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.

First Week in Ireland

Galway

My first pint of Guinness

After a combined 9 hours in the air and about an hour and a half on a bus, we finally arrived to our home for the next 3 months in Spiddal, Ireland. Our cottages are actually located about 1.9 miles from Spiddal, which is a pretty easy walk (weather permitting). Although it rains a lot (everyday), the rain is not bad--the wind however, is a different story altogether. I thought coming from Nebraska that Ireland winds would be nothing, but they are definitely worse here...although I should not complain since we were able to miss out on the blizzard of the century back in Nebraska.

We go to class on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday from 10:00AM-2:00PM (although most of our classes this week did not run that long) and are otherwise mostly free to explore our area or to walk into Spiddal to eat at a cafe or pub. And yes, my first Irish drink was Guinness. On Monday we toured Spiddal and on Tuesday we took a bus to Galway where we went on a tour before shopping and exploring the town. Galway is the nearest city to where we are and has a ton of history, as we learned on the tour. It was amazing to go walk on the same streets that were there centuries ago and learn the story behind many buildings and some of the crazy events that had happened in those locations. We even visited St. Nicholas Collegiate Church which is over 500 years old and is said to have seen visitors such as Christopher Columbus. Although the stores and pubs in Galway are modern, the buildings that they are in are definitely not. The city is so old and has so much history and character, which dates back to even before the United States was a country!

One of the Stained Glass windows in St. Nicholas church

Everyone that I have meet here has been so friendly, especially the Jane Marie and the others who work at the Park Lodge where we are staying. The first couple of days they made sure to feed us and even give us extra to take back to our cottages for later. After the first week here, I am definitely looking forward to the next 3 months here.

Oh ya, and the ocean is pretty sweet too!