First Week in Ireland

We have already been here one week! And it was a busy one. Here is what I have been up to:

• Settling into our cottage, which I love. Getting to know my roommates Ellen, Kelly, Sarah and Michelle, has been so much fun. We have cooked some "creative" meals with the ingredients that can fit in our tiny fridge, and our conversations and lots of laughter over meals is something I can already tell is going to be one of my favorite parts of this semester. 

(Don't you love the fancy dishes we were provided with?)

• On Friday, the day after everyone arrived, we were given a tour of Galway by a writer from the area that will be working with our class throughout the semester. He focused on the medieval history of Galway, and it is amazing how old many of the buildings in the city are.

• On Saturday we took a trip to the nearby Aran Islands. After taking a ferry to Inishmore, one of the islands, we all got bikes to ride around the island. When I first heard we would be biking, I assumed it would be some sort of guided bike tour, but instead we just got bikes and were off on our own. It was really fun because we could stop whenever we wanted if something looked interesting, and we got to explore on our own. The main historical site on the island is Dun Aengus, a fort that dates back to 900 BC, overlooking cliffs and the ocean. After checking out this area, a smaller group of us started to bike back. We must have missed a turn somewhere, because we ended up on a trail that was definitely not meant for bikes. We had a walk a lot of the way because it was steep and very rocky, but we made it to one of the highest points on the island, and the view was beautiful. The ride down was a little treacherous, but eventually we made it back to the harbor.

A lot of the group at a beach we came across 

(photo via Tommy O'Loughlin, an awesome photographer on our trip: http://olaughlintommy.blogspot.com/)

(another photo by Tommy)

• On Sunday the Irish Hurling finals took place. This event is the Irish equivalent to our Super Bowl, so it’s a big deal to a lot of people in the area. Hurling is a sport that is best described as a combination between lacrosse, football, rugby, and wrestling. It’s super intense. We saw one of the ref’s get his nose get broken, with blood everywhere, and that was just the ref! We all watched the game in the pub here at the Park Lodge. Kilkenny ended up beating Tipperary, which was a disappointment for the local fans. 

• Classes began this week, and so far I have had our Study Abroad Seminar class with our directors Mike and Jane Kathman, our History class with Dr. Laurence Marley, and Literature with Gerard O'Brian. We haven't had our Theology class yet. I think they are all going to very interesting. Instead of a traditional class meeting on Tuesday for Literature, we took a trip to Thoor Ballylee and Coole Park, where W.B. Yeats wrote a lot of his poetry. Our professor read us some of the poetry in the place it was written, which was a really unique experience. Coole Park was beautiful despite the rainy weather, which we are getting pretty used to by now after a week of rain!

Blue skies did appear for a little while!

• Slowly getting to know the city of Galway. Where we are living is closer to the small town of Spiddal than it is to Galway, so when we want to go into the city we need to take a bus or taxi, so it's not an everyday occurrence. But we have gone five out of the seven days we have been here, and have found some fun places to go. We've also checked out some of the local grocery stores and shopping areas, with a lot of other places on my mental list of things to check out. 

• Walks into Spiddal, which is about 30 minutes away on foot. It is a gorgeous walk with the ocean and rocky shore on one side, and cute homes and fields with cows and horses along the way. The town of Spiddal itself is really small, but there is a place to get groceries, some restaurants, a library, a church, and a harbor with little fishing boats in it. On Sunday morning, we walked into town for Mass (in the rain, of course). The church in Spiddal has the Mass in Gaelic, so we couldn't understand a word, but it was a cool experience. It's such an interesting language to listen to! Overall the Mass seemed very similar, except for during communion, when there seemed to be no rhyme or reason to how people stood up to walk to the front of the church. It was sort of a free-for-all. 

• Getting to know the group. I didn't know too many of the 29 Bennies and Johnnies on this trip before getting here, so it has been a lot of fun hanging out with everyone. I get to spend this semester with a lot of really fun people, and I can't wait to get to know everyone better in the next few months!

So a lot has happened in only one week, which is exciting. It actually feels like I have been here a lot longer, and am glad I have many weeks ahead of me here. Watch for another update after this weekend's trip to Limerick!