I suspect this will be the last post of my trip. How does one go about ending such a magnificent journey on a few words? I certainly don’t know.
Ar aon chaoi, ba chóir dom rud éigin a deir. Is é sin an rud ceart a dheanamh. B’fheidir ba chóir dom sin a scríobh as Gaeilge ar fad. Tá fhois agam nach bhfuil mo chuid Gaeilge foirfe ar bith, ach tá mé cinnte go mbeidh mé líofa. Togfaidh sin a lán ama, tá fhois agam, ach tá mé cinnte go bhuil orm sin a dhéanamh. Níl mé sásta go gcaithfidh mé imeacht an áit seo, ach, ag an am ceanna, tá fhois agam nach bhfuil sí m’áit dúchais. Ar aon chaoi, beidh mé ar ais, le cuidiú Dé, beidh mé ar ais. Buíochas le Dia, bhí mé in ann teacht a anseo agus bhí an-sheans agam a foghlaim Gaeilge i gConamara! Bhuail mé le go leor dunie an-simiúil agus rinne mé go leor cuimhní mhaith.
Anois, tá mé i mo shuí i dteach loistín, ag scríobh mo bhlog, ag éisteacht leis na fuaimeanna den teach tabhairne trasna an halla (tá The Dubliners ar siúil - Dirty Old Town) agus tá mé ag smaoineamh faoin chúrsa, faoi mo chairde nua, faoi mo theaghlach, faoi mo ranganna (a thosóidh i gceann timpeall dhá seachtaine!) agus faoi gach rud a rinne mé. Anois, ceapaim go bhfuil mé críochnaithe. Le cuidiú Dé, feicfidh mé go luath sibh, gach duine. Go raibh míle míle maith agaibh. Rath Dé ort agus slán go fóill.
Tá mé i mo shuí i dteach tabhairne McSwiggans i nGaillimh anois! Tá Tasha anseo freisin. D’ith muid ar gcuid lón agus anois tá pionta agam. Tá mé an-sásta.
I cannot even begin to describe how I feel at the moment.
Last night was amazing. We all went to the Ostan Cheathrú Rua for our closing banquet. The food was awesome and the entertainment even better. So many people got up and performed, including yours truly. Angela, Becky, and myself sang “Down in the River to Pray” in THREE PART HARMONY. Yup. And then later on, Tasha and I pulled together a Milling Frolic and shared a bit of Cape Breton tradition with everyone. What a time.
When the banquet was over, we all went to the beach and made a fire. We sat, sang, drank, and had a time. My housemates and I left around 2 am and got home shortly thereafter. We did not sleep much, as the bus was coming to get us at 10:15 and we needed to be up early to eat, shower, and make sure everything was in order. Even so, we all managed to pull it off and everyone made it out the door on time.
The rest of the day spent getting other things in order. Mom and Dad – I have made it to the Hostel okay and it’s actually very nice. No worries! Also, I have booked myself a hotel room for tomorrow night so no need to worry about me staying alone in the airport Tasha and I had lunch and spent the rest of the day booking bus tickets and having a look around. We met up with some people from the course for dinner at Homplate. Unfortunately, some of them had to get their dinner to go because they had to catch a bus. A sad goodbye indeed – I miss all of you.
We then met up with another friend and sat on the pier for a while, having a drink and talking. The three of us then strolled on down to Shop Street and met up with a bunch of others in a pub,where we sat for a few hours. Angela, I cannot tell you how much I appreciate your friendship. It won’t be long and we’ll get together! I’ll be sure to fine tune my guitar skills…that was a pun…a bad one.
Now, as I sit in the Hostel on my top bunk, I cannot rid my mind of the faces of the people who have changed my life, nor do I want to. Tears well up in my eyes for the memories that I have of a wonderful summer spent in An Cheathrú Rua with truly amazing, unique, and wonderful people. Every single one of you. I miss you. But after all, it’s only Slán Go Fóill.
If you ever go across the sea to Ireland
Then may at the closing of your day
You will sit and watch the moon rise over Claddagh
And see the sun go down on Galway Bay.
Just to hear again the ripple of the trout stream
The women in the meadows making hay
And to sit beside a turf fire in the cabin
And watch the barefoot gossoons at their play.
For the breezes blowing o’er the seas from Ireland
Are perfumed by the heather as they blow
And the women in the uplands diggin’ praties
Speak a language that the strangers do not know.
For the strangers came and tried to teach us their ways
They scorned us just for bein’ what we are
But they might as well go chasin’ after moonbeams
Or light a penny candle from a star.
And if there is going to be a life hereafter
And somehow I am sure there’s going to be
I will ask my God to let me make my heaven
In that dear land across the Irish sea.
So, I was backtracking a bit, reading the post I wrote about going to Inis Meáin and I thought that I should add to that. Inis Meáin is one of the three Aran Islands and it is almost entirely untouched by time. The only exception to this is the knitting factory that supplies the famous Aran Sweaters. As we walked around the Island and listened to our local guide , Maureen, I could not help but think about how surreal the whole idea of spending one’s entire life as a resident of this island seems to me. Our tour guide spoke English rather well I though, but she herself even said that she can only really express herself in Irish. There are some people on the island, and in other parts of the Gaeltacht, who have very little or even no English at all. It’s so hard to wrap one’s head around this. Most of Ireland speaks English, but if you know where to go, you will meet people who may not have but two words.
As Maureen described her life to us, I pondered in amazement. She lives alone, but insists that because she has the other 127 people of the island and her cats that she is not really alone. She is the librarian and is lucky to have a job. Most people are on welfare because there are very few facilities on the island. However, they do have constant access to a government-funded, very tiny plane that will take them ashore. So really, if one of them needs to go to the hospital in Galway, he or she will probably make it there faster than someone from the mainland.
I thought that needed to be shared. I visited a place that very few people have seen, and even fewer know exists. I feel that I am one of the privileged few that have been able to experience Inis Meáin in all of its timeless beauty.
I am sure that I will have more to post about later, but I wanted to write about this before I forgot.
Yesterday, I gave Julie a bottle of maple syrup. She said that Eamonn was going to love that, and he did! Today, we were sitting in the living room and Eamonn had just finished eating dinner. Julie came in a few minutes later and said, “Eamonn must really like the maple syrup! He hid it and I’m just after finding it!”
As if the picture I posted earlier (courtesy of my housemate Annie) wasn’t enough to make my day, the rest of it was fantastic. Not that anything particularly exciting happened today, but rather because I enjoyed a very normal and VERY educational today. We went over the genitive case and the conditional tense, which are two of the most difficult things to grasp in their entirety.
After dinner, we caught the bus back into town and Annie and I, with the intention of studying, sat on the dock, had a drink, and talked for a couple of hours. Now, please, I ask you, appreciate that we had the intention of studying. We did not, however, get around to doing so. Funny it is that we spent three solid hours in the pub last night, studying the whole time. We are a strange breed.
We did go to the pub again tonight, only for a little while and only to spend time with everyone else who is able to go every night because they live so much closer to town than we do. We had a good time just talking.
As we were waiting for the Taxi to take us home, I sat down with an elderly local man and began speaking to him. All I had said was “Dia duit, cén chaoi a bhfuil tu?” (hello, how are you) and he straight away said that I have good Irish. We spoke a bit and I told him that I am from Canada. He was very surprised and impressed, as far as I could gather from his expressions. Before I left, I asked his name. He responded, “Danny Wallace.” I will never forget his name. I then told him that my name is Cassidy, and he was so incredibly astounded to learn that Cassidy is my first name! This is not the first time this has happened. Many people here find it fascinating that Cassidy is my first name, mainly because it is normally a surname, or even sometimes, I have heard, a male first name. As I walked to the cab, Danny shouted to me, “Feicfidh mé thú amáireach?” which means “I’ll see you tomorrow?” I responded, “B’feidir, ” meaning maybe, in great hope that I do get to speak with Danny Wallace again.
Dad – I got the package today, thank you! Everyone that I have given them to has liked them so far, especially Julie’s son. He loves maple syrup
So, recently, I was out fighting alone. I had flown back to Canada (of my own abilities, of course. I can fly, ps). Little did I know that someone had followed me. My housemate Annie had stowed-away in my cape and managed to capture on film the greatest of Canadian traditions and secrets. Now, I guess the secret’s out.
Inniú, bhí na ranganna an-simiúil! D’fhoghlaim mé go leor agus ceapaim go beidh mé reidh leis an scrúdú Deardaoin. Nuair a bhí na ranganna críochnatha, chuaig mise agus Annie agus Rachel (housemates) go dtí an bpáirc péile le féiceáil ar cleachtadh. Bhí Mícheál ag múineadh cupla fear cén chaoi peil Ghaelach a imirt. Bhí muid (mise, Annie, Rachel) inar suí in aice leis an páirc, agus tar éis cupla nóiméad, dúirt Mícheál linn, “Ar mhaith libh ag imirt? Tar anseo!” Chuamar, agus bhí seans peil Ghaelach againn a imirt! Ní raibh aon seans mar sin agam riamh! Thaitin sin go mór liom! Agus bhí mise in an ag rith go tapa! Ní raibh fhois agam go bhfuil mé in an sin a dhéamamh!
Níos déanaí, tar éis dínnéar, chuamar go dtí an teach tabhairne agus stáidéar muid ann, i ndáiríre! Ar feadh trí uair! Agus anois, tá mé i mo leaba, ag feachaint ar Aifric!
Today, I got to play Gaelic football! It was so cool! Our teacher, Mícheál, was taking some of the guys who wanted to learn how to play to the pitch after classes. Annie, Rachel and I decided to tag along. We sat there and watched for a bit, but Mícheál called to us and asked us if we wanted to help out at all. We said yes, but quickly discovered that we were being brought into the game to play. Not knowing how and not dressed at all appropriately (I was wearing a denim skirt), we played. It was great fun! I can run! I didn’t know that! After the game, Annie and Rachel told me that I “Hauled ass out there!” Who knew?! What a way to spend the afternoon!
After eating dinner, we caught the bus back into town and legitimately spent about three and a half hours at the pub. May I justify this by saying that the first three hours were spent full-on studying. The last half hour I spent listening to the locals who had gathered there to jam. What a great day.
Yesterday was a wonderful day, mostly spent at the Graveyard Beach just outside of town. I finally got the chance to go swimming, which proved to be much more difficult than one would anticipate. The water was both very cold and very salty, but let it be known that this was the first time I have ever swam in the ocean! So a couple of us swam out to a rock that was sticking up. On the way there, I swear that the under-water rocks jumped up out of nowhere. We, unfortunately did not see them and are now a little worse for the wear. A few knuckle and leg scrapes, and a bunch of bruises later, we made it to the rock that we had intended to make it to. As we sat on the rock, we watched the beach flood with teenagers from the Colaiste Samhradh beside the Acadamh. Great, the one say we decide to take a trip to what is usually a rather secluded beach the kids have their field trip. Ah well. We sat there so a bit and then swam back, a journey about which we were much more careful. One other girl and I then walked along the beach to a more quiet location and played guitar and sang. And then the others came looking for us as everyone else had left and we had to call our taxi to get home soon. And that we did.
We ate dinner, which was wonderful as per usual. Julie (Bean an Ti) then drove us back into town to go to Mass. After Mass, we sat down by the pier and had a couple of drinks as we watched the sun set over the water. What a wonderful way to spend the evening. We joined the others at Ti Se’s later in the evening, but were no there long, as they were all planning on going to a very sketchy ridiculously expensive night club that we wanted no part in. So, we went home. A grand day out, indeed.
Today, myself and another housemate walked back to that beach, as she had not yet had the chance to go. It took us about an hour and a half to get there. We stayed for around forty-five minutes and then walked back into town, called a taxi, and went home. I needed to study, but I knew that I was not going to be able to sit at home all day and read, so I thought I would get the restlessness out of my system early by going for this walk.
My house mates and I were sitting around the dinner table after having finished our Sunday dinner. We, for some reason, began talking about American Folk songs. We then burst out into a lovely rendition of My Clementine, She’ll Be Comin’ ‘Round the Mountain, and Home on the Range. One of the girls then asked Tasha and I if we knew any Canadian Folk songs. Now, I am sure there are, but being put on the spot, all I could remember was I’s the By. Then Tasha asked, “Hey, do you want to learn to Mill?” Milling, my dear blog readers, is one of the most fun things people can do together on a lazy Sunday afternoon. I, of course, enthusiastically responded that milling would be a great idea. The other girls looked at us like we were crazy, but I can assure you that we are not. They quickly learned that milling is great fun. We get a blanket and milled to a few songs, and then our arms got sore, so we stopped. But please, check out the video! Also, note that Milling is a Nova Scotia thing. Great craic, for sure! After this great event, one of my housemates affectionately commented, “We’re not drunk, we’re just eccentric.” While everyone else is at the pub doing crazy things because they have been drinking, we are sitting at home doing crazy things entirely out of our own free will.
For the rest of the day, I studied. However, at one point, I decided to get a grammar book out of my room to practice. I got to my room, laid down on my bed, and re-emerged three hours later, grammar book in hand. Obviously I was tired.
While playing Uno the other night at the pub, I put a card down on the pile and knocked over the other pile. I did this a couple more times over the course of the game. The term “Canada Slam” was born out of this and now I have decided that when telling people how my knuckles got all cut up, I am going to tell them that I wrestled a moose to the ground with my bare hands. The going was tough, but I used my Canada Slam and took it down!
Though I already posted for today, I feel the need to add another post, as this evening has been full of craic! We caught the bus back into town and went to Tí Sé’s. We right away began playing UNO. We were the only ones there for a bit, but we were having a time anyway! Some others showed up and they got in on the game. Annie played a round of pool, and then we headed to Ostan Cheathrú Rua for their weekly music session. Here, I got the chance to do something awesome. There was a bunch of people crowded around a table, all playing instruments and singing. I walked over and mentioned to one of the people I knew that I kind of wanted to sing a song. He then announced it and I was invited to do so! I got to sing Bríd Og Ní Mhaille at a real Irish Céilí. How sweet was the feeling! Everybody clapped and wanted to shake my hand! I love it here! The point of going to a Céilí is doing something for everyone else. No one will judge you. Everyone will be over the moon because you contributed. It’s all for the craic!
Anois, bhí inniú an-simiúil ar fad! Bhí an Ambasadóir Ceanadach anseo mar fuair sé bronnadh do gach duine as Ceanada a bhfuil scoiláireact aige.Beidh muid ar na nuacht TG4 anocht ag a seaht a chlog. Bhí scrúdú agam ar maidin agus bhí sé go maith. Ní raibh aon fadbh agam ar fad! Anocht, rachaidh muid go Tí Sé’s mar tá an dara scrúdú criochnaigh!
What a cool day it has been! I was up early this morning, as per usual. Right away, I hopped in the shower and prayed that my hair and makeup turned out okay today. Thankfully, it did. The reason for this is that today the six of us Canadians who are here on scholarship met with the Canadian Ambassador to Ireland and he presented us with our awards for receiving the scholarship! It was so cool! Rather than having our exams in the afternoon, we had them in the morning straight away. Mine went off without a hitch! After our award and photo-op, we all had lunch together, which was very tasty! Then, because the other students have their exams in the afternoon, we were free to do whatever! So, I went to the pub and chilled with the other people there. They were just studying there before their exams, so we sat for a bit. And now, I am here, awaiting the bus to go home, take a nap, eat dinner, and go back out to the pub tonight!
Oh, PS. No big deal or anything, but tonight we’re all going to be on Nuacht TG4, the Irish Language Station’s News. Woah.
Tasha and I had lunch and spent the rest of the day booking bus tickets and having a look around. We met up with some people from the course for dinner at Homplate. Unfortunately, some of them had to get their dinner to go because they had to catch a bus. A sad goodbye indeed – I miss all of you.
