MONDAY, DAY 9
This is another combination post--we've been so busy! If college during the regular school year was this intense we simply wouldn't have the endurance for it. We're packing weeks and weeks of knowledge, experience, and conversation into what really amounts to just a few days. After class on Monday, we gathered for lunch at Neary's and then walked over to the National Gallery. While we've had many near perfect days, this was right up there. Neary's is a charming old pub with lots of character. It's not one of the old man pubs we've grown fond of, rather it's a bit more upscale and impressive with many original fixtures. When I chose Neary's for lunch, I didn't think about the fact that there might be a list of rules before you could go in. We all felt a bit of anxiety when we saw a sign that said you had to be over 21 to be inside (a rarity in Dublin) and that there was a dress code (no track suits). In other words, no students and no tourists. When we walked in, all eyes were on us--a bunch of Americans, some under 21, several with various pieces of athletic gear on. But, the server was kind and could see we were hungry and quickly sat us at a number of small, round pub tables. The lunch menu at Neary's is small, but traditional. Several of us had the ploughman's sandwich with Branston's Pickle. Once we got over the first awkward moments in the pub, we all eased into sandwiches and conversation.
After lunch, we hit the National Gallery. I was too fixated on the art to take many photos, but I did snap a few of the stained glass exhibit and a few other favorites. We all marveled at the beauty of the space and at the depth and breadth of the museum's collections. Best of all, like all of the other national museums in Ireland, admission was free. Free is really starting to grow on the students and I'm beginning to hear them say things like, "Duh, art should be accessible to everyone."
This portrait of Graham Norton had me in stitches. He's famous for his talk show, but I really love him in Father Ted.
Also, this portrait of Maeve Binchy reminds me of our last visit to Ireland.
At some point I just started taking pictures of the best parts of the paintings.
I admit that I have a soft spot for the Dutch masters. Years ago, I found this painting online and used it in a few of my writing syllabi. I had no idea Lady Writing a Letter with Her Maid lived in Dublin! In addition to its thought provoking use of light and its subject matter, the painting has an interesting history as well.
The murals focus on international social justice issues--check out the barbed wire that lines the top of the mural.
After the tour we reassembled at the Titanic Museum, then made our way even further north to the Giant's Causeway. We were all feeling pretty somber and subdued, but the gorgeous views along the way began to perk us up.
Peyton wasn't able to join us on the trip, so playing the role of Peyton is Tim--looking at that disapproving face.
This is another combination post--we've been so busy! If college during the regular school year was this intense we simply wouldn't have the endurance for it. We're packing weeks and weeks of knowledge, experience, and conversation into what really amounts to just a few days. After class on Monday, we gathered for lunch at Neary's and then walked over to the National Gallery. While we've had many near perfect days, this was right up there. Neary's is a charming old pub with lots of character. It's not one of the old man pubs we've grown fond of, rather it's a bit more upscale and impressive with many original fixtures. When I chose Neary's for lunch, I didn't think about the fact that there might be a list of rules before you could go in. We all felt a bit of anxiety when we saw a sign that said you had to be over 21 to be inside (a rarity in Dublin) and that there was a dress code (no track suits). In other words, no students and no tourists. When we walked in, all eyes were on us--a bunch of Americans, some under 21, several with various pieces of athletic gear on. But, the server was kind and could see we were hungry and quickly sat us at a number of small, round pub tables. The lunch menu at Neary's is small, but traditional. Several of us had the ploughman's sandwich with Branston's Pickle. Once we got over the first awkward moments in the pub, we all eased into sandwiches and conversation.
After lunch, we hit the National Gallery. I was too fixated on the art to take many photos, but I did snap a few of the stained glass exhibit and a few other favorites. We all marveled at the beauty of the space and at the depth and breadth of the museum's collections. Best of all, like all of the other national museums in Ireland, admission was free. Free is really starting to grow on the students and I'm beginning to hear them say things like, "Duh, art should be accessible to everyone."
After our tour of the gallery, we assembled in the gallery cafe and chatted for a bit. Tim pulled out some trivia questions and Peyton and I had a cuppa and ate chocolate cake. I think we're all struggling with the fact that we're almost half way through the program!
TUESDAY
When planning this program, there was only one excursion that I insisted on making mandatory. I knew that if we wanted students to really understand the Troubles, we had to make them as real as possible. Two years ago Peyton and I did the Black Cab Tour in Belfast. The tours are run by former members of the IRA--men who had witnessed and participated in a violent resistance movement against British colonialism. We were blown away by what we didn't know. Actually, we were ashamed to know so little about Irish history. In my course on Irish memoir, I had students read Colin Broderick's memoir, That's That, which details the tensions of being an Irish Catholic living in a country that treats you like a second class citizen. So, students were prepped with some basic history, one memoir, and a few warnings about what they were going to see. With that, we set off for Northern Ireland for the day.
Our first stop was the Black Cab Tour--we divided the students into two groups and we each got in a cab. Our cab driver spent most of his time talking about the brutality of the Royal Ulster Constabulary. At one point he whipped out an actual rubber bullet that he'd been shot with--it was much larger and more lethal looking that we had anticipated. He also talked about a botched IRA bombing that left him trapped in a pile of rubble and bodies. He broke his leg and weeks later children were still finding body parts and turning them in to the IRA authorities so they could be identified and buried with the bodies. During the tour, students had a chance to sign the Peace Wall.
Even though I've been to the Giant's Causeway before, it's hard to overstate the profound beauty of the place.
While at the Giant's Causeway, the gymnasts gave us an amazing performance by doing handstands on these impossibly small stones. Head on over to Tim's blog for more about that. Next, we drove on to the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge. At this point in the tour we're all starting to feel a bit exhausted, but we had to soldier on! This tour is not for the faint of heart (in either a physical or emotional sense).
Breathless and beat, we all climbed back onto the bus for the long ride back to Dublin. By the time we arrived I was tired, hungry, and thirsty. I will also admit that while I've done a great job of organizing our trip, I have given up control of navigation and placed Tim or Peyton in charge of getting me where I need to go--especially in terms of buses. This fact painfully asserted itself as I discovered myself on the wrong bus home and, as a result, ended up walking about a half an hour home by myself. At this point I was feeling pretty pathetic, which resulted in me having a slight meltdown when I got home and saw Peyton (at nearly 10:00 p.m.). I'm lucky that 1) I can get myself home if I need to 2) that Peyton understands me and brought me water and rubbed my feet and 3) that I get to do this thing at all.
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