Isn't it amazing...

I find I'm thinking those words so often as I go throughout my days here. Each month here has brought me so many moments of amazement, inspiration, wonder, joy, laughter, and peace.

Some of those moments in the last month include simply moments in friendships with Irish friends, being inspired by and encouraged to grow by my women bible study friends, a great sermon/worship time at the maynooth community church, enjoying a tasty home-made dinner with a good friend (having a meal-plan at duke, this is the most cooking i've ever done!), enjoying the 5-6 different varieties of daffodils on this campus that stayed in blossom for over six weeks, witnessing beauty and love in the world amidst the tragedies that have struck both Duke (rest in peace, Chris 4/3/07) and Virginia Tech.

I hate to write too much here, as I'd so much rather share with you all in person whenever I see you next. I am looking froward to finishing up final papers and exams in the next two weeks, though, and hopefully having about 2 more weeks to travel before coming home May 26, then heading down to Durham a few days later... til then, a few pictures...


Strandhill - an Irish beach/surfing town


with a friend at the ISTO Trampoline Competition at University College Dublin


The trampoline girls - excited after winning NUIMaynooth's "most improved club" award :)

Swank family in Ireland!

The Swanks and Sarah Swol arrived to the Emerald Isle on Saturday, March 10th! I arranged to meet them in Maynooth at an easily spotable location on Main Street, Maynooth. Well, the five of them cruised into town in nothing other than a 9-passenger VW Transporter! I swiftly hopped in the bus, and directed them to my apartment! After some tea and brown bread at my place, we headed out. The first adventure: trip to Carlingford, a coastal town on the east coast, about 1.5 hours north of Dublin (also the location of the hike I did a few weekends ago). The stops on the way included Trim (location of the largest Norman castle in Europe) to see that castle, then we were on to the Hills of Tara. From there, we made our way to Newgrange, where we got to see both the outside and inside of the 5,000 year old monument! We made it to Carlingford by dinner time, were we had dinner at a pub. They were exhausted, so we all were in bed by 10 pm! The next morning we dined on an Irish breakfast, with a field of sheep just outside our B&B breakfast room window :) On the journey back to Maynooth, we stopped at Monasterboise, a medieval monastic settlement about an hour north of Dublin. There, we were awed by the 10th century High Crosses that remain standing there amid the cemetary and other remains of the monastic settlement.

Back in Maynooth, my family came to the chorale concert, in which we performed Beethoven's Mass in C and Haydn's Nelson Mass. The Chapel is absolutely stunning, and it was a nice evening. Dinner at an Indian Restaurant in Maynooth followed by drinks at the pub right below it finished off the night! Ann, Dan, and Sarah went in to Dublin early the next day. After a class, I went in on the bus with mom and dad, and Monday night consisted of a Swank pub crawl! fun :)

They then went out to Sligo City and travelled down the west coast to Galway city, where I met them Thursday night. After I met them, we spent the evening in a pub, and after another great B&B stay (they said they had particularly great ones in co. Sligo), we headed off in the now very loved and cozy Transporter, first stopping at the Cliffs of Moher. Unfortunately, it was extremely windy and raining/sleeting, and as of last month, there are walkways, parking lots, and a visitors center to greet one at the cliffs... not too romantic Ireland anymore. However, the manmade walls actually made me feel a bit safer, given the huge winds. From there, we had lunch in the very quaint, seaside Doolin. A long trip to Mallow ensued, and that is where we spent 1.5 days, including St. Patty's day. It's a small town outside of Cork, where Ann and Dan had a group of friends whom they met when in Europe last summer. Their friends worked in a pub there, so not surprisingly, we spent a lot of time at the pub! On St. Patty's day we all headed to mass at a church in town, and from there went directly to the pub, where we caught the Six Nations Ireland vs. Italy match, then stepped right outside to view the very short, but very cute parade (mostly because the streets were lined with adorable young and festive children). On our way back to Maynooth from Mallow we stopped at Cahir Castle.. definately the neatest castle I've been to thus far! Unfortunately, the Rock of Cashel was closed due to high winds, but we did catch a nice glimpse and get a good photo-op of it from afar.

To end the week, we went to a favorite pub of mine in Maynooth for dinner and filled our tummies on none other than fish 'n chips :)

Some shots from the week:


Sarah during breakfast at our Carlingford B&B.


Ann with Carlingford behind her.


Ann at Monasterboise.


Myself, Cliffs of Moher.


Sarah and I with some kids at a pub in Mallow watching a Six Nation's Tournament on St. Patrick's Day.


Family shot at Maureen's Pub in Mallow, St. Patrick's Day.


Dad and I, Cahin Castle.


Dan and Sarah, Rock of Cashel.

March Madness

I'm not really referring to the basketball, as I don't believe I'll be catching much, if any, of it. However, it's March and it's madness that I've already been in Ireland for 6 weeks! It's also mad windy here all the time. I'm sort of shocked it hasn't knocked me over yet, and it makes the thought of emerging from the still-aired comfort of my apartment a bit daunting.

I realize I haven't posted anything in a month, so I will have to update! Things have been going very well! In the last month I've had a good share of traveling. I did a day hike in Carlingford, a quaint town on the east coast, about 1.5 hour drive north of Dublin, and just below Northern Ireland. It would be considered a "hill-climb," and it was intense! About 2 hours going straight up first, very rocky with thick tuffs of grass and very boggy land. The way back down was also surprisingly wet and challenging. However, the sheep studding the mountainside and views of the Irish sea in three directions from the top was breathtaking. Here are some pictures from the hike:


With my friend, Jenna, at the beginning.


The group (which was made up of primarily International students, as most Irish students are home on the weekends) on the way up!


The group (and sheep) nearly at the top!

The next exciting thing to happen in February was probably seeing a very fun and talented band, Kila, perform on campus. They play traditional Irish instruments, but the music has a bit of an african and jam band influence. The performance space was packed with enthusiastic students. Here's a peak:

The uilleann (pronounced "ill-en") pipes and wooden flute.


And the Bodhran player.

The most recent highlight of the month was a weekend trip to Northern Ireland, organized for the American students in the program. We spent a day going from the town of Derry (which is similar to Belfast regarding it's history with CatholicProtestant/NationalistLoyalist issues), then spent the afternoon along the northern coast - walking through the ruins of the ocean-side Dunluce Castle and walking along the spectacular Giant's Causeway (which I've been told rivals the Cliffs of Moher in splendor and beauty. I have yet to see the Cliffs!). We also had a free day in Belfast, during which I saw some of Queen's University and Botanical Gardens, and the poorer, Loyalist streets of the city and their murals:

Mural in Derry


Dunluce Castle


Looking over Giant's Causeway.

As for March, I'm looking forward to my parents, Ann, Dan, and Dan's girlfriend, Sarah's visit! They are arriving this Saturday, March 10th! They will be in Maynooth for a night (that's about all one needs to see this town!), taking a trip into Dublin and a day trip along the east coast, then they will be heading west, where I'm hoping to join them toward the end of the week!

snow!

Though I'm sad that across the ocean Duke basketball has lost to UNC, I've woken up here to snowflakes tumbling down outside my window set to Rachmoninov's 2nd Piano Concerto in the background. It's beautiful.

...some shots from my walk around campus and town...


The view from my apartment this morning.


Students playing in the snow on North Campus.


A statue in one of many lovely gardens on South Campus.


South Campus architecture.


I love that you can walk from from town, passing a 900 year old castle into campus.


Signs on South Campus.


Students on a South Campus quad.

... and I'm now going to bed after having had my first lesson on the Tin Whistle, given to me by my lovely Irish roommate, Grainne. What a great day.

some pictures!

South Campus at dusk


At the bus stop on Main St. in Maynooth, waiting to go to Dublin. Notice the funky trees here...


Sam and me at the Dublin Spike. Our hats matched.


We also have Irish wooly jumpers and hats to match :)


Lindsey and I enjoying the countryside of rural Co. Galway on a walk during our homestay at a farm in Tuam.

Tuesday

So, my roommate, Grainne, has already vowed she is going to teach me to play the tin whistle and to irish dance, two things she knows how to do well. I'm holding her to her word. Amazing.

We had homestays this weekend out in Tuam, a town near Galway. I stayed with two other American girls - friends from my program - in the home of an older woman named Mary. While I'd heard stories of previous homestays during which students had meals with ginormous irish families or sang merry songs until late in the night, this experience was not that. Unfortunately, I think Mary is just getting a bit old and didn't quite understand the concept of a homestay: rather than being very interactive with us, she often just let us to ourselves and didn't even eat at meals with us (though she cooked us fabulous dishes and offered plenty of tea and brown bread, God bless her), and we did not meet her family who lived across the way from her farm. It was certainly lovely, and the three of us all took in the amazing country side on long walks. But definately a different experience than I expected! We did not vist any other area of Co. Galway either. But that will just mean a trip back will have to be planned :)

I missed Trampolining today due to class registration, but look forward to going later this week! Am signed up for a competition in Dublin already! I thought these kids would be crazy at trampoline, but I've learned that there are no fully-equipped gymnastics centers in all of Ireland, so non actually have much previous experience with it. So fun to get back up and bounce after all these years out of the gym! Am also enjoying getting ready for the performance of a Haydn and Beethoven mass with the large Maynooth chorale. Though they aren't the duke chapel choir, i'm definately pleased to continue singing!

was able practice organ today... I have to practice in one of three places on campus: either the old Chapel (currently being refurbished) or one of the oratories within the seminary! Practicing in those spaces with the sunlight beaming through onto the pews has been some really special time for me on this campus. My organ professor here is also a nice, odler man, who is retiring after this semester, so I'm glad that he's offered to teach me!

About to go to a lecture by John Buckley, a contemporary Irish composer, with free wine&cheese reception after to boot!

The beginning!

Hi friends! I thought I might do this blog for me and you. I'll write in here often and try not to get caught up in anything too fluffy. This way, I don't have to inundate you with emails, but you can check up on my activities when you like!

Well, I've been in the love Emerald Isle about 16 days now. I came through an American program, so that I had orientation and other organized events with 11 other American students, all from different universities. On campus, however, we all live in different apartments with 4-5 other Irish and/or international students. I have 4 Irish female roommates, and though I thought co-ed living might be nice (most apartments are co-ed), I'm quite pleased with my relatively quiet and clean female companions! I don't actually see them all too often - most are here just monday thru thursday, and go home on the weekends. Most all Irish students at Irish universities do go home on weekends to be with family (and don't seem to do much/any work then either!) ... I really love that connection to family that is still so strong here. But yeah, the rundown - I have a nice spacious bedroom with private bathroom, and look out over some tennis courts and a bit further across the road to some lovely cottages... The apartments are on the North Campus. NUI Maynooth (that is the college that I am at) is split into two campuses - North and South. The north is relatively new, with on campus apartments, sports facilities, lecture halls, and student spaces. Across a small street is the South Campus, which was first founded as a seminary. The buildings of South campus are from the late 18th century! Fortunately, all my classes are on the beautiful South Campus, as it houses Music, History, and Theology, the three subjects I'm studying here.

Backtracking a bit... our group of 12 students had our 3 day orientation in Limerick, interestingly called "Stab City" by Irish folks. Sadly, one of our students also got pickpocketed his first night there, but he had a great attitude about it, and I would say that is not characteristic of Ireland at all!! A lover of music, I was super anxious to hear real irish music, and wonderfully, also our first night there, we went to a pub that had a great session (term used for when a bunch of musicians are together playing "traditional" irish music.. today sessions take place in pubs) going! Of course, I made sure we returned the next evening! Then we came over to Maynooth about 4 days before classes started. We were quickly made familiar with the laid-back attitude that is typical of people in Ireland. Many of us found mistakes had been made with our housing assignments, and me and a friend stayed a night in "guest accomodations" (in an upper floor of a georgous old building on South Campus) until they found a room to put us in! One also cannot expect to accomplish anything from 1-2, the hours that appear to be the national lunch time, and everything closes early and is closed on weekends. Wonderfully, Maynooth's campus library closes at 10 pm!!! Students here "work during the day"... (and they certainly do not work at night!).

I LOVE the village of Maynooth! It is mostly populated with maybe a few thousand folks. There is one Main Street, which is a 5 minute walk from campus. It has all one could need - groceries, banks, a pharmacy, and even a Supermacs (a superisingly amazing irish fastfood chain... i think the only fastfood chain in the country), and of course, at least 4 pubs... Just today, I walked past the 900 year old castle on the edge of South Campus and right on to Main St. to runa few errands, and made it back quickly with plenty of time to get to my next activity!