Archeology, Essays, and the Cork Jazz Festival

It's been a long time since my last post, but not too much has happened in the past week or so.

Last Saturday I went on a field trip with my archeology class to a few sights around Dublin. First was an ancient monastic site and church in Kildare. We then stopped at an ancient burial ritual site and lastly an unfinished castle. It was pretty cool. The professor was very passionate about archeology, which was refreshing, but I can't say that I have found a new calling in the field. Unfortunately I didn't bring my camera so I don't have any pictures.

The rest of the week was pretty much dedicated to finishing a history essay on total war in the world wars. I played soccer on Tuesday evening, and took an unlucky hit to a sensitive area. On Thursday I submitted the essay then went to a small party at a friend's apartment and met some more people from Ireland, Scotland, and the States. Then I went to the student bar to hang out with some friends from Canada, and I also met two more American girls.

On Friday I left for Cork with the UCD Jazz Society to go to the Cork Jazz Festival. Now, I was told beforehand that we would be getting tickets to see Snarky Puppy and the Mingus Big Band. To my utter dismay, I found out that those plans fell through, so I missed two of the great actual jazz groups of the festival. I say actual jazz groups, because apart from maybe one or two performances, no group I heard played any traditional jazz music. I probably should have seen that coming though...jazz is the American musical art form, so to think I could find it live in Ireland may have been a bit farfetched. Along with this disappointment, there was more to come, but I'd like to focus on the positives. Friday we saw the Hot 8 Brass Band, who I've seen before online and in a movie. They were amazing, and afterwards, I was able to talk football with one of them for a few minutes which was pretty cool.

On Saturday I went to a masterclass-like session held by the Berklee Global Jazz Institute. It was pretty good, but nothing that I hadn't heard before. Then I saw the Pat Elgart Band, which is basically a group of really, really old guys, but they were great, especially for their age. They played some old swing tunes, and at one point, Pat Elgart played a tea pot using his trumpet mouthpiece. It was...interesting. Later that night we had a small jam session at our hostel, but seeing as not a lot of people could bring instruments, it didn't really amount to much. The main event that night included a fantastic performance by the New York Brass Band. Then the night ended with a performance by a swing band called the Swingin Bluecats.

Sunday was okay. I had a late morning, but I eventually met up with everyone else for some food and small performances around town, including a Spanish guitar duo and an oldies rock band. We also saw a performance of one of the Jazz Society members, which was really good. After some dinner, we saw Jaime Nanci and the Blue Boys. They were pretty good for the most part. Jaime Nanci was very talented and it made for an interesting performance. Then today we took the bus back to Dublin, and after arrival we got some lunch at a Chipotle-like burrito place.

Coming up this week...Dublin city walking tour with my Irish Studies class, possible Halloween party, and maybe going to Belfast this weekend. Should be a good week. Here are some pictures from the weekend in Cork...despite having my camera on me, I didn't find a lot of opportunities to take good pictures, and Cork isn't exactly picturesque. Check out the Pictures link here or the bar above to see all the photos.

Hot 8 Brass Band

Not really sure what this was, but had to take a photo

Pat Elgart playing a teapot...

The Merry Ploughboy

This week has been pretty hectic for me. I had a sociology essay due on Wednesday, so I was doing a lot of reading and writing. As a break from all that work, I went to play soccer on Tuesday and met another American student from Vermont, and some Irish students which was good craic. Now that the sociology essay is done, I have a history essay due next Friday, and so I have a lot more reading and writing to do this weekend and into next week...it's going to be a busy weekend.

But last night, to get away from the stress of school work, I went with other study abroad students to a pub called the Merry Ploughboy. The in house band played us some Irish songs, and then there were some traditional Irish dancers as well. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera, so I don't have any pictures, but overall it was a great show. The music was pumping and the dancers were extremely talented. I also tried a beer called Kilkenny which was like a light beer without the carbonation, which I enjoyed. It was a grand time, with some great craic.

One thing I'm not too happy about that happened recently, though, was the new Irish budget. A few days ago, there was some referendum or something passed regarding the government's budget, and as a result, alcohol prices went up. So that pint of Kilkenny cost me just over 5 euro (just under 7 dollars). So needless to say, I'm not going to be buying too many more drinks when I go out anymore. I mean, Ireland was already expensive, and now this happens. Oh well, I guess this will teach me to be more frugal.

This weekend I have a field trip for my archeology class. I'm not too sure what to expect. We don't really know where we're going, or what we're doing once we get there. It'll be an adventure.

A Day in Dun Laoghaire

This weekend I planned to go to Kilkenny, Ireland. Unfortunately, I couldn't find anyone to go with me, and before I could book a hostel to go by myself, it was too late. All the affordable hostels were full for the weekend. So no Kilkenny...

It was probably for the best though. I have a Sociology essay due on Wednesday, so I had a lot of time to do the reading and start an outline. So what did I do this week? It was actually a pretty relaxed week, just going to class, grocery shopping, and homework. On Thursday, I got an email from my adviser back home who gave me the contact info for a student who's coming to UCD in the spring. What shocked me in that email was that it was sent to another person as well. I thought I was the only UIC student here, but it turns out there's one more.

Apart from that, nothing else has happened. Today however, I organized a small trip with some friends to go to a Dublin suburb called Dun Laoghaire (pronounced Dun Leary). It's a nice town right on the coast. When we first got there, we walked along the long pier, stopping along the way for some photos. Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate with us. It was windy and nippy the entire time.

A view of the southern coast from the pier

A view of the neighboring town of Sandymount. The round tower in the middle is the basis of the opening scene in James Joyce's Ulysses. We wanted to go see it, but it was a pretty far walk...another time.

 

 Our group on the pier

A long view of the pier, with Howth (another Dublin suburb) in the background

A view of Dun Laoghaire from the end of the pier

After walking up and down the pier, we were going to go to the James Joyce museum in the tower, but it was a pretty far walk, and we were feeling very cold. So we decided to walk around the town, and we came across the weekly market in a small park called People's Park. There were a bunch of stands selling jewelry, kids' toys, pottery, photographs, and art. It was kind of like a flea market. There were also stands for all kinds of food, from pizza to fried noodles, and falafel to irish barbeque. There was also a farmer's market where you could get all sorts of fruits and veggies. We walked around there exploring all the different tents. I stopped at a fudge stand and bought some "Hot Irishman" flavor fudge (made with whiskey and coffee), which was beyond delicious! I also decided to get a falafel sandwich for my lunch, which was also delicious.

A view from the entrance to the market...it was pretty awesome!

After walking around the market for a while, we left and walked around the rest of the town. We stopped in a thrift store for a few minutes, and took some pictures of the churches and along the coast. We then hopped on the bus back to UCD. Overall, it was good craic, and we all had a great time. We'll definitely have to go back again to try more food at the market, and maybe get to the James Joyce museum. Here are some more photos (check the Pictures tab for all my pictures).

Of course, as we were leaving, the clouds broke, and the sun came out...why does Ireland hate us?

Yes, Oh My God!!!

Today was pretty cool. It started out normal, but it got way better. I went to Jazz Society today, and it was again one of those beginner sessions, so I was really bored. But...at the end, they started talking about the Cork Jazz Festival. I signed up to go with the society (85 euro for three nights stay and tickets...pretty good deal!). I found out that the main tickets we got were to see...wait for it...

THE MINGUS BIG BAND!!!!!!!!!!

and...

SNARKY PUPPY!!!!!!!!

Basically when I found out, it was like when the beat drops in this song (you can skip to about 33 seconds to hear it, but the effect is better if you listen from the beginning)...

So, needless to say, I'm pretty pumped to go to Cork. Not even the stupid heavy metal guitar player in Jazz Society today could bring me down (seriously though, the guy was playing heavy metal music while he soloed on "So What"...who does that?)

Here's some Mingus Big Band and Snarky Puppy tunes. Enjoy!

Tourist Weekend

First, I'd like to say thank you to everyone reading my blog. It looks like yesterday we hit 1,000 pageviews, so thank you all!

And now...back to Ireland...

The past two days were a big blur of tourism for me. On Friday, my friend from my Scout troop back home, who is studying abroad in Rome, came to visit me with two girls from his college. So the first thing I did was meet him and one of the girls at their hostel, near Trinity College. We went to KC Peaches for lunch, then came back to UCD to buy tickets for the Guinness Brewery. Afterwards we went back into the city center to north of the river for Dublin's Ocktoberfest. The place was at George's Dock. They had a bunch of tents set up, with music, dancing, beer, etc. It was a pretty fun time. After that we went to a bar called the Grand Central. It was quiet at first...until a bachelor party from the UK walked in. It was quite a site to see. The groom was wearing a red, woman's flight attendant uniform, and was sufficiently drunk. They continued to play drinking games, and having an overall great time. They even gave us an email address for us to tell them the things they did, as they weren't planning on remembering the night. Then we met the last friend at the hostel, and went to the Temple Bar. After some time there, we dropped off the friends at the hostel, and then my friend and I went back to UCD to make some grilled cheese (yum!) then go to sleep.

Saturday was another day of tourism. After arriving at the hostel to pick up the girls, we began our walking journey through Dublin to get to the Guinness Storehouse. Along the way, we stopped at Dublin Castle, which was the seat of British Rule in Ireland.

The castle almost seems to be fake against the sky doesn't it?

There was some event going on with a tent and cameras, so they blocked the brick pattern on the grass.

After the castle stop, we continued until we happened upon Christ Church Cathedral, where we stopped to snap some photos. We didn't have time to go in, so I'll have to come back. We also walked through a street market, where you could get 9 bananas for one euro (is this real life?). We also saw a very cool looking church called St. Augustine's.

Christ Church Cathedral

When taking this picture I remember thinking again, that the church doesn't look real against the sky.

St. Augustine's...couldn't get a proper picture of the front without cutting the view in half.

Inside of St. Augustine's...quite a site to see.

We then arrived at the Guinness Brewery, which was quite an experience. It started with seeing the original 9,000 year lease Arthur Guinness signed in 1759.

Outside the entrance

 The 9,000 year lease...he really knew what he was doing

 Then we walked through an exhibit of how the different ingredients (barley, hops, water, yeast) are used. After that they had different exhibits on old Guinness memorabilia and commercials.

There's a commercial where a guy sits on a bench looking at the foreground guy, so we tried the picture...didn't really work.

We stopped at one of the cafe's for some lunch, then did the traditional activities at the brewery. We started with going to the top of the pint glass shaped building to the Gravity Bar for 360 degree views of Dublin. After that, we went to learn to pour the perfect pint of Guinness (there are 6 steps). First you obtain a cool, dry, Guinness pint glass. Then you hold it at a 45 degree angle. Pull the tap forward and fill the glass until the level reaches the Guinness name, then level out the glass until the beer reaches the harp. Let the Guinness settle, then push the tap forward to slowly fill up the rest of the glass so the foam head rises just above the rim of the glass.

Apparently it takes 119.5 seconds to properly pour a pint of Guinness.

Filling up at a 45 degree angle.

First part of the beer settling, developing the foamy head (mine is the one on the left).

My finished pint with the head above the rim. It looks brown, but it's in the process of settling.

Fun fact about Guinness: Despite looking black, it is actually a ruby red color. If you hold it up to light properly you can see it. It was after pouring the pint that my camera's memory was full, so no more pictures unfortunately. After pouring the pints, we met up with some more friends from Rome who were at the brewery and had our pints. We then went to the gift shop, which had just about everything you can imagine. I would have gotten something, but we already have Guinness glasses at home, and I didn't have a use for any of the other stuff they had there. It was still cool to see all the stuff you could get with the Guinness brand name on it.

After leaving Guinness, our group of four split into two's, as my friend and one of the girls wanted to go to Trinity to see the Book of Kells. I went with the other girl and walked to Grafton street, where we stopped at Burger King for a quick bite and watched/listened to some very talented street performers. We then met back up with the group and walked around the Grafton street area looking for a place to get traditional Irish food. But, as Dublin is an international city, this proved fruitless, so we ended up at a restaurant called Captain America's. We then stopped at the Porterhouse Central pub, as I wanted them to try their Plain Porter. Then, after such a long day, we finally called it quits and my friend and I went back to UCD.

My friend left this morning for Galway, so now I'm just doing homework and getting ready for this week. Coming up I have pick up soccer and an open mic night on Tuesday, and possibly some jazz on Wednesday. Hopefully I can get a group together this week to go into the city center and hang out. Overall, a pretty good touristy weekend.

Math and Science...How I Miss You

Not much going on during this week. On Monday, my friend's boyfriend came to visit, so our group hung out at her apartment then went to the student bar for some craic. I met some more people, particularly some girls from Purdue who know someone from my high school...small world. Also met two girls from New Zealand, which was awesome. Then at the clubhouse (student bar) I tried a beer called Fosters, which is Australian.

Tuesday was pretty fun too. I don't have classes, so I did my usual errands of grocery shopping and cleaning up around the apartment. Then I went and played pick up soccer with my friend from Syracuse and random students. It was a hell of a lot of fun, but most of them had indoor flats, and all I had was my everyday running shoes. Needless to say, with sub par gear, and having not played soccer in almost 7 years, I was pretty bad. It was still good craic. The only downside was that when I got back to the apartment for a shower, we had no hot water. Thankfully we figured out how to fix it and took care of it.

On Wednesday I had my first seminar section for my sociology class. A few things I noticed: A lot of Irish students have terrible handwriting...like worse than mine, and I'm going to be a doctor. Also, I absolutely cannot understand their accent when they get to talking really fast. I was lost for a good portion of the class. Lastly, I realized I may have not fully thought out what it would be like stepping completely away from math and science. I mean, like, reading long texts and writing essays? What are these things? I miss reading math/science texts around which I could wrap my mind. Right now, I have a sociology essay due in two weeks, and a history essay due in three weeks. Just to do these essays, I'm going to have to do loads of reading on top of all the reading I have to do just to keep up with the class...(feeling stressed).

Today, was a pretty usual day. Just going to class and such. However, I just got back from a talk/seminar/lecture hosted by the Math Society. It was about a day in the life of a statistician in academia. The speaker told us about the different projects she works on, highlighting the breadth of her work, and what kinds of things it entails. Some of it went a little over my head, but it was still very interesting.

Tomorrow my friend from my Scout troop back home comes to Dublin for the weekend, so I'll be busy doing tourist stuff. I'll update about the weekend later.