Classes in Ireland

Yes, I am actually taking classes while I'm in Ireland, believe it or not. I am not taking any classes that relate to my major, so unfortunately there are no tech classes here, but I am still enjoying what I am taking nonetheless. Four classes making up 12 credits for this semester, and it is keeping me busy reading and thinking about why I am here.

On Mondays I have an Irish Cultures class that includes a lot of different things. The major thing that we do in this class is learn a little bit of Irish, or Gaelic. So far we have learned basic phrases, greetings, numbers, hobbies, and the weather. The language is difficult because even though they use the same characters as us none of the sounds are the same. For instance Dia duit, which is their greeting meaning "God be with you" is actually pronounced something like "gee-ya which." The fact that the sounds from the language are completely different makes the language a lot harder for me. Because I have only taken a little bit of Spanish and even less French, I try putting my knowledge of those languages to work here, which helps even less. Needless to say, speaking Irish is not easy for me.

Along with Irish, our culture class also involves learning about the Irish culture and some things that are staples to them. We talked about how the Catholic faith affected Ireland and how it continues to. It struck me as weird how closely tied the Irish government and the Catholic faith are, and have been for many centuries. Along with that, we learned here this last week how to play a little on their tin Whistle, which looks like the photo below. It was a lot of fun to learn to play a couple of polka's on a tin whistle, and we didn't sound half bad!

Tuesday's we have our literature class. We are currently reading a lot of short stories from the late 1800's and early 1900's, but have gone over some plays and poems as well. It is interesting to get the insight that this professor has. He may drag on a little bit at times, but he has some interesting points that he has made more off-handed than anything. For instance, when he was talking about the Gaelic Literary Revival, he talked briefly about how in Gaelic there is no thoughts of ownership. You only say how something is with you, not that you own it. He has a lot of small insights like this that makes the class worth it to me.

Wednesday's are probably my favorite days because of the history class. We have mainly focused on Irish history since around the 1400's and have been working our way forward in time. Ireland and Britain have been so closely linked for hundreds of years, and I never realized how much it affects everything that happened. Getting this insight into their own history that I never even knew about before coming here is really helping me understand some of the things I see and hear.It is really refreshing to learn about historical moments in time from a perspective other than that of an American, as well. While we have mainly focused on Ireland and their history, we have also deviated a little to talk about certain aspects of American history and how it is very comparable. For instance, we had a fairly rousing discussion about Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and getting insight into how someone not from America views it is actually really eye opening.

Not only do I like it because of what I am learning and gaining from the class, but also because the professor is a pretty awesome guy. Not this week but a week ago we had class in the King's Head, which is a pub in Galway. What is interesting about the pub itself is that the person who supposedly beheaded King Charles I later owned and even lived in the building that has been preserved since. We got a chance to talk to one of our professors colleagues and hear the work she did to figure everything about the King's Head's history. That in and of itself would have been a cool enough experience for me, but there is more to it than that. To finish off the class we ended up having a debate about Oliver Cromwell in the Ruby Room in King's Head to finish off the day, which not only was fun but also very insightful.

Lastly we have a class that is about our study abroad experience. We don't actually meet at a regular time, it moves around depending on the trips we have planned and how our professor feels. The main focus of this class is about the blog I am keeping, as well as doing a small presentation on the places we will be going.

All in all, classes are fairly fun here in Ireland, and they keep me busy.