Friday
Day 29: I Think A Lot About Potatoes
We finished our project today!!! I am very excited about this. We were the first group finished so we could really enjoy going out tonight. We had our farewell dinner and then went to the Abbey Theatre for a play. The play we saw was very interesting but overall I liked it. My favorite line was by the housekeeper saying she tuned out her boss while he was talking and someone asked her "where she goes" when he's talking and she responded "I think a lot about potatoes." After the theater we went out for one last night in the pubs. It was a lot of fun and I am really going to miss the atmosphere -- it's so much better than 6th Street.
Thursday
Day 28: Work, work, work...
No exciting news today. We are down to our last few days here so we are all pretty much working on our projects all the time. We did take our group picture in front of the UCD sign this evening then a few of us went out to dinner for a break. It's weird that we have already been here a month and are leaving in 2 days!
Tuesday
Day 27: Walking vs. Cadbury -- Who Won?
Today I went and saw the Book of Kells (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Kells) -- sorry no pictures allowed. The book was really cool but what was more impressive was the Long Room above the book. It is what you think of when you think of an old library. Books from ceiling to floor. The displays change and right now there is a Napoleon one which is pretty neat. They also have a replica of the Rosetta Stone and it has the oldest Irish harp which is where the symbol came from. It's actually funny because when Guinness went to make the harp their symbol the Irish government told them they couldn't because it was the country's symbol. However, Guinness pointed the government toward the copyright laws -- Guinness had actually copyrighted it before Ireland so Ireland had to make their harp face the other direction!
After that trip I came home and worked on my part of the project. I have been really tired lately. I think it's all catching up to me! Also, as my time here is ending I am trying to figure out who won the battle between walking and Cadbury. I've done enough walking to lose weight but I think I've also eaten enough Cadbury chocolate to have gained 100 pounds. If anything I am coming out even.
After that trip I came home and worked on my part of the project. I have been really tired lately. I think it's all catching up to me! Also, as my time here is ending I am trying to figure out who won the battle between walking and Cadbury. I've done enough walking to lose weight but I think I've also eaten enough Cadbury chocolate to have gained 100 pounds. If anything I am coming out even.
Day 26: Down To Work
Today we had our last class day for the trip! But that means that the rest of the week is to be spent finishing up our project. Not too bad, just have to do it. It was another one of the girls' birthdays tonight so we all went out to dinner. Her parents had just flown in too so that was fun. We didn't stay out too late but we all had a good time.
Day 25: I'm Not A Celtic King
Today we went on a Celtic Ruins tour courtesy of UT. We were supposed to go to a hurling match but for some unexplained reason all sporting events this weekend were canceled. If you cancel an NFL game in the U.S. you at least explain why, but not here in Ireland!! Anyway so the tour was pretty good. For some reason we did a shortened version of the real tour and were pretty rushed through the 3 sites we did go to but hey it was free.
This is the oldest known Irish High Cross. It was really impressive in person.
This is where the Celtic Kings came to be "crowned." Legend says that if you touch and and it screams you are the next King. It didn't scream for me :(
This is the oldest known Irish High Cross. It was really impressive in person.
This is where the Celtic Kings came to be "crowned." Legend says that if you touch and and it screams you are the next King. It didn't scream for me :(
Monday
Day 24: IRA? No Biggie..
Today I went on a day trip up to Northern Ireland. We left Dublin at 6 am and headed up to Belfast where we went a tour of Carrick-a-rede Bridge, The Giants Causeway, and Derry/Londonderry.
The first stop was the bridge which is a really old rope and wood bridge. I was really scared and unsure if I would cross it until I actually got down to the bridge. It really is more stable than you would imagine. The only scary parts were 1) the height--I just looked up the whole time, and 2) when I got to the middle of the bridge a huge gust of wind came and I kinda froze up for a minute. Other than that it was fun. There are pictures of me actually crossing it but Aviva has them.
So on our way between the bridge and the Giants Causeway we actually got into a traffic jam with sheep!!! This was probably my favorite experience of the trip because it is what you think of when you think of Ireland. I actually sent one of my friends a post card with this exact scene on the front!
The next stop was the Giants Causeway which is a World Heritage Site. Now the story behind it is that a long time ago there was this giant of a man in Ireland named Fionn who would thought he was the strongest man in the world. He would always yell across the ocean to the giant in Scotland named Benandonner and tell him to come over to Ireland so they could fight. Benandonner would say that he didn't want to get his feet wet coming over there so Fionn built a Causeway between the two islands so that Benandonner could come over and fight without getting his feet wet. However, when Benandonner finally did come over Fionn was so frightened by his size as he was way larger than Fionn that Fionn's wife dressed him as a baby and when Benandonner came she told him that Fionn would be back soon. Benandonner saw Fionn dressed as the baby and decided that any man who had a baby that big must be enormous so he fled back to Scotland ripping up the Causeway as he went. The only remains of it are on the Irish coast and on the other side in Scotland. OR there is a lame story about lava melting a long time ago. In any case it was amazing and indescribable. The pictures do not capture what it is like and how awesome it is there.
The last stop on the tour was Derry/Londonderry where we did a walking tour of the city. It was crazy to be able to physically see the divisions within the community between the Protestants, who support England, and the Catholic Nationalists. All over you can see the different flags being flown and the huge fences and signs of past turmoil. Went went over to a part of the city called Free Derry where the Republican Nationalists proclaimied themselves free from English rule. There are a bunch of political murals and graffiti expressing their views. The craziest part was that our walking tour guide (different from our bus tour guide) was a nationalist and when he spoke about the IRA he tried to tell us that it was no different from any other army in the world. I decided it was probably smart not to argue with him. In any case, it was something I have never experienced before and it makes you think about how much we take for granted in the U.S.
The first stop was the bridge which is a really old rope and wood bridge. I was really scared and unsure if I would cross it until I actually got down to the bridge. It really is more stable than you would imagine. The only scary parts were 1) the height--I just looked up the whole time, and 2) when I got to the middle of the bridge a huge gust of wind came and I kinda froze up for a minute. Other than that it was fun. There are pictures of me actually crossing it but Aviva has them.
So on our way between the bridge and the Giants Causeway we actually got into a traffic jam with sheep!!! This was probably my favorite experience of the trip because it is what you think of when you think of Ireland. I actually sent one of my friends a post card with this exact scene on the front!
The next stop was the Giants Causeway which is a World Heritage Site. Now the story behind it is that a long time ago there was this giant of a man in Ireland named Fionn who would thought he was the strongest man in the world. He would always yell across the ocean to the giant in Scotland named Benandonner and tell him to come over to Ireland so they could fight. Benandonner would say that he didn't want to get his feet wet coming over there so Fionn built a Causeway between the two islands so that Benandonner could come over and fight without getting his feet wet. However, when Benandonner finally did come over Fionn was so frightened by his size as he was way larger than Fionn that Fionn's wife dressed him as a baby and when Benandonner came she told him that Fionn would be back soon. Benandonner saw Fionn dressed as the baby and decided that any man who had a baby that big must be enormous so he fled back to Scotland ripping up the Causeway as he went. The only remains of it are on the Irish coast and on the other side in Scotland. OR there is a lame story about lava melting a long time ago. In any case it was amazing and indescribable. The pictures do not capture what it is like and how awesome it is there.
The last stop on the tour was Derry/Londonderry where we did a walking tour of the city. It was crazy to be able to physically see the divisions within the community between the Protestants, who support England, and the Catholic Nationalists. All over you can see the different flags being flown and the huge fences and signs of past turmoil. Went went over to a part of the city called Free Derry where the Republican Nationalists proclaimied themselves free from English rule. There are a bunch of political murals and graffiti expressing their views. The craziest part was that our walking tour guide (different from our bus tour guide) was a nationalist and when he spoke about the IRA he tried to tell us that it was no different from any other army in the world. I decided it was probably smart not to argue with him. In any case, it was something I have never experienced before and it makes you think about how much we take for granted in the U.S.
Day 23: I'm A Poet And Didn't Know It
Today I went to the Dublin Writers Museum and the Hugh Lane Museum of Modern Art. Both were really cool and had some interesting stuff in them. Nothing really exciting happened so I don't have too much to say...
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