Sports and Politics

I cannot believe it will be March tomorrow. Where does the time go? I also cannot believe how much of my blog has been dedicated to sports and politics lately. Not always easy subjects to discuss. Honestly if you told me that I would be coming to Ireland to write home about sports and politics I would have thought you madder then a bag of spiders (there's a good Irish saying for ya).The elections have come and went, it was anti-climactic. Compared to the U.S. the election was quiet and undramatic. I did not see a single ad on t.v., there have been signs and posters around Dublin and on the day of the election a saw a few cars covered in campaign posters with speakers blaring out to vote for the certain candidate. In a way I found this quaint, but an Irish friend of mine finds it cheesy. They are still using paper ballots here so it has taken a little while for the final results to come in but it is looking like Enda Kenny of Fine Gael will be the new Taoiseach. I believe this is what was expected. I am not sure what will happen next but hopefully some good will come out of the elections. We shall see. As violence breaks out in Libya it is a relief, and perhaps a thing not to be taken for granted, that I can say the elections here went off without a hitch. While I'm still on politics keep writing to your representatives back home, I hear the House is trying to do some ridiculous things!

Ireland played Scotland yesterday and won! (Barely) The lads did not play their best and the game was not terribly exciting but at least they won and hopefully will do even better against Wales.

I saw a play the other night! Oh yeah, that's right, I am here doing theatre. It was an incredible one man show called Mimic about a guy growing up in Ireland who has the talented ability to mimic what he sees and hears in his life. The production was written, composed and performed by a very talented Irishman who underscored dramatic monologues whilst playing the piano. It was dark and humorous and a great piece of theatre overall. (I may have more on this later, stay tuned for further updates) Oh and yeah, I said whilst. What? We say that here. Overall the theatre here has been really good and I have already seen a fair amount of work considering the little time I have been here.

Let's see what else? I've suffered my first cold here. Poor me! Fortunately there has been plenty of tea and soup to go around, as we are very used to cool, damp temperatures here and I'm feeling right as rain. Speaking of soup I managed to make my very own tomato soup from scratch today, now I realize this is not one of the many food blogs, but still it was yummy. Speaking of weather, because a blog covering sports and politics is never complete without the weather, it has been lovely here as the days are getting longer and it is feeling like spring. Look at that I've actually got a post in the following week exactly, I'm on a roll.

Happy March!

Another Week in Ireland!

Last week I had dinner with some friends at another friend's house. I must say I felt very grown up bringing a glass of wine to the hosts of a fabulous homemade sushi dinner. Afterwards we played Chinese checkers, a game I have not played since I was a child so I suppose I am not completely grown up yet! Last Sunday Ireland played France in their second match of Six Nations. I watched the game with some friends and in true American spirit (and knowing that the Superbowl would be on in the wee hours of the night here) we made onion dip to enjoy during the game. Sadly Ireland lost, though it was a very well played match. I am hoping they will beat Scotland this weekend as I think a win would boost the countries moral as we head into elections this Friday.

I watched the debates for the upcoming election with my flatmate, who tried his best to explain Irish politics to me. There are five parties: Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, Sinn Fein, Labor and Green. Naturally that means there were five people debating each other which lead to a lot of bantering and talking over each other. But that's politics, right? Fianna Fail was the current party of the Taoiseach (prime minister) Brian Cowen who recently stepped down, so it is not expected for them to have a positive outcome in this election. Most of the people I have talked to favor Fine Gael and the Labor Party, who may combine into one party, and are expected to win. (I hope I have all of that right, it is very confusing!) Of course I cannot vote here so I will watch and learn and report back to you. It is very exciting to be living in a country on the brink of change. I watched as the people of Egypt took to the streets of Cairo, streets which I had been walking down only a few years ago, and I felt a sense of pride. As the House and Senate are now meeting in the U.S. I urge everyone to write to their representatives and not to take your freedom for granted. Now I shall step down from my soapbox. Thank you.

On Saturday I got out of Dublin for the day and headed to County Meath, just north of Dublin. I went to the Boyne Valley a place of extreme significance to Irish history. I saw Newgrange, an ancient tomb and  observatory used to mark the winter solstice that was built by the Druids well before the pyramids in Egypt were built. It is built of white stone into a hill, and while very unassuming it is absolutely beautiful. Simply standing inside the tomb I could feel that it was indeed a sacred place. On the winter solstice as the sun rises over the east the ray's of light fall into a box like cavern and lights up the entire tomb. It is believed that this may have been done because the Druids worshipped the sun. Regardless it took an extreme understanding of math and science in order to build Newgrange in a way where to this day the sun still finds its way into the tomb every winter solstice. As we arrived fog was rising from the valley, just as I imagine it had hundreds upon hundreds of years ago. The River Boyne flows through the valley and its banks were the grounds for the Battle of the Boyne in 1690 where William of Orange fought James II for the thrown of England. William's victory caused what has become a great divide between Protestants and Catholics and is still prevalent today.
I also went to the Hill of Tara which was once the site of the home of Ireland's ancient kings. From the hill you can see 23 of Ireland's 32 counties, now a breathtaking view, it would have kept the King safe from enemy attack. The hill is now surrounded by farmland and as I wandered through the mud pondering what it would have been like so long ago I stumbled upon some sheep grazing nonchalantly.  It was truly a lovely sight to see.

Today there was a beautiful rainbow outside my bedroom window. It made a full arch across the whole sky. I was lucky to have noticed because the weather changes quickly and it soon vanished.

Well that's all for now. I'll be back with more soon!

Ponies, and Sheep and Donkeys, Oh My!

Well it has been lashing, or as you would say, raining a lot. I was beginning to think that the weather had been unusually nice but I suppose I spoke too soon. At least I can put my rain gear to good use. In other unrelated news I have temporarily dyed my hair red, now I really do look Irish. While I have been told that the colour suits me, I think I will be glad to go back to my natural colour.

On Monday I went to Sligo for the day to help one of the facilitators I work with run a workshop on anti-sectarianism and racism with young people. The workshop went very well and is the first of many that we will be doing in Sligo and Donegal. Sligo is a beautiful town on the west coast in rural County Sligo, just above Mayo and below Donegal. The train ride was lovely, I do not think it will ever cease to amaze me how truly green Ireland is. Guess the rain is good for something! We passed many farms, old churches and castles. Typical day in the country. It is incredible to me that in a matter of about six hours I can be on the other side of the country and back! If I tried that at home I would probably be in the same state.

While running some errands I popped into the post office, the very post office that was used as the stronghold for revolutionaries during the 1916 Uprising (also known as the Easter Rising). There are still bullet holes in the walls and columns that can be seen from the outside of the building. While part of the post office is now a museum, the rest of it still functions which I think is really cool. Right around the corner is Moore St. where women sold and still sell fruits and vegetables from carts or stands. Nestled amongst some of the more modern buildings is #16 another important place of the Uprising. One of the community groups I am working with is writing their play about the buildings in Dublin that have such historical significance, yet remain unnoticed and unchanged. Ireland's history as a sovereign nation is relatively short, while the fighting goes back much further. Yet Ireland overall has an incredibly rich history which can be noted amongst the streets of Dublin or the vast countryside. For a history dork like me it is wonderful.

Six Nations is on. Ireland beat Italy in the last match! Let's hope they can go on to beat France on Sunday!