low point #2

low point:

deep breathes and hands on knees outside of the immigration office to keep from crying.

situation:

The Republic of Ireland requires that international students and international working people register their residency with the government. Translation: get a lot of documents, jump through a lot of hoops, and pay us a lot of money.

Some friends and I got up at 5.30 AM this morning to wait in line outside of the immigration office, aka the Garda, aka men who will eat your soul. This was early. It was dark. I was sleepy and was not feeling so good. We sat outside the office in a line of people until it opened at 7.30. Think immigrants in The States sleeping in front of the DMV. It was misty and cold. We watched the sunrise, but not in the romantic way.

Inside the office I was number 32. We we were nervous because the men were yelling at people and sending them away. I had a questionable bank statement (printed from online) and was sure that they would not take me, but decided to wait and see because I came this far.

I switched numbers with Corrine when my turn came so that I would get the Garda who yelled less. I held my breathe, tried to be strong and handed him my info. He looked at all of it, told me a was missing a signed statement from my landlord and then threw all of the info down in front of me. I asked him if that document was all I needed and he said yes. As I was getting up and the realization that I would have to get up at 5.30 AM tomorrow morning was sinking in, cold-Garda-man offered me a glimmer of hope. He mumbled, "You live close. If you go get it now, I'll let you back in line."

I took this information and ran with it, literally. I power walked to my apartment, found the needed document without waking my roommate and jogged back to the Garda station. I was feeling all victorious because the hassle was going to be worth the relief of having that whole ordeal over with.

Another low/heart breaking point was when I made eye-contact with the officer who recognized me and signaled me up to his desk then I had to explain to this nice young African man who did not speak English very well that I was about to break in front of him even though he had been waiting all morning too. I almost cried then too, it was awful.

I sat down at the same officer's booth after retrieving the last thing he said that I needed. I gave him all of my papers. He looked at them. He tossed them back at me and said "I will not take this bank statement". I asked him some questions with a dry throat and a wobbly voice. I left quickly so that I would not cry and so that the nice African man could have his turn. I only hope his experience was better than mine.

Agent Bolton might Hurl.

Event: Home Stay '08.

Location: Doreen and Dom's farm, Kilfinane, Ireland.

Agents: Corrine, Eireann, Molly

Mission: learn about Irish home life/be spoiled by Irish mother figure.

Log of daily activities:
Day 1- three hour bus ride, short car ride with Doreen to farm, eating and talking, watching rugby on tv, eating and talking, sleeping in a quiet purple room

Day 2 - eating and talking, playing with blond-headed little grandson, walking/exploring around the farm, meeting cows, exploring near by town, purchasing second hand cardigan for 1 euro at town, having a chips and Guinness break at town, eating and talking, reading, meeting more cows, watching Gaelic football on tv, tea and talking, our mom dropping us off at local pub, men being inappropriate at local pub, mom picking us back up from local pub, sleeping like a brick

Day 3 - eating and talking, local hurling match, eating and talking, three hour bus ride back to reality

Photo evidence: Agent Corrine and Eireann (aka 2 of the 3 "Granny's Girls") enjoying the countryside.

Eireann, Dom (aka DOMinator), Doreen, Molly.
House. Cows located to the right, left, front and back.

Cows.
Church in town.

Agent observations:
- Like in the US, grandmothers may try to force too much food upon young people.
- Like in the US, gentlemen may yell at television during sporting events.
- Like in the US, it is wise obey signs reading "beware of bull".
- Country homes are typically more conducive to peaceful sleep than student apartments filled to the brim with rowdy young people.
- 2-year-olds with accents are dangerously cute.
- Thrift stores are a good deal in any country.



Forgive me, but I must switch from "agent mode" into "ordinary civilian/hurling fan mode".
Consider me switch-ed.

Ok, here's the dealio, sports in Ireland are awesome. I am have been learning about the most popular sports -rugby, Gaelic football, and hurling. The things that these sports have in common is that multiple skills from multiple parts of the body are required, there is LOTS of physical contact, and there is LOTS of enthusiasm and passion for the sports.

Doreen and Dom took us to a local hurling match. We were lucky because this particular game was the championship match of long-lived rivals. It was very exciting to say the least. Locals from ages, I'm guessing, 17 to 45 were on the teams with hoards of accompanying fans. Everybody knows everybody at these games and there is lots of cheering. The Irish don't really worry about cursing in front of children.

These games are very physical (and hurling involves wooden clubs/sticks being swung about too), so they kinda make me nervous to watch. Apparently, last week a guy who wasn't wearing a helmet became blind in one eye. Irish sports are the kind where you run off the field for a minute to get some stitches on your forehead, then get a pat on the bum and run back on. Hurling info.

This is a picture right after our team won. Don't worry, the celebration got bigger. Cheering, singing, hugging, dancing proceeded. I like this picture because one of the losing athletes is in agony on the ground (I mean, I don't like that he is in agony... but the drama if the whole thing is good) and because Grandpa Dom and Granny Doreen are rushing the field.

Where did you stash the newts, Noah?

#1 Classes: I have to go to those, right?

Finally! I have all of my classes. BUT because Wake Forest likes to be obsessively strict about things, I still have to make sure that all of my credits are going to transfer properly. AND because the University of Ireland likes to be unbelievably lax about things, I still don't really know what work I should be doing for each of my classes. Nevertheless, this is what I am taking:

History of Irish Thought

Luda, class is crazy and I wish you were in it so that we could talk about it. We learned about the first Philosopher in Ireland. He was a Monk who said that every Christian who is serious about understanding the Bible must at wrestle with this question: How did the amphibians survive the Great Flood?

Studies in Renaissance Literature

The head of the English Department teaches this class of like 400 students. It is very interesting and he is a very funny and witty dude. They say the word “Renaissance” really different here. I can’t even imitate how they do it, it's so weird.

Literary Genres and their Histories

This class is kinda paired with the Renaissance class and the professors are young and engaging. Yay for genres!

Medieval Ireland in the 5^th – 9^th Century

They also say “Medieval” differently. That may be the most interesting thing about this class. Um, I mean I may or may not have fallen asleep in class yesterday. Don't even blame me, it's pre-viking stuff.

The Appreciation of Poetry and of the Poetic Form

This will be a class of about 10 people that starts next week. All of the international English students had to line up waaay to early to sign up for these seminar classes. There was a lot of stress about who would get what seminar, there were numbers passed out, pushing in various lines, and a lot of tension between people who wanted the same seminar. Fortunately, I did not have to stress out (not that I would have anyway) because turns out that not that many people appreciate poetry and the class was not in high demand. I am probably a little too excited about this class. Don't worry, I will continue to post excerpts from poems that i appreciate.

A photo of the line to sign up for English seminars circa 7 AM (yes, the people in the front camped out).

#2 My first Visitor.

Sir Ryan Crimmins, Wake Forest friend and fellow Look Out Mountainer, stopped by lovely Galway during his break from school in Austria. He is on a ten day long exploration of various fun parts of the British Isles and Ireland. We toured the city yesterday and went to some pubs with live traditional music. Today he explored by himself while I was in class and then went to some castle ruins with my friend (and now his friend too), Chris. Apparently they had to go through many thorns and wade in a marsh and go through fields to get there, but it was awesome.

Below we are with the young and old Oscar Wilde.

#3 Foreign Fellowship.

While Crim was doing manly adventuresome things, I took a bus (instead of walking 4 miles in the rain) to Mandy and Jason’s house. They are a couple, originally from Texas, who started a church in Galway. They have two cute curly headed girls and another one due next week.

Every other week they host a dinner and movie night for all of the university aged peeps. About 15 of us were there. It was so fun to hang out with Christians and especially ones from all over – Ireland, Northern Ireland, England, Germany, Australia.

We talked about cultural differences and apparently it’s really funny that Americans have drive through banks. They thought it was hilarious when I added that we also have drive through pharmacies. Oh, lazy ol' Americans ('Merca, love it or leave it...).

Mandy, Jason, and other church members fed us very well (chicken, pasta and apple pie – hello!) then we watched and discussed the movie Gone, Baby, Gone. I don’t know if you’ve seen that movie or not, but it is really intense and raises some really cool discussion topics (plus Casey Affleck is a cutie).

The night was really fun. I am thankful to have fellowship and a Church body to be part of while I’m here.

#4 Comments on Previous Post.

The poem at the end of the last blog is actually lyrics by one of my favorite musicians, Greg Laswell (mentioned in an early post as a soundtrack to this trip). Those words are from a great song by Greg entitled Embrace Me.

This is my toenail coming off and bloody/rainy sock -- the result of my really long walk to and from church. Figuring out the bus system is a much better call.

#5 Other Thoughts/Tidbits:

There are hair straighteners in public restrooms. I guess a girl had got to look her best.

Candy bars have odd names and little description on the wrappers. What does it take for a girl to get a Hershey’s Bar with almonds?

Bangs are called fringe. There was a miscommunication in my apartment when discussing haircuts.

“To have a good crack” means to have fun, or to have a good time. Several more miscommunications.

A veggie burger means a hamburger bun with vegetables on it.

North Carolina is can be most easily identified as the state where One Tree Hill takes place, where The Notebook takes place, or where Dawson’s Creek was filmed. It can also be described as a state located between New York City and Miami (where CSI: Miami takes place).

Ireland is small, so street signs are superfluous.

Crimmins was commenting and appreciating how green the grass in Ireland is.

land that grounds me.

I have been exploring a lot this week.
Alone and with people.
I feel like I am getting to know the city. He is my friend.
I read in his central square.
I found his best soy chai latte.
I recognize the names of his shoppes and pubs.
I know how fast his water moves.
Tomorrow I am getting up early and going to the market with a couple of friends
and this time we will not even have to think about how to get there.

Above is what I see everyday from the bridge on my way to school. When it is windy and buses speed by, I almost fall into this very water.

My friend and I were walking around the city today (we found a great soup/sandwich/tea lunch deal at a pub) and this sweet little dog walked in front of us for about 30 minutes. And then about 30 minutes later he found us again and kept on walking with us. People thought he was our dog.


The three photos above are views from downtown.

O wind won't you take me up to the sky
so I can get a good look down at this life of mine.
River won't you take me out and to the sea
so I can get a good look back at the land that grounds me.

Low Point #1

Low point: lying on the floor of a laundromat.

Situation: I was really hungry and really tired and really locked out of my apartment. I had to find a spot to wait an hour until the woman at the desk was done with her lunch so I could borrow the master key.

The bit of redemption is that a nice girl sitting on a dryer told me to come to her apartment and eat cereal while I waited. So I did. She is nice, unlike the desk lady.

The sad but not funny part of this story is that i have no idea where my key is and a replacement is 10 Euros. I have a few choice words that I would like to say to the Euro.

Mollys, Markets, Medievals, Men of God

This is my half of my room in the apartment. There is a Sufjan poster to the right (taped over an ugly picture and frame that are bolted to the wall... we are not aloud to hang anything on the walls). To the left is the other Molly's half and a window.



On Saturday a couple of friends and I got up early and headed downtown for the weekly market. This is the area of the market where I procured fresh fruits and veggies and the farmers called me "love". Notice the gent's hat in the front.


On Saturday afternoon I went to a historical lecture and on a historical tour of Galway City. This is a big Cathedral that is important to something somehow and has some significance. It is right by the school, so maybe if I pass it enough I'll figure it out.



Something that I DID learn about is that Galway was an architecturally sweet city in Medieval times (pronounced "Med-I-eval"), but most of it was later covered in plaster because the rain came down so hard that they feared that the walls would leak. So there are these beautiful old stone buildings covered with plaster and paint. The very smart author and historian who was our lecturer and tour guide said that if he were in charge of the city, he we chip it all off.

The rain was too hard.
Medieval walls were plastered
and never the same.




This describes a lot of Galway. The water moves PRETTY quickly (Karver, I was trying to make a guestamenation of what class rapid it would be. I decided it's the class that you don't want to fall in.). Eels swim down the river and salmon swim up it. The water is very clean, especially for running through the middle of a city.


Oh, you know, these are just some men at a party in a pub in the middle of the day. Yes, they are dressed like various men of God. A theme party, maybe. Yes, they did see a large group of Americans and come outside to yell and sing at us and invite us in. Their song of choice was O Come all Ye Faithful. Clever, I know.




Speaking of men of God, today I went to church, a tiny Methodist church downtown. I left my apartment at 10:10 for an 11:00 service, which turned out to be at 11:30, but really started at 11:45. But all of that was cool. I was just happy that I actually found the church at all (I'm not really known for my sense of direction) and was happy to hang out by myslef in downtown Galway for a bit. I saw lots of backpackers.

I really liked the church. The sanctuary was full (about 40 people) and half of the people there were African, including the preacher. I knew that I would like the church when we began with singing Psalm 134 to an African beat. It the same psalm we often sing at camp DeSoto.


Behold, bless ye the LORD, all ye servants of the LORD,
which by night stand in the house of the LORD.
Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the LORD.

We need to ketchup.

Hey friends and family! I made it! I haven’t had internet access available during this first part of orientation in Limerick, so I will try to catch you up on happenings.

Saturday/Sunday, August 30/31

Flying across time zones is crazy. I got on a flight, had dinner and two hours later the sun was rising. What the heck.

I was fortunate enough to make some friends before and after the flight with abroad students doing the same program as I. We arrived to Shannon airport at around 5:30 AM, Irish time, and after a long line at customs a big group of us caught a bus to our Hotel in Limerick (Mom – I maneuvered my luggage with the grace and agility of Michael Phelps). I checked into the room at around 7:30 AM, took a much needed shower then slept like a pile of bricks.

I wandered around Limerick for a while. What a cool city, right on the water. Then we had our first official orientation meeting for all of the Ireland Butler Abroad students. Turns out, that that just means dinner and passing out a packet of info.

After the dinner I invited some girls that I had and hadn't met to come to my room (I am one of the few without a roommate) for tea. There ended up being about 9 of us in my room. We talked, drank tea and a little wine, listened to music, and people watch from the window. All around a good time.

Monday, September 1

I am writing all of this on the night of September 1^st, to later copy and paste onto my blog. Today we had more orientation, then some of us shopped for necessary items, then we had traditional Irish food, drink, and entertainment in a castle/barn.

Here are some thoughts/observations as of now:

- I am excited about getting to Galway, meeting my flatmates and settling in

- People here looooove tea and I think that shows I’m in the right place

- I hate power adapters

- The Irish are much better about recycling and conserving than Americans

- Traditional Irish music is lovely

- Traditional Irish dancing is sweet! (Jen Hayden, you would have freaked out. They were almost as good as the Lord of Dance).

- Drinking mead makes me feel like a Viking

- I like traveling and shopping with one or two mellow Americans

- I do not like when Americans from states-that-I-will-not-name are loud and annoying everyone

- I am ready to get to school and make Irish friends

- I am lonely with no roommate in the hotel, no email, and not being able to get my phone card to work again (how the heck did I get it to work the first time??)

- I am proud of myself for not getting hit by a car

- Ray LaMontagne is a great comfort to my soul

- I like flannel on people of any nationality

- One more day of orientation before I get to go to Galway!

Tuesday, September 2

Last day of Limerick. (Free time = fun time.)

About twelve of us went to the Hunt museum. It’s a family’s personal collocation of art. A little lady in a striped sweater was our guide and she was great, always ready with a little side comment about the Hunt family or what she thought about the art. My favorite thing about the museum was that apparently the Hunt family used the art and artifacts really casually – you know using an ancient Egyptian embalming urn as a flower vase, hanging an early Picasso painting by the stove, serving wine in a Grecian urn, whatevs.

Tonight some of us went to well-thought-of local pub. It was everything that you would imagine an Irish pub to be – red brick, low lighting, Guinness, and live traditional music. I think it was a good omen that the last song that they sang was about Molly. Also, turns out, one of the fiddlers has family in Greensboro. Small world. Beautiful world.

Wednesday, September 3

My first day in Galway and in my apartment! WOO-HOO!

We left in overloaded bussed for an hour ride from Limerick to Galway this morning. The ride was dreamy -- very green, rocky, and lined with fluffy gray clouds. I could tell that we were approaching Galway when large bodies of water came into view. Let me just say, this city is off the hook.

There are streets and streets of little shops and pubs. The University is big and confusing, but is going to be an adventure. The University is about a 15 minute walk (down a highway) from my apartment. Speaking of apartment, it is huge and nice. Think Crown Polo on steroids. The bottom floor is a bathroom, living area, and kitchen. The next floor is two bedrooms and a bathroom and the top floor is the same as the second. My roommate is Molly (what are the odds?) from Boston who attends Brown. I feel that we are going to get along well! Our flatmates will probably move in this weekend and they could be anyone from anywhere, so we'll see!

I walked a total of about 8 miles today - to school, a tour, a couple of walks around town, getting lost for a bit, getting a computer cord, to the grocery store and back.

I ended my day with a much needed skype conversation with some of my favorite friends.
That was good. I miss everyone badly.

Thursday, September 4

I am sore from walking so much yesterday. And today will probably be a repeat of yesterday.

Student Union is hosting karaoke tonight.
What do think? I don't know anyone really, so I can go wild.

Celine Dion anyone?