Advertisement
Published: July 28th 2008
Edit Blog Post
Flower & Herb Garden
A small section of the Flower and Herb Garden, on the way to the amphitheatre. Hey Everyone!
It’s me again! My apologies for not “blogging” in a while (sounds so gross when I put it that way). So how are we? Everyone swell? I sure hope so. We’ve just finished our second week of children’s theatre classes. We’re actually quite relieved that we had any enrollment at all. Since we’ve been out, it seems the recession has everyone in a standstill and people are picking their jaws up off the floor at how quiet this place is. Slowly but surely, people are coming on holiday and filling the town in…phew. And now Baltimore is booming as expected, just much later than usual. The kids are so very cute and having fun in our classes. Every morning Kenny and I step out while it’s still misty and “soft” as they call it out here, and take a walk through the garden to the amphitheatre to set up for class outside by the sea. The lighting reflects off of all the green and trees and the birds and seagulls are going nutty and it’s truly serene…until all the kids come (hee, hee). It’s really the perfect setting and I’m in a joyous shock everyday upon waking!
We’re also
boat yard
A picture taken from a friend's boat he's just built (an 8 year endevor) the night of his launch party before sailing around the world! working in the café during the evenings mostly. The Café (same café linked to the gardens and amphitheatre, same family) has these concerts all summer long on Saturdays and Sundays with yummy BBQ’s and stuff, and we always work those, get wonderful food and drink and listen to some really wonderful live music for free every night. We’ve found some new bands that we really like this way. And sometimes I get the best job of all…taking the tablecloths off the line in the sun by the chickens and ironing them inside while watching movies and sipping tea.
Speaking of traditional music…it’s everywhere. Really. And not just in the touristy way. In all the pubs, café’s, outdoor settings, concerts. I’ve heard quite a bit. And some of our friends are involved in the weekly sessions playing fiddle and the like. I think that’s a background sound I’ll unknowingly miss when I go. I recently worked a huge national concert in Skibbereen (the nearest town where we get groceries and post office and stuff) called Cork Southwest. It was a Mini-Irish-Woodstock of sorts. It was one full day with over 20 bands of all sorts. There was a lot of really
living left-handed
Finally, a country that recognizes my disability! good music and I met some new friends, as well as touched the wrists of every existing concert-goer and supplied them with a fashionable blue wrist-bands. A skill I plan on taking back to the states to further my starter career in concert crowd control (that’s right…I got to wear a bright yellow vest with reflectors on it).
I even met a beautiful new friend with a great red beard who physically ushered to me to all the best acts throughout the day singing loudly along to the trad songs along with everyone else, and dishing out very broad statements about his Irish people. Luckily, he was nearby when people spoke Irish to me at the door, willing me to respond... And me with a blank expression, (are they speaking Irish or just have a painfully thick accent?). I’m afraid I’ve only retained a couple of words in Irish out of all my guerrilla lessons. Since we’re in a rural area, there are quite a few who speak it, and they have many schools for children in which they speak and teach only in Irish. So, my Irish sucks but I have learned that my accent is actually “not so
Hitching...
One of our main forms of travel (don't worry M&D, it's safe, I promise!). This was our first attempt...couple of americans anybody? bad and actually kind of nice…it’s quite tolerable. Normally I can’t stand the American accent”…why, thank you? I suppose I’m starting to see what they mean. I think I’m only one out of a small handful of Americans here, and even then I’m not sure they’re American when I hear them speak, it sounds so…foreign.
So, we’re having a great time, with great people, in a great setting. Money could be better, but lots of other things couldn’t so, I’ll take it. We sleep late, earn our money in the arts, usually don’t work more than 3-5 hours in any one day (if we even work that day). I take 2-3 hour walks all over, run into people I know everywhere I go, eat and get entertained for free, then make my way to the pub to play poker with friends. Or go swimming in the sea at night, and usually fall asleep no earlier than 1am…I could get used to this! I miss you all and truly hope you’re finding yourselves happy and well. Drop me a little line on my blog so I know you’re all alive. I’ll try and write sooner next time. Until then my friends!
Our first set of Kiddies!
This was our first class, they were brilliant. Taken in the amphitheatre on the last day. Bye-bye.
p.s. I've tried putting up a video this time around, let me know if it works!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.061s; Tpl: 0.017s; cc: 6; qc: 44; dbt: 0.0301s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb