Rugby for Dummies - Ireland v Australia

Rugby Match: Ireland versus Australia, Saturday, 9.30am

Background.

The current Irish rugby team is considered to be the best we have ever had. Brian O’Driscoll at 13, the Irish captain, is widely regarded as the greatest ever Irish rugby player. Other stars include the workhorse No 8 Jimmy Heaslip, the line-out King No 5 Paul O’Connell, the No. 12 Gordon Darcy,  a Wexfordman and current UCD student, and the free running Full Back - No. 15 Rob Kearney. The Irish No. 7, Sean O’Brien, is a hugely explosive ball-carrier- and friend of Eimear Clowry!

The young Irish No. 10, Jonathan Sexton is a celebrated kicker - the No 10 or Outhalf position is like being ‘a quarterback with a boot’. He played horribly against the US so fingers crossed XXXXXXX he’s in good form again this weekend.

The current Australia team are regarded as the best team in the world on current form- just shading New Zealand. The match tomorrow stars some of the finest players ever to step on a rugby pitch - notably their No. 9 Will Genia, and their prodigiously gifted No. 10 Quade Cooper.

Rugby for Dummies By BILL RAYBURN [An American!!!][OK -I added some more detail too!!! [KW]

Most American know at least one very specific fact about rugby: We don’t want to play it. But for the moment, move past the visceral fear of a cranial collision with another human, and you will gain an understanding of this ancient sport. Peter Winder writes: "Rugby provides a suitable outlet for the controlled release of aggression within the structured framework of sport."

And legalized mayhem it is. There are no pads or helmets worn in rugby, and the collisions are often brutal, of a high-speed nature. Size is an advantage, but not as much as one might think. A quicker, smaller clever player can be invaluable. Injuries are accepted as part of the game. One is expected to play on even if hurt if at all possible. Clearly rugby is a sport for the lion, not the faint-hearted.

The terminology and jargon is revealing: scrum, ruck, maul, hooker. It sounds tough and it is, although there is much more to it, and modern rugby is a highly sophisticated tactical game. Here are the basics:

The game involves 15 players per side. The 15 positions include 8 forwards [numbered 1-8], a scrumhalf [9], an out-half [10], halfbacks, 2 centres [12-13], 2 wings [11 & 14], and 1 fullback [15].

The field, called a "pitch," is much wider and longer than an American football pitch.

The object of the game is to score as many points as possible by carrying, passing or kicking a leather oval ball, about twice the size of a football, toward the scoring zone at the far end of the pitch called the in-goal area, akin to an end zone in football. Grounding the ball (literally touching it to the turf with downward pressure of the hands or hand in the in-goal area) results in a try (score), worth 5 points. Tries are the big momentum switchers in a game.

A conversion attempt follows, a kick off the ground from 25 yards out but exactly parallel with where the try was scored - that puts a lot more pressure on the kicker than in American football, as many tries are scored out wide to the touchline. If the ball is kicked through the uprights, 2 more points are awarded. The ball is then kicked back to the other team from the half-way line and play resumes.

Points may also be scored from a drop kick during play - no easy feat with 30 guys swarming around - or a penalty kick, which is awarded after breaches of rules are spied by the single referee. Yes, believe it or not, there is only one referee on the field to monitor the actions of 30 players. The ref has the option to go to the TMO- Television Match Official- for consultation on tries being scored. If the drop or penalty kick is successful, it is worth 3 points.

Here are some basic rugby rules:

There are no "downs," as in football, nor is a "first down" required to maintain possession. In fact, possession can be exchanged often and quickly and turn-overs are frequent. There are few long, sustained "drives" toward the in-goal area- although the good teams are masters at retaining possession, especially through their groundhogs, who are proficient at turning over opposition ball when it goes to the deck. Progress up and down the field is achieved grudgingly, usually in short chunks.

The ball may not be passed forward from the hands, though it may be kicked forward. Players cannot be tackled unless they possess the ball. Once in possession of the coveted oval, one is fair game, dead meat, or an endangered species. Rugby supporters like nothing better than a big hit on an opposing player.

Once the player is tackled to the ground, he is expected to release the ball immediately. A common penalty is for ‘not releasing’ - ‘holding on to the ball after the tackle’ - usually for fear that the opposition will win it.[The Australian Number 7 David Pocock, is a famous exponent of winning the ball on the ground from a tackled player].

Players need to reach their team-mate very quickly once he is tackled and drive the opposing players back off the ball. This contest, called a ruck, is where the dark arts of the game are most fiercely practiced. Players wear cups to protect their vital assets and eye-gouging, ear biting and other fun stuff are not unknown - hence the leather scrumcaps that some wear. The ferocity of the ruck is almost primal, and the primary means of retaining and winning possession. “Turn-over ball’- where you win possession in a ruck after the opposition carried the ball into in - is highly prized, and often supplies the most dangerous attacking opportunities. Australia are deadly once they get quick ball. You are not allowed to play the ball with your hands once you are on the ground, but you can if you are still on your feet. Players are not allowed to enter the ruck from the side - only from behind the last foot of the players in it.

A maul is the same as a ruck, except that all the players grappling for the ball are still on the feet. A ‘Rolling Maul’ is one where the team with the ball are advancing rapidly - the current Irish team are expert exponents of this tactic. The opposition is not allowed to deliberately pull down a rolling maul.

Play stops only when there is an infringement, or the ball is kicked out of bounds, or when a try is scored.

When the ball goes out over the sideline, a line-out results, where the opposing players line up perpendicular to the sideline and jump for the ball as it is thrown back in play (similar to a jump ball in basketball). The players are allowed to hoist a teammate high into the air to better reach the ball. The throw in to the lineout is by a player from the team who didn’t kick it out. The throw is meant to be straight but a clever thrower will always advantage his own team. Teams would expect to gain possession on their own throw. Usually a really tall player knocks the ball back with his hand to the small light agile scrumhalf [No. 9], who then initiates the attacking plays.

Penalties, which range from tackling too high [no clothes-lining] to being offside (a player further downfield than the ball), can result in either a free kick for the other team or a scrum.

What, exactly, is a "scrum"? Each team's 8 forwards [the big burly bruisers on the team] link arms over their shoulders on opposite curves of a circle, like a huge round centipede at cannibalistic war with itself.

After the forwards are locked together, the No 9 - (scrumhalf) - carefully rolls the ball into the center of the scrum: again it is meant  to be straight but it is 99% crooked, so the team with the Put-In to the scrum should always win it. Once in the scrum, the ball cannot be touched by hand. Each team has a "hooker" in the front of the scrum, a player positioned forward of his teammates, who tries to hook his foot around the ball and drag it behind him, where his teammates then caterpillar it with their feet until it squirts out the back of the scrum. Then the scrumhalf picks it up and initiates play. The scrumhalf is always the smallest, nimblest and usually craftiest player. He is a major decision-maker as he has to decide whether to run, kick or pass. At times too, a team may elect to gain ground by pushing the opposition backwards in the scrum. The scrum-half passes usually to the No. 10 -or out-half - the quarterback with a boot. He has to be the most tactically aware person on the team, the creative playmaker and brains of the team. Above all, he has to be a quick passer and a great kicker.

The game consists of two 40-minute halves, with a brief half-time break. There are no time-outs, save for an injury. Tactical substitutions are allowed, usually occurring after about 60 minutes when you need fresh impetus.

Kate Hunger (Dublin alum): A little of her TFA experience

TFA jargon alert: Institute is the 5 week training period where we are sent away from our region to both learn how to teach and do a modified student teaching experience for a summer school.  The first week is just a series of session geared towards actually teaching (planning, management, execution).  For the next 4 weeks, we teach in the morning (split between our collab -- or group of teachers responsible for one class) and take classes in the afternoons.  Personally, I taught an entering third grade class with 3 other teachers (the 4 of us = a collab).  The children are adorable and precocious.  The first 2 weeks, I taught reading, and the second 2 weeks, I taught math.  

Teaching a class like this has some unique challenges, as the kids have to adjust to 4 different teachers every day.  Additionally, we have a CMA (TFA jargon alert: CMA = Corp Member Advisor, a wonderful person who edits our lesson plans, observes us and critiques our teaching) that helps us improve as teachers.  I've learned so much so far, but still have so far to go.

Lessons from teaching -- 

Lesson #1:  8 year olds need to go to the bathroom around every 3 hours, or when bored.  Disrupting that schedule has disastrous consequences.  

Lesson #2:  8 year olds are already mean to each other.

Lesson #3:  Passing out papers is a BIG DEAL.

Lesson #4:  8 year olds love telling you about their lives, especially if a story could have the same word as something that you said.  And yes, that word could be "go."

Lesson #5:  I had a really awesome childhood.  Like really awesome.  

Lesson #6:  There is no substitution for exposure to books.  Kids need to be surrounded by words and ideas all the time.

Lesson #7:  If you respect kids, they'll respect you.

Lesson #8:  Never hint at a personal story unless you are willing to tell the whole thing.

Living in the Mississippi Delta Lessons:

Lesson #1:  Everyone knows everyone in small towns.

Lesson #2:  Don't itch bug bites.

Lesson #3:  No matter how anti-pesticides you are, that can all change.

Lesson #4:  Blues Bars are so much fun.

Lesson #5:  Always find live music.

Lesson #6:  Bowling is cool and cheap.

Lesson #7:  Walmart has everything you could ever need.

Lesson #8:  Do what makes you happy.


Experiences and Ideas that challenged my mindset:

1.  Corporal Punishment.  Where is the line between spanking and child abuse?  How do we discuss this productively?

2.  High expectations.  How do you maintain the same high expectations for all children when you see the differences in starting points?

3.  Kindness.  How do you have a completely separate tone in your classroom than the rest of the school?

4.  Respect.  How do you earn respect from students?

5.  Machiavelli: Is it better to be feared or love?  Michael Scott: Um easy, both.  I want people to fear how much they love me.

6.  Working in teams.  What's more important: intentions or execution?


Really Awesome Experiences:

1.  Going to Morgan Freeman's Blues Bar.  It's pretty much everything you would imagine in a small town Mississippi blues bar.

2.  Having an entire town throw a crawfish boil for you.  

3.  Vacation in Nashville for July 4th

4.  Seeing your mannerism and values reflected in 8 year olds.

5.  Having students write you notes detailing what they like about your teaching.

6.  Being a real teacher.

Dublin no longer the most expensive city to live in

Dublin has dropped down the list of the world's most expensive cities to
live in, but it remains in the top 15 most expensive cities in the European
Union, a new survey says.

The Irish capital was 10th on the world list just six years ago, but thanks
to the property crash and the banking crisis it fell to 42nd place last year
and to 58th place this year, according to Mercer¹s 2011 Cost of Living
Survey. Mercer's survey measures the comparative cost of items such as
housing, transport, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment.

Mercer said that recent headline grabbing world events including natural
disasters and political upheavals, had altered the rankings for many regions
through the cost of inflation for goods and services, and other factors like
currency costs and volatility in accommodation prices. Senior consultant at
Mercer Noel O¹Connor told the Irish Times : 'We have seen Dublin drop from
42 to 58 in the worldwide rankings. Dublin ranks in the top 15 most
expensive cities in the EU with a ranking of 13 (down two places from 2010)
out of 40 EU cities included in survey.

Update from Uganda

Two weeks ago we traveled to Queen Elizabeth National Park in Western Uganda. Because we were are not too comfortable with public transport and didn’t have much time, we took a private hire. The private driver drove us the 4½ hour drive for less than $20 each (imagine taking a taxi for that amount of time in the States…) National Parks are MUCH different than in the United States. When we think of National Park, we think signs and roads and scenic points and officially sanctioned and organized things. Things are just a little different here. There
is no transport within the park (which is hundreds of square kilometers) so you need a driver to take you everywhere. This is because it can easily be an hour drive to get to what you want to do and because there are animals everywhere and you can’t just walk around. Even on our drive in we had to stop of a group of elephants crossing the road.

Luckily we were right next to the visitor center and were able to figure certain activities out there. Saturday evening we took a boat ride down the channel. From the boat we saw herds of buffalo and elephants, tons of beautiful birds, crocodiles, a few monkeys, and breathtaking mountains. We rode right next to herds of hippos, which was both scary and awesome. The tour was very easy going but great. The landscapes were amazing. I had no idea how diverse the park would be. We had dinner at the hostel and had a relaxing evening just hanging out.

In the morning we woke up early because it is best to see animals at sunrise. Some people in our group went on a chimp tour, but myself and a few others decided to do something cheaper. We hired a driver to take us to a forest where we could do a nature walk, but as we were in the car he got a call from his brother who is a safari driver. He said they knew where a pride of lions was, which is rare and difficult to find. So we scrapped the forest and did a driving safari. Tons of other safari cars were there when we drove up to the lions, but we waited for all of them to leave so we could drive up closer. And by closer I mean I was a few feet from a lion. It was unreal. We also saw antelope, herds of buffalo, more birds, and mongoose on the drive. It was great because it showed us the more savannah side of the park.

After we returned, we went to the nice lodge near by for a good lunch. I got a cheese pizza which was HEAVEN. American foods like pizza, even something as simple as cheese, is unheard of. Then we took the same private hire back this afternoon. I can’t believe it all worked out as well as it did. It was very relaxing but we got to see tons of things and I managed not to spend loads of money.

The past two weeks of work have been good at times, bad at others. It is often difficult to be productive because things move at a different pace here. However, I was able to do a great amount of research about SACCOs and Microfinance options in Masaka. I was also able to go into the field to see some of the projects people need loans. My favorite was the pineapple farm that had 17,000 pineapples! I was given a delicious pineapple as a gift... yum!

The other place I have seen is Lake Nambugabu. This weekend was the midterm retreat for all the FSD interns, and so we all went to a nice retreat center on the lake. It was extremely low key and relaxing. It was awesome to just hang out in the sun, go out on the boat and be in a quite setting.

Thats a lot of information for now, but believe it or not I'm over half way done and will be home 4 weeks from today!
Hope all is well,
Erin

Update from Uganda

by Erin Byrne

I have officially been in Uganda for over 2 weeks now. Already I noticed a huge difference in my level of comfort since a week ago. My week in a nutshell consisted of a slow first week of work. It took a while for the people I am working with to warm up to me, but things have improved each day, and I am sure they are going to continue to do so. On Friday the other interns and I rented a hotel room for the night, went out to dinner, and had a good evening being just us. It was a much needed break for some people after 2 weeks in our host families. I, luckily, am having a great time with my amazing family.

Questions people have been asking that you might want to know about:

What exactly are you doing for work?
I am working for South Buganda Teacher’s SACCO Microfinace. (SACCO stands for Savings and Credit Co Operation.). This week was for observation. I was taught their paperwork process, shown the computerized system they are trying to move to, taught their accounting methods, and briefed by each person on what they did for
the organization. This first week was less than exciting, but in the 7 weeks I have left I am sure things will get better. I am responsible for identifying an issue relevant to the organization, thinking of a project to improve the issue, creating a proposal and budget for the project, implementing it, and ensuring it is sustainable. There are some pretty ridiculously inefficient and ineffective things about the organization, so there are many opportunities for me. I should have the opportunity to go visit clients in the field more next week, which is what I am interested in. I hope to make my project assist those that can’t get loans currently by helping start a group loan option in the organization.

What am I eating?
The food isn’t bad. Meals consist of what they call “food” and “sauce”. Food to them are basic starches like matooke, potatoes, yams, and rice. Then the “sauce” is the beans, nut sauce, or chicken broth you mix with the “food”. They taste fine, really, and things could be much worse if they served food that was crazy gross or didn’t settle with my stomach. But they don’t understand the concept of variety. It is not a matter of money- they really just don’t think a meal is acceptable unless it is served in this format. They could easily cook chicken with spices and steamed veggies, or mashed potatoes, or sliced bananas, or sandwiches, or pasta, but they have no desire to. They like to serve the same foods prepared the same way for both lunch and dinner, especially matooke. Matooke is a banana like food that comes in big bunches which they bake on coals wrapped in big leaves. The result is a pile of mush similar to mashed potatoes but with less
taste. Literally they make it twice a day. It isn’t easy or quick to prepare, it doesn’t stay good long, and it doesn’t have much flavor, but everyone here SWEARS by it. I don’t get it. Generally I have African tea (which is milk tea with tons of sugar= delicious) and bread for breakfast, a traditional meal as described above with my host family for dinner, and for lunch I usually buy a few oranges, a
chocolate bar and water because I am trying to diversify my solely carb intake. Other food related thing to complain about: eating times. Lunch is around 1 or 2 pm, tea is served around 730 or 8pm, and dinner around 930 or 10pm. On the weekends this is all even later. There is also no concept of snacks or leftovers that you can eat between meals (other than perhaps a slice of bread) and it is impolite to ask for food outside of meals. So my stash of peanut m&ms, nature valley bars, goldfish, raisins and peanut butter has been key to my survival. I
have been doing a pretty good job or rationing.  Craziest thing I have eat? Fried Grasshoppers. They are in season now and a delicacy. They aren’t my favorite, but if prepared right I can eat enough to be polite.

What do I do with my free time?
There is not that much free time like in the same sense in America. That is because it takes a long time to do anything here. Getting places takes about 20 to 40 minutes walking from my house. But the culture is generally very relaxed and I have rarely felt stressed.  I walk to town normally every day for work or to go to the internet café. At home, I usually watch NTV which shows ridiculous dubbed
Spanish soap operas, a few random American programs like old seasons of American Idol or America’s Next Top Model, hang out with my precious 2 year old sister, or spend time reading, journaling or watching Friends in my room.

I think thats enough information for now. Hope everyone is doing well in America (or Ireland or wherever you are that you are receiving these emails)!
Love Erin

On 20 September 1845, The Nation advertised: 

Frederick Douglas [sic], recently a slave in the United States, intends to deliver another lecture in the Music-Hall, Lower-Abbey street, on Tuesday evening next, 23rd instant, at eight o’clock.  Doors to be open at half-past seven o'clock. Admission, by tickets, to be had at the door.  Promenade - fourpence. Gallery - twopence.

The 27year old Douglass, an escaped slave, had rendered himself famous with the publication of his bestselling Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass, an American slave. He arrived in Dublin in August 1845, and he stayed in Ireland for four months. He delivered highly successful and well-received abolitionist speeches in Dublin, Wexford, Waterford, Cork, Limerick and Belfast. His flamboyant and hard-hitting oratory, combined with sensational props - whips, handcuffs, and chains - made him a hit.

He met his hero Daniel O’Connell in September 1845, who introduced him to a Repeal Meeting as ‘the Black O’Connell’. Douglass had long admired ‘The Liberator’ for his principled stand against the ‘foul stain’ of American slavery, and the leading abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison had named his newspaper The Liberator, in his honour. O’Connell had contemptuously dismissed Irish-American money from slave states: ‘I want no American aid, if it comes across the Atlantic stained in American blood’. O’Connell never wavered on slavery, and sought to link Irishness and opposition to oppression ‘wherever it rear[ed] its head’. He asserted that  ‘Ireland and Irishmen should be foremost in seeking to effect the emancipation of mankind’, because the Irish ‘had themselves suffered centuries of persecution’. With Douglass in the audience he uttered the powerful words: ‘My sympathy with distress is not confined within the narrow bounds of my own green island.  No—it extends itself to every corner of the earth.  My heart walks abroad, and wherever the miserable are to be succored, and the slave to be set free, there my spirit is at home, and I delight to dwell’.

O’Connell called for ‘speedy, immediate abolition’ in 1831 and attacked the white republic and American hypocrisy, remaining consistent and principled on this issue even when it hurt him with the Irish-American constituency. In his opinion, shared oppression should have nurtured a political affinity between Irish Catholics and African-Americans and he was puzzled as to why the Irish embraced ‘cruelty’ in America by supporting the slavery cause O’Connell personally declined to set foot in the USA while it remained a slave society. His efforts were recognised within America. In 1833, the African American church in New York held a meeting honouring O’Connell: ‘the uncompromising advocate of universal emancipation, the friend of oppressed Africans and their descendants and the unadulterated rights of man’.

Douglass was enraptured by his Irish experience:  ‘I have spent some of the happiest moments of my life since landing in this country.  I seem to have undergone a transformation. I live a new life’. He was also heartened by the success of the edition of his narrative printed in Dublin by the veteran abolitionist Quaker R. D. Webb.

Douglass had long wanted to visit Ireland. He credited his escape from Baltimore to the advice given him there by two Irish dockers, and he trained himself in oratory through studying the speeches in an American publication –The Columbian Orator of 1797 [‘Every opportunity I got, I used to read this book’], modelling his speaking style on that of Arthur O’Connor and Richard Brinsley Sheridan: ‘I met there one of Sheridan's mighty speeches, on the subject of Catholic Emancipation’. He was also inspired by O’Connell and the style of African-American oratory was forged when this flamboyant Irish tradition fused with the call and response and testamentary preaching style of the African-American church. Douglass bequeathed that style to Martin Luther King, his great successor in the civil rights movement. In turn that style also informs the oratory of Barrack Obama, who lists Frederick Douglass as his historical hero and role model. When the President spoke at College Green, he stood in front of a building, the Parliament House which could be regarded as the birthplace of his speaking style, and he spoke warmly of the relationship between O’Connell and Douglass.

In the same week, the direct descendants of Frederick Douglass were for the first time visiting Ireland, at the invitation of Don Mullan. His great great granddaughter Nettie Washington Douglass and her son Kenneth Morris were warmly greeted by the president of Ireland, attended the launch of a new Dublin edition of the Narrative, and visited Daniel O’Connell’s residence at 58 Merrion Square, now owned by the University of Notre Dame. It was a poignant moment. Like their ancestor, the Douglasses felt warmly treated in Ireland. On their taxi trip in from the airport, they were astonished when the driver refused to take a fare, saying that he regarded it as a honour to have them in his car.

‘Hangover Part 3’ could be made in Dublin

Speculation has begun on the location for the third installment of the “Hangover” franchise, and rumors are surfacing that it could take place in Dublin. The wolf pack could live their third and final wild night in the streets of Ireland’s capital, following their outlandish Las Vegas and Bangkok experiences. The star of the movie Bradley Cooper, said that although he did not want people to “get ahead of themselves” regarding a sequel, he admitted that he would “definitely” consider Dublin as their next destination. "We're just going to wait and see what happens with the second one,” he said. “Hopefully people will like it, but right now we're just focused on getting the second one out there." Although critics were not at all impressed, “The Hangover Part II” broke records for a comedy film’s debut in the United States by taking in $103.4m (€71.5m) over the four-day Memorial Day holiday weekend, and an impressive $2.1 (€1.5m) in Ireland. Warner Bros is remaining tight-lipped about the possible third movie, but one executive was quoted as saying that a "third movie is all but a given." "I think if there is going to be a third one, it will be the final one," co-screenwriter Craig Mazin said. "We've got a couple of ideas we're kicking around." One of those ideas might have Dublin as the city of choice, which would surely please the cast members. If the movie executives choose Ireland’s capital as the next location, the Irish community is in for the queen of all “Hangovers.”

Obama happier in Ireland than anywhere else

Top New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd has written that Barack Obama appeared happier in Ireland than anywhere else he has been as president.  ‘As J.F.K. and Bill Clinton discovered before him, Irish love is all-encompassing, a mother’s milk for needy politicians,’ she wrote.  ‘On the streets and at the pub in Moneygall (still smelling of fresh paint) and again at his big speech in Dublin when he offered the Gaelic version of ‘Yes We Can’ ‘Is Feidir Linn’ Obama was transformed’ she wrote  ‘He dropped his diffident debutante act. He liberally offered all the Irish charm, wit and warmth that he had lacked in working-class bars and neighborhoods when he lost primaries to Hillary in New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana in 2008.  But, she says the Irish are uneasy it was all just a one day stand.  ‘Swaddled in the afterglow, the Irish are trying to figure out: Was it true love or merely a one-day stand?  ‘The tall, dark stranger who bewitched an island didn’t say when he’d be calling again to help out with Ireland’s $100 billion debt.’ She referred to Irish leader Enda Kenny being so enamoured that he ‘offered an odd homage, a near-carbon copy of the opening of Obama’s victory acceptance speech in Grant Park in Chicago in 2008, changing the word ‘America’ to ‘Ireland’ and ‘founders’ to ‘ancestors’: ‘If there’s anyone out there who still doubts that Ireland is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our ancestors is alive . . . today is your answer.’ She stated Obama¹’s trip will help him domestically in America.  ‘Funnily enough, Obama had to take a foreign trip to seem less foreign to Americans. Even though he did a best-selling memoir about his roots, he has had a persistent and puzzling problem coming across as rooted. But with American reporters swarming Moneygall to examine and show off the long-form birth records of Obama’s ancestor Falmouth Kearney, a shoemaker who immigrated to Ohio in 1850, the president suddenly seems more rooted in an ethnic working-class persona that even his critics can recognize.’

Volunteering in Uganda

by Erin Byrne (Dublin Alum, Spring 2011)


Hey everyone,
          SO I have officially been in Uganda for 1 week. It has been one of the most interesting, long, crazy, difficult and awesome weeks every. I feel like I am basically learning how to be a person again. Almost everything we take for granted is different. I am relearning how to take showers, eat, use the bathroom, talk to people, walk, communicate, and function in the world.
            I arrived Friday evening to the airport in Entebbe. Luckily my bags were all there and I eventually found the two other interns in my program and the person who was to pick us up at the airport. We were taken to the airport guesthouse where we spent the night in what is most likely a Ugandan resort. The only thing odd about the hotel was that we slept under a bed net. I got a good night sleep after 2 days of living on a plane or in airports and woke up the next morning to meet the other interns. There are a total of 10 other people living in Masaka and working for the Foundation for Sustainable Development this summer. On Saturday we were met by the FSD staff. We went to Kampala to buy phones and exchange money. That place was crazy. Insane. It is like Masaka but on steriods. We were just there for the afternoon and then we began the drive to Masaka town. It is about a 3 hour drive, but we stopped at the equator to take pictures. It is literally just a sign on the side of the road! Its not a big deal here.
       We spent the first two nights in a hotel in Masaka which was great for group bonding. The other interns are from University of San Fransisco, Emery, and Gettysburg. It is great having other people here going through the same things I am. We moved in with our host families on Monday. I really really lucked out. My host family consists of a young mother and father (probably both under 30) who are a postman and nurse. They have a 2 year old daughter named Blessing who is pretty
much the cutes thing in the world. She doesnt understand me much but she imitates everything I do and is full of energy. 
        Since Sunday we have gone through training. We have had several lessons on Luganda (the language of the region), safety and security, living with a host family, culture, government, political issues, sustainable development skills, and more. We also took field trips to see an organic farm and blanket making from tree bark. The sessions are sometimes overwhelming, but over all have been extremely helpful. We begin work on Monday. I will be working for a microfinance group called South Buganda SACCO. I am really excited to learn first hand how these groups which give small loans for poor people in the region work. There will be more on my work in later emails. Between now and then I have a Ugandan wedding to attend! Should be interesting.
        For now I would say the really good things are the weather (about 80 degrees every day), beautiful scenery (yes just like all the movies and  pictures... but a lot more green than I thought), my very welcoming host family, the unbelievably cheap prices, the delicious fruit, and the other interns. The not so good things have been the food (it is relatively plain and I like the meals but is pretty much the same thing every meal), being stared at and called a muzundu (white person) about 50 times a day, not having real toilets, and not
being able to communicate back home.
      I look forward to writing more. There is so much to talk about, and hope to get to a computer again soon. 
Erin

Marathonin' around Kraków

by Joe Maciuba

So for the past 3 months or so, I have been training for my first marathon.  I thought that it would be a good (and free!) way to stay in shape--all I would have to do was slip on my shoes, put in my headphones , and go, go go.

In terms of training plans, I used Hal Higdon's novice training plan (http://www.halhigdon.com/marathon/Mar00novice.htm) and actually stayed pretty true to it.  As a beginning plan, it only increased mileage across the three months--there was no strength training (like I could afford a gym anyways), no hills, and no speedwork.  I think that next time I run a marathon (which there will be a next time!), I will try to incorporate everything in order to have a more balanced experience.

The marathon itself was such a great time.  I had been battling knee pain for the past couple of weeks, so I thought I was going to be dealing with that the entire race, but my knee ended up pulling through for me. The weather was also perfect, as it was not too cold and too warm, and the organizers of the race provided water, powerade, bananas, and oranges throughout the length of the course.  When I started to get a pit in my stomach, I would just stop and get my electrolytes and carbs back up, so I really never quite boinked.  In terms of the route, we got to run by some of the best places in Krakow: the Rynek,  Wawel, and all up along the Wisla river.  There wasn’t ever a boring part—it was Palm Sunday and we even got to run by a church where the priest was blessing the palms.  Question: does that count as me going to church?

One of the better moments was when we were running along the Wisla and a choir that was on one of the restaurant boats just started singing to the runners.  That was a bit unexpected.  I also enjoyed it when the homeless people started cheering with us—giving us high fives with one hand while holding their bottle of liquor in the other. 

But hey, just a word of advice to all you international marathon runners: a marathon is NOT 40 kilometers, but is actually a little more than 42 (42.195 km, 42.195).  I was budgeting my energy for 40 km, so I pushed it hard through the 35-39 kilometers and then kind of ran out of juice at the end. Whoops!

After the marathon was over, I got some fatty, greasy pea soup with a nice, cold beer all for free.  I suppose that’s one way (or the Polish way?) to get your calories back.  There was also a tent set up giving massages, which I thought was going to be awesome.  It just ended up hurting a lot, but I think it helped with my muscle soreness in the long run (haha, get it?).

My time, according to my watch, was 4:00:10, which was right on goal with how I wanted to do. I think I could definitely run it faster.  And if I were to run one, say, 55 minutes faster?  Heck, that'd be a Boston qualifying time!  We'll see what happens.  

Adriana Taylor reflects on her role as volunteer with a Community Based Learning (CBL) project in Dublin city.

This semester has been an eye-opening one for me in many ways.  My eyes have been opened to the troubled past that is Irish history, to what Irish culture is like today, to the importance of being flexible, to the appreciation of time, and to Irish hospitality.  Thanks to my participation in CBL my eyes have been opened to homelessness, how it affects children specifically, how to better love others, and how social problems can be right around the corner and easily ignored.  Had I not participated in CBL I would walk down O’Connell Street to shop or grab some food and never think about the people that live in the area.  I would not know that there are agencies working to eradicate social problems in Dublin right around the corner.  Every time I participate in service I gain something out of it and learn something about myself; this time was no exception.  I learned that the most important thing you can do for a child is reassure them and love them.  It was important for me to not label these children as “homeless” or treat them differently than I would any other child.  I still encouraged them when they got stuck on a math problem and pushed them on the swing as high as they wanted to go.  I didn’t instantly categorize them or box them in my mind as someone who had barriers.  Regardless of the population I serve, I think it is important for me to approach them with an open heart and mind.  Simple love is the most vital ingredient to successful service and I think the children at my CBL showed me that this semester.  The first few times I was at my site I was unsure and not confident about what I could do to help.  The children noticed I was someone new and didn’t pay much attention to me.  As my visits became more regular, certain children opened up to me and I became an older person they could talk to, play games with, and ask for homework help from.  The opening up of the children coincided with my personal opening up and my increase in confidence which made my experience more worthwhile.  I know my attitude going into my site visit has an impact on how I interact with the children and what I get out of the experience.  My CBL will always be an integral memory of my study abroad experience and I am very glad I did it.  Notre Dame has taught me the value of serving others, even in everyday life, and I’m grateful I got to develop that in a foreign country.  It contributed to my growth as a person and gave me a deeper understanding of Irish culture.  No country is immune from social issues and although some tackle them differently, they need compassionate hard working people to help resolve them.  Participating in CBL during a great time of growth in my life made me excited to commit myself to a year of service after college and continue this type of growth.  Homelessness is a problem that I will continually acknowledge and have a special place in my heart and prayers for.

An Tine Beo Award 2011

Each Semester the Keough Naughton Centre staff collectively choose the person that we believe best embodies the spirit of our programme. We call the award ‘An Tine Beo’: ‘Tine Beo’ means the living fire and the concept is based on an aphorism of the poet William Butler Yeats: ‘Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire’. The staff is faced with the difficult challenge of selecting one student from the entire group, choosing from a field of the brightest and the best that Notre Dame has to offer.

We confer this Award spring 2011 on a person who has consistently made contributions to the programme with her many talents. Her relaxed and even-tempered personality, her unstinting willingness to help others and her good humour contributed strongly to the formation of the Dublin student community this semester. A talented musician, she enhanced every social and liturgical occasion from the Celtic Twilight concert to the peak of Croagh Patrick to the closing Mass. She also gave back to Ireland through Community Based Learning, serving children in the North inner city. While maintaining a clear focus on her academic pursuits, she has constantly shared her many gifts, enthusiastically immersing herself in every programme activity and opportunity. She is also thoughtful about her place in the world, reflected in her double minors in Science, Technology and Values, and Catholic Social Teaching. An Tine Beo award for Spring 2011 goes to Adriana Taylor.

Closing remarks Speech Spring 2011

by Kevin Whelan

Thank you for your superb commitment. When you first came to us, we asked you to share your gifts as we walked this journey together. Our motto is ‘Is ar scáth a cheile a mhaireann na daoine’- we are nourished in a community. Together we made a life-giving community: you came here as strangers to each other, but you return as friends.

Book of Sirach: ‘A faithful friend is a sturdy shelter; he who finds one finds a treasure’.

‘A brother that is helped by his brother is like a strong city’ [Proverbs 18]. A sister that is helped by her sister is like a strong city.

Observations for the Future

1 Don Keough ‘To make yourself interesting, you have to do interesting things and meet interesting people’.

2 Do what you love doing. Work with the very best people you can find: Never ever sell yourself short. Never stop striving to be the person that you want to be.

Nelson Mandela [quoting Marianne Williamson].

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us, it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

3 Give until it hurts. Share your gifts. And always remember that whatever you give, you will receive back so much more. No kindness, no smile, no prayer, no effort, no matter how apprently insignificant or apparently unrecognised, is ever wasted.

4 Embrace the ‘Attitude of Gratitude’. The less entitled that you feel, the happier you will be. Your parents, your family, your teachers, your friends, your community, your university, your country, your ancestors – other people - made you who you are. Your character and your accomplishments are never uniquely your own, but the cumulation of many people’s efforts, time and commitment. You really know yourself best through the reactions of people around you:

Gils Scott-Heron: ‘The way you get to know yourself is by the expressions on other people’s faces, because that’s the only thing that you can see, unless you carry a mirror about. But if you keep saying ‘I’ and they’re saying ‘I’, you don’t get much out of it. They’re not really into ‘you’, or ‘we’, or ‘they’; they’re into ‘I’. That makes conversation slow. I am the person I see least of over the course of my life, and what I see is not accurate’.

5 We are called, each of us, with our unique range of gifts and our unique limits, to share a common journey, and yet one that is distinct for each one of us. Realising that frees us to rejoice in the gifts, graces and accomplishments of others. We are augmented by others’ talents rather than being diminished or threatened by them, each of us contributing to the common good at our points of strength, each of us drawing from that common good when we need help, support, fellowship, guidance, reassurance. Even as we experience our gifts as gracious, we should think of our limits as gracious, because they enable us to recognize the gifts of others. Embracing that perspective can liberate us from anxiety - the curse of the 21st century. Seek to do your best, not to be perfect. Perfectionism blights happiness and anxiety deprives us of joy in our lives.

Leonard Cohen: Anthem [1992]:

Ring the bells that still can ring,
forget your perfect offering,
there is a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in.

Grace and Gravity

As human beings, we are anchored between the physical (material) world, and the spiritual (metaphysical) world. We are equally creatures of gravity and of grace. Our life is the path that we choose between gravity and grace. The Cross is the intersection between the axes of gravity and grace. The dead Christ incarnated on the cross opens himself to share in our human gravity: the risen Christ elevates us to share in His grace.

Gravity is necessity. Grace is free.
Gravity is our body, grace is our soul.
Gravity is confinement, grace is freedom.
Gravity is who we are, grace is what we aspire to be.
Gravity is time, grace is the eternal.
Gravity is history, grace is hope.
Gravity is nature, grace is divine.

6 Embrace life-long learning not just your university segment; great conversations, great journeys, great paintings, great books, great films, great architecture, great sport, great food nourish our lives. There is an intellectual challenge here also: to bring what you learned here in Europe back to the ND campus and to America. I know that you learned a good deal about America during your time here. What does she of America know who only America knows? More than any generation that has ever lived on our lovely plant, you live in a globalised world. 

Let me finish by sharing three final observations:

First, we are exceptionally proud of you, and we will follow your futures with a paternal solicitude. We will take pride in your accomplishments and follow your lives with interest and affection. At our initial orientation, I puzzled some of you when I said that the person that you would meet here was yourself. I believe that all of you stretched yourselves in Dublin and that as a result you grew and deepened and matured in ways that will only become fully apparent to you when you are back on campus.

Second, we will always carry warm memories of your time here with us. Thanks for the memories that you gifted to us. We will never forget magic moments that we shared: at Celtic Twilight, on the peak of Croagh Patrick, in a bog on Achill island....

Finally, this week is a sad one for us in O’Connell House. The worst part of our job is that you become so much part of our lives and then the day comes when you fly back home again, as you have to do, but you leave O’Connell House empty and quiet, and it is lonely for us. Here at O’Connell House, we strive to lay out a green carpet for you. We hope that every time you came in our blue door, you were greeted by a welcoming word, a smile, an invitation to a cup of tea and a chat by Joe, Lisa, Eimear, Aoife, Denise and Bébhinn. I as Director and you as participants, are lucky to have such a wonderful staff, who are so genuinely committed to your welfare here, just as we as a staff are privileged to serve such a wonderful group of students.

We hope that a little corner of your heart will glow indelibly green. And we want to see you back here for the game in 2012.

Finding a Balance and Lessons from Abroad

                                                         by Sean Stefancin

    No matter what stage of life you are in, there is a constant struggle to find a balance.  For a long time, I worked hard to find the balance.  During the summers, I try to balance working with meeting up with friends and finding some time to relax and spending time with my family.  At Notre Dame, I try to balance classwork with training and engaging in the whole “college experience”.  Here in Dublin, I tried to balance travel plans throughout Europe with my focus of training with the Track team.  I have learned a few lessons about balance while being abroad.
    One lesson has been learning to go with the flow a bit more.  Part of that has to being in the Irish culture.  Plans are not always made, and even the ones that are are not strictly adhered to.  And that is actually OK.  Flexibility and adaptability are great characteristics to have, but they do take some time to develop.  That is where my study abroad program comes in.  After a few frustrating experiences, I have learned to be a lot more flexible in day-to-day activities.  I would still prefer to have a plan and have things go according to my plan, but I have found ways to adjust when that is not the case

That leads me to my realization about finding balance in life.  I need to stop trying to find the balance because it does not exist.  There is a balance, but it can change over time.  Over time can be a few years or a semester or even a few weeks.  On top of that, I cannot get things to perfectly balance.  I am going to spend more time on some activities than others, despite my best attempts to balance my time and responsibilities.  This is where the two lesson merge together.

Early in the program, I focused more on running and getting in the best possible shape.  It gave me an excuse to stay in or hang back as I made the tougher-than-expected transition to life in Dublin.  Early on, my balance was dominated by my training.  As the semester progressed, I fell in to a pattern and enjoy myself a bit more.  I found ways to take advantage of the opportunities that I had while being abroad.  The balance was shifting a little.  Then I came to a crossroad.

I could have spent my Spring break in Portugal, training with the UCD Athletics Club (track team) and getting into ridiculous shape.  Or, I could travel with my girlfriend and some good friends through Italy.  I opted for the latter.  Looking back, going to Portugal and training would have put me in a position to run the times I was hoping to here in Dublin.  I would have succeeded in the goals I set out coming in to the study abroad program.

But I would have missed out on the trip of a lifetime.  From that point on, I made sure to take advantage of traveling.  My focus shifted slightly away from running.  I climbed Croagh Patrick, had a romantic weekend in Paris with my girlfriend, and even made it to Munich for a day.  I was seeing places I never imagined I would be able to.  My training took a hit, and that was evident in my track meet last week.  I ran a respectable time, but it not was I was hoping or thought I was capable of.   I was very disappointed, but looking back on the previous month or so led me to my final lesson.

I had been told by many people to take advantage of the opportunities I had while I was here, but I was not sure how to treat that since I was so focused on running when I first arrived in Dublin.  I felt like I had let myself down at the track meet with my time.  As I looked back as to why I was not in the kind of shape I was hoping to, I realized that I actually had made the most of those few months.  I had been to 4 countries I had never been to before, seeing breathtaking sights and historical monuments and everything in between.  I will go back to training when I get back home to Cleveland and South Bend, but I do not know when I will have the opportunity to be in Europe and see the places I saw (especially as cheaply as we were able to pull it off).              Sometimes you have to make sacrifices to take full advantage of the opportunities you are given.  The sacrifices may be harder to make at certain times, but looking back on great experiences like traveling around Europe for the first time makes it much easier.  You may even find that you actually had a great time and went on some trips of a lifetime.  

That can only happen if you are a little flexible, learn adjust your balance, prioritize your goals, and realize the amazing opportunities that are staring you in the face.  That’s it.  Oh, if only it were that easy.  Having family and friends there to remind you of that and be supportive goes a long way in getting to that point.  When you do finally have that light bulb go off, you are going to have a fantastic experience.  Just have patience and realize that it does not happen overnight.

Be flexible, don’t be afraid to adjust the balance you have, and learn to take advantage of opportunities that may not come along again.  No pressure.  Just a lot of fun.  That’s the way I learned to look at it.

Four Years Later: Returning to Ireland

by Michael O'Connor

It took me four years to find a reason to return to Ireland.  In truth, perhaps it wasn’t a reason I needed, for everyone who knows me is aware of how much I loved my time in Ireland, the people I met there, and the experience I had exploring my academic, social, and cultural interests of the island and its people.  So I suppose what I really needed was the justification to take the time and money to commit to such a trip.  Luckily, my youngest sister studied at NUI-Galway this past academic year, providing the perfect legitimate catalyst to make the trip across the pond.

My sister and I at Croagh Patrick

My trip was particularly powerful for three reasons.  First, to be able to experience Ireland through my sister’s eye and perspective.  Second, to be able to reconnect with old friends and to see how people have grown and changed during my four years away.  Third, to re-walk transformative moments in my own life, and to realize how that journey four years ago shaped me and helped lead me to where I currently am.

When returning to Ireland, it’s tempting to slip into complete nostalgia, to desire to experience everything that was.  What proved to be more life-giving, though at time challenging, was to allow myself to be led by my sister.  I had been to Galway a few times when I studied abroad and had a couple of favorite local places.  However, this was my sister’s city.  She had her pubs, her restaurants, her sites, all places that had special meaning for her, and I needed to allow myself to be open to that.  In doing so, I learned so much about my sister, and so much about Galway.  It was a bonding experience at a very authentic level, and I continuously thought about how lucky I was to share in this with my sister.

After seeing my sister’s Galway, it was time to travel around and visit folks.  First, I went up to Donegal to visit Sine Friel, one of the two Irish teachers in my Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) cohort, now teaching back in Ireland.  It was my first time in Donegal, and the beautiful scenery (Sine’s father would argue that it had more to offer than anywhere else in Ireland), the time spent with Sine and her family in conversation, and the ability to learn more about a new place and its people reminded me of one of my favorite components of studying abroad (meeting and building relationships with new people + viewing new scenery in this majestic world).  From there, I headed to Dublin.  And so much had changed, yet so much stayed the same!  Words can’t express what it was like to visit with Kevin and Lisa, while also being able to meet the new folks of the O’Connell House.  Perhaps one of the happiest moments was spending time with Lisa, her husband Paul, and their newborn son, Luke, who surely must be one of the most pleasant babies in the world.  It truly was a joy to see these new additions to Lisa’s family and to see the happiness that they brought her and the whole O’Connell House community.  Finally, I was able to connect with former ND and UCD professors – Declan Kiberd and P.J. Mathews – as well as Ciaran Deane, who I worked with at Field Day during my summer internship.  We discussed everything from our current academic interests to where our work was taking us to our family lives, and I remembered in those moments how fortunate I was to develop a holistic relationship with these men, for it seems increasingly rare to enter into such dynamics in professional/academic arenas.

 

        Me with Lisa, and baby Luke   

                                           

                                                

Kevin and me

My time in Ireland was marked by some re-visiting.  The very fact that I arrived almost to the day of my initial arrival four years ago in mid-January evoked emotion (though I flew Continental this time and not my beloved Aer Lingus).  I hiked Croagh Patrick again with my sister, this time with shoes on and without a subsequent hospital visit.  This hike, however, was marked with ice and snow, presenting a whole new set of challenges and a completely different, yet equally beautiful, viewing of the reek and surrounding area as we climbed and reached the summit.  I spent a morning cliffwalking at Howth, one of my favorite ways to reflect on my time in Ireland when I was studying abroad.  I walked past my old flat on Hatch Place where I lived with a tremendous group of folks during my summer internship.  And I spent time in St. Stephen’s Green and Merrion Square, my two favorite Dublin parks, remembering great conversations and moments with friends.  I even got to visit the concrete jungle that is UCD (though completely dismayed by the termination of the 10 bus route - now replaced by the no. 39a).

Aside from these visits to physical locations, I recounted several significant growth moments for me in Ireland.  It was here that I developed a greater appreciation for the integration of academics into other facets of my life – culturally, socially, and spiritually – as works like “Translations” by Brian Friel took on new meaning as I better understood, yet craved to understand better, concepts like identity, community, and language and the effects they have on individuals.  No longer were these concepts that stood in an academic vacuum, but I realized these were questions and issues central to my being and ones that I must incorporate into future study, experiences, and even work.  It was here that I learned more about the Alliance for Catholic Education through Fr. Sean McGraw, CSC, Luke Klopp, and Kevin Whelan, a program which I would enter after my senior year and teach for two years in Birmingham, AL, providing me with another transformative experience with a new population.  And perhaps most importantly, it was here that I experienced the transcendent goodness of people.  While there is so much evil and injustice in this world, and much of it not sufficiently exposed and confronted, it is inspiring to encounter the kindness and generosity of others across this planet. 

I can’t help but think of Kevin Whelan when I speak of this.  The man gives his all, and not just his knowledge, to every cohort that comes to Dublin.  He allows us to become one with his family, his academic interests, his personal interests (especially Wexford hurling!), and his time through conversation, advice, and simple listening.  He and the others I encountered in Dublin taught me the value of open, authentic love and care, and that these values can build bridges, form communities, and empower individuals to do incredible things.  I look at myself now, where I have been led on this incredible journey since, one that I am so thankful for, and I am incredibly grateful for what seven months in Ireland added to my life.  And now I look forward, curious to see where these foundational experiences and lessons will take me next, and also excited to see where the study abroad experience will take other ND Dubliners – past, present, and future.