat out. This weekend I've had the kitchen to myself so I decided to try my hand at a home made pizza. I didn't make the pizza sauce this time but plan to in the future (I just have to find a store with all the spices I need) but I did make the most important part, the dough. Using a little help from Mr. Internet I found simple recipes to use. The first couple turned out fine, which I was very proud of, but I knew what I had to improve. Luckily, again, I was able to find out what my mistakes were online. I think by the end of the semester, even with extremely limited resources, I'll be able to make a half decent pie! That and I'm getting good at making killer breakfasts.
I've also had the chance to hang out with Aine Callaghan a couple times since I last wrote. I took my roommates with me last weekend to meet her at Bondi night club and last night Aine, Lorraine, Aisling and I all went out to various places. I don't have pictures but I know Aine does and once we figure out how to find each other online I'll be able to steal them (if you got the whole bebo email disaster that's why, she uses that). Also, I've planned one trip while I'm here. My roommates have already taken two (to Paris and currently in London) but I wasn't all about how expensive they would be so I held off. The one trip that we have planned now is Amsterdam, which happens to be over my birthday weekend. It should be a blast!
Sorry for not posting for awhile and a shout out to Mrs. Cain as my newest subscriber! I've also noticed Meg and Sarah are on board, hope it's worth it.
Phrases I've heard often:
Any good Craic?
He's a legend.
Stunning.
Oh that's deadly!
Half 9 (9:30).
Thanks a million.
Phrases they don't hear very often:
Awesome....
Dude.
Any surfer lingo every spoken.
Have a nice day, have a good one.
Peace homes... well I don't really say that but you know what I mean.
And for you Helen & Laura, no one over here says, "Aight. Yeeeah I seen dat. Choo know. Pssh guurl you better back up 'awf' me"
P.S. Remind me to walk around with 3 beautiful cousins all the time, it saves on cover charges!
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