The Year's at the Spring

Flower Pots at NUI Galway

After nine weeks of quiet, winter routine, spring and Nebraska Wesleyan University students arrived in Galway. 

Laurel Butler, Mishayla Richardson and Heidi Dammast arrived in Dublin on Saturday, March 19.  They met Desirae TePoel at the airport.  Desirae is studying abroad in Spain this semester and she and some friends made the trip to Ireland for St. Patrick’s Day.  She separated from her group for one day and night to spend some time with us.  I met the four NWU students at the coach station in Galway where they arrived safely, though short Mishayla’s suitcase. 

Saturday night we ate dinner at one of my favorite restaurants in Galway, Il Folletto.  The choice of Italian felt right as Laural, Mishayla and Heidi had all taken my study abroad class in Florence, Italy in the summer of 2009.  Much to my chagrin, I retired before the travelers who really should have been asleep hours before me.

Sunday we walked and walked and walked and walked.  We started up the Corrib River to the Cathedral.  We then walked through the National University of Ireland Galway .  I told the students of a restaurant near the university called the Spud House where almost everything is served on a potato; it seemed an appropriate place for a meal in Ireland.  Unfortunately, the Spud House was closed.  We took a long walk into Salthill where we finally bought something to eat.  Renewed, we enjoyed the beautiful Salthill Promenade as we made our way back to my apartment along Galway Bay.   The day was quite sunny and reasonably warm.  Thankfully, Mishayla’s suitcase arrived that afternoon.  After dinner at the King’s Head, we went back to my apartment to gather up Desirae’s things and then we walked her to the coach station to say goodbye (sniff) for now. 

Mishayla, Heidi, Rachel, Desirae, Laurel

Rachel at one of the entrances to NUI Galway

Building at NUI Galway

Desirae, Laurel, Heidi, Mishayla, Rachel on the Salthill Promenade

My three remaining guests took a tour of Connemara on Monday, a trip to Inishmore on Tuesday and a tour to the Cliffs of Moher on Wednesday.  I worked on my book during the day and we all went to dinner when they returned.  Tuesday night we went to Monroe’s Pub for dinner and live traditional music and dancing.  We all loved it. 

Traditional Irish dancing at Monroe's Pub

Heidi, Rachel, Laurel, Mishayla at Monroe's

Heidi, Mishayla and Laurel are spending the last four nights of their trip in Dublin.  On the day they left Galway, we all ate blackberry pancakes at Ard Bia.  We also were able to do a little shopping in Galway. 

I so enjoyed having these students visit; they are terrific young women who brought a lot of energy with them.  We had many very interesting conversations.

My apartment is quiet again and I am returning, for now, to my routine.  Perhaps because I had grown used to people around, I found myself sending a few fairly lengthy and newsy emails on Friday morning. 

My routine is altering as spring makes itself more and more known in Galway.  I am anxious to spend time outside in the fresh air and I am walking later in the day. 

I leave for six days in Paris on Wednesday.  When I return, I begin the final push on my book.  My work is going well, but there is much left to do.  I anticipate that the Paris trip will renew and reinvigorate me. 

                        The year’s at the spring

                        And day’s at the morn;

                        Morning’s at seven;

                        The hillside’s dew-pearled;

                        The lark’s on the wing;

                        The snail’s on the thorn;

                        God’s in His heaven—

                        All’s right with the world!

                                                -Robert Browning

The Irish and Those Who Wish They Were

“St. Patrick’s Day is an enchanted time—a day to begin transforming

winter’s dreams into summer’s magic.”  -Adrienne Cook

A few people have told me over the years that they have heard that the Irish don’t make a very big deal out of St. Patrick’s Day.  Not true at all. 

St. Patrick’s Day is a national holiday.  Banks, schools and most businesses are closed. 

In Galway, the festivities began the night before.  I attended the first official event of St. Patrick’s Day—a multi-media presentation called “The Coming of Spring.”  A film and computer-generated video was projected onto a stone wall of the old Galway Museum. The creators took the texture and pattern of the wall into account.  There were a number of planned holes in the wall and they were used in the art; for example, at one point it looked like water was pouring from one of the holes.  The ten or twelve minute presentation was accompanied by live music.  The whole thing was very interesting and well done.  The crowd was appreciative. 

This is the wall used for the art installation

During the night I heard a number of people who enjoyed a few drinks or more as they made their way, loudly, past my building.

After a morning of working on my book, I ventured out at about noon.  The city felt different; the energy was high and there was light-heartedness in the air.  Mobs of people dressed in St. Patrick’s Day “finery” made their way through the town.  

The children, in particular, were adorable. 

The Galway parade, reputed to be among the best in Ireland, kicked off at 12:30.  I found a decent spot without too many people in front of me.  I had to hold my camera up to get some of the shots, but I also was able to see quite a bit. 

The parade was very festive.  The participants were young and old and they represented a great many interests, activities and groups.  The parade was also very multicultural and it felt like a celebration of many cultures. 

I walked around for a while after the parade and it was clear that the celebration was continuing.  I went home, but I did watch people from my window as they wandered the docks.  That night was surprisingly quiet.  Or, the earplugs I wore worked. 

I am so glad I had a chance to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland.  I’m sure I will remember it every year. 

“May you live all the days of your life.” 

Jonathan Swift

Scars of Our Own

Anyone who thinks the need for International Women's Day is over isn't living in the world with the women who get kicked in the stomach.  -Inez McCormack

Inez McCormack, Monday, March 7, 2011

Tuesday, March 8 people all over the world recognized and celebrated International Women’s Day.  Though no consensus exists on when the first International Women’s Day was celebrated, many consider 1911 to be that year, making this year the centenary.  The Global Women’s Studies Programme at the National University of Ireland Galway joined with four other organizations to offer a week of programs in honor of the centenary. 

On Monday I attended a lecture by Inez McCormack.   When Stacey Scriver Furlong from NUI Galway informed me of this lecture, she told me that McCormack is quite famous.  I had never heard of her, so I did some online research so I wasn’t walking in blind.  I learned that McCormack is considered one of the most influential civil rights leaders in Northern Ireland.  She was the first female president of Irish Congress of Trade Unions and she has a long history as a trade unionist advocating for the fair treatment of women and minorities in the workplace.  She also played a role in the 1998 Good Friday Peace Accord.

McCormack has been included in a New York play called “Seven” which tells the stories of seven women leaders from around the world.  Meryl Streep will play McCormack at a special reading of the play. 

McCormack’s presentation was inspirational.  She spoke of the “doctrine of unright time”—the well known occurrence when women ask for equal rights and are told, “I agree with you, but now is not the right time.”  In response, McCormack quoted Italian Jewish poet Primo Levi who spent time in Auschwitz.  Levi asked, “If not now, when?  If not us, who?  If not here, where?”

Saying it is never easy to fight for change, McCormack told the audience, she did not want us to have her scars.  But, she said, we must have scars of our own.  “You can’t do everything, but you can do something, and that’s what makes us dangerous.”

"God will not look you over for medals, degrees or diplomas but for scars."  

-Elbert Hubbard

Co-Directors of the Global Women's Studies Programme Nata Duvvury and
Niamh Reilly with Inez McCormack

Stacey Scriver Furlong and Niamh Reilly, Global Women's Studies Programme Staff

Inez McCormack and Rachel at reception after the presentation

You Just Might Find, You Get What You Need

I am currently at the point in my sabbatical when I go the longest without a guest.  These days I am settled into a nice, quiet routine.  I work.  I eat.  I go for a walk.  I think.  I Skype.  I sleep.  I go to the grocery store.  I listen to a podcast.  My routine is comfortable and predictable.  It is also quite different from my first sabbatical in Florence, Italy. 

I have had occasion to reflect on the difference between my two international sabbaticals and I thought I might enjoy capturing my reflection “on paper.”

One significant difference between my two sabbaticals is that I travelled more in Italy than I have around Ireland and there are many reasons why this is true.  First, public transportation is easier in Italy.  The trains reach more places and run more frequently.  People use buses in Ireland quite a lot and they take more time.  Second, public transportation here is expensive.  Train and bus tickets cost less when purchased in advance online, but they are still pricey.  On more than one occasion I have thought, “I should take a day trip to…” and then I consider the cost of getting there and back and decide to stay in lovely Galway. 

One place I have travelled several times in Ireland:  the Connemara Region

One of two trips to Venice

St. Peter's Square, one of many trips to Rome

Third, I’m afraid to drive in Ireland.  People I know who have travelled here have said, “You have to rent a car.”  I see what they mean.  The thing is, people drive on the left side of the road and the driver sits on the right side of the car.  I have heard some say, “You get used to it right away” and others claim emphatically, “I would NOT recommend it.”  If I was just worried about a little fender bender, I could go for a spin.  I’m actually worried about injuring or killing somebody because I do something that has been programmed into my driving behavior for over 25 years.  I think some people have the ability to adjust naturally to the change.  I might.  I also might not.  I don’t think the risk of finding out is worth it. 

This was my bus stop in Florence, just around the corner of my apartment

Some things that were hard in Italy are easy here and vice versa.  When I lived in Italy, I used to have to prepare for every little encounter.  When I went to the post office or had to buy a screwdriver, I looked up and wrote down necessary phrases. The language barrier made simple, every-day tasks complicated.  On the other hand, my landlady paid all the bills associated with my apartment.  I had to look at the phone, gas and electric meters and determine what I owed, but Mrs. Gavilli picked up the money and that was the end of it for me.  Here I had to set up the services, deal with automatic payments vs. deposits and open a bank account.  Before I leave I have to close everything down.  On balance, though, day-to-day life is significantly easier here than it was in Italy. 

When I lived in Italy, I easily found a community of English speaking expatriates, most of the people were from Great Britain.  I have met a number of people here with whom I would say I am friendly (today one of them gave me a pair of wooden knitting needles), but I would not say I have made friends.  Yet.  Some ground work has been laid, but friendship here is taking more time.  In general the Irish are extremely pleasant and interesting and willing to talk, but they are not in need of new friends the way expatriates are. 

My expatriate friends in Florence at Angiolino's on my 36th birthday, two days before I left the country

I walked a lot in Florence, almost always to get somewhere.  Galway is significantly smaller so it’s less effort to get to the grocery store, church, etc.  When I walk here, I am often making it a point to go for a walk.

A typical scene on a walk in Claddagh Park, Galway

Technology has changed so drastically in the seven years between my sabbaticals that it almost doesn’t feel like the same kind of experience.  I had a little TV in Italy that received a few channels, but I didn’t understand the language.  When I was desperate for noise, I used to watch episodes of “Walker, Texas Ranger” dubbed in Italian.  It was almost the only show I could understand; the level of dialogue was not very high. Plus, it doesn't take a genius to understand a round kick to the face.  Ugh--not really my thing.

TV in my Florence apartment

In Ireland I was able to buy a cable/Internet/phone package for less than the same service costs in the United States.  The most significant part of this for me is the wireless internet connection.  I have constant access to email, websites, podcasts, etc.  I also have Skype and Kevin and I Skype almost every day.  It’s hard to remember that in Italy I had to walk about a half a mile to an internet café and pay by the minute for computer time. 

My closest computer and internet access in Florence

When I packed for Italy I brought a portable, battery-run CD player.  I have a vivid memory of sitting on the floor in my living room trying to decide which eighteen CDs I could bring with me for the year.  Torture!  Now I have an iPod as well as iTunes on my computer.  I can purchase new music and rent movies. 

Through technology I feel so much more connected to friends and family in the U.S. than I did when I was in Italy.  Just yesterday I Skyped with Mary and Patty Hawk and Mary was able to show me her kitchen renovations in process and I was able to give my (probably bad) opinion on wall color.  Last week I watched two different hearings (the first on an immigration bill and second to abolish the death penalty) online that took place in the Nebraska Legislature’s Judiciary Committee.  I knew almost every person who testified at the second hearing.  It blows my mind that technology “transports” me across the ocean. 

Using the laptop and phone at the same time

The most exciting thing I ever saw out my window in Italy was a disdainful cat or two.  On the other hand, Florence was filled with so many museums and churches and other works of art that I didn’t experience it all in the eleven months I was there.  My apartment on the docks provides me a constant show as well as views of Galway Marina, Galway Harbor and Galway Bay.  When I was in Italy, I used to extol the virtues of “staring at the wall.”  In Galway, I praise “staring out the window.” 

Picture of cats taken from my apartment in Florence

Activity I can see from my window in Galway

Almost everything is more expensive this time around:  utilities, groceries, rent, restaurants, transportation, coffee, cupcakes, etc.  Of course I had to watch my finances in Italy, but I don’t remember being constrained by a lack of money.   

Taken on a Dublin street

Last summer I would not have guessed that this sabbatical would be so different from my first.  Upon reflection, though, I believe I have had the perfect sabbaticals.  Italy provided what I needed at that point in my life and I believe Ireland is doing the same.  

Double rainbow over Galway Harbor