Dunamase Castle in the distance

My fellow students looking at the ruins

Arrow slit used for defense during attack or attempted seige

Me...windblown and loving every moment!

Day 3 - Tour of Dunamase Castle and Emo Court

We gathered for the bus at 10:30 on Monday morning. Tom our bus driver is quite skilled and managed to get our bus through some really tight spots the whole day. It is an hour and 1/2 to Dunamase and of course we had to pass through all the amazing and green country. Chance of heavy showers so we all have our rain gear..or at least most of us do.

Finally in the distance we see the ruins of Dunamase. A castle/fort in a superior strategic area on a hill that was never defeated until Cromwell came along with his artillery. The view from the top is spectacular and with the wind quite literally breathtaking. We all have time to run around like mad to take great pictures of the landscape, castle and of one another. Then Barry gathers us in the center of the structure and we get a great history lesson. Barry is a good lecturer/storyteller and uses amazing energy and passion to engage his audience. After the lecture we wander back down to the bus and off to Emo Court.

Emo Court which keeps reminding me of my grade school Kenilworth

 

 

 

Emo Court...big old mansion lots of history, some interesting architecture...yep. Not my thing..not the period of history that I am interested in and so...I will say that the guide was great, we had a tasty lunch and then they let us go off into the "park" area. This is my thing..frankly we can't spend enough time outside!

One of the previous owners of Emo Court planted a tree garden including Sequoias' in the main drive. It is really beautiful, taken care of but not too manicured. A great walking and jogging path so I took advantage and had my first run since before March when I started getting sick and time stressed. Not too bad! Hoping to really improve the running while I am here.

Must find a plant/tree book...but isn't it beautiful?

After my run/walk I returned to the bus and found the bus driver and one of my roommates (Cyndi) waiting inside talking to the most charming elderly gentleman. Peter is 86 years young and didn't marry till he was 54. He told us the tale of his courtship and proposal and that perhaps he was so happy because he waited so long!

Soon the rest of my fellow students and the instructors returned and we were off back to Athlone. After we got back I got in to use the computer lab and then had dinner. Off to bed because day 3 was done!

Next Post - Day 4: First day of class 

Day 2: Orientation and Walking Tour

Posted Above you will see the picture of the PETERMARK salon mentioned in yesterday's post and two pictures of the Shannon River.

Day 2 - Orientation and the Tour of Athlone. At 11am we gathered in the computer lab to begin our orientation for the program. We went over some basics of what we would be doing, how the timing would work and some behavior reminders. Basically the behavior boils down to...hey you are all adults, be courteous and don't be stupid. Great advice I think!

After the orientation we broke for lunch and then began our walking tour..Barry had told me the night before that it would be about 3 miles. 3 miles...like the 3 hour tour of Giligan's Island, a Myth! More like 5 miles all told maybe even 6..must start wearing the pedometer! However it was a great day, overcast  with moments of beautiful sunshine. We walked through the center of Athlone where Barry pointed out all of the historical landmarks, the good pubs, the bad pubs, the stay the HELL out of there pubs etc.

We made it to the Shannon which was beautiful and is the largest of the rivers in Ireland. The Shannon runs from the mountains of its source in the north and empties into the Atlantic. Significantly important from a tactical, political, religious and story point of view, the Shannon has alot of history that surrounds it.

One version of the myth of the Shannon goes like this: The goddess SINEND teaches us an important lesson regarding the seeking of knowledge. Sinend herself, was a mortal woman who sought the well of knowledge. She was careless and  suffered the consequences. The waters of the well rose up and drowned her, and the river Shannon was born.

After our long tour was over, we scattered off on independent errands. I returned home to find that I had acquired a beauty of a blister on one of my small toes..ouch. Birthday celebrations for one my fellow students (Happy Birthday Faye) and then to bed..exhausted at the end of day 2.

Ireland Day 1 and PeterMark

After a long flight and bus ride to get here we arrive safely in Croi Oige apartments here in Athlone. Our program Director, Dr. Barry Vaughan, here after referred to as Barry...suggested..nay demanded that we not go off to dreamland..but instead stay up till 10pm to help us defeat the evil Jet Lag. So we set off on a small and unofficial tour of Athlone and the supermarket we use called Tesco. (BTW Tesco is the parent company of Fresh and Easy) Walk was probably a mile and 1/2 and we managed to get a few needed items for the apartment.

Tesco is located in a mall and on the way out I noticed a Salon with an interesting name. "PeterMark"

My storytelling friends all know that a few semesters ago I took Storytelling 2 with Liz. 3 gentleman in the class, Mark C., Mark G. and Peter. Liz' husband is also named Mark. Needless to say, Peter was called Mark for most of the semester and has become his own legend because of this! He signed his papers, Not Mark, and Still not Mark to poke fun at Liz..this is still somewhat of an inside joke for us in the community.

After laughing and taking a picture..I decided that this was a bit of a welcome from Ireland. Sadly I am having technical difficulties and will have post pictures tomorrow.

After a shared cab ride home, it was time to unpack and prepare for a mandatory visit to the Pub per Barry to insure we would not sneak off to sleep. I raised a pint of Guinness and then stumbled home to crash completely!

Tomorrow...Day 2, 3 and 4 with pictures...I promise!

1 Week Left..

Packing lists are in full force..decisions about this suitcase or that suitcase. The madness of it all is actually fun. I purchased a new raincoat this morning, cause it will be very rainy while we are there and my current raincoat is not suitable for all the walking we will be doing. I have purchased a Kindle so I can have plenty of reading material for the flight as well as for the occasional downtime in the next month.

This weekend is the big push to get the last of the purchases, organize the stacks, visit with friends/family and maybe go see a movie. Anything to keep my mind occupied and make time pass..are we there yet?

Two Weeks!

Only 2 weeks until my Irish adventure begins. To catch everyone up...I am participating in the Mesa Community College Study Abroad Ireland (SAI) program. We leave on May 27, and return on June 27, 2011. Myself and about 35? other students will spend the month in Athlone which is right in the center of Ireland between Dublin and Galway. We will be staying in student apartments on the campus of the Athlone Institute of Technology. We are required to take at least 2 classes for the session and I am taking History of Religion in Ireland and a Special Projects class in Irish Storytelling Tradition. As part of my special projects class I will be required to blog about my experiences with Story and Ireland as they merge together...this is great cause I would have done it anyways!

We will also be traveling around Ireland on Fridays as part of the program and spending a week in Galway. One of the exciting parts of the trip is that I will be getting the opportunity to tell stories in the community with Liz Warren my story mentor supreme.

 My first project is an in-class telling of the Sons of Tuireann one of the 3 Irish Sorrows. I have a goal to have all three of the sorrows down by the time I return so this is a great start. I have begun the research and am on my way to crafting a "short" 10 minute version. This is a saga that can take up to an hour to tell so breaking it down into a 10 minute version is a really good exercise.

So there you are! Welcome to my Adventures in Story - The Irish Chapter...I hope you enjoy.