It is the end of the 8Th week of school, eleven weeks total, and I can't wait for this quarter to be over with! My program was nothing like I expected, so much worse! I am trying to remain positive about it and thinking of what I am going to take next quarter. I am either doing an inter ship at the legislature or if that doesn't work out, interning at the cpj for 8 credits and two 4 credit evening classes. One on the law and the legislature, the other on the psychology of gender.
Either option would be great, I just need to finish the work for the next two weeks!
I find myself missing traveling a lot. A few weeks back a friend and I went to a show at a local cafe and listened to Irish music, real Irish playing traditional music. It was so great and so sad at the same time. I closed my eyes and felt almost like I was back in the Glen, minus the rumble of cars when they passed by. There is another show right after thanksgiving that I am going to go to as well, I have to hang on somehow.
It is weird to think I am going to be graduating from College in seven months! Although it is a bit nerve wracking, I am ready, I feel like I have made the most of my time at Evergreen. I have been really involved in the Cpj and campus, taken amazing programs, and learned a lot through them.
Perhaps I will post again before January, or I could make it a pattern?
Friday, November 16, 2007
Sunday, September 2, 2007
Home?
I have been back in the US for exactly 94 days.....it seems like just yesterday I was walking around Ireland. My professor (we don't use that term at Evergreen..we don't use any term actually just Sean) Sean Williams told us before we left that going home would be hard but I didn't understand until I actually got here. Right after I returned to Washington after visiting my brother in NYC for 23 hours I headed to Portland, Oregon for a journalism conference. Although the conference was really interesting I was battling jet lag and the stress of knowing I had to try and sum up my experience overseas in a 20-page paper. I ended up deciding not to venture around Portland with my friends so I could sit in the hotel by myself and absorb what I just experienced and maybe write something. I got a few pages down but I was overwhelmed with sadness that my adventure was over. It was extremely difficult to try and think about my experience when so many emotions about it were clouding my thinking. I still find my mind drifting off to standing on that platform in Bergen, Norway not even worrying about finding my family because I knew they were there, walking down towards the station and seeing two of the sweetest people smiling at me knowing me without even meeting me.
When I think of how I traveled around the world by myself for three weeks I am so proud that I navigated around, survived, made great friends, met my family, and made so many amazing memories. I also think of how crazy my parents must think I am and how nervous I must make them!
But even though I got into some tight spots, it made my trip mean so much more that I was able to, eventually, find my way out of them. For instance when I got into Dublin I stayed the night there and took a bus to Cork city in the morning. I was hoping to make it to the goat farm on Cape Clear Island (halfway across the country) in the same day but once I left Dublin the traffic was so bad it took all day to get to Cork! I had no idea where I was going to stay or how to get to any hostels so I started calling around from the Bus station. Thanks to my Lonely Planet travel guide I had a lot of numbers to call, the only problem was the fact that the Easter holiday had just begun! Everything was booked but thankfully the last place I called had an opening, the Garnish house B&B. The glory of Ireland is when I asked how to get there they told me to hail a cab and ask for the Garnish House! In the states you need an address at least!
For at least a month after I got home I still woke up wondering what country I was in....it was a great feeling until I realized I was in Washington and I had to go to work!
Anyway, as I promised in my previous post I will include post parts of my paper so you can read a bit of what I wrote.....
"Before I left America to go to Ireland I had heard Sean Williams talk about how GlenCollumCille would feel like our home in Ireland. I was one of the students shaking my head in doubt; I even shook my head during my first few weeks in the Glean. I did not understand how anyone in our program could feel that this town of 1,000 people on a good day and 900 sheep on a bad day could feel like home.
On that Saturday morning when our bus pulled out of the Glean for the last time I was crushed. I had that feeling you get when you pack your bags for a trip and your about to leave then you remember you forgot something. Except I didn’t forget anything tangible, I had that feeling because Sean was right the Glean is my home in Ireland. Every time I saw the tower going into town I had this warm feeling of going where I belong, I still can not believe I am gone. One thing is for sure, my time in Ireland changed my life and I will never forget what I learned".
"Although I did not attend a mass in GlenCollumCille, I learned that you do not have to step foot into a Catholic church to experience Catholicism in Ireland. It might be impossible to describe the role of the church in Ireland but I can describe my interactions with self proclaimed staunch Catholics that I met. Paddy Beag is one of the first individuals in the Glean that I connected with, he is the type of person who goes to church quite regularly and everyone knows he is catholic.
The thing about Paddy is he is very complicated, like many things in Ireland. Paddy would go to the pub and get drunk, swear saying “oh Jesus”, do anything possible to make sure Fianna Foil won the election and give me a lift home while highly intoxicated. The most interesting part of getting drunken lifts home from Paddy was not the fact that he rightly assumed animals and cars would just get out of his way, it was his air freshener with a naked woman on it. In the states someone who gets drunk, swears saying “oh Jesus”, and has an unusual air freshener would be considered anything but a Catholic, but this is Ireland".
"Learning the Bodhran from Paddy Mor, a big hippie with a big hippie van to match, was one of the most wonderful experiences of my trip. Not only because I enjoyed learning how to play but because he was a very amazing man with great experiences, if I get to go back to the Gleann one day he is one person I will make sure I find. Paddy gave me so many fantastic memories that I will never forget, one in particular was when I skipped Bodhran class because I forgot my drum at my cottage and decided to stay home and practice my Irish instead. Now usually this would not turn into a life changing experience but Paddy is a very unusual individual, I didn’t know when the class ended but I walked up to Oideas Gael right when he was leaving. After he asked me where I was and told me to come next time we ended up having a really great conversation for the next hour.
Paddy asked me what I thought of my own country and I told him that my own country does not represent me and that I am ashamed to be an American right now. Paddy eventually asked what I want to do and when I told him I want to be a civil rights lawyer to make sure my country does represent me and everyone else in the country he became really excited and told us a story I will never forget. Paddy told us how it felt to be a young boy with his name growing up in Northern Ireland during the troubles, not able to get a job because of his Catholic name and not getting to vote because of his roots. Paddy and I had a discussion about how we both agree it is much better to stay in your country and try and fix things than to leave, he almost left but instead stayed and fought for his rights. I will never forget when he told me that even though they took away his rights and he couldn’t vote they couldn’t take away some things from him, some rights he said can not be taken away. Although he was in the march from Derry to Belfast and was in the crowd with his fellow Catholics and sympathizers when the British who were supposed to protect them turned their guns on the marchers he never quit. Instead of quitting, giving up and emigrating stood up and still believes as he told us that “When push comes to shove, push”.
When I think of how I traveled around the world by myself for three weeks I am so proud that I navigated around, survived, made great friends, met my family, and made so many amazing memories. I also think of how crazy my parents must think I am and how nervous I must make them!
But even though I got into some tight spots, it made my trip mean so much more that I was able to, eventually, find my way out of them. For instance when I got into Dublin I stayed the night there and took a bus to Cork city in the morning. I was hoping to make it to the goat farm on Cape Clear Island (halfway across the country) in the same day but once I left Dublin the traffic was so bad it took all day to get to Cork! I had no idea where I was going to stay or how to get to any hostels so I started calling around from the Bus station. Thanks to my Lonely Planet travel guide I had a lot of numbers to call, the only problem was the fact that the Easter holiday had just begun! Everything was booked but thankfully the last place I called had an opening, the Garnish house B&B. The glory of Ireland is when I asked how to get there they told me to hail a cab and ask for the Garnish House! In the states you need an address at least!
For at least a month after I got home I still woke up wondering what country I was in....it was a great feeling until I realized I was in Washington and I had to go to work!
Anyway, as I promised in my previous post I will include post parts of my paper so you can read a bit of what I wrote.....
"Before I left America to go to Ireland I had heard Sean Williams talk about how GlenCollumCille would feel like our home in Ireland. I was one of the students shaking my head in doubt; I even shook my head during my first few weeks in the Glean. I did not understand how anyone in our program could feel that this town of 1,000 people on a good day and 900 sheep on a bad day could feel like home.
On that Saturday morning when our bus pulled out of the Glean for the last time I was crushed. I had that feeling you get when you pack your bags for a trip and your about to leave then you remember you forgot something. Except I didn’t forget anything tangible, I had that feeling because Sean was right the Glean is my home in Ireland. Every time I saw the tower going into town I had this warm feeling of going where I belong, I still can not believe I am gone. One thing is for sure, my time in Ireland changed my life and I will never forget what I learned".
"Although I did not attend a mass in GlenCollumCille, I learned that you do not have to step foot into a Catholic church to experience Catholicism in Ireland. It might be impossible to describe the role of the church in Ireland but I can describe my interactions with self proclaimed staunch Catholics that I met. Paddy Beag is one of the first individuals in the Glean that I connected with, he is the type of person who goes to church quite regularly and everyone knows he is catholic.
The thing about Paddy is he is very complicated, like many things in Ireland. Paddy would go to the pub and get drunk, swear saying “oh Jesus”, do anything possible to make sure Fianna Foil won the election and give me a lift home while highly intoxicated. The most interesting part of getting drunken lifts home from Paddy was not the fact that he rightly assumed animals and cars would just get out of his way, it was his air freshener with a naked woman on it. In the states someone who gets drunk, swears saying “oh Jesus”, and has an unusual air freshener would be considered anything but a Catholic, but this is Ireland".
"Learning the Bodhran from Paddy Mor, a big hippie with a big hippie van to match, was one of the most wonderful experiences of my trip. Not only because I enjoyed learning how to play but because he was a very amazing man with great experiences, if I get to go back to the Gleann one day he is one person I will make sure I find. Paddy gave me so many fantastic memories that I will never forget, one in particular was when I skipped Bodhran class because I forgot my drum at my cottage and decided to stay home and practice my Irish instead. Now usually this would not turn into a life changing experience but Paddy is a very unusual individual, I didn’t know when the class ended but I walked up to Oideas Gael right when he was leaving. After he asked me where I was and told me to come next time we ended up having a really great conversation for the next hour.
Paddy asked me what I thought of my own country and I told him that my own country does not represent me and that I am ashamed to be an American right now. Paddy eventually asked what I want to do and when I told him I want to be a civil rights lawyer to make sure my country does represent me and everyone else in the country he became really excited and told us a story I will never forget. Paddy told us how it felt to be a young boy with his name growing up in Northern Ireland during the troubles, not able to get a job because of his Catholic name and not getting to vote because of his roots. Paddy and I had a discussion about how we both agree it is much better to stay in your country and try and fix things than to leave, he almost left but instead stayed and fought for his rights. I will never forget when he told me that even though they took away his rights and he couldn’t vote they couldn’t take away some things from him, some rights he said can not be taken away. Although he was in the march from Derry to Belfast and was in the crowd with his fellow Catholics and sympathizers when the British who were supposed to protect them turned their guns on the marchers he never quit. Instead of quitting, giving up and emigrating stood up and still believes as he told us that “When push comes to shove, push”.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Back in the States
Wow! I didn't realize how long it had been since I posted last...I hope no one was holding their breath. I had such a great time in Ireland I didn't want to ever go on a computer because Ireland way too amazing to spend time inside alone on a computer!
I got back in the States on the 29th and spend about 23 hours in New York City with my brother Andrew and his boyfriend Andre. I decided to pull an "all-nighter" and stay up for over a day straight so I could hang out in NYC. I met my brother on the subway near JFK and we went to his apartement then went and bought tickets for a show called "In the Heights". It currently is an off-broadway show but the rumor is it will be going on Broadway in the next month or so because it is so good. We met up with Andre a little while later at a chinese restaurant their friend owns which was great because I was a little sick of straight Irish cuisine for 2 months. After dinner we got a frisbee and went to Central Park and messed around before we headed for the show.
In the Heights is an amazing show! It is about a neighborhood in Manhattan called Washinton Heights which has a very large population of people from the Dominican Republic. It was a musical, which is great because I have an affinity for show tunes and Tony Bennett. I only nodded off three times and I woke up immediately, but I didn't feel too bad because I had been awake for about 23 hours at that point...I was way too tired for emotions anyway! After the show we took the subway back to his place and went to the roof! For anyone who hasn't been on a roof in NYC, it is amazing! You really get a feel for the physical map of the city because you see lower Manhattan all lit up then darkness and then upper Manhattan all lit up too, all the bridges connecting the city...it is really gorgeous and it made leaving Ireland a little easier. I think I finally went to bed around 1am which was 8am where my body was and I miraculously woke up in time to shower, pack and take the numerous trains to JFK again. It is really weird to think I left NYC yesterday but it is true, and I got into Seatac at about 9:15 last night...thankfully! When I was trying not to fall asleep in the San Franciso airport I heard that my plane had broken down and was now delayed! I went up to the desk and asked what was going on and they had no idea and told me it would be a couple hours before they knew anything. Thankfully the woman working there was really nice and got me a ticket for a plane going to Seatac at 7:15 (my original plane was supposed to leave at 5:50) and when I finally landed at Seatac my original flight hadn't even taken off yet. I was so thankful that I went and asked because as I was boarding my new flight they made an announcement saying they had no idea when the plane was getting fixed and everyone should try and get onto a new flight just in case...about 150 people got in line trying to get onto my plane! Whew so lucky!
So now I leave for Portland tomorrow morning to go to the Northwest Writing Conference with the Cooper Point Journal, my college paper I have worked on for the past two years and which I am the Managing Editor of next year. During the weekend I have to write a 20 page paper about my experience in Ireland which shouldn't be very hard at all! The only hard part is staying awake....dang that jetlag it feels like it is about 10pm right now but in Seattle it is 2pm or so! I am hoping to post parts of my paper on my blog so keep checking for that and pics and thanks a bunch to anyone who has read my blog and/or emailed my while I was gone! It meant a lot! Also if anyone would like to see my pictures email me and we can either meet up or I can email them to you, believe me I have soo many Ireland, Norway, and UK stories you will have to ask me to stop talking!
I got back in the States on the 29th and spend about 23 hours in New York City with my brother Andrew and his boyfriend Andre. I decided to pull an "all-nighter" and stay up for over a day straight so I could hang out in NYC. I met my brother on the subway near JFK and we went to his apartement then went and bought tickets for a show called "In the Heights". It currently is an off-broadway show but the rumor is it will be going on Broadway in the next month or so because it is so good. We met up with Andre a little while later at a chinese restaurant their friend owns which was great because I was a little sick of straight Irish cuisine for 2 months. After dinner we got a frisbee and went to Central Park and messed around before we headed for the show.
In the Heights is an amazing show! It is about a neighborhood in Manhattan called Washinton Heights which has a very large population of people from the Dominican Republic. It was a musical, which is great because I have an affinity for show tunes and Tony Bennett. I only nodded off three times and I woke up immediately, but I didn't feel too bad because I had been awake for about 23 hours at that point...I was way too tired for emotions anyway! After the show we took the subway back to his place and went to the roof! For anyone who hasn't been on a roof in NYC, it is amazing! You really get a feel for the physical map of the city because you see lower Manhattan all lit up then darkness and then upper Manhattan all lit up too, all the bridges connecting the city...it is really gorgeous and it made leaving Ireland a little easier. I think I finally went to bed around 1am which was 8am where my body was and I miraculously woke up in time to shower, pack and take the numerous trains to JFK again. It is really weird to think I left NYC yesterday but it is true, and I got into Seatac at about 9:15 last night...thankfully! When I was trying not to fall asleep in the San Franciso airport I heard that my plane had broken down and was now delayed! I went up to the desk and asked what was going on and they had no idea and told me it would be a couple hours before they knew anything. Thankfully the woman working there was really nice and got me a ticket for a plane going to Seatac at 7:15 (my original plane was supposed to leave at 5:50) and when I finally landed at Seatac my original flight hadn't even taken off yet. I was so thankful that I went and asked because as I was boarding my new flight they made an announcement saying they had no idea when the plane was getting fixed and everyone should try and get onto a new flight just in case...about 150 people got in line trying to get onto my plane! Whew so lucky!
So now I leave for Portland tomorrow morning to go to the Northwest Writing Conference with the Cooper Point Journal, my college paper I have worked on for the past two years and which I am the Managing Editor of next year. During the weekend I have to write a 20 page paper about my experience in Ireland which shouldn't be very hard at all! The only hard part is staying awake....dang that jetlag it feels like it is about 10pm right now but in Seattle it is 2pm or so! I am hoping to post parts of my paper on my blog so keep checking for that and pics and thanks a bunch to anyone who has read my blog and/or emailed my while I was gone! It meant a lot! Also if anyone would like to see my pictures email me and we can either meet up or I can email them to you, believe me I have soo many Ireland, Norway, and UK stories you will have to ask me to stop talking!
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Just a bump in the road
After a whirlwind 5 day tour of the surrounding areas of Galway, the city of Derry, the Giants Causeway, and the carrick-a-rede rope bridge I am back in the Gleann.
We spent our first day in Galway going to the Joe Heaney Sean-nos singing and dancing festival. There were three sessions that we attended throughout the day, the first was a Sean-nos singing workshop which was interesting and very confusing at the same time. Because we were in the Connemara Gaeltacht the leaders were speaking very fast and fluent Irish...something I hadn't heard yet. In the afternoon the festival continued at a local pub where members of the community sang solo's, some in Irish and some in Bearla (English). It was a really great event and almost everyone had an amazing time listening to the singing. At night we got to listen to a concert which opened with a group of about 5 boys who played traditional Irish instruments amazingly well even though they were between the ages of 10-13. Listening to these boys play made me think back to my elementary school days of band concerts when I played the..clarinet. All I remember from my own concerts are squeks similiar to those of a dying duck. The rest of the concert consisted of community members playing instruments, singing, and dancing all in traditional Irish style.
Our last day in Galway was spent traveling throuout County Clare to see a dolmen, Brigid's Well and the Cliffs of Moher. The next morning we left for the City of Derry.
Derry which is located in County Derry in Northern Ireland was a very violent place during the troubles. During one of our last stops in the Republic I asked our bus driving if the border was very noticable and he said that during the troubles soldiers were always seen but now the only difference is they have better tar. I thoguht he was joking! Sure enough when he motioned to me that we were crossing over I looked ahead and the tar was even, darker and smoother. We went over a bump in the road as the tar changed and he said "That's it" and then we were in the North. I expected to be in a state of shock as we pulled in through the city of Derry because I had heard of the murals but right when we crossed into Northern Ireland the energy changed dramatically. Now I am not someone who claims to be in tune with anything but I looked around the bus and everyone was silently looking out the window too. About 20 minutes later when we arrived into the city everyone was tense, we passes the murals depicting the troubles, the death and pain that Irish Catholics experienced. We past the "You are now entering FREE DERRY" sign and when we got to our hostel no one hurriedly jumped off the bus, everyone silently piled out and looked around. Our hostel was in the Bogside, an area that was hit hard with violence between Catholics and soldiers. The first thing we did in Derry was take a walking tour with a guide from the Free Derry museum. He took us through the bogside, up to the walls where the soldiers used to stand and shoot at the Republicans (Catholics) and guard the Protestant neighborhoods. Standing on the wall I realized that what I had heard about the situation still being tense was most likely true, the area is still segregated. The Protestant neighborhood is fenced off from the Catholic Bogside and the unwelcoming barbed wire can't be helping the situation. After the tour I was in a somber state so I walked around the area with a few friends for a while to get a feel for the city. We ended up at a restaurant/bar called the Ice Wharf...we walked in and a guy sitting with some friends threw up everywhere...it kind of set the tone for the place. The Menu listed all the beef as 100% British Beef and our receipt listed the location as Londonderry. When we walked outside a fight was breaking out between two drunk idiots and later another fight started between two men yelling right-o at eachother. That night we went to a pub called Bound for Boston and caught a show for a while before walking through the dark streets of Derry to the hostel. We all agreed that it was a creepy place to walk through, but at least now it is safe to walk through ... at least for outsiders (as our guide put it). Yesterday was our last day in the North and we spent it going to the Giant't Causeway and the Carrick-a-rede rope bridge in Co. Antrim. It was really fun but I would of loved to spend more time in Derry seeing more the Protestant neighborhoods and talking to locals.
It was really weird to be in a different country using a different currency but still be in Ireland. It is sad that such a small country has to have two completely different systems but luckily things politically involving Britain are starting to improve. While we were in Derry powersharing started between Northern Ireland and England. Hopefully one day not too far away there will be a united Ireland and Britains control over the North will cease to exist. This is already starting in Scotland as well, last week the Scottish Nationalist Party won the election there and started a 5 year plan for independence! It is possible, and a lot of Irish are looking at Scotland to see if they are succesful.
We spent our first day in Galway going to the Joe Heaney Sean-nos singing and dancing festival. There were three sessions that we attended throughout the day, the first was a Sean-nos singing workshop which was interesting and very confusing at the same time. Because we were in the Connemara Gaeltacht the leaders were speaking very fast and fluent Irish...something I hadn't heard yet. In the afternoon the festival continued at a local pub where members of the community sang solo's, some in Irish and some in Bearla (English). It was a really great event and almost everyone had an amazing time listening to the singing. At night we got to listen to a concert which opened with a group of about 5 boys who played traditional Irish instruments amazingly well even though they were between the ages of 10-13. Listening to these boys play made me think back to my elementary school days of band concerts when I played the..clarinet. All I remember from my own concerts are squeks similiar to those of a dying duck. The rest of the concert consisted of community members playing instruments, singing, and dancing all in traditional Irish style.
Our last day in Galway was spent traveling throuout County Clare to see a dolmen, Brigid's Well and the Cliffs of Moher. The next morning we left for the City of Derry.
Derry which is located in County Derry in Northern Ireland was a very violent place during the troubles. During one of our last stops in the Republic I asked our bus driving if the border was very noticable and he said that during the troubles soldiers were always seen but now the only difference is they have better tar. I thoguht he was joking! Sure enough when he motioned to me that we were crossing over I looked ahead and the tar was even, darker and smoother. We went over a bump in the road as the tar changed and he said "That's it" and then we were in the North. I expected to be in a state of shock as we pulled in through the city of Derry because I had heard of the murals but right when we crossed into Northern Ireland the energy changed dramatically. Now I am not someone who claims to be in tune with anything but I looked around the bus and everyone was silently looking out the window too. About 20 minutes later when we arrived into the city everyone was tense, we passes the murals depicting the troubles, the death and pain that Irish Catholics experienced. We past the "You are now entering FREE DERRY" sign and when we got to our hostel no one hurriedly jumped off the bus, everyone silently piled out and looked around. Our hostel was in the Bogside, an area that was hit hard with violence between Catholics and soldiers. The first thing we did in Derry was take a walking tour with a guide from the Free Derry museum. He took us through the bogside, up to the walls where the soldiers used to stand and shoot at the Republicans (Catholics) and guard the Protestant neighborhoods. Standing on the wall I realized that what I had heard about the situation still being tense was most likely true, the area is still segregated. The Protestant neighborhood is fenced off from the Catholic Bogside and the unwelcoming barbed wire can't be helping the situation. After the tour I was in a somber state so I walked around the area with a few friends for a while to get a feel for the city. We ended up at a restaurant/bar called the Ice Wharf...we walked in and a guy sitting with some friends threw up everywhere...it kind of set the tone for the place. The Menu listed all the beef as 100% British Beef and our receipt listed the location as Londonderry. When we walked outside a fight was breaking out between two drunk idiots and later another fight started between two men yelling right-o at eachother. That night we went to a pub called Bound for Boston and caught a show for a while before walking through the dark streets of Derry to the hostel. We all agreed that it was a creepy place to walk through, but at least now it is safe to walk through ... at least for outsiders (as our guide put it). Yesterday was our last day in the North and we spent it going to the Giant't Causeway and the Carrick-a-rede rope bridge in Co. Antrim. It was really fun but I would of loved to spend more time in Derry seeing more the Protestant neighborhoods and talking to locals.
It was really weird to be in a different country using a different currency but still be in Ireland. It is sad that such a small country has to have two completely different systems but luckily things politically involving Britain are starting to improve. While we were in Derry powersharing started between Northern Ireland and England. Hopefully one day not too far away there will be a united Ireland and Britains control over the North will cease to exist. This is already starting in Scotland as well, last week the Scottish Nationalist Party won the election there and started a 5 year plan for independence! It is possible, and a lot of Irish are looking at Scotland to see if they are succesful.
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Life in the Gleann
Hello to everyone out there! It has been a long time since I have had time to actually post anything, and the Internet is so slow here it always makes things interesting...although I think I have the fast computer so things are okay!
I am currently in a very small village called GleannColmCille which inhabits about 1,000 people (on a good day) and about 900 sheep (on a bad day). Alot of my time has been filled with classes, which only makes sense since I am getting credit for going to what I like to call Irish summer camp! It is really hard to go to class when you are surrounded by a very gorgeous beach, huge cliffs to go hike on, rolling green hills to go frolic in with the sheep, and lots of grass to run around in.
A usual daily schedule looks something like a morning language class for a bit over an hour, then an hour break, then an afternoon class for 3 hours, and an evening class for 2 hours. The classes range from studying Gaeltachts (areas designated as Irish speaking), Bodhran, tin whistle, weaving, hiking, Irish, Irish Mythology, poetry writing, donegal dancing and Sean nos singing.
After the evening class we usually head to the pubs or the beach for a bonfire. The pubs in Ireland are really interesting, it is where social life happens locally. The social commentary is really striking, for instance there is a male and female side to the main pub in town. Now imagine being a 20 year old girl going to the pub here for the first time to get a pint and talk and you walk in and sit on the "male" side. All the old guys sitting at the bar looked at us like we were crazy and occasionally try and herd us out of the area. It was a very intense time until the old men realized that we weren't going to move to the room without a warm fire...although sometimes we do but on our own will! It is interesting because you don't want to go into a new area and pretend it is like America where you can do "what you want" (although not fully) but at the same time you do not want to feel like you aren't worthy of being on a certain side of the pub. Although the pub situation is not as serious as it was before Ireland joined the EU it was still a shock to me because I have never REALLY felt unwelcome or discriminated against because of my sex, at least not this strongly.
This Friday the whole group is leaving the Gleann for five days to go to Galway and Derry and then returning for the rest of the time here. In Galway we will be going to see Yeats grave, a Sean nOs (old style) singing and dancing festival and to see the burren in Connemara then heading to Derry to see where the troubles occured and after an intense day of seeing the wall and murals of a still tense situation we will head to a rural part of the county and see the Giant's Causeway and the Carrick-a-rede bridge. I am really looking forward to Derry because the American media does not say much about the situation between the North and the Republic except for 'ceasefire'. From things I have heard from Irish people living here the IRA seems still alive as ever and I have heard tensions are still building in the North. The trip should be interesting as an upcoming election is in the works for the end of May as well!
I am currently in a very small village called GleannColmCille which inhabits about 1,000 people (on a good day) and about 900 sheep (on a bad day). Alot of my time has been filled with classes, which only makes sense since I am getting credit for going to what I like to call Irish summer camp! It is really hard to go to class when you are surrounded by a very gorgeous beach, huge cliffs to go hike on, rolling green hills to go frolic in with the sheep, and lots of grass to run around in.
A usual daily schedule looks something like a morning language class for a bit over an hour, then an hour break, then an afternoon class for 3 hours, and an evening class for 2 hours. The classes range from studying Gaeltachts (areas designated as Irish speaking), Bodhran, tin whistle, weaving, hiking, Irish, Irish Mythology, poetry writing, donegal dancing and Sean nos singing.
After the evening class we usually head to the pubs or the beach for a bonfire. The pubs in Ireland are really interesting, it is where social life happens locally. The social commentary is really striking, for instance there is a male and female side to the main pub in town. Now imagine being a 20 year old girl going to the pub here for the first time to get a pint and talk and you walk in and sit on the "male" side. All the old guys sitting at the bar looked at us like we were crazy and occasionally try and herd us out of the area. It was a very intense time until the old men realized that we weren't going to move to the room without a warm fire...although sometimes we do but on our own will! It is interesting because you don't want to go into a new area and pretend it is like America where you can do "what you want" (although not fully) but at the same time you do not want to feel like you aren't worthy of being on a certain side of the pub. Although the pub situation is not as serious as it was before Ireland joined the EU it was still a shock to me because I have never REALLY felt unwelcome or discriminated against because of my sex, at least not this strongly.
This Friday the whole group is leaving the Gleann for five days to go to Galway and Derry and then returning for the rest of the time here. In Galway we will be going to see Yeats grave, a Sean nOs (old style) singing and dancing festival and to see the burren in Connemara then heading to Derry to see where the troubles occured and after an intense day of seeing the wall and murals of a still tense situation we will head to a rural part of the county and see the Giant's Causeway and the Carrick-a-rede bridge. I am really looking forward to Derry because the American media does not say much about the situation between the North and the Republic except for 'ceasefire'. From things I have heard from Irish people living here the IRA seems still alive as ever and I have heard tensions are still building in the North. The trip should be interesting as an upcoming election is in the works for the end of May as well!
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Aran Magic
I will admit it from the start, I am in love. The Aran Islands were so amazing, anyone who does not fall in love with them obviously does not have a heart...or a brain.
My time in on the Islands was full of illegal activities, questionable ethics, freezing swimming, too much Guinness and "cider", hanging off of cliffs, old men who like to 'shake hands' when drunk, and a really great time. When I think of the last few days I am stunned at how much I saw and experienced...it was amazing.
I am really overwhelmed trying to write about it so this may be a really garbled post but I will try my best! I arrived on Inish Mor on Friday afternoon and checked into my hostel that was right on the harbour. After a bit of wandering I walked up to the Artist's hostel where I was hoping to make a reservation for the next night. I met a couple from Minnesota who were hoping to get a room for that night. We could not find anyone who ran the hostel so finally I wandered up to the street and asked the neighbors. Now, a few minutes before I had joked that he was probably at the pub up the street and we all had a good laugh at Irish stereotypes...unfortunately I was right. So we wandered up to the pub, Joe Watty's..which is much better than Joe Mac's, and found the 'manager' of the hostel who was drinking a pint with his friends...so begins my story of my saga with John. John is probably in his 60's and is a great ol' nice guy when he is sober or tipsy and a wonderful musician when drunk...but not the other way around. Anyway back to my story, we found John who said no problem there will be a room for you tomorrow night and offered to make special arrangements for the couple to stay in his "cabin" for the night and he would stay on a couch in the house. He insisted we had a pint and with the weather so wonderful we had to oblige.
So a few hours later I met up with my old room ate Tessa, who is WWOOFing on a vegetable farm for a year, that night and we left a very weird pub I had popped into earlier called Joe Mac's and went to Joe Watty's where as it happens John was still there drinking and singing with his guitar. We had a great time catching up and much later I headed back to my hostel for the night.
Saturday I found a nice small place to have breakfast and guess who was there...John, he told me I could put my bags in one of the rooms in the house/hostel and he would be around later if I needed anything. So then I headed out and hired a bike and met up with Tessa at her house a few miles down the lower road of the Island.
After fixing out bikes up a bit...most of the gears are hardly working because of all the salt in the air.. we left for Dun Aenghus, an amazing fort, with some of her co-workers who were from England, France, and Switzerland. Over the next few hours we rode across the island, broke into Dun Aenghus by climbing over some fairly tall walls, had a picnic in a fenced off area of the fort, fell asleep by the cliffs...a safe distance away, went swimming in the very cold ocean, and then biked back across the island. Dun Aenghus was so amazing it deserves a bit more of an explanation. From far away it looks like a bunch of rocks standing up ... which it is... but it was built as a last resort to protect the island from invaders and it would have worked really well as it is a half mile-full mile walk up a big hill to the actual fort. When walking up the fort you can hear the ocean but, at least when we were there, you couldn't see the ocean. Once you enter though a doorway into the fort you emerge into a large half circular area with a big rock table in the middle. Once the cross the table you can finally see the ocean that you had heard while walking up the hill, and the ocean is all you can see...for miles. It was such an amazing feeling, knowing that you are nothing in this huge expanse of water...being around such an amazing site makes you feel different...realizing that something much bigger than you or your friends is around you, and not just in the physical sense.
After we climbed over a stone wall to a fenced off area of the fort we had a picnic and layed in the sun for a long time. It was an amazing feeling,
the sun hitting my arms, legs and face
The waves beating into the cliffs 300 feet below us
Seagulls peacefully crowing above us
Salt covering your face
And all around you this huge ancient fort made of stone
..it truly was an emotional/spiritual experience.
It was amazing, I layed down by the cliffs and stuck my head out over the edge and although it is always foolish I felt safe. Perhaps safer than I had felt climbing over fences to get there. Ancient areas really affect me, and many others. I am always skeptical about 'spiritual' areas but there was no denying this.
A bit later we biked back down to the lower road and a consensus decision was made that we all needed to go in the water. All 5 of us, at that point, locked arms and ran into the sea, immediately a huge wave hit us and most of us got knocked down in the water and over the next hour we kept on running in and out of the waves.
We biked back into town and I headed to the hostel to wash up and met up with one of my friends who took the ferry in that night to visit for a few days. We went back to Joe Watty's for the rest of the night with Tessa and can you guess who was there again? Ya...it was John who made us all shake his hand and talk to him for a while..this was mostly drunk John, and told me he overbooked the hostel so I would have to sleep in the 'cabin'..after making sure he would be sleeping in the house we settled into a corner of the pub. Late that night before we left I went up to John to make sure he got his stuff out of the 'cabin' and he was totally gone, he turned around and his eyes were...i guess in the back of his head! Needless to say he didn't really respond so I headed to the 'cabin' that on the side of the hostel. There were no lights on at all so i decided to see just how drunk John was and I found many empty beds in the house so I grabbed the bunk I had thrown my bags on earlier.
In the morning I left the Artist's hostel and stashed my bags down by the harbour, I had tried to pay John twice the day before for the bed but he had said 'ah, we will deal with it later' and I couldn't find him anywhere around the house or the pub or the breakfast joint I met my friend Tanya at that I had seem his at the day before. So we headed out to Tessa's house/farm and went to a Celtic mass that was really great to experience. Afterwards Tanya and I hung out with friends at the house and then headed back into town where again John was no where to be found, and he never got my 17 euro!
Now I am in Galway and am exhausted from my time in Aran...to think that I was only there for 2 full days! And even though I am really sunburned and tired I wouldn't trade those two days for anything, the Aran's truly are magical.
My time in on the Islands was full of illegal activities, questionable ethics, freezing swimming, too much Guinness and "cider", hanging off of cliffs, old men who like to 'shake hands' when drunk, and a really great time. When I think of the last few days I am stunned at how much I saw and experienced...it was amazing.
I am really overwhelmed trying to write about it so this may be a really garbled post but I will try my best! I arrived on Inish Mor on Friday afternoon and checked into my hostel that was right on the harbour. After a bit of wandering I walked up to the Artist's hostel where I was hoping to make a reservation for the next night. I met a couple from Minnesota who were hoping to get a room for that night. We could not find anyone who ran the hostel so finally I wandered up to the street and asked the neighbors. Now, a few minutes before I had joked that he was probably at the pub up the street and we all had a good laugh at Irish stereotypes...unfortunately I was right. So we wandered up to the pub, Joe Watty's..which is much better than Joe Mac's, and found the 'manager' of the hostel who was drinking a pint with his friends...so begins my story of my saga with John. John is probably in his 60's and is a great ol' nice guy when he is sober or tipsy and a wonderful musician when drunk...but not the other way around. Anyway back to my story, we found John who said no problem there will be a room for you tomorrow night and offered to make special arrangements for the couple to stay in his "cabin" for the night and he would stay on a couch in the house. He insisted we had a pint and with the weather so wonderful we had to oblige.
So a few hours later I met up with my old room ate Tessa, who is WWOOFing on a vegetable farm for a year, that night and we left a very weird pub I had popped into earlier called Joe Mac's and went to Joe Watty's where as it happens John was still there drinking and singing with his guitar. We had a great time catching up and much later I headed back to my hostel for the night.
Saturday I found a nice small place to have breakfast and guess who was there...John, he told me I could put my bags in one of the rooms in the house/hostel and he would be around later if I needed anything. So then I headed out and hired a bike and met up with Tessa at her house a few miles down the lower road of the Island.
After fixing out bikes up a bit...most of the gears are hardly working because of all the salt in the air.. we left for Dun Aenghus, an amazing fort, with some of her co-workers who were from England, France, and Switzerland. Over the next few hours we rode across the island, broke into Dun Aenghus by climbing over some fairly tall walls, had a picnic in a fenced off area of the fort, fell asleep by the cliffs...a safe distance away, went swimming in the very cold ocean, and then biked back across the island. Dun Aenghus was so amazing it deserves a bit more of an explanation. From far away it looks like a bunch of rocks standing up ... which it is... but it was built as a last resort to protect the island from invaders and it would have worked really well as it is a half mile-full mile walk up a big hill to the actual fort. When walking up the fort you can hear the ocean but, at least when we were there, you couldn't see the ocean. Once you enter though a doorway into the fort you emerge into a large half circular area with a big rock table in the middle. Once the cross the table you can finally see the ocean that you had heard while walking up the hill, and the ocean is all you can see...for miles. It was such an amazing feeling, knowing that you are nothing in this huge expanse of water...being around such an amazing site makes you feel different...realizing that something much bigger than you or your friends is around you, and not just in the physical sense.
After we climbed over a stone wall to a fenced off area of the fort we had a picnic and layed in the sun for a long time. It was an amazing feeling,
the sun hitting my arms, legs and face
The waves beating into the cliffs 300 feet below us
Seagulls peacefully crowing above us
Salt covering your face
And all around you this huge ancient fort made of stone
..it truly was an emotional/spiritual experience.
It was amazing, I layed down by the cliffs and stuck my head out over the edge and although it is always foolish I felt safe. Perhaps safer than I had felt climbing over fences to get there. Ancient areas really affect me, and many others. I am always skeptical about 'spiritual' areas but there was no denying this.
A bit later we biked back down to the lower road and a consensus decision was made that we all needed to go in the water. All 5 of us, at that point, locked arms and ran into the sea, immediately a huge wave hit us and most of us got knocked down in the water and over the next hour we kept on running in and out of the waves.
We biked back into town and I headed to the hostel to wash up and met up with one of my friends who took the ferry in that night to visit for a few days. We went back to Joe Watty's for the rest of the night with Tessa and can you guess who was there again? Ya...it was John who made us all shake his hand and talk to him for a while..this was mostly drunk John, and told me he overbooked the hostel so I would have to sleep in the 'cabin'..after making sure he would be sleeping in the house we settled into a corner of the pub. Late that night before we left I went up to John to make sure he got his stuff out of the 'cabin' and he was totally gone, he turned around and his eyes were...i guess in the back of his head! Needless to say he didn't really respond so I headed to the 'cabin' that on the side of the hostel. There were no lights on at all so i decided to see just how drunk John was and I found many empty beds in the house so I grabbed the bunk I had thrown my bags on earlier.
In the morning I left the Artist's hostel and stashed my bags down by the harbour, I had tried to pay John twice the day before for the bed but he had said 'ah, we will deal with it later' and I couldn't find him anywhere around the house or the pub or the breakfast joint I met my friend Tanya at that I had seem his at the day before. So we headed out to Tessa's house/farm and went to a Celtic mass that was really great to experience. Afterwards Tanya and I hung out with friends at the house and then headed back into town where again John was no where to be found, and he never got my 17 euro!
Now I am in Galway and am exhausted from my time in Aran...to think that I was only there for 2 full days! And even though I am really sunburned and tired I wouldn't trade those two days for anything, the Aran's truly are magical.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
It's in the water!
No really something IS in the water in Galway, my present location, but no one knows what it is! I went to a chemist to buy some hand sanitizer and they said it is something to do with "animals" but that no one is sure what happened.
In other news, yesterday while still in Cork I took a whole bunch of showers and slept a lot...more interestingly I went to Blarney and yes, I kissed the Blarney stone. It was quite entertaining watching people freak out over kissing the rock. In order to kiss the rather unimpressive stone you lay down on you back, and grab two handles attached to the castle, with the help of an extra grumpy old man (who can blame him) you lean over the edge and go as far down as you can to kiss the stone. I got some tourist to take a picture of me kissing the stone as proof too! After the big kiss I walked around the grounds of the castle, after all I payed £8, and hung out in the town for a bit before catching a bus back into Cork City.
My really exciting news in Cork City is not exciting at all unless you're me or have experience with a) smelly animal farming or b) not having access to books in a really long time. After I got into Cork I found an awesome bookstore called Vibes & Scribes and bought a couple of books because in Ireland, unlike Norway, books in English are not that hard to come by! Who would have known, I have a break from school and I missed reading hmm. After my amazing bookstore experience I grabbed dinner at this really funny cheap pizza place called Four Star Pizza (ya i know but like i said it was cheap!) and then I literally ran into a laundry! I finally found a place to 'de-goat' and I was so excited I speed walked back to where I was staying, grabbed all my laundry that hadn't been done in over 2 weeks which basically consisted of everything I wasn't wearing and jogged back to the laundry called Washtub. Thankfully I got all my stuff back before I left for Galway...I know I probably sound so lame but it is so great to not have gross clothes! It was a serious accomplishment and a lot of stress gone.
Anyway, so now I am in Galway after a 5 hour bus ride and I just bought a ferry ticket for the Aran Islands. I leave tomorrow for Inis Mor to hang out with friends for a few days then back to Galway on Sunday night and leaving for Dublin on Monday!
Wow the time has just flown by...I can't believe my solo leg of my trip is almost over! It is kind of a mixed blessing, friends are always great to hang out with but I am so used to not knowing where I am going to sleep at night until I get to where I am going, and walking around meeting people...it will be really different from here on out.
One more note, I have to say...it is really nice to be in a semi-big city again and I know this will sound gross but I love the smell of the streets. When you walk around New York City and even Seattle you can smell it, it is this horrid sweet smell that you wouldn't want to smell anywhere else. But I smelled it when I first started walking around Galway and it is well....nice? maybe not the right word, but I guess it reminds me of home!Maybe the smell here has to do with that contaminated water?
In other news, yesterday while still in Cork I took a whole bunch of showers and slept a lot...more interestingly I went to Blarney and yes, I kissed the Blarney stone. It was quite entertaining watching people freak out over kissing the rock. In order to kiss the rather unimpressive stone you lay down on you back, and grab two handles attached to the castle, with the help of an extra grumpy old man (who can blame him) you lean over the edge and go as far down as you can to kiss the stone. I got some tourist to take a picture of me kissing the stone as proof too! After the big kiss I walked around the grounds of the castle, after all I payed £8, and hung out in the town for a bit before catching a bus back into Cork City.
My really exciting news in Cork City is not exciting at all unless you're me or have experience with a) smelly animal farming or b) not having access to books in a really long time. After I got into Cork I found an awesome bookstore called Vibes & Scribes and bought a couple of books because in Ireland, unlike Norway, books in English are not that hard to come by! Who would have known, I have a break from school and I missed reading hmm. After my amazing bookstore experience I grabbed dinner at this really funny cheap pizza place called Four Star Pizza (ya i know but like i said it was cheap!) and then I literally ran into a laundry! I finally found a place to 'de-goat' and I was so excited I speed walked back to where I was staying, grabbed all my laundry that hadn't been done in over 2 weeks which basically consisted of everything I wasn't wearing and jogged back to the laundry called Washtub. Thankfully I got all my stuff back before I left for Galway...I know I probably sound so lame but it is so great to not have gross clothes! It was a serious accomplishment and a lot of stress gone.
Anyway, so now I am in Galway after a 5 hour bus ride and I just bought a ferry ticket for the Aran Islands. I leave tomorrow for Inis Mor to hang out with friends for a few days then back to Galway on Sunday night and leaving for Dublin on Monday!
Wow the time has just flown by...I can't believe my solo leg of my trip is almost over! It is kind of a mixed blessing, friends are always great to hang out with but I am so used to not knowing where I am going to sleep at night until I get to where I am going, and walking around meeting people...it will be really different from here on out.
One more note, I have to say...it is really nice to be in a semi-big city again and I know this will sound gross but I love the smell of the streets. When you walk around New York City and even Seattle you can smell it, it is this horrid sweet smell that you wouldn't want to smell anywhere else. But I smelled it when I first started walking around Galway and it is well....nice? maybe not the right word, but I guess it reminds me of home!Maybe the smell here has to do with that contaminated water?
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
The miracle of birth
Yesterday after cleaning out the milking parlor I got this weird feeling that I should go check on the goats who are kidded. I hiked down to the north end of the farm down this really steep hill and started counting all the goats. It was important that all 21 were together because usually if a goat is going to give birth they will go hide, at first count I got 20, second count I got 22. That is when I saw two just born kidds underneath their mother. They are the cutest little things ever! Giving Buddy some competition for cutest goat on Cape Clear Island for sure! After I found them I made sure no ravens were circling, they like to eat little goats, and ran up the really steep hill to the house where Ed was. Buddy ran with me the whole way, he is really cute, baa-ing away as if trying to tell Ed about his two new brothers. When I finally got to Ed I loudly proclaimed that he had two babies then I stumbled over myself..thankfully silently...about how awkward that sounded! I got a blanket and ran back down the hill where the herd was crowded around the new kidds, then came the second hardest part of the ordeal, taking the kidds away from their Mom called Horny...she is the only female with horns...they were crying for her the whole way up the hill to the goat house it was so sad. After they were safely in the goat house the hardest part came. I had to hike down the steep hill and get Horny to climb up the hill with me after she had just given birth..think exhausted 60lb goat..which basically involved me carrying this huge lug up the hill. Unfortunately because of the language barrier she couldn't understand my rational for getting her up the hill which was quite simply..they are your f'ing kids you should have thought about that a while ago! About a half hour later after my hands were beat red from her horns and we were both exhausted from the struggle to get up the hill I got her into the kidding pen with her two young goats. Once Ed got to the goat house from his house he sprayed the goats with anti-bacterial spray just in case and we got them all settled in the pen. He figures I found them minutes after they were born because the umbilical cord and afterbirth were still attached...they were covered in placenta when I carried them up the hill. So after about 4 trips up the huge hill with and without the goats I got to spend some quality time with the two babies trying to help them nurse off their mother and watching them learn how to walk. One of the new kidds is alto stronger than the other, so I had to hold the weaker one while he got milk and moved around. Ed was worried that the weaker kidd might not last through the night but luckily this morning he was a lot better.
When I found them in the pen he was trying to walk around, very adorable. I got him on all fours and it looked like he was trying to dance because he was swaying around so much on his legs. He was wagging his tail and trying really hard and after a half hour or so he could walk around slowly. As soon as I can I will post some pictures..they are so tiny right now!
The only other event of note was the WWII siren that went off at around 11am today...Ed and I were herding the goats in and out of the milking parlor and this siren went off from across the Atlantic from Schull, another Island nearby. I instantly remembered the noise from all the movies they make you watch in school about air raids and looked up but the skies were clear. Ed had never heard the siren before which is a bit alarming because he has lived here for 30+ years but he said it might be the 3,000 ft mountain on Schull. I guess they alarmed it after the IRA bombed the radar station on it in the '70s...weird stuff.
Well, in a few hours I am leaving the farm and taking the ferry and a couple of buses back to Cork where there is warm water! I am going to shower and sleep for two days...no really I am..although I might duck out for a few hours to go see the Blarney Castle :)
When I found them in the pen he was trying to walk around, very adorable. I got him on all fours and it looked like he was trying to dance because he was swaying around so much on his legs. He was wagging his tail and trying really hard and after a half hour or so he could walk around slowly. As soon as I can I will post some pictures..they are so tiny right now!
The only other event of note was the WWII siren that went off at around 11am today...Ed and I were herding the goats in and out of the milking parlor and this siren went off from across the Atlantic from Schull, another Island nearby. I instantly remembered the noise from all the movies they make you watch in school about air raids and looked up but the skies were clear. Ed had never heard the siren before which is a bit alarming because he has lived here for 30+ years but he said it might be the 3,000 ft mountain on Schull. I guess they alarmed it after the IRA bombed the radar station on it in the '70s...weird stuff.
Well, in a few hours I am leaving the farm and taking the ferry and a couple of buses back to Cork where there is warm water! I am going to shower and sleep for two days...no really I am..although I might duck out for a few hours to go see the Blarney Castle :)
Monday, April 9, 2007
A few facts on a Monday afternoon
1. Cape Clear is actually the most southerly point of Ireland, the old one Fastnet Island, is no longer inhabited. This kind of gives you an idea of how remote we are out here.
2. I REALLY smell like a goat but it isn't very noticable because everything around me does too, that said..the fact that I can smell the goat on me while around other goats is very troubling.
3. I am 'afraid' of two things at the moment...going into town smelling like a goat (town meaning taking the 4 hour trip back to civilization tomorow) and eating goat while on the goat farm or elsewhere for that matter. Ed put goat sausages in the food yesterday..I had just gotten back from frolicing in the fields with the herd and picked the goat out of my plate!
4. I really like traveling alone and wouldn't be suprised if I get to the Aran Islands and later Dublin to see my friends and freak out a bit over a familiar face.
5. Goats are quite strong and seem to enjoy slamming into the back of your legs and watching you stumble along.
6. It's cold but fun...okay this is not a fact
2. I REALLY smell like a goat but it isn't very noticable because everything around me does too, that said..the fact that I can smell the goat on me while around other goats is very troubling.
3. I am 'afraid' of two things at the moment...going into town smelling like a goat (town meaning taking the 4 hour trip back to civilization tomorow) and eating goat while on the goat farm or elsewhere for that matter. Ed put goat sausages in the food yesterday..I had just gotten back from frolicing in the fields with the herd and picked the goat out of my plate!
4. I really like traveling alone and wouldn't be suprised if I get to the Aran Islands and later Dublin to see my friends and freak out a bit over a familiar face.
5. Goats are quite strong and seem to enjoy slamming into the back of your legs and watching you stumble along.
6. It's cold but fun...okay this is not a fact
Sunday, April 8, 2007
Greasy grimy goat farmer
I have been working on this goat farm for three days and we finally have running water! Only problem is it is freezing cold water...needless to say I plan on showering soon..three days of working with goats all day makes you smell like well, a goat.
It has been really fun so far though, every morning at around 8:30am I get up and drink tea with Ed the owner of the farm then we head down to the north end of his property and let the goats out of their pen after we put grain down in the milking room. While the first set of goats chow down on a oat, barley and soybean mix I milk the goats. Today I was milking one named Minty and Ed kept on saying brilliant, grand, splendid, and other terms that basically mean good job....so I guess I can milk the goats alright. After feeding and milking two sets of goats we get Buddy who is the runt of all the kidds and therefore the most adorable one and let him milk off of a goat named Jammer because his mother abandoned him. I spent a lot of my Easter hanging out with Buddy and the rest of the herd while they wandered around the huge hills of rocks that have amazing views of the Atlantic Ocean. The views literally take your breath away when you get past the hills. After setting the herd out for the day I go back into the milking room and wash it all out with water...which has involved walking across the property to the one working tap on the farm. Then I brush out everything the goats left behind and get things set for the next morning. The rest of the day involves doing odd jobs for Ed and watching after the goats and then the best part which is taking long walks around then Island and seeing these amazing views. Occasionally tourists will show up too and we sell them goat ice cream...yum?...t-shirts, postcards, and other touristy things.
The great thing is that throughout the day everything will stop and Ed will say "Ah isn't it about time for tea then?" and we will leave the goats and make tea and sit and talk for a half hour over really great tea. Another amazing thing about this farm is that Ed is blind...he is an amazingly intelligent person and doing this job without being able to see is really impressive. It is a real testament to the power/will power of an individual...plus he is cool because he was on Britain's list of threats to the state for protesting the Vietnam War and such things back in the day..obviously anyone on that list is worth talking to for hours!
Well that is about it for now, I leave the farm Tuesday morning and take the ferry back to Baltimore where I catch a bus to Cork via Skib. I figure I deserve another day as a tourist after the farm so maybe I'll catch a bus out to the Blarney Castle where the stone is and give it a kiss, or just stay in town and catch a session. But after a night or two in Cork I am heading to Galway for a night and then the Aran Island where an old roomie is WWOOFing as well but on a vegetable farm. It will be kind of nice to see a friend after nearly three weeks at that time but I have really enjoyed traveling solo so far. More later...hopefully after I find some warm water!
It has been really fun so far though, every morning at around 8:30am I get up and drink tea with Ed the owner of the farm then we head down to the north end of his property and let the goats out of their pen after we put grain down in the milking room. While the first set of goats chow down on a oat, barley and soybean mix I milk the goats. Today I was milking one named Minty and Ed kept on saying brilliant, grand, splendid, and other terms that basically mean good job....so I guess I can milk the goats alright. After feeding and milking two sets of goats we get Buddy who is the runt of all the kidds and therefore the most adorable one and let him milk off of a goat named Jammer because his mother abandoned him. I spent a lot of my Easter hanging out with Buddy and the rest of the herd while they wandered around the huge hills of rocks that have amazing views of the Atlantic Ocean. The views literally take your breath away when you get past the hills. After setting the herd out for the day I go back into the milking room and wash it all out with water...which has involved walking across the property to the one working tap on the farm. Then I brush out everything the goats left behind and get things set for the next morning. The rest of the day involves doing odd jobs for Ed and watching after the goats and then the best part which is taking long walks around then Island and seeing these amazing views. Occasionally tourists will show up too and we sell them goat ice cream...yum?...t-shirts, postcards, and other touristy things.
The great thing is that throughout the day everything will stop and Ed will say "Ah isn't it about time for tea then?" and we will leave the goats and make tea and sit and talk for a half hour over really great tea. Another amazing thing about this farm is that Ed is blind...he is an amazingly intelligent person and doing this job without being able to see is really impressive. It is a real testament to the power/will power of an individual...plus he is cool because he was on Britain's list of threats to the state for protesting the Vietnam War and such things back in the day..obviously anyone on that list is worth talking to for hours!
Well that is about it for now, I leave the farm Tuesday morning and take the ferry back to Baltimore where I catch a bus to Cork via Skib. I figure I deserve another day as a tourist after the farm so maybe I'll catch a bus out to the Blarney Castle where the stone is and give it a kiss, or just stay in town and catch a session. But after a night or two in Cork I am heading to Galway for a night and then the Aran Island where an old roomie is WWOOFing as well but on a vegetable farm. It will be kind of nice to see a friend after nearly three weeks at that time but I have really enjoyed traveling solo so far. More later...hopefully after I find some warm water!
Saturday, April 7, 2007
The Real Deal
Wow! I am finally in Ireland and damn...it's gorgeous! Right now I am in Cape Clear Island, the second most southernly tip of Ireland, which is right up there with Bergen in it's amazing beauty. I arrived in Dublin on Wednesday thinking I would reach the farm on Clear Island the following night but no no no. Silly me, it takes two days to get anywhere! When I left Dublin I had no idea how far I would really get so I hadn't made any reservations. When I ended up in Cork City in ..County Cork I frantically went through my travel book calling hostels, all of which were full due to the easter holiday. The sixth place I called was a B&B called the Garnish House. Luckily they had a great deal on a small room and I had a place to stay! Upon arrival at the B&B they give you tea and biscuits and the such. I sat down with an Irish family on holiday, their son was in love with Florida, think Disneyworld, and said it was very educational to fly upside down..it was really interesting to hear their thoughts on NYC, the short story being they never ever want to go back. After I left the B&B i headed to a local pub off a tip from someone about good Irish Music. I got my first pint of Guinness, sooo good, and sat down. Someone told me that the live music was going to start in about a 1/2 hour. But this being Ireland it was another good hour and a half before there was any music whatsoever...gotta love it. So after a few pints and listening to live music I headed back to the B&B. The next morning before I headed south for Cape Clear I was given a complimentary full Irish Breakfast...oh my goodness. I was so overwhelmed by the amount of food..especially meat I didn't know what to do! I didn't touch the blood pudding...but remember I had reindeer in Norway so don't yell at me...but I did try the huge amount of bacon, sausage, potato bread, and everything else piled on the plate. I don't know how people eat 'the fry' which is about twice as much food..I couldn't even finish the Irish breakfast!
Anyway so after I left the B&B I hopped on Bus Eireann, the main bus company in Ireland..a less sleazy version of greyhound, headed for Baltimore through Skibberean. Once I got to Baltimore...after we almost ran over a dog that looked just like the Bus Eireann dog...slightly funny...I had a 4 hour wait for the next ferry to Cape Clear. The ferry took about an hour altogether much of which involved traveling along in the water in the middle of a cloud of fog! You couldn't see anything around you, just the cloud. Once I got onto the Island I made my way to the goat farm which has great views of the Bay from it's position on top of the hill. The Island itself is tiny..3 miles by 1 1/2 but it has many rocky hills, much of which I just finished hiking through, with amazing views. The goats are adorable! 8 kids so far and one who is just about due any time now! Well that is about it for now..I must go water the goats!
Anyway so after I left the B&B I hopped on Bus Eireann, the main bus company in Ireland..a less sleazy version of greyhound, headed for Baltimore through Skibberean. Once I got to Baltimore...after we almost ran over a dog that looked just like the Bus Eireann dog...slightly funny...I had a 4 hour wait for the next ferry to Cape Clear. The ferry took about an hour altogether much of which involved traveling along in the water in the middle of a cloud of fog! You couldn't see anything around you, just the cloud. Once I got onto the Island I made my way to the goat farm which has great views of the Bay from it's position on top of the hill. The Island itself is tiny..3 miles by 1 1/2 but it has many rocky hills, much of which I just finished hiking through, with amazing views. The goats are adorable! 8 kids so far and one who is just about due any time now! Well that is about it for now..I must go water the goats!
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Carrying a small child through Europe
Walking from my hostel to the centralstajon (central train and bus stations)today I realized that I am carrying the weight of a small child through Europe, my bag was last weighed in at Stansted airport in London as 45lbs...add my other bad that is probably about 8lbs or so and you have a child. Although I think it would be better if I was giving a child a piggy back ride through Europe because then I could make them walk...and I would..because they are heavy!
I am currently waiting for my bus that goes out to Oslo Torp..the cheaper airport in the area that isn't even located in Oslo at all! It is nearly 2 hours south in Sandjefjord, I don't really mind the long bus trip because the views of the country side are beautiful, and believe me Torp is in the country...when I landed there last week from London there were horses staring at the plane as we coasted dorm the runway.
My day and a half in Oslo has been fairly interesting. I found a place to stay that I later read is mostly used for military personnel, which explains the bland white paint and structured set up of the dorm rooms. It was in a great location though right by Karl Johans Gate, the main 'drag' so to speak through central Oslo. Yesterday I grabbed one of those free touristy maps that seem to be everywhere you turn in Oslo and headed up to the Royal Palace. Gunnar had told me that the guards outside the Palace wore these hats with what I would call feathers on one side that cover part of their face...I had to investigate. The King's guards were very entertaining, they each have their own post outside the Palace and when they get bored they not only march but stomp around and make very quick turns and are overall terribly entertaining. I feel bad being one of THOSE tourists who enjoys watching guards around castles and palaces but c'mon...you don't see this type of thing just anywhere. After walking around the castle I headed across the city to find Vigelandparken, a park built by an artist by the name of Vigeland. Vigeland made over 200 sculptures and they are all displayed in this beautiful park. At first the park doesn't seem so interesting...just sculptures in a park..but no. All the 200+ sculptures are naked women, men and children in different poses. Some are fighting, hugging, kissing, throwing eachother etc. and they all look very lifelike. The other interesting thing about Vigelandparken is that all the sculptures lead up to a giant phallus made up of sculptures of people. Now that you don't see everyday! As I was walking through the park I kept on thinking that this kind of art, at least on this large scale and in a very public place would never be allowed in the US. But no one seems to bat an eye here as children run around the statues looking at them and some even climbing them. I have to say that the park is very amazing and even though it took me nearly two hours to get there after getting lost in the twisting streets of Oslo and refusing to take public transportation (you see more when you walk) it was totally worth it!
One thing I wish I had time to do is to go see the Munch Museum. Munch is a famous artist whose painting the 'scream' was stolen many years back, and restored once it was found. But I did see a lot of graffiti about Munch and a huge spray painted version of Munch's 'scream' on the side of a builing.
Alas, maybe another time I will be able to see the real 'Scream' for now I am headed to Dublin and am very excited about it! After studying Ireland for 6-7 months it seems like it is about time I go. I will be staying in Dublin for a night and them catching a series of buses to get to County Cork where I am going to be organic farming for a week. From there I am headed to the Aran Islands to visit an old roomate, and after that headed back to Dublin to hang out with my friends there for a few days before we go to the language school in County Donegal.
But before I leave beautiful Norway it seems that I should write more about it, I have written pages upon pages in my journal about my experiences in Bergen and how thankful I am for being able to have gone there. It is hard to summarize an experience that means so much, as Gunnar drove me to the train station Monday night I was reflecting up on how much fun I had meeting family and seeing exactly where my ancestors lived. For a moment I thought about how everyone told me my life would change on this trip and as we rounded the corner in the city centre in Bergen an overpowering feeling came over me. This feeling was something much larger than myself, it was a feeling you get that lets you know that what you just experienced or saw or felt has changed you, that your mind will often drift back to this magical, beautiful place and the amazing people you met. It is hard to describe but I can imagine everyone has these feelings after they have a great experience such as I had.
Gunnar and his family will never know how much that trip helped me in regards not only to family but also things about myself. Its amazing how much you realize about yourself when you are on top of Fløyden, one of the 7 mountains surrounding Bergen, looking down on the fjords realizing that a couple generations back your own blood called this place home. It is as I wrote before...undescribable.
I am currently waiting for my bus that goes out to Oslo Torp..the cheaper airport in the area that isn't even located in Oslo at all! It is nearly 2 hours south in Sandjefjord, I don't really mind the long bus trip because the views of the country side are beautiful, and believe me Torp is in the country...when I landed there last week from London there were horses staring at the plane as we coasted dorm the runway.
My day and a half in Oslo has been fairly interesting. I found a place to stay that I later read is mostly used for military personnel, which explains the bland white paint and structured set up of the dorm rooms. It was in a great location though right by Karl Johans Gate, the main 'drag' so to speak through central Oslo. Yesterday I grabbed one of those free touristy maps that seem to be everywhere you turn in Oslo and headed up to the Royal Palace. Gunnar had told me that the guards outside the Palace wore these hats with what I would call feathers on one side that cover part of their face...I had to investigate. The King's guards were very entertaining, they each have their own post outside the Palace and when they get bored they not only march but stomp around and make very quick turns and are overall terribly entertaining. I feel bad being one of THOSE tourists who enjoys watching guards around castles and palaces but c'mon...you don't see this type of thing just anywhere. After walking around the castle I headed across the city to find Vigelandparken, a park built by an artist by the name of Vigeland. Vigeland made over 200 sculptures and they are all displayed in this beautiful park. At first the park doesn't seem so interesting...just sculptures in a park..but no. All the 200+ sculptures are naked women, men and children in different poses. Some are fighting, hugging, kissing, throwing eachother etc. and they all look very lifelike. The other interesting thing about Vigelandparken is that all the sculptures lead up to a giant phallus made up of sculptures of people. Now that you don't see everyday! As I was walking through the park I kept on thinking that this kind of art, at least on this large scale and in a very public place would never be allowed in the US. But no one seems to bat an eye here as children run around the statues looking at them and some even climbing them. I have to say that the park is very amazing and even though it took me nearly two hours to get there after getting lost in the twisting streets of Oslo and refusing to take public transportation (you see more when you walk) it was totally worth it!
One thing I wish I had time to do is to go see the Munch Museum. Munch is a famous artist whose painting the 'scream' was stolen many years back, and restored once it was found. But I did see a lot of graffiti about Munch and a huge spray painted version of Munch's 'scream' on the side of a builing.
Alas, maybe another time I will be able to see the real 'Scream' for now I am headed to Dublin and am very excited about it! After studying Ireland for 6-7 months it seems like it is about time I go. I will be staying in Dublin for a night and them catching a series of buses to get to County Cork where I am going to be organic farming for a week. From there I am headed to the Aran Islands to visit an old roomate, and after that headed back to Dublin to hang out with my friends there for a few days before we go to the language school in County Donegal.
But before I leave beautiful Norway it seems that I should write more about it, I have written pages upon pages in my journal about my experiences in Bergen and how thankful I am for being able to have gone there. It is hard to summarize an experience that means so much, as Gunnar drove me to the train station Monday night I was reflecting up on how much fun I had meeting family and seeing exactly where my ancestors lived. For a moment I thought about how everyone told me my life would change on this trip and as we rounded the corner in the city centre in Bergen an overpowering feeling came over me. This feeling was something much larger than myself, it was a feeling you get that lets you know that what you just experienced or saw or felt has changed you, that your mind will often drift back to this magical, beautiful place and the amazing people you met. It is hard to describe but I can imagine everyone has these feelings after they have a great experience such as I had.
Gunnar and his family will never know how much that trip helped me in regards not only to family but also things about myself. Its amazing how much you realize about yourself when you are on top of Fløyden, one of the 7 mountains surrounding Bergen, looking down on the fjords realizing that a couple generations back your own blood called this place home. It is as I wrote before...undescribable.
Monday, April 2, 2007
Indescribable Bergen!
Wow, my time in Norway with my family in Bergen has been incredible. So incredible it is difficult to write about both emotionally and hard to put into words. But I will do my best. We [family in the US] first got into contact with family in Bergen, Norway on April 1, 1998 exactly 9 years ago on this past April 1st when I was at their flat. Thankfully my wonderful Grandma had the will to find family and learn more about our family before we came to America. Through her research she found Gunnar, and they have been emailing since they first made contact 9 years ago. As a young kid I can remember my Grandma and Mom reading me these emails and explaining where Norway was, and I have always wanted to come and visit. So you can imagine what meeting our family here meant to me.
When I got off the train in Bergen, after traveling for a day straight and being up for two days straight...totally worth it, I was nervous about not being able to pick Gunnar and his wife Britt out of the crowd on the platform. Miraculously it was a non issue as a I found a couple and we both checked eachother out and somehow instantly knew eachother even though pictures we had of eachother were 8 or so years old. It was almost like it was meant to be, which is how the whole trip felt.
Gunnar and Britt were so great to me, taking time off from work to show me around Bergen, Lakevag, and where Nodre Vaggen was [where my family is from] before the Nazis took over the area in World War II. I got to meet my grandmothers first cousins who are wonderful women, so hilarious! Neither of them speak english and I only know the little Norwegian they taught me so there was a great language barrier. Thankfully Gunnar has excellent english and was able to translate so I could speak to them. Gunnars mother even tried to speak to me in German just in case! I also met one of Gunnars daughters and her adorable 5 year old daughter. Saying goodbye to them was very difficult, and I already miss them very much! I will write more later when I have had more time to digest what I have just gone through, there is so much to write about.
My current plan is to leave for Ireland this Friday, Good Friday in fact, but this might change due to poor transportation in Ireland on the weekend. I might leave for Ireland tomorow which would be fine with me, it is really hard to be in Norway and not be in Bergen. But as I said I will write more later!
Harda!
When I got off the train in Bergen, after traveling for a day straight and being up for two days straight...totally worth it, I was nervous about not being able to pick Gunnar and his wife Britt out of the crowd on the platform. Miraculously it was a non issue as a I found a couple and we both checked eachother out and somehow instantly knew eachother even though pictures we had of eachother were 8 or so years old. It was almost like it was meant to be, which is how the whole trip felt.
Gunnar and Britt were so great to me, taking time off from work to show me around Bergen, Lakevag, and where Nodre Vaggen was [where my family is from] before the Nazis took over the area in World War II. I got to meet my grandmothers first cousins who are wonderful women, so hilarious! Neither of them speak english and I only know the little Norwegian they taught me so there was a great language barrier. Thankfully Gunnar has excellent english and was able to translate so I could speak to them. Gunnars mother even tried to speak to me in German just in case! I also met one of Gunnars daughters and her adorable 5 year old daughter. Saying goodbye to them was very difficult, and I already miss them very much! I will write more later when I have had more time to digest what I have just gone through, there is so much to write about.
My current plan is to leave for Ireland this Friday, Good Friday in fact, but this might change due to poor transportation in Ireland on the weekend. I might leave for Ireland tomorow which would be fine with me, it is really hard to be in Norway and not be in Bergen. But as I said I will write more later!
Harda!
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Loving London
Hey Everyone!
So my first and last full day in London has been amazing! I caught the last of the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace this morning which was quite impressive, but I am really glad I only caught the end of it. I think Lonely Planet was right when they said the official name which is Guard Mounting seems much more interesting, nonetheless I am really glad I saw it. From there I walked along the birdcage walk to Parliament Square where Westminster Abbey and Big Ben are along with loads of other beautiful government buildings. Walked up to the very impressive Trafalgar Square, the National Gallery is right behind this amazing fountain...words can't really describe it...i will try and get pictures up soon. I then walked across the River Thames to the London Eye...wow....so great. I thought I might freak out because I am not a fan of 'ferris wheels' but it was so great and now i can say i have been on the worlds largerst observation wheel :) On the eye I met a hilarious gay couple from Texas ... really ironic story but more on that later. After the eye, which I got on very quickly by the way, I walked along the south bank of the River Thames to the Tate Modern. I loved the Tate, they had a great exhibit, by an artist whose name I have written down somewhere upstairs, who went to a post-communist community (but did not disclose the location) and painted all the buildings bright colors...or should i say colours... and made a video about how the community reacted. After the Tate I meandered by the Globe Theatre then went to the London Bridge area which by the way I have always thought was the 'pretty' bridge but really that is the Tower Bridge and therefore was terribly confused when I started walking across...then i looked to the next bridge over and laughed to myself when I saw the Tower Bridge. So then I walked to the Tower Bridge and across the River Thames where I walked around the Tower of London and went into the non-touristy area of the financial district where the Bank of England is. After that I took the tube back to the Kensington Garden area which is where my ironic story comes is! So after a few stops people get off and I take an empty seat. Right after I sit down a familiar voice says with a slight drawl ' well hello there again', I look up and see my texas friends from the London eye! How crazy is that! The even crazier thing is, there seems to be a conspiracy with gay couples from Texas (of all places!). When I was in NYC over Thanksgiving I went to a broadway show with my brother and his boyfriend and who do I happen to be sitting next to....a gay couple from Texas!!! I can't complain because both couples were very nice but ah how weird is that! Anyway, I took the tube to the Keksington garden area and then caught a double decker bus to Hyde Park and walked around...very beautiful. Then I caught a bus back to Kensington where I went back the the Irvine's (very nice people) and had dinner with them. Well that is the short story for now! I have to get up in about 5 hours to get to the airport to go to Norway but I will write again soon after that...and I have to add this...Mind the Gap!
So my first and last full day in London has been amazing! I caught the last of the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace this morning which was quite impressive, but I am really glad I only caught the end of it. I think Lonely Planet was right when they said the official name which is Guard Mounting seems much more interesting, nonetheless I am really glad I saw it. From there I walked along the birdcage walk to Parliament Square where Westminster Abbey and Big Ben are along with loads of other beautiful government buildings. Walked up to the very impressive Trafalgar Square, the National Gallery is right behind this amazing fountain...words can't really describe it...i will try and get pictures up soon. I then walked across the River Thames to the London Eye...wow....so great. I thought I might freak out because I am not a fan of 'ferris wheels' but it was so great and now i can say i have been on the worlds largerst observation wheel :) On the eye I met a hilarious gay couple from Texas ... really ironic story but more on that later. After the eye, which I got on very quickly by the way, I walked along the south bank of the River Thames to the Tate Modern. I loved the Tate, they had a great exhibit, by an artist whose name I have written down somewhere upstairs, who went to a post-communist community (but did not disclose the location) and painted all the buildings bright colors...or should i say colours... and made a video about how the community reacted. After the Tate I meandered by the Globe Theatre then went to the London Bridge area which by the way I have always thought was the 'pretty' bridge but really that is the Tower Bridge and therefore was terribly confused when I started walking across...then i looked to the next bridge over and laughed to myself when I saw the Tower Bridge. So then I walked to the Tower Bridge and across the River Thames where I walked around the Tower of London and went into the non-touristy area of the financial district where the Bank of England is. After that I took the tube back to the Kensington Garden area which is where my ironic story comes is! So after a few stops people get off and I take an empty seat. Right after I sit down a familiar voice says with a slight drawl ' well hello there again', I look up and see my texas friends from the London eye! How crazy is that! The even crazier thing is, there seems to be a conspiracy with gay couples from Texas (of all places!). When I was in NYC over Thanksgiving I went to a broadway show with my brother and his boyfriend and who do I happen to be sitting next to....a gay couple from Texas!!! I can't complain because both couples were very nice but ah how weird is that! Anyway, I took the tube to the Keksington garden area and then caught a double decker bus to Hyde Park and walked around...very beautiful. Then I caught a bus back to Kensington where I went back the the Irvine's (very nice people) and had dinner with them. Well that is the short story for now! I have to get up in about 5 hours to get to the airport to go to Norway but I will write again soon after that...and I have to add this...Mind the Gap!
Saturday, March 17, 2007
9 more days to go!
With only nine more days until I go to Europe life is getting a bit crazy! Anytime I even think about sleeping I freak out about what I still need to do for my trip. Needless to say I didn't sleep in today and instead bought more flights, a rail pass and am now "set" for my trip as far as dates and times are concerned. So my current itinerary looks a bit more believable now than it did a few days ago. Now it is starting to feel like I am actually leaving.
On March 27th I fly to London, England
March 30th I leave London and fly to Oslo, Norway to visit Gunnar my 4th cousin and family there.
I will catch a train that same day and head to Bergen, Norway where I plan on staying for a few days and Gunnar who seems so great is going to take time off of work to show me where my great grandfather lived in Laksevåg and of course show me around Bergen as well.
Gunnar is leaving Bergen on the 4th to go on holiday so I will be using my rail pass to go back to Oslo and hang out until the 6th of April when I go to...Maryland! er Ireland!!!
From there I will be going to southern Ireland where the wind comes from Spain! I plan on working on the organic farm for a week then possibly to the Aran Islands where an old roomate is also working on an organic farm to visit and see the area around Galway. So after my whirlwind tour of southern Ireland I will head back to Dublin and hang out with friends for a few days until we go to our school in County Donegal...where the wind comes from Iceland brrr!
That is my plan so far .. subject to change the next time I can't sleep ... or maybe not.
Thankfully the end of the quarter is bringing my stress level down a lot and now I am able to read my travel guides without feeling guilty for neglecting Seamus Heaney.
Oh, if there is any confusion over the name of my blog, Maryland, the best explanation I can give is this: My amazing active listening skills, riding a duck (tour), a smart ass friend, and two guys who I thought were from Maryland (listening skills!) but they were from Ireland and yes, they had very thick accents.
Before I forget, I feel obliged to comment on the fact that today is St. Patricks Day. As much as I would like to be annoying and blog about how St. Patrick is the one who brought Christianity to Ireland, got rid of the "snakes" by suppressing Irish culture and how annoying Irish stereotypes are...I won't go there. All I can say is I am not wearing green as a silent protest, and also because I wore my green shirt yesterday :)
On March 27th I fly to London, England
March 30th I leave London and fly to Oslo, Norway to visit Gunnar my 4th cousin and family there.
I will catch a train that same day and head to Bergen, Norway where I plan on staying for a few days and Gunnar who seems so great is going to take time off of work to show me where my great grandfather lived in Laksevåg and of course show me around Bergen as well.
Gunnar is leaving Bergen on the 4th to go on holiday so I will be using my rail pass to go back to Oslo and hang out until the 6th of April when I go to...Maryland! er Ireland!!!
From there I will be going to southern Ireland where the wind comes from Spain! I plan on working on the organic farm for a week then possibly to the Aran Islands where an old roomate is also working on an organic farm to visit and see the area around Galway. So after my whirlwind tour of southern Ireland I will head back to Dublin and hang out with friends for a few days until we go to our school in County Donegal...where the wind comes from Iceland brrr!
That is my plan so far .. subject to change the next time I can't sleep ... or maybe not.
Thankfully the end of the quarter is bringing my stress level down a lot and now I am able to read my travel guides without feeling guilty for neglecting Seamus Heaney.
Oh, if there is any confusion over the name of my blog, Maryland, the best explanation I can give is this: My amazing active listening skills, riding a duck (tour), a smart ass friend, and two guys who I thought were from Maryland (listening skills!) but they were from Ireland and yes, they had very thick accents.
Before I forget, I feel obliged to comment on the fact that today is St. Patricks Day. As much as I would like to be annoying and blog about how St. Patrick is the one who brought Christianity to Ireland, got rid of the "snakes" by suppressing Irish culture and how annoying Irish stereotypes are...I won't go there. All I can say is I am not wearing green as a silent protest, and also because I wore my green shirt yesterday :)
Friday, March 9, 2007
March 27th
Is the day I leave the states for precisely 63 full days and 2 1/2 days where I will be stuck in a flying box just me my ipod and 60+ complete strangers for so long I don't want to count. For those of you who have had the misfortune of not hearing my current itinerary in person here it is.
I fly into London on the 27th and stay in a swanky house with my friends aunts family for a while, then I will somehow end up in Oslo, Norway where I will embark on a journey. This particular journey involves a train, bus, boat, and train again and is said to be one of the top 20 train rides in the world. I will hop off the train in Bergen, Norway where I am going to meet Gunnar and his family. Gunnar is my 3rd or 4th cousin that my nifty Grandma found on the internet in '98 and has been conversing with over email ever since.
After what I imagine to be an amazing trip to Norway I will head back to London or to Scotland and hang out for a few more days before I reach the reason I am finally leaving the country in the first place...Ireland.
In Ireland I am first going to a teeny Island that only inhabits about 100-150 people to work on an organic farm for a week or two. On this particular farm they have a ton of goats that I will help take care of and possibly build a fence around. This brings me to possibly the greatest fear of my trip: no, not falling off the cliffs of moher or getting lost in an English speaking country...no, not even close. My biggest fear of this trip is goats milk! It just seems so gross, granted I left my vegan life a few months ago and have been drinking cows milk since I still find it a little gross. Goats are cute, but goat milk? ... ew. The farm is even noted in both Lonely Planet and Let's Go travel guides as having the creamiest GOAT ice cream in Ireland so I think I might be offered some while I am there since they are probably very proud of this achievement....poor goats.
Anyway, after recovering from ingesting goat products I am possibly going to travel around Ireland and do touristy things or head to Dublin and hang out with some classmates before we head to the Glenn. The "Glenn" is a nickname for the village we will be staying in named Glencolumbkille, and "we" is a nickname for my 37 classmates and 2 faculty who are going to occupy several cottages and a dorm at Oideas Gael, a language school in County Donegal.
For 5 weeks we will have language study every morning and other classes throughout the day. The Glenn and the farm in County Cork are both in designated Gaeltachts, where Irish is the official language, which is why I have been trying to learn as much of the language as possible
After the five weeks in the Glenn are up I will head back to London for a night to catch my flight on May 29th back to the states, but instead of going back to Olympia I decided to mix it up and stay in New York City for a while. Unfortunately school is not over once I am back, I get to write a 30 page paper on Ireland as theory and Ireland in practice while surrounded by all these amazing things to do and amazing people like my brother and friends I haven't seen since Thanksgiving when I was last in the city. After I finish my paper I plan on hanging out in Coney Island indefinitely...but I really want to check out Boston, D.C. and Philly(for more than an hour this time) while I'm on the east coast if my wallet allows.
Finally on June 25th I leave NYC and come back to reality in Oly where I have to find a job for the summer so I can pay rent again.
So that is my current itinerary, aren't you glad you know now! Lucky for you, you didn't hear bits and pieces as they were being planned out over the past few months while I look up from travel guides to tell you another interesting fact about goats...and Ireland.
I fly into London on the 27th and stay in a swanky house with my friends aunts family for a while, then I will somehow end up in Oslo, Norway where I will embark on a journey. This particular journey involves a train, bus, boat, and train again and is said to be one of the top 20 train rides in the world. I will hop off the train in Bergen, Norway where I am going to meet Gunnar and his family. Gunnar is my 3rd or 4th cousin that my nifty Grandma found on the internet in '98 and has been conversing with over email ever since.
After what I imagine to be an amazing trip to Norway I will head back to London or to Scotland and hang out for a few more days before I reach the reason I am finally leaving the country in the first place...Ireland.
In Ireland I am first going to a teeny Island that only inhabits about 100-150 people to work on an organic farm for a week or two. On this particular farm they have a ton of goats that I will help take care of and possibly build a fence around. This brings me to possibly the greatest fear of my trip: no, not falling off the cliffs of moher or getting lost in an English speaking country...no, not even close. My biggest fear of this trip is goats milk! It just seems so gross, granted I left my vegan life a few months ago and have been drinking cows milk since I still find it a little gross. Goats are cute, but goat milk? ... ew. The farm is even noted in both Lonely Planet and Let's Go travel guides as having the creamiest GOAT ice cream in Ireland so I think I might be offered some while I am there since they are probably very proud of this achievement....poor goats.
Anyway, after recovering from ingesting goat products I am possibly going to travel around Ireland and do touristy things or head to Dublin and hang out with some classmates before we head to the Glenn. The "Glenn" is a nickname for the village we will be staying in named Glencolumbkille, and "we" is a nickname for my 37 classmates and 2 faculty who are going to occupy several cottages and a dorm at Oideas Gael, a language school in County Donegal.
For 5 weeks we will have language study every morning and other classes throughout the day. The Glenn and the farm in County Cork are both in designated Gaeltachts, where Irish is the official language, which is why I have been trying to learn as much of the language as possible
After the five weeks in the Glenn are up I will head back to London for a night to catch my flight on May 29th back to the states, but instead of going back to Olympia I decided to mix it up and stay in New York City for a while. Unfortunately school is not over once I am back, I get to write a 30 page paper on Ireland as theory and Ireland in practice while surrounded by all these amazing things to do and amazing people like my brother and friends I haven't seen since Thanksgiving when I was last in the city. After I finish my paper I plan on hanging out in Coney Island indefinitely...but I really want to check out Boston, D.C. and Philly(for more than an hour this time) while I'm on the east coast if my wallet allows.
Finally on June 25th I leave NYC and come back to reality in Oly where I have to find a job for the summer so I can pay rent again.
So that is my current itinerary, aren't you glad you know now! Lucky for you, you didn't hear bits and pieces as they were being planned out over the past few months while I look up from travel guides to tell you another interesting fact about goats...and Ireland.
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