Monday, July 19, 2010

"Ulysses scares the living life out of people" and Other Things to Look Forward To

As of today I have less than two weeks until I’m on my flight home. That means I’m halfway through my program, but it somehow also means that I have three essays and an essay test still left to do. I think I’m getting the hang of it though. I got my last essay turned in Friday morning after I finished my history essay test (subjects were Patrick and Gerald of Wales/Norman invasion, if you were curious.) and I felt pretty good about both of them. I get to find out how I did on the first essay on Wednesday, so we’ll see how it went! I hope to do the essay that’s due this Friday on the potato famine, but we haven’t been given our prompts yet.

We started the literature portion of the course today. I think I’ll find it interesting, and hopefully not too overwhelming. Classes about literature always make me feel sort of guilty and out of the loop though. Most of you are well acquainted with how much I enjoy reading, but I have a hard time reading what is considered literature. I find them to either be difficult to read (such as Jane Austin or Charlotte Bronte) or simply boring. I usually like to read things that are different than real life because, if I wanted real life, I wouldn’t be reading. This isn’t to say that I just read fluff books, however. I enjoy books that are challenging, they just don’t usually happen to be considered literature.

Anyway, this weekend was busy and lots of fun, although we did have a break from essay writing, which was nice. We got done with our tests at about 10:30 AM Friday morning, so a bunch of girls and I decided to spend our extra free time shopping in City Centre. I managed to find a really cute shiny shirt at a little store off of Oliver Plunkett St. (It’s a good “going-out” shirt Mom and Carla!) Later that evening all of us got a little dressed up and went out to blow off some steam! We ended up going to The Washington Inn, our meeting pub of choice, and then heading over to the Bailey right next door. The original plan was to do Karaoke, but it sounded expensive and it was too cold outside for the walk, so that plan kinda fell through. There was some live music at the Bailey that was very good though! The guy played tons of classic American music (like Brown Eyed Girl, Hotel California, American Pie, etc.) and after he was finished there was dancing.
Athassel Priory

We had a field trip at 1:30 on Saturday, which meant I got to sleep in a little. We were heading to Cashel in the northern parts of County Cork which should have been about an hour’s drive, but we were delayed due to some motion sickness (mixed with morning after pub sickness) and a lost bus driver. We did manage to make it to our first stop, Athassel Priory, in fairly good time though. The priory was built in the middle of a bog as a defense system, but luckily it hadn’t rained at all that day, and it was fairly sunny, so the ground was firm. The surrounding area, however, was used as a cow pasture, meaning that there were rather large cow pies everywhere you stepped. You win some you lose some, I suppose. The ruins themselves were beautiful and we were allowed to wander them freely. We weren’t allowed to stay long though because the land is apparently private property, which would explain both the fences we had to climb over to reach it, and we didn’t want to get caught.


Students and Robert (in the brown leather jacket) at the Priory

After we made it out of Athassel without upsetting the cows or their owners we headed to the Rock of Cashel. As our tour guide pointed out, it is important to note that there is no actual rock there. In fact the cathedral (for it has not been a castle for a few hundred years) is built on a large, sod covered, limestone rock that rises about 200 feet above the town. The views of the surrounding Irish countryside were amazing, although the wind was vicious given the height. The architecture there was beautiful, and we even had the chance to look at some frescos that they are recovering.


Grave at the Rock of Cashel - One of the girls on the trip knows the family

After a nice dinner of steak at a nearby hotel we headed back for Brookfield. We were lucky in the fact that it waited until JUST as we got on the bus for the rain to start. That night was pretty mellow. I spent some quality time with two of my roommates in our common room getting to know each other and then a large group of us crammed into our neighbor’s common room to watch The Hangover.


Trying to keep warm! I've got the best spot : D

I got to sleep in again on Sunday morning, which was fantastic. We had planned to take a trip to the Fota Wildlife Park, but it rained all afternoon, so we decided to go to the cinema instead. We saw Inception, which was an excellent movie, if a bit mindblowing, and marveled at the public displays of affection people engaged in before the movie started.  People here are much less concerned about kissing in public!  Once I got home I was super bummed to find out that the internet was down EVERYWHERE! So I wasn’t able to talk to my parents or Jeff *sad face*. I’m starting to really miss home, but I’m also starting to get comfortable here, so I’m not really sure where I stand on the whole two weeks of class left thing.

Anyway, that’s all that I have to update you on. I have an essay to write this week (maybe two if I’m super ambitious) and then I think this weekend a couple of us are planning on going to Galway. I’ll let you know!

Amelia

7 comments:

  1. Always gotta be front and center...or in the center (your pictures). Sounds awesome though baby...I'm glad you're liking it better but I will be happy to see you again too.

    -Jeff

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  2. Little One,
    I am so proud of how seriously you are approaching your studies during this trip! :)
    You are experiencing a near-perfect blend of knowledge, culture and recreation. I know some students who studied abroad (who shall remain nameless) who could have spent a little less time on the recreation and more time on the knowledge.... :)
    It sounds like you will leave the Isle with a well-grounded love for its people, places...
    and pints! Mission accomplished!
    love,
    Peggy

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  3. Thanks Peggy!!! I know I make it sound easy, but it's actually pretty hard to get work done and stay on track! Like tonight, for example, I am supposed to go hang out at a pub, but I've got so much homework to do that I think I'm going to have to pass. *sad face*

    I am still having a great time though :D

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  4. Wishing you good traction, if you have to read Ulysses.

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  5. Mia, Sounds like things are quite awesome. Keep up the good work Kid. :D

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  6. SO proud of you and the work you are doing. glad you are having a good!!! time as well though. can't wait to see the going out shirt. miss you bunches! LOVE the chats we get to have though. have fun at Galway!

    xxoo mama

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