Maynooth, where I almost went to school outside Dublin
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
We'll be home so soon you'll want us to leave, and come back later!
Here's a quote from Lord Byron that sums up the last 4 months: "The English winter - ending in July to recommence in August."
The first week of April we went to Majorca, a Spanish island which was beautiful, but not quite as warm as one might have hoped for sunbathing (this did not deter the older German ladies from exposing way too much at the pool!) We drove all over exploring and saw where Princess Grace and Prince Rainier honeymooned. There were so many beautiful harbors, little seaside towns and orchards.
I finished my classes in May, and not surprisingly my last Feminism class met in a pub instead of the classroom. It gets stranger, I had the highest and second highest grades in my two classes, so that just goes to show the quality of education over here when a middle aged redneck like me is top of the class! I was in the mall enjoying anonymously blending into the crowd when a young woman dropped her wallet right in front of me without noticing. I stooped to pick it up and turned around thinking someone else would have told her or she would have noticed. No such luck, and she was getting farther away so instinct kicked in and I loudly yelled out in classic Virginia two syllable style "Ma'am!" Turns out you'd only use that name for the Queen, so heads everywhere turned and stared at me like the strange freak I am. I sheepishly gave her the wallet and ran away as quickly as I could to Kentucky Fried Chicken. The teenager there corrected me when I tried to order a chicken fillet; here they are pronounced "fill-it." I was already feeling too sheepish to point out that he was working in a KENTUCKY FRIED CHICKEN and I ought to be able to pronounce it the way they do in Kentucky.
We have recently, by the grace of God, gotten a Quiznos and a Starbucks within a few blocks of our house. I'd eaten at Quiznos three times the first week it opened. We've since been invited to go water skiing with the owner/manager, I kid you not. The kids at Starbucks keep telling me I can pick my drink up at the end of the bar without perhaps grasping that I've been picking my grande no whip decaf caffe mocha up from the bar since they were in grade school.
Aaron has been moving through his Aikido class and has achieved several belts. He has not, however, figured out how to defend himself from a closed elevator as he has gotten stuck at night in the elevator at work twice now. Haley isn't much better, as she is now afraid of her own farts and released an audible belch last week. She's been battling hay fever and the vet, who has lived in Kentucky, said he'd never seen a dog with such a gap in between her front teeth. just when you thought we couldn't be any more country, the dog gets called a redneck! Well, she was born a Shifflett...
The first week of June, in time for the anniversary of D-Day, we descended on Paris. We went up the Eiffel Tower, hung off Notre Dame yelling "She gave me water!", took a boat cruise on the Seine, had crepes, wiped away a tear at the tunnel where Princess Diana died, and tracked down the Harley Davidson store, you know, the usual things. We did learn there is only one kind of dressing for salad in France, and it's not the orange kind you find in the US. We overheard some American girls ordering "French fries" and better understand why people might think we are clueless travelers. We also were fortunate enough to catch a showing of Cirque du Soleil, which was fantastic. We were directed there by a woman who spoke only French and of course neither of us speaks French, but somehow through the international language of pointing and grunting we enjoyed the kindness of a stranger.
We took a train to Normandy and it was really profound to see the beaches and memorials. One of the most poignant moments may have been listening to all the different languages and accents being spoken by the other tourists and school groups as we all climbed all over the aging German guns. Who'd have imagined the children and grandchildren of those who fought would be meeting each other at the places of their battles, now a tourist attraction? The inscription on the Omaha Beach memorial reads: "No mission too difficult, no sacrifice too great, Duty first forced Omaha Beach at dawn on 6 June."
On the train to the airport with all our bags, we got a bad feeling we might be on the wrong train. So Aaron jumps off and disappears outside. At this point it occurs to me what a precarious position I'm in, on the wrong train in a foreign country where I don't speak the language, with bags I can't carry, a flight to catch and a missing husband. So of course the doors close, the color drains from my face, my jaw drops open and the words that tumble out weren't pretty (think tire changing scene in "A Christmas Story"). As the train pulls away and complete panic begins to set in who should come grinning through the doors walking down from the front of the train but Aaron. Turns out he heard the door closing bell and threw his upper body through onto the first car. While the older French guys near me didn't appear to speak any English, they laughed knowingly enough at us to have enjoyed the situation! At the airport an old woman with a cane got on the shuttle bus and I was the only person to jump up to give her my seat-where is the chivalry? There was a young business man in a suit closer to her who remained seated and everyone looked at me like I was from another planet. I should mention that once in Belfast Aaron forgot his wallet when we got gasoline and they just gave him a form and 7 days to come back by and pay for it-what a country!
When we got back to Belfast we took off the next day for the Wicklow mountains outside Dublin for a visit with friends, and of course, the Neal Diamond concert. I was so grateful he made it through without keeling over on the stage that I barely noticed how many of the spectators themselves had oxygen masks (average age of concertgoer: 74). We explained to our Irish friends what a "booty call" was, so the cultural exchanges are still in full swing. In case you were wondering, corndogs here are called "toad in the hole." "Knackered" means tired, "minging" means stinky, "rubbers" are pencil erasers and "bollocks" is a curse word we think means testicles. Aaron dropped all our new 'colorful' words recently at a friend's house much to their horror and the delight of their teenagers.
A social worker friend, upon hearing that our apartment complex used to be the site of a nursing home, replied that she "used to place people there." Aaron and I both choked on our dinners as our eyes popped out of our heads because with her accent we both heard "I used to PLEASE people there!" One of my favorites is the National Union of Teachers here, acronym: N.U.T. True in so many ways. Political correctness hasn't caught on as much yet here either, as recently an Irish politician referred to Turkish airport workers as 'kebabs' and a comedian referred to the French as "cheese eating surrender monkeys." And of course there's the craziness that shows up on TV. We've seen a special on penis enlargements, a show called "Desperate Midwives" with live birth footage, as well as a beach competition of bikini tug-o-war, where the loser of course ends up topless. Turns out chewing tobaccy is illegal here (I'm having withdrawals), because it causes cancer. Good thing the thick clouds of second hand smoke you find everywhere are harmless enough.
We also attended a concert by Ronan Tynan (he sang at Ronald Reagan's funeral), previously one of the Irish tenors, who not only has an amazing voice but an incredible life story that you should read about if you missed the Barbara Walters special. I e-mailed him after the concert about how cool it was he united an otherwise "mixed" crowd right after elections here, and not only did he e-mail me back, but put my comments on his website. It may be the closest I come to ever getting published!
We went out to dinner on the 4th of July to celebrate. Turns out wearing red, white, and blue, also the colors of the Union Jack, wasn't such a hot idea as an Orange Parade marched by while we ate. When we're home we'll show you pictures of the controversial 11th and 12th holidays. This year was a slower year for bombs and riots. You might have thought there wouldn't be any so soon after the bombs in London on the 7th, but you'd have been wrong. When I first heard on the radio that bombs had gone off in the city I assumed it must have been Belfast. Thankfully in a historic move, the IRA has declared an end to the "armed struggle" of the last 35 years. The British army immediately dismantled its watchtowers, calling them 'unnecessary,' which translates as "we've got other ways of watching you now."
Despite the sudden rain, hail, and cooler temperatures, folks here do enjoy grilling out. We all had a good laugh when we discovered that a girl from Texas and I have both been offering to bring bags of ice to the cookouts-silly Americans! It's not hot enough to need ice and there aren't coolers full of cans of beer and coke!
The last two weekends of July we went to Barcelona and then Scotland. I'll try to add the Barcelona pictures in the next few weeks. Barcelona was lively and hot. It was nice and familiar to actually sweat for a change. I went to Starbucks there, thinking I'd be ok with only limited Spanish since I know the menu pretty well. The guy behind the counter asked for my name to write on the cup. I said "Suellen" and he just looked at me, puzzled. So I smiled and tried again with "Sue." He paused, then wrote. When I picked up my tasty frappacino, on the side of the cup was written "Lady."
Scotland was fantastic if not absurdly cold for July. We hit all the places you've heard mentioned on Braveheart-Falkirk, Bannockburn, Stirling and St. Andrews, where William Wallace freed the golf course. Edinburgh was super cool and we wished we could have stayed longer. We had the closest thing to authentic Mexican food this side of the Atlantic there, but Aaron was too chicken to try Haggis. Maybe next time.
When we got home we had a young Swiss girl (who went to university in Maryland) stay with us for a week. We've been catching up on episodes of "Lost" while I've been hunkering down and trying to make progress on my dissertation. I recently interviewed a rebel priest, so at least it's not boring. I will be glad to be finished by mid-September after a holiday weekend with friends in Donegal at the end of August. We're hoping to fly home the first week of October after one final hurrah in Greece the 3rd week of September. I probably won't put any more text on until we're back home, but I will add more pictures over the next 6 weeks.
Can't wait to see all of y'all in person! Miss you!
Aaron, Suellen and Haley
The first week of April we went to Majorca, a Spanish island which was beautiful, but not quite as warm as one might have hoped for sunbathing (this did not deter the older German ladies from exposing way too much at the pool!) We drove all over exploring and saw where Princess Grace and Prince Rainier honeymooned. There were so many beautiful harbors, little seaside towns and orchards.
I finished my classes in May, and not surprisingly my last Feminism class met in a pub instead of the classroom. It gets stranger, I had the highest and second highest grades in my two classes, so that just goes to show the quality of education over here when a middle aged redneck like me is top of the class! I was in the mall enjoying anonymously blending into the crowd when a young woman dropped her wallet right in front of me without noticing. I stooped to pick it up and turned around thinking someone else would have told her or she would have noticed. No such luck, and she was getting farther away so instinct kicked in and I loudly yelled out in classic Virginia two syllable style "Ma'am!" Turns out you'd only use that name for the Queen, so heads everywhere turned and stared at me like the strange freak I am. I sheepishly gave her the wallet and ran away as quickly as I could to Kentucky Fried Chicken. The teenager there corrected me when I tried to order a chicken fillet; here they are pronounced "fill-it." I was already feeling too sheepish to point out that he was working in a KENTUCKY FRIED CHICKEN and I ought to be able to pronounce it the way they do in Kentucky.
We have recently, by the grace of God, gotten a Quiznos and a Starbucks within a few blocks of our house. I'd eaten at Quiznos three times the first week it opened. We've since been invited to go water skiing with the owner/manager, I kid you not. The kids at Starbucks keep telling me I can pick my drink up at the end of the bar without perhaps grasping that I've been picking my grande no whip decaf caffe mocha up from the bar since they were in grade school.
Aaron has been moving through his Aikido class and has achieved several belts. He has not, however, figured out how to defend himself from a closed elevator as he has gotten stuck at night in the elevator at work twice now. Haley isn't much better, as she is now afraid of her own farts and released an audible belch last week. She's been battling hay fever and the vet, who has lived in Kentucky, said he'd never seen a dog with such a gap in between her front teeth. just when you thought we couldn't be any more country, the dog gets called a redneck! Well, she was born a Shifflett...
The first week of June, in time for the anniversary of D-Day, we descended on Paris. We went up the Eiffel Tower, hung off Notre Dame yelling "She gave me water!", took a boat cruise on the Seine, had crepes, wiped away a tear at the tunnel where Princess Diana died, and tracked down the Harley Davidson store, you know, the usual things. We did learn there is only one kind of dressing for salad in France, and it's not the orange kind you find in the US. We overheard some American girls ordering "French fries" and better understand why people might think we are clueless travelers. We also were fortunate enough to catch a showing of Cirque du Soleil, which was fantastic. We were directed there by a woman who spoke only French and of course neither of us speaks French, but somehow through the international language of pointing and grunting we enjoyed the kindness of a stranger.
We took a train to Normandy and it was really profound to see the beaches and memorials. One of the most poignant moments may have been listening to all the different languages and accents being spoken by the other tourists and school groups as we all climbed all over the aging German guns. Who'd have imagined the children and grandchildren of those who fought would be meeting each other at the places of their battles, now a tourist attraction? The inscription on the Omaha Beach memorial reads: "No mission too difficult, no sacrifice too great, Duty first forced Omaha Beach at dawn on 6 June."
On the train to the airport with all our bags, we got a bad feeling we might be on the wrong train. So Aaron jumps off and disappears outside. At this point it occurs to me what a precarious position I'm in, on the wrong train in a foreign country where I don't speak the language, with bags I can't carry, a flight to catch and a missing husband. So of course the doors close, the color drains from my face, my jaw drops open and the words that tumble out weren't pretty (think tire changing scene in "A Christmas Story"). As the train pulls away and complete panic begins to set in who should come grinning through the doors walking down from the front of the train but Aaron. Turns out he heard the door closing bell and threw his upper body through onto the first car. While the older French guys near me didn't appear to speak any English, they laughed knowingly enough at us to have enjoyed the situation! At the airport an old woman with a cane got on the shuttle bus and I was the only person to jump up to give her my seat-where is the chivalry? There was a young business man in a suit closer to her who remained seated and everyone looked at me like I was from another planet. I should mention that once in Belfast Aaron forgot his wallet when we got gasoline and they just gave him a form and 7 days to come back by and pay for it-what a country!
When we got back to Belfast we took off the next day for the Wicklow mountains outside Dublin for a visit with friends, and of course, the Neal Diamond concert. I was so grateful he made it through without keeling over on the stage that I barely noticed how many of the spectators themselves had oxygen masks (average age of concertgoer: 74). We explained to our Irish friends what a "booty call" was, so the cultural exchanges are still in full swing. In case you were wondering, corndogs here are called "toad in the hole." "Knackered" means tired, "minging" means stinky, "rubbers" are pencil erasers and "bollocks" is a curse word we think means testicles. Aaron dropped all our new 'colorful' words recently at a friend's house much to their horror and the delight of their teenagers.
A social worker friend, upon hearing that our apartment complex used to be the site of a nursing home, replied that she "used to place people there." Aaron and I both choked on our dinners as our eyes popped out of our heads because with her accent we both heard "I used to PLEASE people there!" One of my favorites is the National Union of Teachers here, acronym: N.U.T. True in so many ways. Political correctness hasn't caught on as much yet here either, as recently an Irish politician referred to Turkish airport workers as 'kebabs' and a comedian referred to the French as "cheese eating surrender monkeys." And of course there's the craziness that shows up on TV. We've seen a special on penis enlargements, a show called "Desperate Midwives" with live birth footage, as well as a beach competition of bikini tug-o-war, where the loser of course ends up topless. Turns out chewing tobaccy is illegal here (I'm having withdrawals), because it causes cancer. Good thing the thick clouds of second hand smoke you find everywhere are harmless enough.
We also attended a concert by Ronan Tynan (he sang at Ronald Reagan's funeral), previously one of the Irish tenors, who not only has an amazing voice but an incredible life story that you should read about if you missed the Barbara Walters special. I e-mailed him after the concert about how cool it was he united an otherwise "mixed" crowd right after elections here, and not only did he e-mail me back, but put my comments on his website. It may be the closest I come to ever getting published!
We went out to dinner on the 4th of July to celebrate. Turns out wearing red, white, and blue, also the colors of the Union Jack, wasn't such a hot idea as an Orange Parade marched by while we ate. When we're home we'll show you pictures of the controversial 11th and 12th holidays. This year was a slower year for bombs and riots. You might have thought there wouldn't be any so soon after the bombs in London on the 7th, but you'd have been wrong. When I first heard on the radio that bombs had gone off in the city I assumed it must have been Belfast. Thankfully in a historic move, the IRA has declared an end to the "armed struggle" of the last 35 years. The British army immediately dismantled its watchtowers, calling them 'unnecessary,' which translates as "we've got other ways of watching you now."
Despite the sudden rain, hail, and cooler temperatures, folks here do enjoy grilling out. We all had a good laugh when we discovered that a girl from Texas and I have both been offering to bring bags of ice to the cookouts-silly Americans! It's not hot enough to need ice and there aren't coolers full of cans of beer and coke!
The last two weekends of July we went to Barcelona and then Scotland. I'll try to add the Barcelona pictures in the next few weeks. Barcelona was lively and hot. It was nice and familiar to actually sweat for a change. I went to Starbucks there, thinking I'd be ok with only limited Spanish since I know the menu pretty well. The guy behind the counter asked for my name to write on the cup. I said "Suellen" and he just looked at me, puzzled. So I smiled and tried again with "Sue." He paused, then wrote. When I picked up my tasty frappacino, on the side of the cup was written "Lady."
Scotland was fantastic if not absurdly cold for July. We hit all the places you've heard mentioned on Braveheart-Falkirk, Bannockburn, Stirling and St. Andrews, where William Wallace freed the golf course. Edinburgh was super cool and we wished we could have stayed longer. We had the closest thing to authentic Mexican food this side of the Atlantic there, but Aaron was too chicken to try Haggis. Maybe next time.
When we got home we had a young Swiss girl (who went to university in Maryland) stay with us for a week. We've been catching up on episodes of "Lost" while I've been hunkering down and trying to make progress on my dissertation. I recently interviewed a rebel priest, so at least it's not boring. I will be glad to be finished by mid-September after a holiday weekend with friends in Donegal at the end of August. We're hoping to fly home the first week of October after one final hurrah in Greece the 3rd week of September. I probably won't put any more text on until we're back home, but I will add more pictures over the next 6 weeks.
Can't wait to see all of y'all in person! Miss you!
Aaron, Suellen and Haley
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
Friday, April 01, 2005
Thursday, March 31, 2005
Aaron Gets a Job, Suellen Turns 29 and Holdin' On!
Well, so much for posting more frequently.
At the end of January, Aaron picked up two bleary eyed Silvers from the Dublin airport. We took my mom and brother out to dinner their first night here and as we walked around the university a car full of cackling young people drove by and threw an apple at us. Gordon took one for the team when it hit him in the arm and rolled away at a pretty good clip. My mom admitted to seeing it coming but not wanting to give any warning in case Gordon moved, causing it to hit her instead. Now that's sacrificial motherly love right there. It could be the beard Gordon was wearing, which we've since learned is a sign of being a degenerate that provoked what we've deemed a "drive by fruiting." Later in the week as we watched the evening news, Gordon pointed to a politician and exclaimed, "See that guy's got a beard!" Turns out it was Gerry Adams, leader of Sinn Fein with ties to the Irish Republican Army, the leading paramilitary organization here.
The second day of their visit, we went to a museum with a Native American exhibit. Mom was dressed in her winter finest-furry boots and gloves with a colorful matching parka and Russian style hat. As she waited for us to catch up she sat on a bench right next to an Indian exhibit, very still, lost in her thoughts. The next thing she knew, a young girl was stroking her cape, observing "this is the softest thing I've ever felt on a mannequin." So of course mom slowly turned her head and scared the poor child out of her wits. That ought to teach her to touch the museum exhibits!
Evening three was our long awaited trip to the Russian circus. We had seats right in the front, which we thought would really stimulate the senses, but we didn't realize smell would be one of them. You've never encountered clowns that smelled so strong. Gordon said instead of "Send in the Clowns" they should play "Hose off the Clowns."
Hopefully the rest of the week exploring the city, several castles, the north coast, tromping through ruins and sheep fields was enjoyable for our guests. I sure enjoyed our trip to the Harley Davidson shop-you know you all want tee shirts from there! Aaron and I were delighted that several people mistook Gordon as one of our Dad's, and were a little disturbed that they thought he might be married to mom. I mean granted, I could pass for 16, but not Aaron!
Days after putting our VA visitors back on a plane Aaron began his new job as a security guard. It's long hours, low pay, and very boring, but it's work. He's been harassing teens at a train station and is now in a guard booth at a medical administrative building. He has however, been able to read several Grisham novels, watch the Lord of the Rings extended version (he's got 12 hours shifts Mon-Fri), and this past week, play X-box while working, so don't feel too sorry for him. I make him read some of my books, which is an added bonus!
Only one week to the wedding you've all been waiting for-Charles and Camilla! There's no shortage of tv commentary. Will she one day be queen? Only time will tell. But Princess Di will always be the Queen of hearts as we all well know. Prince Charles decided he really liked the cakes made by a Welsh granny and asked her for the recipe so he could have it at his reception. Granny declined, offering to make 20 cakes herself for the event, but would not give up her recipe. And they say the royals no longer have any real power!
Also in the news, the Michael Jackson trial of course, and the release of Martha Stewart. Mark my words she will bounce back and if she hosts Saturday Night Live someone please tape it for us! They've banned fox hunting in England, so of course animal rights activists are protesting by spooking the hunters' horses and nearly getting trampled in the process-does anyone appreciate the situational irony in this? Thirty years later, Tony Blair apologized on behalf of the government to Gerry Conlon and his family, popularly remembered as the "Guildford Four" (you may remember Daniel Day Lewis's portrayal of their wrongful imprisonment in the movie, "In the Name of the Father.") Over Easter there was a "Pope Watch." Poor John Paul's health has not been very good this Spring, so they air him watching the services on tv. I'd give anything to see if he switches over to "Desperate Housewives" after the mass.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, has recently been advocating restricting abortion rights to 20 weeks instead of 24 based on better medical evidence of fetal activity and viability. Quite a bold political move and I'm incredibly interested to see if the changes actually make it into legislation. In Northern Ireland news, tv and newspaper reported the election of the Moderator of the Presbyterian Synod for next year. You'd never hear anything like that on our news. Of course this same news reported a Rugby fan having cut off his own testicles when his team lost- there's no better way to describe the sports fury that runs amok here!
In academic news, I finally got my grades for last semester. I received honors in Sociology and a B+ in politics-turns out I AM smarter than I look-who knew? I've now learned the official definition of "evil eye" just in case you were wondering about whether there's any substance in my program. I'm researching female ordination for my feminism class and doing my best to be a mild irritant to the professor by being well prepared, willing to jump into discussion anytime, and usually defending religion and the church, which seems to be a fairly unpopular position to take in academics for some reason. Good thing I like a challenge and am not shy about being the snarky American defender of the faith. In my anthropology class the teacher mentioned that marrying someone in your own family was frowned upon in most societies. While wearing overalls, in my best Southern accent, and with a completely straight face I asked "First cousins are ok though, right?" The students knew I was kidding but the professor thought I was serious. Hilarious. One of the smart alecky students then asked where I met Aaron and without missing a beat I answered, "family reunion." I should have been in stand up I had 'em so rolling in the aisles.
We toured a local police station and were humbled by the stories they tell and the procedures they have for riots and pipe bombs. Hopefully things will continue to get better. On Good Friday I participated in a Prayer Walk for peace and unity that went from a monastery on the Catholic Falls Road over along the Protestant Shankill Road and through the giant gates of the brick and concrete "Peace Wall" that divides the city. It was a humbling experience and I don't think people really knew what to make of older priests, nuns, University students, Protestants and Catholics, Irish, British, Americans, Kiwis quietly carrying crosses past murals of men with guns that essentially tell the "others" to keep out of that section of town. It may be the most important and profound thing I do while I'm here.
On a sillier note, we went with Eilis (Queen's student from Oregon) and Patrick LaRochelle (visiting again from Charlottesville) to Dublin for the St. Patrick's Day parade. I, of course, had to buy a giant green hat with shamrocks on it for my collection. We found out a few days later that a new Hill was born on St. Pat's (how fitting!) to Aaron's sister Rebecca. We can't wait to meet our new nephew Alan when we return to Charlottesville in late August/early September. I've got to get home before my spelling is permanently ruined. We're planning to hit Quiznos, Amigos, Chili's, Cracker Barrel, Taco Bell and Chick-Fil-A the first week we're back so book your meal with us now!
I got pretty excited in the grocery store recently when I saw they had a pie aisle. Turns out it was shepherd's pie and other meat pies-what on earth? Someone please send Carolina BBQ potato chips and a box of Carmel Delight Girl Scout cookies!
Lest you think it's all bad, the soap operas and sketch comedies here are very good, and we do get Smallville, American Idol, ER, the Simpsons, Las Vegas, Desperate Housewives and occasionally Conan, Leno, and Letterman. And of course we get to see music countdowns hosted by David Hasselhoff, so eat your heart out. We were bummed to hear we missed the ending of NYPD blue-what happened?
New words include "brawlies" (umbrellas) "cracker" (cool person or thing), "steamer" (some sort of hot milk beverage? Or what Haley leaves in the park daily?) , and my favorite, "All fur coat and no knickers" (a woman of ill repute).
We've discovered the loud woman who lives above us and won't stop stomping is terrified of dogs, so we're working on a way to use that to our advantage some how. Haley recently earned her keep by introducing me to an entire men's Rugby Team in the park-good girl! A few boys scaled the intimidating and spikey fences behind our apartment, (so young, so bold) that are meant to deter burglars but obviously not 11 year olds when they saw Haley through the fence. They thought she was a "class cracker" and offered me a 100 GBP for her. I think they thought she would make a good fighting dog, they obviously haven't seen her flee from scary things like stuffed animals and spaghetti.
The clock sprung forward on Easter weekend, but Aaron forgot to set his watch forward so he worked an extra hour at work on Wednesday-"here's your sign." We're enjoying a lot more daylight (until 8 pm!) if not a whole lot more warmth. Hopefully we will get some nice island weather in sunny SPAIN. We're leaving on Friday the 1st for Majorca for 4 days-yeehaw! I am on Spring Break until April 8th. Hopefully this will hold you until we get back and can post the pictures-stay tuned for more adventures!
The Hillbillies
At the end of January, Aaron picked up two bleary eyed Silvers from the Dublin airport. We took my mom and brother out to dinner their first night here and as we walked around the university a car full of cackling young people drove by and threw an apple at us. Gordon took one for the team when it hit him in the arm and rolled away at a pretty good clip. My mom admitted to seeing it coming but not wanting to give any warning in case Gordon moved, causing it to hit her instead. Now that's sacrificial motherly love right there. It could be the beard Gordon was wearing, which we've since learned is a sign of being a degenerate that provoked what we've deemed a "drive by fruiting." Later in the week as we watched the evening news, Gordon pointed to a politician and exclaimed, "See that guy's got a beard!" Turns out it was Gerry Adams, leader of Sinn Fein with ties to the Irish Republican Army, the leading paramilitary organization here.
The second day of their visit, we went to a museum with a Native American exhibit. Mom was dressed in her winter finest-furry boots and gloves with a colorful matching parka and Russian style hat. As she waited for us to catch up she sat on a bench right next to an Indian exhibit, very still, lost in her thoughts. The next thing she knew, a young girl was stroking her cape, observing "this is the softest thing I've ever felt on a mannequin." So of course mom slowly turned her head and scared the poor child out of her wits. That ought to teach her to touch the museum exhibits!
Evening three was our long awaited trip to the Russian circus. We had seats right in the front, which we thought would really stimulate the senses, but we didn't realize smell would be one of them. You've never encountered clowns that smelled so strong. Gordon said instead of "Send in the Clowns" they should play "Hose off the Clowns."
Hopefully the rest of the week exploring the city, several castles, the north coast, tromping through ruins and sheep fields was enjoyable for our guests. I sure enjoyed our trip to the Harley Davidson shop-you know you all want tee shirts from there! Aaron and I were delighted that several people mistook Gordon as one of our Dad's, and were a little disturbed that they thought he might be married to mom. I mean granted, I could pass for 16, but not Aaron!
Days after putting our VA visitors back on a plane Aaron began his new job as a security guard. It's long hours, low pay, and very boring, but it's work. He's been harassing teens at a train station and is now in a guard booth at a medical administrative building. He has however, been able to read several Grisham novels, watch the Lord of the Rings extended version (he's got 12 hours shifts Mon-Fri), and this past week, play X-box while working, so don't feel too sorry for him. I make him read some of my books, which is an added bonus!
Only one week to the wedding you've all been waiting for-Charles and Camilla! There's no shortage of tv commentary. Will she one day be queen? Only time will tell. But Princess Di will always be the Queen of hearts as we all well know. Prince Charles decided he really liked the cakes made by a Welsh granny and asked her for the recipe so he could have it at his reception. Granny declined, offering to make 20 cakes herself for the event, but would not give up her recipe. And they say the royals no longer have any real power!
Also in the news, the Michael Jackson trial of course, and the release of Martha Stewart. Mark my words she will bounce back and if she hosts Saturday Night Live someone please tape it for us! They've banned fox hunting in England, so of course animal rights activists are protesting by spooking the hunters' horses and nearly getting trampled in the process-does anyone appreciate the situational irony in this? Thirty years later, Tony Blair apologized on behalf of the government to Gerry Conlon and his family, popularly remembered as the "Guildford Four" (you may remember Daniel Day Lewis's portrayal of their wrongful imprisonment in the movie, "In the Name of the Father.") Over Easter there was a "Pope Watch." Poor John Paul's health has not been very good this Spring, so they air him watching the services on tv. I'd give anything to see if he switches over to "Desperate Housewives" after the mass.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, has recently been advocating restricting abortion rights to 20 weeks instead of 24 based on better medical evidence of fetal activity and viability. Quite a bold political move and I'm incredibly interested to see if the changes actually make it into legislation. In Northern Ireland news, tv and newspaper reported the election of the Moderator of the Presbyterian Synod for next year. You'd never hear anything like that on our news. Of course this same news reported a Rugby fan having cut off his own testicles when his team lost- there's no better way to describe the sports fury that runs amok here!
In academic news, I finally got my grades for last semester. I received honors in Sociology and a B+ in politics-turns out I AM smarter than I look-who knew? I've now learned the official definition of "evil eye" just in case you were wondering about whether there's any substance in my program. I'm researching female ordination for my feminism class and doing my best to be a mild irritant to the professor by being well prepared, willing to jump into discussion anytime, and usually defending religion and the church, which seems to be a fairly unpopular position to take in academics for some reason. Good thing I like a challenge and am not shy about being the snarky American defender of the faith. In my anthropology class the teacher mentioned that marrying someone in your own family was frowned upon in most societies. While wearing overalls, in my best Southern accent, and with a completely straight face I asked "First cousins are ok though, right?" The students knew I was kidding but the professor thought I was serious. Hilarious. One of the smart alecky students then asked where I met Aaron and without missing a beat I answered, "family reunion." I should have been in stand up I had 'em so rolling in the aisles.
We toured a local police station and were humbled by the stories they tell and the procedures they have for riots and pipe bombs. Hopefully things will continue to get better. On Good Friday I participated in a Prayer Walk for peace and unity that went from a monastery on the Catholic Falls Road over along the Protestant Shankill Road and through the giant gates of the brick and concrete "Peace Wall" that divides the city. It was a humbling experience and I don't think people really knew what to make of older priests, nuns, University students, Protestants and Catholics, Irish, British, Americans, Kiwis quietly carrying crosses past murals of men with guns that essentially tell the "others" to keep out of that section of town. It may be the most important and profound thing I do while I'm here.
On a sillier note, we went with Eilis (Queen's student from Oregon) and Patrick LaRochelle (visiting again from Charlottesville) to Dublin for the St. Patrick's Day parade. I, of course, had to buy a giant green hat with shamrocks on it for my collection. We found out a few days later that a new Hill was born on St. Pat's (how fitting!) to Aaron's sister Rebecca. We can't wait to meet our new nephew Alan when we return to Charlottesville in late August/early September. I've got to get home before my spelling is permanently ruined. We're planning to hit Quiznos, Amigos, Chili's, Cracker Barrel, Taco Bell and Chick-Fil-A the first week we're back so book your meal with us now!
I got pretty excited in the grocery store recently when I saw they had a pie aisle. Turns out it was shepherd's pie and other meat pies-what on earth? Someone please send Carolina BBQ potato chips and a box of Carmel Delight Girl Scout cookies!
Lest you think it's all bad, the soap operas and sketch comedies here are very good, and we do get Smallville, American Idol, ER, the Simpsons, Las Vegas, Desperate Housewives and occasionally Conan, Leno, and Letterman. And of course we get to see music countdowns hosted by David Hasselhoff, so eat your heart out. We were bummed to hear we missed the ending of NYPD blue-what happened?
New words include "brawlies" (umbrellas) "cracker" (cool person or thing), "steamer" (some sort of hot milk beverage? Or what Haley leaves in the park daily?) , and my favorite, "All fur coat and no knickers" (a woman of ill repute).
We've discovered the loud woman who lives above us and won't stop stomping is terrified of dogs, so we're working on a way to use that to our advantage some how. Haley recently earned her keep by introducing me to an entire men's Rugby Team in the park-good girl! A few boys scaled the intimidating and spikey fences behind our apartment, (so young, so bold) that are meant to deter burglars but obviously not 11 year olds when they saw Haley through the fence. They thought she was a "class cracker" and offered me a 100 GBP for her. I think they thought she would make a good fighting dog, they obviously haven't seen her flee from scary things like stuffed animals and spaghetti.
The clock sprung forward on Easter weekend, but Aaron forgot to set his watch forward so he worked an extra hour at work on Wednesday-"here's your sign." We're enjoying a lot more daylight (until 8 pm!) if not a whole lot more warmth. Hopefully we will get some nice island weather in sunny SPAIN. We're leaving on Friday the 1st for Majorca for 4 days-yeehaw! I am on Spring Break until April 8th. Hopefully this will hold you until we get back and can post the pictures-stay tuned for more adventures!
The Hillbillies
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