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

RAIN!

So, the notorious Irish rain that I had so far avoided attacked today with a fury! My poor, flimsy little umbrella never had a chance. If you were in Galway City today, you might have spotted a rain-drenched American girl running through the streets after an inside-out umbrella that had become more of a hazard than a rain repellent.

Baileys Cheesecake!

It’s been a busy weekend. We got out at noon on Friday, in honor of the upcoming break, and all the teachers went out to lunch at a place called the Huntsman. We started around 2, and didn’t end up leaving ‘til around 7. Food was great, I had breaded chicken stuffed with spinach and mascarpone, with mushroom sauce, and mashed potatoes. Standard Irish food= meat, potatoes, and veggies :) I also tried the Pavalova, which is a merengue-type cake with cream and fruit on top, yummmmm! I had my first taste of Guinness in Ireland. It was great just to get out and get to know the other teachers, some are fairly young(24, 26), so not too much older than I am. The whole outing was “a great craic” :)

Saturday night, I went to a party with my host mother and father. It was a surprise 30th birthday party for a friend of theirs. They had it at a castle!

Sunday, one of the teachers took me out to lunch. Baileys cheesecake is the best thing ever!! Mmmmmmmmmm. Then we went in to Salthill and walked along the Prom for a bit, stopped in at a local pub and watched some soccer, then visited a cathedral in Galway City. It had the most beautiful stained glass windows.

It’s Easter break! That means that I have 2 weeks off to travel around and enjoy this beautiful country :D Did I mention that my host dad is teaching me to drive a stick shift?

Top 5 Favorite Irish Terms So Far:

1. Cheeky

2. Wanky

3. Brilliant

4. Bloody

5. Cuppa



‘Awesome’ is a very stereotypically American word, and they like to make fun of it.

Interesting fact: a period at the end of a sentence is called a "full stop".

Week 2

The older kids at our school (Bawnmore National) had a Gaelic football match during school yesterday, and that was fun to watch. Pretty much the whole school got to take a break for an hour to watch! I wish we could do that in the States. Gaelic football is a lot like soccer, except you can pick up the ball and run with it, and you can throw it. There are two goals, like in soccer, but there are also posts sticking up on either side of the goals, kinda like in American football. Getting the ball in the net is called a goal and is worth 3 points. Punting the ball between the two posts is worth 1 point. I also had the chance to learn a bit of Hurling while I was here. Hurling is kinda like hockey, but played on the grass with wooden paddles and a small ball, about the size of a tennis ball. I learned how to 'solo' the other day, which is when you balance the ball on the end of your paddle, or 'hurl', and run with it! Hurling, Gaelic football, and rugby are some of the biggest sports here. Soccer is also pretty popular.

Today in school, the kids were doing Irish dancing as part of their PE. So fun to watch! These kids have so many extracurricular activities: dancing, sports, music, and they're all learning Irish too! I'm making a note to learn some Irish dancing before I leave.

At home, I've been getting along really well with the family. Ruairi, the oldest, is learning guitar and he's been letting me play on his whenever I want :) Also, Saoirse has a keyboard! I'm not wanting for a musical outlet here. I've been trying to run most days after school. The weather's been pretty good for it: a bit cold and windy, but not too bad. There's a pitch a ways down the road that I can go to and run around. Guitar, running, Judo... what more could I want?