I'm not sure about internet access over the rest of the trip, so this might be my last post. I am so happy that I was able to have this experience. I've learned about education, sure, but I've also learned a lot about myself. Maybe not all of it great, but things that I can take with me to become better.
The best part was probably (nerdy as it sounds) the lectures. We truly got to meet and learn from some of the best, and their passion is something I hope to emulate. I'm including the tours as part of the lectures because those, too, were part of the learning process. I feel like it was an entire cultural experience, and probably even more than I was expecting.
If I can post from Kilkenny, Wexford, Wicklow, and/or Dublin, I will. We're staying at one of the most famous hotels in Dublin thanks to Sarah's reward points, so I'll let you know if there are any celebrity sightings.
Looking forward to my last few days on the old sod.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Northern Ireland
Well, I am back in Galway after a quick weekend trip up to Northern Ireland. The main goal was to see the Giant's Causeway, and it was very cool. We had perfect weather, and I took a zillion pictures. I haven't uploaded them to the computer yet, so you'll just have to wait a bit for those.
We stayed both nights in Belfast. One of the people from my program who went with us knows people from Belfast, and we met a few of them for dinner. The guy, Sean, took us back to our hotel and gave us an impromptu tour of some of the areas that have been heavily impacted by the fighting. I guess I didn't realize quite how real the feelings still are and it was eye opening. Not all of my thoughts are probably good to share on a public blog, so if you want to know more, we'll just have to talk.
Tomorrow we head to Inisbofin, an island north and west of here. It's supposed to be a strenuous hike, and I think my clothes will soon be falling off of me. I'm eating, but I've been walking so much that it doesn't matter. Not that I'm really complaining!
I promise more pictures sometime soon.
We stayed both nights in Belfast. One of the people from my program who went with us knows people from Belfast, and we met a few of them for dinner. The guy, Sean, took us back to our hotel and gave us an impromptu tour of some of the areas that have been heavily impacted by the fighting. I guess I didn't realize quite how real the feelings still are and it was eye opening. Not all of my thoughts are probably good to share on a public blog, so if you want to know more, we'll just have to talk.
Tomorrow we head to Inisbofin, an island north and west of here. It's supposed to be a strenuous hike, and I think my clothes will soon be falling off of me. I'm eating, but I've been walking so much that it doesn't matter. Not that I'm really complaining!
I promise more pictures sometime soon.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
The papers are done! Now on to the non-work stuff.
Last night, I attended the theatre. We saw The Gigli Concert by Tom Murphy. It was superbly acted, and typical dark Irish drama. The two male characters were in a weird co-dependent relationship as psychiatrist and patient. And there's a political message about Ireland and England, and the breaking apart of the Irish family. You know, light fare, particularly after a two hour lecture about the Famine. :-) I did enjoy the experience though.
Today, after handing in my papers, I went shopping and bought myself a Claddagh ring - the one with the heart, hands and crown. The Claddagh is actually an area here in Galway, so I thought this was a fitting souvenir. Since I never wear rings, it feels a bit awkward, but I'm trying to get used to it.
I probably won't be updating again until late Sunday night for me (early afternoon for the CO foks!) because I'm heading to Belfast tomorrow. My friends Moe, Kathleen, Ann and I are going to go up, see the city a bit, and go to the Giant's Causeway on Saturday. That is one of the coolest geographical features on the planet, so I can't wait! I'll post a picture when I get back. I think we're going to stop in Sligo on our way back on Sunday, and I'd like to see Yeats's grave. A bit nerdy, but that's me.
It's hard to believe I've already been here for two full weeks. I'll be back home two weeks from today. But it's been a fabulous time so far, and I'm sure it will continue to be fabulous!
Last night, I attended the theatre. We saw The Gigli Concert by Tom Murphy. It was superbly acted, and typical dark Irish drama. The two male characters were in a weird co-dependent relationship as psychiatrist and patient. And there's a political message about Ireland and England, and the breaking apart of the Irish family. You know, light fare, particularly after a two hour lecture about the Famine. :-) I did enjoy the experience though.
Today, after handing in my papers, I went shopping and bought myself a Claddagh ring - the one with the heart, hands and crown. The Claddagh is actually an area here in Galway, so I thought this was a fitting souvenir. Since I never wear rings, it feels a bit awkward, but I'm trying to get used to it.
I probably won't be updating again until late Sunday night for me (early afternoon for the CO foks!) because I'm heading to Belfast tomorrow. My friends Moe, Kathleen, Ann and I are going to go up, see the city a bit, and go to the Giant's Causeway on Saturday. That is one of the coolest geographical features on the planet, so I can't wait! I'll post a picture when I get back. I think we're going to stop in Sligo on our way back on Sunday, and I'd like to see Yeats's grave. A bit nerdy, but that's me.
It's hard to believe I've already been here for two full weeks. I'll be back home two weeks from today. But it's been a fabulous time so far, and I'm sure it will continue to be fabulous!
Monday, July 13, 2009
Today was a rather boring day of regular classes, but I did attempt knitting, and failed miserably. I think I'll stick to embroidery. I am procrastinating, as usual, on my assignments. The deadline was moved back, which might be the worst possible thing that can be done to a procrastinator. Instead of working on them tonight, I had some of my new friends (how corny that sounds!) over for dinner and we talked until 10:45. Now I'm catching up on important internet stuff rather than looking at the other open window on my desktop, the comparative paper I'm writing on my school vs. the schools here.
Yesterday we had a church field trip. That's not what it was officially called, but that's certainly how many of us felt by the end! I didn't mind as much as some because I love the architecture of old church buildings and the history piece. Plus, I like the spiritual aspects of houses of worship. The first part of the trip was to Clonmacnoise, the monastic settlement of Saint Kieran (Ciaran). It was destroyed in the sixteenth century, so it's just the ruins now. It had an interesting history, and some cool high crosses. The monastery is on the bank of the Shannon River, so I got some pretty scenic pictures. From there we went on to Clonfert Cathedral, which has an incredibly intricate doorway. Donal (see previous post) was our guide, and he's such a hoot! He loves churches, and would have taken us to about seven more if he could have.
I continue to be Bee Girl. It's a strange nickname because I'm not quite sure how it came about. I was talking to one of the TAs (for lack of a better descriptor) about photography because he was giving me a hard time about taking lots of pictures. I told him about my flower picture obsession, and about how I managed to capture bees on some flowers at Versailles. Then we talked about bees for awhile (as if I know anything!) and then I took a picture of a bee on a flower at Kylemore Abbey. I told him about it, just as a joking (flirtatious?) way of continuing the conversation, and now I'm Bee Girl. So I made sure I got a picture of a bee yesterday too. And then today, when I asked him about the dress code for the theater, he told me I didn't need to wear my bee tiara. He's quite attractive, so I'm more than willing to continue the flirtation.
Tomorrow, it's off to class and then a tour of the Nora Barnacle house. She was James Joyce's wife. Then the theater on Wednesday. Hope all is well for all of you.
Yesterday we had a church field trip. That's not what it was officially called, but that's certainly how many of us felt by the end! I didn't mind as much as some because I love the architecture of old church buildings and the history piece. Plus, I like the spiritual aspects of houses of worship. The first part of the trip was to Clonmacnoise, the monastic settlement of Saint Kieran (Ciaran). It was destroyed in the sixteenth century, so it's just the ruins now. It had an interesting history, and some cool high crosses. The monastery is on the bank of the Shannon River, so I got some pretty scenic pictures. From there we went on to Clonfert Cathedral, which has an incredibly intricate doorway. Donal (see previous post) was our guide, and he's such a hoot! He loves churches, and would have taken us to about seven more if he could have.
I continue to be Bee Girl. It's a strange nickname because I'm not quite sure how it came about. I was talking to one of the TAs (for lack of a better descriptor) about photography because he was giving me a hard time about taking lots of pictures. I told him about my flower picture obsession, and about how I managed to capture bees on some flowers at Versailles. Then we talked about bees for awhile (as if I know anything!) and then I took a picture of a bee on a flower at Kylemore Abbey. I told him about it, just as a joking (flirtatious?) way of continuing the conversation, and now I'm Bee Girl. So I made sure I got a picture of a bee yesterday too. And then today, when I asked him about the dress code for the theater, he told me I didn't need to wear my bee tiara. He's quite attractive, so I'm more than willing to continue the flirtation.
Tomorrow, it's off to class and then a tour of the Nora Barnacle house. She was James Joyce's wife. Then the theater on Wednesday. Hope all is well for all of you.
Friday, July 10, 2009
As mentioned yesterday, last night we had a lecture entitled "My Ireland" by Donal Taheny. Donal is a former Latin and Irish teacher at a secondary school in Galway. He's 92 years old. I've jokingly said that I'm in love with him because he's so adorable. One of my friends here got a great picture of him last night, which I'll share at some point.
Donal is an accomplished photographer and showed us slides (using the old fashioned slide projector) of some of his pictures and telling us stories. The stories were fascinating and funny. He's just a hoot. On our bus ride around Connemara, Donal told stories about many of the places we passed and then just random stories and jokes. I don't know if it's from being around people of Irish descent or just my natural Irishness coming out, but I loved his humor. It's a bit dry and direct, kind of like British humor, but there's something not British about it that I can't quite explain. Anyway, I think everyone should meet Donal or someone like him at some point. He even came out to the pub to have a pint (though he had a glass of wine) with us all after the lecture. I hope I'm that spry and lucid at 92!
Donal is an accomplished photographer and showed us slides (using the old fashioned slide projector) of some of his pictures and telling us stories. The stories were fascinating and funny. He's just a hoot. On our bus ride around Connemara, Donal told stories about many of the places we passed and then just random stories and jokes. I don't know if it's from being around people of Irish descent or just my natural Irishness coming out, but I loved his humor. It's a bit dry and direct, kind of like British humor, but there's something not British about it that I can't quite explain. Anyway, I think everyone should meet Donal or someone like him at some point. He even came out to the pub to have a pint (though he had a glass of wine) with us all after the lecture. I hope I'm that spry and lucid at 92!
Pictures at last! The first is of Lough Inagh in Connemara - will probably look familiar to those of you who have been. The second is a flower shot, obviously. I think it's a bit artsy fartsy as my family would say, but that's what I do! And then the last is clearly of me. I'm on one side (goodness knows which!) of Omey Island. Refer to previous post for more details on all of these!
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