The Calm Before the Storm

My spring break, which they call “study week ” here (who are the kidding?), starts the last week in February and that pretty much begins the craziness for the rest of my time spent here in Ireland. I leave for Barcelona on the 24^th to visit my good old PC friend Emily Cotter and I’ll be back on the 28^th. Then I’ve got a few days free before my Mom comes to visit for a week (shout out to Mom!) and we’ll be travelling hopefully to the West Coast and maybe even London! Then as soon as Mom leaves, my friends will start showing up for St. Patty’s Day celebrations (Katie and Courtney, prepare yourselves mentally, physically, and beeritually). We’ll be having at least one extra person staying in our apartment for the entire month of March. Par-tay! The weekend after Christmas… I mean, St. Patty’s … is adventure weekend with my IFSA Butler program where we’re essentially taking over an outdoor adventure facility in western Ireland. The weekend after that I’m headed to Brussels and Amsterdam where I’ll probably try some …. port wine (a JOKE, Mom and Dad!). Then my classes end April 6^th (wild right?) and soon after I’ll hopefully be Euro-tripping it for about two or so weeks before exams start in May. I’m a busy lass!

HOWEVER, before all this craziness starts, I’ve got the next few weeks to lay low, hang around Dublin, and try to get ahead on my work. That means I won’t have many trips and pictures to be blogging about, so I’ll probably be rambling on about the random thoughts floating around in my mind. I should probably apologize in anticipation for subjecting you to that. That being said, I’d like to extend you the invitation to share some suggestions. Is there anything you want to hear about in particular? Questions about trips, postings, anything? I figured I’d ask since otherwise I’ll just be venting the ideas floating around in my noggin which honestly, I’m not so sure is good for any of our well beings. I’m thinking about writing one about my back pack. That’s right, my back pack. It has become my favorite traveling buddy. I’m definitely feeling a second installment of “Lessons Learned” coming on, also. So if you don’t want to be subjected to these blathering blog posts about everything and nothing at all, send me some suggestions! You can FaceBook them to me, or email me at Kconard@friars.providence.edu.

Cheers, friends!

Northern Ireland

This weekend we ventured to Northern Ireland on a trip organized through IFSA-Butler (who, I must say, have done a fabulous job providing for us throughout this whole abroad experience). Unfortunately, the first day I was feeling a bit under the weather, recovering from an ugly stomach bug I had caught a day earlier. BUT, not to worry! I was a bit sluggish, but everything was so beautiful and enjoyable that I didn’t mind the cold, the rain, or the slug. We saw the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge which is this really cool rope bridge that connects two huge rock cliffs right on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. The water there was amazingly blue. If you used your very best imagination skills to block out the cold, the rain, and the cloudiness, it could have been a tropical coast line. It was that pretty! Then we went to Dunluce Castle, which was very beautiful. If we’re being honest (which is my general policy) it was really windy there and I was just a bit too tired to actually learn anything about it, but I have pictures! It’s a castle, it’s old, it’s ruined, it’s on a cliff by the sea. That’s all you need to know. Then we went to Giant’s Causway, which is one of Ireland’s most popular and astonishingly beautiful sights. Giant’s Causway is a really cool rock formation right on the coast line that was formed by a volcanic eruption millions and billions of years ago. The rocks are all hexagonal columns that form perfect stepping stones that you can climb up and walk out on until they fall off into the ocean. The legend is a cool story, but instead of explaining it all in this post, here’s the Wikipedia link if you want to learn more: Edumacate yurself!

The next day I was feeling much better, and was happy to feel like a functioning human again! In the morning we went to a farmer’s market a few blocks from our hotel and it was great! Tons of cool crafts, foods, and live music! I ate so many delicious free samples that I didn’t even need lunch. I got lots of cool handmade stuff for bargain prices! But what absolutely made my entire trip to Belfast is the story I’m going to tell you now: I was looking at these gorgeous tapestries handmade in Nepal. I knew I had to get one because there were just so incredibly beautiful. Two women standing near me were contemplating buying one also, so obviously I felt the need to chime in with my 2 cents, or rather, 2 pence. The woman looking to buy one loved it but wasn’t sure if she’d have a place for it and I told her she should buy it, and that it was so beautiful she’d definitely find a place for it no matter what. I agreed with the other woman whom I had overheard saying that it’s a worth wile purchase just because it’ll make her happy to look at - a philosophy that I embrace wholeheartedly. We got to chatting a bit (Helen and Aileen from Canada, mother and daughter, Helen grew up in Belfast) and before I knew it we had both made pact to buy a tapestry: “If you’re doing it, I’m doing it!” She asked which one I was buying and I told her I was going for the smaller one because it was more fitting for my budget. She pointed to a big blue tapestry that was amazing an asked “What about this one?”.  So beautiful, but my wallet would disagree, sadly. She handed me £15 and said “Get the one you really want.” I told her I couldn’t accept such a gift but she insisted: “We’re Irish, we can’t help it”. So I walked away with a big, gorgeous, handmade tapestry for half of what it was worth thanks to the kindness of a perfect stranger. Remember how I said the people here are friendly? I did them an injustice. The people here treat you like they’ve known and loved you for years. 

Later that day we took a Black Taxi tour of Belfast. They took us around the outskirts of the city and explained to us all about the Protestant-Catholic split which is still very much present in Northern Ireland today. And what a vicious split it is. Apparently it’s much calmer now than it was years ago, but we saw huge walls and gated neighborhoods separating Catholic and Protestant sections, memorials for those who’ve been caught in very recent Protestant-Catholic violence, and the most disturbing: a mural proudly dedicated to a single Protestant soldier who gunned down 16 innocent Catholics in the 80’s. Horrifying. It’s mind blowing to see that such strong divisions still exist in this day and age. We were warned not to broadcast even the slightest bit of Catholicism in public because it would cause a stir. Even though things are calmer now,  our cab driver told us the scales could tip at any time and violence could break out. Is that not completely absurd? I got some really cool pictures of the graffiti painted on the wall that separates the Catholic from Protestant section of Belfast. People from all over the world have signed the wall and left notes of peace and love including Bill Clinton, The Dalai Lama, Rihanna, and Lady GaGa (AHHH!!) to name a few. Obviously, I scoured the wall for Lady GaGa’s message, but to no avail. I did get a picture of the “general vicinity” that she was seen signing so good enough, I guess. I did get a picture of where Rihanna signed which was really cool! The words are very faded but she wrote “We found love in a hopeless place”. Awesome right?! Apparently she filmed part of the video for that song in Belfast. 

The rest of the day we roamed around the shopping section and at night we hit up a nearby pub with live Irish music – my favorite kind! Then it was back on the bus Sunday morning and home to do all the mounds of reading I had managed to push out of my mind all weekend. Northern Ireland, despite its shocking religious prejudices, was beautiful, entertaining, and definitely thought provoking. Everything a good trip should be.

 Check out all the pictures here!

Bollocks!

There’s no real reason for the title of this blog post, other than that I heard someone bellow it on campus today and didn’t think I could use it in any form of normal conversation without it sounding more like “I’m REALLY American!” My blog is probably the only safe place to practice my European euphemisms. Oh, Bollocks.

ANYWAY.

This weekend we took a short day trip to Howth – a fisherman’s town just North of Dublin. It’s a very cute, picturesque town right on the coast that has cliff walks and cute little shops and restaurants. We weren’t able to do a full cliff walk because we had gotten there later in the afternoon and the short days means dark falls at about 4:30 (or “half four”, as they would say here). We were fortunate enough, however to catch the farmer’s market which had all sorts of fruits, veggies, breads, desserts, and international cuisines. I got a loaf of sundried tomato, cheese and pepper artisan bread that I could cry over and nearly devoured that same day.

Side note: I’m sure you’re familiar with the expression “You say tomAYto, I say tomAHto”. Well, I never thought anyone actually said tomAHto until I got here. It was a trip, hearing it for the first time. And every time after that, for that matter.

Howth, being a coastal town, was as cold as it was beautiful. Unfortunately, this means I don’t have quite as many pictures as I would have liked. The warm insides of my pockets won out over exposing my hands to the bitter cold for a photograph. But, you can very quickly enjoy Howth here!

I’ve had a request to blog about the classes I’m taking here at Trinity (shout out to Grammy!). So here’s a run-down of what I’ve got going:

Art in Ireland: The Making and Meaning – This class is interesting because I get to learn about all sorts of Irish Art and Architecture. Basically, I get to glance at a few pretty pictures on a power point in between furiously writing everything my professor is blathering at a speed that would give an auctioneer a run for his money. I’m not sure the woman even breathes. But we do get to go on two field trips in Dublin to see art, so I’m excited about that! I’m packing lunchables!

Gender, Culture, and Society – This is probably my favorite class. We talk about all sorts of topics relating to pop culture, subcultures, and how femininity/masculinity play a role. My professor always starts class with a cool video of someone like Jimmy Hendrix or The Who and manages to make ingenious connections to the material. We once spent an entire seminar talking about marijuana and alcohol. Ah, the life of a social science major. (Don’t worry Mom and Dad, my future will be just fine!)

Globalization and Development – Where I’m learning all about white people who think they’re helping people in impoverished third world and agricultural countries, but really all they’re doing is imposing ostentatious western ideals on people without trying to understand their culture or even understand their true needs. You know what they say about the road to hell …

European Societies – Where I’m learning an awful lot about America. Yep. It’s no wonder all the people here know more about the US than I do, they talk about it constantly! I never realized that America has set this huge standard of measurement for all other societies. Granted, this might be subject to the slight of my professor for this particular class. Nonetheless, Americans don’t even talk about themselves as much as the Europeans do. But this is also a really interesting class!

Social Theory and Inequality – Where I’m learning about all the different injustices we all suffer every single day of our lives. Basically, the gist of this class is: nothing is fair, and there’s nothing we can do about it. It’s really uplifting!

Race, Ethnicity, and Identity – My professor talks about different races and ethnic identification while power shifting through his very text heavy slides as I sit in the back and copy down a word or two every once in a while. But when I can string a sentence together it’s pretty interesting!

Truthfully, I’m making it sound worse than it actually is. Every single one of my classes is extremely interesting, even if the material isn’t always the most lighthearted. And although some of my professors teach as though they’re stuck on fast forward, it’s nothing I can’t handle. The scary part is that for all of my classes the final exam counts for 90% of my grade. Yowza. But I’m sure there will be plenty of time to study while I’m traversing through Europe this spring. I’ll have a lot of time on the train, right? (REALLY Mom and Dad, EVERYTHING is under control!)

This weekend we’re going on a trip to Northern Ireland through our IFSA-Butler program. We’ll be staying in Belfast and visiting Giant’s Causway, Dunluce Castle, and Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge which are all supposed to be really awesome! This time I’ll make sure my camera battery doesn’t die on me in an absolutely crucial and life changing moment. Bollocks!

Until next time!

Cockles and Mussels Alive, Alive Oh!

This post will be dedicated to the woman whose legendary song has become the unofficial anthem of Dublin City: Molly Malone.

I’ve been wanting to write a blog about this ever since Molly peaked my interest just a few short days after arriving in Dublin. The story goes that by day, Molly sold fresh fish from a wheel barrow that she wheeled around Dublin, but by night she made a living by “entertaining” various men. This struck me. A 17^th Century women who is a small business owner and prostitute gets a statue erected in the center of Dublin and inspires a song that has been lovingly belted out by generations of Irish. Interesting. Could Molly Malone have been the forerunner of women’s occupational and sexual liberation? Are we looking at one of the very first feminists?

I did a little more research on Molly and found that there is no evidence of an actual Molly Malone of this description having existed. It is more likely that the song was written as a representation of women like Molly who lived and worked in 17^th century Dublin. Even so, the idea that an independent woman like Molly Malone could be so well revered as to imbed herself as an established figure in Irish culture is both astounding and inspiring. Well … it’s inspiring to a feminist like myself who witnesses the relentless bashing of women’s sexuality on all too regular of a basis. So what does this say about cultural Irish attitudes towards women’s lib? Are the Irish more open minded than their conservative reputation leads us to believe? Is Molly Malone just an exception? Whatever the case may be, Molly still stands tall and proud smack in the center of downtown Dublin, and her legend lives on in the hearts of the Irish. Go get ‘em, girl!

Listen to the song here!

The (Limited Supply) Luck of the Irish

I think I may have overdrawn from my supply of Irish luck this past weekend, because I was definitely paying some fees. We ventured to Cork with a group of students from the Dublin International Students Society to see the sights and kiss the Blarney Stone! The DUISS committee, being the college kids that they are (and this being Ireland) decided to bring enough beer and hard cider for everyone on the bus! Great! Unfortunately, being the graceful girl that I am, my Stella Artois went straight into my lap instead of straight into my mouth (I know what you’re thinking, “Stella Artois?  Shouldn’t you be drinking Guinness?”  Not my bus, not my beer, not my choice. Beggars can’t be choosers). My jeans and the bus seat had more beer than I did. But, no fear! Jeans dry out! And dry out they did. Soon after, we arrived in cold and rainy Cork where all our tours happened to be outside. Yuck. My boots are a little worse for the wear but luckily my rain boots were nice and dry all the way back in Dublin! But, no fear! No one dies from being cold and wet for a few hours. So we trudged on to Blarney Castle, where I’ve been waiting to fulfill my lifelong dream of kissing the Blarney Stone (ambitious, I know). Right as I climb the last narrow windy staircase up to the tippity top of the castle … my camera dies. A stab in the heart! A kick when I’m down! But, no fear! The good thing about traveling in groups is that EVERYONE has a camera so I have plenty of pictures, they’re just stolen from my friends (considering the way my luck is going I’ll probably be looking at a copyright infringement lawsuit soon).

 There’s always a bright side though, right? My jeans dried, my boots aren’t mad at me anymore (I hope), and I’ve got plenty of mental pictures (although those are slightly harder to upload)! Not having a camera allowed me to enjoy Cork through my own lens instead of my camera’s. I had time to stop and enjoy the scenery as a moment of my own rather than as a digital snap shot. And Although I was slightly unprepared for being cold and soaked, I almost didn’t mind. Ireland is one of the few places that is truly beautiful even in dreary weather. Or, maybe even because of it. Something about the cold damp climate authenticates the Ireland experience, and makes it beautiful just by virtue of authenticity. To be honest, it almost feels wrong to call the weather dreary, because it’s such an accepted and, dare I say, valued part of Irish culture. Despite the way people here may gripe about the cold and the rain, I think they value the way it’s made them the tough Irish that they are. And without it, there might not be all the colorful and vibrant buildings you see around Ireland as a way of breaking up the gray monotony.

But enough with the weather analysis! The first thing we did in Cork was to visit Blarney Castle, home of the Blarney Stone. Ever since I can remember, I’ve always want to kiss the legendary stone! However, it was a much scarier experience than I expected. You have to sit down, lean over backwards, and kiss the stone upside down while holding on to two support bars. Meanwhile, you’re thinking about hanging over a gap where you can see straight down about 200 feet to the ground. Didn’t expect that one! After kissing the stone we walked around the different paths that led us through gardens and by a lake. It was absolutely beautiful! Later that night we went to a pub where we had fun listening to live Irish music. (Side note: anytime I’ve heard live Irish music here, the band always works in songs like Sweet Caroline and Country Roads. Confused? Me too, but I always love it!) We also visited a historic gaol and a museum on historical ships and vessels, both of which weren’t that interesting so I didn’t post any pictures of them. I apologize for the historical injustice I’m doing to these somewhat revered sites. I appreciated them for what they were … they were just kind of boring. The town of Cork itself was beautiful, and so was a Cathedral that we passed by and peeked into. We ended our adventures with a trip to the Jameson Distillery where I became a certified whiskey taster! I got to taste test between American, Scotch, and Irish whiskey. Call it what you will, but the Jameson was definitely my favorite.

So that’s Cork! Cold, wet, and beautiful. You can see the pilfered pictures of my trip here.