Shplat and the Knights-Errant

Today I fell off of my bike trying to ride up over a curb sideways.
It was completely embarrassing and slightly humiliating and my jeans ripped and I got scrapes on my knees and found more later.
The worst is a good Samaritan walked by me as I flew over the curb and weeds into the concrete and didn't even say a thing about my flight to the ground.
However the best was that a good Samaritan walked by me as I flew over the curb and the weeds into the concrete and didn't say a thing about me falling in front of the entire university.

Today I learned why the Irish, British and other crazy nations drive on the left side of the road.

Once upon a time, in a far away land named Britain, there lived kings, queens, fairies and the knights-errant. The knights-errant used to leave their kingdoms and go on adventures, questing for honour and glory. They would take to the roads with their trusty steeds, traveling for kilometers (miles) in dusty armour in the hopes of finding jewels and courtly love.
HOWEVER. Sometimes a knight-errant would meet another knight-errant as they passed each other on the woodland paths. In case the stranger knight-errant was an evil stranger knight-errant, they would draw their swords immediately from their left hips with their right hands. Since they traveled on the left side of the road, the knights-errant were in perfect formation to begin a swordfight on horseback, if necessary. And they all lived happily ever after.

Eight hundred years later, the Irish and British still think it is a good idea to drive on the left side in case a right-handed knight-errant travels their roads.

Kilkenny, Castles and the 6 hour bus ride

this weekend a group of eight went to Kilkenny, Ireland. It is a medieval city and absolutely gorgeous. I think I would have loved to be in college there too, because it is a small but defintely VIBRANT town. Plus everywhere you are, you can see the castle or the cathedral over the buildings. We stayed in an 8 person room, bunk bed style in the Kilkenny Tourist Hostel. That was my first time ever in a hostel and it was so...clean. I was surprised, I thought hostels were dirty with rickety beds and maybe some spiders. This was really nice and in the middle of everything. Friday we toured the town (The Field, Anthony (Andrew?) Ryan's, Matt the Miller's). Saturday we reallllllly toured and went everywhere possible. Kilkenny Castle, the Black Abbey, the Cathedral, the Kyterly Inn. In order to save money, we even bought food at the local grocery store for breakfast lunch and dinner ---everyone's good about the saving money thing.

So. First things first. The CASTLE WAS BEAUTIFUL. They were restoring it still, so I wish the tour was longer and showed more. The library was beautiful, bright yellow, with almost all the original works and bookshelves. I could have lived there forever, there were early editions of Shakespeare, Dante, histories....it was beautiful. the walls were covered in silk. Apparently the Butlers lived there, a very powerful family in Ireland from the 1400's until 1935, when they moved back to England. In the bottom of the castle (not the dungeons, I was hoping but no luck) there was a gift shop with nobody there and I really wanted a postcard of the castle...
But I guess the occasionally snatch from the stag didn't help as I just left my 50 cent piece on the desk and took a postcard. The Carrolls are just good like that.

The Black Abbey was Franciscan, small with crypts and stained glass, and the Cathedral was gorgeous on the outside. We didn't go in because there was a wedding!! I met the car driver - it was a Rolls Royce- outside the Cathedral. His name was Graham, and if you would like to know his life story, I will email it to you separately. But in case you're curious, I know all about wedding cars out of Waterford, where Graham grew up, what he does, what his previous jobs have been, what weddings he has done this month and which cars he drove, where his children are living, how he and a "colleague" rebuilt this car from a London taxi base and that is genuine Italian leather seats for five, even though it looks like only 3. Graham turned 65 in December, in case you are wondering, but is not retiring because he's been "working for fifty years and it took me 49 to get this job, so why would I give it up? I drive around beautiful motorcars and beautiful women, and sometimes they even give me a kiss," (picture with an English accent and you got it, don't worry he had the cap on too)

A woman named Alice used to live in what's now the Kyterly Inn and allegedly poisoned 4 husbands with arsenic (WHAT was husband #4 thinking??) and we stayed Saturday in a haunted castle 8 miles out of town, which was awesome. The rooms were stone and the steps were windy (that's windy, like winding a clock sound) and the original fortress walls were still intact.

The Irish are such gentlemen. I met Peter, who like to pantomime every single word and lip sync to every single song the dj played (60's-90's night, of course only American music). He didn't really talk until after an hour and a half of this. However, he eventually mimed buying myself and my other friend a Carlsberg, and that is 4.40 euro. So sweet deal. Isn't that a Bible something...like be patient and you get free beer...

This is a very long post! But a lot of things happened this weekend and I wanted to share some of it! Once I figure out the address of flickr I'll post more pictures.



Also, I've decided once I graduate college it will be fun to work in a hostel for awhile. Maybe in Romania or something. Maybe a haunted one.

sunshiney day

OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH YAY

today I woke, literally five minutes ago and there is sunshine beaming through my window- It has been rainy for the last couple of days. I don't care Dad, that you keep saying I'm used to it from Alaska, because really? Who can be used to constant grey? It' s so boring, besides the point. I'm telling you, seeing the sun in a half-blue sky is more inspiring then a couple of things, including the sale on hot chocolate prices yesterday. So far I have seen 3 rainbows since I've been in Galway, too. I'm going to the beach with Lea STAT to take advantage. Salthill, the name of the beach, is only a 15 minute walk away from my house and it's incredibly gorgeous. It' s a mostly rock beach with small cliffs and a diving tower and goes for miles...Galway Bay is beautiful.

For all who are Stars fans, their concert was a lot of fun. Although I realized that their pints are slightly more expensive than elsewhere...so I just had two (hoeergardner with lemon i love that everything is draft) They are a fabulous band and there was a seventy year old man who comes in every night, no matter what, I've seen him there before, who danced his heart out right next to Kym and I in front of the stage. I've never quite seen anything like it but it's obviously his nightly exercise. One of the band even said that everyone was "getting schooled by a man three times your age." oh well.

Also, my classes are chosen. I'm taking 20th century literature, Arthurian Fiction, Intro to N. Ireland Politics, Environmentalism, History of Modern Philosophy and the History of Medieval Europe. I am so serious about my education...to the point that three of us got up at 5AM yesterday and took a cab at 5:30 IN THE MORNING and went to school, because for English seminars (they're like 20 students vs. 300), International Students literally have to wait online at 9AM and it's a first come, first served basis to get class. I have never done anything more ridiculous in my life. People were actually camped out with blankets and pillows in front of us. I was #75 and I got there that early. Crazy internationals. Whatever, totally worth it for a semester ahead of Thomas Mallory and King Arthur (at least for me).


stars, "the ghost of genova heights"
North of the river all the streets are the same
We can pretend that they don't know our name
And the heat is turned all the way to full
So don't pretend that you don't feel the pull

The beginnings...

Well, it is officially 15 days since I have been in Galway, but it feels like I've been here for a long time. The city is easy to get used to. There are at least ten bakeries here...I'm in baked goods heaven, sort of. When I can carry it.
This picture is when we went on a Fairfield U trip to see the Burren and the Cliffs of Moeher. Well...I'm going back to the cliffs, because it was so cloudy you could not see a thing. We heard the water, but saw nothing. There was a stone wall, about four feet high, 3 feet of grass and then nothing. Literally, nothing but a thick whiteness. It could have been the end of the world and for that reason it still was beautiful.
Today it has been raining constantly - nothing strange about that! Living in Ireland is a little bit like constantly living in a cloud. Constantly. What baffles me is that the Irish just don't care. last weekend I was out in a pub and could not believe my eyes...the Irish girls wear heels and skirts and dresses...forget about it! I was told this is a sweater country, and I am going to wear sweaters!
I don't have class Mondays, and am currently deciding whether or not I want to have class on Fridays. It's either take a class I would LOVE that meets friday afternoons 2-3pm with 4 people, or take an okay class so I can have off Fridays. Isn't it funny how I'm actually caring about school...

I would just like to say, for future reference, that the euro and dollar are worst enemies right now. So when you pack lightly to go to Ireland for five months, you don't bring a lot of clothes. In fact, you bring very few. In fact, you have to do laundry a lot. IT IS A FACT THAT MY LANDLORD CHARGES 4 EURO FOR A WASH AND DRY CYCLE EACH. For everyone at home? That is basically $12.00 to do one load of wash and dry it. So today....
I did laundry in the sink.
Wow.
With my bare hands.
Laundry.
In the sink.
I'm so spoiled.
It was actually a money saving experience and I just kept thinking how that 8 euro is going to be so helpful in the future...that's 4 pints of tennets or 2 pints and a glass of guinness, or seafood chowder, or 8 quarts of milk. No worries, Dawson's Creek was on in the background (the one where Andie does drugs in a raver, incase you're interested) and now I can actually wait another 15 days with clean socks and underwear before I will probably run out of real clothes and submit, finally, to the 4 euro washer (no drying! i will hang it up!)
tonight i'm going to see STARS at the Roisin Dubh (row-sheen dove) with Kym. It is a pretty sweet music scene in Galway City, that's for sure. until next time!~

RoisinDubh.net