In Limbo

So it's been a while since i last updated.

Mainly it's because i've had to use my computer time to print off massive quantities of reading assignments for my classes here. But also because i've been feeling more reflective, and wanting to be conscious of everything and not stop to write it down.

Let's see...St. Patrick's day. Umm not as exciting as you would expect. For historical background, St. Patrick's day is the catholic feast day of St. Patrick (hisdeath day).  Surprisingly the holiday was first celebrated in America.  And here it is not like the typical Americanized version; no green beer, no obnoxious shamrock hats, etc.

We started off the day by watching a small parade on St. Patrick's street. The parade mainly consisted of local groups and various costumed people. Nothing was pulled by car although the costumes were really ornate.  We then hustled through the crowd (wall to wall people, impossible to move) to get something to eat. Frustrated with the crowds we went back to the hotel to do some homework and nap.  After dinner we attempted to find a pub that was playing music but all the pubs, even the small ones, had lines outside.  We ended up back at the hotel bar where we had a surprisingly fun evening listening to a local irish band and getting to know our fellow group members.

We did manage to see some other very cool things this week. We only had one day of lecture and the rest of t he week was class on site (which isn't real class because it is too fun!!).

Wednesday we went to the Rock of Cashel which has this old church and graveyard built around 1101 a.d.  It's really neat to see the evolution of high crosses.  Older crosses have that ring around the top and many religious biblical scenes.  The newer ones don't have that stone circle around the top and often depict one main figure, normally the archbishops who wanted closer rule on the churches in the middle ages.  The chapel still ad reminants of the fresco ceiling painting on it.  Other than that, it was ridiculously cold so i stopped writing things down so i could keep my hands in my pockets.

Thursday we went to see the heritage musuem at Queenstown port.  We learned a lot about emmigration from Ireland; the conditions on the ships were terrible and during the famine of 1845 when many people left the country, the ships were called coffin ships because so many people died.  I was disappointed to see that the musuem really only talked about the failure of the potato crops as a reason for the famine;  there were many politcal reasons for the famine as well.  Oh, also, this port was the last port the Titanic went to before it set sail and it was also the port that the Lusitania was bombed in.

We also saw Charles fort. With the bright green grass and the crumbling old ruins you really got a feeling for the juxtaposition of life and death.  It was beautiful and the view of the bay was breathtaking.  We learned it was set up by the British in the early 17th century to help attack the Irish. It's a formidable fort.

Friday was our day off so a few of us went to Glengariff to visit Mallory's Uncl Vincent.  I don't hav any family (tat i know of) in Ireland so i relished the chance to see a connection to this land.  Vincent was your stereotypical Irishman.  He wore a cute little cap and told us stories about the fairies who watched his cottage.  He took us to this pub called the blue loo for lunch and he knew everyone there.  It was like a scene from a BBC comedy; everyone knew each other and made fun of each other!!! We had the best sandwiches and soup for lunch and Vincent keep trying to make us eat more!!! He then took us for a drive through sugar loaf mountains up through Healy's Pass.  We saw the houses that Mallory's great grandma and great grandpa were born in (one room cottages!!). He knew everyone along the way and at one point stopped the car and had us get out so he could introduce us to his cousing matt (whose name was actually ted).  The cows were mooing and Vince pretended he was talking to them.  We stopped by the beach before heading up into the higher mountain roads.  Vince let us stop to try andtake pictures with sheep (they ran away) and also let us stop to climb around.  The roads are scary as hell; there is no guard rail and cars just whip around corners like there is no tommorrow. Yikes.  He took us back to his cottage (and yes i mean little stone cottage where he had only recently installed runnign water) for some ham sandwiches and tea.  it was small, precious, and he had his socks hanging out to dry over the fireplace.  After Vincent loaded us up with bread and fruit we made or way to the bus stop for a long bus ride back to Cork.  It was a pretty great day of friend bonding and i finally feel like i got a glimpse at the real Ireland.

Oh and get this, Vince said that the elderly were very well cared for in Ireland; after a certain age,if they lived alone all of their electrical bills were free. Wow. 

Okay, well, got to go eat dinner now.  Tonight is our last night in Cork and tommorrow we go to Killarney.