Class since Monday has been different. We have a lot on the timetable this week, but it's all pretty interesting. I have not enjoyed waking up for class, if only because we have a guest lecturer through tomorrow. She's nice and very knowledgeable, but kind of dull in her lecture style, and very redundant. The good news is, after a long lecture, we've watched movies.
"Odd Men Out" and "The Quiet Man" are both good films, but very long after a morning of lecture. It's been worth it to sit through them, but incredibly frustrating when all I'm thinking about is being able to leave the classroom. Tomorrow, we are watching "The Wind That Shakes the Barley," which supposed to be very good--just LONG.
Nevertheless, seeing Irish films is at least a break from reading, and they end up being worth the drawn-out viewing.
The two hour bus ride to Killarney to see Riverdance was also worth it. The bus was late and we hit traffic, so we ended up in the city during dinnertime. I was starving, and so my classmate and I hit a really greasy fast-food joint. It was a quick stop that filled us up with bad things (but we were still full) and allowed us ample time to explore Killarney.
It's in County Kerry, which houses the Gaelic Football team that is competing against Cork this weekend. It's the championship, I think, so it's pretty big. The town was covered in Kerry colors (Gold and Green), although we found one store that sold a couple of red and white Cork flags and jerseys.
It was a small city centre, walkable in less than ten minutes (without stopping). We hit up every corner of the centre, and still had plenty of time before Riverdance. Most stores closed, so we ended up in a pub, Courtney's, where we had a pint and played cards. We then made our way to the theatre, which was supposedly only a half-mile away from the centre. It was more than that...and when we asked our way, we were still a 15-minute walk from the venue, according to the helpful Irish folks. We booked it so that we could make it at least before the show started. The speedwalking paid off as we made it in less than five minutes, late, but in time enough for a professor to still be outside with tickets.
We had balcony seats, which were still great; we could see everything on stage, from the musicians to the step dancers, the other dancers, and the singers.
The show is different from the original Riverdance, but still contained some of the original Flately choreography. As that probably doesn't mean anything to anyone (it didn't to me, either), just know that it was like a ballet in that it told a story through dance and music. It was very focused on Irish history...not just the country, but the region. It compacted a millenium into an hour and half...which was highly impressive. It didn't really teach me about history so much as give some emotion and a sense of national pride to it.
I was blown away by the music and much of the dance. It was very energetic, fast, and loud. In the second act, as the Irish began life in America, where some Irish step dancers encountered some tap dancers in New York. The two groups had a dance off. So, it was a lot of clicking and jumping around...but it was amazing. It showed the distinction and the similarity between both forms of dance, and definitely showed how cultures can cross. It was very funny, too; each group mocked the others' way of dancing, which, if you can imagine, was plain hilarity. Even if you can't imagine, just trust me on this one.
I had a great time, and even though I got home at 12:30 after a long day, it was totally worth it.
Tonight, we got really nice, free dinner at a place called Isaac's. It's a pretty snazzy place with expensive foods. I ended up getting an amazing marinated chicken salad to start, and then a salmon potato cake (and more salad) for the main dish.
We then went across the street as a class and saw "Survivors," at the Everyman Palace Theatre. It was an ok show...kind of cheesy and poorly acted in some places. BUT, it centered around the differences between Irishness and Americanism in the early 1920s. As Ireland was building itself as a state, many Irish continued to immigrate to the roaring American '20s.
The family in the show had experienced a major loss when three family members were killed in the sinking of the Titanic. The one family member who made it to America, Mary, had married a Boston man descended from and Irish line that immigrated during the famine (named O'Malley...hmmmm). Ten years later, after Ireland had gained its independence from Britain, Mary returned with her husband, Bob. This sparks many conversations about the slow, country life of Ireland amidst a tumultuous civil war, compared to the post-WWI bustle of urban America.
What struck me the most was that I was seeing it from the Irish perspectives. The actors were all authentically Irish, and a couple of them were playing with American accents. The guy who played Bob had a really interesting accent somewhere in between Boston and New York, with an occasional Southern twang. Some of the attitudes about Americans were comical, but probably offensive any nationalist. The men in the show were generally degrading to women, too. Mary was a feminist, but not strong enough of one to stop Bob from beating her or keeping her at home.
The play ended with the family moving to America to pursue a better life, although no one is quite certain that will happen; all they know is that Michael Collins is dead, the men are dead, and their way of life can simply not be maintained.
There was a strong Anti-American sentiment that simultaneously praised the ideal of the American dream. It was interesting, especially considering my class were the only Americans in the building, and none of us had really seen a play like that from a perspective other than an American one.
I am a fan of these kinds of experiences. Although, the Irish audience was a little annoying when they laughed at the violence against women in the show...it really was not funny...
It was a good experience, though. The dinner was excellent and the show was worth seeing. I am glad it was all free, though!
Tomorrow is more class. Same with Friday. My friends and I are taking the weekend off of travel to prepare our class schedules, maybe see some shows in Cork, and just relax.
I really need the break, I think.
SO much for shorter blog posts...and I don't even have any new pictures. Oh well, a picture from the past weekend is below.
~MJ
Some cliffs on Inishmaan.
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