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The Dubliners - Clavelitos

In the hostel in Dublin, there was a white board with suggestions of where to go next.

Shannon, Ireland

Swift is actually a crazy person. He uses biting Juvenalian satire in his works and is a coprophiliac. His writing is precise and clear and situationally ironic.

Gulliver’s Travels

• as a whole, divided into four books
• satire of men’s desires for scientific knowledge
• inventive travel through literature - plays around with perspective - makes insignificant things more important and unimportant things insignificant
• Gulliver is first a victim of a shipwreck and has lost his glasses so is concerned with his eyes because he lacks protection
• Swift wants the reader the see the emphasis on seeing clearly
• Gulliver has characteristics of every man - gullible - to gull someone is to trick them - he is easily gulled
• the Lilliputans are nasty and petty so we side with Gulliver - he is the gentle, well-meaning person who is not trusted
• the little people chain him to an abandoned church - they are small-minded, secretive, waspish, irritable and morally little
• they are representative of English people - religious quarrels, etc.
• the Lilliputans drug Gulliver while he is eating so they can move him to the church - satiric - fighting over religion
• Redrasol explains quarrels to Gulliver and warns him about what the court plans to do with him
• Gulliver is kept inside the church as if he is a big elephant - goes out to the end of his chain, as if he were a dog - Swift exaggerates our animalistic characteristics to us make us disgusted with being human
• Swift has nasty things to say about women throughout Gulliver’s - misogyny and misanthropy
• his works make you not proud to be a human
• Gulliver is accused of flirtations with some of the court officials’ wives - disproportionate and gross
• Gulliver is convinced to wade across the water to the Blafustus (France) to bring their fleet to Lilliput (Britain) and dispose of the people - he will not do it because he is too kind
• because he consumes too much, the Lilliputans plan to kill him off by slowly starving him
• progression of uncertainty to complete madness - satirizes Gulliver at the end
• progression of animalistic behavior and brutality
• being servile to the emperor, breaking the eggs, high heels and low heels (tories and whigs)
• with the Brobdingnads, Gulliver is now the small, morally little one
• the Brobdingnad king is horrified at the thought of all the animalistic tendencies of Gulliver’s nation
• the king realizes Gulliver has left things out and hates it
• Swift is famous for his lists of things - comic exaggerations
• satire of priests, counselors, lawyers, etc.
• last line of Brobdingnads insults human race - Gulliver is tortured in this book
• people are insects
• Gulliver tries to defend his country
• Brobdingnads are not all great - a girl finds Gulliver and gives him to her father who exploits Gulliver for money and keeps him prisoner in a doll house
• when Gulliver begins to wear out and get sick, he is sold to Brobdingnadian queen
• at the end of Book II, the little girl takes Gulliver to the seashore and Gulliver is dropped into the ocean by an eagle 
• Europeans see Gulliver in the doll house, rescue him and take him home
• Gulliver is bored and goes to a series of islands
• the island of Laputa - women’s husbands pay no attention to them and to get their husband’s attention, the men’s ears must be flapped
• the island floats above another island that the women climb down to to visit the men below
• Swift satirizes a number of projectors who are looking to make changes
• island of Strood Broogs - people are immortal on this island - satirizes instinctive hopes and beliefs
• there is sometimes a baby born with a mark on his head, signifying his immortality
• you would keep aging and aging and aging and as you aged, you got more decrepit 
• Book IV is the most satirical of human reason
• Gulliver arrives in the land of the Winnoms - reasonable horses who are so reasonable they do not feel any emotions
• surprised Gulliver can talk because the horses have slaves who are less-developed human beings called yahoos
• Gulliver is essentially a yahoo and makes sure he never takes off his clothes in front of them
• he is able to cook oatmeal and drink mare’s milk
• eventually, Gulliver is attacked by female yahoos one day while he is bathing - misogyny
• Gulliver is enamored with this society
• Winnoms believe yahoos came about by a sort of mock-Genesis story
• they are so rational they lack feelings - everything is very planned and they have countless theories
• racism of horses - mate according to color
• Winnoms decide Gulliver is dangerous and want him to leave because he is an educated yahoo ad might lead the yahoos in rebellion
• Gulliver leaves in a canoe and sees a European ship - he paddles away furiously to keep from being rescued by the ship
• he lands on an island of savages and the savages immediately attack him - he would rather be attacked than brought back to Europe
• the ship goes after him and the captain sees Gulliver has lost his mind - he tries to reason with Gulliver and brings him back to his family
• Gulliver goes to live in the stables with his horses because he cannot stand the smell of humans
• Swift’s satire is Juvenalian and extremely harsh

“Modest Proposal”

• narrator has come up with a “great idea”
• it cannot be right
• real proposal is given in italics - do not talk about those plans unless you are willing to carry them out
• saw the Irish as servile and too willing to cooperate - crass landowners
• Ireland is a cash cow
• rich Irish live pretentiously and exploit others
• Ireland had a lot of food but it is being exported - not available to poor
• eating of babies - got the idea from the Americans
• a problem with adolescents - too many - boys are not yummy, girls breed
• sold girl in roasts to a lady in Formosa
• animosity against women - frivolous and wasteful

Burren House, Ireland

Right now, I feel like cliff diving.

A Rَisيn nل bيodh brَn ort fé’r éirigh dhuit
[Little Rose, be not sad for all that hath behapped thee]

Tippy on Flickr.

Where we stayed— With Michelle (my step-siblings former nanny) in her apartment, 20 minutes by bus outside of Eyre Square.

When we were there— April 4 to April 12

What we ate—

Tomato soup and toast (which I promptly spilled all over my jeans)

Bacon Bagels 

Fish n Chips

What we did—

Started drinking at 2, mostly           

 

Ate breakfast and smoked cigarettes (which cost 8.50 euros, by the way) in Eyre square

Visited the Cliffs of Moher

Saw a bird show

Went in the Ailwee caves 

Who we met— 

• 2 fifteen year olds who asked us for hand jobs immediately after hearing that we are American
• 3 American guys in a pub, traveling almost our exact route (Because of the Americans we met, a good 80% of them had visited/were visiting Dublin, Amsterdam, Venice, Florence, Rome, and Madrid)
• An old drunk guy in SuperMacs at 1 am, saying “Could I, could I, could I just, could I just sit with you guys? Come on, come on, come on.” 

I think it’s quite difficult to pinpoint exactly what I learned from study abroad. I definitely grew as an individual and have become an improved (or so I like to think) person. So this is only an attempt to define some concrete things that I’ve learned.

1.       By far, dolce far niete. The happiness you get from doing nothing.  I literally had no idea what this meant. The only time I ever did nothing which was when I procrastinated studying for exams. And even then, I would be on facebook, I’d organize my email, I’d clean my room. But I spent a lot of time just being alone with my thoughts or just sitting and enjoying nature (especially ‘good’ irish weather). Doing nothing during the summer used to drive me insane. But now I understand that it’s good for your health, brain, and stress levels.

2.       I arrived in Ireland a stressed-out, driven-by-a-schedule individual. I was all about efficiency and I hated that places closed early and I couldn’t access the internet 24/7. But by the end of the semester I had stopped using iCal, I was infinitely more relaxed about schoolwork, being on time, and things I couldn’t control. I was probably anxious only a few times this entire semester, which is a huge deal for me. Thank you, Ireland for getting rid of my anxiety.

3.       Speaking my mind. When you’re with the same people 24/7, you have to learn to do this. I’m very much a people pleaser, but I think eating, traveling, hanging out, and living with same people all semester taught me to speak my opinion more often. If something bothers me, I let someone know. And I’m by no means great at this, and a lot times I’m still passive aggressive sometimes (which is something I need to improve on) but I think I’ve definitely gotten better over the course of the semester.

4.       Friends. This semester taught me a lot about friendship. I was surprised by who kept in touch and who didn’t. Friends I didn’t expect to talk to were genuinely interested in what was going on in my life and messaged me occasionally, whereas others I thought I’d talk to all the time went MIA. Friends come and go, but good friends are the ones that stick with you whether you’re 10 miles away or 10,000 miles away. Being gone has helped me figure out which of my friends will stick with me no matter what.

5.       Nature. Something I never really appreciated. I’ve always been a city girl, but now I can easily see myself living in a countryside somewhere, maybe an hour outside of a main city or something. It is so beautiful and serene. Even a small town would be great.

6.       Independence. Something I think everyone gains from study abroad. I didn’t eat a single frozen meal. I had to keep track of expenses and plan everything I wanted to do from trips to meals and activities. I learned who I can travel with and who I can’t. I didn’t have to ask my parents if I could do something or wait for them to plan it. I was 100% on my own, and it made me appreciate my family so much more. I love being independent, but I was ready to go home and have my mom take care of me. I now know that it is something I can successfully do though, which is a great feeling.

And finally, I made some great friends while I was in Ireland. Although I understand that I can never recreate this experience again, I’m so glad that I’ve gotten a chance to meet some truly amazing and inspiring people. I like to think that we will all keep in touch and talk all the time for the rest of our lives. I think I have a good idea of who I’ll still talk to in ten years. But for now, I’m going to enjoy the friendships I have now and the time I spend with my new and old friends.

Overall, studying abroad was an amazing experience. I am changed in ways that I cannot explain; I know I just feel like a stronger, more independent person with a better perspective on my life, my friends, travel styles, and new cultures. To everyone that made this semester amazing, thank you. I learned a lot and grew a lot, and am eternally grateful. I will forever be a galway girl.

Couldn’t leave Ireland without one last pint of the black stuff!

(Last good pint anyway… London Guinness is shite)

The Dubliners - James Larkin

In Dublin City in nineteen thirteen
The boss was rich and the poor were slaves
The women working and children starving
Then on came Larkin like a mighty wave
The workers cringed when the boss man thundered
Seventy hours was his weekly chore
He asked for little and less was grante
Lest given little then he’d ask for more

Kylemore Abbey, Ireland - Mainistir na Coille Mףire, ֹire (+reflection!) by Sir Francis Canker Photography © on Flickr.

Mixed feelings over mixed drinks… by s a m s t a c k on Flickr.

sin tםtulo by anniegregory on Flickr.

Tippy on Flickr.