This is it. I'm almost packed. Almost.
Yesterday was good. I went to the leprechaun museum at last. It was actually really cool. I thought it was going to be really goofy, but it's not. It's all about story telling, so it's all guided. The guide goes through the first instances of leprechauns in stories and then misconceptions and then it moves onto the other mythical creatures of Ireland--Faeries particularly. They're not nice little winged things like ours. They're actually pretty frightening--vengeful, child stealing, and they look like normal people. Changelings are very creepy--if a faery steals your kid they'll put a changeling in its place. One will look like your baby except they always have dark eyes. And they have old man voices.
I got to the hostel later than I anticipated, but it was alright. Maddie found me and we went back to the Queen of Tarts for somethings delicious. Then we had time to kill before music started anywhere. I really wanted to go to O'Donahue's because it's famous and I hadn't. So we ate dinner there and I got in my first two pints of the night.
The Old Storehouse is awesome. It's pretty touristy, but I don't care. They have Trad every night and the drinks aren't too terribly expensive--for Temple Bar anyway. There were a bunch of Americans in there, mostly from Texas. One of them started talking about Australians and how he met one one time in a bar and he called the girl behind the bar over by saying "Hey bar wench!" And then this Texan went on to talk about how that's just how Australians are and things don't mean the same things in other countries blah blah blah. Well, Maddie wanted to kill him because apparently that guy was just an ass and not all Australians are fuck heads.
I'm a big fan of whiskey and coke now. They're a bit expensive though if you don't know what you're doing. If you just ask for a whiskey coke they'll sell you a shot of whiskey on ice and a separate can of coke. It ends up being 9 quid. If you're savvy to this you ask for draft coke. Then it's 5.90euro. Awesome. We each had 5 I reckon.
The music ended kind of early so we went down the street to another packed bar with somebody still playing. Had a Smithwicks. Made plans to go back to Derry within 5 years. Or Australia. A pinky swear happened. It's legit.
Fish and chips at 1am ish.
Everything was closing down by then so we just went back to the hostel to go to sleep and on the way I took some blurry drunk pictures on the Ha'penny bridge.
This morning was a little rough. Just a bit though. I drank some water and felt better. Did some souvenir shopping, said goodbye to the Liffey and the Temple Bar and the O'Connell street and the cross-walk signs that yell at you.
Okay this isn't really the last. I'm far too distracted for a legitimate farewell.
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Monday, May 28, 2012
Maynooth
Today was my last day in Maynooth town really. I've decided that I'm going to stay in a hostel tomorrow night because I want to go out with Maddie but the last buses out of the city during the week are at half eleven, and that's far too early for a last hurrah in Ireland.
But yeah, it was a very calm and thoughtful day for me. I woke up late, took a shower, didn't pack a single thing. At around 2 I went to my favorite cafe and sat in my spot and drank tea and wrote in my journal for two hours. Then kind of just wandered around the fields and gardens in south campus. You know, there are few things girlier than picking flowers, but that's what I did, and I couldn't have been happier. I was thinking about how I've been pretty much socialized to love everything green and alive since I've been old enough to hold a hose in one place for an eternity. I don't want to live in a city.
I want to know what Priests gossip about. Especially the new young graduating class of them here. There was some church party thing today and all the priests gathered at the cathedral and there were two walking that way, Bibles in hand, and one guy had that look on his face that said he was saying something he didn't want people to hear him saying and the other guy was all attentive. I'm just curious. There was a guy in Derry who asked me if I were going to be a nun when I told him that I was going to school in Maynooth. We were in a pub.
I really didn't expect to be sad to leave. And I'm not really, it's just a weird feeling when you know you're never going back to a place.
But yeah, it was a very calm and thoughtful day for me. I woke up late, took a shower, didn't pack a single thing. At around 2 I went to my favorite cafe and sat in my spot and drank tea and wrote in my journal for two hours. Then kind of just wandered around the fields and gardens in south campus. You know, there are few things girlier than picking flowers, but that's what I did, and I couldn't have been happier. I was thinking about how I've been pretty much socialized to love everything green and alive since I've been old enough to hold a hose in one place for an eternity. I don't want to live in a city.
I want to know what Priests gossip about. Especially the new young graduating class of them here. There was some church party thing today and all the priests gathered at the cathedral and there were two walking that way, Bibles in hand, and one guy had that look on his face that said he was saying something he didn't want people to hear him saying and the other guy was all attentive. I'm just curious. There was a guy in Derry who asked me if I were going to be a nun when I told him that I was going to school in Maynooth. We were in a pub.
I really didn't expect to be sad to leave. And I'm not really, it's just a weird feeling when you know you're never going back to a place.
Waxes desperate with imagination
Dublin yesterday was pretty good. I took Maddie to the Queen of Tarts. That place is awesome. My favorite cafe in Dublin for sure.
We went to the wax museum. I wasn't really into it at first just because I thought it would be a bunch of famous people all in a room and that's boring. But we got in there and most of the thing is about Irish history. And I think Irish history is just fascinating. Heaps better than American history. But yeah, all the leaders I've read about it or just heard about in classes now have faces. St.Patrick always looks different. And they didn't have a real one of Oliver Cromwell, but that's understandable. Just for fun they have a horror room. It's pretty nasty shit. And some stuff moves. I wouldn't stand a haunted house. The other floors were people from TV and kids movies and books and then Irish athletes and then the famous people. There really weren't that many.
Then we were on the search for live music. Up to Grafton Street. We watched a couple of the buskers--there was this group of 5 guys that were really good. They were playing lots of blues charts and some rock stuff, but it was all about the two guitar players who would solo. There was a singer but he wasn't that great. He didn't sing much though so it was alright. There were another couple of lads on the steps of the national bank who were really good too. At least one of the singers was.
By then it was proper pub time so we wandered into Temple Bar. We ended up at the Storehouse Bar and it was fuckin awesome. They have Trad every night and we heard this guy on guitar and a girl on fiddle. That was it but it was amazing. Fiddle has got to be one of the most impressive instruments. But even the guy on guitar was amazing. He was strumming all these crazy rhythms and changing capos for every tune in a medley. Just so cool.
Since it was Sunday there weren't any night buses so I left at 9ish. Sunset. It was beautiful.
We went to the wax museum. I wasn't really into it at first just because I thought it would be a bunch of famous people all in a room and that's boring. But we got in there and most of the thing is about Irish history. And I think Irish history is just fascinating. Heaps better than American history. But yeah, all the leaders I've read about it or just heard about in classes now have faces. St.Patrick always looks different. And they didn't have a real one of Oliver Cromwell, but that's understandable. Just for fun they have a horror room. It's pretty nasty shit. And some stuff moves. I wouldn't stand a haunted house. The other floors were people from TV and kids movies and books and then Irish athletes and then the famous people. There really weren't that many.
Then we were on the search for live music. Up to Grafton Street. We watched a couple of the buskers--there was this group of 5 guys that were really good. They were playing lots of blues charts and some rock stuff, but it was all about the two guitar players who would solo. There was a singer but he wasn't that great. He didn't sing much though so it was alright. There were another couple of lads on the steps of the national bank who were really good too. At least one of the singers was.
By then it was proper pub time so we wandered into Temple Bar. We ended up at the Storehouse Bar and it was fuckin awesome. They have Trad every night and we heard this guy on guitar and a girl on fiddle. That was it but it was amazing. Fiddle has got to be one of the most impressive instruments. But even the guy on guitar was amazing. He was strumming all these crazy rhythms and changing capos for every tune in a medley. Just so cool.
Since it was Sunday there weren't any night buses so I left at 9ish. Sunset. It was beautiful.
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Belfast II
Belfast is okay. But just okay. I got up there at 3:30ish and our ticket to the museum/experience was for five. Maddie met me at the bus station and we just started walking that way. It didn't take as long as I thought it was going to take us. We ended up getting there a little after four, but there's this cool "honesty box" cafe/art gallery place a block away.
The Titanic Experience is pretty cool. And it's brand new so it's not all broken yet. It takes you all the way through the economy before ship building became the huge thing, planning, building, outfitting, sailing, crash, sinking, aftermath, and "rediscovery." The coolest bits to me were planning and outfitting. There are all kinds of pictures from the White Star line showing these huge rooms full of huge desks and drafters drawing away at different sections. And then this massive empty room where they put it all together and drew it in chalk on the floor. For the building part there's a ride. I wasn't expecting a ride at all. It's short and slow, but still. They talked mostly about riveting and how it's done and what a pain in the ass it is, and therefore how impressive it is that ships this huge were ever finished. Next floor had lots of virtual stuff. One room had screens on 3 sides had a video on a loop which showed what you'd have seen if a camera could have gone straight up through every deck. They recreated a first-class room and had projectors going showing a first-class woman talking to the bellboy. They have samples of all the curtains, carpets, and dishes. I thought the part about the sinking was done well. All they had on the walls were the radio calls to and from the ship and the times and a pixelated thing showing the way it broke in half and sunk. It didn't dwell on the gory details so much. The last part is the rediscovery. I think that bit could have been done better. They basically have it set up like a theatre and you can watch the video they took from the little robot thing that went down there. And that's grand, but the commentary is dumb. It's two Americans talking and they just say dumb things and make dumb jokes. But if you just look at the video it's pretty cool.
We went out and it was pretty sketch. It's just a kind of run down city. It hasn't really gotten back on it's feet. And it's interesting because Derry hasn't really either, but at least Derry has some culture to it. Belfast doesn't have that. I think it's still pretty divided with no physical boundaries. I talked to a guy that was really glad that I said Derry and then there was a guy who sternly corrected me: "You mean Londonderry." And I'm not trying to say that there aren't nice people there--Gerry at the hostel is so nice and welcoming--but there's just something unsettling about the place. The Garda all over the place doesn't help either.
The Titanic Experience is pretty cool. And it's brand new so it's not all broken yet. It takes you all the way through the economy before ship building became the huge thing, planning, building, outfitting, sailing, crash, sinking, aftermath, and "rediscovery." The coolest bits to me were planning and outfitting. There are all kinds of pictures from the White Star line showing these huge rooms full of huge desks and drafters drawing away at different sections. And then this massive empty room where they put it all together and drew it in chalk on the floor. For the building part there's a ride. I wasn't expecting a ride at all. It's short and slow, but still. They talked mostly about riveting and how it's done and what a pain in the ass it is, and therefore how impressive it is that ships this huge were ever finished. Next floor had lots of virtual stuff. One room had screens on 3 sides had a video on a loop which showed what you'd have seen if a camera could have gone straight up through every deck. They recreated a first-class room and had projectors going showing a first-class woman talking to the bellboy. They have samples of all the curtains, carpets, and dishes. I thought the part about the sinking was done well. All they had on the walls were the radio calls to and from the ship and the times and a pixelated thing showing the way it broke in half and sunk. It didn't dwell on the gory details so much. The last part is the rediscovery. I think that bit could have been done better. They basically have it set up like a theatre and you can watch the video they took from the little robot thing that went down there. And that's grand, but the commentary is dumb. It's two Americans talking and they just say dumb things and make dumb jokes. But if you just look at the video it's pretty cool.
We went out and it was pretty sketch. It's just a kind of run down city. It hasn't really gotten back on it's feet. And it's interesting because Derry hasn't really either, but at least Derry has some culture to it. Belfast doesn't have that. I think it's still pretty divided with no physical boundaries. I talked to a guy that was really glad that I said Derry and then there was a guy who sternly corrected me: "You mean Londonderry." And I'm not trying to say that there aren't nice people there--Gerry at the hostel is so nice and welcoming--but there's just something unsettling about the place. The Garda all over the place doesn't help either.
Friday, May 25, 2012
Summer?
Sure feels like it.
I did go to Dublin on Wednesday, but I got a late start and the buses were unusually late, so I didn't get into town until 4. And I just assumed that the museum closes at 6, and I need more than two hours in a museum, so I didn't go. I went to a cafe I've passed by a bunch of times. It's kind of cool cause it's a specialty tea place. It was too warm to be drinking tea, but I left without having eaten or having any tea, so it was necessary. Walked around a bit and ended up just sitting in the sun on a bench on a bridge writing Emma a letter. I really enjoyed it.
Yesterday was gorgeous. I've been meaning to get up to the Carton house since September. Madison made it sound like it was really far, but it's not at all. I think it's like 3 miles from my apartment. About. But yeah I walked up there: through town, along the Carton Ave, through the golf course, up a hill, and there it is. It's impressive, but it's just a hotel or something now. And there's this Hermes fountain in front of it. He's the god of sports, so maybe it's proper.
Once you get up there and see it that's pretty much it. It's not like there's anything to really do there. But there's this long lake going through the golf course that you can sit next to and just chill. I brought my book but didn't end up reading. It's much more relaxing to just lay in the sun. I love when you lay in the sun with your eyes closed for a while and when you open them again everything looks faded.
I was really sleepy when I got back here though. I crashed before midnight for once. It was kind of hard because there were all kinds of parties going on. I think all exams are over so everyone is leaving which means that they all have to get shitty one more time. Aoife is leaving today or tomorrow though. That's exciting.
Today is gorgeous. I'm just packing though. Maybe in a bit I'll go do something.
Tomorrow I have to get up and catch 3 buses to Belfast. Maddie got our Titanic tickets for 5pm. And then we'll probably just go to a couple pubs. I'm staying only one night.
I did go to Dublin on Wednesday, but I got a late start and the buses were unusually late, so I didn't get into town until 4. And I just assumed that the museum closes at 6, and I need more than two hours in a museum, so I didn't go. I went to a cafe I've passed by a bunch of times. It's kind of cool cause it's a specialty tea place. It was too warm to be drinking tea, but I left without having eaten or having any tea, so it was necessary. Walked around a bit and ended up just sitting in the sun on a bench on a bridge writing Emma a letter. I really enjoyed it.
Yesterday was gorgeous. I've been meaning to get up to the Carton house since September. Madison made it sound like it was really far, but it's not at all. I think it's like 3 miles from my apartment. About. But yeah I walked up there: through town, along the Carton Ave, through the golf course, up a hill, and there it is. It's impressive, but it's just a hotel or something now. And there's this Hermes fountain in front of it. He's the god of sports, so maybe it's proper.
Once you get up there and see it that's pretty much it. It's not like there's anything to really do there. But there's this long lake going through the golf course that you can sit next to and just chill. I brought my book but didn't end up reading. It's much more relaxing to just lay in the sun. I love when you lay in the sun with your eyes closed for a while and when you open them again everything looks faded.
I was really sleepy when I got back here though. I crashed before midnight for once. It was kind of hard because there were all kinds of parties going on. I think all exams are over so everyone is leaving which means that they all have to get shitty one more time. Aoife is leaving today or tomorrow though. That's exciting.
Today is gorgeous. I'm just packing though. Maybe in a bit I'll go do something.
Tomorrow I have to get up and catch 3 buses to Belfast. Maddie got our Titanic tickets for 5pm. And then we'll probably just go to a couple pubs. I'm staying only one night.
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
I don't know more everyday
The packing has begun. It really is daunting.
Had a long chat with Louise mostly about how Aoife sucks and about cleaning up the place so we don't get charged for the cleaners.
Tomorrow's a Dublin day. I'm feeling like a museum.
Had a long chat with Louise mostly about how Aoife sucks and about cleaning up the place so we don't get charged for the cleaners.
Tomorrow's a Dublin day. I'm feeling like a museum.
Monday, May 21, 2012
Terminé
My hands remember far more than my brain.
This morning was kind of weird. I was woken up by intense sunshine at 6am again--this time I got up and closed my curtain. I was too asleep to answer my phone at 9:30 so I answered it in a dream instead. And finally I woke up every four minutes from 10:30 to 11:30. I got up for real at 11:45, and I'm really not sure why it was so hard to hang on to wakefulness.
The Sociology exam was fine. I thought it was longer, but it was only an hour. And that makes sense because we only had to write one essay. It was a little tougher than I thought though because I felt like I knew too much. Like I had too much to say for the given time, so it was more like just puking up facts and explanations as quickly as I could instead of really writing a well-formed argument.
Counterpoint was next and last. It was a weird one. We just all met up in this room and Ray passed out the official exam papers and then we were allowed to go wherever we wanted for three hours. I went to a cafe in town. The assignment was pretty hard actually. It took me a long time (45minutes) just to commit to which voice I was going to give the given line. After that it got a little better, but there were some spots I really couldn't find good consonants for. I know I passed though. The text was Lapidabant Stephanum invocantem which is "They stoned Stephen while he was praying." Ray thought it was funny.
Madison has a friend visiting her right now. She never looks happy--just always has this look on her face. I guess she can make whatever face she wants huh? Madison always complains about people not doing their dishes properly. I'm sure ye are sick of hearing about dishes, but they're a big part of my life right now. Madison complains for the obvious reasons, but she is also allergic to everything so she says that she has to make sure everything is clean before she uses it so that she doesn't get sick. It was really satisfying to find that she does a shit job at dishes just like everybody else. I'm not sure why. I think I just like finding out hypocrites.
Tomorrow I'll start packing. Wednesday will be a Dublin day.
This morning was kind of weird. I was woken up by intense sunshine at 6am again--this time I got up and closed my curtain. I was too asleep to answer my phone at 9:30 so I answered it in a dream instead. And finally I woke up every four minutes from 10:30 to 11:30. I got up for real at 11:45, and I'm really not sure why it was so hard to hang on to wakefulness.
The Sociology exam was fine. I thought it was longer, but it was only an hour. And that makes sense because we only had to write one essay. It was a little tougher than I thought though because I felt like I knew too much. Like I had too much to say for the given time, so it was more like just puking up facts and explanations as quickly as I could instead of really writing a well-formed argument.
Counterpoint was next and last. It was a weird one. We just all met up in this room and Ray passed out the official exam papers and then we were allowed to go wherever we wanted for three hours. I went to a cafe in town. The assignment was pretty hard actually. It took me a long time (45minutes) just to commit to which voice I was going to give the given line. After that it got a little better, but there were some spots I really couldn't find good consonants for. I know I passed though. The text was Lapidabant Stephanum invocantem which is "They stoned Stephen while he was praying." Ray thought it was funny.
Madison has a friend visiting her right now. She never looks happy--just always has this look on her face. I guess she can make whatever face she wants huh? Madison always complains about people not doing their dishes properly. I'm sure ye are sick of hearing about dishes, but they're a big part of my life right now. Madison complains for the obvious reasons, but she is also allergic to everything so she says that she has to make sure everything is clean before she uses it so that she doesn't get sick. It was really satisfying to find that she does a shit job at dishes just like everybody else. I'm not sure why. I think I just like finding out hypocrites.
Tomorrow I'll start packing. Wednesday will be a Dublin day.
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Lost in my mind
Two exams tomorrow. Sociology and Counterpoint. It never ends up well for me when I feel really good about a test or assignment. I am only good for anything when I'm kind of worried. And I'm not worried about either one of those. I can't bring myself to study for either of them either. For Soc I need to memorize some sources to paraphrase and cite in an essay. And for counterpoint I really don't know what I can do, so I do nothing. It's going to be fine though.
Today's been bit of a weird one.
After the exams tomorrow I'm going to start packing. And then planning my last days in Dublin. It's almost sad.
Today's been bit of a weird one.
After the exams tomorrow I'm going to start packing. And then planning my last days in Dublin. It's almost sad.
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Swell
I don't know if anybody else is so excited about daylight, but I'm thrilled that it's half ten and one side of the sky is still pale blue. It's almost proper summer here.
I'm starting to get that anxious/excited feeling. 11 more days people. I mean I can't wait. But it's going to be a stressful few days before hand. I'm still trying not to think about it too much. I've two exams on Monday. They are the priority. Or should be anyway. I'm hoping to only have to send one big box full of things in the mail.
Belfast Part Two will be next Saturday. Maddie is going to be there too, so we're going to the Titanic thing together and then probably/maybe going out that night, and coming back to Dublin on Sunday. I was thinking about Maddie on the bus back here from Derry. She was really easy to get to know. And I don't know if it's just because the first night we went out together we got drunk or what, but everybody (all the Derry men at the bar) was really surprised when we told them we'd only just met. It should always be that easy to make friends.
I took the trash out today. I really didn't want to because it was overflowing with bottles as shit from Aoife's party last night. I think that's shitty. You clean up the room, but you over pack the bin and just leave it there.
Madre, I was like you at the store today. I ran out of toilet paper so I went to get more, but didn't want to just but that. So I got some vegetables as well.
I'm starting to get that anxious/excited feeling. 11 more days people. I mean I can't wait. But it's going to be a stressful few days before hand. I'm still trying not to think about it too much. I've two exams on Monday. They are the priority. Or should be anyway. I'm hoping to only have to send one big box full of things in the mail.
Belfast Part Two will be next Saturday. Maddie is going to be there too, so we're going to the Titanic thing together and then probably/maybe going out that night, and coming back to Dublin on Sunday. I was thinking about Maddie on the bus back here from Derry. She was really easy to get to know. And I don't know if it's just because the first night we went out together we got drunk or what, but everybody (all the Derry men at the bar) was really surprised when we told them we'd only just met. It should always be that easy to make friends.
I took the trash out today. I really didn't want to because it was overflowing with bottles as shit from Aoife's party last night. I think that's shitty. You clean up the room, but you over pack the bin and just leave it there.
Madre, I was like you at the store today. I ran out of toilet paper so I went to get more, but didn't want to just but that. So I got some vegetables as well.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Trouble
The bastards threw another egg at my window. Maybe it's because mine is the only light on on this floor, or the only curtain open. I don't know. I really don't care. I'm just a little perturbed that after seven months of not a single thing being thrown at my window, now I've been forced to look through two egg smears in the last 6 weeks. It was so loud too. And it must have unsettled things because my door closed. Most of the time my door kind of just rests on the lock things--you know, the part that's cut at an angle so it'll move into the door when it slides against the frame, but once it's closed you have to turn the handle to open it. My door doesn't really close most of the time basically unless someone else opens a door in the hallway or something. But anyways, it closed when this eggs shit when down. It's just so dumb.
I think that not cleaning dishes well is just an Irish thing now. I wanted to think it was just my roommates, but nay. Madison's lad was over here hanging out and he made egg something--with my pan and spatula by the way--and when he was done he washed everything--while it was still hot which is how things get warped--but when I went to use stuff a little later it was not clean at all. I mean, you could still egg on the pan. C'mon man.
Tomorrow is the two week mark. It's a little crazy.
I think that not cleaning dishes well is just an Irish thing now. I wanted to think it was just my roommates, but nay. Madison's lad was over here hanging out and he made egg something--with my pan and spatula by the way--and when he was done he washed everything--while it was still hot which is how things get warped--but when I went to use stuff a little later it was not clean at all. I mean, you could still egg on the pan. C'mon man.
Tomorrow is the two week mark. It's a little crazy.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Stories
I forgot to write this down: Maddie and I were at the pub, sitting at the bar. She's Australian and was talking to one of the guys about being Australian, and I was talking to PJ about his name or Spain or our studies or whatever, and I wasn't paying attention to Maddie's conversation. And then I can just see the guy she's talking to point at me and say something. I didn't understand him so I asked him to repeat himself. Still didn't understand. After the third time we all got it--everybody was listening by then. He was saying "And you're an aboriginal I reckon." I just started laughing. I told him no I'm from America, and I'm half Mexican. Then some know-it-all try to tell me I wasn't Mexican, but I just ignored him. I reckon none of them have ever seen a real Mexican in person anyway.
Another time I'm standing by the bar waiting to order drinks and this guy asked me "Are you native?" I didn't know what to say so I said I'm from America. He just asked again "Are you native?" It really wasn't clicking for me so I kind of just frowned at him. He finally goes "Are you a native American?" Oh yeah my grandpa is blah blah blah. Then he turns around and goes "Aye yeah I knew it. I can see it in your eyes, nose, hair, and face." Whatever man. Some people just like talking.
The bus back here straight from Derry took longer than I thought. It took almost four hours. It doesn't seem that long on paper, but it did drag on. I didn't leave until 4:30 either. Got back here at 11 because I had to wait for the Dublin-to-Maynooth bus for an hour. But it was fine. There was nobody here.
I couldn't force myself to study for my exam until around 11 last night. And by then I was tired again so I just tried to think of what was likely to be on the exam. He told us the things that definitely weren't: Sparta and women. Grand. I just picked two things and rewrote notes and thought about how I'd write essays on them and skimmed over the other stuff. And I totally lucked out because the things I chose worked perfectly. I reckon I passed. Hallelujah.
Other than that--even with that actually--today has been pretty uneventful. I woke up at 6am for a few minutes because the sun was shinning directly into my window. It was cool, but almost painful. Woke up again at 7 all nervous like I missed my alarm. Then when I really needed to wake up I didn't really care. This testing room is so obscure though. I don't think they teach classes there so nobody knows where it is. Somebody actually made a youtube video of it: How to find Lower Loftus in 90 seconds. It's brilliant.
I went to the store. I bought cheese because I figure I'm probably only going to go to the store twice more before I go home, so why not? It was the most expensive thing I got. I bought meat and eggs and the cheese was the thing. Lame.
Up until 8pm I was just waiting around to be able to register for fall classes. I've put down about 50 pages of my book and I'm into my second "load" of laundry. But yeah I've enrolled as much as I can from here. First off, I had this hold on my account from back in November about exit counseling for my loans. Since I wasn't enrolled in classes they thought that I quit school or something. I called back then and they said they put me on "enrolled" status so it should have been fine. But no, so I had to call again. The woman in the office was really nice though. At first she couldn't really hear me but she was patient rather than frustrated. I told her the story and then she thought it was really cool that I was calling from Ireland. She took the hold off no problem and I'm down for 4 classes right now. Four others require permission numbers so I have to email some teachers. I really really really don't want to email Dr. N though. I just want to put off talking to him for a long as I possibly can. Another class is jazz but we don't sign up for that until after auditions in the fall anyway. And after those 9 classes I still have 3 credits I can do whatever I want with. I could take conducting but it's at 8 am and it's usually offered in the summer so I'm going to put it off for a bit. I don't know. Maybe I'll take choir finally. I have to someday. Ten or eleven classes is a little insane though. I've only had 8 before. The only cool thing is that even with all 9 I know I'm going to take, my first class will start at 10am. I don't want to mess that up.
I'm really glad that I've never been one of the cool kids. Aoife and her friends are they. I used to avoid them, but for some reason the last few days I've enjoyed interrupting their kitchen sessions. You know I'm really just a grumpy old lady at heart.
Padre I got your postcard today! Thank you! Niamh had to ask me "are you Bean?" It was funny. Made my day.
Another time I'm standing by the bar waiting to order drinks and this guy asked me "Are you native?" I didn't know what to say so I said I'm from America. He just asked again "Are you native?" It really wasn't clicking for me so I kind of just frowned at him. He finally goes "Are you a native American?" Oh yeah my grandpa is blah blah blah. Then he turns around and goes "Aye yeah I knew it. I can see it in your eyes, nose, hair, and face." Whatever man. Some people just like talking.
The bus back here straight from Derry took longer than I thought. It took almost four hours. It doesn't seem that long on paper, but it did drag on. I didn't leave until 4:30 either. Got back here at 11 because I had to wait for the Dublin-to-Maynooth bus for an hour. But it was fine. There was nobody here.
I couldn't force myself to study for my exam until around 11 last night. And by then I was tired again so I just tried to think of what was likely to be on the exam. He told us the things that definitely weren't: Sparta and women. Grand. I just picked two things and rewrote notes and thought about how I'd write essays on them and skimmed over the other stuff. And I totally lucked out because the things I chose worked perfectly. I reckon I passed. Hallelujah.
Other than that--even with that actually--today has been pretty uneventful. I woke up at 6am for a few minutes because the sun was shinning directly into my window. It was cool, but almost painful. Woke up again at 7 all nervous like I missed my alarm. Then when I really needed to wake up I didn't really care. This testing room is so obscure though. I don't think they teach classes there so nobody knows where it is. Somebody actually made a youtube video of it: How to find Lower Loftus in 90 seconds. It's brilliant.
I went to the store. I bought cheese because I figure I'm probably only going to go to the store twice more before I go home, so why not? It was the most expensive thing I got. I bought meat and eggs and the cheese was the thing. Lame.
Up until 8pm I was just waiting around to be able to register for fall classes. I've put down about 50 pages of my book and I'm into my second "load" of laundry. But yeah I've enrolled as much as I can from here. First off, I had this hold on my account from back in November about exit counseling for my loans. Since I wasn't enrolled in classes they thought that I quit school or something. I called back then and they said they put me on "enrolled" status so it should have been fine. But no, so I had to call again. The woman in the office was really nice though. At first she couldn't really hear me but she was patient rather than frustrated. I told her the story and then she thought it was really cool that I was calling from Ireland. She took the hold off no problem and I'm down for 4 classes right now. Four others require permission numbers so I have to email some teachers. I really really really don't want to email Dr. N though. I just want to put off talking to him for a long as I possibly can. Another class is jazz but we don't sign up for that until after auditions in the fall anyway. And after those 9 classes I still have 3 credits I can do whatever I want with. I could take conducting but it's at 8 am and it's usually offered in the summer so I'm going to put it off for a bit. I don't know. Maybe I'll take choir finally. I have to someday. Ten or eleven classes is a little insane though. I've only had 8 before. The only cool thing is that even with all 9 I know I'm going to take, my first class will start at 10am. I don't want to mess that up.
I'm really glad that I've never been one of the cool kids. Aoife and her friends are they. I used to avoid them, but for some reason the last few days I've enjoyed interrupting their kitchen sessions. You know I'm really just a grumpy old lady at heart.
Padre I got your postcard today! Thank you! Niamh had to ask me "are you Bean?" It was funny. Made my day.
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Free Derry
I'm still here in Derry. I'm leaving tomorrow for real though.
So I did the Museum of Free Derry and a tour of the murals a few days ago. It was pretty emotionally draining actually. It's just so recent still. The museum is right on the square where Bloody Sunday happened. And when you go in there the man behind the counter taking your money tells you how the museum works and then he tells you that his younger brother was one of those 13 people killed on Bloody Sunday. A big group of people from Michigan came in a few minutes after me and I eavesdropped on their introduction thing from him.
There were two inquiries made to look into what happened on Bloody Sunday--the first one was done by a British general who discounted all the eye-witness testimonies and declared the British troops were in the right: that the people of the bogside were gunmen and bombers. So then three years ago, there was another inquiry made and more testimonies from people that were actually there, and the statements made by British troops themselves, and it has been declared that all the people of Derry who were killed that day were innocent--that they were murdered. Now, the families of the victims want the 4 British soldiers responsible to be prosecuted. I can't imagine why they wouldn't be.
In the museum there are all kind of things from the whole conflict that have been donated by families. There are the huge rubber and plastic bullets that people were killed with because they were shot at point blank range. There is a recording that's looped all day long that was taken by a reporter who was there, and it's the rally, the shootings, and the reaction to the killings. There is the Derry civil rights banner. There's the white hankerchief that Bishop Daly waved as he was trying to rescue one of the boys shot. There are a bunch of different articles of clothings with bullet holes on display.
My walking tour was led by a man who was a member of the IRA and who was prison for seven and a half years because of it. There are 12 murals in the bogside and he explained them all to us. Three are of the most famous pictures of the conflict:
The one there in the middle is Bishop Daly waving the white handkerchief, Jackie Duddy's body being carried to an ambulance, and a British paratrooper standing in the way--and on civil rights. The one on the right is called Petrol Bomber. It's from the Battle of the Bogside in 1969. The lad is only 12 I think.
There's one mural that changes all the time. It's the one that says "You are now entering Free Derry" I was a little ashamed that I didn't know this when the tour guide asked me, but they got it from Berkeley. Most of the civil rights movement here was based on ours. But yeah it changes all the time: a couple months ago it was pink for gay rights, when Bush came over here they covered it with a black curtain in protest of the Iraq war, right now it's red and black because of the local anarchist association or something like that.
After that we've just been going out the past few nights. It's great craic. The locals seem to like us--there was this man who came and talked to us in the bar and was telling us about how much he hates the British and how many of them he killed in the Troubles, and where he was on Bloody Sunday. He could have been lying about the whole things. You never know. He also thinks that Princess Diana was murdered. Another guy was almost impossible to understand. I really tried though and I reckon he appreciated that cause he bought us a few drinks and told us we made his day and told us to be careful and enjoy ourselves while we're here. Everybody has been so nice to us--for the most part.
I do have to leave tomorrow though. Partly because I don't want to pay to stay here anymore--the exchange rate to pounds is way worse than euros, and I have my first final on Tuesday and I should probably study just a bit. I will miss it here though. It's been the best time I've had since I've been over here.
So I did the Museum of Free Derry and a tour of the murals a few days ago. It was pretty emotionally draining actually. It's just so recent still. The museum is right on the square where Bloody Sunday happened. And when you go in there the man behind the counter taking your money tells you how the museum works and then he tells you that his younger brother was one of those 13 people killed on Bloody Sunday. A big group of people from Michigan came in a few minutes after me and I eavesdropped on their introduction thing from him.
There were two inquiries made to look into what happened on Bloody Sunday--the first one was done by a British general who discounted all the eye-witness testimonies and declared the British troops were in the right: that the people of the bogside were gunmen and bombers. So then three years ago, there was another inquiry made and more testimonies from people that were actually there, and the statements made by British troops themselves, and it has been declared that all the people of Derry who were killed that day were innocent--that they were murdered. Now, the families of the victims want the 4 British soldiers responsible to be prosecuted. I can't imagine why they wouldn't be.
In the museum there are all kind of things from the whole conflict that have been donated by families. There are the huge rubber and plastic bullets that people were killed with because they were shot at point blank range. There is a recording that's looped all day long that was taken by a reporter who was there, and it's the rally, the shootings, and the reaction to the killings. There is the Derry civil rights banner. There's the white hankerchief that Bishop Daly waved as he was trying to rescue one of the boys shot. There are a bunch of different articles of clothings with bullet holes on display.
My walking tour was led by a man who was a member of the IRA and who was prison for seven and a half years because of it. There are 12 murals in the bogside and he explained them all to us. Three are of the most famous pictures of the conflict:
The one there in the middle is Bishop Daly waving the white handkerchief, Jackie Duddy's body being carried to an ambulance, and a British paratrooper standing in the way--and on civil rights. The one on the right is called Petrol Bomber. It's from the Battle of the Bogside in 1969. The lad is only 12 I think.
There's one mural that changes all the time. It's the one that says "You are now entering Free Derry" I was a little ashamed that I didn't know this when the tour guide asked me, but they got it from Berkeley. Most of the civil rights movement here was based on ours. But yeah it changes all the time: a couple months ago it was pink for gay rights, when Bush came over here they covered it with a black curtain in protest of the Iraq war, right now it's red and black because of the local anarchist association or something like that.
After that we've just been going out the past few nights. It's great craic. The locals seem to like us--there was this man who came and talked to us in the bar and was telling us about how much he hates the British and how many of them he killed in the Troubles, and where he was on Bloody Sunday. He could have been lying about the whole things. You never know. He also thinks that Princess Diana was murdered. Another guy was almost impossible to understand. I really tried though and I reckon he appreciated that cause he bought us a few drinks and told us we made his day and told us to be careful and enjoy ourselves while we're here. Everybody has been so nice to us--for the most part.
I do have to leave tomorrow though. Partly because I don't want to pay to stay here anymore--the exchange rate to pounds is way worse than euros, and I have my first final on Tuesday and I should probably study just a bit. I will miss it here though. It's been the best time I've had since I've been over here.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Derry
Today I did some of the attractions. The Tower museum is great. It's really lovely, like, everything looks new, and all the exhibits are interesting and written to be a bit entertaining. And you can walk through different sections and at the end there's a little video about what you just read about, but the video goes into more detail and it's a video so it's less work. I learned a lot about Derry. The museum takes you from the beginning with St. Columb establishing the parish on the hill and then all the way through to the Good Friday Peace agreement in 1998.
The other bit is about this ship of the Spanish Armada that sunk off the north coast of Ireland and they have the artifacts and things here in Derry. Seemed a bit random, but it was alright.
You can go to the top of the building and look out over the city. There's a guard kind of guy that sits up there for some reason. He asked me where I was from and when I said Seattle he started laughing and said something about sleepless. But then he kind of started reciting things to me: "So Seattle. You're from the state of Washington then aye? And your capital is Olympia." I was impressed. Then he started on about how capital cities are weird because they aren't the biggest of the best well known cities in a state. He knows more state capitals than I do. Used to know them all. Like 8 years ago. But whatever, he was a real nice, friendly guy.
I walked the wall. It's very cool. The entire thing is open to the public. It's not a very tall all, but it's thick and the west side is brilliant because it's at the very top of the hill, so when you're up there you can see all of the Bogside which is the "Free Derry" part--all the catholics.
St. Columb's cathedral is beautiful. You're supposed to pay 2 quid to go in and more if you want to take pictures, but when I walked in there was no one around to collect money, so I just went in. There was another video telling about the Seige of 1689 and the 13 lads who closed the gates and they actually have the original locks there in the church museum. Only one part was sectioned off which is grand. Even the tiny stairs up the organist's block wasn't roped off, so I went up there. It's so cool! 4 keyboards, pegs all over the place and the floor pedals are ridiculous. There were stacks of music everywhere and huge hym books and something by Elgar sitting there and the mirror to see the choir director across the way. It was awesome.
I walked across the brand new Peace Bridge over to the Protestant side of the River Foyle. It's weird over there. Like, deserted. And plain. And eerily quiet. I was going to try to find the street that has all the murals from the Troubles, but I didn't bring me map with me and it was dusk and I don't know. It's just a weird place.
Tomorrow I'm going to do a Free Derry walking tour and go to the Museum of Free Derry. Both are all about the Troubles. And the tours are actually done by men who were there--and a few of them were actually put in jail for treason for years. It's a really cool service.
I'm staying on here an extra night as well. The hostel is technically full because a massive group of French students are coming for one night. Really random. But yeah Maddie is working here and Kailey, the owner is super nice, so they're going to just throw a mattress on the floor in the staff bedroom and let me sleep there for free. It's fuckin awesome. I love it here.
The other bit is about this ship of the Spanish Armada that sunk off the north coast of Ireland and they have the artifacts and things here in Derry. Seemed a bit random, but it was alright.
You can go to the top of the building and look out over the city. There's a guard kind of guy that sits up there for some reason. He asked me where I was from and when I said Seattle he started laughing and said something about sleepless. But then he kind of started reciting things to me: "So Seattle. You're from the state of Washington then aye? And your capital is Olympia." I was impressed. Then he started on about how capital cities are weird because they aren't the biggest of the best well known cities in a state. He knows more state capitals than I do. Used to know them all. Like 8 years ago. But whatever, he was a real nice, friendly guy.
I walked the wall. It's very cool. The entire thing is open to the public. It's not a very tall all, but it's thick and the west side is brilliant because it's at the very top of the hill, so when you're up there you can see all of the Bogside which is the "Free Derry" part--all the catholics.
St. Columb's cathedral is beautiful. You're supposed to pay 2 quid to go in and more if you want to take pictures, but when I walked in there was no one around to collect money, so I just went in. There was another video telling about the Seige of 1689 and the 13 lads who closed the gates and they actually have the original locks there in the church museum. Only one part was sectioned off which is grand. Even the tiny stairs up the organist's block wasn't roped off, so I went up there. It's so cool! 4 keyboards, pegs all over the place and the floor pedals are ridiculous. There were stacks of music everywhere and huge hym books and something by Elgar sitting there and the mirror to see the choir director across the way. It was awesome.
I walked across the brand new Peace Bridge over to the Protestant side of the River Foyle. It's weird over there. Like, deserted. And plain. And eerily quiet. I was going to try to find the street that has all the murals from the Troubles, but I didn't bring me map with me and it was dusk and I don't know. It's just a weird place.
Tomorrow I'm going to do a Free Derry walking tour and go to the Museum of Free Derry. Both are all about the Troubles. And the tours are actually done by men who were there--and a few of them were actually put in jail for treason for years. It's a really cool service.
I'm staying on here an extra night as well. The hostel is technically full because a massive group of French students are coming for one night. Really random. But yeah Maddie is working here and Kailey, the owner is super nice, so they're going to just throw a mattress on the floor in the staff bedroom and let me sleep there for free. It's fuckin awesome. I love it here.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Locked
Alright. I'm a bit pissed right now. In the Irish sense of the term. Meaning drunk. I went out with Maddie to the pubs because it was supposed to be the last night of the Derry Jazz festival. And it really was if you were in the right bar, but we weren't exactly. I mean, what was supposed to start at 10 started at 11, and so we went to the Castle Bar. It's the coolest "old man" pub in Derry. I don't care that I haven't been to any other ones, but this one has PJ behind the bar and that makes it the coolest. I don't know. We had fun. He's very cute. There were a couple pervy older guys that were probably just really glad to have some younger girls come into their pub, but whatever. The last guy we were talking to--Michael--was turning 50 and his 16 year old daughter is having a baby and he was all drunk, but he was so nice. The only thing that sucked was that he made us grab a cab back to the hostel. It was dumb though because if there wasn't a short building in the way I would have been able tos ee our hostel from teh corner we were standing on. Whatever though. We grabbed a cab and paid the £3.60, no problem.
Earlier in the night though it was really weird. There was this one guy that was really into Maddie and he was talking to her a lot and when he was about to leave he did the Nazi salute at us. It was the weirdest shit ever. I didn't really think that was what he was doing for a long time. Like, I asked him "what are you doing?" and he just kept doing it. And then finally 10 minutes later he said: "saving us all from the Jews of the world." Then I got pissed at him. I mean, before that he was just a kind of annoying, but well mannered drunk man, but shit. C'mon. And as he was leaving the pub for the first time--he came back momentarily--he grabbed Maddie's ass like nothing. We were a little appalled as ye can imagine. Hopefully. When he came back PJ had talk with him at the other end of the bar and he left and didn't come back.
The Castle bar is just a bunch of locals. It was great craic though. They were all interested in America and Maddie from Australia so they were talking to her about kangaroos and shit. PJ behind the bar was really cool though. Like, a normal, sober, genuinely nice guy talking to us and protecting us from the random-ass Neo Nazis of Derry. He's working again on Wednesday so I might prolong my stay here.
I really love it here. And I don't know if it's just cause I met Maddie who is fuckin' awesome or if it's the town and the people and the craic, but still, I don't want to leave. If I could have been here the whole year, there wouldn't have been that middle stage where I hated everything and just wanted to go home.
I can't drink whiskey on the rocks though. I just can't. It's too gross. Whiskey and coke is grand. Hot whiskey is grand. Any whiskey that I can taste the whiskey bit of, no good.
Alright, I'm finished. Goodnight. Love you all.
Earlier in the night though it was really weird. There was this one guy that was really into Maddie and he was talking to her a lot and when he was about to leave he did the Nazi salute at us. It was the weirdest shit ever. I didn't really think that was what he was doing for a long time. Like, I asked him "what are you doing?" and he just kept doing it. And then finally 10 minutes later he said: "saving us all from the Jews of the world." Then I got pissed at him. I mean, before that he was just a kind of annoying, but well mannered drunk man, but shit. C'mon. And as he was leaving the pub for the first time--he came back momentarily--he grabbed Maddie's ass like nothing. We were a little appalled as ye can imagine. Hopefully. When he came back PJ had talk with him at the other end of the bar and he left and didn't come back.
The Castle bar is just a bunch of locals. It was great craic though. They were all interested in America and Maddie from Australia so they were talking to her about kangaroos and shit. PJ behind the bar was really cool though. Like, a normal, sober, genuinely nice guy talking to us and protecting us from the random-ass Neo Nazis of Derry. He's working again on Wednesday so I might prolong my stay here.
I really love it here. And I don't know if it's just cause I met Maddie who is fuckin' awesome or if it's the town and the people and the craic, but still, I don't want to leave. If I could have been here the whole year, there wouldn't have been that middle stage where I hated everything and just wanted to go home.
I can't drink whiskey on the rocks though. I just can't. It's too gross. Whiskey and coke is grand. Hot whiskey is grand. Any whiskey that I can taste the whiskey bit of, no good.
Alright, I'm finished. Goodnight. Love you all.
Sunday, May 6, 2012
The pipes, the pipes are calling...
This was a good day.
I woke up later than I wanted to, but it turned out not mattering anyway. I thought about doing the Black Taxi tour this morning, but decided not to, and it's for the best. What I did do was walk all the way over to the Titanic Experience--which is a long fuckin way away, let me tell you--and saw the King Albert whatever clock on the way. I want to read a book on Albert. He's everywhere and I don't know why. But the important part: the Titanic Experience tickets were sold out for the next three days. That's insane right? I had no idea it was that fuckin popular. I'd walked all over the city and didn't see as many tourists as I saw there. It's like they're all going there just for that. But yeah. I just have to go back. I can just make it a day trip or something. It only takes 2.5 hours to get there from Dublin, so what the hell. Then I can do a black cab tour as well. The cool thing about the Black Taxi tours is that they are all about the history of The Troubles and they take you over to the Protestant/Loyalist side of town to see the murals and the sights of the bombings and all that.
On the way back to the Europa bus station in the city center I came across a "global market." You had to pay £3 to get in, but alright. It was like any street fair kind of thing you would find at home--vendors are local businesses and the food is cheap and there was a local band playing in this big dark tent. It was cool though. I ate Thai food because it struck my fancy right then. I also bought myself a ring with a Celtic interlay design thing. I asked the guy twice if it's really silver and he said yeah it won't tarnish or turn my finger green, so he better not have been lying to me.
The bus ride out here to Derry is beautiful. The Ulsterbus line is different than Bus Eireann one in that the Ulsterbus line uses normal city buses for their long distance runs too. So, I got to sit at the front on the top deck of this bus and it was brilliant--the huge windows and all. And it was beautiful day. Just perfect.
Got a bit lost finding the hostel again. Don't know what my problem is--if I wrote the directions wrong or if they're wrong on the site or what, but they aren't right how I've them. Anyways, the Derry Jazz festival is this weekends-ends tomorrow on the bank holiday. There's a square downtown that you've to walk through to get here to the hostel and they had a few different tents up with some bands playing. It's great to hear jazz again. I miss it.
After I found the hostel I decided to just chill here for a while. The woman that runs the place--it's an indepenedent one--is really cool. She made me some tea and starred a bunch of places on this free map that I should go see. The internet is free here, though there's only one computer. That's one irrelevent reason that I'm on at 2am rather than earlier.
The better--far more relevent reason--that I'm on this late is because I met an Australian girl here who asked me if I wanted to go out to the pubs to hear some music with her. Absolutely. She's very cool. She's here alone like me. I don't know what's she's doing really, but while she's here she's working at the hostel in exchange for a bed and the facilities. That's awesome. If I could plan a backpacking trip like that I would love it. Basically free accommodation if you put in a few hours here and there checking in people and cleaning up beds and the like. So cool.
We went to a couple pubs--the first few were really packed and the bands weren't the greatest. We settled at one and I didn't read the name as we walked in or out, but it was fun. Pretty decent craic. The band wasn't fantastic, but they weren't bad by any means. And we kind of just laughed at all the weird people--super weird guys--dancing and falling all over each other. It was weird, but fun. Right at the very end, in like the last 15 minutes the place was open this guy asked me where I was from and then we were talking about Seattle a bit, so this girl overheard and then she started talking to me about Seattle. She was there with her brother and apparently her parents did a trip of the west coast years ago and they loved Seattle and she was telling me all this stuff and she's just totally locked/pissed/wasted, but she's grand. She was lovely. She shook my hand three times and was introducing to random people I don't think she even knew.
Tomorrow I'm going to do the wall--Derry is a walled city, the Tower Museum which is all about the Troubles, and maybe a walking tour. Not entirely sure. This trip has been mostly winging it so far and it's turned out beautifully, so I think I'll just keep at it.
I woke up later than I wanted to, but it turned out not mattering anyway. I thought about doing the Black Taxi tour this morning, but decided not to, and it's for the best. What I did do was walk all the way over to the Titanic Experience--which is a long fuckin way away, let me tell you--and saw the King Albert whatever clock on the way. I want to read a book on Albert. He's everywhere and I don't know why. But the important part: the Titanic Experience tickets were sold out for the next three days. That's insane right? I had no idea it was that fuckin popular. I'd walked all over the city and didn't see as many tourists as I saw there. It's like they're all going there just for that. But yeah. I just have to go back. I can just make it a day trip or something. It only takes 2.5 hours to get there from Dublin, so what the hell. Then I can do a black cab tour as well. The cool thing about the Black Taxi tours is that they are all about the history of The Troubles and they take you over to the Protestant/Loyalist side of town to see the murals and the sights of the bombings and all that.
On the way back to the Europa bus station in the city center I came across a "global market." You had to pay £3 to get in, but alright. It was like any street fair kind of thing you would find at home--vendors are local businesses and the food is cheap and there was a local band playing in this big dark tent. It was cool though. I ate Thai food because it struck my fancy right then. I also bought myself a ring with a Celtic interlay design thing. I asked the guy twice if it's really silver and he said yeah it won't tarnish or turn my finger green, so he better not have been lying to me.
The bus ride out here to Derry is beautiful. The Ulsterbus line is different than Bus Eireann one in that the Ulsterbus line uses normal city buses for their long distance runs too. So, I got to sit at the front on the top deck of this bus and it was brilliant--the huge windows and all. And it was beautiful day. Just perfect.
Got a bit lost finding the hostel again. Don't know what my problem is--if I wrote the directions wrong or if they're wrong on the site or what, but they aren't right how I've them. Anyways, the Derry Jazz festival is this weekends-ends tomorrow on the bank holiday. There's a square downtown that you've to walk through to get here to the hostel and they had a few different tents up with some bands playing. It's great to hear jazz again. I miss it.
After I found the hostel I decided to just chill here for a while. The woman that runs the place--it's an indepenedent one--is really cool. She made me some tea and starred a bunch of places on this free map that I should go see. The internet is free here, though there's only one computer. That's one irrelevent reason that I'm on at 2am rather than earlier.
The better--far more relevent reason--that I'm on this late is because I met an Australian girl here who asked me if I wanted to go out to the pubs to hear some music with her. Absolutely. She's very cool. She's here alone like me. I don't know what's she's doing really, but while she's here she's working at the hostel in exchange for a bed and the facilities. That's awesome. If I could plan a backpacking trip like that I would love it. Basically free accommodation if you put in a few hours here and there checking in people and cleaning up beds and the like. So cool.
We went to a couple pubs--the first few were really packed and the bands weren't the greatest. We settled at one and I didn't read the name as we walked in or out, but it was fun. Pretty decent craic. The band wasn't fantastic, but they weren't bad by any means. And we kind of just laughed at all the weird people--super weird guys--dancing and falling all over each other. It was weird, but fun. Right at the very end, in like the last 15 minutes the place was open this guy asked me where I was from and then we were talking about Seattle a bit, so this girl overheard and then she started talking to me about Seattle. She was there with her brother and apparently her parents did a trip of the west coast years ago and they loved Seattle and she was telling me all this stuff and she's just totally locked/pissed/wasted, but she's grand. She was lovely. She shook my hand three times and was introducing to random people I don't think she even knew.
Tomorrow I'm going to do the wall--Derry is a walled city, the Tower Museum which is all about the Troubles, and maybe a walking tour. Not entirely sure. This trip has been mostly winging it so far and it's turned out beautifully, so I think I'll just keep at it.
Saturday, May 5, 2012
Belfast/Antrim
Belfast: I haven't gotten around too much yet. Didn't get in until about 5:30 last night because I'm a loser, but I did get turned around trying to find the hostel. Because of that I've seen all of the city center. It's a really cool city from the quick overview I've gotten. The Titanic thing is way up at the other end of the city from where the hostel is, but I'll get there tomorrow before I leave. Anyways, last night I saw Queens University--the bits of it that were open until 9pm. There are botanical gardens in there that are really pretty. And the building itself is beautiful. I walked around the City hall a bunch of times. There's a new Titanic memorial there too--just opened in March or April. It's nice--all the gras and benches are perfectly groomed and aligned.
I did the pub crawl put on by the hostel last night. That was kind of crazy. I met two Canadian girls and I was hanging out with them the whole time. They did some serious pre-funking though. I didn't even know there was a pub crawl until 5 minutes before it was leaving, so I was starting out completely sober. I also ended that way. But anyway, the hostel staff is a lot of fun. They made us play a game that if someone drops a pound into your drink you have to just down it--chuck, do the shot, whatever you have. If you don't want that to be you then you have to make sure you never have a full pint. So, you kind of end up downing drinks fast for fear anyway. It was great craic though. I haven't been around so many drunk people while being sober for a long time though. It's crazy how close people put their faces to you when they're drunk. I left with the two Canadian girls after the second pub though. First off, we weren't going to the 3rd pub anymore because there was a fight and it just wouldn't be good. And secondly, one of the girls got kicked out of the pub so she was in a state. And thirdly, the last place was a club, and that's not really my scene. I did teach them the phrase 'getting the shift' though. They've been in Ireland for the last two weeks and hadn't heard it yet. It may be my favorite slang.
Came back here, chatted it up with two Germany boys right out of secondary school, and the other guy on the hostel staff. It of course ended up as a conversation comparing countries. And America wins. Even when it doesn't make sense it wins. They didn't really have anything bad to say about it though, which was good because I don't really like defending it. I don't feel that strongly about it.
Today was cool though. Another full day tour. This time around the Antrim coast. It's so beautiful. I'm torn between which county's coast is more picturesque: Kerry or Antrim. I'm just not going to pick. But, we stopped to take pictures of the Carrickfergus castle. It's alright. There's not too much too it, and it's not very old.
Larne is a gorgeous little village. I don't know if it was just a superior day or what, but the water was so clear and that brilliant blue/green color.
Apparently the Antrim Coast Road is one of the most beautiful scenic routes in the world. I wish I were on the right side of the bus, but I was the last one on the bus, so not such luck. It was still beautiful though--just not many pictures.
The first thing we really did was stop at this suspension bridge: Carrick-a-Rede. The bus driver kind of hyped it up a little much. It's only 60 feet long and 80 feet off the ground. 80 feet is plenty high, but you know. It was really cool though. And once you get across the thing the view from the island is amazing. There was this ass-hole of an old man behind me going back over the thing. It's only 3 feet wide, so only one person can go across a time, so they have to do it like a traffic or construction zone: people going one way have to wait while the other direction goes. But, you've gotta get a picture of you on the bridge right? That's the real point of doing this shit, but my camera has to be a little complicated, and the girl that was trying to take my picture was having an issue and this old guy behind me just starts going : "can we move?" I ignored him and then he threw some "darlin's" in there. I ignored him some more and he finally got angry and said "I'm freezing here!" I wanted to tell him to calm down and shut the fuck up, but that's rude.
We were then at the Bushmills Distillery. Just for lunch, but it was cool. It doesn't look fancy at all.
Then the Giant's Causeway! That was really cool. I liked it. It's a lot like Devil's Tower and Devil's Postpile. If it were in the US it would be the Devil's Causeway. A giant is better. The scientific explanation is that it's 60 million years old and it's the results of the breaking up of cooling lava from a freaking massive volcano. I think it's really cool because the same rock formations are on the coast of Scotland too. The Irish version of events is a bit more fun. There was an Irish giant named Finn MacCool, and a Scottish Giant named Fingal. They both knew of each other, but had never seen each other, so they didn't know who was bigger or stronger. So, one day Finn MacCool was fed up and built the Causeway in order to get Fingal to come across and then they could square each other up. Turns out Fingal was twice the size of Finn MacCool, and MacCool could see him coming, got scared, and ran to his clever wife to figure out what to do. The woman saves the day. She dressed him up as a baby and when Fingal came pounding on the door she (Una was her name) told him (Fingal) that her husband (MacCool) wasn't there and that he (Fingal) would have to be quiet not to wake the baby. Well, Fingal saw the baby--who was a Giant--and freaked out because if the baby was that huge, the man must be more massive than himself. So he ran away back to Scotland.
Last stop was a quick one to take pictures of Dunluce Castle. That was pretty cool. I mean, I'd heard a lot about Dunluce castle and it's on my Irish calendar and looks all Romantic and all that. From our vantage point it wasn't spectacular, but it was nice to see.
And now I'm back here. Tomorrow I only have a few things to do: Titanic for sure, Albert Memorial Clock for sure, and Ulster Museum if I can. Then I'm on to Derry. I'm super psyched for that.
I did the pub crawl put on by the hostel last night. That was kind of crazy. I met two Canadian girls and I was hanging out with them the whole time. They did some serious pre-funking though. I didn't even know there was a pub crawl until 5 minutes before it was leaving, so I was starting out completely sober. I also ended that way. But anyway, the hostel staff is a lot of fun. They made us play a game that if someone drops a pound into your drink you have to just down it--chuck, do the shot, whatever you have. If you don't want that to be you then you have to make sure you never have a full pint. So, you kind of end up downing drinks fast for fear anyway. It was great craic though. I haven't been around so many drunk people while being sober for a long time though. It's crazy how close people put their faces to you when they're drunk. I left with the two Canadian girls after the second pub though. First off, we weren't going to the 3rd pub anymore because there was a fight and it just wouldn't be good. And secondly, one of the girls got kicked out of the pub so she was in a state. And thirdly, the last place was a club, and that's not really my scene. I did teach them the phrase 'getting the shift' though. They've been in Ireland for the last two weeks and hadn't heard it yet. It may be my favorite slang.
Came back here, chatted it up with two Germany boys right out of secondary school, and the other guy on the hostel staff. It of course ended up as a conversation comparing countries. And America wins. Even when it doesn't make sense it wins. They didn't really have anything bad to say about it though, which was good because I don't really like defending it. I don't feel that strongly about it.
Today was cool though. Another full day tour. This time around the Antrim coast. It's so beautiful. I'm torn between which county's coast is more picturesque: Kerry or Antrim. I'm just not going to pick. But, we stopped to take pictures of the Carrickfergus castle. It's alright. There's not too much too it, and it's not very old.
Larne is a gorgeous little village. I don't know if it was just a superior day or what, but the water was so clear and that brilliant blue/green color.
Apparently the Antrim Coast Road is one of the most beautiful scenic routes in the world. I wish I were on the right side of the bus, but I was the last one on the bus, so not such luck. It was still beautiful though--just not many pictures.
The first thing we really did was stop at this suspension bridge: Carrick-a-Rede. The bus driver kind of hyped it up a little much. It's only 60 feet long and 80 feet off the ground. 80 feet is plenty high, but you know. It was really cool though. And once you get across the thing the view from the island is amazing. There was this ass-hole of an old man behind me going back over the thing. It's only 3 feet wide, so only one person can go across a time, so they have to do it like a traffic or construction zone: people going one way have to wait while the other direction goes. But, you've gotta get a picture of you on the bridge right? That's the real point of doing this shit, but my camera has to be a little complicated, and the girl that was trying to take my picture was having an issue and this old guy behind me just starts going : "can we move?" I ignored him and then he threw some "darlin's" in there. I ignored him some more and he finally got angry and said "I'm freezing here!" I wanted to tell him to calm down and shut the fuck up, but that's rude.
We were then at the Bushmills Distillery. Just for lunch, but it was cool. It doesn't look fancy at all.
Then the Giant's Causeway! That was really cool. I liked it. It's a lot like Devil's Tower and Devil's Postpile. If it were in the US it would be the Devil's Causeway. A giant is better. The scientific explanation is that it's 60 million years old and it's the results of the breaking up of cooling lava from a freaking massive volcano. I think it's really cool because the same rock formations are on the coast of Scotland too. The Irish version of events is a bit more fun. There was an Irish giant named Finn MacCool, and a Scottish Giant named Fingal. They both knew of each other, but had never seen each other, so they didn't know who was bigger or stronger. So, one day Finn MacCool was fed up and built the Causeway in order to get Fingal to come across and then they could square each other up. Turns out Fingal was twice the size of Finn MacCool, and MacCool could see him coming, got scared, and ran to his clever wife to figure out what to do. The woman saves the day. She dressed him up as a baby and when Fingal came pounding on the door she (Una was her name) told him (Fingal) that her husband (MacCool) wasn't there and that he (Fingal) would have to be quiet not to wake the baby. Well, Fingal saw the baby--who was a Giant--and freaked out because if the baby was that huge, the man must be more massive than himself. So he ran away back to Scotland.
Last stop was a quick one to take pictures of Dunluce Castle. That was pretty cool. I mean, I'd heard a lot about Dunluce castle and it's on my Irish calendar and looks all Romantic and all that. From our vantage point it wasn't spectacular, but it was nice to see.
And now I'm back here. Tomorrow I only have a few things to do: Titanic for sure, Albert Memorial Clock for sure, and Ulster Museum if I can. Then I'm on to Derry. I'm super psyched for that.
Thursday, May 3, 2012
We are here as on a darkling plain
Book 15 of the year is finished.On to some Steinbeck.
The only cool thing I did today was walk around Maynooth Town and eat dinner and have a few pints at O'Neil's pub. I like that one. The food is good, and even though their Guinness isn't the best pour, the bartenders are always friendly.
The truth is not always beautiful, nor beautiful words true. -Lao Tzu
The only cool thing I did today was walk around Maynooth Town and eat dinner and have a few pints at O'Neil's pub. I like that one. The food is good, and even though their Guinness isn't the best pour, the bartenders are always friendly.
The truth is not always beautiful, nor beautiful words true. -Lao Tzu
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Not Terrible
Hell yeah. 70/70 on that Sociology essay. I've never gotten full credit on an essay before. I guess that's not exactly true. AP scores don't really work that way though.
These course evaluations are really getting me. I should think more before I complain I guess. I mean, I really did find everything that the class was about interesting. Identity was the most insightful for me, but even like social class and reading Karl Marx and talking about gender and how it's completely different than sexuality and then today the last thing she did was an overview of race and ethnicity. I don't know. I think those are all valid things to talk about. But I just don't like how clinical some of the research is. I guess it has to be, so that people can get a hint of objectivity, but I think that most of the things they are talking about you can't really understand without compassion.
We basically got the exam essay prompts today too. So, I will pass. No worries. But yeah. Done with classes. Junior year is basically over.
I like the way my calendar looks this month. Mostly because I have the 31st all circled with bright colors. Now that I can see it I'm realizing I still have things to do! There is time yet though. The most important things are happening this weekend. I'd still like to go to Prague if I can though. We'll see.
So, I have the most energy at around 10pm. And it's always at 10pm that I have the most gumption. It's happened a lot that 10pm rolls around and I think of going out for a jog. Now, 99% of the time I talk myself out of it because if I ever do anything at night--or during the winter--I end up getting asthma, and it freaks me out too much to be worth it. But! I've been feeling really restless and really anxious the last few days, or month, whatever, so I said fuck it I'm just going to do it and if I have to stumble back here and break up the party in the kitchen to guzzle some hot sugar water (which I think is only a psychological fix), then so be it. But! Miracle! I have no asthma tonight. It's fucking awesome. Maybe it's gone for real now. I would be so happy.
Anyways, it was a little weird though. My vision is worst at night. I think that's normal. But it's a little disconcerting going around this angular and tall campus at night when there's nobody around. Since they are building a new library they closed off that whole entrance to south campus, so I had to go around past the castle. It was cool with me though. I was in the mood for long detours and the like. The big empty dark rugby fields were a little too big empty and dark so I stuck to the parking lots and walkways between buildings. The only properly weird thing to actually happen was when I went back through the gates of south campus there was a guard and somebody else standing there talking. When I got near them they both just kind of stared at me. I don't know if I wasn't supposed to be there or what. I didn't want to stop if I didn't have to though, so I just kind of took my headphones out of my ears and stared back at them in case they were going to say anything to me. But they didn't, so I just awkwardly waved and said hey and ran past them. I'll probably avoid that in the future.
You don't get explanations in real life. You just get moments that are absolutely, utterly, inextricably odd. -Neil Gaiman
These course evaluations are really getting me. I should think more before I complain I guess. I mean, I really did find everything that the class was about interesting. Identity was the most insightful for me, but even like social class and reading Karl Marx and talking about gender and how it's completely different than sexuality and then today the last thing she did was an overview of race and ethnicity. I don't know. I think those are all valid things to talk about. But I just don't like how clinical some of the research is. I guess it has to be, so that people can get a hint of objectivity, but I think that most of the things they are talking about you can't really understand without compassion.
We basically got the exam essay prompts today too. So, I will pass. No worries. But yeah. Done with classes. Junior year is basically over.
I like the way my calendar looks this month. Mostly because I have the 31st all circled with bright colors. Now that I can see it I'm realizing I still have things to do! There is time yet though. The most important things are happening this weekend. I'd still like to go to Prague if I can though. We'll see.
So, I have the most energy at around 10pm. And it's always at 10pm that I have the most gumption. It's happened a lot that 10pm rolls around and I think of going out for a jog. Now, 99% of the time I talk myself out of it because if I ever do anything at night--or during the winter--I end up getting asthma, and it freaks me out too much to be worth it. But! I've been feeling really restless and really anxious the last few days, or month, whatever, so I said fuck it I'm just going to do it and if I have to stumble back here and break up the party in the kitchen to guzzle some hot sugar water (which I think is only a psychological fix), then so be it. But! Miracle! I have no asthma tonight. It's fucking awesome. Maybe it's gone for real now. I would be so happy.
Anyways, it was a little weird though. My vision is worst at night. I think that's normal. But it's a little disconcerting going around this angular and tall campus at night when there's nobody around. Since they are building a new library they closed off that whole entrance to south campus, so I had to go around past the castle. It was cool with me though. I was in the mood for long detours and the like. The big empty dark rugby fields were a little too big empty and dark so I stuck to the parking lots and walkways between buildings. The only properly weird thing to actually happen was when I went back through the gates of south campus there was a guard and somebody else standing there talking. When I got near them they both just kind of stared at me. I don't know if I wasn't supposed to be there or what. I didn't want to stop if I didn't have to though, so I just kind of took my headphones out of my ears and stared back at them in case they were going to say anything to me. But they didn't, so I just awkwardly waved and said hey and ran past them. I'll probably avoid that in the future.
You don't get explanations in real life. You just get moments that are absolutely, utterly, inextricably odd. -Neil Gaiman
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