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January 27, 2005
In Dublin's Fair City
At long last, I am in Dublin.
My apologies for the lack of posting, but I have spent the last few weeks in rural Ireland without internet access, and even at times without telephone access. It has been an adventure to say the least, but I have never gone running in a more beautiful place. Descriptions just don't do enough, so I will post pictures when I get home.
After leaving Galway, we stayed in Cong for a few days. Remember how I said that The Quiet Man was filmed there? That's the only thing that has ever happened in Cong. There is the main street where the movie is filmed, and that is all. There is The Quiet Man Hotel, The Quiet Man Bar, The Quiet Man Museum... and a river where there is evidently pretty good fishing, as shown in the movie.
After Cong, we moved farther north and stayed in the beautiful homes of locals in Buncrana, a residential area outside of Derry. Then we moved slightly farther north and stayed on Inch Island, which is actualy a peninsula in the very north on the border of Northern Ireland. We took day trips into Derry and Belfast, and saw the graffiti and murals of the paramilitary groups and the cameras and watchtowers formerly occupied by the British military. One of the cameras was still moving, watching us. It was eerie and fairly frightening.
I think I appreciated the country more than most people on the trip. It was beautiful. It rained A LOT -- evidently set some records -- but even beneath the gray sky, the grass was the most beautiful shade of green I have ever seen.
Nevertheless, I am glad to be in the big city now. I have heard lots of Irish music and even got to see some Irish dancing last night. The area is fairly high crime, as in any big city, but it was fairly scary when we had to walk around 'crime scene' tape on our way to dinner last night. There is a bullet hole in one of the windows in our hostel, too.
Anyway... more stories will appear once I arrive back at home and don't have to pay for internet access. I have loved Ireland, but I have a new appreciation for the US. Even one of the girls on my trip said the other night, 'I used to want to move to Europe. Not anymore.' It's a wonderful place to visit. I'm glad the US is home.
Posted by Megan at 05:55 AM | Comments (1)
January 08, 2005
Moving On
The bus tour was incredible, as I had hoped. We left at 10am and returned at 5:30 pm. I should list all of the towns we went though, but there were at least a dozen, and I don't have the brochure with me at the moment.
The highlight of the trip were the cliffs of Moher, where the land drops off into the Atlantic Ocean. I don't know how to describe it, so I'll just post pictures when I get home. They aren't kidding when they call them cliffs.
Tomorrow morning we leave for Cong. Evidently Cong is a very rural area. When telling the locals where we are going next, two reactions have been observed by my classmates. One: they laugh. Two: they have never heard of the town. It is not completely obscure, though -- evidently the movie The Quiet Man was filmed there.
We're staying at another hostel in Cong. Hopefully internet access will be available. It's a little sad how attached I am to it.
Posted by Megan at 12:22 PM | Comments (2)
January 07, 2005
You Can Hear the Angels Sing
One of my favorite things to do is just sit and listen to the Irish talk. They don't say "like" every other word -- in fact not at all, really. Instead of "cool," they say "jolly" or "grand." When requesting food to go, they use the phrase "to go out." Instead of "excuse me" or "pardon," they simply say "sorry." Often, a sentence is transitioned into by starting out with "Right. So..." The accent reflects the full, back-of-the-throat tone and beautiful lilt of Gaelic, making it much softer in contrast to a British accent. I wonder how awful my American accent sounds to them.
Galway has been fun, but we have seen most of the town. Tomorrow we were supposed to go to the Aran islands, but the strong winds made the boat ride an unwise option. The Aran islands is said to be what the mainland was like 20 years ago, before much modernization. I am very disappointed that our trip was cancelled, but we are taking a day-long scenic tour of the west instead, which I know will be beautiful. The cliffs on the coastline will be astounding.
Posted by Megan at 11:00 AM | Comments (2)
January 05, 2005
Irish Eyes
My notes about Ireland thus far:
There are several types of "Irish-looking" people. One has dark eyes, dark hair, usually a shorter face with a somewhat protruding chin and ears, smallish nose, and "sad" eyes, yet the wrinkles next to the eyes make them look like they are constantly amused. Another type is a Denny Owens, or a Rich DuRocher. In other words, Red hair, light eyes -- your Lucky Charms character. I do not look Irish. Except for maybe my hair, a little.
All of the natives I've encountered are soft-spoken. I've become self-concious and even embarassed when a large group of us go anywhere, because we seem to be yelling compared to everyone else.
They are also incredibly polite. When you arrive at an intersection, the next driver will stop and wave you across with a grin, even if they do not have a stop sign. Every time someone in our group whips out a camara (which, as you can imagine, is quite frequently), people stop walking so that they will not be in the picture.
Instead of fences, walls of stacked knee- to waist-high rocks border the properties.
NOTE: I am currently staying at a hostel with internet access. However, I will probably not have such frequent access after this Saturday. I will stay in touch as frequently as possible, though.
Posted by Megan at 03:33 PM | Comments (1)
January 04, 2005
Hurry Up and Wait
After a 2-hour flight followed by a 5-hour layover followed by a 5-hour flight accompanied by a 6-hour time change followed by a 3-hour wait for our bus, I made it to Galway, Ireland on about 1 hour of sleep. It is beautiful. Very, very green. My favorite part thus far: driving past sheep grazing with their young in the green pastures.
Posted by Megan at 09:27 AM | Comments (6)
January 01, 2005
Been a Long Time
Sorry, but I needed a writing hiatus after all those term papers.
Tomorrow I head up to Minneapolis. Monday I fly out of MSP to Newark, and then on to Shannon, Ireland. I'm scared.
Yes, I'm excited too, but I've never been "overseas." Fortunately I've flown plenty of times, and one of my best friends from school is going on the same trip, so that will help. But I'm in for a month of unknowns, and that can make a planner like me one big mess.
Once in Ireland, we're hopping around from town to town, spending no more than a week in any given location. We will be staying in youth hostels and in homes. I have no idea where we're going. I have to trust someone else (the Prof) to keep me safe, fed, rested, and not lost.
I'm not sure how much internet access I'll have, but I'll blog as often as possible. After all, I probably won't be making any phone calls, and mail takes 8-10 days.
My goal: not to think about the details. There's not much I can do. I'm packed, and I have my passport and a certified copy of my birth certificate as well as my flight itinerary. I'm going to try to take it one step at a time. (Deep breath...)
Posted by Megan at 08:13 PM | Comments (2)