Still !!!! even now!!!

Still the air, the mountain, the water are

Still the young, beautiful girl

We still drink the wine

-Trong

That poem was written by Trong, my tour guide at Cat Tien National Park in Vietnam. He gave it to me. I absolutely love it. It might be my favorite poem of all time. I was just recently reminded of it so I thought I’d share it. I think it’s about the fact that no matter what happens, the enjoyable things will always be there. It’s very uplifting.

This week is RAG week (Raise And Give). It’s basically just an excuse for everybody to get absolutely pissed and enjoy the craic. I learned the Irish greeting, “What’s the craic?” the other night talking to this guy in a pub after the Catch 22 concert. Catch 22 is an Irish band that does covers of bands like U2, AC/DC, Thin Lizzy, and Blink-182. The craic was great. Craic is pronounced crack and basically means having fun in the context of alcohol and music.

A major part of RAG week is concerts on campus. Today I had a class canceled because the rock music was too loud! It was hilarious. Everybody got up and walked outside to enjoy the live student band. You got to love it.

Nothing really noteworthy other than that has happened.

Picture time!

From left to right that is my roommate Jamie, his girlfriend Erin, Sarah, and me! The Cork Butter Museum was closed because it is not in the season, but I definitely want to go when it opens!


This is my campus! Right next to this building from the 1800s is a bunch of modern buildings. It's interesting.

This is where I live and this is my mailing address: Apt. 1 The Spires, Bandon Road, Cork, Ireland. No zip code or address for the building!

We went to this place called Spailpin Fanach because our music teacher told us they have this traditional music session. It was legendary!

After the students were done with there session these old men started singing songs! Everyone was amazed at how it was such a truly classic Irish night.

Throw my generation a bone!

I was reading this article in the New York Times about how President Bush and Congress might offer a stimulus package to the economy. Thats all fine and well but then I ran across this little nicety:

"Some Democrats say they could support tax relief focused on lower-income people and, perhaps, even tax cuts for corporations, if the White House and the Republican Congressional leadership accept some spending increases like extended unemployment benefits or aid to states to help them avert spending cuts."

What a great idea! Tax cuts, AND spending increases! That is exactly what we DON'T need! Why don't they just be honest about it and say they are putting the onus on the next generation to pay for it? I'm about sick of it myself.

As long as I'm on politics, I'll just say that I'm really happy about how both the Republican and Democrat race is going. Hillary Clinton is actually engaged in a nomination battle with Barack Obama, which she will undoubtedly win, but it is good because we don't want her going into the general election with massive momentum. Republicans haven't given anybody momentum, which I like because Rudy Giuliani still has a great chance of winning. I laugh at all the people who put so much effort into these early states. As one of Rudy's strategy memos states, this is a different calendar than we've ever had in the nomination process, and candidates should be running a 50 state campaign, which is exactly what Rudy is doing. My goodness this is exciting!

For my own sake I'll list the pubs I've been to. First place I went was The Washington Inn, referred to as The Wash. It was very small and typical. Then I went to Cissie Young's, which is a little bit bigger and about a block and a half away. Then just a few nights ago I went to An Borg, or The Borg. This is definitely the place to be. It's huge, the music is good, and it attracts a young crowd. Finally, last night I went to a nightclub called Gorby's/Qube, depending on what night it is. I, of course, had a great time dancing for most of the night. I've been able to keep it to two or three pints a night (at least at the bar) which is good for my wallet.

ok finally this charade will be over

My parents finally called me at 011 353 85 844 1865. It was great except they kept breaking up and there was like a 2 second delay. My roommate tells me thats because this apartment complex has cruddy reception, so the next time someone calls I'll have to sit outside.

Hopefully this blog can now move on to more substantive things. Oh and no Cheryl, you can't get email alerts.

Jackie Lennox

One very prominent aspect of traveling, for me at least, is the intense appreciation for friends and family. It is also one of the most enjoyable aspects of traveling, and one I’ve written about more than once. It’s happened to me time and time again. I was lying in bed last night and I wished I could get up and call my father to tell him how much I love him. I say intense, and I mean it. I was looking at pictures on Facebook and I suddenly felt like I had underappreciated my friends my entire life. I don’t want to repeat myself though, for I have written about this before, so I won’t continue.

The certificate I wrote about in my last blog entry won’t be happening because I abruptly learned today that it will cost 900 Euros. I was like “NINE HUNDRED EUROS?” I can go to Dublin and Belfast on my own for far less than that, I’m sure. So anyways I had to reschedule all my classes, which was quite stressful. Also, this morning it was raining terribly hard again (no surprise) and I couldn’t find the music building (also no surprise, even though I Google mapped it). I’m trying to take this class on the traditional Irish drum the Bodhran. Needless to say, today was a complete stress. I had to rationalize calmness to myself, which I succeeded in doing.

After that stressful day I couldn’t turn down my fellow Americans’ offer to go get a couple of stouts at the closest pub, Cissie Young’s. I had a Beamish, which is actually brewed here in Cork.

The real reason I’m writing this though is to talk about Jackie Lennox’s Famous Fish and Chip Shop. It’s about as close to The Spires as Cissie Young’s, but in the opposite direction. It’s about as close to fast food as it comes here in Ireland, and stays open past midnight to accommodate people like myself. I walked in and stood in line about ten people deep. The guy taking orders yells something and everyone turns around to look at me. I say, “Chips and cheese” and he nods and walks away, so I must have guessed right. This is the same guy I’d ordered from the first time I came in here, and he’s no easier to understand. My brother kept telling me I’ll have a hard time understanding the people here but I never believed him. Boy was he right. If anybody’s older than thirty, I can’t understand a lick of what they’re saying. By the time I get my food and I’m walking out the same guy yells another something, completely unintelligible. I say, “What?” and wrinkle my eyebrows. He says something again and the only thing I can make out is Clinton. I tell him I like Rudy Giuliani and from the back of the kitchen I hear someone yell, “He’s a nice Republican!”

By this time everyone is looking at me, so I just say, “Ya, Republican” smile, wave, and walk out the door. I learned today that a Unionist wants to keep the ties with England, and a Loyalist believes the same but will use force to keep it. A Nationalist wants an independent Ireland, and a Republican will use force to get it. I figured since I’m in the “Rebel County” they might sympathize with Republicans from America, even though everyone keeps telling me Irish people like Democrats; something to do with JFK.

Thankfully, I’m back in my room, safely enjoying some of the best chips (fries) covered in cheese I’ve ever had.

0035 085 844 1865

There has been a few times already when I wished I could write my thoughts down, but alas, I didn’t have a computer. Now I am finally settled into my room and I have internet here, although I’m still without proper electrical converters, or adapters as people like to call them here.

I woke up at 6:30 am because I went to sleep so early the night before due to jet lag and walked around Cork aimlessly for two hours before coming back and sleeping for another 30 minutes before heading to the first day of orientation. I met one American after another at orientation.

After that I went down to this store called Penney’s and bought myself a phone, sheets, comforter, and pillow. Anyone reading this in the United States of America can call me anytime at 0035 085 844 1865. I receive calls for FREE! Unfortunately, it might cost you more than it would be worth, so I understand if you don’t call, but a pleasant surprise it would be!

I’ve met my roommate and my flatmates. My roommate is an American and my three flatmates are Irish, one guy and two girls, and the guy is a homosexual. He has his boyfriend over quite a bit and we get along fine. I even played a game or two of Monopoly with the two of them and one of my female flatmates’ friends, another gay guy. It was quite fun! I can’t wait to get to know them better.

Today I woke up and went to the Academic Walkabout and decided that I’m going to complete the Certificate in Political Issues in Ireland Today. I’m so pumped; it’s seriously right up my alley. I will take two core classes: Politics of the Republic of Ireland and Politics of Northern Ireland. Those are both ten credit courses, which at UM would be five credits. Then we can choose ten other credits, or five at UM, as electives. As part of the core program, we will take field trips to Belfast, Dublin, and Cork City Hall to meet and hear from the politicians themselves. It’s too cool.

The streets here are narrow, winding, unlabeled, and still confusing for me. This morning I was smart enough to leave with just my down coat and my backpack with my laptop in it. That would have been fine, even with the relentless rain, had I been able to find my way back to The Spires. I couldn’t, and was pummeled with driving rain as I walked in circles trying to find something that I recognized. I used to think I was decent at trusting my instincts when it comes to directions, but obviously I haven’t a clue. It was just absolutely awful. The night before we had been up till three playing the aforementioned Monopoly, so when I finally got back and took a hot shower I immediately went back to bed. I was supposed to wake up and go back to UCC at 2:15 to get my ID card, but I didn’t wake up until 3:30. What a great day, I thought! Thankfully the staff here at UCC doesn’t require, or even recommend for that matter, following rules strictly. Naturally, everything worked out fine.

Here are a few memorable quotes from orientation speeches: “When you’re out drinking, don’t try to keep up with Irish students, they tend to drink a lot!” and “Who here is from Iowa, oh are you voting absentee?” followed by, “Drunk Irish people think they know everything about politics, so if you don’t want to have to defend American foreign policy, just say you’re a Canadian! Everyone loves Canada!” This, of course, was one of the most offensive things I’ve ever had said to me, and almost provoked me into demanding an apology right then and there in front of everybody.

Tonight I went out to eat and then went to a nice little pub. We closed it down at midnight. Apparently the pubs close at 12 and the clubs are open till two. I had four pints of Murphy’s, not nearly enough to tempt me into going to any night clubs. My dinner was a big bowl of Irish stew with lamb!

I still haven’t taken any pictures.