Capoeira Class

In other, more recent, news, I had my first capoeira dance class tonight, and it was unbelievable! I had forgotten how much fun it really is. We spent the first hour just practicing kicks, moves, ducks and some acrobatics. We did floor exercises and stretching and I learned two new high kicks, one duck, one duck and low kick, and one high kick that turns into a hand-stand cartwheel thing. I'm still going to have to work on the last one...There were only ten of us there, including the instructor, and everyone was very nice and welcoming. There were eight guys there, one other girl, and me, and I think four of us were beginners, so it gave a good dynamic to the class. Apparently the club is very new to UCD, so its quite informal.

After practicing either on our own or in pairs, we all got into a circle and "played capoeira." This means that the leader holds a berimbaus, which looks like an archery bow that is hit with a metal rod attached to something that makes a maraca sound. Then we all clap and sing along to whatever the leader chooses. It's very simple and rhythmic. Then two people meet in the middle of the circle and begin using their moves on one another. It's sort of like dance meets martial arts, but you also get to sing and sometimes play instruments. If you want to learn more about capoeira the Wiki page is very helpful. Below I am including a video of what capoeira can look like when it is done well and by masters:

That's about all for tonight I think. Tomorrow I head off on yet another adventure. This trip is with the Ireland and UK kids from my home university, and I think there are only like eight of us going. We will be headed to stay in Carna, in county Galway out on the West coast, and will have all of Saturday and Sunday morning full of planned activities. I'm excited, and I have so much to do before I leave! I will try to give updates on twitter if I have internet access, but I might be technologically quiet until Sunday or Monday. Have a great weekend everyone, I know I hope to! Once again, thanks for reading!

Corcaigh agus Bhlarna- Cork City and Blarney (day 2 & 3)

The second day of my weekend, Saturday, I spent the majority of the day in the city Blarney, about a half hour outside of Cork by bus. I hopped on the bus in the morning, and got there shortly after the park opened. I didn't get to see much of the town of Blarney, just the main street of pubs and shops leading from the bus stop to Blarney park and castle. The grounds were just beautiful! Although there definitely weren't the trees that we have at home, the gardens and few trees were gorgeous with the fall colors. I think here is probably a week or so ahead of home, although it seems like maybe the yellow leaves just last longer. Once I paid for my ticket to get in, of course the first thing I did was head up to the castle to kiss the Blarney stone! As an art history student, I loved seeing the castle and imagining all the rooms and how they were decorated or used. I also even braved the tight spiral staircase going up to the top that was jammed with people! Not my favorite thing in the world- the ceiling caved inwards the farther up you went.

When I got to the top I asked the people behind me in line to take my picture, and they did a great job! When I got up there, there was a mat to sit on, and you had to skooch your butt up to the end of the wall, and then grab onto the bars behind you. There is even a man who sits there to guide you back and clean the wall after each kiss. I did it really quick, and I shut my eyes because I was terrified of looking down. You all tell me, my writing and eloquence any better? Haha.

I spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around the gardens and grounds. I even saw what was called a "Poison Garden" that had all poisonous plants, but was very pretty! That evening I spent out around town in Cork again. The next morning it was just pouring. I had planned to do some things around Cork but most of them were outdoor things, so I had to rearrange my schedule a bit. I did, however make it over to where the Cork harbour used to be and briefly saw the outside of St. Finn Bar's cathedral. There was a service going on at the moment, so I wasn't allowed inside, but I reveled in being able to identify saints and calendar scenes and  motifs in the three portal entrances.

I also had the privilege of visiting the Cork Butter Museum. Yes, a Butter Museum! It was actually one of the highlights of my weekend. I met the sweetest Irish old man, who had an accent so thick I could only catch about one in every seven words. my favorite moment was when he was starting a movie for me, and I'm the only one in the museum. He turns to go back to the front desk, turns back and says "Oh, and if you want to take pictures, please do!" He seemed so delighted to have someone come enjoy his small museum, it was fantastic. I think the only thing that would have made that little place even better is if they had slices of toast with Kerry Gold (Irish) butter waiting for you on the way out.

By the time I was done with all my rainy-day activities, I still had about two hours until my train, but I figured I'd pick up my overnight bag from the hostel and leisurely head over to the station. It started out well but after about an hour of walking and getting increasing unsure of the route, I finally found someone along the road who I asked for directions. She looked at me like I had just walked to Ireland from New York, and told me I was going the wrong way. Thankfully she gave me a shortcut that turned out to be immensely helpful, but I was really glad that I had left myself all that extra time. By the time I walked back and headed down the right road, I had about 10 minutes to wait at the station before my train arrived. For all those who don't know many of my travel stories, this is a common occurance. I'm always doing ridiculous things that take me as far away from my destination as possible, but somehow I still always get to the places I really need to be on time (thankfully)!

Anyways that was my weekend in Cork. I will post photo's on Picasa, which means they will show up as a slideshow on the right-side panel of this blog, or in more full screen if you click on that image on the right. I will also post a link to the photos on twitter and facebook. I'd like to let everyone know as well that I have changed the comment format because I heard there were some issues with that, so now everyone should be able to send me a nice warm hello! Also, I have to give a shoutout to my cousin Amy, who has listed my blog on her site Phollowing the Phillips! You can check out her blog and read about her family's fun activities and for photos of her adorable kids! That's about all I have about my weekend, so thanks for reading, and don't forget to leave a comment! :)

Chéad Dé Sathairn- My first Saturday

Maidin mhaith- good morning! It is a rainy (albeit sunny) Saturday morning here, just outside Dublin. I haven't even been here a week, and already I've gone from wearing a long-sleeved shirt, sweatshirt, jacket and scarf, to wearing just the shirt, and rolling up the sleeves! And until this morning, I thought I had figured out that rain showers typically came around 4 or 5 in the afternoon. I guess I'll need more than five days to figure it out.

That said, so far I have been able to figure out UCD's campus pretty easily, as well as the bus system into City Centre and to various stores. So far there has been a lot of scheduled activities to do on campus, which has been a lot of fun. There's been a ton of free food (always a plus!) as well as live music, Irish dancing in the Student Club, free stuff (I've gotten a scarf, a USB drive, packaged food, coupons, pamphlets, pens, etc.) and many speakers who've been very kind and welcoming. We even heard a short speech by the Head of the American Studies Department, who reiterated that we are all ambassadors representing both countries, and finished by saying that he wanted us to feel both welcomed and cherished. It was very sweet.

Well, today is my first unscheduled day- I really have nothing on at all. So I will attempt to explore the area just beyond campus, see what's around. I expect my two missing roommates might move in today or tomorrow. Although I've very much been enjoying the freedom of adjusting to Dublin with no responsibilities, I'm looking forward to next week, when things start to get into gear and I can form more of a routine or at least a clear picture of what my weeks will entail. I had signed up for some very interesting classes before I came over, but we were just told about two classes that are being offered that sound incredible, and so, of course, I'm using the first drop/add week of class to shift around my schedule. I really hope I can get into the classes, because not only do they sound exciting, they would make my school week a 3 day week, with Mondays and Fridays off so I could travel a bit more. I'll be sure to let you know about what classes I'm taking once I get them all settled.

Ok, I am going to go eat breakfast now and then go explore for a bit. It looks like the rain has just about stopped. Sorry for the two-day break in posts- I caught a bit of a cold- but I will continue to post about any adventures I find myself on and anecdotes I think are interesting. And of course, I'll take more pictures! Hopefully, I'll have some later today.

Let me know if you want to know more about something (or, I suppose, less about something) and be sure to stop by the comments and say hi! At the very least, look out for a good post on Sunday about the USA-Ireland rugby match that I'll be watching that morning. Should be grand! :)

One more thing I forgot- if you're on twitter, check out the hashtag #CelticCapers for all my tweets while I'm here!

Thanks for reading!