holiday madness

I don't know about you, but the holiday season has hit me with all its lights, fun and stress. If you are anything like me, then you probably don't have time to read anything long. With that thought in mind, I'll just say that all the presentations I've done in the past week have gone pretty well, some better than others but, overall, I am really pleased. It was really interesting to visit three different Rotary Clubs in one week and see the similarities and differences they each had. One of my class presentations was postponed so I still have that to do tomorrow.


Here are some pictures from my trip to Northern Ireland on Sunday and Monday. I was only there for about 24 hours, including time I was sleeping, so I did not get to see too much. I definitely want to go back to Londonderry/Derry sometime to do more exploring, especially along the only intact old city wall in Europe and to visit history sites related to the Troubles.

The lights on a bridge over the river running through Derry.

The Giant's Causeway, County Antrim

These are amazing hexagonal spaced rocks along the coast.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to all my friends and family in the US! I wish I could be there to celebrate with you. All I ask is that you eat a little more of everything for me, especially the pies. : )
Cheers!

I'm legal!

I finally got my immigration card!! This is a huge relief because it has taken almost 2 months to pull together the paperwork (I finally got the bank statement last week). Now, I will be able to get back into Ireland if I decide to go on a trip. Very helpful!

Also, I finally have my pin number for my "lazer" (debit) card so I think I might be all set with all the bank stuff. Except, now I need to go change my address... Good thing I have a reason to go back to the bank because I probably would go through withdrawal if I went a whole week without going there.

Need to run - back to presentation prep.

Who doesn't love public speaking? & new apartment - Yay!

I moved into my new apartment last Thursday night and I totally love it! It has the perfect amount of space for me and, yesterday when I was doing a bunch of school work, I was able to spread out and get organized. It was great! You definitely need to come over and visit now, especially since there is an extra bed for guests. I'll post some pictures soon. It is so great to be closer to the city center and be able to walk to school, rather then being dependent on buses. Now I have a new neighborhood to explore!
I really need the space and the quiet right now because I am putting together three class presentations for this week and three Rotary Club presentations for the end of this week and beginning of next week. I have not done any presentations up to this point and somehow I ended up with 6 presentations in 9 days. My head is spinning with information about, dates and court ruling from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, the American Declaration on the Rights and Duties of Man and the American Convention on Human Rights. All this is competing for space in my brain with questions about multiculturalism, assimilation, immigrant incorporation, vulnerable populations within government cultural policies.... I could keep going but I won't. It is fascinating stuff but I don't feel like I have nearly enough time to really delve into, take in and grapple with all this information. Ahh, student life. : )

Bank update

Finally received my debit card last week and took it into the bank to activate it. Unfortunately, there is some strike or protest or something going on (not that I have seen anything about this in the newspaper) so it is going to take at least TEN business days to get me my pin number. So, I have a useless card in my wallet.
By the middle of last week, I still had not received the statement I need for my visa stuff. So, I requested another one which takes 4-5 business days. At this point, I have overstayed my passport stamp by 3 weeks.
At least they have my name and address correct now...well, except for the fact that I am moving into a new place soon....

Yay for moving in a new place though! I cannot wait to move and not wait 30 minutes or more for the bus to get home each day and to not go home to a place that smell of cigarette smoke. Yay!

Cool evening stuff

Wednesday night:
Opening of a photographic exhibit titled "Migrant Mothers & Daughters in Wales".
Cool pictures and narratives.

Thursday night:
Private tour of the National Gallery with a small group of Rotarians from the Dublin Central club, topic: “the Influence of Caravaggio and the Home Grown Masters”.
I love art! It was so great to have someone really knowledgeable about the artwork walk us through a few of the pieces in the National Gallery. Wandering through the Gallery is on my "things to do on a rainy day" list. And learning more about art and art history is definitely on my "something I want to learn more about when I have more free time" list. I am sure there is some free time in my future, really.

Friday night:
Went to see "Into the Wild" with a couple friends. Good film, powerful story. It made me think a lot about life, conviction, walking away from people who care, life cut short, .... it's worth seeing.

Traveling to the north and the south

As I think about what to write for this blog, I am looking out the window of a train at green fields made soft by low clouds and haziness as we travel swiftly back to Dublin from the city of Cork. From being in Cork this weekend to Buncrana, County Donegal last weekend, the last nine days have been a comparison in contrasts – from north to south, from rough basics to great comfort – and I was reminded of how much I enjoy the crazy variety of this world we live in.

A few weeks ago, I met an American guy from California with a fascinating story. He told me that he and a friend had spend the past three months living in a rundown farmhouse in the northernmost county in Ireland and working to restore it to livable conditions. This intrigued me and filled my mind with visions of a picturesque, old house set amidst rolling pastures along the ocean. How could I not check it out? So, another Rotary Scholar, Eddie, and I jumped on a bus nine days ago to travel three and a half hours north out of Dublin for a weekend of exploring and construction. The bus dropped us by the side of the road under the light of a full moon and we started walking – two miles along a winding road, right between an old church and cemetery, over a hill and down the other side and left on to a dirt road. Thank goodness for the full moon because otherwise we would have been completely lost! Brian had warned us but it was not until we arrived that we realized what we had really gotten ourselves into – the house was in really rough shape, even after months of work. There was no bathroom, no kitchen, no hot water, no heat in the bedroom and very little keeping the wind from blowing through the rooms. I do not remember the last time I was so cold while I tried to sleep. We spent the day on Saturday working around the house and trying to get it in order for the guys to leave it safely for a few weeks while they travel in Europe. It was a picturesque spot but there is a harsh reality in the form of cold and damp conditions with few, if any, luxuries. They recently put a small wood stove in one of the rooms and we spent our time warming up around this small source of heat as the rain poured down outside Saturday evening. Despite the discomforts, I am really glad we went there for a few days. I am also really glad it was only for a few days!

This weekend, I took a train in the opposite direction. A friend from the US was in Cork City for business last week so I took the train down at the end of last week to hang out and explore Cork and Kinsale for a couple days. Cork is an interesting city with its foundations sunk into the earth of an island in the middle of the River Lee. We meandered around the island and the surrounding area discovering colorful, fascinating buildings, restaurants, cafes and churches. Late in the afternoon, we discovered the Firkin Crane (don’t say that name too quickly), a round concert hall situated next to the Butter Museum, and impulsively attended that evening’s concert featuring a couple playing Brazilian guitar music and a man from Cameroon. It was an amazing concert! If you ever have the chance to hear Duo Siqueira Lima or Muntu Valdo, definitely go for it.

The next day, we took a bus to Kinsale, a cute coastal town that reminded me a little of Rockport. After window shopping and getting a drink from the Blue Haven café, we followed someone’s recommendation to walk southeast to a fort across the bay from the town. The ~two mile walk followed the coast past beautiful houses, restaurants and lush trees with branches shading the path.

After the frustrations of the last few weeks, it was so good to get out of Dublin for a couple weekends. Now I have vacation for a week so hopefully I will be able to finally straighten out my visa, catch up on reading assignments and start researching for the papers that are due for this term. I also have a few presentations scheduled at area Rotary Clubs so I need to put together what I am going to say at those. When I thought about being a full time student, I imagined that I would have a lot more free time than I did when I was working. I was definitely very wrong. That is not necessarily a bad thing because I definitely have not been bored since the first week I arrived.

Pictures:

1) The front yard

2) The backyard - cows and sind farm

3) The colorful streets of Cork

4) Sailboats in Kinsale Harbor

5) Standing on an old fort near Kinsale

Week five - frustration sets in

So, I know I am spoiled by the efficiency of the US systems but does it really need to take a month to open a bank account? I filled out paperwork for a bank account during the first week of October, gave them a copy of my ID from Trinity and they told me I would have an account within 7-8 business days. A week and a half later, they texted me to ask for a copy of my passport. So I go to the bank and find out that they want a lot more documentation. By the time I left, they had a copy of my passport, a copy of my acceptance letter to Trinity, an original form from Trinity stating my address and another copy of my Trinity ID. Five days later, after me showing up in the bank every day to ask about the account information they promised me, they finally call me with my account number - great! I am finally able to give them a check with all my money from my scholarship which they tell me is going to take 5-7 business days to be available in my account. This is a check in euros from another Dublin bank - why does this take so long?! Whatever, I have some cash to tide me over so all I really, really need is a statement from them that says I have money in the account so I finally can go to the immigration office to get the ID I need that allows me to stay in Ireland more than 30 days. I finally get the statement from the bank through the mail on Wednesday - except they have spelled my name and my address wrong! The immigration office will not accept this. Now, I am being told that it will take another 5 business days to get this fixed and a new statement sent to me - at which point, I will have overstayed the date stamped in my passport. They also needed another copy of my Trinity ID (seriously, don't they keep any records?). Don't get me started on the fact that I still do not have a debit card so I cannot access my money yet and I am running out of cash. If I have to, I will use my US debit card to pull money from my account in the US which means I will lose money transferring dollars to euros.
This is just one example of little frustrations I have been dealing with that, this week, I am losing patience with. I have not had internet access at my house for a week and a half so I have been using Trinity's computers. This means I cannot post pictures I have taken, I cannot download Skype or another tool like that to call any of you to catch up and I am trying to keep up with emails in between classes and reading assignments. But I am sure this is not what you want to be reading in this blog, which is one of the reasons I did not write earlier in the week. The other reason is I am just tired. I had forgotten how much energy it takes to get settled in a new place - to find the grocery stores, the good but inexpensive restaurants, the post office, bank, bus routes, etc. - and the energy it takes to make a new group of friends. (Green Cheerio Gang and others, I really miss you!)
In better news, I found a great Asian grocery store today in what will be my neighborhood in 3 weeks. Let me clarify: currently, I am living in a house in Ballinteer, south Dublin, which is a 30 minute bus ride to Trinity. Even though I like the area, the buses are not reliable so I waste a lot of time waiting at bus stops. As you can probably imagine, this is not a great situation. So, I found a great apartment on the north side of the Liffey River through a friend of a friend of a former colleague. (Thanks Gail!) This place is a 30 minute walk west of Trinity and will be available November 15th. I am not looking forward to changing locations again but I am definitely looking forward to a better commute and really nice place to myself. I also really like the north side - it is grittier, culturally more diverse and has a personality to it that I feel more at home in.
This weekend, I am heading out of town with a couple people. Hopefully, I will be in a better frame of mind after getting out of the city for a couple days. I keep trying to tell myself that, a month from now, all of these frustrations will be sorted out. Sometimes that even helps. : )
Hope you have a great weekend!

Week four – What happened to the time?

So, I finished my first week of class and I must say that we definitely did not ease into the transition. In fact, I feel like I have gone from 0 to 60 in about 2 seconds. The amount of reading that is expected in incredible and it takes over an hour every day just to track down the reading, which is chapters from different books, on order to photocopy it. In addition to just trying to get and read everything, I am feeling in over my head with the substance of the reading and class discussion. There is a ton I do not know about the construct of “race”, global human rights, linguistics and culture. So, my days have been going something like this: I get up around 7:30 every morning, try to get some reading done before class, jump on the bus to campus to attend class, grab a bite to eat with classmates, head to the library to photocopies more reading and head home to read again. It is an intense schedule and has left no room for anything else – even keeping in touch with anyone.

Sunday, I took a day off from studying and, after sleeping in a bit, read in a tour book about a footpath called Wicklow Way. It is an 80 miles path that runs from Dublin south through the Wicklow Mountains. The best part is - the footpath begins in a park that is right around the corner from my house. A friend from school, Dona, and I spent all afternoon walking and exploring this cool path. After looping through Marley Park, a huge, beautiful park fulling of families enjoying a sunny Sunday afternoon, it follows a narrow, uphill road, shaded by trees on both sides. At the top of a long slope, the trees open up to show a gorgeous view north to Dublin and the harbor.

Recent reflections while riding the bus: I never knew all the variety of stockings that were available in the world until I got to Dublin; small stripes, big stripes, bright colors, infinite patterns of lace, hearts, circles, and, occasionally, subtle, solid tones. I thought about starting to take pictures of all the variety I see every day, especially on Friday and Saturday nights, but I fear women might get slightly offended. Oh well, you will just have to come here to see for yourself.

I wish I had more to write but I must admit that I am really tired at the moment and am feeling the pressure to head to campus to start my day. Hope your life is going well!

Week Three - beach day, snapshots and classes

What beautiful weather we have been enjoying! Yesterday, I headed to Killiney Beach with some new friends who are all studying at Trinity. It was so nice to lay on the beach, soaking in the sunshine. We are all feeling like we really need to savor every moment of sun because, as we are told numerous times in a day, this is very unusual weather and it won't last. We took the Dart (train) from Dublin to Killiney then walked along the beach. Eventually, we ended up in the town of Dalkey where we found a whole foods shop that could have been picked up and moved to a town like Cambridge without changing a thing (except maybe the spelling of some of the words). It was a great day and a great weekend overall. (In the picture - Agnes from Hungary, Dona from San Fran, and Bridge from DC.)

I love when I am living life slowly enough to appreciate the unexpected things that happen each day. On Saturday evening, I was heading to my Rotary host's house for dinner with all of his family so I got the advice of other Trinity students on what I should bring as a thank you. On the advice of some second year graduate students, I ended up buying a chocolate truffle cake from a fancy, French bakery. The woman behind the counter apologized to me that she did not have any bags to put the cake in and she insisted that I must carry this cake with a hand underneath, like a waiter in a restaurant carries a large tray. Have you ever tried to get through busy city streets on a sunny, Saturday afternoon in fall carrying a cake balanced on one hand? I really kept expecting someone to knock into me and send this cake flying. And I had 3 hours to go before I headed to the dinner! Add to that image the fact that I had to pick up some school supplies. So, there I was, weaving around a small, cramped stationary store, with a heavy bag on my shoulder and a cake in one hand trying to pick up the things I needed. In the middle of this, one of the people working there and I started joking about opening the box and digging into the cake right there (being Irish, she offered to brew a cup of tea to go along with it). Well, you know me, one thing led to another, we got deeper into conversation and, before I left the shop, she had offered to store the cake for me until I headed to my train. I very happily accepted and headed back into the streets without needing to worry about a cake disaster. I did not even get the chance to really thank her because, when I went back to collect my cake, she had already headed home for the evening.
This morning, as I rode the bus to campus, I got to smile about something else unexpected that, if I had not just been watching the world go by, I would have missed. At one street, there was an older woman, dressed smartly in her long coat and red scarf, trying to cross the street to the grocery store. The bus slowed down and stopped for her, even though she was not at the intersection. To my enjoyment, as this woman make her way slowly across in front of us, she blew the bus driver a kiss. It touched me as a perfectly extravagant and wonderful way to say thanks. I think I don't blow kisses to strangers nearly often enough (don't worry, I'll be careful not to do this in any pubs : ).
Classes start tomorrow so I was in to library all day today read up on international human rights, the definition of and foundations for human rights and arguments regarding the definition of citizenship. This is just for my two classes tomorrow. I only have 12 hours of class a week but, if today's reading assignment was any indication, I am going to be quite busy doing homework in the hours I am not in class. I am a little anxious about being back in school but I am also looking forward to it. I will let you know how it goes!

Conversation overhead in the bathroom:
A: Are you alright?
B: I think so but I will ask the bartender if he has plaster. I usually have some in my purse but I forgot today.

So, remember, always carry plasters. You never know when you might need some!

Rotary District Conference, Cork, Ireland

(Written on Saturday, 29 Sept. 2007)

Ahh, a few moments of quiet, sitting in the cloudy sunshine, not shaking hands, asking or answering questions or meeting anyone new, are precious moments in the midst of a busy conference. Don’t get me wrong because it has been a great conference and I have enjoyed talking with people from the Rotary District 1160 over the last few days. I also enjoyed riding from Dublin to Cork with the president of my host Rotary club, Tony Stafford from Dublin Fingal Club, and his wife. I meet two other members of the Fingal club yesterday morning. (picture to the left)

The theme for the conference is “Ireland – The Way Forward” and I have been impressed by the candor and thoroughness with which the various speakers have spoken about the past and about current challenges facing Ireland – both north and south. The keynote speakers have been truly amazing. The most notable for me were two speakers who talked about Northern Ireland. Fergal Keane, a BBC reporter and recipient of numerous awards recognizing his work, spoke through a DVD presentation because he was unexpectedly sent to Burma at the end of last week and could not be with us in person. The power of his personality and insights commanded the attention of the room without him even being there in person. He spoke about his experiences as a reporter in Northern Ireland, the growth that has happened there and some of what still needs to be done. I was impressed by his readiness to admit how wrong he had been a few years ago when he concluded that nothing would change to bring peace. He said that he failed to give attention to the local communities and individuals who were making courageous efforts in their own ways to bring about peace and to cross lines of conflict. He also said that there is a great deal of healing that still needs to be done and that a shared narrative needs to be developed, across lines, to education the children about the truth, without it being corrupted by dogma. It makes me wonder how this might apply to neighborhoods and ongoing conflicts in the US.

Another speaker who was quite impressive was Sir Hugh Orde who has been the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) for five years. He spoke eloquently and powerfully, while a small group of people protested his presence outside the conference center, about the transformation in Northern Ireland and the efforts of everyone, not just the police force, in bring about that transformation. I was impressed by his courage to lead, to bring change and to point to others when praised for the changes that have occurred.

Courage was a theme repeated again and again throughout the conference and I was reminded that, for people here, conflict within their neighborhoods is not that far in their past. My people commented on the courage it takes to end conflict and to allow their own views and opinions to change and be changed to end violence. It has been a good lesson to me and I wonder if I would have the courage necessary if faced with similar challenges.

The funnest part of this conference has been getting to know the other ambassadorial scholars (picture to the right). There are 10 of us in Ireland, Republic of and Northern Ireland; nine who came to Ireland to study and one who just was notified of her acceptance into the scholarship program who will be heading to Africa in a year and a half. We all just met each other but I feel like the whole group has really, really clicked. From staying in the same B&B to commuting to and from the conference together to the dinner and dancing last night, we are having a great time hanging out and getting to know each other. The group of us are scattered all around Ireland but I have a feeling we are going to be visiting each other often.

Picture I promised

Here is a picture of Margaret's garden room that I was enjoying during my first day in Ireland.

Week two

Thanks for all the comments and well wishes (and the architectural information :)! It really helps me to feel connected to all of you despite the distance. I am hoping to post something new once a week but I am not sure what my schedule is going to be like once I start classes next Monday. I spent the last 4 days at the Rotary District conference and, once I can find a plug adapter that will work with my three-pronged computer cord (hopefully today), I will post my thoughts on that experience (I typed them on my computer while I was in Cork).

There is a clock tower not far from the house where I am currently staying that tolls every 15 minutes. It is probably something you would get used to after a while and not even notice. But, because of its unique toll, it catches my attention more often than not. It is not the tune that makes it unique because it is a tune I recognize, although I cannot think of the name. What makes it unique is it really sounds like a drunken Irishman is doing the ringing. It starts out okay, for about the first two notes, then the bells kind of stumble through the rest of the song, not staying in rhythm at all. It is quite funny actually. I asked someone if they were church bells and he seemed very confused by the question and could not answer. I think it might be coming from the tower at the "town hall" which is not actually a town hall at all. Go figure.
It is nice to be in a country where I can speak the same language (mostly) as the people around me. But I am not sure if it makes the change in culture any easier, although I would think it would. But is almost like hearing a song that is slightly out of tune - you know what it is supposed to sound like but it does not quite fit. Or it is like when you hear a song and think you know it but then it changes into something completely different and unfamiliar. There is a feeling of things being not quite what you know or expecting that leaves me slightly off kilter most of the time. Moving to and living in Asia was like hearing and trying to learn a song that was completely new. I knew everything was going to be very different and I expected that. Here, things look like I should know them, but I don't. It is a different type of adjusting that I am still trying to figure out.
I do think I am finally getting used to cars coming at me from the opposite side of the road than I am used to. I often find myself going back to childhood but instead of repeating "left-right-left", I need to remember the opposite and repeat to myself, before you cross the street, remember to look right-left-right. I guess it is working since I have not been hit yet.

Well, I guess I should get going with my day - pack up my stuff so I can move into my more permanent digs tonight, walk up to Trinity and meet up with another scholar named Silvia,
go shopping for things we both need to get set up, and who knows what else.

Ladies, a note in case you even visit Ireland, if someone offers you a ride, be careful of your answer. Over here, if someone is offering to drive you somewhere, they will offer you a lift. A "ride" is something completely different.

Day one - it's 4pm and I'm still awake

I landed at 5:25am this morning after a 5 1/2 hour flight during which I got spotty sleep. Everything was going smoothly until I got to the customs counter and told the woman I would be staying in Ireland for 8 months. At this point, she asked to see my acceptance letter to Trinity. I thought, oh crap, and had to tell her that all my paperwork was in my other luggage, not my carry-on. Let's just say she was not pleased but I told her that I was told by the Irish Embassy in Boston that I would be presenting that paperwork at an office in Dublin so I didn't know I needed it in the airport. I literally did not have one piece of paper or electronic documentation on me at that moment that proved that I would be studying at Trinity for the next 8+ months. After frowning at me a lot, asking me some questions about my course of study and much apologizing on my part, she finally forcefully stamped my passport, told me where to go (the immigration office in Dublin, I mean) and let me pass. The good news is my luggage was already on the belt when I got to baggage claim so I did not have to wait there at all.
After collecting my luggage, I realized I had not coordinated with Robert, my Rotary Club host counselor, where in the airport I would meet him. Luckily, there was only one exit from the baggage area and he was waiting right outside the doors with my name on a sign. His greeting was warm and sincere, despite the early hour, and truly welcomed me into Ireland. We heading to his car and the sun was starting to come up as he drove me into Dublin's center where he point out Trinity's campus to me. Because of the early hour, we decided to stop for a cup of tea/coffee before heading to the home of a friend's friend, Margaret, where I am staying temporarily while I look for accommodations.
Margaret lives in an area of Dublin called Rathmines and her home is beautiful - Georgian style with high ceilings bordered by crown molding, tall windows, and a wonderful, large garden room, with skylights, looking out on a lush garden and outdoor patio. This is where I am currently sitting as I write. It is hard to believe there is a busy street just on the other side of the 7 foot walls surrounding the garden. I will add a picture as soon as I get a chance. One of Margaret's brothers, Rory, is also here, forcing himself through the last bit of writing for his Masters thesis which is due on Monday. It is interesting foreshadowing - that is going to be me one year from now.
Margaret has been great. This morning, she took me for a walk along with her two large poodles and pointed out all the shops, buildings and directions that she thought I would need to know. Unfortunately, due to the lack of sleep and general disorientation I am currently feeling, I am not sure how much I am going to remember. This morning, Robert told me his club was meeting at lunch today and said I was welcome to join them. In my usual, over-enthusiastic manner which completely disregards reality, I told him I would love to go. Luckily, he was wiser than I was and, when he dropped me off, just said to call him later (since it was 8:30am at that time) if I felt up to going in a few hours. Let's just say, I definitely did not make it today and am glad I have the excuse of putting together this blog to stay tucked up inside for the afternoon. It feels like it is taking most of my mental energy just to stay awake and type this message. I am sure everything else I need to do can wait until tomorrow. An added benefit of sitting here, typing and drinking tea is it gives me an opportunity to witness firsthand that what people say about the weather is true - it changes constantly over the course of an hour.

My first new English word - "brolly". Can you guess what that is?