Tag: school

Books on Books on Books on Books
Emily Bernstein
January 26, 2017

I haven’t blogged in some time because school started and I didn’t want to bore you all (read: my family) with all the intricacies of syllabus week and my nerding over my literature courses.

But alas, all I really have to do here is nerd about my literature courses.

My school week began at 7:30am on Monday so that I could get dressed and walk to my 9am class on time. Said class is Human Rights Law (a law class completely focused on the European Convention of Human Rights and the European Convention of Human Rights Act of 2003 that Ireland instated in order to properly ensure that everyone’s human rights are being respected). Our lecturer, while funny and nice, speaks very quickly about Irish politics and such. It’s going to be tough, but this is why we go to school! …Right?

The second class I had was Study of a Major Author, and the author we are studying is (drumroll please) Shakespeare! I’m very excited about it. Not only is the professor very passionate about Shakespeare and every piece of art that he’s affected since he started writing, but she also assigned plays that I love: King Lear, Twelfth Night (which I’ve read and performed in, so I think I’m set on this one), and Henry IV part 1.

I’m also taking State of the Union: American Literature since 1930. I know, I know… Taking American Lit in Ireland? But this professor is assigning mainly literature written by mixed race authors which is an interesting aspect of American Literature that we don’t always study in the US. Beyond this, I think it will be interesting to take this class while here (plus it satisfies a credit back home, so why not?).

My favorite lecturer at least (not class because I don’t have one yet) is my Irish Literature since 1930 professor. She was so engaging and we are studying amazing texts. Waiting for Godot is one of them (and she pronounced it correctly), and we are also studying poets and novelists that we skip over in the US because we mainly focus on British authors. It’s going to be a tough and demanding class but I can’t wait.

Last, and certainly not least, is my British Literature since 1945 class. Again, we’re studying great texts (have you noticed a pattern yet?), and the lecturer is funny, if not a little quiet. Though not as engaging as my Irish Lit professor, this professor is definitely going to teach me a lot. We’re reading a lot of poetry (yay!), and plays (like Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead), and two novels. I’m excited.

Can you tell I like all my classes? They are all going to be hard, I’m going to have to be reading about three books a week for all of my classes, I’m going to have to read the Irish Constitution and the ECHR Act of 2003, but I am really looking forward to learning everything I can while I’m here.

Having gone through syllabus week, and survived, I realize how blessed I am to have the education that I do. I have read at least one thing on every literature course syllabus. Not that I won’t be keeping up with the reading, but it lifts a little bit of the pressure off of me.

This post is called books on books on books on books because I think that is what my life is going to be like for the next few months. While I’m definitely going to travel and have lots of fun, I’m probably always going to be carrying around a book – just call me Rory Gilmore (even though I’m not her biggest fan).

Still, I’m nerding out because I get to read all of this amazing literature while living in a place where amazing writers have lived and traveled and written about. Catch me squealing like an excited tween over here in my room. 

But then catch me crying when, during finals and midterms, I have five papers all due within four days of each other. 

Outside of school, I’ve been spending time with my friends (Kim, Kaitlin, Guy, and Ian – get used to these names), and sleeping a lot. Kim, Kaitlin, and I went food shopping today and navigated the bus system all by our adult selves. It rained today after two days of being crazy windy. Ireland is great and I’m doing well.

Hi Mom!

Quote of the week: “Hold for short time.” -Daniel, a German Erasmus student (probably only funny in the moment but still). 

It’s Teeming With Life Down There…
Emily Bernstein
January 22, 2017

Let me start from yesterday.

Yesterday, we got the opportunity to go into the city centre of Limerick so that we could see it and begin to explore. On Saturday mornings, they have what they call the Milk Market, which is basically a farmers’ market. It was so cool! There were people playing music, selling cheese, fresh sausages, wool products, hats, pottery, you name it. I loved it. And yes, while we Americans all stuck out like sore thumbs, the Irish still treated us so well.

The view in Limerick. This is the cover photo of my blog in the daytime!
Gluten free crepes in the Milk Market!

It was cold, and it was a dreary day, but it was still cool to see Limerick.

To be honest, going into Limerick and seeing the sites was the first time I really felt like I was in Ireland. Of course the university is Irish and I’ve been meeting and seeing many Irish people, but it’s still very modern. I mean, it’s a university after all!

But Limerick… I felt the Irish magic there. There’s really something about being in a real Irish city, exploring the cobblestone streets, and seeing the castle and old churches just really makes you feel Ireland.

And now, we get to today. Talk about Irish magic. 

Today, we went on a bus tour to the Irish coast. Along the way, we saw farms on farms on farms on farms. In Garth Brooks’ song about Ireland, one I’ve quoted on this blog several times, he sings about the rolling fields of green and fences made of stone. I never thought I’d get to see those in person, but today, I did. And boy, was Garth right. Ireland is all patchwork green, cows and sheep grazing, and fences stacked in stone. It’s just beautiful.

Primarily, we spent time at the Cliffs of Moher. If you don’t know what these cliffs are, look them up, but don’t trust the photos you see on Google, because nothing does them justice. Nothing but standing on the muddy grass above them, staring down at the waves crashing against the rock. Nothing but feeling the ocean breeze hit your skin, wondering what these cliffs must have seen, what they must think of Earth now. Nothing but being there and seeing them with your own eyes.

       

It’s hard to describe these cliffs. They are majestic and huge and go on for miles. They stand, unashamed, staring at the water. They feel majestic, dangerous, protective, and completely and utterly wild. While there, I kept thinking of a Wallace Stevens poem about them:

THE IRISH CLIFFS OF MOHER

Who is my father in this world, in this house,
At the spirit’s base?

My father’s father, his father’s father, his –
Shadows like winds

Go back to a parent before thought, before speech,
At the head of the past.

They go to the cliffs of Moher rising out the mist,
Above the real

Rising out of present time and place, above
The wet, green grass.

This is not landscape, full of the somnambulations
Of poetry

And the sea. This is my father or, maybe,
It is as he was,

A likeness, one of the race of fathers: earth
And sea and air.

          

Yes, it’s nerdy, I know. But these cliffs are amazing. I could not believe it. I want to go back – spend more time there, maybe sit down and write there, and just enjoy the view for a bit longer than today. Just…wow.

After the Cliffs of Moher, we made our way to Burren, a very karst landscape (a landscape full of sedentary rock that has settled in such a way that allows life to grow through the cracks in the rock). While this view didn’t astound me or make me tear up the way the cliffs did, it was still beautiful.

Navigating these rocks are easy – Kim and I climbed them with no problem – but you constantly want to stop, bend down, and see the life from below. The title is a direct quote from Kim (an environmental studies major from Rhode Island) that was just too funny and good to pass up. And really, it just sums up Ireland. Every inch of this country is just teeming with life. I don’t have too many pictures from Burren, because all the pictures really just looked like rocks, and no one really wants to see that.

When we returned to campus, we had dinner, and then we all (Kim, Kaitlin, Guy, Ian, and me) all headed to Stables, a pub on campus, to watch football. Little did I know that I was going to watch the slaughter of the Packers. Oh well, boys, there’s always next year. Maybe use your time off to work on your defense.

Anyway, classes start tomorrow and I just can’t wait.

I’ve decided to begin including a quote or two that really stand out, make me laugh, or just remind me of some of that Irish magic. Today, the quote (besides the title) is: “You can tell how old we Irishmen are by the shape of us. The rounder we are, the older we are.” -Some Irish guy telling me about beer bellies.

Until next time!

Sláinte.