Visiting Irish Students

This week we were given the opportunity to gain some insight into the world of "high school" or secondary school here in Ireland. Our group took a short trip to a Post Primary School that is west of Spiddal by about 2.5 kilometers. After a brief wait, we met with the school's principal who gave us an idea of what to expect and divided us up into two groups of eight to interact with two different classes. Once in the class, we further divided into two groups of four to speak with two different groups in the classes. As the class split, it was the typical boys on one side and girls on the other, and I opted to sit and chat with the guys.  As a future educator I could only conjure up the lame inquiries such as "What is your favorite subject(s)" and "What kinds of school activities are you guys involved with?". It was no surprise that my lack luster questions we met with the answer equivalent to that of your ordinary American high school student. I've also come to understand that learning the Irish language is not very popular among the students. The vast majority would rather be taught in English, but due to a movement in the revival of the Irish language, most of the schools in the area where we are located are all taught in Irish.
We did find however that the students were very active in sports, mostly Gaelic Football, and had a diverse interest in American sports, and even a few questions about American politics and policies. It was refreshing to see students who were interested in what was going on in other parts of the world and had realistic questions for us to attempt to answer. They were also kind enough to show us their skills in music and dance. As a class, they sang a few traditional Irish songs for us, and one of the girls displayed her fantastic talent to perform the traditional Irish dance. This was overall a good experience for myself and our group. It was nice to be able to see the similarities in the American school system and the Irish school system, as well as their differences.

The people of Ireland

Sligo

I had always heard that the people in Ireland were friendly and welcoming, but you can only really understand that once you have been here for some time. I would like to compare the hospitality of the Irish to that of those in the Midwest, but that is still not quite true.
From day one up until now, the friendliness and kindness that the locals show us is truly humbling. I was apprehensive at first and thought perhaps this was some sort of facade towards the tourists here, but I was most definitely wrong. This last weekend a small group of us took a trip to two smaller cities, Sligo and Letterkenny. Not knowing what really to expect, we meandered through the city streets looking for shops or other attractions to visit.

We found a small shop with many different wood carvings in the window so we decided to go inside. Once inside we found an older gentleman named Micheal. He was an older man, but his face told so many stories. As we were looking about his shop, he stopped working on his carving and came and talked to us about the history of Sligo and the lore behind the lands. He even cut smaller pieces of flat wood so he could make each of us our own wood etching! 

This kind of kindness is not exclusive. Waiters and waitresses at restaurants will show you the same kindness, as will any. After departing from Sligo we made our way to Letterkenny, a small but beautiful town. We met and conversed with many different people here, and the same welcoming tone was common. Its not something that you can get totally used to. Coming from the states, it continues to be a wonderful experience.

Letterkenny Church

Academic Life

We are now over four weeks into our courses and I can say that they are indeed interesting and challenging, and they are not classes to be taken lightly. While they are comparable to 200 level courses back in the United States, the amount of work you have to put in to stay on pace with the class can be, at times, somewhat demanding. The Instructors keep a constant stream of literature for their classes, and the focal point of the classes is to have read what they provide and have a thoughtful discussion over the different ideas and topics throughout. At certain intervals in the class we do spend some time deviating and discussing other ideas, but overall the materials that they provide often tie in well with the direction that our discussions go. As of now, it is my opinion that the most challenging class we have is Irish language (Gaelic). It is different than any other language that I have come across. The pronunciation and lack of derivative words make this language very challenging.

The Kings Head Pub

This past week we had an exciting opportunity! We were given the chance to take our academics outside of the classroom. Dr. Marley, our history instructor, was able hold a class in a local historical pub in Galway known as The Kings Head. This specific building holds its significance in its ownership. In 1653 Cromwellian forces had forced the city of Galway to surrender. The person in charge of these forces was a man known as Col. Peter Stubbers, the man who is believed to have beheaded King Charles I of England (hence the name Kings Head). We were given a tour of the old pub by one of Dr. Marley's colleagues on the history of the building as well as the different architectural features that we could come across in this historic pub. We were then taken to the highest room in the Kings Head known as the Ruby Room where we held a debate on a topic in Irish history. Overall this was a wonderful experience. It also added to my depth of understanding of how the Irish perceive different aspects and tangents of their own history.

Field Trip #1: Aran Islands and Dublin!

Over the course of the past ten days our group has had the opportunity to travel to the Aran Islands, then to Dublin. The Aran Islands are broken up into three islands: Inishmore, which is the one we visited, is the largest of the three, Inishmaan, and Inishere which is the smallest. The weather was not in our favor when we visited. We had a bicycle tour booked, but had to change at the last minute due to the wind and the rain. We toured the island via bus, and were lucky to have two wonderfully knowledgeable tour guides to show us around. Our first stop was a ruined christian monastery. They informed us that the monastery was a burial site for three Roman scholars who had traveled to the Island for scholarly purpose and then never left. When then visited Dun Aengus, a 3500 year old fortress. Dun Aengus is a large D-shaped fortress sitting on top of a 300 foot tall cliff, and was originally believed to have been constructed by early Christians to the island. We finished off our tour of the area with a 7 mile walk along the coast, and were able to experience the power of the Atlantic as it crashed into the cliffs below us. We were also lucky enough to see what is known as the "Wormhole". This is the site were Redbull hosted a cliff diving event.

Cliffs of Inishmore

Upon our return to Park Lodge we had only one day of class, and then it was off to Dublin! On the way we made a stop at an old monastery known as Clonmicnoise. Today it is in ruin, but the government has made steps to help preserve the structures and the site, moving some of the older Celtic crosses into some buildings to prevent acid rain corrosion. That is something that I have noticed so far on this trip, the people of Ireland are very proactive when it comes to their heritage and their monuments. Its something that you see in the states, but it is more prevalent here in Ireland. This idea applies to the picture below. It is a picture of Kilmanham Geol (jail), that has not been in use since the early 1920s. It wasn't until the late 1950's when the Kilmanham Geol Restoration Society took matters into their own hands and began restoration on the jail.

Kilmainham Geol

After our first day, we were given two free days to wonder about Dublin and familiarize ourselves with the city. We walked throughout the city streets during the day seeing things like Dublin Castle and Christ's Church, and had the opportunity to meet many of the locals and converse with them. On Friday, our last day in the city, we were given a tour of Parliament and also given a brief history on the different processes of how Irish politics works.

Trim Castle

Our final stop on the way home was to Trim Castle. Famous for being the castle used in the movie Braveheart, the castle itself has a long history of battles, sieges, and modifications. We were given a full tour of the castle, and were allowed to walk the grounds to explore the other structures for ourselves!

Our next trip is Westport!

Getting to know Galway City..

This past week a small group of us traveled into Galway City. We didn't have any clear plans and just wanted to explore the city more, so we took off from the Eyre Square and traversed much of the town. From the west side of Galway, we walked to the eastern portion where the Galway Hotel is located, and decided we would see a movie. The theater was fantastic! It was very similar to those back in the states, but I did notice that at the concession stand, alcohol could be purchased which was interesting to me. 

Also on our adventures we found this little gem. A plaque on this wall indicated it was constructed by the Spanish in the 17th century! Whilst it seems that the purpose of the wall was defense, I do not know for a fact that it was. It stands now as a relic among the growing city of Galway.

The long streets of Galway can almost mesmerize a person. Almost every street seems to just go on endlessly, with shops and cafes nestled next to one another as you walk. I find myself often stopping to gawk at all the buildings that line these streets. The narrowness of the streets is also interesting. With just enough space to squeeze a car, I sometimes hold my breath when I see the double decker buses zooming up and down.

One of our last stops was the Galway Atlantaquaria, the National Aquarium of Ireland. The aquarium here holds many of the local fish, as well as a few exotic types from around the world. What I found most interesting about this aquarium however, was its collection of artifacts located on the second level. In particular, they have a native Irish dugout canoe from around 3000 B.C. Preserved in layers of peat thousands of years ago, a recent strong storm had brought in back to the surface for archaeologists to find!

In the upcoming week we are going to be heading to the Aran Islands for our first field trip. These island have historically been a difficult place for its inhabitants to subsist, but in recent decades has seen a great increase in contact with mainland Ireland and has somewhat prospered. It will be interesting to meet the people of the Islands and learn about their history!

Settling in..

This last week things have began to slow down and all of us have begun to settle in. Classes so far are going great! I have loved meeting the locals of Spiddal and Galway, they are all super nice! It has amazed me how welcoming these people have been. Since my last post, I have spent a good amount of time exploring the local area here, as well as visiting Galway numerous times. The atmosphere in Galway isn't something easily put into words. The streets are lined with wonderful cafes, pubs and shops, each offering something unique! There are also numerous street performers singing both contemporary and some classic music. Its similar to the experience of walking around a carnival. Different aromas fill the air, the crowds of people are loud, yet not overbearing and the buildings are painted in a variety of different colors. Shopping for groceries here in Ireland has also been pleasantly surprising. Our cabin has elected to shop together and share our food, making the burden of groceries more tolerable.


Dr. Konecny and Cora Lee also elected to take us into Galway so that we could experience the nightlife of Galway. At night, the city seems to come alive. More music in the streets, and bright colors illuminate the night sky. The people become more inviting and are much easier to have a conversation with. Speaking with them, the most popular question I was asked was if I liked Donald Trump. Something else I noticed, is, while Galway's night life has a culture or identity of its own, there are a lot of American undertones to be found. From the food, to the music, I found my surroundings to be more comforting than I thought I would. Many of the pubs play American music live, as well as some traditional Irish music.

Next week, we take our first field trip as a group to the Aran Islands. The Islands sit at the mouth of the Galway Bay, and offer some spectacular sights as well as some good history :).

Dia Dhuit! (First Week :D)

Surreal is the word that comes to mind as I transitioned into this adventure. Leading into the last few days in Nebraska everything seemed very normal. Yes I was excited, nervous, anxious, but that all gave way to the surrealness of the moment when I went through security in Omaha. Seeing everyone there gave me a level of comfort and security, but the surrealness of moment lingered. The flights were seamless, and the layover in Newark went by like the blink of an eye, and before I knew it, we were landing in Shannon Ireland. I was more at this moment I realized that those I left behind I would not be seeing for the next three months.

My thoughts were greeted first by Dr. K, then the Irish rain that we have heard so much about. Our buss to Park Lodge seemed to take forever, then again, we had just traveled through air the entire previous day, so head was somewhat hazy. The next few days we have been greeted by nothing but smiling faces, wonderful food and a few sunny days. So far, everything is going better than I have expected. I do miss home, and those I have left behind, but the new friends I am making, and the experiences i'm having help to outweigh those feelings. I hope this trend continues!!