Vikings, Jewelry, and Gaelic Football

Note: this post is really about the Tuesday the 16th- sorry for the delay

Nothing all too impressive to report from the morning- just lectures about what has happened in recent times and the usual dash to get in the Starbucks line before everyone else.  After lunch we headed downtown for the Viking Splash tour!  Excitedly hopping onto the truck/boat, we put on our viking hats and set off.  Much to our surprise, the tour guide began to speak in a Northern Ireland accent, making it essentially impossible for us to understand a single word he was saying.  Half the time it didn't even sound like English!  However, we turned it into a fun game and attempted to make out what he was saying or try to guess anyway.  Driving around the city and yelling "ARGHHH" at innocent passer-bys was quite enjoyable.  Sometimes tourists who'd already gone on the tour would yell it right back, and one time we actually got into an "argh"ing war with two kids in the car next to us.  Driving into the water was probably the scariest thing about it.  After getting life jackets and attaching eight massive flotation devices to the duck boat, we literally drove into the water and continued the tour (we didn't get splashed, though), looping back around to give us just a glimpse of what it was like in that part of town.

After the Viking tour we had about an hour of free time to walk around the city of Dublin for a little bit and buy some souvenirs or go shopping.  Many girls (including me) decided to buy one of the Irish Claddagh rings, representing love, loyalty, and friendship.  There are many different traditions and rules that people apply to the way the ring is worn.  For example, if the tip of the heart is facing outwards, it means that you are looking for love.

Once we returned to the UCD campus, we walked back to our apartments, and changed in order to get ready for Gaelic football lesson!!  Our first of the trip!  Most of the 2 hours were spent learning how to actually play the sport and practicing with the ball (it looks like a volleyball but is almost as hard as a soccer ball).  Surprisingly enough, we were actually quite good, and the matches were fun to watch.  Unfortunately, I sprained my finger during one of the warmup drills and was unable to play during the actual game, but it was actually very enjoyable watching everyone run around (skillfully) passing the ball around this way and that.  You have to be so talented to play Gaelic football.  It really is a sport that strains every single muscle in your body, so you have to be fit from head to toe.  Next we're going to try out hurling, so hopefully that works out well.