Sa gCeathrú Rua

Well, I made it safely to An Cheathrú Rua. It is absolutely gorgeous here. I cannot even begin to accurately describe the scenery. Everywhere you look there are old stone walls, rolling hills, lakes, and an abundance of wildlife as well as domesticated animals. We have been lucky in that it has been sunny as opposed to rainy. However, this has come at a price: it has been in the eighties the last few days, which is way too hot for my tastes, especially in a country without air conditioning.

Map of An Cheathrú Rua.

Despite the midday heat, the mornings and evening have been wonderful. I spent most of the latter day yesterday roaming around the peninsula (An Cheathrú Rua is a peninsula). Aside from the wonderful landscape, I also managed to catch sight of magpies, horses, cows, a goat, gulls, and a few wild pheasants. And while all of this is breathtaking in and of itself, I was also enamored with the fact that there are no mosquitoes in Ireland. I could walk around without having to reek of deet! Honestly, this place is unbelievable. [And, yes, I have pictures, but because I am writing this from the house, I am going to save the broadband and will upload them later on from the University.]

I am living with nine [I think?] other students. We are staying with a family in Cuileán. The house is fit to match the Irish landscape—that is, very beautiful. The bean an tí (i.e., woman of the house, aka my host ‘mom’) is very nice, as is her husband, the fear an tí (you guessed it, the man of the house). They both insist on only speaking Irish. It is a bit challenging to have to communicate through Irish about frequent daily needs, but it is a wonderful experience that you would be hard-pressed to find elsewhere.

I can normally understand the bean an tí, buíochas le Día. She has also told me several times that I have Gaeilge mhaith (“good Irish”). My Gaeilge certainly doesn’t seem good to me, but I’ll take every compliment that I can get at this point. Now, in regards to the fear an tí, I honestly have not been able to catch a word of what he has been saying. I feel somewhat bad about this. He has been very nice, witty, and chatty. However, I just give him blank stares and hesitant nods. I swear, most of his Irish must get stuck in his mustache!

The bean an tí is a wonderful cook. Upon arrival yesterday afternoon, we sat down for tea. This consisted of tea, juices, water, milk, breads, a salad, lasagna, and cake. That was tea. She told us that we would have a proper supper the next day. Seriously, if all of that was just tea, I’m a little apprehensive to see what the dinéar mór (big dinner) is like tonight! I’m afraid that I may not fit back on the airplane if I eat everything that the bean an tí prepares! (Not to mention the fact that it is impossible to refuse her delicious advances. I tried yesterday, repeatedly telling after my walk that I was neither hungry nor thirsty…and I was then given a cup of tea and some cookies.)

Today was our first day of classes. Originally I thought I would be in the intermediate level course. However, upon comparing my abilities with other students, I opted for the high level, the ardchúrsa. There is quite the spectrum of people in the course, ranging from the very confident to those with more limited vocabulary and experience. I am on the lower end of the class, but I still think that I am getting a long nicely.

The teacher lectures completely in Irish and all of the class discussion are, of course, in Irish. I am actually very surprised that I have been able to understand mostly everything thus far. It is a really great feeling. However, my speaking skills need a lot of work. For instance, when asked a question, I can usually formulate a great answer in my head—something that would look wonderful on paper, for sure. However, when I go to say my answer, I end up saying something along the lines of: POE-TAY-TO.

Of course, it doesn’t help that I have a perfectionist attitude. I don’t like doing things or speaking of things unless I can feel fairly confident in doing so, and I just don’t feel that way with Irish yet. I know that I am going to have to push through that feeling and take chances, though, if I ever want to succeed in the language.

Also, it is a bit tough to be in a course which focuses on spoken language and to not be a people person. Yes, I do consider myself to be generally amicable as well as approachable, but the truth of the matter is that I just rather not deal with people. I’d rather go about my day in solitude, enjoying the company of the clouds, mountains, and critters. So it’s highly strange and more than a bit uncomfortable for me to go out of my way to talk with people that I don’t know. I just don’t play well with others.

I have the morning off tomorrow, and then in the afternoon, I will be heading to Ros Muc to go visit Teach an Phiarsaigh. It’s the first of several tours that we will be taking around Conamara.

A few fun language things that I have noticed thus far into my journey:

1. “Ceart go leor”, Irish for “right enough; okay” is a common very common phrase. However the way that people say it makes me think that they are saying “cearc go leor” (kind of, “a lot of chicken”). It’s a very different image!
2. A Chaoimhín agus mo chuid cairde a rinne staidéar ar Ghaeilge, you’ll appreciate this: I have noticed several times my bean an tí, as well as her daughter, agreeing with a statement by either saying “yep” while inhaling or by simply inhaling. It does exist!

Bhuel, sin é anois. Slán go fóill!