Leisurely Sunday

Sundays seem to call for rest and relaxation, so Peter and I planned a low-intensity day. Early this morning I did some sorely needed grocery shopping. Unfortunately, the cheap grocery store doesn't have everything I need, so I need to walk a little further to the more expensive grocery store tomorrow to get some basics, like cream of chicken soup and broccoli.

We took the bus to the National Botanical Gardens. It was a nice day, so it was a good place to walk around. And most importantly: It was blissfully free of admission. I most enjoyed the rose garden because of the many varieties and colors, and the lovely smells. There were also some impressive greenhouses.
We stayed in town to see our early evening performance of Hibiki, a Butoh dance piece. I did a tiny bit of Butoh in the Youth Shakespeare Workshops when I was younger, so I felt that I could at least relate to the piece. At first I had trouble staying awake because the nature of Butoh is very slow and precise and requires rapt attention - and I was dead tired from all of the stuff I've done this weekend. However, I pinched myself awake and really enjoyed the rest of the show. Good thing too, because I paid enough for the tickets.

Tomorrow is another day of class and running errands. I'm also pulling together the details for our weekend in Galway and The Aran Islands (next weekend.) I hope that everybody has a pleasant week.

Musical Dublin

This is a clip from the Dublin Musical Pub Crawl. (I apologize for the poor visual quality, but it's mostly for the audio so that my Dad can hear it.) It was, unquestionably, the best experience I have had in Dublin yet. Two musicians lead us around Dublin to a few pubs and played music at each one. In between songs, they told the story of Celtic music and explained the instruments, rhythms, and history. The banjo player was spectacular. He is a Bela Fleck disciple, and his skill was totally amazing. It helped that he was also young and handsome. After the pub crawl, the banjo player suggested a pub to go to with a good traditional music session. We went there, and it was awesome. The whole place was jam packed with people, and I think most of the musicians were related to the banjo player. They were great though! I looked up his band and they play in Temple Bar on Saturdays and Sundays, so I will definitely be going out there to hear more, and hopefully buy some music.

Although the pub crawl certainly trumped everything else we have done for the past few days, I'll be sure to tell you all about that too. On Thursday, we went to the Dublin Writers Museum.
Also, this Georgian ceiling in the museum was designed by the famous Irish architect Michael Stapleton:

It was interesting and useful because a lot of the information helps me understand the background of the plays I'm reading for my Irish Contemporary Drama class, but overall the museum was a bit dull. I mean, what can you put in a writer's museum? Old books in a case? A pen that they used once? The exhibits were by no means exhilarating. However, it is interesting to note that so many famous writers came out of Ireland: G. Bernard Shaw, Oscar Wilde, Bram Stoker, W.B. Yeats, J.M. Synge, Samuel Beckett, and the list goes on and on. How do so many talented people come from an island smaller than the state of Indiana? It's something in the air. Probably the cigarette smoke. (Just kidding. But the smell of cigarette smoke in this city is permeating all of my clothes and driving me mad.)

On Friday morning Peter and I took the train to Malahide to tour Malahide Castle.
It was nice, but not what we expected. I think Peter was hoping for ancient ruins of a majestic castle, while I was hoping for dungeons and high towers with princesses draping their hair out the window and dragons roaring in the courtyard. Well...not quite. The castle was a small castle, and it had been lived in until the 1970s, so it was modernized. Still impressive, but not really what my imagination had been cooking up on the train ride there. The best part of the visit was playing in the woods around the castle.
During our woodland frolic we noticed a sign stating that the woods had recently been treated for a rat infestation and were poisonous. So, we probably shouldn't have crawled around in there. But I feel fine today so hopefully I won't die of poisoning.

Today we are going to probably stroll around the city a bit, and then go to two shows. The first is a matinée of Bistouri at The Ark. It is a children's show that I am seeing as part of my Irish Youth Theatre independent study. Then, tonight, Peter and I got last minute tickets to see The Reduced Shakespeare Company in Dun Laoghaire. We're really excited! We're both huge fans of Reduced Shakespeare and their brand of highly physical, goofy, satirical comedy.

Just a tidbit as I work on my homework

Irish Theatre Magazine describes the experience of going to the theatre:

"...spending two hours in a darkened room where some of the people are loudly pretending to be other people."

An Irish Insult

"You're about as handsome as a pile of manure and half as useful."

(Courtesy of the Dublin Writers Museum)

Mid-Week Lull

I haven't posted the past two days because I have done nothing worthy of posting about. I have been reminded of things that I miss and things that I like, though.

I really miss microwave popcorn, particularly kettlecorn in the little individual serving bags. That is my favorite snack, and when I pop it in the small bags, I am never tempted to eat three servings of popcorn all at once.

I love public transportation and being able to get anywhere by a combination of tram, bus, and feet. The other day I took the LUAS into town and completed a little shopping for necessities in the morning and got back home in plenty of time to change and have lunch before class. How useful! I was able to purchase and send a handful of postcards, so look out for some mail!

For class on Tuesday we went to the National Gallery to look at art. I'm still not quite clear on how this fits in with what we're doing in class, but I don't really get this particular class (Devising). The paintings pictured above are both by Jack Yeats, Ireland's most prized painter. I particularly enjoyed the paintings in the current Yeats exhibition, because they all related to circus/carnival/masquerade themes. My favorite painting was called The Fisherman's Mother and was an intimate and beautiful portrait of an elderly woman. I bought a postcard print of it.

This morning I was determined to go to the Irish Museum of Natural History. Peter and I stopped at Bewley's Oriental Cafe for chai tea to warm our chilled faces and fingers, then proceeded to the museum right outside of Merrion Square. IT WAS CLOSED. Indefinitely. I was so upset. I had really been excited to see this museum. So, we walked on Nassau St. and visited all of the tourist shops. We found the Blarney Woolen Mills outlet, which sells relatively inexpensive fishermen's sweaters. I also found a great store that sells Irish woolen scarves and tweeds. However, the museum closure made me really sad and cranky and I was kind of in a bad mood all day as a result - irrational, I know, but it just really started my day on a sour note. So, to the detriment of others, I was being a glummypuss for the rest of the day. I'm feeling better now, mostly because the psuedo stir fry Peter and I made for supper was really tasty.

Tomorrow I'm going to the Dublin Writers Museum (if it's open. I'll call ahead this time!) We don't have class until 4:30 PM tomorrow, so I'm going to maximize the day and do a little sightseeing before class. It's Movement class, so I can bank on my muscles being achy and sore again for the weekend. Our teacher really works us, and at first I dreaded going to that class, but now it's getting more fun. I'm feeling very comfortable with the rest of the group and they're all very nice, intelligent people to work with.

Conversation at Powerscourt

Clerk: And what part of the world are you from, Miss?

Brianna: The States.

Clerk: Hmmm...can't see it, can't hear it. What part of the States?

Brianna: Wisconsin. It's in the midwestern region.

Clerk: Is it flat there?

Brianna: Some parts.

Clerk: It must be one of those regions where you develop a normal accent then because I certainly can't tell you're from there.

Powerscourt Gardens

We were blessed with another absolutely beautiful day as we embarked on our trip to Powerscourt House & Gardens. We took the DART train again, then a bus from the DART station in Bray to Powerscourt. The trip there was very simple, no problems.

As soon as we arrived on the estate we could see this was going to be a beautiful stroll. The avenue leading up to the mansion was perfectly groomed, and the trees were spectacular. I will post more pictures later if I find the time. I took a lot of lovely photos. The mansion itself was spectacular, but sadly, none of the period furnishings are left. The mansion was redecorated and restored in the early 1970s (at a cost of millions of dollars). The day that the new decor was revealed in 1974, an accidental fire destroyed the entire central block of the mansion and gutted everything - including the millions of dollars worth of decor. Restoration has only just begun again. So, no fancy rooms to tour today. But the gardens were left intact and lovely!

First were the Italian Gardens, which were picturesque and full of marble sculptures. Peter and I liked them, but felt a little uneasy, because they were so manicured that there was something unnatural about them. They looked like the gardens in Alice in Wonderland. I expected the Red Queen to come screaming out of nowhere, swinging a croquet mallet.

Next were the Japanese Gardens. Also very manicured, but a little more natural looking. The path from the Japanese Gardens lead to these amazing moss covered stone arches. The twin arches are pictured above. These were, in my opinion, the best part of the estate. It was like something out of the Redwall novels I used to read as a child (Pete thought it would be the perfect sort of home for a hobbit).

We wandered the paths of the estate a while more and encountered more neat trees and the Walled Gardens (lots of lovely flowers, beautiful rose bushes!) and then left the estate. It was a 30 minute walk back into town to get lunch. We ate at Poppies Country Cooking. The food was quite good. However, after waiting in the sun for 2 hours for the bus, enduring the bumpy and awful bus ride back, and then sitting through an extra long DART ride due to mechanical problems, our stomachs were rumbly and unhappy. This is what happens when you eat a rich Irish meal and then travel on country roads.

Because of our grumpy digestive systems, we had plain pasta for supper and then went to see Grounded at The Ark. It was a really interesting production that used ropes and aerial circus type tricks in the choreography/blocking. It will certainly be good fodder for my independent study.

Hurling, Tarts, and Guinness

Today was a lovely day, despite the dreary weather that began it. I finally got some wear out of my raincoat (which, Peter says, makes me look like a Beatle.) We departed early for the Gaelic Athletic Association Museum at Croke Park Stadium. It was a really neat experience because it chronicles the history of the three Gaelic sports: Gaelic football (similar to soccer, but allows certain pick-ups and hand throws), Hurling (which is so violent and awesome to watch, it's completely terrific) and handball (which is racquetball without any paddles. Seriously. They just whack balls against the walls with their bare hands. The Irish are so hardcore.) Historically, the GAA has been very involved in Irish nationalist endeavors, and I thought that was well chronicled in the museum exhibits. They have even gone so far as to ban GAA members from playing non-Irish sports, including Rugby. That ban no longer exists, but you can certainly still see the ferocious sense of pride that accompanies these uniquely Irish sports.

The coolest part of the museum was the "try it out" room where you got to try Gaelic football and hurling. As you will see in Image 4, Peter tried hurling and loved it. We went to Elvery's Sports Shop and he bought a hurling stick and ball to bring home. They're pretty sweet, and I'm thinking about bringing home a set for myself because it's an awesome souvenir. Anyway...the stick didn't quite fit in his backpack, and he carried it around sticking out for the entire day. As shown in Image 2, he mastered the reach-back-and-grab maneuver in case we were mugged. We were not. He was slightly disappointed that he did not get to defend himself with his hurling stick.

After the GAA Museum we went to Queen of Tarts, an adorable and TINY restaurant in Temple Bar. My housemates had eaten there earlier this week and recommended it highly, and I had read about it on some online forums. It was arguably the best meal I have had in Ireland (right up there with the Irish beef & Guinness stew.) I had a red pepper and goat cheese savoury tart, served with ciabatta bread and salad with dijon dressing, followed by a chocolate pear tartlet. The first picture of this post is my look of sheer delight as I enjoy my meal. Peter had a different savoury tart, and the Apply Crumble tartlet for dessert. I had a bit of his, and even though my tartlet was great, he made the better choice.

After that (very filling) lunch we trudged to another bus stop to head to the Guinness Storehouse & Brewery. Except...we got on the bus going the wrong direction, so we got a nice hour-long tour of a lovely residential area of Dublin. Eventually we got to where we wanted to go. The Storehouse had a spectacular museum describing the brewing process and the history of Guinness. The most enjoyable parts were watching the television ads for Guinness throughout the years - some of them were so hilarious. We also learned about all of the ingredients used to give the stout its unique flavor, and sampled some roasted hops. The tour also takes you through a tasting lab where you can try the latest Guinness brand beers (today it was a lager) and finally you end up in the Gravity Bar where you get your free pint of Guinness. I picked up recipes for beef and Guinness stew (which I will make for my family when I get home) and also Guinness cake (which I think I might make for my housemates when we have our Christmas party here). In the third picture you can see me lovingly hugging a Guinness keg before it makes its way down the conveyor belt. When you buy your ticket to the Storehouse you get a neat souvenir - a tiny clear globe with a drop of Guinness encased in the center.

Peter and I were exhausted when we got home so we made the very simple and very delicious Baked Chicken and Rice that I relied on when I lived in Door County. It's great - dump rice, cream of chicken soup, water, salt, pepper, and chicken breasts into a pot. Cover it. Stick it in the oven for an hour. Eat. Warm, tasty, comforting, and easy to clean up. We shall be making it again soon. On Sunday I think we will attempt a cheesy veggie pie.

I purchased a 30 day pass for the LUAS (Dublin light rail system) and Dublin Bus. So far, it has proven very useful. I paid 68 euro for unlimited rides on both the LUAS and Dublin Bus. Considering that I have been riding one or the other at least once a day, it was a smart investment.

I hope that you all are well!

Towel Chicken Arrives in Ireland

Bad News for Me, Good News for the Euro

This article appeared in the Irish Times this morning:

Euro hits record high against dollar

The euro struck a record high against the dollar this morning, extending gains after the Federal Reserve's deep half percentage-point cut in interest rates earlier this week sparked a broad sell-off in the US currency.

The euro climbed to $1.3997 on electronic trading platform EBS, the highest since the launch of the single European currency in 1999 and just shy of the psychologically important $1.4000 level.

That means everything gets more expensive for me. Yikes! However, the pound is dropping, which will ease the strain on my wallet during my trip to London in late October.

My First Theatre "WOW"

Years of learning about theatre and being taught to analyze everything have made me a sour theatre-goer. I criticize everything because I have been trained to do so. I can enjoy parts of a show, but rarely is there a time when I can sit back and say I loved a performance...except for last night.

We went to go see Pilgrims of the Night last night at Project Cube. It was part of the Dublin Fringe Festival. The show was, without exception, entertaining, funny, and touching. Hilarious and thoughtful. Excellent. The venue was small and the stage was cluttered, but I adored it. It even had a zombie dance...beyond words, really.

The show itself is a modernized version of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. All of the actors were talented and engaging. We were sitting so close to the stage (practically in the playing space) and I was touched by not one, but two of the actors. There was an empty seat next to me, and one actor sat next to me and nudged me as he winked. Then, later, another sat next to me and patted my leg. It was surreal and hilarious. Lots of breaking the fourth wall.

Nora and I were so excited about the show that we had a little senior project talk going, but we'll see. Luckily, the play is available, in a volume called Plays by Len Jenkin (just in case anybody needs an idea of what to get me for Christmas...)

Interestingly, the playwright, Len Jenkin, also adapted Ramona Quimby for First Stage in Milwaukee, the same version (I think) which was performed at Zona Gale in Portage a few years ago. So he does children's plays too - a playwright after my own heart!

Here is a summary of the show for those who are interested:

Something mysterious but probably horrible—possibly life-threatening—has happened. Bright flashes of light blaze in the night sky; on the ground there seem to be fires, and in the air there seem to be flying saucers.

The good news is that all of that has happened on the other side of the river. On this shore, six weary, disparate travelers converge. It's very late, and they've missed the last ferry. Given the remoteness of this way station and the uncertainty of recent events, they decide to camp out here for the night. To pass the time, they decide to tell each other stories.

Thus begins Len Jenkin's lovely, timely play Pilgrims of the Night. In short order Jenkin introduces us to an eccentric cross-section of humanity: a former lost soul on the path toward redemption named Mr. Samuel Sundown; a savvy urban business executive type, Lily Black; a slick, even slippery shyster with the moniker Ray T. Fox; the wife of the ferry's captain, an enigmatic woman called Viva; and the flim-flamming Professor Hubert and his street-wise, somewhat troubled niece/assistant, Zoe. Watching over them all is Poor Tom, the lonely but omniscient ex-con who runs the station and narrates the play.

The stories these six tell each other (and us) feel, at first, like the campfire ghost variety: Ray's "Story of Nick Slick, Darlene, Rudy, and George the Cook" is a bawdy tale of a cuckolded husband; Lily's "At the Zombie Jamboree" fancifully places her supposed roommate Sherry in an empire of zombies masterminded by a fabulously wealthy sugar plantation owner; and Samuel's "Dr. Kremser, Vivisectionist" is a Twilight Zone-y narrative about a mad scientist and his possibly madder assistant. Speaking to our basic fears, the spooky stories are oddly comforting and entertaining, little semaphores of defiance to ward off the uncertainty across the water.

In the second half, the stories turn unexpectedly profound. "Olga the Headless Woman," Viva's contribution, is about a charlatan's exploitation of a sad, slow young woman who is, of course, not really headless. "The Story of Elmo March," narrated by Zoe, is a sweet-natured parable about an ordinary Joe who is enlisted by a silver fairy to spread the truth throughout the world—truth that no one will believe. And Hubert's final offering, "The Adventures of Bunny and Dick," is a creation allegory about an unlikely couple who set out to found a Utopia and end up becoming Adam and Eve.

The stories, brought to life with great charm and spirit by six actors in addition to the narrators, don't finally converge in a single spot; this troubled my companion at the show, who, seeing some of Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress in this play, wanted some thematic closure. For me, Pilgrims of the Night is wholly successful, however, a celebration of the restorative power of storytelling, especially on dark, stormy, scary nights when other resources seem to fail us.

The Theatre Count - Second Edition

This week brings four more shows to the theatre count.

Tonight I saw Trojan Women, which was part of the Fringe Festival. At first I wasn't sure what I thought, but now that I've been away from the theatre for an hour, I realize that I really enjoyed it. It was performed in an abandoned building. The performance space was really neat, especially since the luxurious fabrics of the costumes contrasted so starkly with the dusty brick rubble of the playing space.

Tomorrow night we see Pilgrims of the Night, which looks extremely weird. I might not like it, but I'll be sure to keep an open mind.

Wednesday is the preview of a very movement-based theatre piece (it may even qualify as a dance piece, I'm not exactly sure) called Incarnat. It's supposed to be raw and invigorating and I really hope it lives up to what I've heard about it.

Finally, on Saturday, the show I am most looking forward to: Grounded at The Ark. This is the youth theatre performance that I heard about during the director talkback session during Culture Night. The set looked amazing - ropes and a platform and small scale traffic lights.

Going to Gaol

Today we toured the Kilmainham Gaol, the prison that served Dublin until the 1920s. It was the chief holding area for most political prisoners and the site where the commanders of the Irish Citizens Army were executed after the 1916 Easter Rising. The pictures above are of the cells, and myself and Peter in the cells, with the camera looking through the peephole that the guards used to constantly check the prisoners. The fourth picture is of one of the exhibits in the museum illustrating the Victorian mindset about self-discipline - one must always maintain a balance of pleasure and pain. Personally, I found that particular part of the exhibit to be hilarious.

This tour really came at a great time in the trip because I am reading A Star Called Henry by Roddy Doyle, which is a historical fiction take on the events of the IRA and the Easter Rising. I highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for a good book and enjoys history. It's a fabulous book, and I'm really engaged with all of the characters, so the tour made everything fall into place. I feel like I'm gaining a much better understanding of the Irish fight for independence. Also, it was just morbidly cool.

This afternoon we went to a pub to watch the Gaelic football all-Ireland final. It was crazy - we watched a vicious fight break out amongst the players. Pretty sweet. Tomorrow...go to class. Probably the least exciting part of my time here. Alas, I must remind myself of my true purpose for being here, that I am 'studying' abroad, not 'gallivanting' abroad...

A Day by the Sea

These are pictures from my trip to Bray. I took the Dublin Area Rapid Transit train (DART) to Bray. It was so quick and easy - 45 minute ride, and everything was within walking distance of the station. The first thing we did was visit the aquarium. It was a bit smelly and the displays were wearing down, but the sea creatures were excellent. Most of the tanks were open tanks! The sharks were so close to me, it was amazing. They also had an exhibit featuring all of the fish from finding Nemo and their origins, as well as fun facts about each species.

Then we went down to the beach - you can see the pictures above. A beautiful stone beach, by the seashore. It was simply fantastic. Some of the stones are a bit porous - they look like swiss cheese. Not quite as porous as pumice stones but they are still unusual looking. Peter collected a few in his backpack.

We explored the downtown. It wasn't too spectacular, lots of little shops. We had shepherd's pie for lunch at Molloy's, a bakery and cafe. The shepherd's pie was good, but my side salad was strange. It was chilled lettuce and tomatoes served with cooked corn. Very unusual. I also tried a meringue and decided that I didn't much like it.

We then ventured up part of the path to Bray's Head, the big cliff. However, it was 75 degrees out, and Peter and I were dressed for the 56 degree weather that hit Dublin this morning, so we got so warm we couldn't go all the way to the top. We did climb up to a grassy knoll area and sat under an umbrella enjoying the beautiful weather and sea breeze.

Bray is a small town, and we had exhausted pretty much all of the options for things to do, so we took the train back to Dublin, which is absolutely packed today because people are buzzing about the rugby match. The pubs will be crammed full tonight!

Culture Night Adventures

The pictures are from the tea room at No. 29, a restored Georgian mansion on Fitzwilliam St. in Dublin. The mansion has guided tours. For Culture Night, the tours were free, so Pete and I decided to go. It was fantastic! We got a free pot of tea complete with the sugar and milk accoutrement, and free cake too. This was followed by a short film and a tour of the absolutely beautiful home. The tour guide was good too, he pointed out all of the little items we were curious about and told fun stories about the Georgian lifestyle.

We also went to The Ark to hear a talk given by the director of their play for the Fringe Festival. She was excellent - she talked about writing for youth theatre, her inspiration, and her experience. She was young, so I really liked hearing from her and thinking about the possible youth theatre pathways I could pursue. Also, we got a sneak peek at the set, which was great. We will be seeing the show (which is titled Grounded) next week.

A few things I liked about this evening:

Our cab driver. He asked us where we were from, and then wanted to know why Wisconsin sounded familiar to him. After listing almost everything we could think of that comes from Wisconsin, we finally figured out why he knew Wisconsin: it is the home of Miller beer (which is big in Ireland, for who knows what reason.) Also, he told us the three places he would visit if he came to the States: Graceland, Harley Davidson factory, and the headquarters of Boeing. He was a hoot.

Another thing I enjoyed - the creative director of The Ark told us that the director talk would be a very informal presentation, and that we could "vote with our feet" - i.e., walk out if we were bored. I thought that was a nice way of putting it, and it made the whole thing much more relaxed and casual.

Culture Night & Volunteering

I'm beginning the day with a horrendous head cold. I can't breathe through my nose at all. I brought decongestants, but I am reluctant to take them because they always make me slow down and shrivel up and today is a big day.

I'm heading to the Fringe Festival and Dublin Theatre Festival ticket offices today to buy tickets for the many shows I need to see. Tickets are expensive, but they almost always offer a concession price for students that is about 2 euro less than standard ticket price.

Tonight is a fabulous opportunity, Dublin Culture Night. The entire city has banded together to make admission to all museums free, and other arts and cultural locations around town will be offering free workshops and presentations. This is such a great idea! And when I see that a city as large as Dublin can band together to put on this event, it makes me think how simple it would be for Appleton to do the same, or even a miniature version of the event on campus at Lawrence. All of the events are family friendly and free, and they are providing free public transportation so that you can easily get from one area to the next. It is simply brilliant.

One of the stops I plan to make tonight is at The Ark, a youth cultural center in the Temple Bar neighborhood of Dublin. They have an indoor theatre, and outdoor amphitheater, and plenty of workshop space to do visual and performing arts workshops. I applied to volunteer there! It's really the perfect spot.

Another exciting development. I e-mailed my professors back at Lawrence and they approved a 3-unit independent study in Irish Youth Theatre. So, while I am here, I will be doing some research and reading to see how the Irish go about working with youth through theatre, and then once I get back to Lawrence I will summarize my findings and get credit for the class. I'm really excited about this. There is so much to discover.

Thursday News

That's my house! I live in the bedroom on the second floor with the windows looking out onto the street. Isn't our bright blue door quaint?

Today I had movement class again, which terrified me on Tuesday, but today's class was not quite to frightening. It was better. This weekend I am going to Bray, a seaside town, and plan to see the beach and the aquarium as well as do a little hiking on the cliffs.

Tomorrow we have follow-up orientation and a 'scavenger hunt.' I'm not much for mandatory fun, but hopefully they'll give us free food or something as a reward for getting to the end. Also, the Fringe Festival is in full swing and I'll probably have to see a show or two from that line up, although it appeals to me less than the Dublin Theatre Festival.

I'm trying hard to budget, but buying groceries and amenities for a house of 7 girls is difficult, especially when we have to decide who buys paper towels, toilet paper, dish soap, laundry detergent, etc. Also, Peter and I are trying to budget for food together, so that's been a bit of a challenge. I am used to eating well and cooking full, delicious meals, but I'm learning to sacrifice the variety and flavor to eat more frugally while still maintaining nutritional value. We'll see how I do!

Environmentally Conscious Ireland

I hope that you all enjoy this ridiculous picture of me. It was taken at Dublinia, a museum in downtown Dublin that chronicles the Viking and Medieval history of the city. I liked the museum because it was interactive and well organized. It was certainly intended for an audience younger than myself and Peter, but we love interactive museums and had a blast trying on the medieval costumes and playing with replicas of Viking weapons.

One of the cultural aspects of Ireland that I most admire is their environmental awareness. A few years ago the country passed a law that taxed plastic bags in grocery stores, so now you have to pay 0.23-0.30 euro to get a plastic bag. Some stores don't even have plastic bags to sell you. This means that everyone must carry some sort of grocery tote. Many use their backpacks, and there is no end to the canvas bags you see people carrying.

I had read about this law before I came and ordered a few Baggus for myself and Peter. A baggu is a ripstop nylon shopping bag that folds up into a little pouch. You can stow them in a purse or backpack and then whip it out when you need to go shopping. So useful! I don't know why I didn't invest in these earlier. I will certainly be using them all the time when I return to Wisconsin. I love the baggu because it's designed by a small-business designer, ethically made by workers who are well paid, environmentally friendly, inexpensive, and comes in cute colors. If you are curious and want to look into them (I think they make great gifts, I plan to give some for Christmas) go here.

Ireland is also constantly reminding people about their carbon footprint. There are posters everywhere - save energy, use a drying rack! Reduce gas emissions, take the bus! I like it - they're keeping Ireland green. Although I read last week in the Irish Times that Ireland is warming 10 times faster than the rest of the world. Ten times faster! I wonder why that is...perhaps it's the rapid increase in their population since the 1960s.

The Theatre Count - First Edition

The purpose of my time in Dublin is to become more aware of theatre, and part of doing that is seeing as many shows as possible. So I will keep track of all of the shows that I see for any who are interested and want to read more about them. This is what I have seen so far:

The Taming of the Shrew, Public Shakespeare Company, St. Stephen's Green
-A commedia dell'arte style production. Basic street theatre, not a very professional production, but entertaining nonetheless.

Bones, Calypso Theatre Company, Samuel Beckett Theatre

Kicking a Dead Horse, Sam Shepard, The Abbey Theatre
Review of Kicking a Dead Horse from Variety
(The review really says it all for this one.)

There will be more shows next week! I will be seeing James Cromwell (my family will know him well as Farmer Hoggett in Babe and Mr. Austen in Becoming Jane) in the show Long Day's Journey Into Night.

Irish Essentials

Hello family and friends! This blog will be the one-stop-shop to satisfy your curiosity about what I'm doing during my semester abroad. I have been in Ireland since September 4, and the first week has had its ups and downs. I am beginning to adjust to the amenities and my housemates, and am thoroughly enjoying myself. Later I will include a picture of my home so that you can all see where I'm living and what it is like.

Today's topic: my favorite Irish things, so far:
1. Dark Chocolate Kit Kats. These are simply amazing. I've always been partial to Kit Kats, and dark chocolate enhances this to be simply the best candy bar. Ever.

2. Salt and Vinegar chips. They offer a baked version at the grocery store as well, in portion controlled bags. A very tasty snack.

3. Digestives. These are a biscuit (cracker) very similar to graham crackers. Crumbly and just a bit sweet. A chocolate coated version is also available, but goes less well with tea. Unfortunately, I did a bit of research on the history of digestives, and they don't actually aid digestion at all. This had not stopped me from eating them. Also, one large package costs 0.37, so they are a frugal addition to my diet.

4. Friendly people. Almost anyone will give you directions, and a woman approached me while I was in line at the theatre and gave me a free ticket for the show. I'm really hoping that happens again so that I don't spend all of my money on theatre tickets.

5. Traditional Irish suppers. I had superbly delicious Irish stew. It was served in a little crock and topped with a biscuit (an actual biscuit this time - not a cracker. The Irish & British refer to crackers as biscuits). The stew itself was beef, vegetables, and mushrooms slowly cooked in red wine and Guinness. It was served with mashed potatoes. Also, Irish brown bread is a soft quick soda bread that is frequently served at meals, and it's very tasty.

The Irish things I don't like:
1. Blood pudding. Ick ick ick ick ick.

2. Bad plumbing.

3. Teeny tiny washing machines and dryers that don't really dry much.

4. Rats.

More later! I hope that everyone is well.

Note: The picture above is of Christ Church Cathedral.