Meeting the Irish!

This morning for our Contemporary Irish Society class, we had a field trip to the Collins Barracks museum in Dublin. A small group of us decided to bypass the long bus ride filled with traffic and hiked for about an hour down to the museum. When we arrived and realized we had beaten some of our classmates who had commuted by bus, we knew the walk was worth it. Once at the museum, we had a scavenger hunt worksheet that we completed in the Soldiers and Chiefs exhibit which described the times the Irish were at war, both home and abroad, from 1550 to the present.

Part two consisted of a trip to St. Michens Church, a Protestant Church of Ireland. The incredibly quirky and slightly eerie tour guide showed us down into the burial vault under the church. This ancient crypt houses corpses dating back 800 years. I will spare the details, but it was quite the experience to say the least.

I made it back to DCU just in time for lunch. The Irish students are back on campus, and I met up with three of the girls that I had met last semester in Pittsburgh. Three of their classmates came as well, and I had a blast talking to them about their lives here in Dublin. They are all studying to be athletic trainers, so it was interesting to compare their experiences to mine. The girls who studied in Pittsburgh were very excited to be able to reminisce about Oakland and laughed when I told them how I have been enjoying the little differences in our cultures. They were all incredibly friendly, and I look forward to seeing them again.

Today is Tuesday which means another music class! The Bodhran is getting more intense, and even more fun. Here is a small video to show you what we're working towards. The little boy on the right is playing the Bodhran.