July 8th- Back to the Burren

Today was another day of rain. The rain usually isn't too big of a problem here, since it tends to rain on and off during the day rather than pour for hours on end. I have gotten in the habit of taking a rainjacket wherever I go now. Anyway, classes were pretty normal today. The university had a workshop in Sean Nos singing today during the lunch break, so I went with a few friends to check it out. Sean Nos singing is a traditional Irish style, characterized by its lack of accompaniment and a high degree of improvisation. The instructor for the workshop demonstrated a few songs, as well as had us sing along with him. The songs are sung in well-known airs, but the singer then adds embellishment and variation by drawing out certain syllables or departing from the note of the air. It reminded me a lot of Indian singing. It's quite interesting to listen to, especially in Irish. We tried a few songs ourselves, mostly sticking to the tune of the air. It's also hard to embellish when singing as a group, so Sean Nos singers sing solo. It was a pretty cool workshop.
In the afternoon, we had our second archaeology field trip to the Burren. Dr. Jones came with a heavy rain jacket, rainboots, waterproof pants, and a fedora (kidding about the last one). The rest of us were significantly less prepared. Our first stop was a 9th century hillfort called Cahercammaun, which required a twenty-minute walk up said hill in the rain. We were pretty soaked and grumpy by the time we got up there, but things greatly improved once we got to the site. Cahercammaun is a three-ringed hillfort from a time when there were laws about how many rings your hillfort could have based on your status. These laws indicate that Cahercammaun was the residence of a very powerful figure or family, probably a chief. The fort is set on a cliff, which gave a great view of the surrounding area. We got to poke around the fort for awhile, and then we headed back down the hill and onto the bus for our next site, Corcomroe. Corcomroe is a late twelfth century Cisterian abbey, and is possibly the most interesting Christian site we've seen on this trip (and we've seen a lot.) The inside carvings are uniquely intricate, and for all the beauty of the place, there are several architectural mistakes. Dr. Jones said that the men commissioned to build the abbey were locals without any experience with such big buildings, though they were very skilled in carving. The site is being used as a graveyard now, and in the landscaping of the grounds, the ground level around the abbey has risen, resulting in doors that would be quite comfortable for a hobbit (many pictures were taken). It was awesome to see a more complete site, since we've mostly seen megalithic tombs and half-preserved forts. Corcomroe completed the field trip, and we all headed back home where dry clothes awaited.
Other interesting highlight of the day: Pineapple and grapefruit soda. Sounds weird, tastes surprisingly good.

July 7th-Class

Back to normal class today, though it seems that many of our number were out partying last night and thus classes were significantly less crowded today. Classes were pretty standard today, though there was a film showing of "The Wind That Shakes the Barley," which is set in the midst of the treaty that partitioned Ireland into the Republic and Northern Ireland, setting up the tensions of the Unionists and the Nationalists. The movie is widely acclaimed, though pretty intense and violent--not one to watch if you're in the mood for something light-hearted.
And in case anyone is wondering what the current top singles in Ireland are, I'll attach a link. Why this one? It's currently stuck in my head. The accordion is very catchy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dy2nBvtkgyE

July 5-6th--Mad Study Skills

So, not much to report for the past two days, due to our midterm exams. It was a bit stressful to prepare for, as we had spent the previous weekend in Dingle and had full days of classes leading up to the exams. The general atmosphere was very tense, especially since the courses are so compressed and the midterms, though only encompassing two weeks of classes, actually covered a lot of material. I may have had some mild insomnia induced by the Nine Year's War and the implications of the Battle of Kinsale, but I'm happy to say that both exams went fairly well. The format of the exams was pretty intense--we all had to sit in this intimidating hall and leave our bags at the front of the room, had to be escorted to the bathroom, no breaks between tests, etc. The whole thing would have been pretty unpleasant but then I realized that the format was how I'd always imagined the OWL exams in Harry Potter and it was bearable. It was pouring by the time we finished the tests, but we donned our raingear and headed into town to a little cafe for soup and sandwiches. We then went on a successful hunt for ice cream and headed back to our homestays, where I promptly threw on sweatpants and spent the rest of the night watching TV. So... pretty much what I do after exams at home.

July 4th--Driving

Most of today was spent driving back from Dingle. We stopped briefly in Adare for lunch and found a little market set up with lots of crafts and goods for sale. I got a very delicious cupcake for one euro--excellent life choice. Not much else to report, since I've just been at school looking over my notes and study materials for our exams on Tuesday. I am missing all the fireworks and general commotion-making of the fourth of July, so everyone reading this better light a sparkler or two for me!

July 3- Early Christian sites

Today was our tour of the Dingle Peninsula, which involved visits to a lot of early Christian sites. Now, I'm always up for learning about history and visiting old ruins, but at this point, if you've seen one monastic settlement, you can guess pretty well what the other ones are like. But regardless, our tour took us to examples of early Christian round huts, the Gallarus Oratory (early Christian church made famous in a poem by Seamus Heaney), and an early Christian 12th century church. The last church, Kilmalkedar, was kind of cool in that it had a sundial, an ogham stone (ogham is an old Irish form of writing) and a stone with the alphabet written on it. It was also an early example of Romanesque churches in Ireland. But again, we've seen a lot of early Christian sites since getting to Ireland.
One of two highlights of the tour was the Blasket Island Cultural Center. The Blasket Islands sit right off the coast of the peninsula and once were home to about 200 people, though they have all been evacuated because of the islands' isolation from medical supplies and emergency resources. The islands are important because they were an area were Irish was the primary language, which lured scholars and writers to the community to study the language and the culture. The islanders also produced a library of about 40 books, which have been translated from Irish into many languages. I've added several of them to my reading list, which is growing longer by the day, but I hope to get to them soon.
The other highlight of the tour was actually the time spent on the bus. Driving along the coast was incredible--on one side, you're staring down steep cliffs at waves crashing around below you, and on the other side, you're gazing up at huge mountain ridges that line the peninsula. Pretty spectacular.
We got back to Dingle and were free until we had to leave the following morning, so we went off to do more exploring. We found another pub for dinner where I got Cottage Pie, which is basically Shepherd's Pie (beef, veggies, and mashed potatoes). Our after dinner wanderings took us past the ice cream shop we'd visited the day before. I skipped the ice cream for an Aztec chocolate, which I've wanted to try since I saw the movie Chocolat. It was basically hot chocolate but with nutmeg, cinnamon, and chili, so it had an intense kick to it. Montezuma apparently had 30 cups per day, but I just stuck to one as we watched Spain take on Paraguay in the lobby of our hostel.

July 2-Dingle for the Weekend

Today was a shortened day of classes as about half of the summer program headed off to Dingle for the weekend. For those following at home, Dingle is a town located on the Dingle Peninsula, which is the southwestern tip of Ireland. It was a fairly long bus ride, but we got a break at Bunratty Castle for lunch and a little exploration ("Bye, bye, kids! Have fun storming the castle!"). Bunratty is a very well restored castle with furnishings and such inside so you can kind of see how people may have lived back then. The restored town surrounding the castle looks like the Disney corporation got hold of it, but the castle was pretty cool. I actually had been to Bunratty once before, but I'm happy to say that I enjoyed it much more when it wasn't pouring. There were certainly a lot of staircases, and it was especially cool to climb all the way to the top for the view. After we'd all gotten our fill of farm animals and thatched roofs, we headed back on the bus for the final leg of the journey. We actually broke that up as well with a stop at a gas station for the loos and snacks. I met a nice older gentleman in line when I accidentally threw a blueberry muffin at him (not exactly, but it sounds funnier without an explanation). He told me all about Dingle and the peninsula area and asked me about studying in Galway and such. It was a great way to pass the time while waiting in the huge line.
We got to Dingle around dinnertime and had the evening free to explore. First impressions of Dingle were that it was a rather quiet seaside town with an emphasis on the fishing industry--so many boats. It was a little touristy, but in small scale terms, so that was nice. We had a great time exploring the docks and taking pictures with the statue of Fungie, a dolphin who has made his home in Dingle Bay since the 80's. We found a small pub in town for dinner, and I had an incredible meal of gnocchi (shout out to my favorite gnocchi enthusiast). We also found a great ice cream place for dessert, where I got a combo of Bailey's and cheesecake ice cream--incredible.

July 1-The Irish 4th of July

In a strange turn of scheduling events, I did not have any classes today. I did wind up at the university anyway, since we have our assessments this coming Tuesday. I did a little studying, which was mostly a gathering of notes in anticipation of studying at a later date. I also went to another interdisciplinary seminar. This one was on Northern Ireland and featured my history professor and an expert in Irish folk music. My history professor was fun to listen to--he grew up in Belfast during the 80's, so he told stories about going into the city center and seeing armored trucks and armed soldiers patrolling the streets. I really like his lectures, since they have the perspective of the part of Ireland still connected to England as well as objective facts about the conflict in general. Plus, he has a great Irish accent, which explains why my notes contain a few scattered reference to the "valence" during Cromwell's campaign in Ireland. Anyway, the second professor was supposed to talk about how the Northern Ireland conflict was portrayed through folk music, but he ended up telling us his life story. Not only were the nuances of folk music lost somewhere between his days as an amateur mountaineer and the conception of his first child, but he read the entire thing off of a Powerpoint. So the seminar started well and then went down a very steep hill.
After the lecture, the summer program had set up a little Independence Day barbeque for the American students missing all the fireworks and cookouts back home. The food wasn't anything to write home about, but it was a free meal, so no real complaints. It was a nice gathering for the entire program, and even Dr. Murphy made a guest appearance. The 2011 Villanova Heimbold Chair was also there, as well as the children of Louie, the director of our program known for his rather wild red hair (he resembles one of those cartoon renditions of Viking marauders, I kid thee not). A good time was had by all, so of course the fun couldn't stop there. A group of us headed out to the Salthouse, a bar in town famous for its inventory of beers from around the world. Apparently it is worth a trip if you happen to be a beer enthusiast visiting Galway--I, however, am not a fan of beer, but can affirm that the Salthouse has a fabulous Scrabble set. There was also a trip to the Hole in the Wall for some late night dancing (and like most of Galway, "late night" is over at 12:30)