Speaking of Rugby...

Here's what I've learned about the game so far:

• In Ireland, there are four major teams for four provinces: Munster, Leinster, Ulster, and Connacht.

• A try is worth 5 points and is awarded when a player crosses the tryline at the end of the field and touches the ball to the ground.

• A conversion, worth 2 points, can be attempted after a try is scored. The kicker must place the ball between two posts at the end of the field.

• The game is played in two 40 minute halves.

• Players can only pass behind them.

• The “scrum” is the huddle in the middle of the field where the two teams push against each other to gain ground.

• The “hooker” is the most respected player on the team, and is in the center of the scrum.

• An old Irish Rugby joke- “It is the height of pride for a father when his son is the hooker for Munster. It is the height of shame for a father when his daughter is the hooker for Munster”.

Ireland's Call

This is another song that the kids like to sing for me. Here's some Irish culture for you- the National Rugby Anthem.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuJO5A4XLF0&feature=related


Come the day
And come the hour
Come the power and the glory
We have come to answer
Our country's call...
From the four proud provinces of Ireland.

Ireland, Ireland
Together standing tall
Shoulder to shoulder
We'll answer Irelands call.

From the mighty
Glens of Antrim
From the rugged hills of Galway
From the walls of Limerick
And Dublin Bay
From the four proud provinces of Ireland.

Hearts of steel
And heads unbowing
Vowing never to be broken
We will fight, until
We can fight no more.
For the four proud provinces of Ireland...

I can tell that we're going to be friends...

The kids in the first grade class sang We're Going to Be Friends by The White Stripes for me the other day, and it was the cutest thing ever :)

"We're Going To Be Friends" written by Jack White

Fall is here,hear the yell
back to school,ring the bell
brand new shoes,walking blues
climb the fence,books and pens
I can tell that we're going to be friends

Walk with me,Suzy Lee
through the park and by the tree
we will rest upon the ground
and look at all the bugs we found
then safely walk to school
without a sound

Well here we are,no one else
we walked to school all by ourselves
there's dirt on our uniforms
from chasing all the ants and worms
we clean up and now its time to learn

Numbers,letters,learn to spell
nouns,and books,and show and tell
at playtime we will throw the ball
back to class,through the hall
teacher marks our height
against the wall

And we don't notice any time pass
we don't notice anything
we sit side by side in every class
teacher thinks that I sound funny
but she likes the way you sing

Tonight I'll dream while I'm in bed
when silly thoughts go through my head
about the bugs and alphabet
and when I wake tomorow I'll bet
that you and I will walk together again
cause I can tell that we're going to be friends

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EHejbiAYNs&feature=related

Only 2 weeks left...

Where did the time go? I've been slacking off on blog posts, so I'll try to catch up:

Gaelic Football:

I've been training with the women's Gaelic Football team during the week, sort-of as part of a community involvement project. It's been a great way to get to know people around my own age, and stay in shape. I haven't run sprints like this since soccer training in high school! As of right now, I'm really terrible at the sport, but they're trying to learn me some skills. Gaelic Football, along with Hurling, is one of the national Irish sports. The rules as I have learned them so far are as follows: 15 players to a side, and you can either score by getting the ball past the keeper int the net (3 points), or getting it over the goal between 2 tall posts (1 point). Players can hold the ball and can take 4-5 steps before bouncing it on the ground or off of a foot (soloing). The ball can be passed either with a hand pass (similar to volleyball), or by drop-kicking it. Physical contact rules are similar to soccer: you can shoulder or use your hips against another player, but you can't grab another player or tackle. The girls have been a lot of fun to hang out with. I went with them to their last match and cheered them on, and then we all went out afterward to hang. Quote of that night, by Teresa: "It looks a bit dodgy, I'm scared to go in... Send in the American!"

Stars of Our Bars:

Over the past few weeks, there has been an ongoing singing competition in a local pub, and a contestant gets eliminated every week. I have heard several old Irish songs, as well as songs such as Cannonball by Damien Rice, and even Halo by Beyonce. After the competition, a band would play and everyone got up and danced. I'm surprised at how many familiar songs I hear. They really like their Johnny Cash here: I've heard the Ring of Fire loads of times. I also heard Bicycle Built for Two :) It's kinda nice to go out and hear music besides blaring rap all the time, nothing wrong with a bit of variety. Wonderwall by Oaisis and Michael Jackson are also popular among the young people here. In Irish dance at school, if the kids have extra time, their teacher lets them do the Thriller dance :)

Bunratty Castle:

This is a really old castle in County Clare that I went to see one day. It's been fixed up and refurbished to look like it might have back in the day, along with all the surrounding cottages and grounds. Lots of spiral staircases, nooks and crannies, dungeon, turrets, etc. Went to a local tea room for lunch and had vegetable soup and brown bread, and homemade apple pie, mmmmmm.




My favorite Irish food so far is probably the bacon and cabbage, minus the cabbage.

I've been able to make it to a few hurling matches lately, and that's been interesting. I don't think I would be very good at it; I have trouble enough being coordinated without a stick in my hand. Wouldn't wanna get hit with one of those bad boys... they do wear helmets though. There is a girl's version of hurling, it's called camogie. It's basically the same thing.

Aran Islands

I visited Inishmore, the largest of the Aran Islands, a ferry ride away from Galway City. The Aran Islands are one of the few sites in Ireland where Irish is still spoken as a first language. Very small, everyone knows everyone. We stayed at the Kilronan hostel, run by and Italian of all people, Marco. We liked Marco, he was a good fellow :) He gave us biscuits. Cycled around the whole island during the day, and Irish music at "Watty's" at night. They have seals there, and some pretty cool ruins, like the Black Fort. I think I preferred the cliffs here to the Cliffs of Moher- more remote, untamed. Anne Marie brought us to visit her Garda friend, Brian. He took us around the island in his Garda car and showed us some of the harder-to-reach areas.

Lately, I've been getting involved with a women's Gaelic Football team. There's not a ton I can do to help out, but I run sprints with them and they're teaching me how to play :) It's been fun to get involved and learn a new sport. More about that later.

Random Thoughts

-I've watched more Desperate Housewives and Glee since I've been here than I ever did in the States.

-It's great getting to watch soccer on the "telly" whenever I want.

-Some of my host mom's favorite names for me are "Pet", "Chicken", and "Ducky".

-Don't ask someone to "give you a ride", they might get the wrong idea. You "collect" someone, or "give them a lift".

-Fries are "chips" and chips are "crisps".

-A pencil sharpener is a "topper" and "rubbers" are erasers.

What do I miss the most?

Hugs. People don't seem as physically affectionate here and you don't normally see friends hug each other in greeting, especially not the men. Saiorse's pretty much the only one I ever get a hug from, at night before she goes to bed :)

In general, people here have a very good sense of humor and they're constantly slaggin' on each other. There are always plenty of laughs to be had.

Stranded in Lisdoonvarna

On Wednesday I went through the Burren to the Cliffs of Moher. The weather was crrrazy! It snowed in the morning, then was sunny and beautiful on the drive. Then, at the cliffs, we got caught in a hailstorm! That lasted about 10 minutes, and then it was sunny and beautiful again. I thought Indiana weather was unpredictable, but only in Ireland. The cliffs were amazing though, and when we could actually see it was a great view :) A "hooker" is the name for a small sailboat. My friend and I got off at a little town called Lisdoonvarna for lunch, and planned to take a bus to Ennis from there. Little did we know that the bus had stopped running already.. oops. So, we're stuck in a strange town, almost everything's closed for the season, and we feel a little we're in a slasher movie. What should we do? Hitchhike? Walk? Hostel? Ended up getting collected by a friend, AnneMarie and she took us to Ennis, that was lucky.

That night, had some Italian food, then went to a local pub with Matt, AnneMarie and Paul to listen to traditional Irish music. Loved it. The band consisted of a banjo, guitar, accordion, and flute. They were amazing :) The best part of it is, anyone who wants to can randomly just start singing or playing. My friend played and sang a few songs, and some other dude started singing some old Irish songs acapela. Everyone in the place joined in when they knew the words, it was awesome. The atmosphere was extremely personal and friendly.

Some more Irish terms:

Slagging, Blaggarding (both meaning something like making fun or teasing) I've been slagged on a lot since I've been here.

Shirtlifter

In the nip