June 22, 2016

Today wasn’t too eventful so I didn’t want to write a full article about it. We had class until 3 then free until 9 at night. The majority of us took advantage of our first day of not doing anything by staying in and catching up on homework we had due Friday. I stayed in for that whole time, except for venturing out once to go to the store down the road for extra ingredients for dinner. We were meeting at 9 to leave to go see Sacrifice at Easter. The venue for this show was at Elizabeth Fort, which looks like a medieval stadium in a castle without any seats or benches. The venue was split into different areas and we had to walk from one to the other with the changing scenes. We learned Irish arts are very conscious of their venues and choose one that matches with their work. The play was very interesting. It jumped around a lot and we, being Americans, didn’t know all the references. However, the actors were amazing and it was very well done. Afterwards, we were going back, but Ireland had played a soccer game that night and won, which is a very big deal for the Irish. The main street in the city was closed and there was a huge riot/party going on. Everyone in the city seemed to be there dressed in green. It was really fun to walk through, although we had to be careful not to step on all the broken glass. The Irish erupted in songs and cheers as soon as the one before it ended. My favorite part was an Irishman walked up to our small group trying to get us to sing. When we told him we didn’t know the words and we were from America he was shocked. He wanted us to prove it by first speaking in “Irish” and then to speak in “American.” He was hilarious and so nice, trying to catch us up on everything going on. It was a wonderful end to such an uneventful first part of the day.

June 23, 2016

I did not have a good start to this day. I remembered to switch my camera battery before leaving for our day trip to Kinsale, but forgot to look at how much was left, so I ended up grabbing the one that was almost dead. Our small group of 5 left early to make it on the first bus leaving at 9:05 and made it there by 9:45. We decided to go to the James Fort Ruins. There was a sidewalk for the majority of it, but once we turned down one road it turned to gravel then a worn path. We, being the adventurers we are, decided not to follow the usual path and go down through this field overlooking the harbor, figuring we’d loop back later. Much to our surprise, we found a very old looking tree with a rope swing. Naturally, we had to all try it out before returning to our mission to find the ruins. We kept going along the field and curved back up to see the first one, an arched doorway. We also saw a bunch of dogs who went swimming which was another highlight. We continued walking since the ruins were split into 3 sections.  The next one was at the edge of a cliff overlooking the water. It was really cool with some different rooms to explore. There was something that looked like a dungeon with a long hallway that went down somewhere. However, the gate was locked and we couldn’t figure out another way to get in, so we continued to the last of the ruins. The map said this part was supposed to be the center of the fort. It definitely looked more like a home, what was left of it at least. There were still a couple fireplaces and a chimney standing, along with some rooms.

After exploring this one and climbing on everything we could, we decided to find our way back. However, because we can never go back the way we came we found a new path back. We walked through more fields and found a trail that led to the beach. This was so cool. The beach was different then the kind we are used to. The sand is a darker color, almost like a gray tint to it. A family was dressed in full wet suits, kayaking, and playing in the water. Other families had chairs set up while their kids played in the sand. There was even a picnic being set up even though it looked like it was going to rain any minute and was a little windy. Nonetheless, a perfect day on the beach for the Irish. On the other side of the beach were huge rocks that wrapped around the bend in the land. We climbed on those and explored the area for a long time, before deciding to make our way back into town and go to the fish ‘n chips place we saw getting off the bus this morning. We made it to Dino’s right after the rain began to start. The wind was blowing so it didn’t come down straight but at an angle. Thankfully, this was hitting our backs so it was ok. We made it to our table as the rain picked up and those who were outside ran for cover.  This place was amazing! Our whole group agreed and we decided those were the best fish ‘n chips we have ever had, but it didn’t stop there. The two guys ordered dessert, which to no surprise was delicious too. It all tasted so fresh, homemade, and perfect. The rain had lightened up at this part, but we were all content sitting there enjoying it for a little longer. By the time we went to pay, the rain had stopped and we began walking around the town window shopping.

We went into a sweater shop and I felt obligated to buy something but I couldn’t find anything I was in love with so with a heavy a heart I walked out empty handed. Hopefully in another place I’ll have more luck. We walked into a gallery where we would point out our favorite pieces. Every single one we picked was by the same guy and the owner told us that the artist is actually Irish and has his own gallery down the street where you can watch him paint. We went and saw a ton of new paintings from other collections and then got to watch him work. It was fascinating watching him and he was able to finish a piece way quicker than I ever would. After he finished he came up and talked to us for a little bit, which was really cool. He told us about the extreme places he has painted like scuba diving in the Cenotes. We ended the day in Kinsale with a stop at a small café to write a little and talk about what we saw and thought about things. Our class had to meet back at the school at 9pm for a pizza and movie night. The movie turned out better than we were expecting and it was a lot of fun having everyone in one place hanging out.

June 24, 2016

This was a very relaxed Friday. We had classes today and went to a small family-run café for lunch. After a small break, we met back up with the group to head over to the UCC gallery. We were going to see this art performance that was supposed to be about the body in art. I guess that was true, but it was very strange. I know art is kind of out there and up to your interpretation, but this one was a little too much out there. The girl carried around ladders the whole time then pulled out sheets that looked like tinfoil and would shake them out then tape them to herself like a tail. This went on for 30 minutes before we all started wondering what we were watching. The professors were even confused. They let us begin to trickle out around that time. A couple people stayed till the end which was an hour and a half long and the only reason that was the end was because the gallery was closing. I would love to know what her thoughts were on the performance and her reasoning, but it didn’t look like she was going to explain even if she didn’t go till close.

People all went in separate directions for dinner. We decided to go back to the apartments and made a big pasta dinner. We wanted to stay in so we could plan activities for our last free weekend in Cork. We topped the night off with an ice cream run and a couple movies. Pretty good end to the day and I’m excited to see how our plans will turn out!