The Grass Is Always Greener

This is a picture I took with the camera my absolutely wonderful sister and brother-in-law gave to me right before I came.  Now all the pictures so far I've taken, and this is not to toot my own horn by any means. The point being to give credit and thank Beth and Ryan, and also to convey that this view is a shore I have actually stood upon.  The stereo typical picture of Ireland is either one such as this of beautiful cliffs on the sea, or of endless fields each a brighter green than the next, disturbed only by hedges of a similar hue.  And to my great pleasure, this stereotype is mostly correct. This was, again, from my first week when all we did was tour.  This is the northern coast just west of Giants Causeway, a beautiful rock formation which is surrounded by a plethora of Irish myths, and just a ways down the road from Busch Mills.  Bushmills is a small town that is home to the Bushmills distillery, unfortunately I never got to take the tour.  This is important because, unlike Jameson Irish Whiskey,  Bushmills Irish Whiskey is distilled in Northern Ireland.  Therefore, certain unionist pubs will only serve Bushmills, and certain nationalist pubs only serve Jameson, and I can only assume it would not be taken well to order the wrong drink in one of these pubs.  But I digress. 

This friends, family, and cyberspace creepers; is Giants Causeway.  Guesses as to what the mythology surrounding this incredible rock formation might pertain to?  If you guessed the rock formation was part of a causeway built by a giant, you would be correct.  The story goes something like this.  There was a giant in Ireland, who knew of another giant across the way in Scotland.  So the Irish giant built a causeway to go over and kill him. Why you ask?  Stop asking questions and watch the movie! When he finished the causeway he went over to Scotland and saw the Scottish giant was far bigger than him. Naturally the Irish giant ran back to Ireland and dressed up like a baby.  When the Scottish giant came looking, he found the Irish giant dressed as a baby.  Thinking that this was the Irish giants child, the Scottish giant feared the Irish giant was far larger than him and fled back to Scotland, destroying the causeway behind him.  Interesting.  Scientists however believe the formation to have been caused by volcanic activity that with different pressures of lava flow caused pillars to rise or fall.  A little lame of an explanation I think, but a little more logically sound.

Sometimes It's Good to Have Heard Wrong

It's been over a month since I've gotten here, and I haven't posted since the first week.  So much for keeping everyone up to date huh?  Well I'll do my best to make up for lost time.  Last time you heard from me I was jumping into off of the northern coast of Northern Ireland into the Northern Atlantic.  All this to emphasize how far north this was, and in kind how cold.  Rising out of the sea and drying off with dish towels we got into our vans and stopped off to grab some dinner.  Mind you, I was told before I left on my trip that Irish food would be bland, boring, and I would soon grow tired of it. However, we went to this little restaurant somewhere along the motorway on the way back to Belfast, and I experienced some of the best traditional Irish fair.  Bangers and Mash.

Now, I didn't actually have mash, instead I had champ.  Now champ is essentially mash that has butter, chives, and milk mixed in.  On top of the champ I got four bangers, and a side of a gravy that was almost like an au jus with lots of onions (which I actually ate, my mother must be in shock).  The portion was fairly generous, but I felt I would still be hungry with no side dish.  I was wrong.  Not only was it delicious but when I was done I was stuffed.  What makes a meal like bangers and mash so good in Ireland is the fact that the sausage and potatoes for my meal were likely grown on the island.  Not only does this say something about the freshness of the product, but the farm it came from is most likely a small acreage farm run by the same family it has been for years, which says a lot about quality and authenticity.  This of course was not the only traditional fare that I have taken part in, however, here are not all that many innately Irish dishes out there.

          

I've had fish and chips more than once, my favorite coming from the Jolly Fryer.  Salt and Vinegar of course a must.  I've also had a traditional Irish roast, yorkshire puddings, Irish scones, and the most unhealthy of breakfasts, the Ulster fry.  An Ulster fry is the North Irish equivalent of the English full breakfast. Sausage, Bacon, Eggs, Tomatos, Beans, Toast, and Potato Bread.  Now I had it as Brinner (breakfast for dinner) seeming as, well I'm not sure I would be able to force all that down before noon. But let me tell you, it was delicious. If anyone has ever told you the food in Ireland stinks, ask them if they've been.  Besides a more conservative use of seasonings and the lack of true spiciness in any of their dishes I have no complaints. Although I can't comment on the English or Scottish yet.  No black pudding or hagas for me yet.  More to come very soon, sorry to keep you folks in anticipation.

The Self Titled Album

The waves crash over the cracked foot path, submerging the rusty bemoaned ladder under salty sea.  Behind the cackles raise up as the two philosopher kings shed their clothes and walk down the tiny pier.  To the west a lonely road gently makes its way through the emerald hills.  To the east, the town of summer cottages abandoned to the cold breeze of  September.  To the west the Atlantic, the states, home.  To the east a far off horizon, an ancient isle, the land of our fathers.  And in front of us a rough sea, and a blue sky, an endless view of blue and white.  We stand there, he and I, naked and crownless kings.  We stand there, on a the precipice of an abyss, that beckons with open arms.  We stand there for but a moment and then we leap. Enveloped by the sea, a baptism of sorts.  Brought back up through the waves.  Born again.  New men.

The Piece Wall

On my first Sunday in Belfast the man who convinced me to apply for the trip,who bought me my first fish n' chips and bangors and mash, and who (along with Annelise and Jim) told me there is only one football club to root for, Liverpool, took me to the Shankill Road.  Run on sentences aside, it was a very serious and thought provoking experience.  The Shankill Road and the Fall Road are the two famous roads in North Ireland, home to various terrorist organizations.  Fall Road, on the Catholic side of town, is a hot bed of the famous IRA, or Irish Republican Army.  Shankill Road, on the Protestant side, home to the UVF, or Ulster Volunteer Force.  These two paramilitary forces (among others) killed thousands over the course of a three or four decades of bombings, shootings and other terrorist activities.

The situation (drink) in Northern Ireland is far better than it was even ten years ago, and almost incomparable to events of the past.  However Billy still told me it was unsafe for me to walk the Shankill alone.  So a group of us took a van to go see the neighborhood where Billy grew up.  A wall stretched along the divide between the Shankill and the Fall, and the gate we drove through closed behind us for the night. Billy let us out and drove a little ways down the road and let us walk along and see all the graffiti. The wall itself was covered in graffiti. Some positive, hopeful and peaceful; while some (like many of the murals on buildings all around East Belfast) still portray a message of hate and sectarianism. Such a beautiful and misunderstood art form used both to hate and to love.    The question is, in the end does this wall instill a sectarian hatred, or a longing for peace in the youth of this distraught neighborhood?

At Lakeside Manor

I got in yesterday to Lakeside Manor around two.  And it took more than a hop skip and a jump to get there.  My parents dropped me off at the airport around 4:30, and I sat around the terminal for about an hour and a half  before hopping on my connecting flight from Cleveland to Phillie.  I sat down and for awhile it looked as though I would have the whole two seat row to myself, but about ten minutes after I sat down an Indian woman said that the seat next to me was hers.  She was quite polite, and looked to be about twenty five.  I, being myself, began to chat with her.  What I found out was quite interesting. Her name was Mehal, and she had grown up around Cleveland (I forget which burb), and was raised in a Hindu house by her Indian parents.  She went to Marietta College, and after graduating went to travel the world, only to find the love of her life.  A British man and practicing Jainist, who she  eventually married. They settled down about an hour outside of Manchester, and she has been teaching kids with special needs for years, and just got a new job the vice principal of a special needs school.  We spent most of the flight talking about getting out of Ohio and seeing the world, and how unnatural it was for man to fly.  At the end of our flight we went our separate ways, but not after exchanging email addresses, and being told if I was ever in the area to shoot her a message. Definitely the highlight of my time between Cleveland and Dublin as the plane ride from Phillie to Dublin seemed more like a flight between watching the Celtics and the Lakers in the NBA finals again and Hell.  No leg room, couldn't slide down enough to rest my head on the seat, couldn't fold up the arm rest, couldn't sleep. It, was horrible.

As soon as I landed I ran off the plane to freedom, after a quick passport check at customs and grabbing my carry on I walked downstairs to find Jazz and Jordon waiting for me.  We sat around the airport for a few hours as people trickled in, and then around ten or so loaded the vans.  But we were still shy a few people so we went back from the parking lot to the terminal, Jazz, Caleb and I taking up the rear and talking about how we would probably miss the Iron and Wine concert the next day.  And as the rest of the crew walked in the door I looked to the side to see a bunch of guitar cases, and handful of musicians and who else?  Sam Beam. Really nice guy by the way, asked us a load of questions about why we were there, what we were doing and gave us some info on how to get to the show.

After that we rounded up the rest of the crowd hopped in the vans and drove a couple hours north to Belfast. Now the left side of the road thing, takes some getting used too.  If I was driving, I would be freaking out the whole time.  But what was interesting to me (in my at this point sleep drunken stupor) were the changes from the Republic of Ireland to North Ireland. The signs went from speeds in kilometers per hour to speeds in miles per hour, and went from every sign in Gaelic and English to no Gaelic in sight.  The country side though was green the entire way, and not just the grass, the shrubs and the trees as well.  After a brief stop at subway to grab a meatball sub and a  fanta we got to Lakeside Manor (picture coming soon).  Lakeside is a giant brick house, three stories tall and its beautiful.  The backyard has a few mild slopes down to the lake.  After dropping off our stuff we went to Tesco Super, the local super makert, to get some groceries.  Then we made dinner and had a quick meeting and then bed.  Fun filled first day. Sorry that this is atrociously written, still a little jet lagged.  More to come soon.  Much love and thanks for reading.

Oso

What Happens Across The Pond

September 7th I will be landing in Dublin, likely hopping into a fifteen passenger van or similarly large vehicle and driving up to Belfast.  For the three months following I will be living with my fellow students at Lakeside Manor, soaking up the sights, the culture and hopefully the accent.  I'll do my best to post here often on all things Irish, and let you know how and what I'm doing.  By all means become a follower, if you aren't on blogger get a profile and become a follower.  If you want to hear more about certain topics comment and let me know. Thanks for reading, I'll have a post up as soon as I get settled, and hopefully get this blog looking a little more fluid when I have a couple hours to fine tune.