Last week, I attended my Engineering Physics lecture for the first time. I was early for class compared to the Irish students, and I sat right in the middle of the huge yet crammed lecture hall. My row filled up on either side of me, and I tried to predict how challenging the class would be as I listened. At the end of the hour, our professor put on his coat and bid us goodbye until Friday.... No one in the class moved. I looked around and waited for a few minutes, but still no student seemed to have an intention of leaving. Eventually, I came to the conclusion that everyone in the lecture had another engineering lecture immediately after in this same room. EXCEPT FOR ME. My next lecture started in less than five minutes across campus. I climbed over ten annoyed, cursing Irish boys, literally stepped on some toes, and tripped on the last step as I made my ever-so-graceful exit.
I have experienced several similar mishaps over the past week. I asked NUIG's Habitat for Humanity group if I needed a car to drive to the volunteer sites. In response, I received blank stares and a short answer "...we're volunteering in Africa." OH. I think a sense of humor is essential for this experience. I have learned a great deal in the past two weeks. For example, I sit on the end seat in my lectures when I want to make a quick escape, and I've witnessed too many inside-out umbrellas to assume they protect you from Galway rain and wind.
Out of pure curiosity, I have joined the Ocean & Earth Society, Mountaineering Club, and Kayaking Club. I'll keep you updated on the kayaking... I'm not much for mountain climbing, but the club also goes on hikes for beginners like me. I'm really interested in seeing the parts of Ireland that are off the beaten path.
Speaking of the outdoors, API had our first excursion of the semester yesterday. We stopped in the village of Kinvara briefly and explored the outside of the Dunguaire Castle. Unfortunately, we did not venture inside, but the view surrounding the castle was extraordinary nonetheless. From the bus, we saw the endless Irish countryside. Even in the middle of January, the hills were the richest of green. Absolutely breathtaking. Stone walls stretched out across miles and miles; sheep and cattle grazed between them. We met our guide for the Carran walk, a tour of an expansive religious site through the Burren. We also toured the small and charming Hazel Mountain Chocolate factory at the foot of the Burren mountains. They transform their chocolate from bean to bar all by themselves, including stone grinding the cacao beans.
Ireland as a whole is captivating. Although I have written mainly about the landscape, the people of Ireland are just as interesting. I have found that they speak with a much deeper meaning and passion behind their words. I think this stems from the Irish language itself. During orientation, a professor taught us a few words of Irish. "Dia dhuit" is used to say hello, but the literal translation is God be with you. To this, one would respond "Dia is Muire dhuit," which means God and Mary be with you. My directors also speak in such a manner. They frequently reflect on aspects of life and the importance of travel and learning. This may be due to the fact that they want to inspire us, but I think it goes a step beyond just that. The Irish are very genuine people.
Hi Rachel! I miss you! I am really enjoying reading about all your adventures thus far, and I'm glad to hear you're enjoying living them! I find it really interesting that you happened to have that particular experience last week in your lecture... it reminded me of something we talked about today in LEAD 203 (Global Leadership). It's a really interesting class so far. We talked about the use of time, and how different cultures choose to utilize it. Here's the gist of the lesson: There are three basic types of time management. Linear time, which is a very American view, is the idea that one task should be done at a time, and things should be planned out and accomplished within a fixed schedule. The second type is Multi-Active time. Those with a multi-active time sense tend to ignore the idea of being "on time" because in their eyes, the event or conversation happening at a given moment is the most important thing, and must be completed before another may start. The third type is Cyclic time. A cyclic view dictates that there is an unlimited supply of time that will always be replenished. I'm not going to tell you which cultures Multi-Active and Cyclic time are associated with, because I want you to guess! ;) It's pretty obvious to me that you were operating on Linear time at the end of your class. What time sense do you think the Irish students were running on?
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Hey, Lucy! For that class, I felt like the Irish students were running on more multi-active time then I was. Overall, I think the Irish are following a mixture of linear and multi-active time. I've heard the phrase "Irish time" quite often, usually from my director or professors. When someone is late for a meeting, it is often said, "Oh, he must be running on Irish time." When I attended orientation here at NUIG, we were given a detailed agenda for the day, but the agenda was not followed and ran about half an hour behind. However, I feel like they intend to follow a more linear time sense because many of my professors are strict with schedules.
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