The Trinity term has officially started; I am finally among "real" Irish students, as well as a smattering of others from around the globe. France, Germany, Australia, Malta, Latvia and more...thanks to the influx of new students, I am now among the American minority. Beautiful. This is a new situation for me, and in some cases it makes me the sole representative of over 300 million people. Take for example my Comparative Welfare States Social Policy class; now that my teacher knows I am American, I will provide the class with an "American" viewpoint. Oh boy!
I have gotten involved in several college societies over the past week. I am considering the basketball and volleyball club in an effort to become a college athlete. After one basketball practice, it seems it could be a real possibility. That is, assuming I improve my handling skills. I may do volleyball instead...we shall see. I am also a member of The Hist, the oldest college society in the world (allegedly). It is a debating society, and next week I will try my hand. I am looking forward to it. My first assignment - "Why this house should allow Turkey into the EU." Right up my alley, given my rich Mediterranean heritage. I am also a member of the Food and Drink Society, the Indian Society, the Politics Society and the Vincent de Paul Society. Fun stuff.
Speaking of my Mediterranean heritage, I attended a concert at the Icelandic Music Festival last weekend (like the transition?). It was a band called Amiina, former comrades of Sigur Ros. They were wonderful - I greatly enjoyed the show. They switched between many instruments, everybody trading places and walking around the stage during the songs. They had singing saws. Singing saws! Please observe this phenomenon. Click the link. They also randomly used a megaphone during a song. Delightful.
All in all, I am keeping very busy. There is a lot going on here - lots in school (a large stockpile of readings, but only 1-2 essays for the entire semester...and that's it. Quite different than the States) and out. I have a little test in a week and a half in another country. I'm excited. I shall not elaborate further.
Planning a weekend trip to Doolin, the capital of traditional Irish music, this weekend. Hopefully all goes well - if nothing else, there should be some great adventure. Oh, I've successfully made brown bread three times now. The second batch was spectacular. I apologize for not having pictures. I planned on photographing the third batch, but it had some room for improvement. Still tastes good, though.
Keep classy, America. I'm keeping an eye on you via various news outlets and the like. The Irish are very well-informed of American current events, a very admirable trait. The world seems a bit smaller now.
There is a fun fact I would love to share but cannot due to likely security reasons. I am currently two blocks away from someone you know. I'll leave it at that.
Good day.
-Michael
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Festivals, Friends and Foreign Food
Today's picture of Ireland: as I walked through the park I watched a young Viking terrorize a flock of fowl. Granted, the flock of fowl was entirely pigeons, and the boy was likely just wearing a Viking helmet from the nearby "Viking Splash" tour bus and lacked any real Nordic heritage. But you never know...
Sorry for the two week hiatus. Life got busy again - tends to do that. For starters, I've been volunteering at the Dublin Fringe Festival, a smattering of crazy theatre and the like. I'm not exactly a theatre fanatic, nor by any means an expert. However, I do have a fond appreciation for the art and enjoy a great show, be it play, musical (I'm a sucker for these) or otherwise. Hopefully this brief background adds some credibility to the following claim.
This stuff is flat out crazy. Enjoyable, yes, for the most part. But it is downright ridiculous. My first volunteering shift saw me pushing a 14-foot woman marionette through thousands of spectators in a large-scale play, complete with giant animals and explosions, that I did not understand in the least. It was awesome, just really, really weird. The next show I worked was in a coffee shop and could fit an audience of 10. It was delightful, a one-woman show featuring a barista from the States who somehow ended up working here in Dublin. She spent four years working in Kansas City, and was stunned when she learned I was from "Jeff City." She is the first person in Ireland I've met who actually knows where Missouri is.
Speaking of my home state's relative international anonymity, I've had a lot of fun playing what I call the "Missouri Game." Whenever I tell people where I'm from (Missouri), I ask them to guess where it is in the US. Here are some responses:
"Missouri...that's the one shaped like a hand, right?"
No. That is Michigan.
"Aren't they close?"
No, not really. Missouri is smack dab in the middle.
"Missouri...that's by Alabama, isn't it?"
No. That is Mississippi.
"Oh yeah, Missouri's the next one over, right?"
No. It is smack dab in the middle.
See? Loads of fun.
There are some great people over here. I now have some great friends, and adventures are ensuing. For example, some of us got tickets to a show at the Icelandic Music Weekend (part of the Fringe Fest) next week. I may visit another new friend in Hungary later this semester. I'm excited to see what other adventures come about.
I've decided to learn some Thai cooking while I'm here. I made curry for the first time earlier this week. Room to improve, but a successful maiden voyage. Hopefully I can expand upon this fledgling project as the weeks go by. My next goal, though unrelated, is making my own soda bread. Oh baby...
I've uploaded some pivtures on Facebook. I encourage you to view them as you read this post. Hopefully it will supplement what you read and fill in some of the blanks. There is a LOT going on here, and I am enjoying it thoroughly. Feel free to contact me via email or Facebook...or the much appreciated letters. I'd love to share more of what's going on, just let me know.
Much love,
Michael
Sorry for the two week hiatus. Life got busy again - tends to do that. For starters, I've been volunteering at the Dublin Fringe Festival, a smattering of crazy theatre and the like. I'm not exactly a theatre fanatic, nor by any means an expert. However, I do have a fond appreciation for the art and enjoy a great show, be it play, musical (I'm a sucker for these) or otherwise. Hopefully this brief background adds some credibility to the following claim.
This stuff is flat out crazy. Enjoyable, yes, for the most part. But it is downright ridiculous. My first volunteering shift saw me pushing a 14-foot woman marionette through thousands of spectators in a large-scale play, complete with giant animals and explosions, that I did not understand in the least. It was awesome, just really, really weird. The next show I worked was in a coffee shop and could fit an audience of 10. It was delightful, a one-woman show featuring a barista from the States who somehow ended up working here in Dublin. She spent four years working in Kansas City, and was stunned when she learned I was from "Jeff City." She is the first person in Ireland I've met who actually knows where Missouri is.
Speaking of my home state's relative international anonymity, I've had a lot of fun playing what I call the "Missouri Game." Whenever I tell people where I'm from (Missouri), I ask them to guess where it is in the US. Here are some responses:
"Missouri...that's the one shaped like a hand, right?"
No. That is Michigan.
"Aren't they close?"
No, not really. Missouri is smack dab in the middle.
"Missouri...that's by Alabama, isn't it?"
No. That is Mississippi.
"Oh yeah, Missouri's the next one over, right?"
No. It is smack dab in the middle.
See? Loads of fun.
There are some great people over here. I now have some great friends, and adventures are ensuing. For example, some of us got tickets to a show at the Icelandic Music Weekend (part of the Fringe Fest) next week. I may visit another new friend in Hungary later this semester. I'm excited to see what other adventures come about.
I've decided to learn some Thai cooking while I'm here. I made curry for the first time earlier this week. Room to improve, but a successful maiden voyage. Hopefully I can expand upon this fledgling project as the weeks go by. My next goal, though unrelated, is making my own soda bread. Oh baby...
I've uploaded some pivtures on Facebook. I encourage you to view them as you read this post. Hopefully it will supplement what you read and fill in some of the blanks. There is a LOT going on here, and I am enjoying it thoroughly. Feel free to contact me via email or Facebook...or the much appreciated letters. I'd love to share more of what's going on, just let me know.
Much love,
Michael
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Apparently I'm in Ireland...
Today marks one full week in Dublin, Ireland. It still feels surreal that I am in Europe; there are times when it is obvious I'm in another country and times when there doesn't seem to be much of a difference. But anyhoo...
After wandering the city streets for 40 minutes last weekend, I stumbled upon a roommate and our house, which I had circled at least twice. The house is a lot nicer than I expected for student housing - 3 story apartment, 3 bedrooms (for 5 people), 3 bathrooms (or "toilets;" "bathroom" is a foreign term here) and a kitchen. The kitchen is small, which was to be expected, but well-equipped. I've had a devil of a time figuring out how things work, but it's starting to come together. On Wednesday I realized that I hadn't had a hot meal since I arrived, and no protein outside of some deli ham and peanut butter (note: not mixed together). I countered by ponying up the Euros for some chicken and making a chicken/rice/vegetable bake last night. Great start to Irish cooking. I followed this morning with an Irish breakfast: 2 pancakes (store-bought, I'm afraid - they were on sale), toasted brown bread with jam, tea with milk, and rashers. Rashers are a thing of beauty. They are the Irish equivalent of bacon, but are more akin to thick pieces of ham. Sono deliziosi.
One of my favorite things about Ireland - the bread is cheap and plentiful. I have gone through 2 loaves of brown bread in a week, each costing .69-.89. Some groceries are surprisingly cheap, while others (i.e. chicken) are rather expensive.
Dublin is an interesting city. The pubs are plenty, the businesses are many, and most things are expensive. There are times when I love the area - like walking home through St. Stephen's Green, a beautiful park - and there are times when I do not - waiting in lines to register with immigration, only to be turned away due to shortage of tickets. The exchange rate is depressing, but I suppose it's much better than it was a year ago.
I do not think Dublin is a good representative of all Ireland. It is very globalised (note the European spelling - I'm catching on!), and very much fits the "big city" mold, even though it's not terribly large. Lots of people look down as they walk the streets, pleasant conversations with strangers are few and far between. I'm looking forward to exploring the rest of the country, but I still have a lot of hope for Dublin. It's just very new to me.
Trinity is wonderful. More on that to come. I'll leave you with this for now - as I walk into campus each morning, I pause and remind myself, "Wow...I go to school here!" in a good way, of course.
I've been taking pictures, but I forgot the USB cord back in the states. Hopefully I can remedy this problem. Or maybe I'll shoot some video. Either way, I will attempt to enhance the multimedia portion of my Irish adventure.
Much love,
Michael
After wandering the city streets for 40 minutes last weekend, I stumbled upon a roommate and our house, which I had circled at least twice. The house is a lot nicer than I expected for student housing - 3 story apartment, 3 bedrooms (for 5 people), 3 bathrooms (or "toilets;" "bathroom" is a foreign term here) and a kitchen. The kitchen is small, which was to be expected, but well-equipped. I've had a devil of a time figuring out how things work, but it's starting to come together. On Wednesday I realized that I hadn't had a hot meal since I arrived, and no protein outside of some deli ham and peanut butter (note: not mixed together). I countered by ponying up the Euros for some chicken and making a chicken/rice/vegetable bake last night. Great start to Irish cooking. I followed this morning with an Irish breakfast: 2 pancakes (store-bought, I'm afraid - they were on sale), toasted brown bread with jam, tea with milk, and rashers. Rashers are a thing of beauty. They are the Irish equivalent of bacon, but are more akin to thick pieces of ham. Sono deliziosi.
One of my favorite things about Ireland - the bread is cheap and plentiful. I have gone through 2 loaves of brown bread in a week, each costing .69-.89. Some groceries are surprisingly cheap, while others (i.e. chicken) are rather expensive.
Dublin is an interesting city. The pubs are plenty, the businesses are many, and most things are expensive. There are times when I love the area - like walking home through St. Stephen's Green, a beautiful park - and there are times when I do not - waiting in lines to register with immigration, only to be turned away due to shortage of tickets. The exchange rate is depressing, but I suppose it's much better than it was a year ago.
I do not think Dublin is a good representative of all Ireland. It is very globalised (note the European spelling - I'm catching on!), and very much fits the "big city" mold, even though it's not terribly large. Lots of people look down as they walk the streets, pleasant conversations with strangers are few and far between. I'm looking forward to exploring the rest of the country, but I still have a lot of hope for Dublin. It's just very new to me.
Trinity is wonderful. More on that to come. I'll leave you with this for now - as I walk into campus each morning, I pause and remind myself, "Wow...I go to school here!" in a good way, of course.
I've been taking pictures, but I forgot the USB cord back in the states. Hopefully I can remedy this problem. Or maybe I'll shoot some video. Either way, I will attempt to enhance the multimedia portion of my Irish adventure.
Much love,
Michael
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