Where does Rick want us to have dinner?

I've gone an unprecedentedly long time between blogs, but with good reason. Last week through Thursday was uneventful. I went to classes. I did homework. I cooked poorly. Just because all this is happening in Dublin doesn't make it any more exciting.
However, Friday I headed out to Galway on the west coast. I love that in Ireland the west coast is about a 2 hour train ride away from the east coast. Galway is beautiful--very windy and therefore very cold this time of year, but very lovely as well--a lot more low-key and, well, Irish than Dublin. Reba's Rick Steves book on Ireland was our constant companion on this trip (hence the title of this post). He knows his stuff, that Rick. Friday we basically wandered around town and went to a pub Friday night with live traditional music. From the town:




Reba and Johanna checking out the River Corrib:


The Spanish Arch, which dates back to 1584:


Swans at the mouth of the Corrib:


These swans had attitudes. We were a little scared to walk past them:


What country are we in again?


The Atlantic this time; a very cold and windy Galway Bay:


The Cathedral of St. Nicholas up the Corrib:


Taking the rose window to literal extremes:


Inside the cathedral; it wasn't this creepy in real life, but I love how this turned out:


In our hostel. The entire floor space is visible in this picture. Basically there was only room for one person to stand up at a time. Johanna seems to be having trouble accepting this:


Shepherd's pie for dinner. Like everything, this was better than it looks here. Note all the potato options:


Getting friendly with Oscar Wilde:


Saturday we took one of those super-touristy all-day bus tours; we got down into County Clare and saw a great deal of the countryside and the Burren, a sedimentary limestone plateau (see, I was paying attention to our tour guide!). We also stopped and took a tour at Ailwee Cave; I won't include pictures from that (not that I didn't try to take them); it would be pointless. Oh look, a rock! Oh look, a dark passage! Just trust me that it was pretty cool. Also, I know that pictures from bus windows never turn out, but I couldn't stop myself, nor can I stop myself from sharing some of them here:











Sheep on the rocks by the Atlantic:


Poulnabrone Portal Tomb:


The town of Lisdoonvarna has a matchmaking festival every September. Apparently people come from all over the world, and there are matchmakers who hook people up with dance partners for the weekend. It goes on for 5 weeks, so I guess they have a few chances to get it right. Here we have the Matchmaker Bar. Note the sign on top:


The highlight of the tour was the Cliffs of Moher. Usually you'll see people creeping up to the edge of the cliff, but it was so windy the day we were there that nobody was trying it. I was grateful for that. The wind was tossing up sea spray and foam; it looked like it was snowing at times. Despite the cold and wind, it was absolutely gorgeous.
With Reba and Meghan:






Then Saturday night we pubbed again (I don't live this way normally--I can't afford too--but on vacation I feel you should live it up). We found this cute lodge-type-place with live music--an interesting variety of traditional Irish, Johnny Cash, and Bob Dylan, among others.
It was actually sunny for the majority of yesterday, but of course we had to spend the whole afternoon on the train. Last night we went out to celebrate my friend Maura's 21st birthday. We had Baby Guinnessess--shots of Kahlua with Baileys on top that look like little pints of Guinness. I didn't know it was possible for a shot to actually be cute:


That's about all I've got. No plans to travel the next couple of weekends (but who knows; I wasn't exactly planning to go to Galway either; it was extremely last-minute).
I can't believe I've been here almost 3 weeks. That's almost a quarter of the time I have here. I can't think about it or I'll get panicked. Ridiculous.
Hope everyone's safe and well, and that all you Minnesotans survived/are surviving the cold snap (is it still going on? I don't even know). I can't say I'm sorry to have missed that one.

Climbing over rocky mountain

I have a new favorite place in Ireland. Yesterday I took another day trip, this time south on the DART (I should maybe explain that DART stands for Dublin Area Rapid Transit)to Bray, again on the Irish Sea. We were there on a Sunday afternoon, so it was full of families just playing by the beach.
I was finally able to touch the sea! This picture is wonderfully awkward:


Irish palm trees:


A view of the beach and Bray Head, which is much higher than it looks:


And I know that because we climbed it. Not only up it; oh no. We missed the trail that went straight up it and ended up hiking probably 75% of the way around it (we nearly reached the next town over) before taking a crazy-steep little trail up to the top. It was so worth it, though.
From the ascent:





Just a little mud:


Johanna and Maura on the way up:


And at the summit:


Views from the top:


Those white dots in the field? Sheep, of course:


Bray in the background:


Our reward for our ambition. I was almost obscenely excited for this.


These past two days have been wonderful. It's great to know there are places like this so near; Dublin is lovely, but city living makes me feel a little claustrophobic at times. I will definitely be returning.
And today? Homework. I've finally remembered that I'm still in school. It's easy enough to forget when you only have class 3 days a week.
Slán go fóill!

Howth is magic

Need proof?


I don't know what expression I was trying to pull; it must just be the magic of Howth.
Today, obviously, some friends and I took a quick day trip up to Howth (rhymes with both), a fishing town on the Irish Sea just a half hour or so DART ride north of Dublin. I'm sure it was once a tiny, quaint village, and in comparison to Dublin I guess it still is, but it's obviously quite an affluent and well-touristed area (more in the summer, though, I'm sure). We had some excellent fish and chips and explored a bit:




The island is called Ireland's Eye; there's a 6th century monastery on it (you can't really see it in the picture; I wish there was a way to make these truly reflect how beautiful this place was).


The coast:


That little speck in the lower left that I so obligingly circled is a seal; just trust me.








Tessa and I decided that we wanted to wash our hands in the Irish Sea, but the rocks proved far too slippery, so we just put on excited expressions and pretended we made it all the way down:


An old abbey we stumbled upon:






The town:


The ladies: Katie (one of my roommates), Johanna, and Tessa:


Yesterday we had an IES scavenger hunt, which proved to be absolutely miserable. We split up into groups and were given obscure clues that required a great many awkward questions ("Excuse me, sorry to bother you, but what is the name of your fudge shop, and is it inspired by an island off the west coast of Ireland?"). We also had to take pictures with a red-headed person (the woman we asked had a sense of humor, luckily) and a member of the Garda (police). Note: do not run around Dublin yelling about the Garda; people will think that you are actually in trouble, and will not necessarily think it's funny when you explain that all you need is a picture.
All of this would have been okay except for the fact that it was pouring out and incredibly windy, and the fact that my group was intensely competitive and basically spent the entire time running. I got blisters; my feet still hurt. However, we won first place, and IES gave us a 100 euro gift certificate to a nice restaurant in city centre. So I am currently well-fed and exhausted; it's a wonderful night.

Dia dhuit

And you respond 'Dia is muire dhuit.' I almost think I remember how to pronounce it (although pronunciation is crazy; my teacher's name is Siobhan, but pronounced Shuh-vawn). I can also ask you your name (Cad is ainm duit?) and what's the news (Aon scéal?) That's about all I've retained from day one of my Irish language class (note that it's Irish, not Gaelic; we were set straight under no uncertain terms).
I've now met once for all of my classes, and honestly, I'm thrilled with all of them.

Picture day #2...

Grafton Street:


I think that's St. Anne's through a side street off Grafton:


The famous Temple Bar (I stumbled across it inadvertently; I thought I was in a really sketchy part of town):


Christchurch Cathedral:


This is why it's so easy to get lost--these are all you get in terms of street signs:


What's on the first level of this fabulous building? Slightly grungy restaurants. 21st century Dublin is a study in contrast (as are all old cities, I suppose):


An awkward picture of St. Stephen's Green:


I think I'm possibly at the point at which I can walk around Grafton Street and city centre without gawking. This is an improvement. However, if you'll forgive a slightly cheesy and romantic reference to The Light in the Piazza, 'It's a new old world to me.'

It's been one week since you looked at me

On the eve of Dublin's and my one-week anniversary, I thought it might be fun to explore the exciting things I've learned so far, if for no other reason than to remind myself that I am in fact learning and adapting and perhaps someday will not feel like quite so obvious a tourist. So here we go--what one week in Dublin has taught me:

1. How to not get so distracted by cute accents that you don't hear what's actually being said (this one is especially important now that classes have started).
2. How to live in a crazy-expensive city with no income to speak of. Okay, maybe I haven't quite figured this one out yet, but I do know that it involves drinking considerably fewer pints of Guinness than I might wish.
3. How to figure out the cost of things in advance so you don't reveal your ineptitude with euros. Along with this, how to respect the change in your pocket because your coins actually possess substantial monetary value.
4. How to properly pronounce Dundrum (this is good, as I live there). The emphasis is on the second syllable. I sound ridiculous when I try to say it that way, though.
5. And finally, the big one: How to cross a street without getting killed. You look to the right first. Or in city centre, where every intersection is a zoo, just go when everyone else goes.

I've also experienced a few surprises here:
1. Palm trees. Nothing big and nothing lining the streets or anything, but it's not uncommon to see a small palm tree or two in someone's backyard garden.
2. It's green. I'm not talking vegetation, although that's green as well, but Dublin seems to have really taken the 'Save the Earth' movement to heart. Tesco, the grocery store I go to in Dundrum Town Centre, charges for plastic bags, and it's very rare to see people use them. Energy conservation is huge as well; nobody leaves their heat on all the time (this is more feasible here, of course, than in Minnesota).
3. A smoking ban in public buildings. This includes bars and pubs. Perhaps it isn't the traditional pub experience, but I appreciate it.
4. This is a little embarrassing, but a small personal revelation: when drinking or when uttering the little courtesies of daily life (excuse me, sorry, no thanks, etc.) I've found myself (quite unintentionally) speaking in a pseudo-Irish, mock-British accent. Maybe it's a self-preservation thing, to make me feel less like an AMERICAN. Also, when you're speaking one-on-one with someone in a pub, it's hard not to copy his or her inflections. Hey, if I come back with a brogue, I'm not going to complain.
5. And finally, the weather. I'm not just talking rain or wind here. I'm saying that it's always a surprise, pleasant or unpleasant, despite the forecast, despite what it was doing five minutes ago; it's just always changing. This is schizophrenic weather to the extreme.

Today was our first day of classes. I sat in on the art history class that I hope to audit (which meets in a house in city centre in which James Joyce is reputed to have studied); we went to the National Museum, and apparently we'll be going not only to museums, but all over on walking tours of the different neighborhoods. I also had my Northern Ireland class; we got a whirlwind history of the conflict and discussed the political situation today. I didn't realize how recent some of this stuff is; of course I knew there was still fighting going on in the 90s, but had no idea that the current government has been in place for less than a year. Shows how well I've been keeping up with current events.
Yesterday I explored the city a bit, went to the Dublin Writers Museum, and tried to take a few pictures as discreetly as possible.

Trinity College:






The Liffey:




O'Connell Street, complete with the Spire of Dublin, the world's tallest sculpture (you can guess how popular it is by its nicknames, which include, but are by no means limited to, "the stiletto in the ghetto," "the erection by the intersection," and "the stiffy by the Liffey"--hey, I don't make this stuff up!):




The Garden of Remembrance, a memorial to those who died for the cause of Irish freedom:



And finally, I just like these ones; they look so ominous:




Not bad for my first extremely self-conscious photo shoot, eh?

You get a tan from sitting in the (Irish) rain

Seriously. It's out of control. It's not just the rain--you also have the wind to contend with, which makes perfectly lovely days chilly and already rainy days terrible. Those stories you've heard about the Irish weather? Not exaggerations. Complaining about the weather is as popular here as it is in Minnesota.
Case in point: This morning was beautiful; nearly 50 degrees F (I really need to learn my Celsius conversions) and sunny--perfect for the open-top bus tour our RAs planned today around the city--our only real touristy event, and very needed as I had no real sense of the city at all (I still don't, really, but I'm getting there). So we took the Luas down to St. Steven's Green, met up with everyone, climbed to the top of the bus, and then the wind started blowing and suddenly it was freezing--I don't know the last time I've been that cold (still, the tour was great; we saw the major sites--Phoenix Park, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Kilmainham Gaol (a prison made famous for the detentions and executions of leaders of the Irish rebellions), the Guinness storehouse--an excellent overview). Then this evening it started raining, of course, but my friend Johanna and I braved the trek to the grocery store. Both of us had our umbrellas blown inside out at least twice on the way there. It's wild, really, but some sick part of me kind of relishes it.
I'm going to play a quick picture catch-up. I haven't taken many yet--none of the apartment, none of the city itself--but I'll get on it, I promise.
A few from Glendalough:
































Getting into the mountains made me very excited to travel around Ireland, although I might wait until I've learned a little Gaelic to travel much around the west coast--Gaelic is the primary language in some towns out there.
That brings me to my course list (the nerdy part of this post, but I can't wait to start classes). I'm taking Irish Language and Culture, Celtic Myth and Legend, Irish Literature into Film, Creative Intro to Irish Prose Fiction, and Intro to Northern Irish Troubles (I thought it would be a good idea to have some background before the IES trip to northern Ireland in February). I may also audit an art history class, as it consists mainly of going to museums and galleries.
Before I forget, my mailing addresses are:

10 Wyckham Place
Wyckham Way
Dundrum, Dublin 16
Ireland

(this is my apartment address, and fine for letters) and:

IES Dublin
27-29 Rathmines Road
Lower Dublin 6
Ireland

(any packages must be sent here; otherwise I'd have to hunt them down at the post office).

And now for a little craic...
From last night at a pub near Trinity College:

















The other girl in the top picture is Johanna, who goes to the U of M--she's the only person I've met who knows what Augsburg is! This was very exciting to me. The girl on the bottom picture is my roommate Maribeth.
From this cold, cold afternoon--just hanging out with James Joyce in St. Steven's Green:















Weather aside, I'm having a fabulous time--there's just so much that I can't wait to explore. Am I really going to be here for only 3.5 months?

Oh hey

I'm here! The trip over went well; I almost missed my connection in Chicago due to a delay in Mlps and an excruciatingly long security line in Chicago, but made it right at the final boarding call. On the Aer Lingus flight I sat next to a 17-year-old girl from western Ireland. She told me about what liquor to avoid (this was a bit disheartening coming from a 17-year-old), as well as what neighborhoods in Dublin to avoid (this was a bit disheartening as well, but I have found Dublin to be considerably less threatening than she suggested). She was great, though; as we were preparing to land, she pointed out places like Bono's home and where the absurdly rich and arrogant people live (there's a name for them, but I can't remember what it is).
My apartment is gorgeous. I will never be able to afford to live in such a nice place in real life (as opposed to Dublin life, which at this point is still extremely surreal). I'll post pictures whenever I'm motivated enough to take and download them.
IES took us to our first pub visit last night--a place called The Barge near the IES center. I had a couple pints of this amazing hard cider called, I believe, Bulmers--I wasn't quite up to the Guinness at that point. It was fun, but I'm looking forward to going without the entire IES group and actually mingling with real people (as opposed to IES people, who at this point are still extremely surreal as well).
Today we had our first day of orientation and took a day trip to Glendalough, a medieval monastery in the mountains south of Dublin. We actually saw a bit of sun between the rain; it was quite beautiful. I'll download pictures from this trip later as well.
I feel as though I'm adjusting to the time difference, but jet lag hits me at odd moments. I'm looking forward to classes starting so I can get on a real schedule. I think I'm going to be able to arrange it so that I'll only have classes from Tuesday to Thursday so I can travel when I want to on my four-day weekends. I said before I left that I only wanted to travel in Ireland and the UK while I'm here. However, I don't know that I'd be able to pass down a trip somewhere warm if I found cheap airfare--not that it's exceptionally cold here, but the dampness does sort of seep into everything.
I have information on my mailing address, but that will have to wait until another day. My roommates and I decided to try to stay awake until midnight tonight, but I think I'm about to crash; I have hours upon hours of sleep to catch up on.
Hope you're all well! Goodnight!

16 hours

This is going to happen. This is going to happen soon.
I'll see you all later, I guess.

40.5 hours

With less than 2 days left in the country, I thought that it was maybe time to finally get this blog started.

I'm packed (basically, almost, sort of). And by packed I mean I have thrown a large number of things into suitcases with no real organization whatsoever, and therefore have most likely done something ridiculous like packed three deodorants and no toothbrush. I just need to keep reminding myself that Dublin actually is civilization and will have anything that I forget.

And so I'm past the practical stage. I'm moving out of the sentimental stage--I've said most of my goodbyes already--and am entering the "there's only one day standing between me and this gigantic trip that I have been thinking about for so long that I never thought it would actually happen" stage. I won't say I'm not nervous, of course, but I also won't say I'm not excited and thrilled and exhilarated and ready to finally, finally start this semester.

My flight information:

American Airlines #360
MSP to Chicago O'Hare International
Departure (MSP): January 8, 1:50 PM CST
Arrival (ORD): January 8, 3:15 PM CST

Aer Lingus # 124
Chicago O'Hare International to Dublin (DUB)
Departure (ORD): January 8, 5:59 PM CST
Arrival (DUB): January 9, 7:20 AM GMT

I'm staying with three other students in an apartment complex called Wyckham Place, but am unsure as to whether the apartment address is the same as my mailing address; I'll get back to you on that. Also, if you're interested in getting a postcard or something, be sure to send me your address (or campus box number for you Augsburg types).

Sláinte!
(This is my word of the day. Or of the week. Or possibly of the semester.)