As you have probably realized by now my favorite class is my Traditional Irish Music and Dance module and the tutorial that goes along with it. Last week we had a new professor begin, who is absolutely hilarious and very engaging when he teaches. As for the tutorial, we have moved on to yet another song. This time we learned a polka named "Britches Full of Stitches." For your enjoyment I have posted the video that I taped of my instructor playing the song. He begins by playing it slow, and then brings it up to the full speed that it should be played at.
Speaking of classes, with Halloween coming up this next week I wanted to share some information that I learned about the holiday in my Irish Folklore class. Did you know that Halloween is a Celtic festival and originated in Ireland? It is the festival that begins the New Year on the Celtic calendar. Samhain, or Halloween, translates to the word "November" in Gaelic. Samhain is believed to be a magical time, because it is caught in between the last year and the new year and does not belong to either. This throws everything into chaos, and the world of the dead comes closer to the world of the living. People in Ireland are actually very anxious around Samhain time. If you think about it, it becomes pretty apparent. The dead becoming active and able to cause mischief is a very unsettling thought. When it comes to trick-or-treating, the Irish had a version of it before it emigrated to the United States where it became more commercial. The people would allow strangers into their home and treat them well, because they did not want any bad luck to come to them. It was believed that any stinginess would come back to hurt them.
I was able to get a free ticket for a show at the concert hall on campus about a month ago for the play "Jonathan Harker and Dracula" that I saw on Tuesday. I really had no idea what to expect from this show, and thought it may be a movie or something like that at first. it turned out to be a one man show that was based on Bram Stoker's novel "Dracula". When I say "based on" I really mean that it was the novel. It was performed much like the way that the novel reads with excerpts from diaries, letters, and telegrams. The set was made up of three movie screens, a fainting couch, a coffee table, and a reclining chair. The screens would change when the actor went into different rooms and traveled to different locations. At times there would be other people on the screens, animals, or other animations. The actor was exceptional, and was able to successfully pull off at least ten different accents and characters. It was easy to tell when he would change to a particular character, because they each carried themselves and talked in a particular manner. I loved the show, and gained a new friend while I was there who, oddly enough, already knew almost all of my housemates.
This week was SoUL week on campus, which basically is a week filled with events that are hosted by the societies of UL. One in particular caught my attention, which was a traditional Japanese tea ceremony. When I showed up it was not exactly what I was expecting. There were about ten of us there, and the person leading it was a member of the Tea Society. He went through what type of tea is served, how it is prepared, and how to pass it around the circle. The tea is called "matcha" and is a fine powder that is combined with 90 degree celsius water. It has a thicker consistency than your typical tea and is a light green color. We each took a sip of the tea from the same bowl, turning it as we passed it. The version we tried was very delicious. After the traditional tea, we were given a cup of standard Japanese green tea to enjoy.
Saturday I headed to the City Centre of Limerick with my housemate Julia. Our first stop was the immigration office to pick up our immigration cards. I realize that I never mentioned that I had an appointment last week. I had to go to the immigration branch of the Garda station in town in order to get permission to stay in Ireland for an extended period of time. I had to provide my financial status, my health insurance information, my passport, and a letter from the university proving that I was attending courses here. After the worker looked over my paperwork I was taken into the backroom to get my fingerprints electronically scanned. They returned my passport and told me to return in a week to collect my card, which is what brought me there today.
After some shopping at Penney's (I would compare it to Kohl's) and a quick stop to the Milk Market to get a tea and a scone, the two of us headed to King John's Castle. This castle is about 800 years old, and the outside was restored to represent what it originally looked like. There are still parts of the original castle within the walls. Before entering the castle you go through a tour of what has happened since the castle was built. It turns out that the castle was ordered to be built by King John, who never actually lived in the castle. If you have ever seen Robin Hood, the King John that is represented in those movies is based on this man.
Once the history tour is done, you enter an original area of the castle. However, this section is very dark and it is difficult to see all of the stonework. Then you enter the main courtyard of the castle. Julia and I ended up going on a day that had a special Halloween event going on. This meant that there were several people dressed up in creepy costumes. One actor actually ended up coming really close to my face and touched my hair to try to freak me out. He was terrifying looking, so it definitely worked. He then lifted one of Julia's locks and wandered off. Julia had been using me as a human shield for most of our encounters with the creatures, so she was a tad freaked out. We were then able towander around the grounds, which included going up to the top towers to look out on the city of Limerick. Once we completed this part, we wandered into the area that had some information on the archeological discoveries that they have made. This section had information on several remains that were found in at a burial site, and artifacts like a woman's shoe and some pottery. It also went over how the castle was used in the last hundred years during times of war and conflict.
Fun Facts Time!:
#1: Not only do the cars drive on the left side of the road, but people usually walk on the left side of the sidewalk. People who walk on the right are probably not originally from Ireland. #2: The expiration date of food in Ireland is VERY different from that in the States. Milk, meat, and bread usually expire within a week.
#3: Gaelic and English are the national languages of Ireland. All of the signs have both English and Gaelic on them. The majority of people here speak English though.
#4: A jumper is another name for a sweater.
