The day the world is Irish

Ah, St. Patrick's Day. The day everyone celebrates the patron saint of Ireland by drinking and partying, thinking how great it is to be Irish (or wishing they knew how great it is). It's never been too big of a deal for me, but being smack in the middle of Ireland, this year I decided to celebrate in style in Dublin. Well, OK, "in style" was a lie, but I was in Dublin. The city is on the opposite side of the country, but it's only about a 3 hour bus ride away from Limerick. It seems to me like Ireland is a lot of farmland spotted by a few larger cities and Dublin appears to be a classier one. I didn't get to see much of the city besides O'Connell street, which is where the parade is held, but I'd like to go back and see more. Almost everyone was dressed in green, a lot of people had crazy hats as well, including viking helmets and Native American headdresses. We arrived at 10am, in time to stake out some prime spots to watch the parade. It was a long two and a half hours waiting for it to start but it was well worth it. The parade lasted for an hour and a half. Coming from Eau Claire, most parades I've seen are a few marching bands and a few floats, but this was beyond that. There were marching bands, a high school one from Louisiana and a college band from North Carolina State, as well as other bands from Ireland and Austria. Military members. Dogs. Horses. Then some awesome costumes--some people were dressed up to represent different cultures, others were horses, giraffles, or even eggs. The best ones in my opinion were the giant bugs brought by a group from Spain. After the parade, we went to visit the Guinness factory in Dublin. It was pretty good; there was a tour you could take on your own that went through how they make Guinness, the history of the company, you know, typical museum-type stuff. I found out that Arthur Guinness signed a 9000 year lease for the land (no, that's not a typo), why some of the ads have a toucan (and that the toucan replaced a pelican), and tried some samples of Guinness and Guinness bread. It's awesome--I am going to try to find a recipe for that as soon as I get back to the States. While I don't despise it, I think I'll need to drink more dark beer before I can actually say that I like Guinness, but it makes good bread.

Surf in Sligo

I know I said I would starting blogging right after things happened, but this will be about last weekend. Oops, there goes that resolution. Just want to say first that the weather over here is getting nicer and nicer. I can actually wear a t-shirt outside when I run! Also, the Great Limerick Run appears to be impenetrable to people trying to sneak in. Not that I would want run it officially either--$70 for a t-shirt and a "specially commissioned memento". Whatever that is. I'm guessing a bumper sticker or a cheap quality hat. But back to last weekend. While the other girls in the house were off in Belfast, I went with the UL Kayaking Club to a town outside of Sligo, northern part of Ireland, but not so far as to actually be in Northern Ireland. I was expecting early 7am mornings followed by hard half-day trips on the coast. What actually happened was slightly different. We were supposed to leave the boathouse at 6pm, but after packing a van full of kayaks and equipment, we ended up pulling out closer to 7pm. The stop for food turned into a stop for liquor. I ended up buying my first bottle of alcohol, some wine cooler that I figured would last for a good week. How wrong I was. That was empty by Sunday. It was delicious though, and don't worry parents, I didn't get buzzed or anywhere close to drunk. Most everyone else did, though. We stayed in some summer cottages that had a great view of the ocean, but not enough beds for everyone. Some of us had to make do with couch cushions on the floor. Surf kayaking turned out to be a lot harder than I expected. After you put a deck on, you really don't want to have to get out and pull your kayak further into the waves. So, you have to wait until they come to you, then alternately scoot and paddle as hard as you can until you finally reach water deep enough to float in. Then, you fight the waves to get out far enough, look for a decent one, and try your best to ride it in without capsizing. If you do capsize (which I did several times), you are punished for your failure by having to drag the kayak back into shore far enough so you can dump the water out of it without the sea pushing any more back in. Then, carry it closer to the waves, and get to ready to scoot/paddle out there to do it all over again. Having said all that, surf kayaking is awesome; I would definitely recommend doing it at least once. The first time you go under is a little scary (and if the weather was warmer, it would've definitely been a plus), but it's still pretty fun. At least with the club, there were always people on shore to help if you needed it or give some advice on how to improve. We would only go for about an hour or so at a time, too, and the second beach we went to was one that you could just sit and relax on if you needed a break. The nights were fairly memorable, except the bar we went to was inhabited by people mostly over 60, so I don't think they appreciated the crowd of college kids who'd just finished a few games of cups and beer pong (note: I wasn't involved in the drinking games, just a spectator). The Saturday lunch was wonderful. They gave us a cardboard box filled with potatos, carrots, frozen peas, two chickens and some ham. Possibly the best chicken I've had since coming to Ireland. Some guys turned on the TV to watch the Ireland v. Wales rugy match and all of a sudden it felt like a Sunday lunch in Wisconsin with a football game on. Great, great craic.

Procrastination, part II

I'm really trying to avoid posting things weeks after I've done them, so this time, I'm getting starting right away. One thing I haven't mentioned yet is the Ballyhoura Forest, about 45 minutes away from Limerick. It's a hilly area with some great trails through the woods and you'll be rewarded with an amazing view once you reach the top, or even just halfway up. I didn't have my camera with me; it was my first mountain biking experience and I was afraid to bring anything fragile and expensive, but that's another spot I would recommend visiting if you get the chance. I saw my first rugby game in Thomond Stadium this week, which is a great substitute for football. I also hailed my first taxi, after the bus that was supposed to bring us back to the university failed to show up.... Back to this weekend, yesterday I went on a day tour organized by the UL. We stopped first at Bunratty Castle, but that was mainly a quick picture opportunity. Then we drove to the Cliffs of Moher (Mow-hair), which are also the Cliffs of Insanity for fans of the Princess Bride. It was amazing!!! We were only able to see a little bit of everything there, and I definitely want to go see the rest. They drop 214 meters into the ocean, so it's a very awe-inspiring sight. There's also a Visitor Center built into the hill with a exhibit about the environment along the cliffs, and O'Brian's Tower, built in 1835 by a landlord to entertain his guests. You can pay 2 euro to climb to the top; I just walked on the trail. There's also a sign halfway along warning visitors to not go past it, naturally it's ignored by everyone. Then we visited the Burren, also along the coast. Where we were, it was mostly rock, with a few grasses and other plants growing where they could. Picturesque, but it seems like hiking country to me--you aren't too tempted to spend a lot of time in the same spot. After the Burren, we went to the Ailwee Caves, discovered in 1940 by a farmer who was following his dog that had chased a rabbit down into the caves. They think it was used by bears to hibernate back in the day; they've found a few bear bones and a pawprint. It's really pretty, too; it's limestone and there are a few underground streams and a waterfall, which I always enjoy seeing. The last stop we made was a quick one to see the Poulnabrone Portal Tomb, which was a must-see for me. It was supposedly built before Stonehenge in England; 22-28 people were found buried underneath it. I had originally thought we wouldn't have enough time at each place, but I think I saw enough to know what places were worth more than one visit (Cliffs of Moher!).

Procrastination, part I

Quick update: I wish I had more time to tell about the Cork weekend trip, but I will say two things: if you ever visit Ireland, Cork is definitely a place you should visit! Especially the English Market; it's pretty much a huge indoor farmers market. You can find the usual meat and vegetables, but you can also buy squid, rabbit, oh, and chocolate! I made sure to sample some of that (Valentine's weekend, what can I say?) and I highly recommend it! Second: you should also visit Blarney Castle. Yes, getting to kiss the famed Blarney Stone is cool, but in my opinion, the highlight of the visit was the castle itself and the walking around the castle grounds. There were a lot of posted signs inside the castle, so you get to learn about what daily life was like back in its heyday; I found out that I would not live in one--I thought it was really chilly and damp inside. The view from the top was beautiful; you could see for miles. But, back to outside of the castle, there is the Blarney House, which was built in the late 19th century. I wasn't able to visit it this time, but I want to go back and make up for that. There's also a cool dungeon built under the castle that you can crawl around in. The best part, though, is the Rock Close, a garden area that honestly feels like you are in Middle Earth. Unfortunately, my camera batteries died right as we were walking in, but I would go to this website to see awesome pics: http://www.blarneycastle.ie/attractions/view/13. They've got the obligatory cool names for sites, like the "wishing steps" and the "witch's kitchen", too. I imagine it's even prettier in spring when flowers start blooming. There's a waterfall leading into a river and paths you could wander for hours. There are also walking routes around the entire estate, but there wasn't enough time to try either of them.

Hiking in the Gaeltacht

Last weekend I went hiking in the Dingle Peninsula with the Outdoor Pursuits Club. It was great craic, but it was also really intense. I was expecting some light hiking for half of the day and I was very wrong. We started climbing up a good sized hill on farmland and I don't think we went downhill for a few hours. The ground actually became wetter, too, the farther up went! We jumped over or climbed under a few barbwire fences, as well, and spotted sheep everywhere. When we finally reached the top of a tall hill, I thought we'd made it, but then after a quick lunch break, we walked along the top of the ridge and proceeding to scale an even steeper, taller mountain. After a group picture, we carefully went down the other side of the mountain towards a boggy area. Now, we were finishing up the hike at a pub and as far as we could see at the top, there was no pub in sight. So, once we got to bottom, we set off through the bog towards a path between two large hills. There were a few smaller, beautiful waterfalls that flowed into a river and then into a lake. You could see old stone walls dividing the land (and sheep herds); I wonder how long they've been up there. I can't even imagine how long it took to carry the stones up there to build them! We did finally make it to the South Pole Inn, built by Tom Crean, who is a local hero for exploring the Antarctic. This was my first trip into the Irish countryside and it was amazing!!! I can't believe how pretty it is over here. On the drive there, we went along the coast and I wished I could just backpack through there for a weekend. The Dingle Peninsula is a Gaeltacht-an area where Irish is a primary language. One of our guides explained to us that you need to prove you're fluent in Irish to build a house there; it's part of a government effort to revive Irish culture. Also, people who live in that area get extra government funding to go to college....unfortunately, it doesn't apply to study abroad students who know Irish. Oh well, it's not like I know any Irish yet anyway!

Rave Run!

So, I've been in Ireland for almost 2 weeks now and I'm gradually getting used to being here. But, the best way for me to put down roots is to go running, and I've gone outside several times, when I'm not using my automatic gym membership. I've gotten my bearings for some of the area around Castletroy, but I'm more of a trail runner myself. I wasn't looking forward to 4 months of dodging traffic and feeling concrete sidewalk under my runners(what they call running shoes over here-I love it!). Then, I saw people running behind the greenhouse-not college students, either, they were community people. The greenhouse is in Kilmurry Village, so I figured I would go behind the village reception building on Fridy and see what I could find.
I think I've found my Irish Wells Woods. It's beautiful--there are miles of trail and I've yet to find an ending to it. I went left and ended up running through fields and then I ran past an abandoned castle wall! When I ran in the opposite direction, there's a great path that runs all the Limerick, but it's 4 or 5 miles away and I'm not trying to run 10 miles yet, so I haven't gone all the way. The trail follows the river, making it really easy to slow down and admire the Irish countryside. Most of the trees are covered with vines (which makes me think they are an invasive species, but I'm not sure yet), and if you run with the river on one side and a high, grown-over bank on the other, it feels like you're in Middle Earth. I found out that there are a lot of swans in this area, too! I was so excited when I saw the first ones; they're so beautiful! I'll try to post some pictures.
This lets me bring up another subject. Irish people and their dogs. In Eau Claire, I'm used to having to slow down when I pass someone with a dog, because their pet will either a)try to bite/bark at me or b)run with/after me. Over here, half the dogs are off leash, which made me a little nervous, but the dogs over here are extremely well-behaved. Most of them barely acknowledged my existence; they just followed their owner. It was impressive--I need to find out how they train their dogs over here. That's all I've got for now!

Ireland 101

The first week of class is halfway done and I'm very grateful. Since we get to pick and choose, it feels a lot less stressful than the first week of class at the UW, but trying to get the right combination of modules(classes) is more difficult than it sounds. I was hoping to take more Irish culture classes, but I think I'll get two biology related ones, which will help in the long run.
I've learned a lot already, but not neccessarily scholarly things. I've learned that it's true, Irish boys do sing when they're drunk. Very loudly. It's entertaining for me, because mostly the boys stay upstairs by the kitchen, but it's hard for Megan and Jamie, our roommates that live on the top floor. They have to leave by 11pm, though, if they want to continue partying (campus rules). I've also learned that you can't leave a permanent marker with drunk Irish college boys, because they will decorate the kitchen walls with, um, colorful phrases. But the next morning, they usually clean up their messes. And by tomorrow night, we should have a newly painted kitchen. A few nights ago, I actually found myself alone in downtown Limerick with no idea of how to get back to the University, but thanks to a bartender and two very helpful women, I made my way back, with time to spare to get groceries. And know I've got a much better feel for how to get around Limerick. I've also learned how quickly a bag of apples and bananas will disappear and that there must be something addictive in my crackers and cookies.
Tonight, Rachel, Megan, Jamie, and I went out to the Scholar's Club, a pub on campus and listened to some traditional Irish music. It was our first night out, (even though we didn't leave campus, we were dressed up, so it counts!) and it was a lot of fun!! We each had a huge cup of hot chocolate, no alchohol; we're saving money for either a trip to the Ring of Kerry or a day in Limerick this weekend. The music and the noise of the full pub blended excellently; I think it was the first time that Ireland matched what I had thought it would be before I came. The best description I have of the performance is actually borrowed from a lecturer: the musicians play in a circle and ignore the audience and the audience talks as loud as possible and ignores the musicians. Tomorrow is another early day, so I better go to sleep. Good night and Lord's blessings to all of you!