Dublin Adventures, 4

Days four and five-and-a-quarter: Dublin City and flying

We awoke and had to ask each other: did you hear the drunk men singing at wee hours of the morning? The answer was yes. With that lovely introduction to our last day in Ireland, we went down for breakfast where I felt adventurous and ordered the full Irish breakfast. It came with: eggs, bacon, toast, mushrooms, tomatoes, sausage, potatoes, and black and white pudding. I tried everything. I did not like the puddings. Important fact #10: These puddings? Are not like American pudding. Black pudding? Is made from congealed blood and oats, and tasted like metal. White pudding is made from fat and other stuff and tastes like stuffing. I will never again have those puddings.

After that adventure, we went back to the room to figure out what to do for that day. Important fact #11: RTE plays all the good American morning cartoons, like Recess and Kim Possible. I could not be torn away from the TV for an hour, not even to see Ireland. I was too busy re-living my adolescence. Once I was pried from the TV, we decided to take the LUAS back to the City Centre and just walk with no distinct plan.

We ended up seeing a lot of what we already saw. We stopped at a Starbucks for some good American coffee in Grafton Street. We watched the buskers, and gave them euros, especially the cute boy playing piano well. We wandered through the streets around Grafton Street, and eventually ended up in the Temple Bar area. This area is quite ingenuous. It is literally bar after bar after bar in one area. I imagine that after 9pm, that area is hopping with activity, but as it was lunch time, we had our pick of the bars and sat down for some good traditional pub fare: fish and chips with Smithwicks for dad, Guinness stew and Bulmers cider for me.

Later that afternoon, we headed back to Trinity College so I could smile at the Old Library, and just walk around in general. We stumbled upon a cricket game, which I found confusing and difficult to understand, but it made for a good lazy afternoon activity before heading back for an early night in due to our early flights to London.

The next morning, we woke up at another god-forsaken early time to get to the Dublin airport for our flight to London. This flight was full of Irish dancers. I sat around and chatted with the others from my dance school all morning, reliving our worlds experience. I stood in line to board the plane right in front of the world champion from my competition. It turns out you get those huge globe trophies back home in a giant duffel bag. The flight was short and quiet, and I got good reading time in shortly before I fell asleep and was tossed into the bustle and confusion of London Heathrow. To me, Heathrow seemed a like a cross between a hamster run and a sick joke of a maze.

The flight from London to Toronto was hard, mostly because I was focused on staying awake so I could get back on VA time. The food wasn't as good. I finished the one pleasure reading book I got (Elegance of the Hedgehog--I highly recommend it). I analyzed all of the scores from my competition and figured out I got 106th. I discovered the awesomeness that is Angry Birds on my dads Galaxy tablet. The older gentleman next to me was friendly, and we talked about Irish dance, his family in Canada, and (of course) hockey. But it wasn't until we had about 2.5 hours left in the flight that I discovered the TV tucked into my arm rest. As I was seated in an exit row, there was not one in front of my face. It took the older gentlemen sitting next to me to pull his out to realize that we had one too, and weren't jipped. So I watched Black Swan until we had to put everything away.

We went through customs when we got into Canada, which took almost as much time as in Dublin, but purely because of the volume of people. I did chat with a dancer around my age who ironically was on all our flights. I don't know who he was, or what school he goes to, and I really wish now that I had the nerves to ask him--he was cute! We were supposed to have a four hour lay over in Toronto. Luckily, my dad and I decided that it would behoove us to see if we can catch a seat on an earlier flight back to Dulles, which was successful.

In total, my dad's and my Easter Sunday lasted around 29 hours with none of the Easter fare until we got home in time to eat leftovers and watch Titanic.

So ends my Dublin adventures, and here's to many more!

Goals: Get new steps down, but for real

Dublin Adventures, 3

Day three: the World Championships.

We started off bright and early: 5:30 am Irish time, which is around midnight here in DC. I found it immensely amusing that I was up and at 'em at a time most of my friends were maybe thinking of going to sleep. Interesting fact #8: McDonald's doesn't open until 7 am for breakfast. We had this nice little plan that we would find breakfast before heading to Citywest (where food costs are inflated), but we were thwarted. No restaurant was open that early. Instead, we drove to the venue and ate the granola bars we (thankfully) bought at a grocery place while we were exploring the city the day before.

My dad and I were the first ones there in the hall. It was eerily quiet, and also extremely huge. The entire morning, I had my Pump It Up playlist on, so I could forget about where I was, and what I was about to do. Once more people started entering the hall, I became more relaxed. I got to stretch and warm up in relative peace, as well as let off some of my nerves by talking with other dancers from my region who came to worlds as well.

I was one of the last rounds for hard shoe. Finally it was my turn to go backstage and meet my doom do my thing. I ended up dancing with two girls from the UK area. It was slightly difficult to understand their accents, but then again, I wasn't paying as much attention as I should have to talking. I was psyching my self out pepping myself up. After waiting backstage for a few rounds, finally it was the round before us. We were told to stand side stage.

From my vantage point, I could stare down the five judges, watch the group of three dancing before me, scan the (huge) audience that will be watching me, or I could face towards the black drapes and breathe. I did a bit of all three before I realized I should calm myself down so I could dance my best. I had never been this nervous since I was a young teenage gymnast about to go do my beam routine at a meet. Then, I coped with it by wiping my hands and picking my wedgie. In this case, I just breathed. As the last round finished and we walked on, I only had to remind myself that I was walking on stage to do my treble jig at a world championships for a sport I've been working at for only three years. From then on, and throughout my treble jig, I had the biggest smile plastered on my face. My slip jig went much the same way.

I don't remember specifics of what happened while I was dancing on stage for both my rounds. I don't remember what the other dancers were doing around me, or my little mistakes. I could feel the heat of the stage lights. I knew there were five judges there, out to decided who was to win this thing. I knew the audience was out there, but I didn't care if they were watching me, or if they didn't give a hoot about who was on stage. All I could feel, all I could focus on was the fact that I was dancing. This wasn't just any sort of dance. This was a watch-me-treble-across-the-stage and look-how-much-I-soar-on-my-overs type of dance. This is one of those weird out of body occurrences, where you can see from the outside what happening, as well as being completely aware of everything inside your body. This was the kind of dance you do that's led with your heart because it's something you love.

Finally the two rounds were completely finished, and an hour later, recalls were announced. Nora left the hall. She was too nervous. However, she DID recall, and after they finished the announcements, I got to be the first to tell her. She was overjoyed. I on the other hand, did not recall, but I wasn't expecting to either. I was content with life.

After watching Nora's recall (best of her life), my dad went to stake out a seat in the arena hall while I changed and went to go watch Colin practice for his competition the next day. Eventually, it was time for Nora to hear how she did, so we went into the hall to hear the scores called. Important fact #9: they do this fast. I was all set to write down the scores called for each dancer. Little did I know that they would whip through these at a fast enough pace that I was scrambling to keep up. I did get the important numbers, like Nora's scores for instance. She ended up placing 26th overall which is pretty darn awesome (black and white in the middle).

I did buy the results after all this, and at the end of the day. I wasn't necessarily disappointed in myself, but I was a little sad I didn't get any points. I felt inside that I danced the best I could at my very first world championships, which is all I can do at the end of the day. Yes, I was nervous, and I know my nerves probably showed in my dancing, which didn't help. I did have the experience of a lifetime. Not only was I Irish dancing in Ireland, but also at a world championship. After much math on the airplane back home days later, I figured I placed around 106th out of 135, which is not last place!

To be continued...

Goals: Get ready for Old Dominion feis

Dublin Adventures, 2

Day 2: Dublin City and worlds prep

After a lousy and hot night's sleep, waking up in the morning for day two in Ireland was surprisingly not difficult. I was extremely excited to see Dublin, and went down to eat my first breakfast in Ireland. I did not have the full Irish breakfast (yet), but I did discover the wonder that is Irish bacon. Once breakfast was over, we decided upon a plan of action to get into the City Centre. We were told not to drive, that the bus could be expensive, and that our best bet was the LUAS train that had a station right down the road from our hotel. LUAS is a lot like a cleaner, shinier, above ground version of the Metro. It got us exactly where we needed to fairly cheaply: Trinity College.

My dad and I decided we should do the proper thing and get the tour before seeing the Book of Kells. Our guide was extremely interesting and very college professor-like, and was able to answer my questions as well as give us some good history. But hands down, my favorite part of Trinity College was the Old Library. Yes, the Book of Kells is what most people come here to see, and yes I did see it. We were sort of rushed through the little exhibit downstairs, and we were all crowded around the ancient manuscript. While it was cool too see the perfection and exact artistry that went into making something so detailed, it wasn't until we I walked up the stairs that I was really awe-struck. The Long Room of the old library is stunning. Maybe it's because I work at a library and am a slight bibliophile, but the sight completely took my breath away. That is one image that will never leave my memory, even though we couldn't take pictures. Interesting fact: the Long room was used as the basis for the Jedi Archives in Star Wars II.

We continued our walk south, towards Grafton Street. My trusty Dublin tour book said this was one of the must-sees. Grafton Street is like walking in a pedestrianized Georgetown. Both sides of the street were lined with shops, department stores, and restaurants. One of the cooler things about this street (besides the shopping) is the buskers, or street musicians and acts. Some were very talented (like the kid playing guitar, and the band), others mot so much (the guy with the "Irish dancing" marionettes). At the very southern end of the street is a shopping mall, as well as St. Stephen's Green. Since it was a gorgeous day outside, there were many people out on the grassy areas of the park eating lunch and generally socializing. We decided to follow suit and eat lunch (albeit inside). Important fact #5: We ate lunch at Burger King (mostly because I don;t like to try new things). In Ireland, if you convert the Euro to US dollars, Burger King for two people costs twice as much. This is a theme that continued through out our stay. Prices in Ireland are ridiculous!

After lots of window shopping, my dad and I decided to walk the few blocks to yet another must-see place for tourists: the Guinness Storehouse. This is quite neat, as it takes place in the Guinness building that Arthur got a 9000 year lease on (yes, you read that right). The lobby of the building is also the world's largest Guinness glass, being over seven stories high. The whole point of the Guinness Storehouse is to go through the many levels of the building, learning about the brewing process as well as the history of the black stuff. The draw for most tourists is the free pint you get on the top floor, where you can either learn to pour it yourself (if you don't mind a long queue), or just sit at the Gravity Bar and enjoy 360 degree views of the city. Guess which I chose? Important fact #6: I (still) don't like Guinness. The quarter of a half pint sample on the third floor of the tour was drinkable, but my full pint was daunting. My glass is on the right. I didn't finish much.

The last part of the afternoon and early evening was spent at Citywest, running through things one last time. Luckily for my sanity, barely anyone was in the practice area, so I didn't have to worry about showing off or looking dumb. Important fact #7: I am a competitive person. I can't really help this. I see people do things and I want to do it better, or I want to prove to them that I'm just as good. In my mind, I think I am one of the best. Especially in this situation, I had to spend longer than usual warming up with my Pump It Up playlist on just so I could focus and get into the zone. Once I achieved focus, I had a pretty successful run through.

Did you know that Johnny Rockets has an Irish cousin, and his name is Eddie? After dancing, my dad and I made our way over to the Citywest shopping center in search of food, and came across this familiar-looking restaurant. We indulged in more good American food before driving back to the hotel to get packed and everything laid out for tomorrow: worlds dancing day.

To be continued...

Goals: Work on new steps to be ready to compete in a month!

Dublin Adventures, 1

It's nearly been a month and still I haven't blogged about my Worlds experience! Here's to hoping I remember everything...

Day 1: Flying and countryside

Important fact #1: Before April, I had never been outside of the US. Boarding the plane at Dulles, I was probably visibly the only person on the flight completely awestruck and excited about what was happening. The airplane was huge. We had our own TVs. We got an actual meal. I spent the flight watching Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and sleeping. Waking up the next morning, was very disorienting. I had only slept about a good three hours (uncomfortable), and the sun was shining in my face. At that point, we were just beginning to fly over Germany. And we got another meal. (sidenote: I am surprised with how good our food was on this flight. Manicotti, salad, and a brownie for dinner, and a danish and yogurt for breakfast.) My dad and I were in and out of Germany with hardly an incident unless you count my dad getting held up in security and me not having a seat on the plane until boarding time, but no big deal. I did make it to Ireland in one piece.

Important fact #2: I had never gone through customs before, and as I was in the back of the plane, I was towards the end of the line, which makes for an interesting adventure. As you can imagine, this was not good (especially since I was behind many African families trying to get a visa to enter the country). Luckily and unbeknown to them, the Irish had given me something to do, which was to sound out the Gaelic word for photography: grianghrafadoireacht. After the waiting, I was rewarded by going to the cute custom guy's booth, and off my dad and I went to be welcomed by the CLRG (see photo), claim our baggage, get our car, and go to the hotel, and eventually, Citywest.

The first time I walked into Citywest, my mouth was on the floor. There were so many people, so many vendors! And that stage... Citywest had three stages in all, one large arena stage, and two smaller more Oireachtas-sized stages. As you can guess, the first stage I saw? Was the arena stage. Being I was with my dad (who would've had to pay for a wristband), I didn't actually step into the room to check it out up close. It turns out that was a good move. I didn't want to psych myself out anymore than I already was. Everywhere I turned, there were dancers warming up, or practicing for their own competitions. While I appreciate the need to do so, the more I watched, the more I started to doubt the validity of me being at the world championships.

After this, my dad suggested we do a little sightseeing, so long as it was out in the sunshine, since the sun helps you adjust to new time zones (apparently). Pulling out my trusty Ireland travel book, I consulted various sticky tabs, and decided upon seeing Newgrange, and the area around it about an hour outside of the city, which leads to Important fact #3: pay attention to the travel guide. Newgrange is cool. It's older than Stonehenge, and it just looks impressive being all white and covered in grass. I only wish I could've seen the rest. My dad and I never go past the gate because we didn't have tour tickets, and the tours were all full. Had I read the entire entry in my trusty Ireland travel book, it would have told me this.

But we were not discouraged. We spent time driving around the beautiful lush and green countryside in search of other random things to do, besides learning how to drive on the wrong side of the road. Road here being more of a cavalier term describing a country lane that divided the fields and dipped in and out of the hills. Eventually we stumbled upon the ruins of Mellifont Abbey. Had I actually done any research, it probably would have been more meaningful. It was built in 1142, and looked like a ruin... I did have fun taking some nice pictures in the lavabo where the monks washed.

After this really long and quite disorienting day, my dad and I went back to the hotel, ate at the hotel restaurant, where Important fact #4: I didn't get carded for my alcoholic beverage. We crashed and burned after dinner with only a slight thought as to our plans for the next day: Dublin city.

To be continued...

Goals: Get new hornpipes down!

Slainte!

Hello folks!

I'm leaving in THREE hours, and just wanted to say I'm excited! I also wanted to thank you for your support over the years!

If there's wifi, I will be tweeting, so be sure to follow me on twitter (@RinceGoBragh), or you can check it out in the twitter-feed widget on the right.

Goals: HAVE FUN!

Days till worlds: 2 (leaving in 3 HOURS)