A First Look at Traditional Music and Dance

This post is actually about Friday the 12th (the above date is incorrect due to the time zone difference)

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP.  The sound of my alarm clock, oh joy.  Fortunately we were allowed to sleep all the way until 10:00, and boy did we need it.  Basically every single person had fallen asleep within 5 minutes after putting their heads down on the pillow- no surprise there.  Dragging ourselves out of bed and attempting to at least look put-together, we headed to the restaurant for breakfast.  After breakfast we had our first lecture of the program about the history of Ireland from St. Patrick to the Reformation.  Stopping for a break halfway through, most students grabbed a quick drink at the Starbucks on campus (most of us were freaking out when we realized that they actually had one; you know how Americans get about their Starbucks).

Finally, after eating a hearty lunch, we all went back to the International Lounge in anticipation of what we'd all been looking forward to that day; the traditional music interactive workshop.  Gathering around our guest like little children waiting to hear a bedtime story, we couldn't help but wonder what foreign instruments were going to be pulled out of the black cases at the front of the room.  The most intriguing of all, however, was most definitely the massive horn shaped like the letter "s".  We heard songs played on instruments such as a mandolin, a bodhrán (a frame drum), and the horn, each one more interesting than the next.  It was almost as if the songs were putting us into a trance.  I remember feeling like I'd drifted off to another world after the music from the horn had been played (there are many different names for these horns I've come to realize, and I don't want to call it the wrong thing, so I'm just going to call it a horn- I'm sorry).  It was the strangest thing! 

But the best was yet to come; after dinner we would get to experience true Irish dancing.  Arriving a little too early at the dance hall, we all sat down in a circle outside and played- you guessed it (or didn't)- duck duck goose.  Unfortunately the grass was slippery, so half of us almost wiped out, which surprisingly made the experience about ten times more enjoyable.  Eventually it was time to go inside, all of us much more excited that we thought we were going to be.  We may be horrible dancers, but hey, having fun with it is all that matters.  We did look quite ridiculous, however, dancing next to some of the students on the program who are essentially Irish dancing professionals.  They knew exactly what they were doing.  Every one of us got up to join at least one of the dances (more like all of them) and had the time of our lives.  Many were even adventurous enough to dance with complete strangers!  All in all, we had quite the exhausting day.  Once again, it took about 5 seconds to fall asleep once we got back to the dorms.  I have a feeling this is what it's going to be like every night from now on...

Also, don't forget to check out the flickr link for more pictures!  We update it daily:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ernge27/sets/72157634564316991/