school's out for the summer

well, we've made it. six weeks later, we've collected our exam questions, had yet another glass of wine with our advisers, and have settled in to prepare for exams next week.

this week started with a long day of classes on monday which was topped off with a reading by the nobel laureate poet seamus heaney. it was an absolute delight to be able to sit and chat with him and to hear some of his great poems. he took us through what he called his "lifecycle" as a writer, reading seven poems, each of which he had written at a significant point in his life. he's a great man, and it was fantastic to have him with us.

on tuesday, we had an early film class, during which we discussed our final papers and expectations for the remainder of the week. stachu had a hard time explaining what he wants from us, so we've decided to wing it. luckily, we have until next tuesday at midnight to write a six-page paper comparing two films and analyzing the "irishness" and "hollywoodization" of each, so i'm not worried in the slightest. further, i thrive under pressure but have already prepared an outline complete with quotes from our readings, so i'll be writing that paper next week.

after class, we walked to dail eireann, the parliament building on merrion square. there, we had a historic tour of the building and also had an audience with a current TD (member of parliament), who talked to us a bit about his position as a member of the inactive labour party. they are a minority party and, therefore, don't have much say in terms of lawmaking. they are becoming much more popular in the polls, however, and should gain more seats and a more active role in government after the next election. he also fielded questions, a nice thing considering most of our guests have been greeted by happy silence by us (we're not the most curious bunch, i suppose). 

after the dail (pronounced "doyle" in irish), a small group of us trekked it to st. pat's to hear evensong. st. pat's has a well-known music school directly across the street from the cathedral, and the kids in the school perform nightly evensongs and masses. we were delighted to be walking through dublin on such a beautiful evening, taking in more of the sights and checking out the city that has become our home.

on wednesday, we had visual culture class at the hugh lane modern art gallery, a field trip that i've been looking forward to for some time. we cruised the exhibits, learned a lot from our professor, and even got to see an exact replica of francis bacon's studio, a current exhibition here. it was so great, and i definitely felt in my element (thanks mom!) i got separated from the group about halfway through the session, so i checked out more of the art and then made my way down the street to the dublin writer's museum, another treat for me. after filling my brain with more useful knowledge about a bunch of irish writers, i ate lunch in parnell square and mosied down o'connell street, making it back to campus just in time for history class. after class, kate, leslie and i walked across college green to the wax museum and had quite a bit of fun there. 

last night, we went to the abbey theatre once again, this time to see a production of sean o'casey's "the plough and the stars," which takes place around the time of the easter rising and the beginnings of the war on independence. the actors were hard to understand and the theatre was, once again, unbearably hot, so we were a bit uncomfortable and were glad to leave three hours later. from there, we went to a bar where we had been told we could sing karaoke, but arrived and were disappointed. after that, we made it to another bar and danced the night away.

this morning was an early one, as i had my last literature and gaelic culture classes. we've been prepped and readied for our exams. we had film class in the afternoon, and were lucky enough to watch "once," one of my favorite films and one that stachu decided not to make us write an assignment on. then, we met up with our advisers for our exam briefing and a glass of wine (they've been serving us lots of wine and doritos throughout the program, a combination that i find purely hilarious and absolutely perfect.) 

tonight, the girls and i are going to o'neill's for dinner and traditional music. tomorrow, we'll go on a viking splash tour (grandma, similar to the duck tour we took in saugatuck all those years ago!) and also hope to get to the national gallery for some art time. on saturday, we're going to go to phoenix park and rent bikes and go to the zoo, which i'm very excited about. sunday may provide a day trip to sandycove south of the city, depending on how we're feeling. monday is a bank holiday, luckily, so we have a full day to prepare exams.

our exam schedule is interesting, but not unlike things i've done at NMC or UM. we received lists of questions for each class today and will be able to prepare two essays for each class. tuesday and wednesday are each divided into three exam slots of two hours each. luckily, i only have to sit for three exams, so i plan on spending all day tuesday in the gmb writing those essays, so i have the full day wednesday for last-minute souvenir shopping and packing. i'll spend tuesday night finishing my film paper, so i'll be completely done with academics by wednesday. all in all, i feel completely able to get these last few responsibilities out of the way while still having time for lots of fun this weekend. 

all in all, i'm really looking forward to these last few days in dub-town. we've a lot planned and a lot to get done in the short amount of time we have left! of course, i'm still looking forward to being home, but i'm still here and still loving it, so i'll enjoy it while it lasts!

wax museum

xxx

the gift of gab?

once again, i've returned to dublin in the best of moods. i love coming "home" to the city after a weekend away. this past one was our last traveling weekend, and i've just returned from cork city. 

we left dubz on an 8am bus, having barely made it to the station on time. oops! but, four hours later, we were dropped at the cork city bus station and left to our own devices. we checked into our hostel (bru bar and hostel), which was a bar on the first floor and hostel rooms on the other three floors. yes, bar first, hostel second. this is the ireland we've come to know and love. we arrvied in our six bed room with only five of us (maura had missed the bus completely and would come south with another group from the program later that day). leslie, nikki, kate, and katie are from wisconsin and the girls i spend most of my time with in dublin. i am most often the odd michigander out, which makes for good fun.

after settling in our tiny room, we set out to explore the city. we grabbed lunch at hillbilly (authentic fried food straight from the american south--some of the best fried chicken i've ever tasted, actually.) we traipsed around the city for awhile, checking out st. finbarre's cathedral and other city sights, and then popping into a-wear for a bit of shopping (8E jeans? okay!). After a nap, we headed downstairs (too convenient) for a drink and then went out on the town.

on saturday, we woke up for breakfast and then made our plans to visit blarney castle, a 20-minute bus ride out of town. we made it to the town of blarney and explored a bit, eventually ending up at the castle. the grounds were enormous, so we took our time getting to the castle. so much green to see! it was quite a bit warmer than normal, too, so we didn't want to make the trek too quickly. 

to get to the blarney stone, you have to climb 100 steps in a spiral staircase built for infants. seriously. it's tiny. but, we made it too the top, were rushed through our kissing of the stone, and went right back down to grab some lunch. we ended up at the blarney woollen mills, a huge outlet store that had a cafe and restaurant built in. much to our delight, the outdoor cafe was serving grilled chicken, burgers, and sausages. it was a purely american lunch, and we were incredibly happy to indulge. then, we sat in the park for awhile before catching a bus back to cork. after a nap and a pizza dinner, we did a light night out on the town, making it back to bed by midnight.

on sunday, we had planned to do a bit of shopping before heading back to dubz. much to our dismay, the entire city was closed at 11am. THE ENTIRE CITY! but, that meant less money-spending, so we grabbed the noon bus to dublin and made it back for a quiet evening at home.

now, i've just finished my second-to-last literature class with james ryan, a great short story writer. i've been the star pupil in that class, engaging in conversation with the professors and generally sharing my opinions. it's been nice to make myself known in that respect. i'll head back to campus soon for history, critical issues, and gaelic culture. then, tonight, we have our reading with seamus heaney! this is the event i've been most excited about, since he's a poet laureate and nobel prize winner. such an amazing opportunity! tomorrow, we'll have film class and then a visit to the dail eireann, the parliament of the republic. then, the girls and i have decided to head over to st. patrick's to hear the children's choir sing evensong at mass. very exciting. on wednesday, we have class and then we'll be going to the theatre. thursday is our last day of real classes. that evening, we will receive our exam questions so that we can spend the weekend preparing. luckily, the essay exams we sit for are open note and, therefore, i plan on writing full essays beforehand. i feel like having this extra preparation will help me to succeed! also, i only have to sit for exams in lit, history, and gaelic culture, as our film final is an outside essay. so, this weekend will be chock-full of essay writing, but will also be one of enjoying dublin for the final time. we're planning a full day in phoenix park on saturday, and i'll be doing a ton of museums on friday. luckily, we don't have anything to do on monday, as it's a bank holiday and they've given us the day to continue preparing our exams. then, we'll sit tuesday and wednesday for exams, and wednesday night is our big reception for the closing of the program. all in all, we will have an incredibly busy, incredibly exciting next ten days. i can't believe we're nearing the close of the program so quickly! but, i'm sure i'll be too busy to think of anything but the next day, which will make the flight home all the more anticipatory.

guinness factory

cork

blarney castle

xxx

two weeks and counting

oh, this bittersweet feeling. i've never felt it so overwhelmingly before. because yes, i've had the time of my life here in the dubz and i've made great friends and learned SO much and had so much inspiration...but i think i'm ready to be home. not that i'm longing for home or wish i were getting on a plane tomorrow...just that i'm ready. and in two weeks when i'm on that plane, i will feel content in knowing that i have had the time of my life. if that makes any sense.

this is week has been an intense one. on monday, we had a lot of class. it seemed like a lot because we only had two days of class in belfast and london was a serious weekend, so monday was just a long day. i've gotten a pretty nasty cold that i'm chalking up to the london underground, too, so i've been dragging a lot for the last few days.

tuesday was another full day. we went to the irish film institute in the morning and sat through three shorts and a feature. the shorts were great. the feature was horrible. that's the bottom line, unfortunately. after that, we went almost immediately to film class to spend another 2.5 hours watching a movie, "michael collins" with liam neeson. while i really enjoyed this film, i was also exhausted and it was incredibly difficult to spend the whole day watching movies. ugh. that night, our program hosted a book launch for terence brown, a professor of english here at trinity and one of our lecturers early on. it was hard to sit through his explanation of the book "literature in ireland," (he has a very raspy, hard-to-understand voice that is difficult to listen to) but we got free wine so that was a nice incentive. the girls and i went out for dinner and drinks that night. though i had thought that i would head home early, i ended staying out late. thus, my cold has only gotten worse. my fault.

wednesday was class as usual. in visual culture, we've moved from our lecturer on ancient celtic art to a new lecturer on modernism and post-modernism in ireland. which i absolutely adore. the lecture was engaging and we're going to the hugh lane (modern art) gallery next week, which i am incredibly excited about. last night, we had a guest lecture on child abuse in the irish catholic church. not the most pleasant of topics, to say the least. once again, this was very difficult to sit through because of how sad all of the facts are. 

so, an intense week. i'll be making my way to film class soon to watch yet another movie, "the wind that shakes the barley." after that, luckily, we're finally going to the guinness storehouse, which should lighten the mood of the week. i'm planning another early night tonight to try and shake this cold for the weekend, our last travel weekend! a group of six of us are headed to cork and blarney castle for the weekend, which should be great fun. i'm really looking forward to the weekend, but also looking forward to getting back to dublin for our last week of classes and exam preparation. 

i cannot believe how fast this time has flown. i feel like i entered my dorm for the first time just yesterday, so it's hard to believe that i'll be leaving the city for good in a couple of weeks. i'm excited, i'm anxious, i'm sad, i'm happy...it's all incredibly bittersweet. i'm having a hard time focusing living in the present, thinking a lot about what the month of august has in store for me at home. so, my focus will be concentrating on ireland, enjoying the last of my time here and attempting some sense of sanity before going crazy with exams and packing and goodbye parties. it's been a good run, but it's not over yet! i just have to keep reminding myself of that. 

xxx

WINNING LONDON

oh, london. you will always been one of my favorite cities, and one that i just can't get enough of.
we, a group of five girls from michigan, left belfast at 8am, and couldn't be more excited to leave. our flight was an hour, and our train trip around london was another hour, so by the time we got to our hostel in paddington, we were exhausted. and starving. (see, a theme!) so, we raced back out to get lunch at a hole-in-the-wall pub, which was perfect. then, we all went our separate ways. i had thought that i'd try to make it to cambridge to see emerald, but then found out that she had rehearsal all day, so i went to the national gallery instead. they had a great exhibit on about modifications and restorations, which was incredible. i got to see van eyck's "the arnolfini portrait," which i've strangely studied in more than one class. i also got to see van gogh's "sunflowers," which was literally a dream come true. i love that painting with a passion, so it was an incredible experience.
after the gallery, bianca and i met back up with marah, laura, and maura to go to the london eye. i had already been, but i decided to go again just to check it out. it was still so much fun! from there, we headed back to the hostel for a bit of a rest.
after checking in to our six-bed room at the hostel, we had noticed a bunch of stuff left by our roommate, so we spent the day quite curious about her. when we returned from the eye, she was just getting back as well, and we clicked immediately. she's an aussie named hannah who is traveling for the next four months, having just graduated with a degree in communications from college in newcastle. over the weekend, we got to know her quite well. she's a great girl and we all had a lot of fun together. she's actually coming to dublin in a couple of weeks, too, so hopefully we'll be able to meet up and go out again together.
friday night, we were exhausted, so we found some dinner and then went to bed. well, we TRIED to find food, but it turns out that most pubs stop serving food after 10, so we ended up at mcdonald's. oh, well. sometimes, food is food.
on saturday, we woke up pretty refreshed. the girls had all made other plans to do touristy things, and i went to cambridge to spend the day with emerald. we had so much fun, catching up, walking around cambridge shooting pictures, et cetera. she even took me punting on the river cam! we realized that we've been writing to each other for about 10 years now, which is insane to think about. but, i value her friendship so much and was so glad to be able to spend the entire day with her!
saturday night, we went to dinner and to a club. it was just marah, maura, hannah and i, so we made a great little group. we danced the night away with some guys in the british air force, finally making it back to the hostel around 4. but, the late night was well worth it. the club we went to, the roadhouse, played a great mix of music and, at one point, even had a live cover band. too much fun was had that night, that's for sure.
on sunday, we went to see the changing of the guard together, but got bored before the change actually happened, so we found a coffee shop to sit around in. then, we went our separate ways once again, the girls going to see the peter pan statue in kensington gardens, and i decided to go to the tate modern, which is a place i've wanted to go for ages. i walked along the south bank for about an hour, just taking it all in and realizing how much i do love london, huge city or not. i made it to the tate to see a great exhibit called "poetry and dreams," which i absolutely adored. (mom, look it up. now.) then, i hopped on the tube (which, by this point, i had navigated to near perfection. i realize that, the more confident i become with myself, the easier public transport is! yay!) i made it to the tower of london to meet elise and goli (a friend from home) for lunch at the hang, drawn, and quartered, a pub i ate at during eurochorale. after a bit of time with them, it was time for me to head back to the hostel to pick up my bags and meet up with the girls. we made it to heathrow with an hour or so to spare, the perfect amount of time to get through security (where they took my hair cream AND sunscreen, much to my dismay) and get to our gate. the flight was easy and we made it back to trinity by 11. i crashed after unpacking, so happy to have made it "home."
i realized today after class how much i truly love this city. i feel completely at home here and i really don't want to leave. having two weeks left is very bittersweet. i am looking forward to august in traverse city. for now, though, i'm focused on what time i have left here, trying to make the most of it!
now, i'm off to plan a weekend trip to cork and the blarney castle. more on thursday!
london calling
XXXXXXXXX

in the north

oh boy. belfast, belfast, belfast. we arrived on july 11th, sunday night before the big 12th of july orange fest. the city was eerily dead. tensions had mounted. we were in for a treat.
or something. i was in a funk for the whole week. something having to do with the protestant celebrations of catholic defeat, plus not being in dublin, plus the whole city being tumultuous...it wasn't the best of weeks, to be sure. but i'll start from the beginning.
we woke up monday morning to hear of riots that had broken out the night before. these riots happened every night while we were in town. so, from the very beginning of our stay, we were quite uncomfortable. we had been told that the troubles were officially over and that things were starting to get better, but the violence hasn't stopped. it was incredibly interesting to be in a place where some people hate other people with so much passion and overwhelming senses of entitlement...on both sides. the protestants and catholics are both victims and violators of the situation and, in short, it put us americans in quite a strange place.
monday, we attended the orange fest parade, much to my dismay. i was uncomfortable from the outset and that only heightened when i, along with two other girls in the program, were approached by a very drunk older creeper who sought us out from the parade. awkward and ridiculous to say the least. he downed his budweisers, asked if we had husbands, belched on us, spit on us (all because he was drunk at 11am), and was generally completely distasteful and unfortunate. i kept turning my back on him, but he kept talking and telling us how much he liked us. after that encounter, our group leaders all came over to tell us that they had watched the entire debacle and wanted to intervene, but would have probably caused more trouble since they all have dublin accents. THAT is the epitome of the trouble in belfast.
after a quick lunch at the dorms, we headed out for a bus tour of the murals in shankill and falls roads, centers of the protestant and catholic working classes, respectively. as you can imagine, a tour bus traipsing through these blue collar neighborhoods was not necessarily the most exciting thing. we were unable to turn one way down one street for fear of being stoned. literally. BUT the murals were beautiful and we were able to further understand the troubles from the context of the people. interesting, yes. comfortable, not so much.
on tuesday, we had classes. the program had us housed about a 1/2-hour's walk away from main campus, so it was quite a hike to get anywhere in town. luckily, we had lovely sinead leading us to most of our destinations, so that was helpful. i thoroughly enjoyed our history and literature classes, both lectured by incredible northern irish speakers to give us more of a context of the city in their terms. david park, the lit lecturer, was incredibly engaging and i highly recommend that everyone pick up his book, "the truth commissioner." he read quite a bit of it to us and it sounds amazing. after those classes, we went to lunch. or, attempted to. the city was still completely shut down, and literally the only restaurant open (since we only had an hour and the dorms were so far away) was at the ulster museum in the botanic gardens. luckily, they had meat pies of all kinds and, as we were starving (which seems to be a theme on this trip) we were incredibly happy with the meal. then, we headed back to film class.
now, this class has become a dreaded one for most of us on the program, mostly because of our professor, stashu. he is the resident director of the program and teaches in the film department at um, so most of us had high hopes about the class. unfortunately, he is one of the most inwardly bigoted men i have ever met. he makes gross generalizations at every turn and genuinely believes all the stereotypes about the irish. so, being me, i confronted him during this class after he claimed that "all irish people are outrightly violent." yes, he said this. he says lots of things like this, actually, and it's a rough part of the program. i raised my hand and said, "you know, i come from a strongly irish catholic family, so i feel like i can speak to the fact that many irish people are not violent, but passionate." he replied, "well, to the rest of us, you guys just seem violent." the entire class groaned. it was a nightmare of a class, to say the least. i really find it unfortunate, too, because i do want to like him. but his ideas of people around him are just so...closeminded. it makes me sad that people like him exist, and most of the people on the program agree with me.
tuesday night, we were given a reading by a northern irish poet by the name of cieran carson. he was, in a word, amazing. i sat through most of the reading in awe and realized later than i had some personal things to take care of. like i said, i was in a funk for most of the week, so this did not come as a surprise.
on wednesday, we met the bus at 9 for a trip to the antrim coast. we visited dunluce castle, the giant's causeway, and the carrick-a-rede bridge. it was, in short, basically a 12-hour hike in the rain. but it was a welcome respite from the strange vibes of belfast, so we took it happily. though it wasn't the most beautiful day, my pictures cannot do this place justice. it was absolutely mindblowing! i sincerely loved every minute of it.
on thursday, we had more class. this was a little more rough, as most of us were burnt out from the week and especially from the hike, so the day felt a lot longer than it actually was. after that, we were taken to stormont, home of the northern irish parliament. while there, we were able to sit down with and ask questions of MPs from the four major political parties in northern ireland. at the beginning of the week, peter collins, director of the northern ireland leg of the program, asked all of us to write down a few questions each to ask the MPs. he told us we he would choose a few and then ask the students who wrote them to ask them directly. my question got chosen, but he didn't tell the seven of us who was reading until about five minutes before the roundtable. unfortunately (or luckily...i'm still not sure how i feel about it) i was near the end of the list of questions, so we ran out of time before i could read my question. but, i was honored to be chosen and peter thanked those of us who had written the unanswered questions vocally, so we were still recognized.
as friday was to be an early morning, a group of us grabbed dinner at an amazing italian restaurant and then headed back to the dorms to pack. we were anxious to get out of that city, without a doubt. while i'm glad to have learned much of what i did in context of northern ireland and the troubles, i wish that the city had been more receptive, more comfortable, or even more interesting. in short, i'm glad to say i've been to belfast, but don't think i'll return.

antrim coast
stormont

xxx

this week, from northern ireland...

Though I’m not sure when I’ll be able to post this, I’ve decided to write it while everything’s still fresh in my head. It’s actually Sunday and I’ve made it to Belfast. This weekend was a whirlwind one and I’m still exhausted, but it was incredible.

On Friday, I caught a 9am train to cloughjordan. I was concerned that I would miss the train and wasn’t quite sure on navigating myself there, so I left campus around 7.45 just to be sure. I made it to heuston in plenty of time, of course. I took an hour’s journey to ballybrophy on a full train destined for cork, and then another hour to cloguhjordan on a relatively empty train destined for nowhere, Ireland. We pulled in to cloughjordan at 11 and I was the only one to get off the train. Promising? Not particularly. I walked the two kilometers into town with a stray in tow who hung out with me for the rest of the day. It was nice to have a bit of company, but I was really happy to have a day without a huge group of fellow Americans along for the ride. It was nice to be at my own beck and call.

When I arrived in town, I couldn’t really tell. There were two shops to speak of but, otherwise, there was nothing to see or do. Yikes. I walked up and down the main street, taking a couple of the side streets as well to see if I was missing anything. But, really, there was nothing to this tiny irish town. It was sad, really, to see the closed down pubs and other victims of the recession. It was raining for most of the day, as well, and I hadn’t prepared well, so my feet were soaked immediately and remained that way.

I began to search for a restaurant of some kind, but had no luck. I checked out the two shops—a fair trade shop and a book/coffee shop. They were both quaint and interesting, but nothing held my interest for long. I also found the site for the up-and-coming ecovillage in town, which is the first in Ireland and one of the first in Europe. These three things made my day. Being stared at by the few locals out and about, however, was more than a little disheartening, especially because most of the irish people I’ve met here have been so friendly and approachable. In cloughjordan, they were quite standoffish and seemingly depressed. All in all, it was a strange day. I’m glad I went, mostly because now I can say I’ve been, but it’s not really someplace I’d like to go again. Not, of course, without some sort of company or a plan of any kind.

I got home around 10 after two late trains and a scramble to find the tram at the train station. All in all, I explored three types of public transport that day, all successfully. I gave myself a pat on the back for that one. After a hot shower, I was incredibly happy to jump into bed for a good night’s sleep.

Yesterday was oxegen and, man, what a day. The girls I went with, alex (one of my clusermates), ali, and kenzie, are all from Madison and have been pretty cliquey since day one. They generally spend all of their time together, so it was a bit awkward to butt in on their inside jokes and stuff. They also decided to get wasted before going into the festival and to continue drinking throughout. I, on the other hand, wanted to remember the concerts and not get disoriented throughout the day, so I abstained and became mom for the day. Interesting dynamic to say the least.

It was amazing, however. Absolutely downright amazing. It had started raining before we left the city by bus, but the one thing we knew to expect was mud, so we had our wellies and rain jackets on. We got to the festival grounds around 3 and tried to navigate the site but to no avail. It was a bit complicated, so we decided to meander instead, stumbling upon stage after stage and tons of booths selling food. I can’t even describe this place’s size. Four main stages, one dance tent, and booths lining the entire perimeter. Plus, a campsite we never saw. It was bigger than bliss, bigger than wheatland…and the people! So many drunken people tromping through the mud in their wellies. Everyone had rainboots on, and it was a good thing, because it barely stopped downpouring throughout the day. The weather was typically irish, wet and cold, but it was well worth it.

Rise against played at 5, and we caught a bit of their set before moving on. I dropped the girls off at the green tent so that they could get a good spot for la roux, and then I went to the main stage for Florence + the machine. She is amazing! Such a stage presence. She commanded the attention of an audience of hundreds and barely lifted a finger doing so. Her flowing red hair and flowing blue dress did well to keep the mood light and airy. And her songs are so upbeat without being poppy and ridiculous. She’s one of my new favorites and has been for quite a while.

After Florence, I met the girls at la roux, where they had gotten to the front row. Once again, amazing. They had the beats bumping and the frontwoman was so energetic and happy to be performing. They played their big hit “bulletproof” last, and the crowd went wild. Such an incredible, high energy show.

After that, I lost the girls, but stayed in the same tent to see gossip. I LOVE beth ditto. She’s literally a beach ball with legs, bopping around the stage in her way. But she’s so spunky and intense! She has no qualms. She was drinking and smoking on stage but catching her high d’s with no effort. She’s an incredible performer, and I loved every bit of their show. They played their hit song “heavy cross” last as well. This is literally one of my favorite songs of all time and one I’ve been listening to a lot lately, so I let loose a lot at that point. It was so great to hear that song live, as it’s just as good if not better.

I caught up with the girls again after that, and they decided they wanted to go wait for good places for black eyed peas rather than going to kasabian with me. No matter. I actually enjoyed being alone, listening to great music and bopping around by myself. Kasabian played “fire” near the end of their set. They’re a band that has been big for quite awhile in the uk and is one that emerald introduced me to a million years ago. However, hearing them play was truly a treat.

Then, the piece d’resistence. Muse. I literally have few, if any, words to describe this set. Everything, from the lights to their outfits to the crowd to the MUSIC, was downright perfection. I felt every beat, even from halfway out to the road (the crowd was insanely large). I’m actually honored to have been able to see them live. I…really…I have no words. They were absolutely amazing. Lived up to all the hype, and blew any expectation I had out of the water. I am so happy I got to see them, honestly.

Muse finished up a few minutes early, so I made it over to the other stage to see black eyed peas play “I gotta feeling,” which was the perfect way to end the night. Contrary to popular belief, they can rock a live crowd. I had convinced myself that they sucked live, but they definitely made it happen last night. Fergie was glitz and glam in this ridiculous metal tutu, but she made it work. Will.i.am was his jolly legit self. All in all, it was fantastic.

We got back to the buses relatively quickly and surveyed the damage. The four of us were literally drenched both in mud and rain, but we couldn’t have been happier. After a twenty minute walk from the bus to goldsmith, I got into the shower with my entire outfit on (including wellies) in order to rinse off a bit. My leggings might be done for good, but I’m hoping the mud will wash from the tank top I wore. My trusty north face rain jacket was completely clean when I stepped from the shower, so that was exciting. All in all, it was an absolutely incredible day and one of the highlight of the trip thus far.

This morning was a rough one, as I didn’t get in until 3 from oxegen. Luckily, I packed yesterday, so that wasn’t of concern. My body aches, however, from a weekend spent in the rain. We had a couple hours on the coach before our first destination, so I was able to get a nap in. I was also happy to be reunited with my group of friends, most of whom went to galway for the weekend. we stopped at castle ward in county down on our way to Belfast. This house, and the family ward that goes along with it, is hilarious. The décor is absolutely ridiculous, as the lord and lady of the house couldn’t come to an agreement and, as such, decided to do the front half in classic palladian and the back half in gothic. So funny. We toured the estate with a sassy older tour guide who told us lots of stories and kept our attention. While I used to think tours like this were a bit boring, I’ve realized how much effort the tour guides go to to keep things interesting and relevant, so I am appreciating them a lot more.

I am settled in my bed in Belfast, after having watched the world cup finals in a random pub on a random street in this city. This leg of the trip seems unorganized to say the least. Dr. peter Collins, the academic director at queen’s uni Belfast, tried to introduce us to the city from the comfort of a lounge on campus. Rather than taking us out and about, he pointed things out on a map. But, we made it to a pub that served food and watched spain beat the Netherlands. Thank goodness.

This week is bound to be an interesting one. We’re going to the 12^th of july parade tomorrow, commemorating the victory at the battle of the boyne in the 1690s. yes, the protestants are still celebrating after all these years, reminding the catholics that they’re here to stay. I find it a bit ridiculous after all the turmoil, but it’s history and it’s why we’re here.  I’m having some mixed feelings about being here, actually, but I understand that it is a fundamental part of irish studies. We’ll also have a tour of Belfast city tomorrow. Tuesday, we have two classes and a poetry reading, all of which are our normal classes but are focused on northern Ireland rather than the republic. Wednesday, we’re off to the antrim coast for the day! Thursday, more classes. Thursday evening, we get to go to stormont to meet with some members of northern Ireland parliament, which should be interesting. Then, I’m off to London for the weekend! 

cloughjordan 

oxegen

belfast 

xxx

contentedness

this week, dublin truly feels like home. i finally feel like a true dubliner. i know how to get places (and can even point other people in the right direction), i feel safe, i feel secure, i feel home. 

i've written a lot this week (shameless plug: check out my fiction/poetry blog for some new stuff). it feels fantastic to be writing. i've known for a long time that it's what i want to do with my life, but to be doing it in dublin is...bliss. purely.

on monday night, we attended a reading by hugo hamilton and molly mccloskey, both dubliners who had new stuff to read for us. i was incredibly moved and touched and that's when i knew that all i want in the entire world is to be that well-known someday. ahh...the future. it snuck up on me quickly. after the reading, i shot an email off to a friend who is in the mfa program at michigan (which is, i think, where i might want to end up after undergrad...eventually...we'll see), asking his advice about the application process. i had a bit of a panic attack in realizing that i'll be a senior next year and then the real world will be hitting me--BUT!--i'm enjoying ireland for what it is and have decided to worry about that silly stuff later.

on tuesday, we visited kilmainham jail, built in 1784(?) and home to many political prisoners throughout the numerous riots, uprisings, civil wars, and wars for independence in the country. it was creeepy, dark and dank and damp, just like an old jail should be. it was a dreary day as well, so the entire mood fit like a movie.

the highlight of tuesday, however, was finding a chinese food restaurant that delivers. we were delighted to find it, nervous to try it, and happily surprised by the quality and quantity. we ate well that night, and it was an awesome treat.

wednesday was class as usual, but we were then "treated" (though it's included in our program fee) to a pizza dinner by one of the leaders of our program, seona.

here's a good place to stop and talk a bit about the logistics of this program. seona works for usit, a company that organizes study abroad, internship abroad, and all sorts of abroad programs for international programs. she's been working with trinity for years and organized a phenomenal program for us (the trips to the countryside, the day trips, the sporting events, the theater visits, etc are all her doing.) she's a great woman and, last night after having left her untouched glass of red wine at our table for a long period of time, generously gave us the wine. we love auntie seona.

daire keogh is the academic advisor and director of the trinity side of the program. he's a professor at uc-dub and has also taught most of our history lessons thus far. we've taken to calling him daddy daire, as he, at the beginning of each class, asks us how we're doing and if we're enjoying ourselves. he's genuinely concerned for our well-being and loves to chat. he's a perfect example of a jolly irishman and, with four young ones and another on the way, has the perfect example of a beautiful irish family.

sinead is the assistant director. it's her job to make reservations, organize buses, get us signed up for things, make copies, get coffee...she does everything. she's the cutest little master's student at trinity, though we're all tempted to put her on what not to wear...she's great to say the least. she's in the office constantly and helps us, giving us advice as to the best restaurants and shops to find and what to do in our downtime. we love sinead.

so, the big group of us, along with a few other program leaders and daire's wife, went to dinner last night at this hole-in-the-wall italian place a few minutes from trinity. we ate, watched the world cup game, and eventually went out for more socializing.

today is a quiet day. i had a bit of class, a bit of shopping, a belfast briefing (we leave on sunday for a week in the north!), and a bit more film class. now, i'm doing laundry (hurray! clean clothes!) and getting caught up in reading so that i don't have to do it over the weekend. i head to cloughjordan tomorrow for a day trip and to the oxegen festival on saturday. all in all, it will be a delightful weekend and i'm very excited! we've already booked plane tickets out of belfast to london, as well, so i'll be able to visit elise and emerald and (hopefully) take a day trip to liverpool to do a beatles tour.

ah, life on the emerald isle. never a dull moment, which i'm grateful for. i'm sincerely enjoying my time here, but am also missing all of you terribly. i cannot wait to get back to traverse for a northern michigan august!

kilmainham

xxx

independence day

i am happy to announce that ireland, being a fellow ex-colony of britain, is willing, able, and happy to help us americans celebrate our independence holiday. american flags abound in temple bar, which is where we elected to eat dinner tonight at a restaurant called "thunder road cafe." it was quite similar to hard rock cafe in decor, menu, and attitude...so we all had burgers and cocktails and toasted to our country.

this weekend was delightful in its simplicity. i woke up around eleven on friday and thought "wow, i have nothing urgent to do." friday was the first time that i haven't had a bus to catch, people to meet, meals to eat, or classes to attend since my arrival in ireland. needless to say, it was quite a treat. of course, i immediately made plans with a friend of mine, maura, to wander about the city for as long as we saw fit. 

i'll interject here with an exciting announcement: i was selected for a $1000 scholarship from the CGIS program and a private donor. as such, i am able to attend to the financial obligations that this study abroad trip requires. (read: i can now travel more, and feel much more comfortable handing over my debit card). as such, maura and i spent most of friday shopping. what fun!

we returned to campus around five and decided to run to the computer lab to check our emails. there, i found a message from elise with her london phone number and news of her arrival in dublin! what a beautiful surprise. so, i ended up spending the night catching up with her and meeting some of her groupmates from her london study abroad. it was amazing to see her and to hear of her exploits since arriving in britain the week before.

saturday was howth day. a group of us had decided that, since we had stayed in dublin for the weekend, we should at least take a little bit of time to explore the surrounding areas. so, we hopped on the train and headed north for this little fishing village. it was quaint and full of tourists, but we found some seals to watch and a lighthouse to walk to. and, of course, a great little hole-in-the-wall restaurant to eat lunch in. after getting back to dublin, we napped and got ready and then headed out on the town. it was mackenzie's birthday and, as such, the entire group of us (probably twenty kids in all) decided to go clubbing. when we got to the club and found an obscene cover charge and age limit, we went to a bar called whelan's instead. it was amazing! my new favorite place in dublin. rather than playing the typical hip-hop/top40 music that i can only stand for so long, they played a range of music from arcade fire to bob marley to david bowie to...i don't remember what else! it was waaaay too much fun. i felt completely at home there and danced until my feet could dance no more.

today, our entire program went to the national hurling championship games between kilkenny and galway. we arrived not knowing what to expect, and we didn't quite follow the game but had fun anyway. hurling wiki kilkenny won the match, as they have for the last five years...an unprecedented event. we witnessed history! it was a good time, but most of us were exhausted and a bit bored, unfortunately.

so, all in all, a spectacular weekend. i'm happy to have some downtime again tonight, and it's back to class at 10am tomorrow. we have a fiction reading to attend tomorrow night that i'm very excited about, and some more group events throughout the week that i'll comment on soon. next weekend, i'm going to hop the train to cloughjordan on friday and go to a music festival, oxegen, on saturday. on sunday, we head to belfast for our week on classes in the north!

hurling

howth

xxx

rocky road to dublin

sitting in starbucks again. i hate it because it's exactly the same as american starbucks, but i love it for the free wifi and proximity to campus. ah, well.

well, this week certainly has been fun. and interesting. i'm finally feeling at home here and have (also finally) made some friends among my fellow classmates. it always takes me a couple weeks to get acclimated. luckily, the majority of my trip is ahead of me and, therefore, there is lots more fun to be had with this great group of girls i've become a part of!

after classes monday, we were treated to a traditional irish music concert right in our very own gmb. we've found that we're spending much more time in the gmb than anywhere else and, of course, it's become a sort of home for us. the hour-long concert left time for relaxing and catching up on classwork for the rest of the week, and an early night was well needed for an early morning on tuesday.

we left at 9am for the countryside on an archaeological field trip. we didn't know what to expect and, as such, i forgot to grab sunscreen and a jacket on my way out of my dorm. big oops. sitting here now is the remnants of an erin lobster. luckily, my burns here in ireland seem to clear up exponentially faster than those i get in america...for this, i am eternally grateful.

anyway, the field trip. we arrived at loughcrew after a 1.5-hour coach ride, during which i found myself enjoying my company for once. i've been very quiet up until now, taking in my surroundings and trying not to get too cliquey. it's been an interesting transition for me, going from knowing everyone and being surrounded by friends to knowing absolutely no one and having to start from scratch. now that i've had a conversation with almost every girl on this trip (in our group of 35, there are 8 boys, none of whom seem particularly interesting or worthwhile conversationalists...but maybe that's just my elitist view.) however, the group of girls i sat with on the coach have, in turn, become my new best friends over the course of the last two days.

at loughcrew, we saw the famous passage burial mounds. there are four mountains in the area, with a total of 32 burial mounds spread throughout. of course, this meant an intense midmorning hike that no one had prepared us for. so, an interesting way to start the day. we made it up the hill to one of the most beautiful sights i've ever laid my eyes on. from the top of the mountain, you can clearly see 18 of the 32 counties in ireland, and we lucked out with weather. though it had rained heavily the day before, resulting in a slick grassy hike, the sky was blue and there was nary a cloud. glorious. (yes, we had our first real irish rain on monday. and by real, i obviously mean that it was spitting enough to be a nuisance, but not enough to really elicit any need for my still-unworn rainboots.) so, we snapped some pictures, took a look around, learned the history of the site from joan, climbed the mound, made wishes on the hag's chair (according to joan, every wish that has ever been made from the chair comes true...here's hoping!), and took a look at the ruins on the inside of the passage. awesome.

back to the coach for an hour's drive to tara. we were told that we had a limited amount of time and that we needed to eat quickly in order to make our tour time. we were then let free towards the one sit-down restaurant in the area. they didn't know we were coming and were ill-prepared to seat a group of 40, let alone the other patrons of the hour. thus, we were late to our tour (but my sandwich was well worth it.) of course, we all know about the hill of tara. seat of the ancient high kings of ireland and all that. it was a very mystical site and we were, once again, led about with a great knowledgeable guide. i stood in the beautiful sunshine, feeling my skin fry and convincing myself never to forget my spf again. big oops.

on the coach once more, we made our way to the town of trim, home of trim castle. we've been told about fifteen times now that one of the scenes in braveheart was set at trim and, therefore, that is their claim to fame. so exciting. the castle was magnificent, as was the little town. we got to explore a bit and wandered down the river shannon before touring the castle. by that point, we were all sunburned and exhausted, so our poor tour guide was spewing information to a very uninterested crowd. nonetheless, the castle was great and some awesome pictures were to be had from the top towers.

back in dublin, i crashed,but not before noticing a little note that had been pushed under my door. a package had arrived! so, i walked ten minutes across campus to pick it up and was finally able to relax afterwards.

wednesday was full of classes (2.5-hour visual culture lecture, followed by history, critical issues, and gaelic culture), trip planning (i'm trying to get my weekends set so that i don't have to do any more last minute planning), and a lecture by frank mcdonald, environmental editor of the irish times. he spoke about the celtic tiger, which is what ireland named their economic boom between 1996ish-2006ish. of course, they've had just as bad a time of it as america has, and everyone's focused on the horrors that are this recession. frank was an engaging speaker, talking about the urban sprawl that ireland experienced during their boom and the unfortunate circumstances that much of the countryside has been left in. 

after the lecture, we decided to go out to nineties night at porterhouse for the second week in a row, and this is where i truly fell in with my group of girls. like i said, i'm finally feeling at home with this group, trying to avoid drama and still hoping to have the time of my life in this amazing country. i'm trying not to be too cliquey, talking and hanging out with a bunch of smaller groups. my bouncing around has proven interesting in the last couple of weeks, but i've realized i'm not here to please a group of american students, but rather to live a dream i've had for my whole life. in short, i love being the social butterfly that i am, and i'm finally feeling able to come out of my shell.

as for this weekend, most of us are staying in dublin. we've decided to do karaoke tonight, go to the guinness factory tomorrow, take the train to the small fishing town howth on saturday, and have a fourth of july picnic in phoenix park on sunday before going to croke park to watch the hurling national championship game! a solid weekend is to be had by all, and i'm just glad to have some good people to hang out with now.

tuesday field trip

xxx