bewitched · seinfeld

Saying goodbye to Cork Thursday night was tough.  Ten of us went out to a really nice noodle restaurant called Wagamama. I ordered a rice bowl with egg, mushrooms, snap peas, tofu, etc.  Monica and I split two desserts: 1) chocolate cake with chocolate mousse and wasabi flecks  2) mango apricot tart with coriander seeds.  Odd and delicious!
We went out to a few of our favorite pubs and did the proper farewells. 
I said goodbye and cried (of course).
Packed up all my remaining stuff at 3:30 am and waited for the 5 oclock taxi to take me to the airport. Scary last taxi ride---nighttime, fast, and through freshly-poured asphalt. Don't think we didn't get any jeers from the construction workers!
It was a long day of flying. A 7 am flight starting at Cork brought me to London. Standing in the 100+ line waiting to check in with American Airlines was bad---I stood next to a British couple who began to yell at me for being American. Well, the husband was chiding me for my nationality, but the wife had to pat his feathers down before things got too out of control. I didn't know how to deal with it! That's the first time this whole study abroad experience that someone voiced their opinions about America and wanted me to react. I just smiled and shook my head. When should you defend? When should you agree?
From London to Chicago, nothing eventful happened. I couldn't get the girl beside me to say anything more than three words at a time in response to my questions. The men behind me must have been on some English football team. They were fit and fast-talkers, pulling verbal pranks on each other all the time.
Chicago to Seattle was pleasant because I had a nice travel companion. We chatted about Eddie Vedder and other musicians. 
Seattle at night from the sky looks amazing. I cannot wait til the day I visit that city. 
The Seattle layover was sad, because I saw a fish 'n' chips restaurant. Like it would compare at all to Lennox's!!! Yes, there will be a long list of things I'll miss from Ireland. No matter where you are---you're always missing something or someone else, right??
Seattle to Portland was short and maybe not sweet----but amusing. A Chinese woman sitting next to me and her husband and child across the aisle provided the laughter.
Driving "home" was so odd because it was all very familiar. Targets, Walmarts, gas stations with dollar signs, right-sided highway lines, left-seated drivers...  It's like I never left. But beyond that surface feeling is a whole bunch of new thoughts and memories floating around. 
Let's see if I can get on a West Coast time schedule now. 
Thanks for reading the Ireland blog---I hope you at least laughed once or twice!

We were walking around downtown shopping and we saw this man come out of his apartment building door, plug his left nostril and blow. The sound was horrifingly loud. What was worse was the fact that he did not use any kind of cloth or paper barrier, so his snot went straight onto the sidewalk. Visible snot rockets. Don't think that he stopped with one nostril. No no no. He plugged his right nostril and blew hard, too.

I will definitely miss many of the personalities around town and on campus. The two people I am most excited to get away from are:
*the pushy beggar who I saw the very first day I was in Cork...he is always creeping around by the stores and the ATM
*the man who sells newspapers by the post office and the English Market...he has a defeaning voice.

Classwork is nothing to stress about here. One exam on Tuesday and one creative writing project due by Thursday. The creative writing project is done, I only have to type it. It should be a low-key last week. Mmmm!

The reason for this early rising from a semi-comfortable bed begins with the shower door dilemma. {{The shower door is finally fixed. What did it take to get the shower door repaired? 1) a poison-pen email 2) a mysterious shattering of the other glass door 3) a total of 20 days living with glass everywhere.}}

Before the plumber decided to visit my place, Antonia told me she would let me shower in her shower. She was leaving for Dublin Friday morning, so she left me her keys. There's a funny story about the keys to our apartment though. On the key ring, we have a little sensor that lets us into the building. Then we have the main key that lets us into Apartment 24. Then we each have a little key that lets us into our single rooms, but what the other two haven't figured out is that each little single room key is exactly the same. So we have the ability to get into each other's rooms. For some reason I didn't want to bother trying to explain that to Antonia, so I just let her leave the keys. 

This is when I hate hindsight. I should have let her take the keys. Or I should have let her take the Apt. 24 key. Because after taking the 7 oclock bus from Dublin, she arrived late in Cork but had no way of getting into our door because of course I locked it from the inside. I remember hearing faint knockings earlier in the night. Then I heard the doorbell ring in a fast, jarring pattern...but I thought it might be a drunkard or even worse. So I didn't go to the door. I stayed in my bed and waited for it to pass. By this time, it was probably 2 am. I got back to sleep miraculously. But then around 4:30 the doorbell's successive tones began again. I, more rationally this time, decided to answer the door because it might in fact be Antonia. Yes it was. And now I can't go back to sleep.

Maybe I'll get a headstart on my homework for the day. Later on in the morning, Josh and I are going to the craft show. It's really a beautiful display of local crafts----jewelry and such.

This is the second-to-last Sunday in Ireland. Woah.
 

Mmmm. Food has been on our minds since Thanksgiving. Let's not kid around...food has been on the brain since forever. But now that we are so close to home----THREE WEEKS----, we have been discussing our cravings. Here are mine to date:
-Root Beer Float (heavy on the ice cream)
-Fruity Pebbles (soggy)
-Deb's egg/zuc scramble
-waffles with real maple syrup
-Chipotle burrito
-chocolate soy milk 
-Clark's mom's enchiladas (added!)
-corn bread from East Lansing (added!) 
-Amanda's dad's oatmeal rice treats (added!)
I thought it was getting colder here, and Friday night bolstered that opinion. We walked down to some pubs and our little toes were nipped with almost-frostbite. Thankfully it wasn't raining also. All of the pubs were jammed full of folks seeking warmth and alcohol. But last night was almost balmy outside. Just when you think you've figured out the patterns, Ireland throws another unexpected ball.

Thanksgiving turned out quite well. Everything was comparable to the food back home, except the stuffing. Honestly, it was horrible. And we were missing the pumpkin pie and corn casserole (sad, yes!). Thanks Grandma----I saved the night by making the gravy I watched you make so many times! No one else had a clue how to make it! We had about 12 people for the meal, 4 international kids and the rest were from various parts of the US.  

Tomorrow, if the shower door isn't fixed, I'm going to write a NASTY email to the people who should hear it. I'll CC Barry, the oh so competent manager of this place. I'm excited to bust out some fury. I've been patient enough.

On Wednesday, the International Office held a Thanksgiving Breakfast for all the Americans. It was a nice spread. Josh and I were the first kids to show up, followed by two boys. One of the boys was that odd, awkward, computer-loving type who shouted when he talked. And it was lovely when he started to deride Americans as a whole by saying "we don't need to know how to do math, we have computers to do it for us." Josh and I luckily escaped the pleasure of sitting next to him. The chaplain from Orientation way back in August was in attendance. Funny as always. He is a George Carlin for sure. 
I had two classes after the breakfast. After the music class, Ed and I were walking back on the bridge over the River Lee and we saw a SEAL. It was eating a fish. That stopped us in our tracks. We also saw a little kid learning how to ride a bike. He was out of control. The mom kept telling him he shouldn't jump off the bike when it started to get wobbly. 

Today is a day for a walk to the nearby shopping complex. Maybe we'll get a smoothie and something else. Also, I learned that "psychedelic" is the proper spelling. I apologize for all the times I used an A.

I've got some more photos! 

Yesterday provided a lot of stories, but I will relate them after the meal tonight---because surely there will be more!!

http://www.photoblog.com/BwitchSeinfeld/2007/11/21/

Their music might even be better live than in the studio. Don't know if I have ever made that claim before...  The only sad part was, they arrived two hours later than expected because of a ferry delay (from England probably). So the concert started at 11:15. But there was no opener!!! 

EDIT: We decided to be lazy and take a taxi home late last night after the show. The taxi driver was amusing to us because he had Rebel Flag dice in his rearview mirror. We asked him about it and he said he had lived in Arkansas for 7 years, but he's Irish. I guess the whole Cork Rebel idea comes out through many different paraphernalia....Che Guerva satchel bags, Stalin posters, etc. etc.

We're getting jazzed up for Thanksgiving here. We are trying our darndest to make everything that will be back home. Turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce/jello, sweet potatoes, baked apples...   and we'll see if we can do the pumpkin pie. If not, there are always dessert places in the English Market. Maybe a fancy berry tartlet? Or chocolate cake? 

Wednesday morning, the International Office is holding a Thanksgiving breakfast for American students. The other international students are livid that they aren't invited. Ah well. We are including two Germans and one Greek for our Thursday afternoon/evening festivities, so that should satisfy them at the least.

The weather is finally turning cold. And the rain is becoming more common.
It's too odd to think that after this week of dislocated celebrations, there are only 3 weeks remaining here on this isle. Eeek!

Dad arrived so much later at the bus stop than expected. Thank gawd for Tim and Mary's help with relaying plane information via email---since there is no phone here in the apartment. I was just about to give up at 9 pm, but he came into the waiting lobby with only his carry-on bag at 8:59 pm. Of course there were stories about his travels. Lost luggage, delayed flights, lalalala. If you know him and speak to him, you should ask him about them. They're pretty amusing, and sadly becoming typical of air travel these days.

Friday we attended some avant-garde concert (guitar and saxophone) in an art building. I feel bad, because I always wrangle people into these events that turn out to be unexpectedly...different. Dinner was delicious---we ate at some fancy-schmancy place where the hostess had Run Lola Run red hair and the waiter's hair looked like frozen asparagus with the green tips showing.  

Friday night we almost got into some trouble with a security officer in front of McDonald's. We were making calls to the luggage delivery guy in a urine-scented telephone booth, arranging a time and place to make the deal. The hand-off. Dad and I felt like we were in some cliche drug movie. Our first call got cut off early, and by then only information I got out to him was we were standing near the McDonald's and Virgin Records. We waited for about ten minutes, eyeing every delivery vehicle that passed our way. I decided to call again from the urine booth. Jacob, our man, answered and said he had the bag. He was in front of Virgin Records. He couldn't see us. So I told him to look to his left, look for the guy with the hat and the red coat. Finally----we made contact. Jacob, in front of the security officer, handed us the bag and then told us to follow him....

Saturday we spent out of Cork. First in a wildlife park called Fota. It was cute! Lots of fun animals. Then we spent time by the coast in Cobh (the last stop for the Titanic AND the Lusitania).  Only 12 pictures from the animal park. Will post by this weekend.

Sunday involved visiting the only Public House left in Cork. The Irish locals huddling around the bar table were singing along to the songs overhead. They must have been wasted! Or maybe they were putting on a show for us.
We had a crabby waitress at some place for lunch. She made us laugh so hard with her---is flippant the right word here---ways.  

Today has been the best one. Dad tried a cappuccino for the first time in his life! I tried anchovies (mmm!). We had our first Irish Fish and Chips experience. We went to the Franciscan Wells brew pub for some unique beers and heard good music there. I bought a ticket to a Jason Molina concert and will be buying a ticket to Caribou.

More later. Tired from all the walking. 

OH----and the apartment troubles never stop here. We walked in from our trip Saturday to find one of the shower doors shattered all over the bathroom floor. Glass everywhere. We tried a shower in apartment 6, but it was freezing! Dad couldn't do that anymore. He said he's done with cold showers. So we cleaned out all the glass and didn't put the water on full blast in order to prevent water from spitting out of the open area where glass used to be. Think it will get fixed by this week? Pessimistic NO.

Halloween was fun for a lot of reasons:
1) got to see people's costume ingenuity (or lack thereof)
2) got to eat lots of M & M's 
3) got to watch Hocus Pocus.

It was also a thrilling evening, not because we were scared of ghosts, but because we were scared of the Irish tradition of egg-throwing. People walk outside at their own risk. Every car that drives past you on the street may be a loaded gun. Whenever a car would creep to a slow pace, we'd freak out and walk faster. We were luckier than others, because we only got egged by one car on the way to a house party. Our friend Josh swiftly picked up two rocks after this egging occurrence, the first to throw at the car and a larger rock to throw at the person who would try to start a fight afterwards. Luckily, we didn't have to use either rock. It was all in potential self defense!

There haven't really been any events to track with the camera lately, but that should all change when Snookie comes to visit this week/end!!!

It's November, but there is no sign of snow. And there will be no snow til I get back on USA soil. I like being able to wear a tank top, skirt, and sandals during the day here. Today we got rained on without any warning, so we weren't prepared with coats or umbrellas. 

School work is piling up, and I am looking ahead to the holidays!

Friday, my German buddy and I went to the English Market for food because he was going to make mussels and pasta for dinner. The dinner was delicious, as always. We then took the bus downtown, which was my first time taking the local bus in Cork. My Greek roommate had to stand in front of the ballroom to scalp her ticket to the Jazz Festival show that night. Luckily, someone bought it. But only for 2E more than the original price. Then we walked to this club called "Qube" for a free pint. I asked for a Guinness with Black Currant, but I still couldn't drink even half of it by myself. There, we met another German who was definitely on some drug. He kept tossing his head from side to side, smiling, and running to the bathroom to splash water on his face. He couldn't sit down, and wouldn't really stand still either. We were perplexed as to his state of being.

After the Qube, the group I was with went into another pub while I stood outside talking with two friends from my Early Start class. They eventually left, so I had to go back into the pub. My group was nowhere to be seen! So I went outside to walk home. A man came up to me and said "I have to talk to you." I just kept walking at a brisk pace and he stood at my side, telling me ridiculous lines the whole time. Maybe if he hadn't been pushing 40 years old and creepy on first impression, I might have not ignored him. I told him "I'm going to leave now" and he gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Ugh! Thankfully, I had some people I knew nearby. I could've shouted at them.

That night, I squeezed oranges for their juice and put it into hot tea. Mmmm.

Saturday I made pumpkin couscous with FRESH pumpkin. At first, I was pissed off that I couldn't find a can of pumpkin puree, but then I realized how much more fun it is to use a cooking pumpkin. And I didn't have a can of broth either, so now I know how to make my own stock---thanks to Sebastian.

Yesterday was Daylight Saving Time in Ireland, which was a pleasant surprise in the afternoon! I went to the Jazz Festival at 3 pm with two Germans and my Greek roommate. It was loads of fun to people watch, listen to the music, and see the musicians get into their jams. We walked to the Franciscan Wells after the festival for Cork's "Octoberfest." Can you believe I found a beer that I would have drank maybe even 3 pints of??? It's a Belgian beer with banana flavor. Before you even taste it, you put your nose over the glass and inhale. Mmm. Banana. Sometimes they serve it in a large coconut with a straw. Damn good. The only beer I enjoy without wanting to hold my nose!

This morning, there was another amazing sunrise. Maybe another picture for you later on in the week.

Finbar Nolan. The seventh son of a seventh son. He's absolutely divine. Just look at his eyes!

Anglo/Irish Literature is a completely different type of English class than the type back home. We sit in a big lecture hall that is tweaked for the proper acoustics, so any sound from the audience is amplified. Whisperers beware! The professor only lectures. There is no student interaction with the pieces of literature we read, which I miss. At least the teacher has interesting life stories. She grew up in an Ireland completely different than today. For example, there was a thing young kids called the "Condom Train"---the train that went from the Republic (where condoms were banned) up to Belfast (where condoms were quite available). A few of her friends got arrested as they brought condoms back because they were illegal imports. 

Our class is half full of European students and half full of American students. She is letting all of us take Thanksgiving Day off, but she looked around the room to have someone explain Thanksgiving. How embarrassing when her eyes landed on me and she said "you can explain to the class the significance of the day!" Thank gawd it's been drilled into our heads for the past 15 years of schooling.

This afternoon, I'm taking myself to another free concert. It's related to the Jazz Festival events this week/weekend. All the festivals here are sponsored by alcohol. This one happens to be endowed by Guinness.

Today will also be a sushi day and a big homework day.

There is a scene in "Becoming Jane" when the characters are sitting in wooden chairs by an open window and bird calls serve as the background music. I thought I missed that---the sound of birds tweetering (nice word, right?) through windows. But as Monica and I were walking to Tesco yesterday, a bird made a point to swoop dangerously close to our heads and then stare at us after it landed. Not only stare, but squawk too. 

I did like seeing the graceful swan floating down the River Lee a few nights ago. And the cranes are fun to watch when they take off from various resting points along the bank. Too bad there are just as many animal cranes as there are mechanical construction cranes in this town.

I wish the walls in this apartment weren't so thin. I often stare at my whistle and wish I could play it. When music streams from the computer, I wish I could sing along. But I know both of those activities might be undesirable to certain listeners. Also, thicker walls would mean cigarette smoke couldn't invade all areas of the apartment. It is difficult to avoid cigarettes in this city---whether you are in a building, outside, in class...   Breathing clean air is a challenge. 

The real Monday blues. Rain in the morning, rain in the afternoon, and rain in the evening. I was walking in a lazy haze for a large portion of the day. I needed a jolt to the system, which I thankfully received when I opened the door to the fourth floor of our apartment complex; the door frame holds water as if it were a bucket, so when a person pushes the door open, a seeming bucket of rain water rushes onto your head and shoulders. It was cold. It was just what I needed. Cheaper than espresso!

Dinner was homemade and delicious tonight. Too bad South Park poisoned any conversation. At least there was a Polar Ice nature show to follow the meal. A focus of the show, besides wonderful camera shots of polar bears and ice, was the sea-dwelling animal with the Unicorn-inspiring tooth. Narwell, Narwal(l)? Scientists still aren't sure the actual purpose of that single tusk.

The Film Festival shows we caught on Saturday were quite good! The afternoon show was a compilation of International Shorts. The late night show was a modern adaptation of A Picture of Dorian Gray. Setting it in present-day Manhattan, the director did a good job of creating a new space for the story. Oscar Wilde is so quotable...oh I could give you my top ten right here. All the comments on narcissism and materialism. Hmmm. Wilde came before Lacan...

Halloween is upcoming. We'll have to watch Hocus Pocus soon. Who knew October would fly by without regular Cider Mill visits?

Mumsy and Matt (and Ross---wherever you may be), there are tons of Babe Magnets around Ireland. Ha ha! They're in all different colors though.

Speaking of colors, the milk aisle is depressing in Ireland. It's all WHITE. Where the frick is the Chocolate? The things we miss....

That piano concert last night was good and bad. All the pieces were "new" music---things typically created after 1970.
We're attending a feature for the Film Festival tonight. It's nice to get out and see cultural events again. It's just like the Ann Arbor FF!
A few simple pictures added:
http://www.photoblog.com/BwitchSeinfeld

The last two days of Paris pictures:
http://www.photoblog.com/BwitchSeinfeld

Last night we went to our first Irish house party. The Garda (police) came in and asked to talk to the residents because neighbors complained about noise. In America, everyone would have fled the house if the police came. In Ireland, people just stand and wait to see what happens. Nothing bad happened. We only had to vacate and move on. 

Tonight we're seeing a play. Tomorrow is a piano concert. It's a busy week!

I went with one of my German friends to talk to our Philosophy professor. He asked the prof: "can I lend your book and photocopy the relevant pages?" The prof said: "I'm not sure I understand you." I even had to stop and evaluate my own language...<<he ALMOST has the right word, lend is so close to borrow...>>  He repeated the question and stuttered a little and started to say *borrow* but changed it to lend for a second time. We laughed about it afterwards.

It was raining really bad this morning. Now the sky is blue and the sun is shining.

Tonight we're taking advantage of the Polish immigrants and their grocery stores. We are going to eat Pierogies. Is that how they're spelled? I've never eaten one before. We're eating it with fried rice that we got from a Chinese restaurant. And we'll probably have stinky cheese from France with dried figs for dessert.

I love discovering new Beatles songs of yore.

France lost to England last night in Rugby. Harumph.
Sebastien Chabal was my man to watch!

We ate lunch at a cafe near the Pere Lachaise cemetery and then walked through the graveyard. Gorgeous tombstones! I think all the architecture in Europe is represented in the graveyard. My main desire was to visit Jim Morrison--the poet, the lover, and the singer. Some fan had left a bottle of whiskey on top of the stone, which was quite fitting. Also of interest were Chopin, Oscar Wilde, Moliere, and Sarah Bernhardt. Cemeteries are perfect when drenched in autumn leaves.

It was cold when walking in the shade, so I wanted to say it's best to walk in the sunlight. "Promenade dans le soleil," which doesn't really translate well. Walk inside the sun? That might be TOO hot. Haha.

We visited a close relative of the Buddha Bar, Barlotti, for a refreshing drink after a full day of walking. I said: "Je voudrais une Mama Mia" and the waiter said <nice accent> to Dom in French. He was being facetious. The drink was excellent, regardless. Coconut, pineapple, and maybe mango juice with a fresh slice of pineapple garnishing the glass. 

Tuesday was a day for the Latin Quarter. The shops were all reasonably priced and fun/funky. I broke my habit of being frugal and bought a few Parisian items. Music in the stores was mostly American/English: the Rolling Stones, Feist, Dionne Warwick, Nirvana...  

In one of the stores, Dom was buying something that cost 3E. I only saw her give the cashier a 2E coin. She had a 20 cent coin in her hand, so I thought she needed 80 more cents. I dumped out my change onto the counter as a gesture to help. I guess I lost something by not following their conversation in French, because Dom gathered up my change and said "no no no, use this to buy a gateaux later." Gateaux is cake. :) I don't really know if it needs the x at the end. I felt a little embarrassed, but it shows you the importance of knowing the common language. 

Wednesday was travel day. On the plane I was surrounded by Irish families and French couples. Out of the sea of people, I spotted a young man wearing a green hat with an O on it. Looked American. I passed him a note: "Is that an Ohio U hat or an U of ORE hat?" Neither. It was an OSU had from a couple years ago when they played Notre Dame. I asked if he went to OSU. He said he went to OWU, so I told him I grew up in Ohio. He asked if I knew the Pycrafts!!! Small world. Guess he's really good friends with Scott. I spent many elementary school days at their house.