Western England

A long, wordy post....

Saturday I had one of those "oh my god what a small world" experiences. Try and follow. Stop me if I lose you. My roomate Graham goes to St. Michaels College. His best friend (Matt) from St. Michaels is studying abroad in London. Matt made a friend (Brian) in London from BU, and they came to Dublin this weekend to hang out with Graham. I sort-of kind-of knew Brian back in Boston (we know many of the same people), but was never introduced until this past Saturday. So while Graham stayed in with his other friend, I took Matt and Brian out on the town, back down to The George. Obviously, most of our conversation was about the comparisons between the Dublin and London abroad programs. London is uber-expensive, but their housing is right in the city (not a suburb). They have RA's and live in suites, we all have our own rooms, but they can choose their classes, while we all take the same. They have the Tube, we have the bus. To quote a movie I quote often: "I mean, we all have our plusses...and our minusses." (Name it, and I'll give you a dollar). It was nice to get a view of what life would have been like if I had chosen London, and to talk to other BU people about what they see as pros and cons of each.

Today, in class, we talked about Northern Ireland and "the troubles." It is impossible for an Irish person to discuss the issue without taking a side, but I applaud my professor for being as objective as he could. It isn't right to sum up the situation as quickly as I'm about to, but so everyone's up to speed: The majority of the North (Protestants) feel like they are a part of Britain, but the minority of Catholics who inhabit the same area want a united Irish state. Years of unrest. The peace process has been in place for almost a decade now, but it seems to me that if the North wanted as little to do with Ireland as they did, why even keep the name? Why not call themselves Western England? Sounds a lot less Irish than Northern Ireland, and alot more British. I'm making a shallow joke, but like I said, the situation is much heavier than my rendition. But yes, mom, I do go to class and learn things...interesting things.

I guess it's just refreshing to get a view of another country's history without the default American perspective we get in our own classes. Sometimes it's good, sometimes it's bad, I'm not picking sides, I'm just saying it's nice to be able to look at things differently. Agree with me or don't. Doesn't matter.

To end on a light note, I'd like to give a great big CHEERS to the people who say stuff in a class that makes the rest of us look around and say "Are they kidding? Did they say that out loud?" Like arguing with facts, or comparing wars that have absolutely nothing in common in cause or result, or talking about your favorite author when it has zero relevance to the rest of the discussion. Cheers! You keep me entertained. And I woudn't have it any other way.

Going to Belfast on Friday, and London for the weekend. So, you can expect more fun and picture-filled posts this time next week.

Peace-out!

Cheese Sandwhich

Breaking the myth: Part 1. I'd like to take a minute to discuss the weather in Dublin for a moment. Everyone told me to BUNDLE UP and GET A RAIN COAT and an UMBRELLA......I'll have you know that, A) it has drizzled twice since I've been here, and B) the temperature every day has been in the 40s and 50s (I set my computer's thermometer in Farenheit....because who the hell knows anything about Celsius). Sure it's a little grey and glum, but the Dubliners seem to think its worse than it actually is, so good luck with all that freezing and snow, we're doing just fine.

Classes are fine, we have great professors. In Contemporary Irish Society, while discussing the media, we learned that the Irish make the joke that "Ireland discovered sex on the Late Late show." And in our history class, our professor informed us that the Easter Rising of 1916 should be called "How Not to Start a Revolution." They have such a complicated history, but an amazing sense of humor.


Thursday night, McKee and I went to "THE only weekly 80s night in Dublin" at Q-bar (and the Q does NOT stand for anything funny). There was a hula-hooping contest, and get this, McKee WON! Unreal. We met up with that gang from Northeastern again, Kate Peter and Mo, and we danced to every great 80s song you can think of....definitely going back.











Today, while the rest of the world was in London or Galway, Steve and I went downtown to explore the city and play tourist. We went to Dublin Castle, which for a few hundred years was the site of the country's government. We went down underneath it to see all these hidden rooms and waterways that were only recently discovered. We also went into the church, which was very peaceful. Next to the castle is a series of gardens where visitors can just get lost in. I found Mary and Colin and Dickin. Only my parents will get that.

Before I left for Dublin, my Literature professor from last year, Jane, told me that once here, I had to go to Davy Byrnes Pub, order a cheese sandwhich, and experience James Joyce's world up close. Joyce wrote a lot of his work at Byrnes, while eating a large slice of gorgonzola on a piece of bread, but also sets many of the scenes in Ulysses there. So Steve and I found it, we talked to the bartender about James Joyce, and I ordered a slice of gorgonzola on bread. That's for you Jane.













And finally, tonight I went to a party and met people from 3 continents, none of them being North America. Steve lives with 2 girls from Spain, and they threw their friend a birthday party. Besides the Spanish girls, I met people from Japan, Nigeria, France, Belgium, Germany, and obviously Ireland. I got to speak a lot of Spanish, which I loved, but I felt slightly inadequate not being fluent in any second language, in a room full of people who mostly spoke 3. You all know me, you know how much I like to talk to people...it was phenominal. Tonight was filled with the obvious conversations of cultural compare and contrast, but a lot more: music, politics, whatever. (I have yet to find a place where I CAN'T talk about LOST with anyone...which for those of you at home, sucked this week). Living in these apartments can only get better, as this mutual exchange continues......

but I've caught onto the abroad office's secret plan. We aren't here to study what they say we're studying. We're here to study each other.

Peace.

Oreos

Just some little factoids for today. Being that it's the first "real" week, we've been keeping it kind of relaxed.

Sunday night we went to place called Busker's, the only bar in Dublin that shows NFL games, every Sunday night! This is their claim to fame. Busker's is a giant bar, with a DJ and a dancefloor, Ireland's first breathalizer machine (blow before you go, essentially. Breathe before you leave? I got a million), and a small room in the back corner (filled with American students from all over Ireland) with 1 flatscreen, showing the Steelers game. At home, obviously, you side with and root for one particular team. But at Busker's, it just seemed like everyone was rooting for America, who, no matter which way the game went, always won. Go America!

In 2 weeks, Busker's will host Dublin's only Superbowl party. Kickoff is at 7:30 am sharp. Be there.

Tuesday afternoon I went to the Irish National Museum. On a compound that is said to be the inspiration for the White House, the museum sits across from the National Library and the Parliament House. The architecture is impressive, with large domes, columns, and huge stone ornaments (a la hanging gardens of Babylon). The museum is filled with artifacts tracing the history of Ireland through the bronze age, vikings, medieval times. Jewelry, crosses, tools, weapons, bones, clothing. All that good stuff. What did we learn? The Vikings brought pants and combs. So, I guess, prior to their arrival, Ireland was filled with unruly Normans with uncovered bums and knotty hair. Good god. Hell on Earth.

Last night, I went looking for some nosh. That's means a snack, for you gentiles. I went to the corner store with a craving for Oreos. Instead I found these:






Perfect.




Something bothered me about my trip to the shop, however. There was a kid, maybe 17, in there at the same time I was, just kind of shifting his weight and looking awkward. He bought a pack of cigarettes right after I bought my Madonnas, and as I put my change away and got ready to go, I watched as he walked past the drink wall and stole a bottle of soda. Petty. It was so petty. I turned back to the clerk, who was busy helping the next customer...he had no clue. I didn't say anything, but as I walked home, I realized that these little turds are there everytime I'm there, hanging outside the door or running around inside. It must be an easy target that they all know about. Wankers.

Booked a few trips: London the first weekend of February, Cork (South-West Ireland) 2 weeks later. Onward!

Rock.

9000 Years

Anyone who has ever been to Dublin knows that the biggest tourist attraction is the Guinness Storehouse, a factory/museum devoted to the history of Guinness, the unique process of making it, and nostalgia from the last 250 or so years.



I went with Karen and what's turning into a great little group: Sara Lisa Lauren and Lauren. The building is newly renovated and completely interactive. They have a giant pit of barley to touch, a pure waterfall, and full size replicas of all the machines, barrels, transports, everything and anything related to Guinness.








My favorite tidbit: Arthur Guinness took a 9000 year lease on the property of the distillery and storehouse. NINE THOUSAND YEARS! That's Crazy! And they have the original signed lease encased in glass. My other favorite part was the advertising museum, where all of the company's campaigns and artwork are on display, as well as every series of holiday commemorative mini delivery trucks. I'm pretty sure it's like the HESS trucks here. One every year, available at a gas station near you.





The BEST part of the whole trip though was, hands down, when I got to start the brew. Every 90 minutes, one lucky person is chosen to go live on camera to the factory control room and start a new brew. I talked the lady into letting me do it! It was awesome. A huge crowd gathers, and we did a little interview, everyone starts counting down, and when the signal comes, I smashed a giant red START button. The best part is, in about a month, Guinness emails me and tells me where in the world MY batch was sent. It could be anywhere. Tanzania, here I come.






Twice along the self-guided tour route can you sample the goods. The first is about half way, where if you want, you can try a newly brewed half-pint. Really, I think it's just to relax at the half way point (7 floors of learning!). But when you come to the end, you arrive at the Gravity Bar, a glass-enclosed circular bar on the roof of the building, where everyone gets a complimentary pint. With enough light, you really can see that it's a deep red. This was the first time I saw the city from above. There are no extremely tall buildings, but perhaps they are on their way. What strikes you instantly is the abundance of construction sites and huge cranes. Every city has cranes in the skies, but there are so many here, they really stick out.




Saturday night, after dinner, my friend Sam and I went to a big club right in the city-center called THE GEORGE. It was great. We got there at 10:30 and left around 1. But even then, people were still first coming in. So next time, I will definitely start later. The music was good, but there could have been a little more variety. In any event, I can't wait to go back.


Today, Karen and I did some shopping. There are loads of department stores, and they all carry GAP brand clothing, but there are no GAP stores. Hmm. There was a store called EVAN'S...and apparantly I sell plus-sized women's formal-wear. Ahh Irony.

New city, new people, new things. It's wonderful.

There's a Saint named Kevin??

After class on Thursday, I went to the supermarket with some people and did a BIG order. We're talkin chicken, hummus, rice, spinach, cereal...it was time to get some real food in the apartment. So, I'm eating well.

Thursday night, I went into the city with Kara and Megan, and we met up with Kara's friends who were really fun. Kate, Mo, and Peter. They all go to Northeastern, and have internships at Parliament. The 6 of us headed for a place called the Stag's Head where there were more Northeastern people, as well as a LOT more BU people. For a gigantic city, why do all the Americans flock to the same places? Anyway, it was a lot of fun.

The Stag's Head was a basement bar, very dark, with a 3-man Irish band jamming for most of the night. I talked to the bartender for a while about who would be more likely to get a new stadium first, the Mets or the Yankees. He's pretty sure it will be the Mets, since they have no real attachment to Shea. His words. We spent most of the night there, but when it was last call, we went to a 24-hour french fries place.















Friday morning, we left on a "class trip" to Glendalough, which is the site of a historic monastary founded by St. Kevin. The monastary has a huge cemetary, many churches in ruin, and the only completely still-standing round tower in Ireland. Glendalough literally translates to "land of 2 lakes," and the monastary is built right next to them, where you can hike all around. We saw waterfalls and billygoats (no trolls though). I found it fascinating that these buildings were all built in the 12th Century, that parts of them are still standing, and that I was walking around where others had done almost 900 years earlier.







It was nice to leave the city and see the countryside for the first time. Sheep everywhere, narrow roads, rolling plains, and so much to learn. The land is quickly developing, however, as I saw a dozen sites for new home/retail construction...and a TGI Fridays.















On the way home from Glendalough, I got a chance to talk at length with Mary, the head of the BU-Ireland program. She organizes every aspect of the program, knows every one of us by name, and is theoretically in charge and responsible for us while we're here. Like a den mother. Anyway, Mary and I talked about music and concerts (she loves Robbie Williams and Coldplay, and is going to see Bon Jovi next month. She's not really into U2, but LOVES that James Blunt). She gave me the word on good radio stations, theatre, clubs, and the local live music thing. She was in the US for 5 years, working and living in Princeton, NJ, and is a big fan of the state. She said her favorite place to visit in the summer was the Jersey Shore, particularly Bay Head, which is not far from where my beach house is. I couldn't believe we were trading the same beach stories. Small world, yes, but now it seems absolutely enormous.

Football

2 short anecdotes:

Whenever I told anyone I was going to college in Boston, they would always throw that natural reaction my way, "Don't come back with that Boston accent now......cah....pahk the cah....havahd yahd." Ok ok, it was cute in the beginning (no it wasn't), but by Thanksgiving of my Freshman year, I was pretty much over that.
"Yeah Uncle Morris I get it, pahk the cah, it's like park the car, only no r's, 'cause that's how everyone in Boston talks....right...great story."
"Don't come back a Sox fan? I'll see what I can do."
Everyone at home gets so flustered and has so much fun with that Boston accent, and some of them still do to this day.

And yet, when the announcement came that I would study in Ireland, I was not met ONCE with "Don't come back with Irish accent now." This puzzles me. Why is the Boston accent looked at with such perplexity and taboo? Does this mean if I came home with an Irish accent that everyone would be ok with that? Boston is a mere 4 hour drive from home. God knows how long it might take to drive to Ireland! And yet, it's all English. Just as long as I don't come home a Sox fan, I guess everyone's pretty much ok with me speaking any way I want.

On a different note, the DCU American Football and Cheerleading club captains met with us yesterday to 1, recruit us, but 2, learn from us. Apparantly, a lot of interest has grown over the last few years in American-style football, and last year, DCU started their own team, which is 1 in a division of (you guessed it) 2. The captain met us with hopes that we might be interested in training with the team, or helping out at practices. I wished I could be of more help, but let's look at the BU team roster:
37 female, 7 male.
Of that 7, 1 is me, 1 looks like me, 1 is a swimmer, 1 has a girlfriend, and it's just not happening with the other 3.

And the first thing the captain of the cheerleading squad said was, "We've been watching 'Bring It On' to get ideas for moves and choreography." At least she knows where to do her research. (Skip the sequal though, it went straight to regionals, I mean DVD)

In a country where there is so much tradition surrounding soccer and rugby, why get it all muddy with our yankee game? Soccer never took in the US, maybe football has a chance here. They are so enthusiastic and have massive turnout at meetings, all I can say is, good luck.

Oh and this is for you, Mom. I took a step class, and you can rest assured, they exercise just the same. Up up down down (left right start).

Mingle in Dingle, 16 January 06

Today was the first day of class. Before it, we had a series of short presentations from faculty at DCU (Dublin City University) on various topics related to student life: housing, safety, clubs and sports, etc. I think the thing that the other students are finding hard to deal with is the continual theme of efficiency and no waste....we are such a spoiled country, but some more than others. While the manager of the apartments was explaining how to set the timer on the hot water heater (which is really a very simple process), this girl in the front said, "Well that doesn't really make any sense to me, but I guess I'll try and figure it out." Congratulations on trying new things, but please leave your attitude at gate 28C.

In other news from the Naive Desk, we got our syllabus for our first class, The History of Ireland. Now, the great thing about this program is that, we are here to work, but the professors know that we want to have fun and travel and experience the culture. So this class has ONE paper assigned at the end, on just about anything related to Irish History....it's cake. The paper is to be 2000-2500 words. Another inquisitive young lass asked, "How many pages does that translate to, because at home they assign papers by the page, not the number of words." For real? Did you really ask that out loud? Shame, shame.

So besides all that, Monday night got really good! A huge group of us, around 17, went to this pub called Comet's, down the street from our apartments. I like hanging out in the group, but I felt the need to get to know the people from the area. So I turned to these 4 guys at the table next to me and struck up a conversation about good places to eat locally, just something to get the talk started. Jon, Noel, Ger, and Kieran. A few hours later, I knew their whole story, and they knew mine, and I introduced them to Karen, Steve, Shane, and my roommate Graham.


They were all bout 24. Noel was flying to Australia for 10 months, and his buddies were sending him off with a night out. He's coming home via stops in Hawaii and Boston. These guys were great. I asked them about where to visit, they asked me about Boston and New York. We talked about movies (King Kong!), TV (Ger LOVES LOST), celebrities (Brad and Angelina....oh man), football (and football), beer, the benefits of MACs vs PCs, and good bars and clubs to go to. We basically just bullshitted until the bar closed, and by the end of the night, I wished Noel a fantastic trip to Australia, and Ger and I exchanged mobile numbers, making sure I knew to call if I have any problems or need any help. These guys were awesome, and I think tonight was the first step in discovering the reasons why I made this trip.

The pictures are of me, Lauren, Steve, and Karen on the green at Trinity College yesterday, and a view of the Spire (which Jon thinks is "total bollocks").

The First Weekend: 1/14/06, 1/15/06

Saturday afternoon we had our first meeting as a group (47 total), and took a tour of DCU. The school is much bigger than I thought it would be, with every imaginable club, sport, and society. They have a brand new library and performing arts complex, called The Helix.

After the tour, we went to dinner. Me, Karen, 2 of my roommates, and Lisa walked back to the OMNI shopping center, and followed the masses into Eddie Rockets (I kid you not). 50s style diner, burgers, fries, milkshakes, jukebox, counter service......un.real.

Saturday night, I met Lauren, who is one of my friend's roommates back at BU. We took the bus into the city center for the first time, and went into the Temple Bar district....which is like Times Square, Landsdowne Street, and any city's main shopping drag (Newbury in Boston, Michigan Ave in Chicago etc. etc.), all rolled into one, in the sense that it's bright even at night, and every door is a pub or a store, open pretty much all hours.




We ducked into the Temple Bar, which is at the center of it all, had a few drinks, and headed back out to...well it didn't matter. We passed these awesome street performers, and went into another place, Eamonn Doran's, which also has 3 locations in New York. They had great music, and Foster's....which I didn't find very Australian. We caught a cab back to Santry (which is our suburb, I guess you could say), and that was that.







Sunday, we went back downtown with the entire group to become familiar with the streets (thinly disguised as a scavenger hunt). We started at the Irish Writers Museum, then hit the Garden of Remembrance (for those who gave their lives for Irish freedom), and O'Connell Street (THE main street). Dublin is split north/south by the River Liffey, so every few blocks is a bridge.

We went to Trinity College, where there just happened to be a rainbow over head, and saw the Spire, which represents the modernization, grabbed lunch (which was finally authentic! Finally!), and headed back to Santry.

Classes start tomorrow.

Impressions after 3 days: The population is very young, but everyone appreciates the history of the city. J-Walking doesn't exist. Locals love talking to Steve.

Moving In, and Moving On Up

We took a cab from the airport to our residence, Shanowen Square, a brand new apartment complex right next to the college. We live in suites with 4 people total. Everyone has their own bed/bath, and we share a living room and kitchen. My roommates are Graham, a guy from Rochester who goes to St. Michaels College in Vermont, Sara from BU, and Diane from Cornell. They’re all really nice. Boys and Girls! Living Together! Blasphemy! Our rooms came fully furnished and linen-ed. Mine also came with a Curious George garbage can.

I went out looking for Karen around 11:30 am, and she spotted me from a window, and yelled down to me, just as we pictured it happening.

Internet: The first step in the instructions for setting up the internet was: 1, click Start, then go to Control Panel. I thought that was very funny because I have a MAC...and they looked at me funny when I told them I didn't have Start > Control Panel.

Karen introduced me to Lisa, from Millburn NJ, who goes to Bucknell. We found a mall called the OMNI, and got pay-as-you-go cellphones from METEOR. Everyone bought the cheapest Nokia, so 40 people all have the same phone. Picture a group of people sitting down to dinner and putting all the same phone on the table…I think I’m gonna have to BEDAZZLE mine. We did some light grocery shopping at TESCO, where the eggs come unrefrigerated, and came home.

When it came time for dinner, we decided to go out. The night guard knew of no restaurants…because there aren’t any in Santry, turns out. So we walked around, found a few pubs, and went into one called the SWISS COTTAGE. Inside, we found Steve Rochette and his roommate, Shane. Shane is from Bergen County and goes to Villanova. Had our first pints of Guinness. I really liked it, has a lot of flavor. The girls prefer other tastes. It’s a whole meal really, but I enjoy it.

Turns out, pubs don’t serve food after like 6 oclock, so when we were done drinking, we went to McDonalds. Absolutely Pathetic. Our first dinner in Ireland….MickyD’s. They call their Dollar Menu the EUROSAVER.

Impressions on Dublin after 1 day: Everyone looks like (Nick's friend) Ryan or Mike Trash or Dan Agar's dad....everyone. Be very careful crossing the street. American pop music is crazy popular. People are very very friendly. Hot water is a much appreciated luxury. Wasting/Littering is unheard of.

Departure & Arrival, 1/12/06-1/13/06

I got to the airport on Thursday evening knowing that there would be 3 other people from the program on my flight. So while sitting in the waiting area, I looked around for faces that said, "I'm going to Dublin for the next 4 months with the Boston University abroad program," but surprisingly, that isn't an easily identifiable face.

About a half hour before we boarded, a very cute blond girl sat down next to me and said hello, and that she recognized me from (Happiness) the Dublin-06-orientation. Her name is Kathleen, she's from the Philly area, and we hit it off, and talked about how much we love Lost and Project Runway (and how much she likes 24, but I'm more into SVU). Then we met Tim, who was also part of the BU program... he's from Tinton Falls. The flight was nothing special, a little bumpy. They showed Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and I found it funny that Dinner then Breakfast were both served, about 2 hours apart.

We landed in Dublin at 7:30 am, and the sun had still not come up. I asked the man next to me, and he said it doesn't usually become light until around 8:15. There was a minor power failure in the terminal, and the jetway could not come out to the plane. So we disembarked via stairs on wheels. I went through immigration, got my passport stamped for the first time, and then met the fourth person from the program on my flight, Joanna. At baggage claim, we met up with Eric, Kathleen's boyfriend, and Kara and Megan, all part of our program. Tim (Cheung) and I met Kara way back at freshman orientation. We pretended that we had gone 4 years at the same high school, but had never met until that night. It was a great show. She still remembers it, and thinks it's hysterical. She's great. She wants to go do Karaoke together.