Galway

Okay, this is going to be short and sweet, since I have a paper I really ought to be writing, in addition to packing and everything that needs to be done before I come home on Saturday.

Some new pictures are up here.

Galway was great. I've officially figured out both Dublin city buses and Irish national buses and can make my way across the country without much trouble by myself. Andrea (a friend from TU) met me at the bus. Friday was devoted to meandering through Galway's city centre a bit, walking up Salt Hill and then to a party with some of the exchange students at the National University of Ireland. They were mostly French, with a couple of Qubeckers thrown in, but they were nice enough to speak English.

Saturday was spent acquiring some of the best fish & chips in the British Isles at McDonaugh's -- at least, that's what their sign says. Andrea showed me Shop Street and we went to the local market. Sunday I caught a bus tour all around the Burren and the Cliffs of Moher. It's amazing scenery and I took a ton of pictures.

Monday was the bus ride back to Dublin and the beginning of the great paperwriting marathon to which I will now return.

See y'all soon!

Virginia Tech

I'm livid at the European reaction to the ongoing Virginia Tech crisis. I'm listening specifically to the Sky News coverage, which continually circles back around to phrases like "At least American schools are used to this sort of thing and know how to react."

That's a paraphrase, but the word choice and tone of voice keeps making that point very clear.

Easter Weekend

So, interesting fact: Everything closes in Dublin for Holy Week. Convenience stores, pubs, newsagents, everything.

This weekend was spent catching up on little things like homework because there really wasn't anything else to do.

However, next week, I'm meeting up with a friend who graduated from TU last year and now lives in Galway. She's going to show me around and we'll have a ton of fun, I'm sure.

Drogheda

My professor from my creative writing class invited the entire class to come visit him in his home town of Drogheda, a small town about an hour outside of Dublin. Three of us actually went, although one girl brought a friend along.

I got up at 6:30 to make it in time to catch the 8 a.m. bus, and Stephen was there waiting for us when we got off the bus. We made a quick run up to Newgrange because none of the other girls had seen it. I took more pictures of sheep, but I'll spare you.

We headed back to Drogheda after that and got a quick lunch. Stephen then took us on a guided tour. We walked up to the fort that over looks the town. We didn't actually go in, but I took some pictures of the town from there: here and here.

We did, however, hop a wall taller than me behind the fort. There was a handball court there. Here's a picture of Stephen attempting to teach a bunch of American girls the joys of handball. I was out pretty fast. In my defense, I'd fallen off the wall in the process of climbing over, and banged myself up a bit.

We also went to two of Drogheda's seven churches. We saw lots of graves and other things, as well as the head of St. Oliver Plunkett. I took a bad picture of it, which is here.

We saw a lot of other historical sites, every one of which was improved by Stephen's stories, including a historic pub, which is historic for, among other things, having a grocery store inside it at one point and a bartender who didn't allow jokes, loud noises, or anything really.

We ate dinner at a delicious Thai restaurant and then headed back to Dublin.

Weekend

This Weekend

I played tourist in Dublin this weekend. I went to the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin Castle, which has a huge collection of religious manuscripts. Unfortunately, one of their collections is currently unavailable to the public, so I was a little disappointed.

I also just wandered around Grafton Street (a pedestrian shopping area) and St. Stephen's Green (a gorgeous park) and took pictures.

Classes

During one of my classes, Tommy McKearney, a former member of the IRA, came in to talk to us. I kept getting struck by the fact that he's exactly the same age as Dad (they were both born in 1952), but Mr. McKearney looks at least 10 years older. He joined the IRA when he was 18, and spent from 1977 to 1993 in prison. He spent 53 days on a hunger strike in 1980.

My opinions on Northern Ireland change a little everyday. When I first got here, I didn't know very much and thought it was mostly just sectarian violence. I learned it was rather a matter of civil rights and my automatic reaction was that, well, gaining basic civil rights is an excellent cause and excuses a lot.

But both sides, loyalist and republican, have ties to groups I find abhorrent, and tactics that I find inexcusable.

It makes it even harder to decide what my opinion is when you find out that everyone involved is just human.

In the News

If you've been following the current news for Northern Ireland, today is the expiration date for Sinn Fein and the DUP to form a power sharing government. It's not happening. No violence, but still no resolution.

St. Patty's Day Weekend

Saturday

Well, we got up and went to the huge parade. This was my view of the parade, unfortunately. However, the tallest guy in our group narrated the whole parade for me, and I think I got a much more exciting parade than everyone else (mine had pirates!). There were lots of high school marching bands from the U.S.

I decided not to watch the GAA games, so I wandered through the festival. I got to see my first Hare Krishnas. There was also a lot of absolutely amazing music all other the place.

Sunday

I had planned to go to the fireworks, but they were canceled due to inclement weather: a lot of rain and a little snow. I think everyone wound up taking Sunday pretty easy.

St. Patty's Day Weekend

Saturday

Well, we got up and went to the huge parade. This was my view of the parade, unfortunately. However, the tallest guy in our group narrated the whole parade for me, and I think I got a much more exciting parade than everyone else (mine had pirates!). There were lots of high school marching bands from the U.S.

I decided not to watch the GAA games, so I wandered through the festival. I got to see my first Hare Krishnas. There was also a lot of absolutely amazing music all other the place.

Sunday

I had planned to go to the fireworks, but they were canceled due to inclement weather: a lot of rain and a little snow. I think everyone wound up taking Sunday pretty easy.