The Town I Loved So Well

January 23-25, 2015

As part of the Arcadia program, all students participate in a homestay weekend. This entails travelling away from the college location and spending two days in an Irish home. The Galway students were assigned to the area of Castlebar about an hour north of Galway.

The concept behind the homestay program is to get students out of the environment they've been living in (in our case Galway city) and into a different one (Castlebar being in the country). Though one or two students were actually staying with families who lived within the limits of Castlebar itself, the majority of the students stayed with families who lived in the surrounding villages. Since the Galway group is so big, we were actually split across two different weekends based on our living accommodations. So when the Gort students went, they were staying with families who had hosted Niland House students the weekend before. This was helpful to some extent because Gort students were able to get kind of a heads up from the Niland  people. 

Before leaving Dublin, we were given a little packet of information on our family and the highlights of Castlebar, but I'm pretty sure almost everyone (myself included) completely forgot about said packet until the night before we were meant to leave. 

I should say here that when I first read about the homestay during the Arcadia application process I was was really hoping that the  program was optional. The idea of having to spend two days with strange people in a strange house was not very appealing to me. Not that I didn't want to get to know the Irish, I just didn't want to be put into that situation  and have chronic shyness rear its head. When I found out that it wasn't optional during our Dublin orientation, my plan was to just get through the weekend as best I could. Funnily enough though, (funnily looks like a word that should not exist doesn't it?) when it came to the night before were were slated to leave and the day of, I started feeling excited. While I was still nervous, I was eager to get out of the city. It also helped that there would be another student in the same house as me. I'm not sure what I would have done if I it were just me...

So with some nervousness but mostly feeling excited, Breigh and I met with the other Gort students at 4pm by the front office to wait for the bus. Four o'clock was when we were meant to be picked up, but taking into account Irish time we didn't really expect it until ten after or so. However after about fifteen minutes people started to get antsy, mostly because the sun had moved behind the building and it was rather cold. The bus finally arrived more than half an hour late after multiple calls from our Arcadia liaison, Ann. When we got on the bus the driver told us he was stuck behind a bad accident, thus making us late. I'm not what everyone else was expecting, but I was assuming that since Ann was waiting with us at Gort she would be accompanying us to Castlebar. However after taking attendance and wishing us good luck, she left us to our adventure.

As much as I love Galway, there was definitely a sense of relaxation as we drove into the country. There was a gorgeous sunset on the way there that luckily was on my side of the bus. I went a little overboard with the pictures (as per usual when it comes to sunsets) so I'll only post a few of them.



I was excited to find shortly after starting out, that we were passing signs for Headford (for y'all that don't know, this is where our cousins live) on our way, and I started hoping that we would drive through it. At one point I figured out that we had passed across the town lines, from a gas station of all things. I have no idea how, considering they all look alike, but suddenly I remembered standing next to our car as my dad filled up the tank five years ago. When I turned my head to the other side we were just passing Varley's Pub (owned by cousins of some degree). We were moving too fast for me to get a picture, but it was still cool to see something familiar.

Once we left the town limits I kept my eyes peeled  for Ross Abbey (Ross Errilly Friary). I wasn't sure if I'd be able to see it, but luckily there was some dusk light left and I was able to see it in the distance. I swear to god I wanted to jump out of the bus and never leave, but I decided that may not have been the best idea. Unfortunately the rest of the bus ride was miserable. I was looking at my phone for the first segment of the journey (deciding on music choices) but it set off my motion sickness from all the eye-readjusting. Usually I can calm it down with water and deep-breathing, but the driver was also crazy. Combined with the curving Irish roads, I spent most of the time trying not to puke. (Which is totally what all y'all readers want to hear about).

The bus driver was pretty insane though. He was whipping around narrow curves and generally driving in a way that was making people nervous. At one point he even hit something (though I wouldn't know as my eyes were closed). All I knew was that the driver stopped the bus on the side of the road and got out. I though he was going to use the restroom in the nearby gas  station at first; then when I saw him out the window I thought he had stopped for a cigarette break, which I thought was pretty unprofessional. It turns out though he was checking to make sure the bus was ok.

Finally we entered the limits of Castlebar where we were to meet our host families after a brief orientation. I think everyone internally breathed a sigh of relief as we got closer at the thought of getting off the bus. That relief was short lived however because shortly after w e began passing the distinctive markers of a town, the bus driver asked us all if we knew where we were going. We all kind of looked at each other and shrugged and he asked us again. Almost simultaneously a good portion of the group began rummaging through backpacks looking for the information folders we'd gotten which of course didn't tell us where we were to be dropped off. Apparently Ann hadn't told the driver where we were going. I could definitely feel the tension rise in the bus as several people plopped in a random town in a foreign country felt out of their depth. Luckily someone was able to access the email reminder we'd been sent from Arcadia earlier in the week, and even luckier was the fact that the hotel name was in the email.

Once we gave him the name of the hotel, the driver asked us if we knew how to get there because he wasn't familiar with the area. At this point pretty much everyone had lost confidence in this guy and we all just kind of helplessly while he drove around the town stopping twice for direction. Finally we arrived at the Harlequin Hotel and were directed into a seminar room for our introduction. Instead of meeting with a program representative (the weekend was actually organized by a partner program) we were met by a native of Castlebar. I guess  the intention was that they wanted us to learn about the town from a person born and raised there. Andrew told us a brief history of the town and then outlined the optional scavenger hunt that had been organized for us. The point of the hunt was to get the students to interact with the residents of the town. We had to take pictures in front of certain locations, ask locals questions, and collect items such as a map and a weekly newsletter. Apparently we were supposed to  meet in front of the courthouse the next day (Saturday) before splitting up and exploring. Unfortunately Andrew forgot to tell us this.

We then returned to the hotel lobby and stood in a nervous huddle, similar to herded sheep, to wait for our host families. I awkwardly stood near the girl I knew I was staying with not really knowing what to do. A woman came breezing through the door, greeted Andrew, and then turned to us and asked for Mary and Bridget in a rushed voice. We both stepped forward and she hugged both of us while simultaneously urging us toward the door. We were almost outside when we had to backtrack because she remembered she was also supposed to give a ride to another family's students. Our late arrival had thrown off everyone's schedules, as Shirley let us know when we got in the car. She told us that she and her family had already eaten, having waited for us longer than expected, but assured us that our dinner was awaiting us. At first I wasn't really sure what to make of Shirley. She very friendly, spoke a mile a minute, and kept up a running stream of conversation the whole ride to her house which is located in Ballintubber, a village about ten minutes outside of Castlebar.

All the while, Shirley told us about the GAA (Gaelic Athletic Association) dinner-dance she would be attending with her husband the next night (she'd been anxious about the time when picking us up because she still had to pick up her dress from the repair shop before it closed) and about the Italian student she had staying with her as well, intermingling questions about us as well. Unfortunately for me, the rest stop at the hotel hadn't been long enough to settle my stomach and Shirley's driving (I'm convinced that in general Irish people are fast, if not crazy, drivers) was not exactly a help. (It also didn't help that I hadn't eaten all day, having been warned that we would be stuffed to the gills with food by our host families). 

After dropping off the other two girls Shirley took us to her house. She showed us to our room and let us get settled a bit before serving us huge portions of delicious homemade lasagna. During dinner we were introduced to Shirley's husband Jim and her daughter Shannon who is 18. Jim runs a farm and works for the "board of works" (as our packet reads) which means that he takes care of many of the ruins and historic sights etc. in the area including locations on the Aran Islands, which he ends up visiting at least once a week.

The Niland house students weren't kidding when they said we would be fed. When I was finished with my first helping, Shirley offered another which I accepted because it was so good. At one point she noticed that I was slowing down in my consumption and she told me not to worry if I couldn't finish it all. She made us feel right at home, Halfway through our meal we were introduced to a friend of the family who had come to drop off his daughter who was spending the night. He stayed to talk to Jim and Shirley as well as to us. It was funny because when he asked where we were from and I said Minnesota, he was like "Ahhh the Vikings". This seems to be the trend here, people don't necessarily know where MN is, but they know the Vikings. This is mind-boggling to me because we never win anything...

The conversation then kind of oscillated between talk about the Mayo team politics and about American gun control. The friend, James, was shocked by some of the state laws in place. All three adults then talked about the strict gun laws in Ireland and the fact that the only authorities allowed to carry guns are detectives. We also heard a lot about two baby lambs that had been born the night before and who were very frail. Apparently they'd been born to an ewe who was really too young, and so Jim had to help try and keep them alive through bottle-feeding. (Don't worry, there'll be pictures later)

Virtually the entire evening Shirley was talking which instead of making me uncomfortable actually made it easier for me to feel at home. There was no real possibility for awkward silences. She started telling us about Shannon's deb dress (the equivalent of prom) and then wanted to show us so she pulled out her camera. We ended up spending over an hour going through all the pictures she had on it with a cheerful running commentary. We got to hear a lot about her mother, which was sweet. I think Shirley just needed to talk as she's still dealing with her mother's passing last April. At the end of the photo-show Shirley remembered that she had to pick up her resident Italian student, Lisa, who had been saying goodbye to her friends as she'd be leaving the next morning (she'd been living with the O'Toole's since September). I can't even imagine leaving home for a semester at 17. O.O

Mary and I ended up spending the rest of the night watching reality TV with Shannon. Shirley and Jim went to the pub at about 11 and then got home just as I was about to head to bed around 2am. I found it really funny because when Shirley walked in and saw we were still up, she looked around and asked if anyone wanted anything to eat or any tea etc. It was 2am! The hospitality was insane! I think she asked me over ten times during the two days we were there if I wanted tea. Not to mention she remembered how I take my tea every time.

The next day Shirley dropped Mary and me in Castlebar, having been told initially by the program organizer that the scavenger hunt was in fact mandatory. Mary and I waited for a few minutes, but when no one showed up we decided to explore the town on our own.

   

              

I love this tree!

 The lovely green was town center across from the courtyard. We initially didn't want to stray too far from the starting point just in case people showed up for the hunt. At the same time, Mary's friend said she might meet us, so we stuck around for a bit. Eventually we moved on though. 

   

    

Like father, like daughter

View of Croagh Patrick
 

                              

   

Church of the Holy Rosary, Castlebar

Walking across the town pretty much took fifteen minutes, which we had actually been warned of by Andrew. We ended up winding around the town multiple times. at some points because we were lost and at others because we found a street that we thought we hadn't been down (we had). Despite this, we weren't bored. Eventually we found a visitor's map and we made a plan to visit the War and Peace Memorial park. We never actually made it though, because we took a detour around the lake and were awestruck. The walking path around the lake was developed within the past few years and is a quiet retreat for walkers, joggers, dog lovers, you name it. All along the paths there are cool art installations as well as outdoor exercise equipment to use while enjoying the environs. (we actually saw one of the ellipticals randomly sitting on the hill...it was pretty weird, but cool) While walking we even met a few of our fellow students which was fun. 

  

   

 The people that we met said that we had to see the view from the top of this path. It was a bit of hike, which felt great. And it was unbelievable worth it.

 

Though it was freezing at the top. Both of us were sporting finger-cicles from trying to get the best shots. 

  

  

Croagh Patrick in the distance

My favorite shot from Castlebar

  

  

  

  

I'm not sure how long we were in the park, but by the time we'd made it along the other side of the lake, both Mary and I were rather chilled. We ended up meeting up with a few of her friends, who were actually staying just down the road from us in Ballintubber, and going in search of food and tea to warm us up. We decided on a little place called McCarthy's and had a delicious meal. Once finished, we all trooped back onto Main Street with the intention of finding postcards. By the time we managed to find some (which is incredibly difficult to do when you're in a place that is not at all a tourist town), and had run some other errands, it was almost time for Mary and I to be picked up by Shirley. She was going to bring us back home for dinner before she and Jim went out for the evening. Shannon had been at work all day, she works in the cosmetic department Shaws, and so we agreed that it would make sense for us to just be picked up with her when her shift ended at 6. 

I don't know how she managed it, but in between all her other errands and getting ready, Shirley was able to make us a delicious dinner of chicken curry and rice. I'm mentally drooling just thinking about it. Since Shirley and Jim were going to be gone for the evening, Mary and I had two choices: we could stay in and just chill for the evening, or we could get dropped off in Castlebar when Shirley and Jim drove in and then share a cab home with them once the banquet was over. Initially Mary and I had decided that we'd like to spend the evening scoping out the pubs in Castlebar, figuring that some of the other students would be wandering around as well. However since Shirley prophesied that the banquet would run until about 2am, and we would be getting to Castlebar around 7pm, we weren't sure we wanted to spend seven hours trying to find something to do in such a small place. We wouldn't be able to get our own taxi back at an earlier hour either because the house would be armed  Specifically I was  worried that it would end up just being a night of bar-hopping and the cost made my head spin. 

Given all the effort it would have taken to go out, Mary and I decided to just stay in and watch tv. Shannon, having worked  all day, also chose to forgo an evening on the town with her friends and we spent a cozy night watching Mean Girls and the live broadcast of Ed Sheeran's exclusive performance in Dublin. It ended up being a good thing that we didn't go out because, as  we found out the next morning, Shirley and Jim didn't even leave Castlebar until after 3:30am and ended up having to get a ride with friends because there were no taxis to be found.

The next morning, both Mary and I were up before anyone else; excepting of course, Jim, who had been up early to tend to the animals. We ended up just sitting companionably in the family room on our phones until Shirley came down. (We tried turning on the tv, but when the point-and-click approach yielded no results, we opted out of any more creative measures). After breakfast which at that point was pretty much lunch, Shirley took us to the thatched cottage we'd seen on our first night. She knew the owner (and everyone else in the vicinity which still amazes  me) and they had been agreeable to letting us invade and take pictures of it. When we arrived, the owner not only took a picture of Shirley, Mary, and I, but she invited us in to see the inside as well. 

Mary, Shirley, and I

Yes this is a scraggly rosebush, but I swear when I looked at it the voice over from The Quiet Man ran immediately through my head. John Wayne is looking out over White o'Morn and you hear his mother saying "And the roses! Well, your father used to tease me about them. But he was that proud of them too."





Mary had asked at one point if it would be possible to see the baby lambs, so after leaving the cottage we visited Jim's parents farm (which he works as well) where the animals were. I figured upon arriving that we would just head straight for the barns, but we actually went in and met both Jim's father and mother. His mom hugged both Mary and I and asked us where we were from. She said that she knew Minnesota which makes me think maybe she knew a family that moved there or even has relatives there. She reminded me so my of my own grandmother; the visit (which to be fair lasted like five minutes) was tinged with bittersweet on my end. When we left she hugged us each again and wished us a wonderful stay.

Jim was there when we got there, so he showed us into the barn sheep were kept.

  

  

  

We also got to meet this little newborn calf :)

  

  

Giant bull

Cheered from seeing the animals, we turned our steps (or wheels) toward Shirley's house for lunch. On the way however we stopped to see a castle ruin as well as to explore Ballintubber Abbey which is the only church  in Ireland to have had Mass celebrated there every Sunday since it was built in the 13th century. 

On the church grounds they had two little museum-type displays. One was a replica of the wooden churches persecuted Catholics would worship  in away from the prying eyes of the British.   

    

The other little display they have is a replica of a nineteenth century Irish cottage.

  

  

Hills in the distance

I think the coolest part about this part of our exploration was that we really got to hear some of the history. It wasn't like we were on a historical tour, or reading about events in an Irish history textbook. Shirley just started telling us about different things. For example the tree below was actually used to hang a man who was working for the authorities as a priest hunter. It wasn't like visiting a historic house where you're told "oh, so-and-so lived here in the 1890s". It wasn't like reading a sign that says "at this spot blah blah blah happened". This was the actual tree where Sean na Sagart (Wikipedia translates as John of the Priests) was actually executed. My fascination may seem pretty morbid. It's just the history nerd in me had shivers from the preserved history.

  

The actual Abbey:

  

Since the cemetery is built on a rolling landscape, there are many options (as seen by the little cottage built into the hill) for religious grottoes. One such grotto at the Abbey houses a beautiful Nativity scene with a small, quiet reflection space. 

  

Not only does the Abbey have its own permanent Nativity installation, which I guess is not that odd, a good portion of the land not being used for graves has been landscaped into a rosary walk with reflection points for all the stations of the cross. As we walked, Shirley told us about the huge Easter pageant that many of the village people (yes I had to) participate in. They actually act out the stations, with the Jesus representative(as well as stand-in robbers) actually being hoisted onto the crosses pictured below. There is even a tomb dug into the hillside where a body is laid. 

  

  

Altar stone

Once inside the abbey we learned that it was founded 1216 and is functioned as the beginning point for the pilgrimages to Croagh Patrick. It was clear that a lot of American tourist come to this site because as one of the points on the timeline, they listed the arrival of Columbus to the Americas. It made a point of saying that the abbey was already almost 300 years old at that time.

  

  

                                                                    (the one on the left is St. Bridget)

 Once we reached Shirley's house, after driving along the narrowest, windiest back road I've ever been on, Shirley made us tea and set about fixing dinner. Though we were leaving at around 4pm and it was already just after 3pm, Shirley wanted to make sure that we were full of good home-cooked food for the ride back to Galway. While she prepared the meal (after once again refusing our offers to help with anything at all), Mary and I went up to gather our stuff so we could essentially eat and run. (Luckily, we found out later, we didn't have to drive all the way back into Castlebar; the bus would pick us up at the petrol station just down the road along with the other students in the immediate area).
It was harder than I expected to face leaving the O'Toole house. Despite their mad dogs, only one of which is house-trained, I had had an awesome experience there and felt extremely comfortable after having only been there for two days. Part of this feeling I'm sure was that I didn't want to leave the bed I'd been sleeping in behind. It was ridiculously soft compared to by board-like mattress in our flat.

A couple last pictures and I will say farewell:

 After two days of dogs, I finally found a cat. I couldn't stop staring at it even though Shirley was talking to me at the time. It was such a pretty cat! I didn't get to pet it though because I didn't know if it was supposed to come into the house. I'm going a little cat-crazy here without a furry friend to cuddle with. 

Dinner made for us by Shirley

Shirley drove us to the station and waited with us until the bus arrived. She told us that we should come back for the Easter pageant and if we did we would have a place to stay. She also told us to make sure and friend her on Facebook and to come back and visit the next time we're in Ireland. Hugging her goodbye was hard. I still miss her lol.

The bus ride back was uneventful and a lot faster than the ride there. Clearly the second driver knew what he was doing compared to the first. 

And so ends the account of my weekend in Co. Mayo. Hopefully I'll be back there soon!

I'll post soon!

<3 B

Also: this song has been stuck in my head for days because of this stupid post.