Galway

I just love Oscar Wilde

Yesterday the U of I girls decided to take a daytrip to Galway, which was about a four hour drive. I'm glad we went because it seemed like most people I talked to raved about Galway, but in the end it wasn't the amazing eight hours that I had expected.

We woke up and took the bus from campus into the city in order to catch the 10 am bus to Galway. The roundtrip only cost me sixteen euro, so I thought that was a deal! And the drive there was very illuminating seeing as I found out two things about Irish fog: 1)It lasts the whole day. At home, it may be foggy for a couple hours in the morning or a little at night but it certainty wouldn't last the whole day. In Ireland, however, the fog sticks. And 2)The whole country is covered in the fog. I know because I pretty much cut through the whole country. There were occasional breaks in the fog where I could see some of the famed Irish countryside, but other than that it was like trying to see the landscape in the mirror after taking a shower.

Irish Sheep

When we arrived in Galway around 2:00 we needed lunch and made it to the quickest, cheapest place we could find. I am slightly ashamed to say that place was McDonald's. All I can say is Ireland is expensive and we are on a budget. They did however have curly fries at this Micky D's, so I did sample something I couldn't at home.

After the one euro hamburgers (even McDonalds isn't cheap; that's about $1.50 for a single hamburger) we headed to the ocean. I imagine the view is beautiful but the blanket of fog kept us from finding that out ourselves.

The Spanish Arch, built in 1584, was where the Spanish would unload their cargo from the many ships coming into Galway. This is the best remaining piece of the city wall. Also, Christopher Columbus was said to have visited Galway in 1477 and the Irish don't want you to forget it!

Brittany and Stacy in the fog off the River Corrib.

After our seaside stroll I lead us on a tour of both St. Nicholas churchs. He was the patron saint of sailors so that helps explain why there are two St. Nicholas in the same town. First stop was the Church of Saint Nicholas. There were people having some kind of service/social thing when we got there so we didn't have a great opportunity to look around. My guide book claims it is the greatest medieval building in town, dating back to 1320. Columbus was also said to have worshipped here when he visited in 1477. (sorry but I can't seem to get the pictures to center.)

Next we were off to the Cathedral of St. Nicholas which as built over 600 years after the church in 1965. It was a lovely church that I am very glad I made it to. And look who I found hiding there:

Why it is none other than the 35th president of the United States John F. Kennedy!

Who is apparently Jesus' left-hand man.

This is suppose to depict the "modern Irish holy family" according to my guide book. You can see Jesus serving Joseph a cup of coffee and Mary knitting.

It was really beautiful and I think the girls were glad I dragged them there.

The rest of the time there was spent walking along the cobblestone streets and window shopping. The Claddagh, the village where the claddagh ring originated, is right next door so they had a lot of rings on display. They also had a lot of musicians playing on the streets, including the guy with the invisible head:

Not only did the claddagh ring come from Galway, but so did the term "lynching." Apparently during the 15th century one of the Lynch boys killed a Spanish visitor and his father was the judge. He was sentenced to death but no one was willing to execute him, so Judge Lynch did it himself, and then went into seclusion. Lovely.

After we had had enough window shopping we found some dinner at a cute place called The Front Door. I had the beef and Guinness pie, which was basically just a beef stew type of thing, using Guinness, and some pastry on the top. Next we looked for some of the famed traditional Irish music of Galway, and stumbled into one of the pubs. It was a cute and warm atmosphere, but the music was not lively at all. The highlight was when one of the girls there said she just got engaged and all the men in the pub began singing "Going to the Chapel." After one drink, it had been a long enough day that we were ready to hop on the bus and go back to Dublin.

It was agreed that had the weather been better it would have been a better trip, but all in all I'm glad I saw Galway. It also might have been more fun if we had money to spend, but the exchange rate is not so good and even McDonald's isn't cheap.

Getting off the bus is Dublin showed me how much of a local I'm starting to become. I recognized landmarks, knew how late the buses ran, which routes we take back to campus, how to get the taxi and how much it will cost. There is still a long way to go, and I don't think I'll ever stop saying dollar instead of euro. Twenty years of habit dies hard.

Dun Laoghaire

On the East Pier of Dun Laoghaire

This afternoon Stevie, Stacy, Brittany, Laura and I went on a little trip to the seaside town of Dun Laoghaire (pronounced "dun leery"). I am fairly certain they could have done without at least four of those letters, but then again the name makes it look exotic. Perhaps LaGrange should add a couple letters too... It was a beautiful sunny day and it was about 25 minutes south of campus on the bus. There are not really any "attractions" in Dun Laoghaire other than the seaside views and I have provided you with some here. The last few days have been fairly photo-free so enjoy these!

I take pictures of cute things.

Harbor

We walked down the east pier and although it seem short it took us quite a long time because we had to stop and take pictures about every 4 meters (I'm learning metric!)

Gazebo on the pier. As we were walking back here were two men playing a sax and an accordian here.

Tiny sailboats

The picture is super dark but I really liked the clouds and the texture of the water. Grace should hop over the pond so she can do a professional job.

The pier and the steeples with the Wicklow Mountains in the back.

Streets of Dun Laoghaire. Quite a cute little town.

After about 3 hours in Dun Laoghaire we headed back to campus and then went to go have dinner with one of Laura's friends who is attending Trinity, which is right in the city centre of Dublin. We hung out there for a while and then headed over to a friend of Laura's friend's place to meet up with some more people. At about 11 Brittany and I headed home. The buses stop running around 11:15 and we didn't want to pay for a taxi so there was a lot of power walking involved to get to the bus stop in time.

Tomorrow is going to be another adventure for the U of I girls (Stacy, Stevie, Brittany, and me) because we are taking a daytrip to Galway, which my guidebook claims is the most Irish town in Ireland. I can only hope this means that leprchauns serve me Lucky Charms, potatoes, corned beef, and whiskey while I watch Riverdance but I anticipate no Lucky Charms. We're leaving Dublin at 10, riding 4 hours there, and then checking out Galway for the day. We are going to stay pretty late so we can catch the live music and the pub scene. I will try to post all my photos and stories sometime Sunday, but I am planning on going to the horseraces and I may have bet my computer and lost so we'll see if I can.

Grocery Shopping in Ireland

Thursday I am blessed enough not to have class, so Brittany and I ventured the 1.5 miles to the Tesco to pick up some food. I had pretty much finished up my first crop of groceries and was in need of some cookies. If you have ever been a cookie aisle at the Jewel, you know that there are about a dozen brands of cookies (maybe more) and each brand has about 10 varieties. This does not hold true in Ireland. You can buy Oreos, but other than that it is mostly "digestive biscuits." I hear that they taste ok, so Hob Nobs: The Digestive Biscuit might show up on my grocery list next time. Here are some other differences I encountered:

• No canned soup. There actually are a few cans of soup, but nothing like the wall of Campbell's in America. I could not find a beef vegetable soup, and it is always soup weather in Ireland.
• Frosted Flakes are called Frosties. Who knew? There are also not a lot of cereal brands that are popular in the US, but I got some Honey Loops which I enjoy.
• Cheese and Onion flavoured potato chips (or crisps) are all the rage. Or at least I think they are because that is the prominent flavour I've seen.
• Cheese comes in two colours: red and white. It is just white cheddar or yellow cheddar. I bought some white cheese for sandwiches and will let you know how that goes.
• No grocery bags. This is not a bad thing; everyone is therefore forced to use reusable bags.

Here is the list of what I got because I'm sure my mother wants to know:

• yogurt
• milk
• stuff to make ham sandwiches
• frozen green beans
• pasta
• crackers (for peanut butter)

And Brittany and I got supplies to make tacos tonight. European Family Dinner!

Live Irish Music!

me, Stevie, Laura, Jen, Stacy, Brittany before going out

That's right. I finally got to hear some authentic Irish music in Dublin! How's that, you ask? Here's the story:

Wednesday night Stevie, Stacy, Brittany, and I all have "From Colony to Republic: The Making of Modern Ireland" from 6-8, which is just not an ideal time for a class. The class itself has some pretty interesting information, but right now the hardest part is keeping track of all the old Irish kings and pronouncing their names. Here are some examples:

• Diarmait Mac Murchada (Dermot MacMurrough) [pronounced MacMurra]
• Tigernán Ua Ruairc (Tiernan O’Rourke), King of Bréifne [pronounced Brefna]
• Derbforgaill (Dervla), wife of O’Rourke

Fun Fact: Although it is generally thought that names like Fitzgerald and Fitzgilbert are thought to be traditional Irish names, they are actually Anglo-Norman. Fitzpatrick is considered the only true Irish one.

We decided afterwards we would hang out at Laura and my apartment and then go to an international student party at a club called The Button Factory (Anyone remember that song from preschool? "My name is Joe and I work in a button factory..."). Now nightclubs aren't really my thing, but in an effort to meet new people and venture outside my comfort zone I decided to go. We had a lot of fun hanging out in Apartment 18 and then headed on the bus to the Temple Bar area. On our way to The Button Factory, we passed a bar with the sounds of traditional Irish tunes spilling out; it really made me feel like I was in Dublin.

We get to The Button Factory and there is no line outside and the place seems dead. I then suggest we go to have a drink at one of the pubs with the music we passed on the way there. We ended up at The Temple Bar, our new favorite hangout. Three men were playing live Irish music using a guitar, fiddle and accordian-like thing. It was amazing. Just so lively and beautiful and kinda made you want to dance a little jig. Now, of course, I don't have any pictures of it because I thought we were going to a nightclub that I wouldn't want pictures of. I do, however, promise that we had so much fun this won't be the last time we go listen to some Irish music, and I will get pictures and video then. Until then, I think I might just steal Brittany Metz's photos.

Everyone (Stevie, Brittany, Jen, Stacy, Laura, and I) had a great time. We met people (some French guys who were pretty wild, nice British guys, and some Irish people too), drank cider (I did not drink it, just tried some, and in my opinion it tastes like apple juice with yeast in it), laughed a lot, and listened to the traditional music that just put a smile on my face. The highlight for many of the girls was when they played "Galway Girl," which is apparently played in the film PS, I Love You. I need to see that movie now!

Classes

Three classes done for the first week and two more this afternoon. Here's the recap so far if you're interested:

Financial Institutions Management- This seems to be primary about financial regulation. It is taught by an Irish professor (who has ten children) and I would say about one third of the class is American. This week we talked a lot about what happened in Ireland when their economy started going downhill.

The EU and the Business Environment- This class may be a lot of work but learning about the EU can only be beneficial. We're learning about the EU and what it can and can't do, plus the pros and cons of having a supranational organization.Currently, the EU consists of 27 states, with Croatia and Turkey petitioning to become a part.

Cross-Cultural Management- I just had it this morning and, although it is at 9 am, it seems like a fun class. I am one of only 3 Americans and the class has 16 people counting me. I don't, however, think there are any Irish students in it. Actually, they are enrolled in it they just didn't show up. We have many French students, plus Australian, Spanish, Austrian, and one kid from the Netherlands. Today we talked a little about cultural differences and it should be a good class for discussions.

Right now I'm on my way to get a brouchure about taking Irish here. It's only a 6 week class and it could be fun, and I'll know how to use words like "craic" without sounding like a tourist.

On that same idea, I am trying to look more and more like a local as I settle in. There is one problem- everytime I open my mouth it is plain as day that I am from America. So I can either be an articulate American or a mute Irish. I'm working on a fake Irish dialect currently, but my best line is "they're after me lucky charms."

Immigration

Today I had quite an adventure; I had to register with immigration! Naturally, I was there forever.

I took the bus into the city today all by myself and then gave myself a pat on the back for actually getting there (I got back to campus too!). At 9:44 I got my number and there were 45 people ahead of me. They said it would take an hour. It, of course, took two. That's ok. They say wait 10 minutes for my card. It, of course, took 20. That's ok too. This is what really got me. They have me check the card to see if all the information is correct, and they have spelled my name wrong! "Majorie." Cut to 20 more minutes of waiting. I got out of there at 12:25ish. Now I know people once and a while make mistakes, but not only did they mess up my information, but two of my friends had the same problem! The information is all on our passports which they copy directly from. This just confirmed the fact that I will never live anywhere other than the US because I don't want to go through that again.

As I mentioned before, the American students had a little conselling session explaining the differences here. One of the differences is that people take there time. We have been warned not to get angry because then they just won't serve you at all. Well I saw it all play out today when I am waiting with probably 100 other people at the immigration office and one of the people working was texting! She got done with a customer, started texting, then two other women came over and they started chatting. And I was the next person up. I don't know if things would have played out different in the US, but I still have love for the Irish because today my bus driver said "top of the morning" after I said thank you.

The immigration office was by the famine memorial (donated by the people of Canada?) so I took advantage and saw that. It for sure evoked an emotion from me. It isn't exactly what I would call a beautiful memorial, but rather one that showed the suffering of the Irish people. I am glad I made the trip. (You might want to click to enlarge to get more of the details and the facial expressions.)

First Day of School

Pond on campus

Unlike everyone celebrating MLK Day, I started school today. Ok, I only had one class and it started at 3, but I still had to start school.

My only class was Financial Institutions Management, which will tranfer for my Finance degree. We talked about the problems with the Irish economy now. Ireland went from being the second poorest country in Europe to having the second greatest GDP. Now they have fallen on hard times like much of the world. One of the speakers at orientation said that this is the best time in the past 15 years to come to Ireland because its future is being decided now. There is a lot of talk about what happened to the Irish people when they had all this money, and how their priorities switched and they became less friendly.

So far classes really aren't that different from the US. My professor did arrive ten minutes late and his cell phone kept going off. I will keep you updated after I have a few more classes.

Considering the number of questions I get at ICS on how to print, I thought U of I had the hardest print release ever. False: UCD has the most complex printing system ever. It took me the whole day to print a bank statement proving I have enough money to stay in Ireland (one has to show they have at least 1000 euro to pass immigration). I had to get a card, which I later find I couldn't use unless my document was on a USB, fill my other card (the machine kept rejecting my money!), get a password, and finally print. Brittany had to get special software installed to print her stuff. I'm thankful I don't work at these computer labs or I would never be able to beat Mario Bros level 8 during work with all the people asking me how to print.