David Knobel

My attempt at a campaign advertisement

2008-05-31T08:59:00.000-06:00

Jupiter is warming

2008-05-27T08:38:00.000-06:00

“Jupiter's recent outbreak of red spots is likely related to large scale climate change as the gas giant planet is getting warmer near the equator.”

-NASA APOD May 23, 2008

Jupiter is “global warming.” Is global warming a verb now applicable to other “globes”? While this evidence is anecdotal to be sure, one must understand the limited scientific ability of the Homo sapiens and the circumstantial evidence they use. We don’t know the exact temperature variations of many of the planets in our own solar system. Many of the scientists that dispute anthropogenic global warming admit that planet Earth is warming, but they oppose the fact that human beings are the sole cause of it. They don’t quarrel with the fact that greenhouse gases increase a planet’s temperature, but they submit that the Sun is more dominant in controlling system temperatures. The Sun is raising temperatures on Jupiter as well as Earth, and if we had better scientific understanding, we might be able to realize that the Sun is in what one might call the summer; the same kind of summer that brought planet Earth out of the Ice Age 11,000 years ago.

Since the Sun is but one sun in a myriad of suns rotating around the center of the Milky Way Galaxy, and the Milky Way Galaxy is just one galaxy that is expanding noticeably throughout the Universe, who can say that the Sun does not go through seasons?

I’ve said this before; I want to save the environment. I want to save the alpine forests of the Rocky Mountains so I can take my kids up there and show them the beauty of North America. I want to take my kids to Central America so they can hear the howler monkeys howling at night. I want to take them to South East Asia and show them Cat Tien National Park and the thick jungle of Vietnam.

But there are better ways to save the environment than focusing solely on anthropogenic global warming. Especially since some of the proposed solutions like bio fuels are actually causing more harm than good. We don’t need to shut our economy down in a mad hysteria about carbon. If some of the alarmists get there way, I won’t be able to take a jet plane to any of the places I want to go to enjoy nature.

I propose we focus on deforestation, since that has increased to between 20 and 30 million acres a year.

The Ireland Movie

2008-05-23T11:02:00.000-06:00

watch me agree with Hollywood liberals

2008-05-14T19:22:00.002-06:00

"US actor and director Sean Penn lit up and led a minor revolt at the Cannes film festival against France's draconian new anti-smoking laws."

-AFP May 14, 2008

Draconian is the best word I have seen yet to describe anti-smoking laws. I probably do not agree with Sean Penn on much, but I have to agree with him on this issue.

What is that cliche? Politics makes strange bed fellows?

Sunday Morning Talk Shows

2008-05-04T13:42:00.004-06:00

“I have never challenged other people’s patriotism. I will not stand by and allow somebody else to challenge mine,” Mr. Obama said. “The fact that I’m running for president right now is an indication how much I love this country.”

Does Obama mean to say that he believes every American is patriotic, or does he mean to say that he doesn’t care if they are patriotic or not because he would never challenge it? Either way it is not a good thing to say. He won’t allow people to challenge his patriotism because he has never challenged anyone else’s, yet he offers an irrational justification for his patriotism. Just running for the president does not make you patriotic, Mr. Obama. Certainly someone could run for the presidency without loving the country.

This nonsensical statement about patriotism can only mean that he doesn’t understand American patriotism. If someone understands American patriotism they understand it can be challenged at times, and indeed should be. If someone understands American patriotism they understand that running for President doesn’t automatically qualify you.

That being said, I just read an article by one of my favorite authors Thomas Friedman. He went on and on about how America needs to make changes if we want to remain the number one in the world. America will never be as far ahead of everyone else as we were at the end of World War II, but we will remain a major player in international relations, so I'm not really that worried. But what struck me was his comment about how he wasn't sure if Obama is the right person to lead America into the future, but it is not insignificant that he has inspired so many people to get involved, especially young people. There is something to learned from this man, Barack Obama.

politics a la carte

2008-04-30T11:49:00.002-06:00

"This case certainly requires a thorough psychiatric and psychological examination. We need to establish if he can be considered responsible for his actions," Mr. Mayer told BBC News.

That is a reference to the Austrian man who was just arrested for keeping his female child locked in a cellar for 24 years and raping her and having seven kids with her. If you haven’t heard about this, you should look it up. It is far worse than what was going on at the FLDS polygamist camp in Texas. I don’t really care if he can be considered responsible psychiatrically or psychologically, whatever the difference between the two is. He should be locked up in prison for the rest of his life. That is just my opinion though and the Austrian courts will figure it out.

I was reading the academic journal Foreign Policy in the library the other day because I had a free day. I will have a bunch of free days coming up and I might spend more time in the library because I like the atmosphere. It was talking about President George W. Bush and his fiscal policy. Contrary to popular opinion, the largest increase in spending in the last seven years has not been defense related. It has been non-discretionary spending, which is to say Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. This mandatory spending is what is breaking the US budget, not Operation Iraqi Freedom. To Bush’s credit, he tried to fix this in 2005 with his Social Security reform. To his discredit, he signed into law the prescription drug benefit to Medicaid. Hey look at that; balanced analysis!

This academic (read: liberal/Bush hating) article also went into the extent to which Bush has curbed civil liberties. Surprisingly, President Bush has done little to infringe on American’s liberties when compared with World War I and World War II. In WWI people were arrested and tried for treason. In WWII citizens were interned without cause indefinitely. None of that has happened under Bush. The Patriot Act is minor compared to what Americans have given up in past times of war.

Former US ambassador to the UN John Bolton is one of my favorite people. He wrote a book about his tenure at the UN called Surrender is not an Option, and I read it earlier this semester. One of his points about reforming the UN is to move from assessed contributions to voluntary contributions. Most people don’t know this, but America pays 27% of the UN’s budget, and it doesn’t matter if we agree with the mission or not. It’s just “assessed.” Obviously we are the UN’s biggest donor, yet the UN rarely does anything the US supports. It is pretty amazing really. Moving to voluntary contributions would allow the US, and every other nation, to give the UN money only if it was actually accomplishing something. Then, inefficient and wasteful programs could have there funding cut. This would provide more incentive for change at the UN than any Secretary General calling for bureaucratic reform in every corner of the world ever could.

The UN is a place where Russia and China have an equal amount of power and control as the US, UK, and France. Russia and China are two completely undemocratic states, and one of them is a leading human rights abuser. When people say America invaded Iraq illegally, they mean to say we didn’t get the blessing of Russia and China through a UN Security Council resolution, although it can be argued that the coalition of the willing was simply enforcing previous UN Security Council resolutions. To hold the UN up as the end all and be all is to say that Russia and China, by virtue of being on our side during World War II, are fit to lead the world and deserve the power to veto anything the US, UK, or France wants done.

I’m not disparaging the UN here. I am simply stating where I think it needs reforming. I am actually a supporter of multilateralism, which provides a good transition to my next point.

I was reading an article that was very condescending towards neoconservatives and it ridiculed the idea of creating a League of Democracy, or as I came up with myself the United Democracies (UD). This would be structured similarly to the UN, but only democracies would be invited, and they would have to be invited. Procedures could be loosely based on the way the European Union enlarges. What is meant by democracy would of course be a huge debate, but off the top of my head the US, most of the EU, Japan, Costa Rica, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Israel and possibly India or Brazil would be included. Naturally there a lot more that would be invited to the initial summit but I can’t think of them all.

Both the UN reform idea and the UD idea would require intense diplomacy, but I think both could be accomplished, possibly in tandem, if America spent the time and effort required to explain to the world the merits of both.

I would go on and on about this but I doubt anybody else cares about the details of this except fellow Political Science majors with an International Relations option. I think I might do a thesis on this if I ever decide to spend my life inside academia.

Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison is trying to freeze the ethanol mandate our congress has imposed, and I’m so glad she has done it. Bio fuel has two major consequences (1) the price of food goes up and (2) tropical rainforest is deforested. I deeply believe in saving the rainforest, but unfortunately places like Brazil have been deforesting at an increasing rate because it is so lucrative to do so. This consequence is largely a result of the first consequence. Food prices go up because corn and other food crops are used to create fuel instead of feeding people, so farmers switch to corn, and then more land is needed. It’s a pretty simple chain to follow. There have been protests across the non-OECD world due to food prices. Poor people across the globe are going to starve because America decided to use its massive food crop to power their cars. That’s not the whole story but it is pretty close.

I took Latin American Politics last semester and I still follow US-Latin America relations. For at least the past couple of months the most important thing going on between the United States and the rest of the Western Hemisphere has been the Columbian Free Trade Agreement. I believe Columbia, of any country in the world, deserves a free trade agreement with America because they are such close allies. Also, to fight the war on drugs we should do other things than just eradicate coca fields from the air. We should give them alternative economic conditions. That is not to mention the economic benefits America can incur. Either way it is unfortunate that Nancy Pelosi won’t give it the chance to be voted on.

I guess I might as well delve into this whole Jeremiah Wright-Barack Obama debate, even though I haven’t really delved into the race for 2008 yet. Since Wright came out and did interviews and reconfirmed all the sound bites everyone has been playing, Obama has been distancing himself even further. I have no idea what is going on, but this is incredibly interesting. Did Obama want Wright to come out and speak so he could disown him? Did Wright come out and speak because he is too stupid to realize that he is hurting Obama? Did Wright come and speak because he is upset that Obama is doing so well? This guy was Obama’s pastor for twenty years, so they obviously have to still be talking to each other, which makes the analysis even more interesting. Nobody has a clue what is going on, and I’ve read article after article and listened to radio show after radio show (online) and nobody can figure out what on God’s green Earth is going on.

Another article in Foreign Policy was about oil. It was about the fact that Big Oil is a small fish in a big pond. OPEC controls oil and therefore gas prices, not Exxon-Mobil, ConocoPhillips, or BP. The fact that American politicians are attacking private American companies and not Saudi Aramco, Venezuala's state owned company, or Iran's state owned company, is simply incomprehensible for me. I thank God every time I hear that American oil companies made record profits, because I know those profits aren't going to Iran or Venezuela. If we want to lower oil prices, we should bust up OPEC and drill in ANWR.

I wanted to thank two loyal readers, Josh and Uncle Ben, for giving me feedback on my cliché style writing. They both didn't like it, and neither did I. From now on I’ll keep it to my natural style.

I’ll close with a recent quote I added to my favorite quotes section of my Facebook profile.

“The average American isn’t so average.” -Michael Savage

An Attempt

2008-04-26T16:14:00.001-06:00

Sometimes I read other peoples’ travel blogs or books about studying abroad and they seem so romantic and adventuresome. To me, my writings seem dull and stale, but maybe that is because I try to stay away from clichés. Here is my experience in Ireland written with as many clichés as possible.

While I was running around my house, frantically trying to pack everything I would need for my five month adventure in Ireland, I stopped and thought to myself, “I can’t believe I’m going to Ireland tomorrow!” Unsure of what to expect, excited to meet new people, and wondering if I was forgetting anything, I zipped up my second suitcase and sat down on the couch. I looked at my two bags bulging with clothes, medicine, shoes, and other random things I had gotten off a checklist online, and hoped it would be enough to sustain me for my awaiting excursion across the pond.

That night I lay in bed thinking of leprechauns, fairies, and Guinness. I imagined rolling hills of green, stone fences, and strange accents. I thought about my friends I wouldn’t see for nearly half a year. I stared up at my ceiling and realized I would be staring at a different ceiling soon enough, but it would be a ceiling that I would learn to call home.

The morning I left I told my parents I loved them and I would miss them, and then watched them walk away. I was on my own. I wouldn’t see another person I knew for a long time. Flew to Seattle then got on a British Airways flight to London. I walked around Heathrow trying to follow the worst signs in the world and eventually had to ask a person where I was supposed to be. Got on the plane and I was headed for Ireland!

Landing in Cork, Ireland amid clouds and rain was a sign of what was to come (no comments from my family about the beautiful weather they had here, please). I got off the plane and realized there were a bunch of Americans with the exact same piece of paper from University College Cork that was to be presented to passport control. I met James, who was to become a great friend, at the baggage claim and miraculously we were living in the same building. My first friend! We caught a taxi through the rain and green grass on the roadside. It reminded me of my taxi ride from San Jose International Airport in Costa Rica.

We got there and checked in with a guy who acted like we were doing nothing more interesting than buying two liters of milk. Dragging my bags up the stairs and saying good bye to James, I thought to myself that I am finally here! This is what I will call home!

The next two days were as full of moments-made-for-movies as could be imagined. Amidst two hundred international students who had just arrived in a foreign country with no friends, it was better than speed dating or finding survivors after a plague wiped out the rest of the world. Trying to find the perfect combination of meeting new people and staying with one long enough to become friends was a dynamic everyone struggled with. Needless to say, everyone spewed clichés and all but the most unstable went away happy.

Over the next four months I would become best friends with people randomly placed at the same time and place as me, and share formative experiences with people I never knew but will remember for the rest of my life. On many days I saw new things and thought new thoughts and made comparative realizations about America. I came to view The Spires as my home, Cork as my hometown, and UCC as my campus. Barrack Street and Bandon Road are the streets I live on, and Cissie Young’s is my pub. This is my life.

In just one short month my study abroad experience will come to end. I will hug my now close friends, say goodbye, and wish them luck in their future endeavors. I’ll say I will miss them and I really will. I will turn back as the taxi takes me to the airport and look at Cork City and wonder when I’ll be back. It will be so bittersweet that only someone that has taken five months of their life to live and go to school in a city in a different country will understand.

Please comment and tell me if you can tell a difference between that writing and my usual writing, and which you like more.

Ireland Family Pictures

2008-04-24T06:23:00.004-06:00

I had an absolutely amazing time with my mom and dad and my Aunt Kathleen for the ten days they were here in Ireland.

We did more stuff than I could ever hope to write on here, but thankfully I have a lot of pictures and videos. I am going to try to make a video and put it on YouTube, which I'll link to here. Until then these pictures must suffice.

Standing at the Cliffs of Moher. Incredible, authentic Ireland.

I would have to think really hard to remember where this was.

My dad and I earning the title of official whiskey connoisseur at the Jameson Experience.

In front of the Quad, University College Cork.

Stunning

One of our fine afternoon picnics. I will always remember the goat cheese.

the most out of more

2008-04-13T16:57:00.007-06:00

As most of you know, I travel cheap. I sleep in budget hostels, or on an airport bench as I did in Dublin last week, or on the floor or couch if I'm lucky enough to know someone. I go without showers, or take cold showers. I am also accustomed to brushing my teeth on the side of the street with a refilled bottle of water.

But recently I have been traveling around Ireland with my parents, and I find myself figuring out how to enjoy a room to myself with a queen size bed, a bathtub and shower, a small table with a glass top, and two chairs, not to mention the internet I'm using right now. This place has a beautiful sitting room, a great view of Dingle, Ireland, and other amenities I have almost forgotten how to savor.

Two weeks ago when I went to Eastern Europe all I took was my school backpack. This time, since my parents rented an SUV, I figured I would pack my large Northface knockoff from Vietnam and bring my laptop. Tonight I find myself in my private room after a night of food I would never buy and using a computer I would never have. I'm not staying in a hostel, eating pizza by the slice or getting take away. I'm traveling with my parents.

This contrast has helped me with this realization. Now I will try to make the most out of more than I'm used to.

I guess I should be telling you about the Garnish House in Cork (huge breakfast), Ross Castle in Killarney National Park, the bronze age Druid stone circle in Kenmare, the late iron age circular stone forts, the 14th century castle, the Ring of Kerry, the traditional music in Dingle, and the amazing food I have had. I had some interesting thoughts about all that, but I don't know enough to write something intelligent. However, seeing it has inspired me to learn more.

Hungary/Romania/Moldova

2008-04-05T13:22:00.006-06:00

This is a massive post, and I do not really expect anyone to read it other than David Knobel himself at a post retirement age.

Since Tuesday, March 25, 2008 I've been in Eastern Europe. I flew into Budapest, Hungary from Dublin and had booked a hostel online, but didn't end up staying there. See, my friends Ryan and Cole Sherburn who I know from the University of Montana met me there. They were with another American, Johnny, and a Romanian, Mircea. I got off the airplane in a country I hadn't researched, knew little about, and of course I didn't speak the language. Following Lonely Planet's advice, I hopped on this bus that goes from the airport to the nearest metro station. I was totally confused sitting on the bus because it went back to where I got on before it got to the metro. I don't know, I just sat there and didn't bother to ask anyone anything. Eventually it got to the metro, where I got off. I was alone. I have traveled alone before, but it was still an emotional roller coaster. I got a ticket to the central metro station, and then got a ticket to Oktogon, which was the closest station to my hostel. I walked up and down the street twice before I finally asked for directions to Caterina Hostal, which is where I had booked a night. By this time it was 9:30 and I had told my friends I would be there at 8:00. I was hoping they would be there waiting for me, but was prepared otherwise. I finally found the hostel, and when I walked up to it there were my friends from Montana, sitting on a bench in Budapest, waiting for me. I can't really explain how elated I was. Somebody will understand.

They already had a place to stay, so I ditched my hostel reservation. They still charged my credit card the eleven dollars it was going to cost, but I don't care. As I say, it's just money. We walked around Budapest for a couple of hours, looking at the buildings and standing by the Danube River. We went to the place they were staying and hung out on there fifth floor balcony drinking some Hungarian beers, chatting about life in America and other abstract concepts.

On Wednesday, March 26 we got on the train to Arad, Romania. It was a good train ride, although uneventful. On the border of Hungary and Romania the Romanian border control asked Johnny what his plans were. He said what he was doing, and then I said I am doing something slightly different. The guy said, "SO !?!!?!?!" I said, "I thought you might want to know, you asked!" It was hilarious and we all laughed about it the rest of the trip. When we got to Arad the guys realized the car they rented had been towed. I can't imagine what we would have done without Mircea. He and Ryan went to get the car while Cole and Johnny and I gave patronage to a place close to the train station that served beers. By the time they got back with the car we were in a grand mood and they were stressed from dealing with police and paying fines.

That night we drove to Cluj, Romania. It was a good drive while it was still light out, and I saw my first horse drawn cart. As the night wore on, we entered the Transylvanian Alps. Cole and I got into what was to become a recurring argument, which in my opinion was essentially about whether America has been, on balance, a good or bad thing for planet Earth and the human race. He may not see it exactly that way but I do not know how else to describe it. We got to Arad very late and met up with some girls Cole and Ryan knew from East Glacier, Montana, who like Mircea had spent a summer working there. They went out to eat and drink, and I went right to bed.

Thursday, March 27 I woke up to find everyone else already awake, to my amazement considering how late they had stayed up. I met the girls they knew and we went to their campus. We sat in their dorm room for a while and one of them gave us some 20 year old homemade Tuica, which was like 70% alcohol. I couldn't finish mine. Then we all went to this pizza place close to the Cluj campus, which was amazing. Then we started the long drive to Bucharest, on which I saw more small villages and more of Transylvania.

But before we got to Bucharest I got to experience a truly Romanian delight. Mircea and his parents were kind enough to host us all for dinner in their flat in a eight or ten story Communist era housing bloc. His parents didn't speak English but his two brothers did. We all sat on somebody's bed and ate, because presumably there wasn't a big enough table. We had bread with some green tasty sauce, red peppers, tomatoes, some amazing homemade unpasteurized (I am assuming) cheese, cucumbers, and really good sausage. The cheese was my favorite. I have never had anything like it. I felt blessed to be able to meet such warm loving people. Warm loving people was also to become a recurring theme for my trip. We made it to Bucharest that night in time for me to fall asleep on another of their friends' couch. Cole gracefully took the floor as he did throughout the trip.

Friday, March 28 Cole and I were up before everyone else and decided to go look around and try to find some coffee. I got my first taste of the hundreds of thousands of stray dogs that roam Bucharest and bite over 15,000 people a year. Apparently, when the Communist dictator Ceasescu built massive apartment buildings and forced families into them, the families left the dogs outside and created what was to become the modern day headache. We tried one shop for coffee to no success and kept walking. After a while we got to McDonalds and Cole said, "At least I know I can get coffee in there." So we got coffee and walked back home.

We went to Robert's, who house we were staying at, pizza restaurant Don Perfettos for lunch. It was even better than the pizza we had in Cluj! We went to a mall to drink some beer and get some food. I met one of Robert's friends named Adrian, the first of two Adrians that would be really good to me. After telling him that I was going to Moldova by myself he gave me his phone number and said to call him if I have any trouble. That night we out to a club, which was one of only two nights that I would go out. We weren't allowed in the first one because of the footwear of one of us. We eventually got into a club though and I had a fantastic time, other than my eyes feeling like they are burning out of my sockets because of all the smoke, which is the first of a few things I want to talk about at the end of this blog.

Saturday, March 29 was apparently a busy day. I am remembering specific events I did in Romania but not the exact days. Robert decided to drive us to Constanta on the Black Sea. Of course we picked up five or six pizzas for the drive. We drove on the newly built, EU funded, U.S. interstate-like highway the couple of hours there, got out for a half hour and walked along the beach, and drove back. The Black Sea was beautiful and the drive was worth it.

That night I had another truly Romanian experience. Johnny had bought some classic Romanian mici, which is like sausage, the night before after the club but we decided not to cook it. Instead, Saturday night we had true Romanian barbeque. Robert built a fire out of wood on his cement driveway, set up three blocks on either side of it, and threw a grill over it. Johnny, being a cook at the Firebrand in East Glacier Montana, did good things in the kitchen. We sat around the fire on the cement on the edge of Bucharest, drank some beers, and watched the mici (pronounced meech) cook. Goodness was it good, and boy was it beautiful to be in such good company and be treated as a friend by people I just met, as opposed to traveling by myself, which is another thing I will speak to at the end of this blog.

The third thing I'll speak to is about the conversation Mircea and I had. Mircea had been relatively quite while the rest of us debated high minded concepts such as democracy and power because he was driving us drunk Americans around his home country. But Saturday night he wasn't driving; he was drinking. He argued with me in a much more intellegent fashion than I had grown accustomed to. He told me that Romanians had more freedom than Americans because they could smoke inside. He told me Americans were more like Communists because we have so many laws and prohibitions. He would know, he has lived there. All this I agreed with and could not argue with, other than the fact that I agreed with the process that created the rules, even though I disagreed with the rules. But what was most enlightening, even though I have heard the concept before, was his comment that America like any other empire (although I disagree it is an empire, that is beside the point) will ultimately fall because it can not afford to go on. Specifically he was talking about the Iraq war. More on this towards the end because I'm trying to finish a story right now.

Sunday, March 30 Ryan, Cole, Johnny, Mircea and I went out and walked around Bucharest again. Mircea left us halfway to go see his girlfriend or something and I said good bye to a great person I never knew but treated me like family. We found our way to the train station, I bought my overnight ticket to Chisinau, Moldova and the other three left. It was such a coincidence for me to meet up with them, but I am so glad I did. It added to my experience an innumerable amount. I do not know when I will see them again but I can not wait.

I walked around for two or three hours looking for an internet cafe before I finally gave up and just went to sit in Gara de Nord and wait for my train. I had The Economist that I bought in Dublin so it was not too bad. My train left on time and I shared a four bed cabin with another guy that did not speak English. The night went fast, other than being woken up at three a.m. to show my passport and bags.

Monday, March 31 I arrived in Chisinau, Moldova to rain and gloomy weather. I walked a few blocks and found an internet cafe. Surprisingly, Cristina was online and I told her I was in Chisinau. We decided to meet up when she got off work and I left the internet cafe to find some coffee, food, and a place to read. I found this place on Stefan cel Mare, which is the main street in Chisinau, and ordered a couple of coffees and read some Lonely Planet. I ate some peanuts and other snacks I bought but that was it. I went back to the internet shop and Cristina told me to go to her house and her brother would let me in. I said OK! I had not showered in three days and desperately wanted to be comfortable. I found a taxi and showed him the address, which was 19/1. I wrote a 9 like a backwards P, not like a lowercase g written above the line, so the guy took me to a place that he must have thought was 1a/1. Thankfully, after asking multiple people where the heck I was and showing them the address I had, this guy that worked for the (naturally in a country still run by Communists) state run telephone company took me under his wing. He did not speak English but after walking around for 20 minutes I motioned that he should call Cristina, since I had her cell phone number. He pulled a phone with wires dangling from it from his bag and hooked it arbitrarily into some lines and called Cristina, ultimately finding out that I was looking for 19/1. I know I have bad handwriting, but this has to be the worst consequence of it ever! This guy was just another person I have met on my travels that has helped me to no end. I tried to thank him as best I could, repeating Multumesc and bowing (even though that is more Asian). All around the world, people are wonderful.

I got to Cristina's and her brother Vlad was waiting outside for me. I had made him late for class but he still stuck around long enough to heat up food for me and show me how to work the shower and offer me use of his computer and internet. I took part in all three and enjoyed it fully. I met Cristina and her mom that night and then went to sleep in what was my most comfortable lodging so far this trip. They tried to offer me a key so I could leave the next day but I said I needed to rest.

Tuesday, April 1 I stayed in the house all day. I did not wake up until noon and when I did I simply sat at Vlad's computer. Honestly, it was great to catch up on news I had missed both globally, nationally, and within the circle of my closest friends. I do not really remeber if anything else happened that day.

Wednesday, April 2 I slept in again and then waited for Vlad to come home from high school so we could go see Chisinau. He got home and we left around three to go on a walking tour. His friend Sase joined us. I saw a lot that day. I saw the central market, the artists' market, the theatre, the government building, the two main parks, the central Eastern Orthodox Church, the statue of Stefan cel Mare, the statue of the Russian Pushkin that a petition is trying to get rid of, and most importantly Andy's Pizza. Apparently Andy's Pizza was owned privately but when it started to make money, President Vladimir Voronin's son Oleg bought it for cheap. It is still everywhere and still serves good food, but it is essentially state owned, if not officially. I had my first beer in days there and bought one of their glasses for a dollar off them because it had the logo of Chisinau Bere on it. It was a great day.

Thursday, April 3 I went to high school with Vlad. It was a great experience I could not have had if I was a typical tourist, like so many of the other experiences I have had. I got to see how the classes are taught here. I got to see how the school is physically set up. Most importantly, I got to talk to all the 16 and 17 year old students. At one point I was surrounded by 10 or 15 boys and girls all listening and understanding me. They all spoke impeccable English. Mostly, as expected, they asked me about the truth of their impressions of America, which come exclusively, and I mean EXCLUSIVELY, from Hollywood. I tried to debunk the myth I have confronted over and over again in my travels: That American women are sluts and American high schools are simply about sex, drugs, and alcohol. When I told some girls that not all Americans lose their virginity at twelve and that some are conservative, they laughed. I understand because they get their impression from American Pie, the movie. It is the same impression radical Muslims have of America, and a major reason they hate America. Personally, I believe extremist radical Muslims hate America more because of the filth Hollywood spews than because of our foreign policy, but that is either a subject of another blog or the subject of an in depth academic study.

That night, I think, we had mamalika (sp?) which is the Moldovan national dish. It is just corn flour boiled down into a cake. It was so fantastic to live with a Moldovan family for a week and truly experience life. The food was good. As long as I am on food I will talk about other food I had in Moldova but did not mention. Vlad cooked some macaroni and cheese one afternoon but this was not from a box. The cheese was home made sheep cheese, stored in salt water. It was so good! Also, I had a couple of different wines that were homemade. It was amazing!

Friday, April 4 was another day of rest. I relaxed all day, had a few glasses of wine at lunch, and then took a nap to get ready for what was the second of two nights in the club for me. We went to Nostalgie, in my opinion a high class club. Some cocktails were ten dollars, or 100 Moldovan Lei! I met some of Cristina's friends, and yet again I was amazed at the kindness and love that was shown to me. I am at a point right now where I am just amazed at how many good people there are in the world. Honestly, it makes me quite happy.

Saturday, April 5 we did not do much because we could not get into any of the big Moldovan wineries that are abundant around Chisinau. Apparently a person has to make reservations four or five day in advance, not the day before or the morning of. To compensate, Cristina took me to a restaurant that served Cricova wine. I sampled four wines and they were all some of the best wine I have had, other than maybe their homemade stuff.

Sunday, April 6 I did little other than buy a train ticket to Bucharest and buy some amazingly good hot dogs from a street vendor. On this train there were four of us in a four bed cabin. Two of the guys I was with were Moldovans who studied at the American Romanian University and naturally spoke perfect English. We had great conversation the whole time and went to the bar car to get some food and beer. There we ran into this drunk middle aged ladely who seemed to want to hang out with me the rest of the train ride. My new friends helped me escape.

Monday, April 7 one of the guys, the second Adrian, offered to show me the university, his housing, and his classes. I said why not? because I had a full day to wait before the train left for Budapest. It was a great day, other than the 25 dollar fine we had to pay when we did not have the right ticket on a bus. I sat through more classes in Romanian, and went to another pizza place. All in all it was just one more person that I met and immediately felt close to.

On the train to Budapest I had a cabin to myself, which was nice, but little consolation for the 100 dollar ticket.

Tuesday, April 8 I got to Budapest and immediately set out for a thermal bath. Thermal baths are basically the number one tourist draw to Budapest, I think. This one did not disappoint, other than the fact that everybody in there had to be over 65. I hope the medicinal baths made me healthy. The sauna was the hottest one I have ever been in.

After that I came to this hostel and began writing this blog. I met a British guy from London and we went out on the town. It was a lot of fun.

Wednesday, April 9 is today and I just woke up to finish this blog. The British lad is still asleep because he stayed out after I checked in early due to exhaustion. I am flying to Dublin tonight, Going to Cork the next day, and the next day my parents are coming to Ireland! I may write about that later.

Back to the smoky, smoky, smoky club in Bucharest. It was unreal. My eyes are permanently damaged I think. My clothes stunk terribly the next day. I would not want to go back there, but I think if some people want to go there they should be able to. I do not know if this is true or not, but someone said the EU is forcing Romania to outlaw public smoking. Freedom just going up in smoke, if you will.

Back to traveling alone. I do not mind traveling alone, but I much prefer to travel with somebody, even if it is someone I just met. I have done a bit of traveling alone and I think it is a must for everyone to experience. It is just such a learning experience. I do not think I will undertake any more big adventures alone, even though I have met so many good people when I am alone.

Back to the comment about America not lasting much longer. I think a lot of people beleive America is not going to be a superpower for much longer and that China will take over. This scares me. After Mircea said that, I got an intense desire to learn more about the economy, the cost of the war, and America's viability. Frankly, finance is one of the most confusing concepts for me. Maybe I should take a finance course.

1 euro = 1.55 dollars, it's just money

2008-03-12T16:04:00.002-06:00

I have been on a posting binge lately, but most of it has been political or self aggrandizing. Sometimes I lie in bed at night and think about my posts and wonder why I wrote it. I’ve even crawled out of bed in the middle of the night to edit them. But after time goes by and I reread them and realize they are self aggrandizing, I won’t delete them or edit them because that is not my point here. Well it might be my point because I've deleted the entire blog and started over two or three times and will probably do it again. The list of months over there on the right is getting a little long.

I haven’t been posting much about Ireland recently because there isn’t that much new to post on. I get into a rhythm very easily. After about two weeks here I was completely comfortable and just going through the motions. Frankly, the most stressful thing I’ve experienced was trying to find my classes. Well, trying to find where I live was pretty stressful too. But now that I have all that down and I walk the same way everyday, I just live my life and do the same sort of stuff I always do when I have occasion. I fry egg sandwiches with basil and cheese all the time, cook other basic meals for dinner, and read the news and political pundits everyday. I check my email, blog, and Facebook everyday and chat on AIM, MSN, or Yahoo with friends. I listen to the same 16,739 songs that I do in Montana. Hell, I even drink MGD when I feel like treating myself to an expensive beer.

There are the rare moments when I am walking to class or back from the pub and I stop to admire some interesting observation. I enjoy the wind whipping rain against my face and admire the Irish climate and the Gulf Stream that provides it. I stop and look at the 200 year old main quad and then turn around and see the four or five year old glass and steel building. I watch in amazement as an old Irish guy orders a Budweiser at the pub. I love to stop when I cross the river and look down and wonder how clean it is and if people ever float it or swim in it like we do in Montana. I repeat words to myself that I hear spoken in thick Irish accents, in a futile imitation effort.

I miss my friends, but I never get lonely. I want to see my family and Montana, but I know that time passes too quickly. I worry about my finances, but brush it aside with a thought like, “it’s just money.”

410 U.S. 113

2008-03-08T19:36:00.004-07:00

So I was thinking about Law School today and I realized I had never read a U.S. Supreme Court decision. I figured why not start with Roe v. Wade?

I can't believe how much I have already learned, to be honest with you. I didn't know that judges would refer to Aristotle's "Politics" and Plato's "Republic," both of which I read in Political Science 150. It almost makes me sentimental thinking about those days.

I didn't know they would refer to English statutory law. I also didn't know about this whole idea of "quickening." This seems to be what most people used to consider the beginning of life; the first movement of the unborn baby.

It's two in the morning on Sunday and I'm reading Roe v. Wade (and listening to John Mellencamp "I need a lover"), and actually enjoying it.

I think I'll read Marbury v. Madison next.

i'm actually in Europe

2008-03-04T16:39:00.000-07:00

Today I had another one of those moments where I thought to myself, “This is really cool, this is what it’s all about, this is why I came here.” It was seven o’clock in the evening and I was sitting in this big lecture hall waiting for two speakers to show up and debate the new Lisbon Treaty. What made me so happy was the blue table cloth on stage that was hanging down and had the circle of gold stars on it that’s on the EU flag. I don’t know why they had an EU flag as the table cloth but that’s beside the point. Another thing was the big banner behind it that said European Movement Ireland and had the website. It just really made me feel like I was in Europe instead of some normal English speaking country where the culture is dieing due to secularization and television. I’m in Europe watching two politicians debate a treaty on the EU! This is the sort of stuff I just love.

I’d go into substance details here but my opinion on the treaty has already been articulated by the CATO Institute and I doubt anyone reading this knows or cares about European integration or Irish neutrality.

oddly familiar

2008-03-03T18:16:00.005-07:00

"BAGHDAD (AP) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday dismissed U.S. accusations that his country is training extremists and demanded that the Americans withdraw from Iraq."

That just struck me as oddly familiar to what two prominent politicians in the United States of America have been "demanding."

It's clear America's number one enemy, and the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism, is rooting for the Democrats.

But honestly, does anyone believe the Democrats will "withdraw?"

fear-mongering

2008-03-02T03:42:00.006-07:00

This from the AP -

"New Jersey joins four other states, including neighboring New York, where talking on a hand-held cell phone is reason enough to get pulled over. The Garden State is the first where text-messaging on the road is a primary offense, meaning police need no other reason to pull a driver over, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures."

They go on to say that officers will be looking for "tell-tale" sings of cell phone use that include driving slow! Can you imagine? You are driving too slow so you get pulled over because your suspected of text messaging. Then you mouth off to the policeman because you're frustrated and get booked. It also says they will be looking for the "cell phone weave." I guess this is America, we don't have any problems other than the "cell phone weave." America is a perfect place and the biggest threat to the average person is the "cell phone weave." This is just mind boggling.

It also goes on to cite research statistics that say hands-free headsets are just as dangerous as hand held phones. In these liberal northeastern states you can still talk on the phone if you have a headset. So its obvious where this is going: the outright ban on all cell phone use in a car.

Well having a passenger also increases the likelihood of a crash, so we shouldn't be allowed to carpool. Loud music or talk radio increases the likelihood of a crash, so there shouldn't be radios in cars. Pretty soon Americas police officers will be looking for "tell-tale" sings of music listening, like rhythmic movements of the head. Where will this end?

I'm definitely fear-mongering here, because I'm trying to save Montana from the fate of liberal east coast policies.

'primary'

2008-02-26T18:07:00.007-07:00

So I have noticed these Montana papers coming out with these stories that Montana is one of 23 states without a "primary seat belt law." Well, well, well, thank goodness there are still 23 states that appreciate individual freedom. I can basically tell you that my number one issue in politics, other than national security, is individual freedom. OK, taxes are up there too, but basically civil liberties have the most direct and immediate impact on my life. I just wanted to post this comment from "MT.Jarhead" from GreatFallsTribune.com:

"Yeah Right....When we didn't have any seat belt law they crammed it down our throat saying it would save lives...When we didn't have a speed limit they crammed it down our throat saying it would save lives...When we had a BAC DUI limit of .15 then .10 and now .08 they crammed it down our throat saying it would save lives...When we didn't have an open container law they crammed it down our throat saying it would save lives...Each time they using the chicken sh** exscuse that we might lose Federal funding if we didn't. Last time I saw the statistics, it appears that highway fatalities haven't changed at all!"

There were plenty of other comments from good freedom loving Montanans that basically said they would rather have their freedom than a government that takes the place of parents.

If I had the power to give freedom back to the people of Montana I would. I would love to roll back the seat belt law, roll back the speed limit law, roll back the open container law. What is this, Europe? We're Americans; we can take care of ourselves. We don't need the government to tell us how to live every minute of our lives down to the most minute aspect.

According to an article in the Billings Gazette "seat belt activists" say that it is costing Montanan taxpayers millions of dollars every year. That is probably a debatable issue but even if it is true that is absolutely no reason to take away freedom from people. If you think that Montanans should give up basic personal freedoms to save a couple bucks, then you and I have irreconcilable priority differences. You can't buy my freedom.

Should our legislature really be worrying about a seat belt law? We have drug issues, energy issues, school funding issues, business issues, growth issues, and these people want to enact a seat belt law.

Have faith in the good judgment of Montanans to make their own decision if they want to put a seat belt on or not.

As long as I'm on this point I might as well confront the issue of the police on the roads. Every person I have ever asked always says that police make them feel uncomfortable, scared even, when they drive by. People tense up, heart rates go through the roof, and blood pressure generally increases when people see a policeman driving by. I believe this is because a lot of people have been hit with large fines for petty traffic violations. This is the exact opposite of what should happen. The police should be there to make people safe and feel safe. Giving police the ability to pull someone over for not wearing a seat belt will simply exacerbate this problem.

Why do the police park in hidden areas and wait for the unsuspecting motorist to drive by going five or six miles over the speed limit? Do they not have anything better to do? Obviously not. I can honestly say that in the eleven or twelve countries I've visited, none of them have such aggressive police on the roads. I guess this is one of a very few areas where I think the United States could learn something from the rest of the world.

I don't even want to get started on the issue of unmarked police cars because I will probably have a heart attack since my cholesterol is sky high.

I honestly can't understand why we have more than one policeman in my hometown of Manhattan, Montana. They literally have nothing to worry about but some high school kids vandalizing something. I'd cut their funding and make them stay in the office until somebody calls with a real problem.

Barrack Street Challenge

2008-02-20T16:01:00.011-07:00

It’s been a while since I’ve written a blog because I haven’t had time in the past week and I wasn’t particularly inspired before that. What inspired me today was my half hour walk to my Bodhran class. I have to walk by the Mardyke arena and right by the pitch (aka field) for hurling, the traditional Irish game. I’d try to explain what it is but it’s not worth it. I also have to cross the River Lee on a foot bridge. So I stopped today right before I crossed the river and watched these Irish guys play hurling for five minutes. The sky was gloomy, there were people walking around in ivy hats, I was on my way to a traditional Irish drumming class, I was standing by the River Lee, I was by myself, and it was a moment of absolute bliss. It was a moment of pure happiness. I just wanted to share that with you.

I didn’t have time because my good friend Josh swung through here on his way home from England. It was great to see him! It was great to have a close friend here. Of course the time flew by at lightening speed. The first night we went to Cissie Young’s and saw a crowd of drunken guys singing songs. Then we went to the Old Oak for a Pink Floyd cover band the next night and then took a night or two off. We went to Cobh (pronounced Cove) on Saturday with some of my American friends here. Cobh is the harbor town where a large majority of the Irish immigrants to America left from. They even had the exact same statue of Annie Moore that exists on Ellis Island in New York. It was also the last port of call for the Titanic and the Lusitania. It was pretty interesting. On Sunday we went to Blarney Castle which was quite enjoyable. It’s just outside a beautiful, typical, small town. Monday night we went to An Spailpin Fanac for a trad-sesh (traditional Irish music session) because I figured nobody should come here without going to one of those. So that was that.

There is this Cork tradition that is called the “Barrack Street Challenge” that goes like this: You have to drink a pint at every one of the thirteen pubs on Barrack Street. These aren’t American pints of 16 oz either; these are imperial pints of 20 oz. Considering I live on Bandon Road, which turns into Barrack Street a block away from The Spires, I figured it would be a good thing to attempt. I’d been challenging my fellow Americans to do it with me and they agreed two weeks ago. I meant to write about this sooner but time flies. Needless to say, I didn’t finish, and neither did any of my friends. I did get eleven down though and it was an amazing night of pub crawling. You’re probably wondering what on Earth would possess somebody to try that. Or you might be thinking I've totally given myself over to alcohol. Nay! It's the Irish culture! It's the tradition! Indeed, almost everybody out that Friday night was over sixty. The first pub we went to I saw this old man double fisting a whiskey and a stout. One of the pubs had a couple of about eighty years serving alcohol.

This goes to the heart of something I learned in class the other day. Ireland has changed dramatically in the past twenty or thirty years. One of the major drivers of change was the introduction of the TV. I mean they had TV before but it was never a major part of Irish culture until recently. My Irish roommates watch an unknowable amount of television everyday. They watch American dramas like Desperate Housewives, Australian soap operas like Home and Away, and British shows like East Enders. I can’t understand it. If my roommates are any indication of Irish culture in general, then it’s dead. It really bothers me. I’ll watch CNN once every Super Tuesday, but to watch three or four hours of TV a day just boggles my mind. I thank God that my parents raised me the way they did.

So all the old people are out and about, hitting the pub, chit chatting away, socializing, enjoying the craic, while they’re grandkids are holed up inside watching TV produced half a world away. It’s really sad.

Here are some pictures of the pubs we visited on Barrack Street.

Barrack St.

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

Eight

Eleven, and that's about how it looked. Two pictures are missing. Nancy Spain's, known as the Beer Garden, and Bradley's, which was the creepiest (and cheapest) bar I've yet to visit in Ireland.

The participants, from left to right: Jamie, Erin, James, Steph, Liam, David, and the picture taker: Sarah

I don't know what my deal is with the "rock on" sign, but it must be a hold over from all those summers I spent obsessing about and attending Warped Tour.

Another important fact about our challenge is that we started between 1530 and 1600 and ended at 2400, so it's not like we had eleven pints in two hours. Josh and I were on a kick about 24 hour clocks if you're wondering why I just used military time.

America to the rescue, but I'm just here for fun

2008-02-01T11:53:00.000-07:00

I don't understand why the environmentalists have stopped talking about the real reason for environmentalism. Isn't it about living in a place where you can walk outside and not have to wear a gas mask to prevent respiratory problems? Isn't it about having a place where you can wear a white t-shirt outside and not have it turn gray? I thought it was about keeping the rivers clean enough to swim in or float down. I figured it was about maintaining an area of wilderness where a father can take his sons for a five day hiking trip to get away from it all and appreciate the beauty of God's green Earth.

I don't hear any of that anymore. Frankly, the reasons above resonate much more with me than global warming, dooms day predictions, or life and death scenarios. What happened to the core values of the environmental movement? Look, I'm from Montana; I believe in saving the environment. I want China to stop ruining the world's atmosphere.

I don't put complete faith in the scientists who say global warming is real, but that is no reason not to want to protect the environment. It makes me feel like climate change is a smoke screen, a diversion, or some other dishonest move. You'd think that these environmentalists wouldn't give two cents for the environment if it wasn't going to kill them.

Anyway; moving on. After my first month in Ireland I've made one major realization: I can't afford to go to pubs four or five times a week. So, I'm not. Problem solved.

I'm taking this fourth year government class called European Framework, and the other day we were discussing whether or not the EU should have a military. We had just got done talking about Europe's complete failure to solve the Kosovo crisis, and how NATO (read: the USA) had to come in and save Europe's butt.

As a side note, I am amazed at how realistic people are around here about their indebtedness to America. For example, in class the other day the professor asked if anyone had a laptop he could use because he forgot his. I volunteered mine. Then he asked if anyone would help him keep track of time, and an American girl volunteered. He quipped, "Ah, America to the rescue again."

In this EU class we do a discussion exercise at the end of each lecture and when it came to me I said I thought the EU should have a military, so they could take some pressure off the US and NATO in situations like Kosovo. The 26 year old TA guffawed at me and said, "Typical American response." I was flabbergasted. I shouldn't have been I guess, considering she had protested in Spain against the war in Iraq, which she was quite proud of. I should have asked her, "Yes, I am an American, is that OK?"

The next topic was similar but it was about what role the EU should play in foreign affairs. Before it got to me some kid had said that he figured that the UN should be the one doing humanitarian assistance and not the EU. When it came to me I started to say that was unrealistic because there were two undemocratic countries on the security council with veto power, and one is a leading human rights abuser. The teacher had to interrupt me to ask who I was talking about. I obliged her and said Russia and China, but before I found out she was only interrupting me to make a joke about the extent of American democracy. When our true professor comes back I'm going to tell her that the TA showed a complete lack of professionalism, rudely interrupted me to crack a joke, and was unabashedly anti-American, to the point where she offended me. On the way out of class I overheard this Irish girl commenting on how much the professor hated America, so I started talking to her and when I told her I was the one that the TA had confronted, she told me I should complain and say I'm being discriminated against. Thank goodness some people here have some decency.

We have this young girl one more week, and naturally, I won't back down.

I have been staying up until three or four in the morning the last three nights. First it was for President Bush's State of the Union Address, then I had to stay up for the Florida Primary, then I had to stay up for the Republican debate, then I had to stay up for the Democratic debate. It is really quite tiring when 1 a.m. here is 8 p.m. on the east coast; when the coverage usually starts. I guess I should keep my sleeping pattern going like this until Super Tuesday, because I'm sure that will be an all-nighter.

I was cruising the UCC website the other day and found out that they have this student group thats all about dancing, and they offer free salsa lessons Wednesday night. Of course I went last Wednesday, had a great time, and I'll be going every week from now on. There were about five guys and twenty girls. We spent the first 45 minutes doing the basic step so by the time class was over I had to ask the female instructor for a dance to see if I could still do any of the moves I learned last semester. After that she tried to convince me to be on the competitive team, but I said, "No, I'm just here for fun."

Still !!!! even now!!!

2008-01-22T14:56:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-01-17T02:48:00.001-07:00

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!

2008-01-12T04:19:00.000-07:00

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

2008-01-10T10:51:00.000-07:00

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

2008-01-09T18:15:00.001-07:00

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

2008-01-04T19:06:00.000-07:00

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.

Christmas

2007-12-28T17:16:00.000-07:00

I love my family so much!