"I'm not buying you a fucking gin tonic." Part I

So hello everybody, I've missed you.

I'm attempting this post now, at 9:43 pm on Thursday evening, and let me just say that I will be extremely impressed with myself if this gets done before Monday. Why? Well, let me just say that I am BUSY. I know that a lot of you probably know what I'm talking about seeing as you're either coming through or just came through midterm season, but honestly, I don't even remember what it feels like to be well-rested. Since about 2:30 this afternoon I've felt as though I'm seconds away from collapse. And as I start this I'm in bed under my comforter, eyes heavy. But I miss this blog, and even more than that I miss your comments. The difference in the frequency of posts between this month and September physically pains me. So I'm going to try.

As many of you know, a couple weeks ago I took a trip with my group from CIEE to the West. In four days we hit Westport, Connemara, and Galway. There are some pictures up already, and if I have time I'll get the rest up this weekend, but I'll post a direct link to the album for all of you non-facebookers out there.

It was a great trip. We stayed in a lovely adorable little hotel in Westport, which is a lovely adorable little town that has maybe 5 or 6 little pubs, all on the same street. CIEE took care of us - our hotel was three stars and each night we had delicious 3 course dinners and full Irish breakfasts every morning if we could haul our still-drunk asses out of bed in time to enjoy them, all paid for by the program.

The reason we were out west wasn't for a vacation (although after hostel beds and the rock-hard number I have in my dorm room it was close enough for me). In our CIEE core course, History and Culture of Modern Ireland, we were at the time studying the Great Irish Potato Famine, which I actually have a rather large paper (10+ pages) due on in about 48 hours, which naturally I haven't started. The west of Ireland was the region hit most harshly by the famine, so the museums that we were going to were originally the homes of wealthy landlords who evicted their poor, dying, peasant tenants and the sites that we were seeing tended to be the sites of Famine monuments or memorials. The trip actually would have been quite depressing if it wasn't for the fact that we have a great group and that that part of the country is actually mind-blowingly beautiful.


I don't feel the need to go into details of the museums, they're your standard "what a horrifying rift between rich and poor" fare. And, well, the monuments you can see for yourselves in the pictures (which, because I'm me and I love to write, generally come with very descriptive explanations of historical or sociological importance). So if you're interested, I would encourage you to check those out. What made the trip was the people, the fun, the being away from the city and classes, and the beauty of the location. And so, I present to you...

Part One: The Land.

We saw Croagh Patrick and Connemara on our first full day. Croagh Patrick is a mountain named for the infamous Saint Patrick, about 20 minutes drive outside of Westport, where we were staying. Climbing it is considered to be an act of pilgrimage for Irish Catholics. Even going a TINY fraction of the way up was tough for us, many of whom were battling hangovers from the night before (oops). Regardless, you didn't have to go very far up to get amazing views - as the name "Westport" implies - the city (and the mountain) are right on the Western Irish coast, meaning from our post near the base of the mountain we could still see out into the islands that littered that area of the coast - lucky for us, the weather was gorgeous and the views were pretty spectacular.

(ali iannotti, ladies and gentlemen)

Afterwards, on to Connemara, the heart of Famine country. Connemara is a region that straddles the counties of Mayo (where Westport is) and Galway, home of (predictably) Galway City, one of Ireland's main cultural centers and the birthplace of the Claddagh ring - you know the one I mean. There isn't really a whole lot going on in Connemara. Most of the landscape is wayyy to mountainous to make farming or settlement feasible and the flat land is mostly bog, meaning the earth is too transitional to make developed transport feasible. Thus, we all piled in to the stuffy, airless, smelly bus for a 2-3 hour drive over the Connemara bog roads, which are never greatly invested in because they'll only have to be redone in a couple years anyway. I felt like CRAP. I hate buses. We all know this.

So, after being virtually unable to look out the windows for most of the journey, I was overjoyed when Don said we'd be making a stop. All I could think about was fresh air. The second the bus stop I flew out of my seat, up the aisle, and down the stairs. When outside, I gulped the fresh air and looked up to this:


RIDICULOUSLY gorgeous, and this was just our first glimpse. The whole group of us just milled about the area, completely stunned by our surroundings. The mountains towering around us on all sides, the mirror-like reflections in the water, the crystal-clear skies - we were very fortunate, I consider it a miracle that for the entire trip the typical Irish fog and rain was kept at bay. Alas, once we got back on the bus, I was again indisposed and could only sneak quick glances out at the scenery around us. Luckily, I had Will, who has a very masculine fascination with expensive toys and was thus more than happy to take over the use of my camera to document the surroundings.

As beautiful as the scenery was, it was tempered by the area's history. The same roads that we were standing and driving on had been walked 150 years ago by the dying poor in search of assistance from their wealthy neighbors, assistance that the landlords and the gentry, largely of English or Anglo-Irish descent, were unwilling to give. There was a huge level of animosity between the English and the native Irish, who made up the vast majority of the peasant class, and they Irish were undoubtedly considered the lowest of the low within their very own country. It is a very sad truth that the English had the means to assist the Irish during this natural disaster, which more than halved the national population in a space of 3 or 4 years, a loss of population that came from disease, malnutrition, and mass emigration in order to escape what was essentially a dying country. The loss of life and the lack of action on the part of the English (although at the time the Irish were considered - politically - to be British citizens), was so bad in fact, that the purpose of the paper I'm to be writing this weekend is to analyze on what level the Famine was a natural disaster, and on what level it could be considered a genocide by the English of the native Irish. (Heavy stuff, I know.)

Anyway, Croagh Patrick and Connemara were without a doubt the most notable parts of the trip from a traveling perspective. Galway was a cool city, but by then the weather had caught up with us and in the middle of the day on a Friday there really wasn't a lot going on. It's another port city, much larger than Westport, that plays host to one of Ireland's major universities and is as such a great cultural center with a lot of cool restaurants, pubs, and shops. But, as we only had a few hours to explore the city, it probably has more to offer that I haven't seen.

That's all for now - I have to say that I am pretty impressed with myself that I got a post up tonight - just an hour ago it was a brutal battle to keep my eyes open for any significant period of time. Please, comment away - a side effect of being this busy and tired is that I've been feeling extra isolated these days, and I'm missing being able to see and talk to you guys more than I can really express. As always (and maybe even a little bit more now) your comments mean the world to me and I love hearing from all of you.

Also, if you want to send something a little more tangible, it only costs a dollar or so to send a letter. The address is up in a previous post, and I cannot even describe the feelings of joy and well-being that overwhelm me when there's mail (and I don't get much). I can safely say that I would love you forever.

You can see the rest of the pictures from Croagh Patrick and Connemara HERE. More photos (from Galway, etc) to come.

Stay tuned for Part II: That One Time In Ireland When It Was Kinda Like I Had A Social Life.

The Indian Food Adventures

Alright, so most of you know that I'm obsessed with Indian food. Those who didn't know probably got some idea from the post below. For the readers who still haven't gotten the memo...I'm obsessed with Indian food.

In Boston approximately a 4 minute walk from where I've been living for the past year or two there is a wonderful little Indian joint that sports a $7 lunch buffet every day of the week, plus a delicious if slightly more pricey dinner/takeout menu. As such, I'd say it's not unusual for me while in Boston to eat Indian food 2 or 3 times/week, easily.

But alas, as much as I would have liked it to, Bombay Cafe did not relocate to Dublin with me. So, a large amount of my time in my first month here was devoted to finding an adequate substitute. As you might have gleaned from the post below, that search was wrought with frustration. While living in Dublin's center at the Four Courts Hostel, there were several places that were easily accessible, but they were pricey and all together not that impressive. After a couple tries, I resigned myself to the truth that no matter how hard I tried, it was going to be very difficult to come across food with a respectable level of spice. I also resigned myself to the fact that like everything in this country, any take-out would be pretty damn expensive.

Shortly after my frustrations drove me to post that beautiful picture below and demand assistance from friends and family in the form of recipes, I discovered a wonderful website called http://www.just-eat.ie/, a website which is in essence the Irish version of Foodler. I entered in my postal district and out popped a list of restaurants that would deliver to me. A couple of them were Indian, and one was actually reasonably priced (€2 delivery fee aside). I immediately ordered chicken tikka masala, garlic naan, and onion bhajee (a pekora-like structure made from just onions). After quite a bit of confusion in the ordering/delivery process, (they had to call to confirm something and their Indian/Irish English was COMPLETELY uncompatible with my American English - it took both of us repeating ourselves at least 3 times per sentence before the understood anything. Also, they can't deliver directly to the dorms and my phone was deciding not to pick up any calls at that particular moment) I met him outside the residence reception, paid up, and proceeded to gorge myself.

Was it spicy? No. Was it amazing? No. But it was close enough to the food that I loved and craved that it was the best ever, and what normally would have lasted me a good 2 meals was gone within an hour. I was so full and satisfied that I thought I surely would never have such cravings for Indian food again. This was Wednesday. I ordered again on Friday.

I managed to rope in my friends Kelsy and Meghan (who had never had Indian food?!?!!) to wait with me so that we could avoid the missed-call fiasco again. I saw someone pull up and my phone rang. I answered.

Me: Hello!
Delivery Guy: Hi, it's me from Gill's Tandoori. I'm parked in the same place I was parked yesterday.
Me: It wasn't yesterday!!
*Delivery Guy hangs up*

Pretty hilarious, I know. Anyway, got my food and not only was I able to save half of it for a delicious leftover meal the next day, but I was able to control myself enough that I was even able to spare some samples for Meghan, Kelsy, and Tom (who joined us later and was an instant fan of onion bhajee), who are all now newly-converted Indian foodies.

Since then, the Indian fever has spread. Subathra, another girl in our program, was able to loan me some spices for my (several) attempts at vegetable pekoras, attempts which in the last 2 batches have actually acheived some success. (And I managed not to completely maul myself while deep-frying!!!! Those of you who have seen my left hand know what a feat that is) With the help of Subathra's expertise, we've also managed to put together 2 feasts. Our home-cooking has actually managed to supress my desire to order in again, which is never easy, so I must thus declare the Indian Food Adventures to be a roaring success.

But, as most of us know, nothing will ever replace Bombay Cafe. Cheers!!

Alright Alright!!

Haha Carmen your comment on my last post made my day so this one, short as it may be, goes out to you :)

It's been a week?!!? That might be the longest I've gone so far this trip. It's been a little busy, my friends. And by a little I mean I barely have time to think. But, as exhausting as busyness is, it does afford for many things to blog about, so Carmen (and others) you can look forward to quite a few this week as I get caught up.

What's been going on? Well classes are in full swing now - I'm taking four. I managed to avoid the usual study-abroad-is-like-a-vacation syndrome by getting myself into classes that are widely considered to be the most difficult. Woo!! I'm taking one course that is required by my CIEE program, which I have with all of the 18 other American students that are being hosted here by CIEE. It's not the only study abroad program here, so there are many other Americans wandering around campus...we're just the most spoiled.

Anyway, the CIEE core course is History and Culture of Modern Ireland and is team-taught by our program director Don (who is amazing) and his colleague Noel (a very eccentric Northern Ireland-er who gets caught up in tangents about Protestant dinner parties and jigsaw puzzles). Don's half is pretty engaging, but usually after 10 minutes of Noel talking we all find ourselves decorating our notebooks. Interesting guy, but probably better suited to having a conversation than to leading a class. My other courses include two senior-level political science courses, Contemporary Politics of Latin America and Political Terrorism, as well as a post-grad level literature-based course entitled The Experience of War, in which we look at things like speeches, novels, art and films produced around the era of the World Wars and discuss how they illustrate the cultural impact of conflict. All the courses are interesting and all of the lecturers are good, but once I got all of the syllabi (sp?) together I realized that by the end of the term I would be producing at the very least 6 research papers, all over 10 pages in length (and the majority of which are due in my final week here). Nice work, Elisha, nice work. Good choices.

So if that wasn't enough, I took on an internship here as well. You have three guesses where I ended up. Yes, that's right, I'm currently devoting 10-15 hours per week to the International Office at Dublin City University. The internship in itself isn't stressful at all, the people are nice and I've been given a couple projects that are challenging enough to be interesting but not worrisome. The issue is having 15 hours per week that I'm not researching papers or going over notes or doing reading for class. (The "required" readings for all of my classes combined tops 300 pages/week, easily)

In addition to classes and internships and whatnot, I try to go to the gym every day, which gives me a wake-up call of 8 am at the latest on Monday - Thursday in order to be able to get to class/work by 10. On those 4 days, I'm pretty much going non-stop from 8 to about 4 or 5. Add to that cooking dinner, relaxing a bit, hanging out with friends and (hopefully) getting some reading done, and you've got a pretty full day. No classes on Fridays, which is nice, and was exciting at the beginning of the semester due to its prospects for travel. However now, time and money are slipping away at incredible speeds, and trips that I promised myself are steadily getting cut from the calendar as I have to increase my considerations for my bank account and for my academic well-being.

It's tough, and the fact that I have to limit myself here, curb the sense of adventure for the sakes of rationality and responsibility tends to bring on bouts of homesickness, exhaustion, and even sometimes depression. Another major time commitment is the pursuit of an international co-op for next semester, and the daily frustrations of trying to get advisors to connect and answer emails and give the help you need when you're five hours ahead and across an ocean don't make things any easier. Thoughts of being home in Boston come every day, where I could camp out outside the co-op office til I got an answer, where I'd be taking classes taught in a style that was familiar, where I knew what was expected of me, and where I could unwind with good friends who I knew well with a pint of beer that would cost significantly less than €4.50 (~$6.75).

But the people here are generally great, and our CIEE core course includes 2 4-day trips around Ireland that are entirely paid for, one of which I just got back from (posts and pictures soon, once I can get my internet to let me upload!). I must admit, it was nice to get out of the city and away from classes and work for a little bit, to stay in a 3-star hotel with a nice cushy bed and free breakfast and 3-course dinners every day. We had a lot of fun, got to see more of this beautiful country, and we have another one to look forward to coming up in a couple weeks.

Anyway, time to shower and get ready for a trip to the grocery store so I can stock up on things for the week and for our Sunday potluck that I think we might try to institute as a weekly deal. Stay tuned for tales of the beautiful West, drunken program directors, crazily obnoxious Greek roommates, and a continuation of the Indian Food Adventures. Love you guys, hope all is well. If you haven't already, hit me up with your address to be put on the postcard list. Take care!

This is my new porn.

Bombay Cafe I MISS YOU!!!

Danny if you're reading this please get your pekora recipe to me ASAP. That goes for anyone else with Indian food recipes that can be done somewhat easily and with limited ingredients. Seriously. Dying.

NOTHING. SPICY. IN. THIS. COUNTRY.

To Dublin readers: We need to remedy this soon. I think my addiction might be underestimated here.

Boston readers: Please assist by harassing Danny until he complies.