One year ago today

One year ago today I left the U.S. on a plane to Ireland for three months.

In his last Ireland term post, Kevin tossed the ball to me to wrap things up. I could never really bring myself to do it. Because one, I thought Kevin was a better writer than me and two, because I didn't want the trip to end. It was a fantastic trip, an emotional roller coaster, and an all round enlightening experience.

So all you kids out there...go to Ireland. It's seriously that great. Hopefully in 2010 (the next Ireland term) I'll be tagging along with Emily. Perhaps Kevin will be able to make the trek too. Then the three of us will journey up that hill in cork, or mount St. Patrick, or Torc Waterfall and have an even more amazing time that the first go around.

Hopefully this blog will stay alive long enough for me to make it back to Ireland and make new posts.

Cheers

Well, goodbye, Ireland. Or maybe I should say, cheers. Today was our last full day here, and I've been trying to figure out how to feel. The mix of emotions is...indescribable. What I can tell you is that the past two and a half months have been the best of my life. I felt I had to include a grand, sweeping statement such as that; it's only fitting. We've seen much, learned much, made a few friends along the way, and taken, I think, some pretty impressive pictures. I won't say that this is the concluding post--it's not quite sentimental enough for that. After all, we haven't left yet. I'm sure that once we're off the plane, we'll be romanticizing about the whole thing, just as we did before we came. I'll let Jeff wrap things up. See you at home.

-Kevin

Howth Head and old guys

hey everybody,

Kevin has been hoggin' the blog lately so i've decided to add my two bits on dublin. Yesterday I was flipping through one of my guide books when I found a 'walking tour' section that involved a hiking trip to a dublin suburb, howth. Kevin and I geared up with some of our fellows and headed out to howth head. The directions were sketchy at best, but through the use of celtic and pagan magic we made it to the quartz-topped peak of howth head. the view was cool and it was all blustery, misty, and such...in other words it was pretty cool (like most things here)

we also visited the irish-jewish museum today and talked to a ancient sage-like guy who ran the place. He asked us some really good questions about our trip, Ireland, and what we thought we would take away from this experience. It was really cool to talk and reflect...especially considering that this is our last day. I'll try to get to a cafe to post pictures. Cheers!

We're Done!

As the subject line suggests, we are officially done with classes (sorry to those of you that still have final exams to take, I wish you good luck). Having completed what was easily our most academically grueling week of the term, Jeff and I are currently bumming around Dublin. It feels good. I would be more descriptive, but I'm afraid I used up all my big words last week. We recovered and celebrated the end of the term by taking in a rather flamboyant production of The Importance of Being Earnest, part of the Dublin Gay Theatre Festival. It was good. We also visited the Irish-Jewish Museum, which had a lot of cool photographs and documents on display. I signed the guestbook and chatted with the very old man who runs the place. He was nice, in part because we gave donations.

What fun and interesting things have you done? Feel free to donate comments to our blog. You can look forward to a post from Jeff, and once he gets around to it, some pictures, as well.

Dubliners

And so we're back in the heart of the east-coast, highly developed, historically rich, no-free-internet capital of Ireland, Dublin. I don't have much time left, there are other people here waiting to use this computer that I'm on, so I'll make this brief. I'll also make this entirely picture-free, for there is no way for me to load pictures without the use of my laptop. This week should be tons of fun, the faculty are trying to squeeze in as much work as possible before our finals at week's end. I'm trying to squeeze every penny in a city where in some parts you can't even use a toilet without dropping a chunk of euro change. But it is still Ireland after all, and Jeff and I are still having a great time. Dublin is packed with stuff to do, and our final weeks here should bring a great deal of enjoyment. There's a bit of homesickness creeping in, but I try not to dwell on it. I hope everyone back home is making the most of their spring term, especially the seniors.

That about does it for now. Take 'er easy.

Kevin

This One's for You, Buddy

Navan, Co. Meath, Ireland.

What I Know of Sligo

Been a while since my last update. We've moved on from Galway, through Westport, and finally to Sligo. Saying goodbye to Galway was sad; we had a lot of fun there. But now we're here in Sligo and making the most of it. Just to catch you up, last week we took a trip to the Aran Islands and the fort of Dun Aengus, which was lot of fun. We also had papers and a midterm exam, which were not. A couple of days ago, we went to a large collection of ancient tombs out in a field somewhere, climbed a mountain (another one), and got up to the large, very old passage tomb that sits on top. We also went to the beach, which had significantly less educational value. Today, we went to Yeats country, visited the grave of W. B. Yeats, and took a ferry 'round Innisfree. The island (pronounced "Inishfree") is on Lough ("Lock") Gill, and the whole area is the subject of much poetry.

As for the town of Sligo, i's a little more laid-back, more blue-collar, than previous towns. There might not be a lot of charm to it, and the city centre is a decent walk from the hotel, but there are some fine bookstores, pubs, and pizza joints for us to frequent. Last night, Jeff and I saw a Sean O'Casey play called The Plough and the Stars, presented by the Sligo Drama Circle. It was a darker, more cynical take on the Easter Rising of 1916 that ultimately led to Irish independence. The thick accents and community theatre production values sometimes made understanding the play difficult, but it was an overall enjoyable experience. Also, our hotel is a converted mental institution. Now, some pictures.

Sitting on the cliffs at Dun Aengus, Inismor, Aran Islands.

One of the Norman castles we visited, Aughnanure.

Clanmacnoise, on the River Shannon. Site of many very old churches and Celtic high crosses.

Last night in Galway. Bonfire on the beach.

Knocknarea, site of Maeve's tomb. We climbed it as a group, faculty and all.

Jeff on the beach, Strandhill, right before he got all wet.