My First Frustrations: 12/10/08

I have to say it's been increasingly difficult to sit here during this historic time in American politics and not be able to do much. I'm a very avid Obama supporter and it pretty much sucks to be here while my friends back home are out campaigning and protesting and signing up new voters. Before I left, the advisors back home warned us to make sure we knew what was going on around the world or at least in the US because, "be assured, they'll ask you about it". I've been pretty informed with current events for quite awhile, so I just tried extra hard. But so far I'm completely disappointed. From my encounters, many Irish students are pretty unaware of any events other than catastrophic ones. They do, however, have a major interest in the American culture, from our celebrities to our healthcare system (or lack thereof). It seems that way for a few reasons: 1. Most of the students want to study or work in the US at some point in their lives and 2. They believe that the United States holds more answers than it really does. In general, they are just really interested in the US. Without a doubt, they do know their history though! That's actually a big problem here because it makes moving on from their past conflicts and just starting over very difficult when people still feel so personally involved with happenings of hundreds of years ago. Anyways, these are all generalizations so don't be offended! I just wish I could continue to be involved firsthand in the election which is hard to do here when people are either ill-informed, impartial, or feel completely unaffected by change...

Another aspect I've been incredibly frustrated with is the "island" mindset. None of the students I live near recycle. Few attempt to conserve energy. Half of the garbage is recyclables (even though I leave bags next to the garbage for them, don't worry, I dig them out); lights are constantly left on overnight. Most discussions I've had with people about climate change leads to their sarcasm ("Oh yea, we're supposed to be 'green' now, right?") or their jokes ("Wow, you're one of those hippy tree-hugger people!"). They ask why I care so much when it "really won't make a difference" and it's nearly impossible to change their minds. The city/university doesn't make it any easier. Garbage cans are plentifully found but I've yet to see a place for recyclables on a street. I also haven't found a single place that accepts paper to be recycled. I'm still searching though. The silver lining of this sort of lack of sustainable ways is that it inspires me to continually do something about it. Wish me luck.

Giant's Causeway and Carrick-a-rede Rope Bridge: 4/10 to 9/10

Last Saturday, I had the opportunity to visit some really breathtaking sites as part of my study abroad program. We took a bus tour up from Belfast and drove the coast north. It was beautiful, but super curvy and jolty (one of my friend's wasn't feeling so well). But on the way up to the Causeway, we stopped at Carrick-a-rede Rope Bridge (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrick-a-Rede_Rope_Bridge) for a tour. It was fabulous! So beautiful and it felt like completely unchartered territory, though obviously it was since the bridge has been there for centuries. It was apparently built because the fishing 30 meters below was just awesome. Now it's mostly a tourist site.

Me on the bridge

After that, we headed up to Giant's Causeway (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant%27s_causeway). This was so stunning! All the rocks were interlocking hexagons, a result of a volcanic eruption. But the myth is that the Irish giant Fionn was building this bridge to make his way to Scotland to fight the Scottish giant Benandonner. Fionn was teasing Ben, telling him that if he's so big, he should just come over and prove it. Only Ben was that big, much bigger than Fionn. Once Fionn realized this, he had to came up with a plan. He had his wife make scones with rocks in them and dress him up like a baby. Once Ben got to Fionn's place, his wife said he wasn't there but he's welcome to stay and wait. So Ben did. He had a scone and couldn't believe how tough Fionn was in order to eat food like that! Then the "baby" started crying and Ben saw how big that baby was and realized that if Fionn ate food like that for breakfast and had a baby that big, there's no way he would be able to fight him so he fled home, never to return.

Me on Fionn's foot

Trying to stay dry!

Homestays and Activities 28/9 to 3/10

The first weekend after classes started, I had a homestay in Navan. It wasn't the ideal homestay, but it was still interesting to see some sites. We went to Trim Castle (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trim_Castle) and the Hill of Slane (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hill_of_Slane#The_Hill_of_Slane). Both have intensely long histories and unbelievable stories related to them. I learned lots of random things, like you have this hole in your room if you're really rich and/or really important which turns out to be a toilet. So you'd go to the bathroom there and then at night, you'd hang your clothes over it. The methane from the waste would waft up and kill the bacteria in the clothing. This is why they still call a bathroom a "wardrobe closet." Interesting, right? Also, all the stereotypical castles weren't brick on the outside, but had a flat white plaster covering the bricks.

Me, Lyndsay, and our two host-brothers in front of Trim

The Hill of Slane and the vast landscape