a soldier's song

I'm not quite sure what that title has to do with anything. it's the irish national anthem, also known as the amhran na bhfiann. I believe that Ireland is the only country I know of which has a national anthem in two languages.
I had a nice visit out to the aran islands. it ended up being myself, tara (from ny), elisa (from frankfurt am main), and 17 assorted europeans (from france, germany, italy, holland, and austria). it started out a little tense, because I had booked a cab for 6.45, knowing that it would probably be about fifteen minutes late, since we were all meeting downtownat 7.20. as I had anticipated, the cab got there at 7.00, so we got there with plenty of time. when everyone had gathered we walked over to the pier where we were supposed to be leaving from. note the phrase "supposed to." the boat was supposed to leave at about 7.45 (note the use of "supposed to" again). well, it was about eight, and there was no sign of anyone. just a bunch of backpackers milling around. well, people were getting very tense about the lack of ferrying, so after a while we started to walk back into town. as we were leaving the docks a car pulled up and after a very long conversation it was related to those of us unwilling to involve ourselves in any arguing or tenseness that the weather was too bad, so the ferry wasn't running. again, with the tenseness. we walked into the heart of town, waiting for a tourist office to open so that we could try to find an alternate mode of transport. to cut a long and rather uninteresting aspect of this story short, we ended up taking a bus out to rossaveel, where the crossing is shorter and the ferries run in all sorts of weather. we got on, and lots of people were sitting on top, which I knew wasn't going to last long, so I went downstairs to see if I could find a window seat. the guys working the ferry came through, telling everyone that they should sit in the back because it would be smoother back there. I decided that I was going to tough it out, since I have never really had any problems with sea-sickness, or motion sickness of any kind, really. we got started and it was pretty rough for the first 15 minutes of so, and there were lots of people accepting plastic bags, but I had such a great time! as long as I could see a wave coming I didn't have any troubles with getting sick. my stomach would do little turns on every big drop, but it wasn't especially troublesome. it struck me as odd that I would enjoy this so much, considering how much I hate roller coasters. anyways, I was in a great mood, and then I saw my roommate Tara who was literally green (I never thought that people actually turn green, it seemed like it was just an expression, but it really does happen). it would seem that I was among the few who had enjoyed the trip over.
after we had disembarked we walked about a kilometer to the hostel, where we all payed our 14 euros for a night's accomodation and breakfast the next day. after breakfast we went in a little mini-bus with this great irish guy who just kind of drove us to the big sites, telling stories the whole time, singing songs, and relating anecdotes about every single person we passed on the road. when there are only 900 people on your island, it seems to mean that everyone knows everything. we went to a place called the seven churches, which was once the site of a monastic community and we all got out and took pictures, then got back on the bus because it was raining. our next stop was a rocky beach which had some fabulous views of the nearby cliffs. the bus driver said, alright take 15 or 20 minutes, then meet back here. about an hour and a half later the people finally were trickling back in. it would seem that if you give continental europeans something to climb all over, they're pleased as punch. I was ready to go after a much shorter amount of time, having wandered around and examined a few stone enclosures which looked interesting, so I went back to the bus and had a chat with our driver, though I'm ashamed to say that I never found out his name. when they had finally all come back there was a bit of a...to do? I'm not quite sure how to describe it. thomas had negotiated for a four euro fee to be taken out to the beach, and it would be four more to go to the cliffs, then back to the hostel. now, I don't mind a bit of walking, but it was going to be a three hour trek to go to the cliffs, then back to the hostel. I thought that that was definitely worth 4 euro, and I wasn't the only one. but thomas was trying to dicker with the driver to get a discounted rate to go just to the cliffs, and the bus driver was having none of it. finally we left behind about half the group and proceeded to Dun Aonghasa (pronounced done angus). it's a ring fort perched on the edge of a cliff...it was so spectacular. it's actually half of a ring fort, and it looks almost like the other half just fell into the sea. I'm having a heck of a time finding a decent picture of it, especially since I still can't get the photo publisher to work . this was about the best I could do for now: http://www.cycleholidaysireland.com/day_5.5.jpg .
it was one of the most amazing things I've ever seen. it's not quite as awe inspiring as the cliffs of moher, but just imagining standing on the central platform, with the atlantic ocean behind you...you get some feeling of being transported to the days when it was first built over 2500 years ago. it was....beyond words.
I think that's probably the climax of the trip, so I'll summarize ther rest of it briefly: returned to 'town,' checked out the famous aran woolen mills, had dinner at a nice restaurant, went back to the hotel where everyone was singing their national anthems (oy), went to bed around 9, woke up about 8.45 after a night of much waking up (I guess that happens where there are 8 or 9 people to a room), had a slightly undercooked breakfast, walked down to the tourist office where I bought a couple posters and postcards, came back on the ferry (a much smoother crossing), had lunch at supermacs (a suprising non-greasy fast food restaurant), took the bus home (with the fantastic bus pass which I bought last friday), and took a much welcomed hot shower. I guess that I should add that the whole trip, indeed this whole ireland trip, was rather water-logged. after a nap which lasted much longer than I had planned, I took a stab at my latin (which I did rather well at).
today was rather uneventful, except for the incredible rain and cold weather. even the natives have been complaining. especially at gaelic football practice - we were drenched, especially those whose team lost the little scrimages, since they had to do 20 sit-ups, laying in the cold wet grass. fortunately our team didn't lose any scrimages, though I think that that may be due to the fact that one of the girls on our team didn't have on a yellow jersey like the rest of us, so the other team passed to her fairly regularly. I can't say that I'm sorry for the misunderstanding.
tomorrow is going to be another fabulous 'medieval ireland tuesday.' only two classes, both with daibhi o croinin.
my other big news was that I finally got a chance to talk to karen! I had been kind of worried, since I hadn't heard from her via email or anything (besides the fantastic care package which she sent me), so I was thrilled when I finally got in touch with her on friday. she hasn't been well, but she was so happy to get a chance to talk to me, I was sad when my phone card ran out of time. I plan to go out and buy another as soon as I can, especially since there are a couple birthdays coming up, so I should definitely make a few calls there as well.....