Culture Comparisons

Bus rides provide the perfect
opportunity to catch up on some
much needed sleep...

...especially for Michael

One of the first things I noticed after arriving in Ireland was that they drive their cars on the wrong--I mean the left side of the road. As disconcerting as this was at first, I have grown used to it and considering that I have not driven at all since arriving in Ireland, it is not that big of a deal. On that same note, public transportation is a much bigger thing than in the states, especially in the state where I am from, Nebraska. Their vehicles also seem to be smaller and less "gas-guzzling" than what we are used to as well. We can literally hop on a bus in Galway and go almost anywhere in Ireland. This is even more helpful for those without driver's licenses or without cars, which seems to happen much more frequently here than in the states. I have walked more since being in Ireland the last two months than I probably have in the last year...

Michael and I on our way home from one of our many walks to Spiddal

Another distinction I notice between Ireland and the U.S. is how intertwined their national religion--Catholicism--is with their government and politics. Coming from the U.S., we do not even have a "national" religion, and we are careful to keep the separation between "church and state" as our Constitution instructs. Ireland, on the other hand, has many laws, holidays, and other traditions that are directly related to Catholicism. Even our first day of class, February 1st was St. Brigid's day. I also noticed that many of the Irish I have encountered--especially in pubs--want to talk about American politics. I find this interesting, because coming to Ireland I knew very little about the Irish government and their politics, while many Irish (and other Europeans as well) pay very close attention to what is happening in American politics because of how much of what we do impacts the rest of the world.

One final note I'll make about comparing culture in Ireland to the U.S. is how big folklore and myths are here. In Galway City there is a church--St. Nicholas's Church--and it is said that Christopher Columbus stopped there on his was to the "New World." They also have other myths about mermaids and even particular towns and how they supposedly got their names. Another good one, is the myth that St. Patrick (the Saint credited with bringing Christianity to Ireland--and yes he is the St. Patrick in St. Patrick's Day) expelled all of the snakes from Ireland, which is why there are no snakes in Ireland today. While we do have our own legends in the states, they do not seem as popular as they are here.

An image portraying St. Patrick vanishing snakes retrieved from:
http://www.metalinjection.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/st-patrick.png

Me celebrating St. Patrick's Day with a little bit of face paint

And oh yes, I must not forget living by the ocean. Most Irish that we've met find it amazing how far Nebraska is from an ocean, considering even the most in-land Irish are probably only an hours or two from the seaside. The beauty of the ocean never gets old. 

Daily Life in Ireland

Since being in Ireland, I have established a kind of routine, although it still varies from day to day. For the next 10 days, my classmates and I are scattered throughout Europe enjoying our Spring Break, so my typical "daily life" won't apply for now.

Normally we have class from 10AM-2PM on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Monday we study Irish culture and language, Tuesdays we study Irish Literature, and Wednesdays we study Irish History. Normally we meet again Wednesday evening for our Special Topics or our "Blogging" class. So normally Monday through Wednesday, I wake up anywhere from 7:00AM -9:30AM, depending on how much reading I need to do before class and whether or not I care how I look that day. I then usually bring a small breakfast to class, where I spend the next four hours with periodic breaks. Afterward, depending on the weather, I will often go to Spiddal, and if it is really nice, my classmates and I will even play outside or go hang out by the ocean. Being in Ireland has definitely taught me to appreciate sunny days.

Enjoying the ocean on a beautiful day

In the evenings we typically cook dinner as a cabin (although we don't every night, depending on everyone's schedules) and working on school work. Although, to be honest, I often find myself playing cards or a game of pool with Michael, or bonding with my classmates, or even Netflixing to procrastinate doing homework. I guess even in Ireland, some things don't change. 

Boys cuddling on the couch to watch Netflix

Thursday-Sunday we usually have off to travel and explore Ireland and the rest of Europe on our own, although once we get back from Spring Break, that will change as the rest of our weekends are booked with class field trips around Ireland. For one of our weekend trips, a group of us visited Rome, as seen in the pictures below.

Sometimes things such as visiting a secondary school and talking to transitionary-year (sophomore level) students, or having a class debate in the Ruby Room of the King's Head Pub in Galway will give us a nice break from our typical routines, but still allow us to learn and appreciate our time here. Going back the the States will probably not be an easy transition, after enjoying my semester and the daily life here in Ireland. 

Language Issues

Coming to Ireland, I did not really expect to have language issues. I knew that "Irish as a foreign language" was one of our classes, but I did not really know how commonly it is used, and assumed everyone spoke English. Although Gaelic, or Irish, used to be the main language spoken by the Irish, that is no longer the case. Despite this fact, it is the Irish National Language, and is the first official language of Ireland before English, and there has recently been a push to revive the Irish Language especially in the primary schools. We learned in our class that students will actually get in trouble if they speak English in class instead of Gaelic. Despite Ireland's efforts to revive the language, English is still predominately spoken across Ireland.

The language itself is incredibly difficult. Unlike Spanish (the only other foreign language I have ever taken a class on) sounding out the words will get you nowhere. For example, "Dia dhuit" is definitely not pronounced however you just read it in your head. The pronunciation is actually "gia hwich." So when I make my notes in our Gaelic Language class, I write down the word how it is spelled, and then I write down how I would pronounce it so when I look at it later, I am not completely confused.

Although the language is complicated, almost everyone I have ran into speaks English, so I have not really run into problems communicating with people. Some accents are really thick and can be harder to understand, but I am getting more used to it after awhile. The only real difficulty I have faced with language issues in Ireland is that their signs are always written in Gaelic, and only sometimes include the English translation as well. For the most part, I don't have too many troubles with the language and I have a new found respect for anyone who can speak Gaelic.

A sign for a St. Patrick's Day Parade in Spiddal

Social Life in Ireland

We went zip-lining in Dublin. Photo cred. Hannah Grote :)

Surprisingly enough, our trip here in Ireland is not all work and no play. In fact, we do have quite a bit of time to socialize and have fun. Even though we go to class for fours a day, three days a week, because I am in Ireland, I do not have a job, and I have not had so much free time since my freshman year of college. Now that I have been here for over a month, I have made a bunch of new friends.

We often walk to Spiddal after class with friends as there is not too much to do here at the Park Lodge. We go to Spiddal to grab a bite to eat, or to enjoy a pint or two. Sometimes a group of us will go together right after class to enjoy the walk, the ocean, and some good food.

Me following Michael and Shane to Spiddal

Besides Spiddal, we have enjoyed the social life elsewhere as well, such as in Galway. Galway is a college town and has a lot of similarities to Kearney. Galway is a great place to go to go shopping, find a greater variety of food than the cafes in Spiddal, and of course, enjoy the night-life. We also had a really good time in the pubs in Dublin as well. The hostel we were staying at was actually apart of a "Pub Crawl" which allowed us to go as a group to certain pubs, get discounted drinks, and meet other people from all around the world who were also visiting Dublin.

More than just the social life out in the pubs, we all enjoy each others' company here in the cottages. We hang out with people in other cabins and play card games or watch movies. Just last weekend we threw a surprise birthday party for one of the girls in our group, who has also become a really good friend of mine, Regan Karn.

Regan's surprise birthday party! Photo cred. Regan Karn :)

 Coming to Ireland is one of the best decisions of my life, and it is definitely in part because of the amazing people I have taken this journey with.

Aran Islands & Dublin

The past couple of weeks have been pretty busy. Last Saturday, we left for the Aran Islands which is just a short bus ride and a ferry trip from where we are staying. On Saturday we were supposed to bike around the island but it was so windy and rainy and cold we took a bus tour around instead. Although I was looking forward to riding bikes, the weather would have made that trip miserable. We were still able to see the beauty of the island and the awesomeness of the ocean. We hiked up a pretty steep hill with tons of rocks to see a prehistoric fort called Dun Aengus. From where we hiked to see the fort, we were able to view the ocean from the cliffs as well. Although the ocean has always amazed me, watching the waves crash violently against the cliff was one of the coolest things I have ever seen. Our tour guide even told us about a girl who was swept away (and luckily she was saved) by a wave when she had her back turned. Although it was pretty cold and wet, it was a truly awesome experience and I would LOVE to back to the Aran Islands...just maybe when the weather is a little nicer.



We arrived back to the Park Lodge on Sunday and we had class on Monday to prepare us for our 4 day trip to Dublin. On our way to Dublin, we stopped at an old monastery called Clonmacnoise. There is truly so much history in Ireland, and it was really cool to see some of the old crosses and the detail carved into them that has existed for several centuries. It was also cool to learn about the history behind the monastery, including several Viking attacks. When we got to Dublin, we were fortunate enough to tour the Kilmainham Gaol, which was a jail that has not been used as a jail since 1924, but is now a museum. This year marks 100 years since the Easter Rising of 1916, which was when a group of Irish nationalists took over government buildings in Dublin in an effort to become independent from the British. Those leaders were executed, most of them at the Kilmainham Gaol. Although this particular event was not necessarily successful in Ireland's struggle to establish independence, it eventually led to an effort that allowed Ireland to obtain their independence years later. Anyway, because this Easter Rising happened 100 years ago this April, it is a really, really big deal here in Ireland, and we have been hearing about it since our arrival. It is really interesting to learn about, but it was really cool, and sad, to visit the jail and see where 14 of the leaders were executed.

Names of the leaders who were executed following the Easter Rising

Dublin Castle

The next 2 days we had in Dublin were free days. A group of us traveled to a town south of Dublin where we went zip-lining and rock-climbing--both of which were a lot of fun. It was also a beautiful day (which is sometimes pretty rare in Ireland) so we were really able to enjoy being outside. The next day, Michael and I toured Dublin castle which was really cool. It was really interesting to see all of the time and detail that goes into something that beautiful. Sadly, my pictures do not really do the castle justice, but it really does feel kind of like walking into a fairy tale with gorgeous chandeliers and gold-covered everything. 

Trim Castle

Michael and I also walked up to Croke Park Stadium which is where they play Hurling, Irish Football, and handball. Unfortunately we arrived too late to do the skyline tour, but it was still interesting to read and learn about the different sports they play. Between Tuesday and Wednesday, Michael and I had walked nearly 25 miles around Dublin. Our last day in Dublin was Thursday, and we toured their Parliament (which was empty since it was election day here in Ireland). It was interesting to learn about how their processes work, and although they have some similarities to the American government processes, there are a lot of differences as well. On our way back from Dublin, we stopped at Trim where we explored Trim Castle. This castle was a lot different than the Dublin one, because it has been mostly unoccupied for nearly the last 300 years or so and had deteriorated quite a bit. We were still able to tour the main building that was still standing, however. Although what is left of the castle is all stone and very medieval-looking, our tour-guide informed us that castles were actually white-washed at the time, painting a much different picture than what is normally portrayed of medieval castles. He also mentioned that they often used ox-blood as mortar to hold the stones in place which would sometimes stain the castle, giving it a pink appearance. Also, apparently Braveheart was filmed on the ground of Trim Castle. 

View from the top of Trim Castle

Last weekend a group of us (Alexa, Regan, Michael, and I) traveled on our own to a city in the south of Ireland called Cork. We made it there in one piece without getting on the wrong bus or anything. We even made it to our Hostel without getting super lost, although we did have to ask for directions once. We found some decent shopping and food and had a pretty good time at the pubs which had some really good music. The first pub we went to had a solo artist who played some original music as well as some American music, so that was pretty cool. We also went to a pub that featured a traditional Irish band, which was a really cool experience.

Map from Spiddal to Cork

Inside of Church of St. Anne

Although pub-hopping can be pretty fun, we wanted to make sure that we did some "touristy" things while we were there as well. We first went to the Church of St. Anne which we felt was beautiful. 

After that, we weren't really sure what we wanted to do so we started wondering around the city. We did see this beautiful steeple on the horizon and decided that we should probably check that out. Although the Church of St. Anne was beautiful, it was nothing compared to St. Finn Barre's Cathedral. This church was just absolutely amazing in both its history and its physical beauty. We spoke with a couple of the people working there and learned that the grounds this church was on had a church since the 7th century. This particular cathedral was built in 1865. The workmanship on both the inside and the outside of the Cathedral absolutely amazes me. Not only the fine details themselves, but the fact that people were able to construct it at all without the use of the modern day equipment we have now astonishes me.

The ceiling at St. Finn Barre's

Gargoyle

Today we walked into Spiddal, and as we were leaving, Alexa, Michael and I decided to stop at the basket weaving shop at the little craft village on the edge of Spiddal. It was pretty neat and we watched the guy working there work on a basket, which he says takes about 10 hours in total to complete. He talked to us about it and even should us how to make a St. Bridget's Cross, which is a very popular cross and symbol here in Ireland. It was pretty cool, and I'm looking forward to going to the other shops in the craft village.

St. Bridget's Cross

Academic Life in Ireland

Today was our 11th day here and the end of our second week of classes (that's right, it is Wednesday night and I am DONE with classes for the week). That is not to say that our classes are easy, and they are definitely not short, but it is nice to have long weekends in order to give us a chance to experience Europe and especially this beautiful country of Ireland. We generally have classes every Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday from 10:00-2:00 and then we meet later Wednesday night for our International Studies Special Topics class with Dr. Konecny. While this schedule is super nice because it frees up our schedules to have more travel time, it does mean that our classes go pretty long. On Mondays we work with Jane Marie (who owns the hotel we are staying at) on the Gaelic language. This is not at all an easy class. As the case is when learning any new language, things do not always translate directly which is a very hard thing for me to grasp. Not only is the translation thing difficult, the words are often hard to pronounce and are not pronounced how I would guess they would be based on how they are spelled. For example Dia Dhuit is pronounced gia hwich, and it literally translates to "God be with you" but actually means "hello." It is not hard to understand my confusion...Also on Mondays we learn about the Irish culture. This week we talked about the influence of the Catholic religion on basically every aspect Irish life including their customs, language, and even politics and government.

On Tuesdays we meet with our Irish Literature professor. This week we were fortunate enough to read through the Oscar Wilde play "The Importance of Being Earnest" which is actually a really light and funny read. We will be reading a play again next Tuesday. We have also picked a couple books that we all have to have read during this semester by Irish authors. 

Our classroom (it's dark because it is 10:00 here)

Our history class is probably my favorite, and we basically learn about (surprise!) Irish History. This class is very interesting for me because I have taken world history before, but Ireland's specific history is something that was never really talked about in any of my classes. It is really interesting to learn about what Ireland is going through during other historical events that I have learned about. One thing that I was not aware of was the struggle that Ireland has endured for CENTURIES for their independence. 

I will finish this post by saying that today was BEAUTIFUL outside (no rain!) so Michael and I went on a walk and went out to the ocean, where I got some awesome pics. That ocean scenery just never gets old...

Me. On a rock. By the Ocean.