Connemara and Cong: Part 2

I was way too tired last night to finish the blog entry that I had started, so here is part 2 of last Saturday!

Following Ashford Castle and Cong town center, we headed over to the undeveloped lands of Connemara.

This picture is typical of the landscape in Connemara. This specific lake is called Lough Nafooey. I don't remember anything amazingly special about this lake other than the fact that it has a fun name.


If you look high up on the mountains, there are little white specks. Those are actually sheep that climbed all the way to the tops of the mountains. These are mountain sheep, and they have long, curly horns on their heads.



These are just two pretty pictures of the beautiful landscape in Connemara. Actually, these mountains used to be covered in trees, but all of the logging for houses, firewood, etc. has made the mountains rather barren, and it is very difficult to grow crops in these areas. This is why there are so many sheep. The sheep are the farmers' primary source of income in this area. One of the only crops that can grow in this soil is potatoes so this area was particularly impacted by the Great Potato Famine in the 1840s.


If you can see the grid-like appearance of the land, it is all made of stone walls. These walls mark the boundaries of different pastures belonging to different farmers. The building of stone walls is a kind of an art around here, as they are not held together by anything. They are simply stacked rocks. In fact, there are no gates to get through either. If a farmer (and his sheepdog) want to get into one of these pastures, there were frequently steps made out of the strategic placement of longer stones. These stones jutted out of the stone wall, making a kind of staircase. If the farmer needs to move the sheep, he just knocks a section of the wall down and rebuilds it after the sheep have moved.


Here is a closer look at the wall. It is not obvious in this picture, but in many of the walls, the farmers leave holes which are about the size of a football. These holes serve two purposes. One is to let the air through on a windy day. If the air does not have enough room to travel through, the walls will collapse. The second reason is to let the leprechauns and fairies pass through!


There are sheep everywhere in Connemara! As I mentioned in the last post, there are WAY more sheep than people in Ireland. Here, we encountered a roadblock of sheep.


Luckily the farmer and his dog were not far behind. We were able to see this dog round up the sheep for the farmer and get them safely on the side of the road. Sheepdogs are such smart dogs!



This is Jack the Lad. Apparently he is friends with the bus tour guides. Every time they go by, they stop and feed Jack the Lad some carrots. In fact, he even knows the sound of the bus horn. When they beeped, he came running up to the fence for his carrots! Jack is a Connemara Pony. This is a specific breed of pony indigenous to the Connemara area. Connemara ponies are a mix of the ponies that the Vikings initially brought to Ireland and the horses from the ships of the Spanish Armada which landed in Ireland for safety during a war in 1588. The breeding of these two breeds (as well as some possible other breeds) created the Connemara Pony.

These ponies are supposed to be very docile and good-natured ponies, however Jack the Lad is a special case. He is a bit fiesty, and gave me a playful nip on the arm while I was petting him.


After visiting Jack the Lad, we did a bit more traveling around. I just have to show you this picture. I just thought it was the most charming little cottage that I have ever seen. This is, to date, my favorite picture.

I have another brief note about the stone walls. On some of the mountains, there are walls that seemingly lead nowhere. The reason they appear like this is because they do, in fact, lead nowhere and serve no purpose. The history behind this is that during the Great Potato Famine, the British were unwilling to help the millions of starving families in Ireland for free. Instead of helping these people out of kindness, they made the starving people work in order to receive money and food. These walls are called "famine walls" because they were the result of the British government creating fake jobs so that the Irish did not feel like they could get anything free from them. (There are no famine walls in this picture.)


This picture is of the Killary Fyjord, a 16 km (or about 10 miles) inlet from the Atlantic Ocean. It is comprised of salt water, and is home to fish, shellfish, and even dolphins!


The lines of barrels that you can see in the water are actually mussel farms. This fjord is a large supplier of mussels for the area.

Our final stop was Kylemore Castle (formerly) or currently, Kylemore Abbey.


This castle was built in the 1860s and is considered Ireland's most romantic building. Mitchell Henry, a politician of the time, built this castle for his wife. At the time, the castle cost $1.8 million to build (in the currency of that time). Just imagine what it would cost today! When Henry's wife died, he began to spend less time in the castle. Shortly afterward, one of his children died, and he could not bear to live in the castle any longer. It went on the market and was sold to an individual who did not take care of the castle like Mitchell Henry did. Years later, it went on the market again and became an abbey. The castle used to house hundreds of nuns, however, it has thinned out in recent times. Currently and unfortunately, there are only five nuns left in Kylemore Abbey.



Well that was my tour on Saturday! It was so exciting to see the Irish countryside for the first time since I had been here. Next I'll update about the sites that I toured on Sunday!

Connemara and Cong: Part 1

This weekend, for the first time, I was able to travel around to see more of Ireland! I chose to take a bus tour around Connemara and Cong. Here is where I was this weekend:


View Larger Map

I do have to point out that for the last week and a half it did not stop raining, but for the last few days it was beautiful! Perfect for traveling!

After a few brief moments of rain, I looked out of the bus window and witnessed my first Irish rainbow! Unfortunately, due to the fact that I was sitting in a bus, I could not follow the rainbow to find the leprechauns (although I am sure they do exist). You have to look hard; it was hard to capture through the bus window.


This is a typical sight in Ireland: green grass and sheep. In fact, there are about 3 million people living in Ireland, and 8 million sheep!


Our first stop of the tour was the Ross Errilly Friary. This was a place that men went to become monks and to be educated in Catholicism, first and foremost, and also numerous other subjects. Friaries were the universities of the medieval times. This particular friary was founded in 1351 and is one of the best-preserved monasteries in Ireland.

All monasteries were shaped as a cross (you would see that if I happened to have an aerial view). This was a further demonstration of their Catholic denomination, and a gesture to God.


This is the first room that you walk into upon entering the Ross Errilly Friary. This would have been the chapel room where all of the masses took place. The arched opening with a fence is actually an old fireplace which would have been on the second floor. The floors of the building obviously do not exist anymore.


If you were to look to the right in the main chapel, you would see these two things. The square is the pulpit from where the priest would give his sermon, and the smaller, rounded stone is a baptismal basin where the holy water was held. The flat stones on the ground are graves of the monks who used to live there. There are also some more modern grave sites within the monastery with gravestones more like the ones you would see today.


This is in the kitchen of the monastery. It functioned as a fish tank when the friary was up and running. The monks used to keep the fish they caught (from a lake adjacent to the building) in this fish tank in order to keep them fresh until dinner time.
These are my friends, but the more important part is that they're standing in an ancient oven. This was also in the kitchen and was where all of the food was cooked. It's huge!

Here I am standing on the non-existent second floor!


Here's another pretty picture of the monastery. The lake in the background is where they would have caught their fish.


Well I'm sure you've seen enough of the old monastery. Next, we went to Ashford Castle, which is located in Cong. This castle is actually currently a hotel. This hotel is not cheap though! It is not uncommon for people to fly in by helicoptor to stay there. The cheapest rooms are 500 euro or $640 per night!!! The portion of grass that you see in the picture is a golf course that belongs to the hotel.

The castle is located on Lough Corrib, which is the largest lake in Ireland. In fact, it has 365 islands (they say there's one for every day of the year)!

Here are a couple more pictures of the castle and of the gardens surrounding the castle (which must be gorgeous during the spring and summer). But first, some fun facts! The castle was built in 1228. Just as any castle of the time, it was fought over and changed hands several time. At one point, the Guinness family owned and lived in it! And finally, in 1939, Ashford Castle was converted into a hotel and remains a hotel still.





Well this is turning out to be quite a long post! I will take you through the wonders and beauty of Connemara tomorrow!

A Brief Note on Cultural Differences

In the entry that I just posted about the inauguration, I made a comment about how I received my first positive comment about being an American. I need to clarify. I was fortunate to choose a country that, culture-wise, is not extremely different from the United States. In general, the Irish like Americans (mention Boston, and any one of them will go on a rant about how they love Boston!).

BUT (there is always a but)...

there are times when I have not felt entirely comfortable being here. Regardless of whether you are talking or not, the Irish immediately know that you are an American. I have asked numerous people how they know, and they cannot explain it to me "We just know" is the common response. I have frequently heard comments mumbled on the streets about "Americans" with a negative connotation, and on one occasion, I heard someone proclaim "Those damn yanks are back." It is also not uncommon to get glares from Irish girls while walking down the streets.

I have two very different but uncomfortable situations to share:

One evening, a group of us decided to go to a pub called The Cranes because we heard that there was some good traditional Irish music there. When we arrived, we realized that we were no longer in the touristy area of Galway, but we proceeded inside anyway. As we walked in, the pub went dead silent, and all we could hear was a flute-like instrument commonly used in Irish music called a "tin whistle." The silence was deafening until whispers, snickers, and giggles filled the room. It was an incredibly embarrassing situation, and we promptly left the pub.

The other was an extremely uncomfortable situation for me. I was sitting in a class with over 200 students in it, most of which were Irish. It was a Social Psychology class, and we were discussing the difference between what we say we believe and what our actions say that we believe. To prove a point, the professor said, "Most people would agree that anyone, including tourists, should have access to our local pubs." The entire class nodded in approval. Then the professor continued by saying "But if you knew that a tourist was going to be in your favorite pub tonight, how many of you would still go?" Instantly, the entire classroom was laughing and chatting and shaking their heads in agreement that they would NOT go to that pub if they knew a traveler was going to be there. I just sat there awkwardly, as the traveler, feeling extremely uncomfortable with what just happened (especially since, as I said before, everyone around me knows that I'm American).

Don't get the wrong idea. The Irish are generally very friendly people! I have two Irish roommates who are very nice, and most Irish people I talk to are very welcoming. (In fact, as we left the cranes, a man outside told us it was a much better scene upstairs and we ended up having a fun night). Unfortunately, though, no matter where I go, I know I will hear comments about my being American. Fortunately, it is something that I am getting used to.

But on the bright side, like I mentioned in the past post, now that Barack Obama is our president, Americans are being seen in a much better light than before! These situations that I mention are nothing compared to what past Americans have experienced studying abroad.

P.S. I did get quoted! In the Irish Times. Check it out: http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/0121/1232474671128.html

A Proud Day to Be an American!

Yesterday was the first time in a very long time that I can say that I was proud to be an American. Let's start from the beginning:

For the past week or so I have been sick (and in the last few days especially I have been very sick). Yesterday I was not feeling so hot either, but I woke up feeling happy and optimistic, as I knew that it would be the day that Barack Obama would be inaugurated. Even though I wasn't feeling well, I dragged myself to my one class of the day and then to a weekly meeting with my program adviser and all of the students who applied to NUI Galway through API as I did.

When I got there (coughing like crazy and desperately longing for the comfort of my room), Finn (my adviser) was completely pumped about the elections! She is an Irish citizen and has no ties whatsoever to the states, but she was insanely excited! She was even encouraging people to skip their classes to watch this historical event (and she's a professor at the college)! This excitement that I witnessed in her was only a preview of what was to come.

After the meeting, a big group of us went into town to a pub called The King's Head. We had noticed earlier in the week that they were having an inauguration event there. This pub was absolutely packed with people and every television was airing the event. There was even a large screen set up specially with the inauguration projected on the screen. There was a special menu of American foods (such as mac and cheese, burgers, hot dogs, and blueberry pie) and even American-themed drinks. There was even a big American flag on the wall!

We walked upstairs and heard someone exclaim with enthusiasm "Are you American? I heard your accents!" We have recieved greetings like this in the past, however in the past, the comment did not have such a positive, congradulatory connotation. People were actually excited for the Americans!It was said while I was in the United States that Barack Obama, as our first black president, was going to have a positive impact on the world's attitude about the United States. I was a firm believer that this was going to be true, but I feel that I am fortunate to be experiencing it first-hand.

The inauguration of a historical President such as Obama made me want to be home to witness it in my own country as an American citizen, but once the event began, I felt just as much energy around me in that pub that I would have felt if I were at home. I was surrounded by both Irish and American citizens who all cared equally about what was occurring in Washington D.C. During Obama's speech, the place went crazy with cheering and applause (almost as if we were in Washington D.C. and America could hear our cheers). I could not stop smiling! To add to the excitement (and to document it), there were reporters and photographers going around interviewing and photographing people for articles in various Irish Newspapers (yes, I was interviewed! I'll post the article if I make it in!).

Following the inauguration, as we were walking down the street, we were stopped by an old Irish man. He proceeded to tell us how much he loved John F. Kennedy and how Kennedy was Irish. He continued to tell us how to trace Obama's roots back to the Irish. Unfortunately for Obama, he said, his roots trace back to Northern Ireland. (I will talk more about the conflicted view of the Irish state and Northern Ireland at a later time. Just keep in mind for now that they do not get along so well.) The old man reassured us, however, that even though Obama has relatives in the North, he is a great man and will do a lot of good for America and the world. As we walked away, he congratulated us and proudly and officially proclaimed the day "Obama Day!!"

I have to say (especially to all of my Brockton students) that yesterday was truly a historic day. It was a day that changed the face of America, and one that will improve the world's view of our country. In addition to that, it was a HUGE day for most of you! It is absolutely wonderful to see a black man (or any minority for that matter) in the highest office of the United States. Not only was this a significant day in the country's history, but an extremely significant day for any person or group of people who have ever been oppressed. All of you should be so proud. I know that I am finally proud to call The United States of America my home.

(Coming soon: A tour of Galway, A trip to Connemara, and A trip to the Cliffs of Moher and the Burren)

Initiation into Ireland

I feel rather ironic posting in a blog that I titled "Adventures in Ireland" because to date, I have not had nearly as many adventures as I should have. On the first day that I was in Galway, my study abroad group adviser informed us that eventually we would all get sick; it was simply initiation into Ireland. For the next week or so, I saw people getting sick around me, and I simply smiled because here I was, a week into this new, rainy, cold country, and I still was not sick!

Well I shouldn't have been so happy because just a few days later, I caught bronchitis. I decided that I was not going to let a little bit of sickness get in my way of fun! So I went out that night into town with some friends, listened to some live music, had a grand time, and walked home 25 minutes in the rain (it's always raining here). You better bet that the next day, I severely regretted that decision. I stayed in my room (except when I had to go to my classes) for the next few days, and then I got great news! My friend, Ashton, wanted to come visit me from Dublin! Even though I still did not feel well, I had to go out to meet her. I wanted to show her all around Galway! I wanted to go on a tour to the Cliffs of Moher with her!

I decided on Friday night that I would meet her in the city center and we'd have a bit of fun. By the end of the night, I was coughing like crazy, and had no voice left at all (so I couldn't even talk to anyone). I told her to go on with her friends and have some fun around Galway. I was going to make it an early night. When I began to head home, it was absolutely pouring, and I didn't have an umbrella, a hat or even a hood. Needless to say, by the time I got back to my apartment, I was soaked to the bone and still unable to speak. It really was not my best moment. I woke up the next day very sick, and practically unable to get out of bed. In fact, I did not leave my apartment for the next 3 days. I could not go to the Cliffs with Ashton, and I could not show her around Galway on Sunday.

Here is the moral of the story: If you're sick, don't pretend you're not sick or you'll be even sicker! Not to mention, you will miss out on all of the adventures that you planned on having.

Fortunately, this weekend's weather was wretched! Absolutely terrible! There was intense rain, and winds going so fast that the rain appeared to be falling sideways. I think that if I went to the Cliffs, I would have been afraid to blow right off of them. This weekend I plan on making a trip to the Cliffs of Moher with some other friends on Saturday, and then an excursion through my study abroad program to Connemara on Sunday. I am going to rest up until then!

Stay posted for some great pics from both of those places!

Arriving in Ireland

I have now been in Ireland for three days. It took a bit of adjusting, but I can tell that this is going to be an amazing experience and adventure for me!

For days before I left I was incredibly nervous about flying over here and living so far from home for a full FIVE MONTHS! I avoided packing, and I ignored the fact that I was leaving in so few days. To make matters worse, I made a mistake in booking my flight (well actually two BIG mistakes). Instead of flying into Shannon Airport on Tuesday, January 5th (which requires leaving on the 4th), I flew into DUBLIN on JANUARY 6TH! In essence, I booked the entire flight incorrectly. At least I flew into Ireland! Dublin, Ireland is on the east coast, and Galway (where I am staying) is on the west coast.

The idea of having to fly to Ireland by myself made me very nervous, but the idea that somehow I would have to get to the apartment in which I am staying by some mode of transportation that I was unsure of terrified me! Needless to say, it was very difficult for me to leave the people I love to get on that plane, but I did it.

The trip went much more smoothly than I had ever imagined it would. The plane ride was long-- about 7 hours, but it was well worth it when I landed in Dublin just in time to see the sun rise in the distance over the airport with the hilly landscape in the background. It certainly was a sight to behold, and it made me feel much better.

I took a bus over to Galway which took about four hours. Luckily for me, Ireland is a MUCH smaller country than the United States. It would have taken days to drive across the entire USA. Ireland does not have big highways like the U.S. does so it actually took much longer than I thought it would (also the bus had a lot of stops to make). I was completely exhausted from my plane ride, so I slept most of the time on the bus. I did wake up periodically though; I was able to see the quaint countryside with the stereotypical Irish dwellings and the fields of sheep and cows. The cities are nothing like what we have in the U.S. either (the smaller cities anyway). They have rows of adorable shops on small streets with the most homey, country feel to them.

I finally arrived in Galway and took a cab to the place that I am staying. I did not know what to tell the cab driver though since I did not quite understand the address myself:

Menlo Park Apartments
Terryland,
Headford Road,
Galway, Ireland

I found it very strange that there was a complete lack of numbers in this address. Actually, now I do have a number to add to the address. I can now say:

Jamie Blanchard
Menlo Park Apartments #33
Terryland,
Headford Road,
Galway, Ireland

But still, the complete lack of a zip code is strange to me. I do not think that their houses are numbered here. Apparently in their own communities, they just know where everyone lives. After getting a good night's rest last night (unlike the freezing cold, homesick, restless first night), I have been enjoying my new city much more. I have begun to explore the campus and the city center, and I am getting to know lots of new people. I can tell this is going to be a great semester for me!

Here are pictures of my walk to school: