Despite my earlier skepticism, RAG Week has beaten out anything I've seen at Penn State. They started Sunday evening (maybe even afternoon) and are still going. Monday and Tuesday were the craziest days. Most apartments were having some sort of party and all the windows were open and everyone was out on the balconies and outside on the lawns, drinking. On my way to class on Monday there were dozens of kids on the bridge that takes you to school drinking out of cans and bottles in pure daylight at 11 a.m. Then it seemed to calm down by yesterday morning and I figured the worst of it was over. But that's only because I had been smart enough to avoid town at night the past couple of days -- mostly just because I was working on a big essay I have due next week.
Then there was last night. We ate dinner at my apartment (because it is currently the cleanest apartment) and then I went with my friends Tori and Paddy to the Kings Head. It's a more touristy pub, but I'm really starting to love it. We got often to see the band Donegal Catch, and its so great! It's made up of three male NUI Galway students. They all sing a little, though there is a main singer. One plays a sort of bongo-like drum, another (named Shaun, he's Paddy's friend) plays the banjo and the third plays acoustic guitar and sings. They are a cover band, but the best thing about them is that they do covers of popular American songs, but also covers of popular trad songs. Because they play stuff Americans and Irish alike know, everyone in the pub dances, claps and sings along. Some personal favorites are "Galway Girl," "Save Tonight" (yes, by Eve 6), "Ring of Fire," "Hills of Connemara," and the one that gets the most participation, "The Bog Down in the Valley."
Here's the song, sung by the Irish Descendants:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxgmAwoqr4E
After the concert was over the Kings Head closed, so we decided to head home. It was only about midnight and the streets were FILLED with college students. Most of them were drinking while walking down the street, singing and yelling. Mobs of them. There were also broken, and not broken, bottles littering the streets. And the Garda were all over the place trying to create order (i.e. stop the one kid from relieving himself onto a shop window) It was shocking, especially considering these kids have all been "on the beer," as they say, since Sunday. (And this is not to mention the "day drinking" I saw yesterday in town at one in the afternoon in the middle of shop street)
Classes were also pretty empty this week, and the teachers know it. All of them made RAG Week comments at the beginning of class. Some were pleased with the amount of students that showed to class and others were disappointed.
I don't want to give the Irish kids a totally bad rap, it is just one week that will soon be over, but at the same time it is way too excessive and really not a necessary thing. This week is supposed to be about raising money for charities. Last weekend Thon raised $7.4 million for kids with cancer, and now NUI Galway students are spending a week drinking, and maybe trying to raise 20,000 euro for charity. It definitely takes any good feeling about this week away.
But I must admit, it's still kind of funny. It is RAG Week after all ...
26 February 2009
22 February 2009
Capturing Castles
Yesterday was a trip around Galway and Offaly counties to look at castles for my Development of the Castle class. The class ended on Friday, it was only half the semester, so now I just have to write an essay for it by May. This also means I don't have class until 3 p.m. on Mondays, no class Tuesdays and no class until 2 p.m. on Thursdays. Sweeeeet.
But I'm a little sad the class is over. I thought it was very interesting and really liked the professor. The field trip was a lot of fun though! It was cool seeing what we learned about up close. We visited four castles -- and they're not like the fairy tale castles in Disney movies. We saw a fortified house, two tower houses and a crumbling masonry castle. The first one we saw was called Portumna Castle, it's a fortified house dating back to the early 17th century.
After that just a few miles down the road we went to Pallas Castle, which is a tower house built by the Anglo-Normans (as most of them were) dating back to the 16th century. It is surrounded by a bawn which is a defensive wall that surrounds the tower house. We got to climb up inside the tower, which was really cool.
(that's our professor chilling at the top, while another lecturer talked about the castle.)
(and me on the bawn wall!)
Then we saw another tower house, this one built by the Gaelic Irish. However, there was a bull inside of the bawn of the tower so we couldn't go inside of it. A lot of the properties around castles, especially smaller tower houses, are owned by local farmers and our professor wasn't able to get in contact with the owner of the land to check and see if the tower would be accessible.
Then we went on to lunch at a little restaurant/pub in Shannon. It was simple sandwiches, soup and chips. Chips here are fries and crisps are potato chips. Also, I have yet to have bad soup here - it is always amazing and usually some sort of seafood chowder or vegetable soup.
We then went on to the last castle, Clonmacnoise Castle. I think this one was by far my favorite just because of the location (right next to some bogs and the river Shannon) and also because it is falling apart - but in a really cool way. There is a fence surrounding it, so we snuck underneath to get a closer look - it was pretty funny seeing 50 kids wriggling their way under a fence. The castle is right by a monastery so we were also able to check that out. The monastery was founded in 545 by Saint Ciaran. It was one of the most famous monastery's in Ireland by the 9th Century. The cemetery near the monastery is filled with high crosses and a small church may hold the remains of the founder, St. Ciaran.
20 February 2009
Does PSU hold a candle to RAG Week?
Penn State is a big party school. It's a fact. You can go there and not drink a drop of alcohol for four years, but you can also spend every weekend there drinking, too. I mean, we are the No. 3 party school in the nation after all.
However, this week at NUI Galway is RAG Week. You may be wondering, "what is RAG Week?" Well, each year during RAG Week the Galway Students' Union organizes events to raise money for four selected charities. During RAG Week this year the charities include: CD's Helping Hands, Galway Rape Crisis Centre, L'Arche and the Belarussian Orphanage Project. It's sort of like Thon ... but no dancing or Greeks. And it's definitely not for the kids, because although RAG Week is supposed to be about charities, it's more about partying.
I'm a bit skeptical.
I've been at PSU for two and a half years and have witnessed my fair share of crazy partying, so how bad can RAG Week be? Apparently, pretty bad. It's just a week of drunken debauchery, at least according to everyone I've talked to about it. It seems like everything I've heard is pretty much truth about this week, but I'll believe it when I see it. Sunday and Monday are supposed to be the biggest days because by the end of the week everyone is in a hungover stupor.
Since the boys downstairs are basically the Irish version of Animal House, for them RAG Week has already commenced. They decided to start partying last night, probably after I passed out at 11 p.m., because I heard music playing around 1ish when my roommate came back, then at 5:30 a.m. when she opened our bedroom door to go to the bathroom and the party was still going on when I got up at 7:30 a.m. this morning for class. Wow.
I don't think I'll be getting much sleep this week. As they say: if you can't beat them, might as well join them.
However, this week at NUI Galway is RAG Week. You may be wondering, "what is RAG Week?" Well, each year during RAG Week the Galway Students' Union organizes events to raise money for four selected charities. During RAG Week this year the charities include: CD's Helping Hands, Galway Rape Crisis Centre, L'Arche and the Belarussian Orphanage Project. It's sort of like Thon ... but no dancing or Greeks. And it's definitely not for the kids, because although RAG Week is supposed to be about charities, it's more about partying.
I'm a bit skeptical.
I've been at PSU for two and a half years and have witnessed my fair share of crazy partying, so how bad can RAG Week be? Apparently, pretty bad. It's just a week of drunken debauchery, at least according to everyone I've talked to about it. It seems like everything I've heard is pretty much truth about this week, but I'll believe it when I see it. Sunday and Monday are supposed to be the biggest days because by the end of the week everyone is in a hungover stupor.
Since the boys downstairs are basically the Irish version of Animal House, for them RAG Week has already commenced. They decided to start partying last night, probably after I passed out at 11 p.m., because I heard music playing around 1ish when my roommate came back, then at 5:30 a.m. when she opened our bedroom door to go to the bathroom and the party was still going on when I got up at 7:30 a.m. this morning for class. Wow.
I don't think I'll be getting much sleep this week. As they say: if you can't beat them, might as well join them.
18 February 2009
When a new place becomes another home
Life here goes on as usual. Nothing amazing or incredible to post on, but I guess that's the point of living in a different country. You begin to live like the people there. Every minute might not be something fantastic, but it just becomes ... life. The new place where you are becomes another home. I have a lot of homes. Chester, State College and now Galway. This city really is great, small, and clean. It has a sort of character that Boston and NYC lack. And I don't think I've been this unstressed in a long time. Ireland is the 5th happiest nation in the EU, and I can believe it. It's just in the little things. People don't walk around with huge smiles on their faces 24/7, but they take life at a slower pace. They make time to go grab a pint at a pub for an hour or so. The pubs are restaurants, meeting places and you can even grab a cup of tea and sit outside of one. Also, most businesses (besides ones that sell food) and offices close down from 1 to 2 for lunch. Even here at the university most employees that aren't professors take the lunch break.
People here retain their youth I think, more than in America. Sure they have jobs and responsibilities and worries of their own, but that doesn't mean sacrificing the little joys in life. Like last night, I went to this crepe place in Centre City with some friends and we sat outside to eat and there was a man playing bongos on the street (there are ALWAYS street performers out, it's great) a group of middle aged couples was walking down the street when one man went up to the drummer and asked if he could try it out. So they played together for about 10 minutes. And everyone in his group and those of us outside really enjoyed the drumming.
We also went to the Crane Bar last night, which is the cutest little pub. Almost every Tuesday students and locals gather to play trad music. There were about 10 people playing last night, with every instrument from violins, tin whistles, an acoustic guitar, a harmonica and our friend Paddy on the Ulliean pipes.
I haven't really done to much as far as school work goes because there's not much I can do besides reading. I've so far read one book, Lolita, and written two short essays. I have an exam in Castles on Friday which I am going to study for today and tomorrow, but our teacher told us even if you guess on all of the questions, you'll still probably be able to pass. But I will have a bunch of essays in the next few weeks as mid-term week comes.
People here retain their youth I think, more than in America. Sure they have jobs and responsibilities and worries of their own, but that doesn't mean sacrificing the little joys in life. Like last night, I went to this crepe place in Centre City with some friends and we sat outside to eat and there was a man playing bongos on the street (there are ALWAYS street performers out, it's great) a group of middle aged couples was walking down the street when one man went up to the drummer and asked if he could try it out. So they played together for about 10 minutes. And everyone in his group and those of us outside really enjoyed the drumming.
We also went to the Crane Bar last night, which is the cutest little pub. Almost every Tuesday students and locals gather to play trad music. There were about 10 people playing last night, with every instrument from violins, tin whistles, an acoustic guitar, a harmonica and our friend Paddy on the Ulliean pipes.
I haven't really done to much as far as school work goes because there's not much I can do besides reading. I've so far read one book, Lolita, and written two short essays. I have an exam in Castles on Friday which I am going to study for today and tomorrow, but our teacher told us even if you guess on all of the questions, you'll still probably be able to pass. But I will have a bunch of essays in the next few weeks as mid-term week comes.
15 February 2009
A bicycle for two
This Saturday Arcadia took us on a trip to the Aran Islands. They are about a 45 minute drive and 20 minute boat ride from Galway, out in the Atlantic Ocean. There's three islands and we ended up going to Inis Mor, which means big island. The island has a population of about 800 and Irish is the predominant language on the island. It was really cool to finally hear people speaking to each other in Irish fluently.
In order to get around the island and see everything we took bikes. Those of you who know me well know I cannot ride a bike -- go figure. I guess I was just never willing to learn, I was a pretty unadventurous child, not that riding a bike is all that adventurous in the first place ... So obviously I was a little worried about getting around, but luckily my friend Adam was kind enough to agree to ride on a tandem bike for me (aka a bike built for two). Adam is quiet the thrill seeker so needless to say he biked very, very fast. It was a little terrifying but also pretty fun. We road around for about two hours going up and down hills, playing fetch with a local dog named Scout and taking pictures of the beautiful scenery.
But then my friend Courtney went down a rocky hill a little bit too fast and fell off her bike. She got a pretty bad cut from the fall so I accompanied her to the doctors office (being the smallest since there wasn't much room in the doctors van, and since I'm not an avid bike rider). We spent the better of two hours at the doctor's while she got the cut stitched up.
I didn't get to see all of the island, but it was still a fun day. Ireland just keeps getting more beautiful and the weather has been grand for this time of year. Warmish (high 40s, low 50s) and very little rain. AND I just booked a flight to Portugal!!!!! A bunch of my friends were going and figured why the heck not? We're not quiet sure exactly where in Portugal we are going to explore but we'll fly into Faro on March 4th and stay there until the 7th. I'm really excited to finally travel outside the country, and Portugal should be both beautiful and WARM.
Making our way up a hill on the island
In order to get around the island and see everything we took bikes. Those of you who know me well know I cannot ride a bike -- go figure. I guess I was just never willing to learn, I was a pretty unadventurous child, not that riding a bike is all that adventurous in the first place ... So obviously I was a little worried about getting around, but luckily my friend Adam was kind enough to agree to ride on a tandem bike for me (aka a bike built for two). Adam is quiet the thrill seeker so needless to say he biked very, very fast. It was a little terrifying but also pretty fun. We road around for about two hours going up and down hills, playing fetch with a local dog named Scout and taking pictures of the beautiful scenery.
But then my friend Courtney went down a rocky hill a little bit too fast and fell off her bike. She got a pretty bad cut from the fall so I accompanied her to the doctors office (being the smallest since there wasn't much room in the doctors van, and since I'm not an avid bike rider). We spent the better of two hours at the doctor's while she got the cut stitched up.
I didn't get to see all of the island, but it was still a fun day. Ireland just keeps getting more beautiful and the weather has been grand for this time of year. Warmish (high 40s, low 50s) and very little rain. AND I just booked a flight to Portugal!!!!! A bunch of my friends were going and figured why the heck not? We're not quiet sure exactly where in Portugal we are going to explore but we'll fly into Faro on March 4th and stay there until the 7th. I'm really excited to finally travel outside the country, and Portugal should be both beautiful and WARM.
Making our way up a hill on the island
12 February 2009
Bakeries ... more than just cookies
Throughout town, in the local grocery store and in between there are tons of bakeries. A little different than the States the bakeries here sell everything from the usual cookies to breads, scones, sandwiches and fresh brewed coffee. But the weirdest thing I have seen in bakeries here are pancakes. Yes, pancakes. Sitting between cookies that look like teddy bears and eclairs they have stacks of pancakes. I'm not really sure why ... and if they're even kept warm. I do need to try a pastry from a bakery soon, maybe tomorrow. They have Valentine's day treats out that look really good. I also wish I was celebrating a birthday here, a cake shaped like a pint of Guinness would be pretty sweet.
[On another note ... internet in my apartment still down. Thus the very few posts lately.]
08 February 2009
Week end
The word weekend here is actually pronounced as if it was two separate words. Not that the term even means much here since the weekend is just when the Irish students go home. The big nights to go out are Wednesday and Thursday.
We went out on Thursday night to The Kings Head (yeah, no apostrophe). That night there was a promotional event going on for a student fashion show. They had James Bond 007 playing in the background with subtitles, a DJ spinning popular American tunes and fancy cocktails for sale. Then around 10:30 a student the band went on. I really enjoyed them, they played a mix of classic rock and some trad music as well. It got really crowded toward the end, but was a fun night.
Friday night we decided to stay in so the girls all baked cookies and then we went over to the boys' apartment and watched The Quiet Man. It was a pretty cheesy, but interesting movie. It was filmed in the 50s in a town called Cong, which is only about 25 minutes outside of Galway. We actually went there on our bus trip to Connemara and the tour guide pointed out a lot of places where scenes in the movie were shot.
Saturday I walked into town to meet up with some friends and we went to the local farmers market. It's pretty cool and has all sort of different stands selling clothing, jewelry and of course food. There's a falafle stand, doughnut stand, fresh vegetables, sushi, and a big stand with lots of fresh fish (they were freaky looking, especially the big shrimp). After that the boys were hungry so they took us to Finnegan's, a pub/restaurant that supposedly has the best seafood chowder -- which I now totally agree with. The soup basically has whatever seafood the restaurant currently had in stock. I had no idea what was in it since I don't eat fish very often, but Paddy guessed there was squid, clam, salmon and lobster in it among others. I thoroughly enjoyed it. And whenever you get soup here you aways get a side of bread -- usually two slices of brown bread.
Last night was a failed attempt to go out to a club. The girls and I got all dressed up and went out, but since the students go home on weekends town wasn't too hopping. We tried GPO first but it was empty so we tried Cuba (the most popular club) but it was past midnight and there was a 10 euro entrance fee. We then tried Club K, but didn't like it at all. There's always college aged kids standing in the streets to stamp your hand to get into clubs for free (it's sweet, but the stamps are not easy to get off). One of the kids was really outgoing and had stamped our hands for Club K (right as we left Cuba). When he saw us leaving Club K he questioned us why we didn't like either club and then recommended another place. Well, we didn't like that either and had to walk past him again. He started slagging (kidding) us about not liking any of the clubs and being picky. Apparently he has 'regulars' because some American guys came up to him to get stamped while he was talking to us. We had seen the guys earlier in the lobby of my friend's building and when she told him we had seen the boys in her lobby there was no end to the slagging. We now know not to say someone is in our lobby, haha. Hopefully we will run into Gary again, he was a funny kid (and told us he would be there most weekends). In the end we just grabbed some fries at Supermacs -- basically the Irish version of McDonald's/Burger King -- and came back and passed out.
The Internet is STILL down in my apartment and has been for the past week and a half. I'm hoping it will be fixed by Monday, but reception hasn't been very good at telling us what's going on.
We went out on Thursday night to The Kings Head (yeah, no apostrophe). That night there was a promotional event going on for a student fashion show. They had James Bond 007 playing in the background with subtitles, a DJ spinning popular American tunes and fancy cocktails for sale. Then around 10:30 a student the band went on. I really enjoyed them, they played a mix of classic rock and some trad music as well. It got really crowded toward the end, but was a fun night.
Friday night we decided to stay in so the girls all baked cookies and then we went over to the boys' apartment and watched The Quiet Man. It was a pretty cheesy, but interesting movie. It was filmed in the 50s in a town called Cong, which is only about 25 minutes outside of Galway. We actually went there on our bus trip to Connemara and the tour guide pointed out a lot of places where scenes in the movie were shot.
Saturday I walked into town to meet up with some friends and we went to the local farmers market. It's pretty cool and has all sort of different stands selling clothing, jewelry and of course food. There's a falafle stand, doughnut stand, fresh vegetables, sushi, and a big stand with lots of fresh fish (they were freaky looking, especially the big shrimp). After that the boys were hungry so they took us to Finnegan's, a pub/restaurant that supposedly has the best seafood chowder -- which I now totally agree with. The soup basically has whatever seafood the restaurant currently had in stock. I had no idea what was in it since I don't eat fish very often, but Paddy guessed there was squid, clam, salmon and lobster in it among others. I thoroughly enjoyed it. And whenever you get soup here you aways get a side of bread -- usually two slices of brown bread.
Last night was a failed attempt to go out to a club. The girls and I got all dressed up and went out, but since the students go home on weekends town wasn't too hopping. We tried GPO first but it was empty so we tried Cuba (the most popular club) but it was past midnight and there was a 10 euro entrance fee. We then tried Club K, but didn't like it at all. There's always college aged kids standing in the streets to stamp your hand to get into clubs for free (it's sweet, but the stamps are not easy to get off). One of the kids was really outgoing and had stamped our hands for Club K (right as we left Cuba). When he saw us leaving Club K he questioned us why we didn't like either club and then recommended another place. Well, we didn't like that either and had to walk past him again. He started slagging (kidding) us about not liking any of the clubs and being picky. Apparently he has 'regulars' because some American guys came up to him to get stamped while he was talking to us. We had seen the guys earlier in the lobby of my friend's building and when she told him we had seen the boys in her lobby there was no end to the slagging. We now know not to say someone is in our lobby, haha. Hopefully we will run into Gary again, he was a funny kid (and told us he would be there most weekends). In the end we just grabbed some fries at Supermacs -- basically the Irish version of McDonald's/Burger King -- and came back and passed out.
The Internet is STILL down in my apartment and has been for the past week and a half. I'm hoping it will be fixed by Monday, but reception hasn't been very good at telling us what's going on.
04 February 2009
Pictures
Not much to update on and the internet has been down in my apartment complex for about a week. Everyone's pretty annoyed. Also, despite everyone saying that the Irish never do work the library is always very crowded. Then again, one of the Irish boys living downstairs has been to about five classes so far this semester. And I personally have never had so much relaxation time -- but it's really nice. I learned how to play Rummy last night -- I'm not very good.
Shop Street (the street that leads into the city where all the shops/pubs are)
Shop Street (the street that leads into the city where all the shops/pubs are)
The Claddagh (those clouds look a lot more ominous than they actually are)
The living room in my apartment:
02 February 2009
Cloudy with a chance of meatballs
I was very happy to see the bright beautiful sunshine this morning and not a cloud in the sky! Two hours later the clouds are back, it's still sunny ... but there's always clouds. Always.
01 February 2009
Little differences
Here's some differences I've observed in Ireland over the past few weeks.
* Tea. Tea. Tea. It's every where and pretty much everyone drinks it. ALL the time, more than coffee actually and every cafe offers tea. The coffee here is really not that great, but the tea is very good. I'm partial to Barry's gold blend or Earl Grey (Jen, we'll have to have many tea parties when I return!)
* Where American teenagers throw like in the middle of sentences the Irish tag it on at the end, like. Not all of them do it, but those who do use it a lot.
*Pubs = Everything. Haha. The pub is the place to be at night ... every night. It is expensive to go to the pubs all the time, but it is EXTREMELY different than going to an American bar. It is a place to gather with friends and talk over a pint, almost like talking over a cup of coffee in the states. Pubs also have GREAT food, so they are restaurants as well. While at PSU we would go out less often but drink more in one night, in Ireland they go out more often and drink less. (well ... not everyone, but a lot of people)
* Music. Trad music is abundant. People who know how to play instruments just get together and play. One of my friends is in the university trad club (traditional music club). They perform at a pub called the Crane Bar every Thursday and play traditional Irish instruments. My friend (who is American) plays the Uilleann pipes.
* They also say grand and lovely a lot. Awesome is not used, and they often will imitate you in a fake American accent if you say it. Dear means expensive and runners are sneakers.
* They also dress a lot more fashionably. Especially the girls. Even when it's gale force winds and raining many of the girls can be seen in tights and skirts or dresses. (No Northface or Uggs though)
There's more but those are the ones I can think of for now.
Also, my friend Aliza and I took a walk to the bay in Galway and it was beautiful. We walked out on the Mutton Causeway, which is just a strip of land jutting out into the Galway harbour. We weren't sure what was at the end because there was a lighthouse and some buildings ... turns out it's a sewage plant. But what we also didn't realize we where in Claddagh. I thought it was much further away from the city but it's actually right next to it. I thought it was a whole different town but apparently it's just the stony beach on the outskirts of Galway City.
Mutton Causeway. (We went all the way to where the lighthouse is.)
* Tea. Tea. Tea. It's every where and pretty much everyone drinks it. ALL the time, more than coffee actually and every cafe offers tea. The coffee here is really not that great, but the tea is very good. I'm partial to Barry's gold blend or Earl Grey (Jen, we'll have to have many tea parties when I return!)
* Where American teenagers throw like in the middle of sentences the Irish tag it on at the end, like. Not all of them do it, but those who do use it a lot.
*Pubs = Everything. Haha. The pub is the place to be at night ... every night. It is expensive to go to the pubs all the time, but it is EXTREMELY different than going to an American bar. It is a place to gather with friends and talk over a pint, almost like talking over a cup of coffee in the states. Pubs also have GREAT food, so they are restaurants as well. While at PSU we would go out less often but drink more in one night, in Ireland they go out more often and drink less. (well ... not everyone, but a lot of people)
* Music. Trad music is abundant. People who know how to play instruments just get together and play. One of my friends is in the university trad club (traditional music club). They perform at a pub called the Crane Bar every Thursday and play traditional Irish instruments. My friend (who is American) plays the Uilleann pipes.
* They also say grand and lovely a lot. Awesome is not used, and they often will imitate you in a fake American accent if you say it. Dear means expensive and runners are sneakers.
* They also dress a lot more fashionably. Especially the girls. Even when it's gale force winds and raining many of the girls can be seen in tights and skirts or dresses. (No Northface or Uggs though)
There's more but those are the ones I can think of for now.
Also, my friend Aliza and I took a walk to the bay in Galway and it was beautiful. We walked out on the Mutton Causeway, which is just a strip of land jutting out into the Galway harbour. We weren't sure what was at the end because there was a lighthouse and some buildings ... turns out it's a sewage plant. But what we also didn't realize we where in Claddagh. I thought it was much further away from the city but it's actually right next to it. I thought it was a whole different town but apparently it's just the stony beach on the outskirts of Galway City.
Mutton Causeway. (We went all the way to where the lighthouse is.)
27 January 2009
Castles, Kings, Knights and ... Classes
I'm finally 100% settled in! I registered with the Garda (police) today and got my visa so I won't get kicked out of the country. (this keyboard in the library is weird ... the letters are in the same place but not apostrophes and the @ sign) I also finally registered officially for all my classes although technically I've been attending them for two weeks. I had to register with both NUI Galway and Arcadia, so I'm glad that's all done. I also signed up for a trip to Belfast in February!
I picked a pretty random selection of classes to take and none of them have anything to do with journalism which is very weird (they only have MA in journalism here). But I figured I'm in a different country that offers totally different classes and I might as well study things I wouldn't at PSU. The classes are all lectures, except for one. I don't think the word quizzes is in the vocabulary here and neither is homework or busywork. All of the classes require quiet a lot of reading and each has about 1 to 2 essays and a final exam or essay. It's a bit weird to get used to because a lot of the reading has to be done at the library and there's really nothing besides that you can do until you have learned enough to get cracking on the essays.
Teaching style: it's a lot different. Especially because the majority of classes are large lectures (about 50-100 students) there's very little participation if any in class. Students come, take notes (well the Americans take notes) and leave. There's no attendance either. Most of the lectures can be found online, too -- it's a program called Blackboard but is the same as PSU's Angel and we also have webmail, but mine's not working. Ugh.
Another thing I've really noticed is there are a lot of nontraditional, or older students. They probably range everywhere from mid-40s to late 50s. I'm not sure why this is but there's at least two or three in all of my classes.
Here's a breakdown of my classes (modules):
The Development of the Castle (M T Th F - 12 to 1 p.m.)
This class is as simple as its title. It's about castles. The professor, Kieran O'Conor, is a nice middle aged man who well ... loves castles. As my friend Colin says the class is basically story time about castles. It was a little boring at the beginning because each lecture could pretty much be summed up in on sentence, but the class is definitely picking up. I mean it's an hour of looking at pictures of castles all over Europe! AND the class is four days a week so it's over Feb. 20th and we go on a field trip the weekend after class ends.
Women in Medieval Society (M W - 3 to 4 p.m.)
This so far is actually the most fascinating class I'm taking. Again the title is pretty self explanatory, but I just find it really cool. We're currently learning about all the ways people thought women and men were different physically in relation to the four humors and elements. The professor is a woman and while she seems a little strict she's very blunt and straight forward about the subject -- which is good. She tends to ramble a little, as many Irish do, but it's interesting rambling.
The History of the English Language (M - 4 to 6 p.m.)
This is a seminar and the only one I am in. Seminars are smaller classes that are more participation based than the lectures. Since you have to register for seminars separately from lectures I just started this one yesterday. I was a little wary at first because there's a lot of other languages that come in to play in the development of English but the teacher did a good job of explaining everything. I think it'll also be a way to meet other Irish and international students because of the smaller setting. I already met a nice Irish girl named Brite (pronounced breet). There's also a girl from Germany, a girl from Spain and one from Italy in my class so it's a good mix of students.
Celtic Mythology, Religion and Folklore (W 9-10 a.m. and Th 3 to 4 p.m.)
This class is definitely cool mostly because a.) I doubt they offer any Celtic classes at PSU and b.) It's very interpretive. There are two professors. A man on Wednesday who talks and looks like he hasn't slept in years and is perpetually light headed. But he's still pretty interesting and makes jokes, although they seem very dry because of the way he speaks. On Thursday there's a woman professor who always wears funky clothes and is very out there. She's definitely the kind of professor you would see teaching a mythology class. She told us from the start that the class is mostly interpretation -- nothing's definite in this class because mythology changes from source to source. A lot of it was originally oral, too and we don't know how seriously people thousands of years ago took some of it. Whether it's something they truly believed in or just stories they told to pass the time.
(Post)Modernism (M 2 to 3 p.m. and F 9 to 10 a.m.)
This is probably my least favorite class. And I think that's not because of the subject but the professor and the way the class is taught. The professor seems like a very intelligent man, but lectures as if this was a graduate class for those well versed in modernism and postmodernism. He speaks very slowly and is an extremely formal lecturer. The class is also HUGE so there is no discussion -- which I have never had before in an English class. So it's all his opinion and views of the works; I'm not a fan. But we will be reading some cool works, like Lolita and Clockwork Orange so that will be interesting to study when we get to them. Currently he's lecturing on Heart of Darkness ... I'm not much of a fan.
Political and Cultural Geography (W 3 to 4 p.m. and 5 to 6 p.m. ... yeah random hour in between)
I think this class so far is my favorite. Mostly because the teacher is much younger and very charismatic. The topic is also something I've never come close to taking before. Currently we're jut doing some background on the history of Ireland but since I am living in this country I am excited to learn more about the political differences around the country and Europe as well. The teacher is also good to talk about America as well in relation to everything because there are a lot of Americans in the class.
Those are all of them -- 6 is quiet the course load, but it's what's required. It equates to 30 NUIG credits but will be hopefully an 18 credit course load in PSU terms. And since there's really no busy work, only essays and exams, the workload shouldn't be bad at all. I just have to make sure not to leave all the essays to the last day because about 4 of them are all due April 6th. Ick. Well I should get going because it seems I'm in the only section of the library with computers and there's people waiting to use them. I also have to get my e-mail address figured out ...
Sorry for the incredibly long post! Hopefully I kept your attention!
I picked a pretty random selection of classes to take and none of them have anything to do with journalism which is very weird (they only have MA in journalism here). But I figured I'm in a different country that offers totally different classes and I might as well study things I wouldn't at PSU. The classes are all lectures, except for one. I don't think the word quizzes is in the vocabulary here and neither is homework or busywork. All of the classes require quiet a lot of reading and each has about 1 to 2 essays and a final exam or essay. It's a bit weird to get used to because a lot of the reading has to be done at the library and there's really nothing besides that you can do until you have learned enough to get cracking on the essays.
Teaching style: it's a lot different. Especially because the majority of classes are large lectures (about 50-100 students) there's very little participation if any in class. Students come, take notes (well the Americans take notes) and leave. There's no attendance either. Most of the lectures can be found online, too -- it's a program called Blackboard but is the same as PSU's Angel and we also have webmail, but mine's not working. Ugh.
Another thing I've really noticed is there are a lot of nontraditional, or older students. They probably range everywhere from mid-40s to late 50s. I'm not sure why this is but there's at least two or three in all of my classes.
Here's a breakdown of my classes (modules):
The Development of the Castle (M T Th F - 12 to 1 p.m.)
This class is as simple as its title. It's about castles. The professor, Kieran O'Conor, is a nice middle aged man who well ... loves castles. As my friend Colin says the class is basically story time about castles. It was a little boring at the beginning because each lecture could pretty much be summed up in on sentence, but the class is definitely picking up. I mean it's an hour of looking at pictures of castles all over Europe! AND the class is four days a week so it's over Feb. 20th and we go on a field trip the weekend after class ends.
Women in Medieval Society (M W - 3 to 4 p.m.)
This so far is actually the most fascinating class I'm taking. Again the title is pretty self explanatory, but I just find it really cool. We're currently learning about all the ways people thought women and men were different physically in relation to the four humors and elements. The professor is a woman and while she seems a little strict she's very blunt and straight forward about the subject -- which is good. She tends to ramble a little, as many Irish do, but it's interesting rambling.
The History of the English Language (M - 4 to 6 p.m.)
This is a seminar and the only one I am in. Seminars are smaller classes that are more participation based than the lectures. Since you have to register for seminars separately from lectures I just started this one yesterday. I was a little wary at first because there's a lot of other languages that come in to play in the development of English but the teacher did a good job of explaining everything. I think it'll also be a way to meet other Irish and international students because of the smaller setting. I already met a nice Irish girl named Brite (pronounced breet). There's also a girl from Germany, a girl from Spain and one from Italy in my class so it's a good mix of students.
Celtic Mythology, Religion and Folklore (W 9-10 a.m. and Th 3 to 4 p.m.)
This class is definitely cool mostly because a.) I doubt they offer any Celtic classes at PSU and b.) It's very interpretive. There are two professors. A man on Wednesday who talks and looks like he hasn't slept in years and is perpetually light headed. But he's still pretty interesting and makes jokes, although they seem very dry because of the way he speaks. On Thursday there's a woman professor who always wears funky clothes and is very out there. She's definitely the kind of professor you would see teaching a mythology class. She told us from the start that the class is mostly interpretation -- nothing's definite in this class because mythology changes from source to source. A lot of it was originally oral, too and we don't know how seriously people thousands of years ago took some of it. Whether it's something they truly believed in or just stories they told to pass the time.
(Post)Modernism (M 2 to 3 p.m. and F 9 to 10 a.m.)
This is probably my least favorite class. And I think that's not because of the subject but the professor and the way the class is taught. The professor seems like a very intelligent man, but lectures as if this was a graduate class for those well versed in modernism and postmodernism. He speaks very slowly and is an extremely formal lecturer. The class is also HUGE so there is no discussion -- which I have never had before in an English class. So it's all his opinion and views of the works; I'm not a fan. But we will be reading some cool works, like Lolita and Clockwork Orange so that will be interesting to study when we get to them. Currently he's lecturing on Heart of Darkness ... I'm not much of a fan.
Political and Cultural Geography (W 3 to 4 p.m. and 5 to 6 p.m. ... yeah random hour in between)
I think this class so far is my favorite. Mostly because the teacher is much younger and very charismatic. The topic is also something I've never come close to taking before. Currently we're jut doing some background on the history of Ireland but since I am living in this country I am excited to learn more about the political differences around the country and Europe as well. The teacher is also good to talk about America as well in relation to everything because there are a lot of Americans in the class.
Those are all of them -- 6 is quiet the course load, but it's what's required. It equates to 30 NUIG credits but will be hopefully an 18 credit course load in PSU terms. And since there's really no busy work, only essays and exams, the workload shouldn't be bad at all. I just have to make sure not to leave all the essays to the last day because about 4 of them are all due April 6th. Ick. Well I should get going because it seems I'm in the only section of the library with computers and there's people waiting to use them. I also have to get my e-mail address figured out ...
Sorry for the incredibly long post! Hopefully I kept your attention!
24 January 2009
22 January 2009
Goal achieved and time to explore
Finished my first Guinness last night! I went out to a pub called the Crane Bar with some friends. It was a pretty chill night, but my Guinness goal was achieved.
I think we're going to a Rugby game tomorrow evening and then taking a bus tour to Connemara on Saturday. We also were talking about having brunch together Sunday morning and decided on having a Brinner (breakfast, for dinner!) at my apartment around 3 p.m. on Sunday. So all day everyone is going to cook up a storm in their apartments and head here for a Brinner party! I think more than 20 people want to join in. It should be a good time.
I'll update again on Sunday about the weekend. And I register completely for courses on Monday so I'll be posting about them early next week.
~ Katie
P.S. If anyone would prefer to get e-mails of my blog posts I can add you to a list that will send them to you every time I update. Just leave a comment with your e-mail address.
I think we're going to a Rugby game tomorrow evening and then taking a bus tour to Connemara on Saturday. We also were talking about having brunch together Sunday morning and decided on having a Brinner (breakfast, for dinner!) at my apartment around 3 p.m. on Sunday. So all day everyone is going to cook up a storm in their apartments and head here for a Brinner party! I think more than 20 people want to join in. It should be a good time.
I'll update again on Sunday about the weekend. And I register completely for courses on Monday so I'll be posting about them early next week.
~ Katie
P.S. If anyone would prefer to get e-mails of my blog posts I can add you to a list that will send them to you every time I update. Just leave a comment with your e-mail address.
20 January 2009
There's no one as Irish as Barack Obama
It's so exciting that we can finally call Obama our president instead of president-elect. And it was also kind of cool to see the inauguration from another country -- one that really likes Obama a lot. The bar on campus called the College Bar held an inauguration party. It ended up being packed with both American and Irish students. Everyone clapped and cheered for Obama when he came out. There were even Irish kids with Obama shirts on -- they really love him as much as we do. Now I feel the need to do some more research into their government and leaders since they seem so knowledgeable about ours.
They are also REALLY proud of the fact that Obama's great-great-great-great grandfather is from Ireland. There was even a whole segment about it on the news last night. His relatives were from Moneygall and a band there even wrote a song about it. It's pretty entertaining!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0xFWbarrsc
Watching the inauguration from College Bar.
They are also REALLY proud of the fact that Obama's great-great-great-great grandfather is from Ireland. There was even a whole segment about it on the news last night. His relatives were from Moneygall and a band there even wrote a song about it. It's pretty entertaining!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0xFWbarrsc
Watching the inauguration from College Bar.
18 January 2009
Blustry Day and Cleaning Spree
This weekend was a lot of fun -- but very, very windy. Friday night I went to my friends' apartment in town and they made the group of us dinner. We then went to a pub in the Western (yeah the hotel) to see a friend of the boy who lives downstair play a session with some older gentlemen. It was a very calm quiet pub and the music was really good. Especially the little old man who played the tin whistle. The boy who lives below me, Colin, is here for the whole year so he'll be our go to guide for pubs and things to do. He's also very friendly with the Irish boys across the hall who live directly below my apartment. Both doors on that floor are always open and they just go in and out of each other's apartments as they please.
But before I get to that -- one thing that no one has yet to dispute is how horribly MESSY Irish students are. My apartment wasn't too bad, but nothing really seemed clean. I won't go into the gross details, but I just can't stand the kitchen to be dirty. I don't mind clutter or mess (my parents can attest to that) but I can't stand dirt and grime in a place where I have to eat and cook. So I spent two and a half hours scrubbing the kitchen, organizing my room and cleaning the bathroom. Now I don't have to wash every utensil before use and the apartment smells good.
On Saturday night the boys on floor two came out with us. Their names are Pauric and Keiran and their course is science (course = major) They are really nice boys and a lot of craic ... and they also seem to like to have a lot of craic because they had a party last Sunday and it was really loud. But now I can go to the parties instead of hearing it through my bedroom floor.
We went to a pub, which was more like a club, called the Living Room. It was pretty crowded and looked like an American bar so we left and went to the Quays - which is definitely my favprite pub here. It's huge so we can always find a table, the DJs are good and it more often than not has live music. And a lot of live trad (traditional Irish) music, too.
The Quays!
After the pub the boys showed me their apartments and ... GROSS. So I had to show them a clean apartment that smelled good and didn't have days old food on the table and counters. They were very impressed and didn't want to leave -- and subsequently stayed talking to my roommate and I until about 5:30 a.m. We just listened to lots of music loudly and talked. I'm really glad they live so close and I have a feeling I'm going to have lots of good times with those boys. Now I just need to work on understanding their accents, which can be a bit difficult at times.
14 January 2009
When it rains, it pours
The uncharacteristically nice weather Galway has been having the last few days has finally come to an end. It's currently pouring out and has been since I woke up at 7 this morning (it's now 10:40) and it doesn't look like it's going to stop any time soon. The 15 minute walk to campus was not very pleasant. My coat worked well to keep the top half of my body dry but my jeans got soaked and so did my face and even hair, despite wearing a hood.
I saw no one with an umbrella today on campus and realized why -- they're totally useless. The wind coming of the Corrib River is quite vicious. It seems to hate umbrellas and tries to pull them from your grasp or turn them inside out. I saw a few people (Americans, of course) struggling to keep control of theirs. But I guess the weather is something I'll have to just get used to, and hope that it doesn't rain like this everyday.
Here's a picture from a few days ago of the walk I take to and from school. (shot walking in the direction of my apartment) The body of water is the Corrib River -- it runs straight through the city of Galway.
I saw no one with an umbrella today on campus and realized why -- they're totally useless. The wind coming of the Corrib River is quite vicious. It seems to hate umbrellas and tries to pull them from your grasp or turn them inside out. I saw a few people (Americans, of course) struggling to keep control of theirs. But I guess the weather is something I'll have to just get used to, and hope that it doesn't rain like this everyday.
Here's a picture from a few days ago of the walk I take to and from school. (shot walking in the direction of my apartment) The body of water is the Corrib River -- it runs straight through the city of Galway.
11 January 2009
Tons of Craic
This weekend was my homestay and it was a ton of fun ... erm craic. I stayed with a family in a county called Tuam. It was really cool to see how they live and interact with each other and Americans. There were two girls, Amanda age 10 and Rachel who was 15. They were used to hosting exchange students and travel to America about once a year. The house was pretty much in the middle of nowhere and very simple on the outside just grey stone and no garage. But inside it was very nice with oak floors and yellow walls. The family seemed to be pretty well to do. The girls had tvs in their rooms and a flat screen on the wall in the family room - but it was a small house. They were extremely welcoming and friendly. When we got there on Friday - I was with another American girl also named Katie, the mom had made dinner which was pretty simple but delcious. She wasn't sure what we would like so there was salad, pizza and chicken fingers.
The parents had to run out and buy some food so after dinner we just talked to the older girl for a while. It was interesting to talk to her and hear he talk about the lads in her class (she'd be a sophomore in high school in America) and they all wear uniforms in school. She also called a hair tie a go-go which was a little confusing at first. Later that night we watched Mamma Mia, which the girls adored and they sang along to all the songs -- even the mom and dad joined in on the singing.
Saturday we helped prepare for a party they were having with the neighbors that night. The neighbors had children ages 6-9, and they were adorable. We all played Sing Star together. For dinner our host mom served finger foods like veggie rolls, chicken wings, potatoes (of course) and pastries with a mushroom/chicken sauce which was absolutley delicious. I feel like all I did this weekend was eat. After dinner the drinking started, and I've never seen adults drink that much before. But they were all incredibly nice and just had a really good time. Even the older mothers new the words to current American pop music and we all created a dance to Katy Perrys 'Hot 'n' Cold.' It was hilarious. Later on in the night the Irish pub style music came on and everyone danced to Galway Girl -- even the older men. They really enjoy songs they can clap and sing along to. The party was probably nosier than any Penn State one I have been to -- and lasted longer. The neighbors didn't leave until 3:30 a.m.
I'm trying to think of the differences, but there aren't too many. The children are involved in a lot of activities from dance to swimming and singing. They usually spend the weekends haging out or going to friends houses or into Galway City - which is about a 25 min. drive. Sometimes their accents were hard to understand as were some terms of phrase. They cursed a lot (except for the 10 year old), fuck and shit are just part of the normal vocabulary. They don't use it excessivley but more than any American parents I have known. They also slag (kid) each other a lot more. They like making fun of one another and just making jokes. Irish people definitely love to laugh. They especially liked kidding us about our accents like the way we pronounced their county.
~ Katie
The parents had to run out and buy some food so after dinner we just talked to the older girl for a while. It was interesting to talk to her and hear he talk about the lads in her class (she'd be a sophomore in high school in America) and they all wear uniforms in school. She also called a hair tie a go-go which was a little confusing at first. Later that night we watched Mamma Mia, which the girls adored and they sang along to all the songs -- even the mom and dad joined in on the singing.
Saturday we helped prepare for a party they were having with the neighbors that night. The neighbors had children ages 6-9, and they were adorable. We all played Sing Star together. For dinner our host mom served finger foods like veggie rolls, chicken wings, potatoes (of course) and pastries with a mushroom/chicken sauce which was absolutley delicious. I feel like all I did this weekend was eat. After dinner the drinking started, and I've never seen adults drink that much before. But they were all incredibly nice and just had a really good time. Even the older mothers new the words to current American pop music and we all created a dance to Katy Perrys 'Hot 'n' Cold.' It was hilarious. Later on in the night the Irish pub style music came on and everyone danced to Galway Girl -- even the older men. They really enjoy songs they can clap and sing along to. The party was probably nosier than any Penn State one I have been to -- and lasted longer. The neighbors didn't leave until 3:30 a.m.
I'm trying to think of the differences, but there aren't too many. The children are involved in a lot of activities from dance to swimming and singing. They usually spend the weekends haging out or going to friends houses or into Galway City - which is about a 25 min. drive. Sometimes their accents were hard to understand as were some terms of phrase. They cursed a lot (except for the 10 year old), fuck and shit are just part of the normal vocabulary. They don't use it excessivley but more than any American parents I have known. They also slag (kid) each other a lot more. They like making fun of one another and just making jokes. Irish people definitely love to laugh. They especially liked kidding us about our accents like the way we pronounced their county.
~ Katie
09 January 2009
Class
We had more orientations today, and I'm getting a little tired of them. But these ones were more fun because they were about our classes! Because I'm mostly taking elective classes I can pretty much choose any ones I want. There's a lot of really neat classes and the system for registering them and the way the classes are run is so different here.
For the first two weeks of class there's a 'shop around' period where we can go to any class we want, check it out and then if we like it register for it in about 2 weeks. Lecture classes are large so anyone can join those, there's no cap on them. But the seminars are the smaller classes so to register to get into those you have to go to the department early on a set day and sign up for the class. Some people get there at 4 am to wait in line to register!! There's one seminar I really want to take, but I won't be getting up quite that early. It's a children's literature class -- they study books like Hole and Stardust! It looks like a really interesting class so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Most of the others are lectures so I won't have a problem getting into those. Some I may take include, a class about castles, women in medieval times, a class on modernism and postmodernism, an Irish cultures class, and Celtic mythology and folklore.
The classes are also run a little differently. There's not as much emphasis on class participation or attendance. In lectures the teachers pretty much just lecture the whole time and the students diligently take notes. And there's also not many grades about 70% of every class is based on one exam or essay. There may be another essay or mid-term for the class, but not for all of them. Another weird thing is how little it seems students are in class. We have classes until the beginning of April. Then it's a break for Easter and many teachers cancel classes at the beginning of the week because students like to go home, then we have a two week spring break, a week to study for finals and then about a month of finals. It's weird, but I think I'm going to like it.
Pubs
We went out to the pubs last night and it was really a lot of fun. The first one was called McSwiggens (sweet name!) since the students are still on break the town is pretty quiet right now. There's about 15 thousand at NUIG and another 7,000 at another school close by - it's a big college town. So there weren't many people at the first bar but it was quiet and had a fire going and was definitely what I imagined an Irish pub would look like. At the pub my friend Adrienne and I got Kopparberg pear cider. It was delicious. After a pint there we went ot the Kings Head, which is supposed to be one of the best pubs in Galway -- and I would agree. It was really cool with lots of floors and a live band EVERY night! The band last night was great. They played a lot of late 80s and 90s music. The Irish are really into 90s American music. American music plays everywhere -- which is a little disapointing, but it's pretty good American music I must admit. The band also played one of my favorite new songs, 'Galway Girl.' It made me very happy to hear it played and all the Irish people in the bar sang along because it's a very popular song over here. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrwqLhhsMEU&feature=related). The pubs really are the hub of social life in Galway. People of all ages just go there to hang out, listening to music and socialize with family and friends.
The pubs close around midnight and then a lot of younger people go out to the clubs which are open later. On the main street here - shop street - people stand outside and stamp your hand so you can get into the clubs for free. It's really cool! And one of the clubs we checked out before going home had the Arcade Fire playing, which basically made my night.
Tonight is my homestay in the town of Tuam. I'm really excited for that! I get to stay with an Irish family from tonight until Sunday afternoon. I know a little about the family - the mother is a caterer, the husband a driver, they have two daughters who are 10 and 15 and a dog named Fluffy. I'm not bringing my laptop with me, but I'll post about the weekend when I get back on Sunday.
Keep reading!
~Katie
For the first two weeks of class there's a 'shop around' period where we can go to any class we want, check it out and then if we like it register for it in about 2 weeks. Lecture classes are large so anyone can join those, there's no cap on them. But the seminars are the smaller classes so to register to get into those you have to go to the department early on a set day and sign up for the class. Some people get there at 4 am to wait in line to register!! There's one seminar I really want to take, but I won't be getting up quite that early. It's a children's literature class -- they study books like Hole and Stardust! It looks like a really interesting class so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Most of the others are lectures so I won't have a problem getting into those. Some I may take include, a class about castles, women in medieval times, a class on modernism and postmodernism, an Irish cultures class, and Celtic mythology and folklore.
The classes are also run a little differently. There's not as much emphasis on class participation or attendance. In lectures the teachers pretty much just lecture the whole time and the students diligently take notes. And there's also not many grades about 70% of every class is based on one exam or essay. There may be another essay or mid-term for the class, but not for all of them. Another weird thing is how little it seems students are in class. We have classes until the beginning of April. Then it's a break for Easter and many teachers cancel classes at the beginning of the week because students like to go home, then we have a two week spring break, a week to study for finals and then about a month of finals. It's weird, but I think I'm going to like it.
Pubs
We went out to the pubs last night and it was really a lot of fun. The first one was called McSwiggens (sweet name!) since the students are still on break the town is pretty quiet right now. There's about 15 thousand at NUIG and another 7,000 at another school close by - it's a big college town. So there weren't many people at the first bar but it was quiet and had a fire going and was definitely what I imagined an Irish pub would look like. At the pub my friend Adrienne and I got Kopparberg pear cider. It was delicious. After a pint there we went ot the Kings Head, which is supposed to be one of the best pubs in Galway -- and I would agree. It was really cool with lots of floors and a live band EVERY night! The band last night was great. They played a lot of late 80s and 90s music. The Irish are really into 90s American music. American music plays everywhere -- which is a little disapointing, but it's pretty good American music I must admit. The band also played one of my favorite new songs, 'Galway Girl.' It made me very happy to hear it played and all the Irish people in the bar sang along because it's a very popular song over here. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrwqLhhsMEU&feature=related). The pubs really are the hub of social life in Galway. People of all ages just go there to hang out, listening to music and socialize with family and friends.
The pubs close around midnight and then a lot of younger people go out to the clubs which are open later. On the main street here - shop street - people stand outside and stamp your hand so you can get into the clubs for free. It's really cool! And one of the clubs we checked out before going home had the Arcade Fire playing, which basically made my night.
Tonight is my homestay in the town of Tuam. I'm really excited for that! I get to stay with an Irish family from tonight until Sunday afternoon. I know a little about the family - the mother is a caterer, the husband a driver, they have two daughters who are 10 and 15 and a dog named Fluffy. I'm not bringing my laptop with me, but I'll post about the weekend when I get back on Sunday.
Keep reading!
~Katie
07 January 2009
The Cultural Capital of Ireland
I'm finally all moved in and unpacked in Galway. I'll try to update as often as possible now that I have constant and secure internet, because if I don't post often my entries are going to be far too long.
On Tuesday we had to go to a lot of meetings and then went to see a play at the Dublin Theatre. It was a comedy called The Playboy of the Western World - a modernized version. It was funny at times and also kind of weird. But I enjoyed really hearing the Irish accents. After the play we went to a bar right near the hostel called The Bachelor. I got a Smithwick's which is actually really good and easy to drink. Guinness was a little much for me -- but I will finish a pint before I leave! Everyone is really friendly at the pubs. They like to chat with you and alway ask you where in America you're from and what university you study at. They just have a good time.
Today we got into Galway around 12:30. It's about a three and a half hour drive away from here. I may go back for St. Patty's day, be we'll see. The apartments are pretty nice. I'm rooming with another girl going through the Arcadia program, but there's three rooms in the apartment so we could have up to 4 other roommates -- presumably Irish girls by their stuff in the apartment. Hopefully they're nice ... it could be a great chance to really learn about the culture.
The city is soooooo cute! It's a lot less Americanized than Dublin and has cobbled stoned side walks that have so many different stores and pubs. Shop street is the main one. It's a very hort street but the pubs and shops are all crammed really close to one another -- it's great. I haven't seen too much of it yet, but I can't wait to explore. We also have Irish boys living across the hall -- I can't wait to meet them!
Some interesting things/differences:
** The Irish are very into the environment, so they try to conserve energy any way they can, and money too. They never turn the heat up too high or leave it on (the apartment is currenly freezing!) They try not to use plastic bags and actually charge you for them.
** I have to get used to a few things: Military time, metric system, roundabouts and cars being on the opposite side of the road.
** They usually attend school for 3 yrs and like most European countries it's free.
** You don't have to tip ... pretty much ever. They get paid $1o or so an hour so it's not necessary to tip.
** You don't say restroom or bathroom, it's the toilet
** Never say can I have a ride, it's can I have a lift. A lift is also an elevator.
** Craic (pronounced crack) means fun. Was a little weird when an Irish person says, 'are you having craic?'
~ Katie
On Tuesday we had to go to a lot of meetings and then went to see a play at the Dublin Theatre. It was a comedy called The Playboy of the Western World - a modernized version. It was funny at times and also kind of weird. But I enjoyed really hearing the Irish accents. After the play we went to a bar right near the hostel called The Bachelor. I got a Smithwick's which is actually really good and easy to drink. Guinness was a little much for me -- but I will finish a pint before I leave! Everyone is really friendly at the pubs. They like to chat with you and alway ask you where in America you're from and what university you study at. They just have a good time.
Today we got into Galway around 12:30. It's about a three and a half hour drive away from here. I may go back for St. Patty's day, be we'll see. The apartments are pretty nice. I'm rooming with another girl going through the Arcadia program, but there's three rooms in the apartment so we could have up to 4 other roommates -- presumably Irish girls by their stuff in the apartment. Hopefully they're nice ... it could be a great chance to really learn about the culture.
The city is soooooo cute! It's a lot less Americanized than Dublin and has cobbled stoned side walks that have so many different stores and pubs. Shop street is the main one. It's a very hort street but the pubs and shops are all crammed really close to one another -- it's great. I haven't seen too much of it yet, but I can't wait to explore. We also have Irish boys living across the hall -- I can't wait to meet them!
Some interesting things/differences:
** The Irish are very into the environment, so they try to conserve energy any way they can, and money too. They never turn the heat up too high or leave it on (the apartment is currenly freezing!) They try not to use plastic bags and actually charge you for them.
** I have to get used to a few things: Military time, metric system, roundabouts and cars being on the opposite side of the road.
** They usually attend school for 3 yrs and like most European countries it's free.
** You don't have to tip ... pretty much ever. They get paid $1o or so an hour so it's not necessary to tip.
** You don't say restroom or bathroom, it's the toilet
** Never say can I have a ride, it's can I have a lift. A lift is also an elevator.
** Craic (pronounced crack) means fun. Was a little weird when an Irish person says, 'are you having craic?'
~ Katie
05 January 2009
Hops, Barley and Yeast
Today was quite a busy one -- and really amazing. There were meetings all morning about Ireland's culture and Galway but after that we were given free passes for a bus tour around Dublin. We went to see St. Patrick's Cathedral, which was really amazing. It felt a little weird because we had to pay to get in and right inside there was a gift shop section -- kind of a disconcerting thing to see in a church. But the inside we very beautiful with plaques telling all about the cathedral. Most of it seemed untouched as well which was neat. After that we took the bus to the Guinness factory, which was awesome!!
At the top there was a bar and we got a free pint of Guinness, my first ever! It was OK ... I'll have to get used to the taste. But the ost amazing part was that the bar at the top was very high up and had a gorgeous view of the city. You could see all of Dublin from up there. We spent a long time just looking out the window, we didn't want to leave.
After that we went to mass at St. Patrick's -- which was very beautiful. The men's choir sang and were just amazing.
St. Patrick's Cathedral (yes, sunny weather!)
The view from the Guinness factory (as the sun sets! Around 4 ...)
At the top there was a bar and we got a free pint of Guinness, my first ever! It was OK ... I'll have to get used to the taste. But the ost amazing part was that the bar at the top was very high up and had a gorgeous view of the city. You could see all of Dublin from up there. We spent a long time just looking out the window, we didn't want to leave.
After that we went to mass at St. Patrick's -- which was very beautiful. The men's choir sang and were just amazing.
St. Patrick's Cathedral (yes, sunny weather!)
The view from the Guinness factory (as the sun sets! Around 4 ...)
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