IRELAND - #2

What will I remember about Ireland?

I will remember the green fields with stone walls, in the western part of Ireland;
I will remember the 5,000 year old tomb, Newgrange, in the Boyne Valley in the Eastern part of Ireland;
I will remember the strange rock formations of Giant's Causeway, in Northern Ireland;
I will remember the tall high crosses which we saw in Kells and Rock of Cashel;
I will remember the peat bogs and turf and undulating Cliffs of Moher and our rainy journey through the Ring of Kerry;
I will remember the Irish breakfast of egg, bacon (ham), sausage, tomato, black and white pudding;
I will remember some nervous moments as we drove on the wrong side of the road;
I will remember the numerous sheep and cattle;
I will remember the ceaseless news of the elderly protesting the proposed cancellation of the medical card of the over-seventies.
I will remember the kindness and friendliness of the Irish people;
I will remember the rain that can be soft, lashing, desperate, or plain awful.

IRELAND - #1

When I was growing up in the Philippines, there were many Irish priests and nuns, and so I knew that Ireland was this Catholic country that sent many of their sons and daughters to far corners of the world to serve as missionaries. In our recent trip to Ireland, I had this in mind, and I looked for the "Catholicism" in this small country - the Emerald Isle it is aptly called because indeed the grass that grows there is vibrant green, fields and fields of startling green grass with sheep and cattle grazing on it.

There are many things going on in Ireland, and one could go there on a Catholic pilgrimage for instance, or perhaps focus on politics, or on a woo-woo New Age theme; Ireland has a long history dating back to thousands of years. Our journey did not have a specific theme, and we tried to see what we could as we drove around this country that is smaller than California but which offers a variety experiences. We were simply "skimming" and so what I write will be first impressions of a visitor who breezed through the entire island in two weeks.

As far as "Catholic Ireland" was concerned, there was much to see and consider. Think about this: Before St. Patrick prosletized in Ireland around 433 a.d., there were already Christians in Ireland. But it was St. Patrick who converted thousands and began building churches all over Ireland. The ruins of these abbeys and churches are still there. The Rock of Cashel comes to my mind because St. Patrick baptized King Aengus there; Aengus was Ireland's first Christian ruler.

We also visited Kells where the Columban monks created the Book of Kells, (bible) which is on display in the library of Trinity College in Dublin. But the most interesting monastery was on Skellig Michaels, which we unfortunately could not visit because of bad weather (it rains a lot in Ireland). In 588 some 12 ascetic monks had occupied a small rocky island west of County Kerry, Ireland. In this stark environment, the monks had built stairs along the steep cliffs and beehive-looking homes from rocks. They built water cisterns and lived off what the sea and this rocky island provided.

A few years ago, I took a History of Christianity class and I recall the teacher saying that while the rest of Europe was in the dark ages, Ireland preserved Christianity. I had this in mind while I was in Ireland.

Interestingly, while some 80% of Irish are Catholics, the religion lacks a vibrancy that's apparent in other Catholic places. It is there, but subdued, and I suspect that the protestant English domination of Ireland for centuries has a lot to do with this. Let me make myself clear, Ireland is predominantly Catholic, but I missed the electric energy of places like Rome or Latin American countries - I am referring in particular to Knock where Our Lady had appeared in 1879. There were not too many people in Knock, which surprised me. In the Philippines people are almost fanatical about appearances of Our Lady; and certainly places like Lourdes, Fatima, Medjugurje have numerous pilgrims. When I visited Lourdes a few years ago, I recall the great number of people in wheelchairs and other devotees crowding the place. Not so, in Knock.

(more in another blog entry)

HELLO FROM THE EMERALD ISLE

This will be a quick one - hello, from the Emerald Isle where Lauren and I are. We are enjoying ourselves - spent a few days in Dublin, and picked up a car to see Ireland. We are driving counterclockwise from Dublin and are currently in the Southwest part of Ireland. It has been raining and is cold, but everything is so green and beautiful. The people are very nice. The food is so-so.

MORE WHEN I GET BACK, THEN,

Cecilia

REMEMBERING WHEN RAIN HAD GENDER

The rain in Southern California reminded me of rain in the Philippines. I don't know if the weather pattern has changed but when I was growing up the rainy season there was around June until October-November. It could rain daily for weeks at a time. If there was a typhoon, the rain and winds were horrific, so strong as to knock down huge trees and rip off galvanized roofing.

If the typhoon was strong, we got to stay home, so I actually have fond memories of typhoons. The memory is this: wind whipping leaves and branches outside, rain drumming on the roof, water, water falling down, and there I was in the house, warm and dry and reading a book. Now and then, if the typhoon wasn't too bad, and when I was older, my classmates and I would sneak off to see a movie - but only if the storm wasn't too bad. It truly was dangerous to be outside during a ferocious typhoon because electrical wires could sometimes be knocked down and live wires could be laying around exposed. The water would rise so that vehicles were half-submerged and traffic at a stand still. I recall having to wade through flooded streets in Manila. And since power outage was common, you had to stock up on candles, matches, and canned food. At this time, my mother made sure our drinking water was boiled to kill germs.

The first rainy season I experienced in California, I was surprised because Californians made a big fuss over what I thought was a drizzle. There Californians were, with raincoats and boots and umbrellas, and cars careening through the streets because of this itty-bitty rain. I remembered thinking that the rain in California didn't even have gender, whereas in the Philippines, rain could be male or female. Male rain came as small, steady raindrops that fell for a long period of time. Female rain came as large raindrops that came and went quickly. And we even had gay rain - the kind that we couldn't peg as male or female.

Once I was talking to an Irish about rain, and the person used quite a lot of adjectives describing rain. He used words like "lashing" and "cold" and "bitter" rain, and listening to him, I realized this person came from a place that also knew rain.

Right now, the rain in California is falling, and it's a good thing because of the drought we've had for years now.
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Picture of flooded Manila is a watercolor done by Trudl Zipper, from the book Manila 1944-45 As Trudl Saw It.