Busy BEE! Spain

I can't believe how long it's been since I've posted! I've been so, so, so busy! This post will be dedicated to my trip to Spain to visit Ali! Sadly it's been so long since then, I'm sure I'll be leaving out vital details, but that's ok.

I headed out for my first, big journey by myself to some foreign land! Elizabeth (one of my apartment-mates) was heading out at the same time, so we arranged a taxi together to cut the cost and be economical! It was great because I had someone to hang out with for the first part of my airport journey. Once we departed ways, I was left in the hands of Ryanair and we were Spain bound!

I arrived in Madrid with no problems, but quite a few butterflies in my stomach and fake confidence painted on my face. I had faith that I would make it to Cordoba, but I wasn't quite sure how. I remembered to be resourceful so I stopped at the information desk to ask the direction of the metro and how to use it, but while I waited in line, I heard a woman asking the same thing as I would be, and she was Irish and looked approachable so I decided to ask her and tag along. Before I knew it, I had my very first travel buddy. She was absolutely lovely! She was from a village in the west near Shannon; visiting her sister, brother-in-law and niece in Madrid, who are residents of Chicago. We quickly bonded, and before I knew it, she was buying my metro ticket and trying to set me up with her son, who is studying at UCC (Cork), maybe one day... Sadly, we had to depart ways and I was on my own for one more metro switch, and left to conquer the train station. With 2 minutes to spare I made it safely onto the correct train! I arrived in Cordoba to Ali's open arms and familiar face! It felt great and liberating!!

The next morning we met a few other Wheaton girls from her program and headed south to Malaga!

Malaga was wonderful and rainy!! We stayed at great, little hostel over looking the Mediterranean Sea. We met some very

interesting people, and befriended a few as well. We roamed around the main plaza, stopping in a Dunkin' Coffee, and then checking out the Picasso Museum. We went out both nights with two Irish and three English boys, all who were staying at the hostel. They were incredibly entertaining and winning us over with the "brilliant" vocabulary and classic accents. Malaga is a beautiful place, and I can only imagine what is it like in the sunny, summer months!

Back to Cordoba on sunday to some much needed rest and some more exploring. Ali had class, so I roamed around the city with another girl who was visiting a boy on Ali's program. Vicky was on her spring break, and traveling around Spain, from a program in London. We quickly became friends. It was great having a buddy to explore with. We went into this mosque, it was enormous and very beautiful!

I really enjoyed seeing another part of the world! It is very, very different then Ireland of course. Ali amazed me with her nearly fluent spanish skills and cooking skills. She made me delicious spanish tortilla. It is similar to a quiche, made with egg, potatoes and onions and lots of oil! Yum!

I was sad to leave Spain after such a short trip, but incredibly anxious to get back to Ireland for Mom and Bob's arrival! As much as I loved Spain, I found myself longing to return to Dublin. It was the first time I was able to miss Ireland, and boy if that is any indicator, then this summer will be very hard! I was so delighted to see the squared off green fields from the airplane! Just BEAUTIFUL!

As I expected, this trip to Ireland, and all the other traveling that I had planned gave me a whole new sense of independence and freedom. It's amazing what you can do when you're by yourself and without any comfort zone. A large and necessary lesson for all to learn and I'm so glad that I finally have.

It's amazing that I am more than half way done with this program! I feel as though I just got here.

Just a quick update: Mom and Bob came and I had the most fun with them! Needless to say, they completely fell in love with the country as I have, and thoroughly enjoyed their vacation and just today they arrived back in Maine.

My internship is going so well. I love the organization and all the women I work with. Yes, it's only women, but that can be expected when it's a women's organization.

Bittersweet Musicans

Yesterday was the last day of classes. Part of me was clearly jumping for joy, however I could've sat and played the Bodhran all night. Taking the Arts in Ireland course was one of the best academic choices I've made in a while and could very easily be the highlight of my academic career. Of course the class itself was not academically challenging, but learning to play a traditional Irish instrument and participating in a session on the last day of class, quickly earned the title for best class ever, hands down!

We have been playing the Bodhran for about 6 weeks, and the class only met on Tuesday nights for three hours. Padhraic, our instructor is a fantastic Bodhran player and very enthusiastic teacher. He should write Hallmark cards because he is so encouraging, always saying we're "brilliant, grand, and deadly," and applauding us for catching on so quickly.

A few weeks ago, Padhraic taught us a pretty difficult beat that I just wasn't picking up. I stayed after class for some one-on-one and he quickly helped me get it. We sat together and played a few beats on the Bodhran and I just fell in love with the drum, Irish music, and just about everything Irish. I haven't been playing a musical instrument for a while and it feels great to produce some good beats after being absent from my piano for so long. To my surprise, Padhraic went online and found a pub in Portland that holds traditional Irish music sessions and he wants me to get a Bodhran and go play! eeeks, better watch out! I'm flattered but not brave enough to go play just yet. The director of our program here teamed up with Padhraic to encourage me to bring Irish music back home...we shall see.

Last night, for our last class, Padhraic brought in a guitar player, an fiddle player and an accordion player and we had our very own session. Padhraic played his banjo while we joined in with our Bodhrans. It was unbelievably cool, I didn't want it to end. But if we didn't end I would only have one arm! Wow, lots of quick playing really takes a toll on the arm and wrist!

I'm looking forward to continuing the Bodhran, but for now I have to focus on the visual arts component of the art history class. I'm doubtful it will be as great, but I'm sure it will be great!

I took my first exam today for my history class. It went very well and now I'm focused on my exam for sociology tomorrow. After class I head to the airport for my first experience with Ryanair and SPAIN! I'm so excited to head to a new country and of course to see Ali! It's so weird to be without my roommates here in Dublin, but it's so exciting that I get to travel around Europe to visit them. Ali has planned the weekend in Malaga, then we head to Cordoba for the week because she has class :( I'll fly home on wednesday just in time to welcome Mom and Bob to Ireland!

Here is a video of a Bodhran solo (Click) so you can get a taste of what it's like. You'll see his hand sliding down the back of the drum which is the technique used to make all sorts of different sounds.

TIME IS FLYING!

This is my last week of classes, spring break starts on Thursday and then I begin my internship! Wow!

Again, nothing but pure happiness coming from Dublin! I'm still wondering when the honeymoon stage is going to end...hopefully it won't!

I had another busy week and weekend in Dublin. Last week we had two field trips for my Contemporary Irish Society class. On wednesday evening we went into town to attend the premier of Christ Deliver Us at the famous Abbey Theatre in the city centre. It was fabulous, highly controversial, and very intense. The acting was incredible! and the theatre was packed. I urge you to check out the website for more information about the play and the Abbey Theatre. http://www.abbeytheatre.ie/whats_on/event/788

The set was very simple, but the effects were outstanding. At one point, they had "rain" coming from the lights on stage, another time one of the main actors commits suicide and it was just so realistic, and at the end the lights actually fall to the ground when another actor jumps from a building to make a more dramatic crash.

On Thursday, instead of having class, we went into Dublin to visit the Dail Eireann, the Irish government! We were able to sit in and listen to a meeting of the Upper House conducted in Irish and English. It was very fun to listen to, some of the ministers got quite worked up, trying to argue their points, ect. We also sat in on a Senator meeting, and later in the day met Senator Joe O'Toole. He was intersting, and very curious about our American government and raved about Obama. They love them some Obama, but I mean who doesn't!!

This past weekend, many people from our program went to Amsterdam so the apartments felt very empty! Friday we had a very leisure day, sleeping and relaxing, finally! We went out on friday night into the city for our own small pub crawl. The first two pubs we went to had live music, which wasn't outstanding, but yet entertaining. I drank Smithwicks this weekend, and to my surprise, I'm beginning to really like beer. This of course, makes me a bit nervous, but I'm in Ireland so what else should I expect!

On Saturday 4 of us went into town to shop. Ali and Sydney wouldn't be surprised to hear that I tried on many things and didn't buy a single thing! That night we did another pub crawl, a few more than friday night but yet the same kind of thing.

Sunday 6 of us headed back to the outskirts of the city to Phoenix Park and the Dublin Zoo. It was so entertaining! Some parents laughed at us because we were more excited than many of the little children. We saw Guerillas, Lions, Tigers, Elephants, Zebras, Giraffes, Sealions, Flamingos, Hippos, Rhinos, Monkeys, Leopards...and so many more. It was a bit chilly out, but the weather didn't dampen our day!

Field Trips!

This past week reminded me of the good old days, when instead of having class we would jam into a big yellow school bus and go on a field trip! This week was very similar to that, minus the whole big yellow school bus thing. On monday in lieu of History class we went into the city for a 1916 Rebellion Walking Tour with Lorcan. In true Irish fashion it started to rain just as we got to Trinity. Lorcan really knows his stuff and spoke very quickly and with humor. He told us a bit about Trinity, the Daniel O'Connell statue, the Post Office (which has great historical context..1916 Rising), the Four Courts and the Dublin Castle. Much of what he told us we already had learned from either our History class or otherwise. Regardless, it was still informative and interesting.

On wednesday, in leu of having History again, we went to the Kilmainham Gaol. Kilmainham Gaol was the Dublin jail, built in the late 1700s and famous for housing many leaders of Irish rebellions such as the 1916 Rising. It was also on the jail's premises that many were executed.

The jail itself is now a museum, and a very haunting, yet remarkable building. This part of the jail may seem familiar, and that's because it's featured in many films, and is a popular place to film. Films include, the Italian Job, Michael Collins, In the Name of the Father, and a few others. Also, the acoustics are fantastic, so of course U2 have recorded here, as well as shot their music video for their song A Celebration.

We had a great tour guide who took us around the jail, into the cells, and through the corridors.

It's a sad experience visiting the jail and hearing the tragic stories. It was in the corridor that during the famine was over run with starving men, women, and children. There are copious documents reading "four year old boy in for stealing one loaf of bread." During the famine, the jail because a destination, for they were guaranteed a roof, and three meals a day, regardless of gaining a criminal status, these over crowded, infested living conditions were paradise compared to starving to death.

I saw the cells of Joseph Plunkett, Eamon De Velara, Michael Davitt, and Charles Parnell. Sadly, I also saw the very place that many men took their last breath. The 14 leading men associated with the 1916 Rising were executed on the premises by the British.

One of the most tragic and famous stories about the jail is that of Joseph Plunkett and his darling Grace. The two were engaged to be married however he was imprisoned and sentenced to execution. On the eve of his execution, the two were wed in the jail, witnessed by two guards. The two were not allowed to speak to each other, only to exchange their vows. Grace has to leave, but was allowed 10 minutes with her new husband at 2 am just before his execution. The two sat in a room together for 10 minutes without saying a word to each other. Although this country is full of outstanding beauty, the Irish struggled for every bit of it. I guess true love knows no spoken word.

The field trips were excellent! Being here, in Ireland, and learning about the history and culture is so refreshing. It's a very nice break from the nitty-gritty of in depth psycho-analysis back at Wheaton.

It's amazing that I only have 4 more lectures left before exams, spring break and the internship phase! Wow!

It's starting to look like spring around here! Although it has been very green since our arrival, the crocuses are up and blooming, and the daffodils are shooting up too! I did run in shorts today, but I may have jumped the gun a bit. My legs initially were a bit too cold, but by the end it was great! Today was a great day to run in the park for there were about 5 games of football (soccer) happening.

This is a very moving and great sculpture outside of Kilmainham, commemorating the 14 men executed for their involvement in the 1916 Rising.

Southern Ireland

It is safe to say this was the best weekend yet! Lots of good craic, with good people, in the most beautiful of places!

On Friday the whole group headed to Glendalough in Co. Wicklow. Gelndalough translates to

"lake between two mountains" and it is just that! Glendalough is similar to what we would call as Nature Preserve or State Park. Not only are two glacial lakes, there is a wonderful, large waterfall and 2 ruins of old burial grounds, each with a shell of an old church. We walked along both lakes and hiked up along the waterfall. It was a lovely day to spend roaming around the park. Again, for those who have seen the move PS I Love You, the scene where Hilary Swank and her friends are canoeing around the lake, lose their paddles and are then saved by the handsome Irish man was filmed in this lake!

From Glendalough, about 20 out of the 40 students from the group, got onto a smaller coach for our weekend away on our last tour with Caroline. We drove through Co. Wicklow and for the first time I felt as though I was not in Ireland any more. Co. Wicklow is very mountainous, but these mountains are very brown with little vegetation, and they're very rocky and enormous. Towards the southern edges of Co. Wicklow it begins to get green again, and we drove over the bridge where another scene of PS I Love You was filmed. (The scene when Hilary Swank is walking along the road/bridge and claims to be lost).

The drive down to Dingle took about 3 1/2 hours from Glendalough. It was dark for most of the ride so I didn't get to see much scenery, but after traveling around so much already, it does begin to look the same. We arrived at the Rainbow Hostel around 8:30 and quickly headed into the lovely little village of Dingle for a quick bite and a pint at Murphy's Pub. Dingle is the smallest village that I have to been to, but it is quaint and beautiful. It is on the edge of the peninsula with great a great harbor, lots of fresh fish, and little shops and pubs. Another one of Dingles little treasures, is that is a one of the few towns left that is Irish speaking, so many of the pubs and stores have Irish names! John, Caroline's cousin and his friend Louis met us for our tour and took us on a small pub crawl. We went to the smallest pub in Dingle for another pint, then up the street for live music!

On Saturday about 12 of us woke up early and headed to the harbor to board a boat and go see Fungie. Fungie is the only known bottle-nose dolphin in Ireland. Because of the location of Dingle relative to the gulf-stream, the water is fairly warm, so he migrated up to Dingle in 1983. It was a great way to start the day! It was a bit cold out, but still beautiful! We went just outside the harbor and waited to spot Fungie, and we did! We were on little boats, so we had to split

up the group and take two boats out, so we would race to see him first, so in the end, we were speeding all around and chasing Fungie. For a while, Fungie was swimming right beside us, and gave us quite the show!

After hanging out with Fungie, we headed down the peninsula, following a very narrow, windy road, on the edge of the cliff. Here began the outstanding scenery. We were surrounded by open ocean, islands, cliffs, green pastures and grazing animals! The area is not heavily populated at all, only small houses and farms, unlike much of the coast in the States. We stopped to see the Prehistoric Beehive Huts, once used by monks. They're just like rock igloos, quite cool!

We then made it to the best part. We stopped for lunch at a beautiful Slea Head beach, nestled at the bottom of enormous cliffs. We had lunch on the top the cliffs and then made our way down for our own version of the polar-bear plunge. We shed our shoes, rolled up our pants and ran right into the waves. You know how much I love the ocean, so for me, I didn't hesitate at all. We hung out for a couple hours, climbing the rocks, checking out the caves, sinking in the quick sand, playing soccer, volleyball and a couple games of capture the flag. It was phenomenal. By the end we were all soaked with the salty, cold, Atlantic.

From here we headed to Kilarney, and just like little kids who are exhausted from playing so much, the bus was silent as we all passed out for the whole ride.

Kilarney is another lovely Irish village, bigger than Dingle but offering the same thing, pubs and shops. Again, we went out for dinner, had a round of "Irish" Car Bombs, a glass of Guinness with a shot of Baileys in it. It tastes delicious. We headed to two more pubs, the last being the best. We listened to Armonic, a great band! We knew every cover song they sang, and they were quite happy with our energy! After they finished we made friends with the lead singer, a lovely lady from Belgium and the guitarist from Louisiana. It was very fun!

On sunday we headed back to Dublin, stopping at the Blarney Castle. I did kiss the Blarney stone on Valentines day. I thought it suited the occasion very well. Can't say I feel chattier than usual, but I apparently have now been blessed with the gift of gab. Sadly, it is a tourist trap, built around a myth, but oh well, I kissed it. It was a bit nerve-racking. As you can see I

had to lean backwards, hold onto two bars and scoot downwards to kiss the stone. It is, of course, located at the very top of the castle, and it feels as though you're going to fall right through the gap between the wall and the floor of the castle.

After a great weekend we made it back to Dublin, and thoroughly exhausted we all hunkered down, relaxed and prepared for our week. This week we all have our first paper due. I'm writing about Charles Parnell, a politician, the leader of the Home Rule Party in the mid 1880s. We'll see how it goes.

This week we are going to see a play, unfortunately I don't remember what is it, but I will give a review on it. This is our first weekend in Dublin in the past three weekends, so I'm very excited. I'm not sure what will be going on, but perhaps we'll visit Dun Laoghaire, or spend some time in Pheonix Park.

The Gaelic Games season is starting up so I hope to catch a game of Gaelic Football and a Hurling match!

I'm still loving Ireland, a bit more every day. I can't believe that I have been here for a month! The time surely does fly by, a bit too quickly! Our classes end in only a few weeks, then I'll be visiting Ali, one of my Wheaton roommates in Spain! I'm very excited, she's in Cordoba, but she might be planning a trip to the Canary Islands! I can't even imagine! and then MOM COMES! I can't wait for her to come to Ireland, and she'll be staying in Dingle! How perfect! You should start practicing your Irish phrases! Dia dhuit (Jee-a-dich) means good day or hello!

Northern Ireland: Belfast and Derry

I spent this past weekend in Northern Ireland and what a new experience that was! We left the DCU campus at 8am and made it up to Belfast around 10:30. We checked into our hostel, had a few minutes to rest and then we were off for a bus tour around the city. A Ph.d student at Queens University guided us around Belfast. Although the Armed Struggle is a thing of the past, it is still alive. Belfast is literally divided into two parts by one peace wall. During the day there are many gates that open and allow cars and pedestrians through, however the gates do close at dark to separate the Catholic area from the Protestant area.

Here (to the left) is part of the largest peace wall dividing Belfast city. As you can see there is a great amount of graffiti on the fence. Many tourists come and write inspirational, peaceful messages on the wall but sadly many young teenagers litter the wall with derogatory messages regarding either the Nationalists or the Loyalists. Although this is called the peace wall, there are 82 other walls and barriers that divide the city to eliminate violence and protect the people, there are great debates about these walls. Are they protecting people or keeping the vicious past alive?

The history of the armed struggle and the violence live in the very political murals throughout the town. Unlike murals and graffiti in the states usually found on abandoned buildings in run down areas, these murals are fine works of art that are

painted right onto houses and gates (private property). The murals are mostly political, supporting the IRA or the UFF (or subgroups of the armies). They are also clearly supporters of either Britain or Ireland. More recently, the city has chosen to redo the murals, making them more friendly and less political. As you can see by this image, the murals are very striking and upsetting. Although I do acknowledge them as art, many images like this are harsh and act as a reminder of the armed struggle and the violence. Many murals feature masked men, armed and looking very fierce.

The murals in Derry are very different than the ones we saw in Belfast. The murals we saw in Derry are all designed and painted by the same artist. The one here is comprised of three different photographs taken during the events of Bloody

Sunday. In the foreground, the boy is being carried by a group of men, one of which is his father. This mural is facing the exact area where the shootings on Bloody Sunday took place. There are a series of murals surrounding this area commemorating the events that happened in 1972. Go have a listen to "Bloody Sunday" the very famous and good song by U2.

Ok, now onward to something a little more light-hearted!

From Belfast we headed to Carrick-a-Rede bridge! This a rope bridge connecting the cliffs of the northern coast to a small "rock" island. The rope bridge was originally constructed by local fishermen who wanted an easier way to fish the salmon down below. I don't know how they sat and fished off the bridge considering I barely made it across! Although I'm not a fan of bridges, I'm all about the adventure! This photo does not do it

justice, it is much scarier than it looks! I promise! The walk up to the bridge is spectacular! and once you get onto the "rock island" you feel as though you're in a new version of the Sound of Music! In which you're roaming around in Northern Ireland rather than Austria! The view of the north Atlantic is unbelievable! I'm not sure if it was the sun shining specifically onto Scotland off in the distance, or the sheep and horses roaming around the cliffs, but whatever it was, it was perfect!

From here we headed to Giant's Causeway! UNBELIEVABLE! Literally, this rock formation, formed when molten lava cooled, they look as though they were specifically placed. Nope, completely natural! Another beautiful place, one direction you

see nothing but the ocean, and the other direction nothing but large cliffs. It's not super clear, but the rocks have 4, 6 and 8 sides. They look just like stepping stones, and they are perfect for walking on because they don't move a bit!

Both of these sights are large tourist attractions but luckily they have not been very busy so we really have had time to enjoy the scenery and ourselves!

I'm so amazed with Ireland. It's scenery, the people, the attitudes, traditions, culture...All of it! I never thought I would see a more beautiful place than the Maine coast, but there is nothing comparable to driving along a narrow road, with such luscious green fields all around you filled with sheep and horses, rolling hills, and the land then just dropping off into the dark blue ocean. It's hard to believe I've been in Ireland for exactly a month! One part of me feels as though I have just arrived, while another feels as though I've been here for years. There is still so much to do and so much to see! That is why I'm off for another excursion this weekend! It's my last tour with Caroline :( but it shall be just as good, if not better than the last two! We're off to Glendlolough (PS I Love You was filmed here), as well as Co. Kerry, Cork ect.

Lovely West!

This past weekend I headed to the West coast of Ireland on a tour led by our History lecturer, Caroline!

Friday: We drove across the island to Ennis town in Co. Clare. We stayed in a magnificent hostel (www.rowantreehostel.ie) in this quaint town! We had a great dinner at the Hostel and then went out on the town. Caroline's cousin, John, and his best friend, Louis, lived in Ennis so they took us to three great, traditional Irish pubs for a pint! One of the pubs was wonderfully decorated with flags and currencies from various countries, as well as other random possessions collected from visitors over the years!

Saturday: We left Ennis at 9:30 and headed south-west to the Cliffs of Moher. No words can even begin to explain the beauty of the cliffs. The cliffs are one of Ireland's most visited destinations, and rightfully so. Looking beyond the drop and out to the vast Atlantic and the Aran Islands made life and its struggles so insignificant.

From here, we drove along the coast and into the Burren Mountains. John's family owns a lovely farm, so we stopped and he gave us a tour of the farm before we hiked up into the Burren Mountains. This was another spectacular view, looking down onto the farm land and out onto the ocean.

There are fantastic stone walls up the mountains, called peace walls. During the famine, the starving Irish people needed money, thus the English payed them to build these useless walls over the mountains.

After our hike we had a delicious, homemade meal, made by John's mother! An unbelievable quiche, curry rice, fresh salad, potato salad...nearly everything grown on the farm! We sat around a woodstove and listened to brothers Padraic (15) and Thomas(13) play traditional Irish music. I could have stayed there all day! (www.burrenwalks.com)

On our way to Galway, Caroline took us through the town in which she grew up in! A lovely little village! On the way through it she was able to literally name each person residing in every house! Very Irish!

We arrived in Galway and hit the city! A bit bigger than Ennis but certainly smaller than Dublin! We did yet another pub crawl, listened to more live music, and drank more pints!

Sunday: A few of us, headed out to explore Galway in the morning! Stopped in multiple shops, tried on traditional Irish (Aran) sweaters and hats and hung out at a little Cafe!

We left Galway and headed back to Dublin, stopping at Clonmacnoise on the banks of River Shannon. This old monastery is believed to be one of the first settlements in Ireland.

This tour was truly fantastic and I'm looking forward to another one this weekend! We head to Northern Ireland for the weekend. Without a doubt, this tour will be full of history and current affairs!