"And I Lost My Heart to A Galway Girl"

I can officially say I’ve been to a private screening of blockbuster movie. Last Tuesday, my bosses opened up their (very posh) home to those of us in the Irish office, as well as the Finance Director in from Poland and Lead Researchers of the Lisbon and London offices that were here for the week, to screen a film they co-produced in London. It is called The Knot and is a dramatic comedy that follows the two separate storylines of the bride on the wedding day and the groom on the wedding day until they meet at the church and then continue on together to the reception with the movie ending as they leave for their honeymoon. I really enjoyed it and thought it was quite funny. It is great for both men and women because it had that romantic comedy aspect with the bride and her bridesmaids, and then the vulgar comedy aspect with the groom and his groomsmen. It is set to come out around Valentine’s Day next year in the UK. They are looking for an international distributor to get on board, which will hopefully come through so that it can be brought to the US.

Wednesday was the championship game for Round Towers (the Gaelic football team we’re making a documentary on). It was an incredibly exciting and tense game. I was in charge of getting the coach’s reactions, and this coach liked to pace, literally, the length of the field. He was going from one end by his team all the way down to the other end of the field past the other team’s bench. So, I had to chase him around the sidelines with a camera. A few other GE interns came to watch and said I looked quite humorous. I’m sure.

It was a close one, but Round Towers came out on top, thank goodness! Now in September they will represent Dublin County and if they win that game, they will go on to play for the all-Ireland title. After the game, there was a lot of celebrating back at the clubhouse, and we were right there with the cameras to capture it all.

Editing has been going really well. I’ve got a first draft of three and a half out of the four five-minute clips put together. Nuno and Triona said they like what they are seeing so far, which is reassuring. Come this fall, they will be on the beActive Facebook page, as well as websites pertaining to the particular handicap the participant has, as kind of a teaser to the actually show which will be aired on Setanta. I can’t wait to see my hard work up and being watched by all these different people.

This weekend I spent my first night in a hostel. I had been looking forward to the experience all week, with maybe a little bit of apprehension caused by horror movies. It turned out to be a great experience. We couldn’t have picked a better location. We literally got off the train in Galway, and it was right there. The staff was friendly and helpful. The place was clean. It is just across the little town square from the main City Centre area, so we were right by all the action without being in extreme earshot of it at night. Four of us stayed in a room with two other girls and two other guys. The two girls were really nice. They were our age and from France. The two guys were older, Irish, and traveling separately. Both were very respectful of us and our privacy. We slept in bunk beds and there was one shared bathroom and kitchen/common room area, which made me feel like I was at camp. After checking in on Saturday, we grabbed lunch and set out for the beach. It was so nice being able to sink my toes in some sand and look for seashells, and the water was actually pretty warm by the shore.

We weren’t that hungry come dinner, so we decided to stop at a bakery that my flat mate had discovered on her trip to Galway last weekend. I split a red velvet whoopie pie with my friend, Heather. It was delicious!

Sunday was spent exploring the city. We started by setting off in search of the Galway Cathedral for mass. I have wanted to go to mass in a Cathedral all summer, but the ones in Dublin are a good walk from my apartment. It was huge. I couldn’t get over how majestic it looked from the inside. To think of how long ago it was built and is still being practiced in today, it’s crazy.

The Irish mass is interesting in that they sing a lot of hymns we sing at home, but I feel like the readings are always ones I’ve never heard before. They use incense a good amount in every mass, and communion is a mad dash to the alter where a front row of people kneel and wait for the priest to come by with the Eucharist and everyone else gathers in a somewhat organized fashion behind them until a spot frees up. Some prayers are said in Gaelic, which I enjoy listening to but am unable to partake in.

We arrived at the Cathedral about an hour early, so in the meantime we discovered a nearby playground and the beautiful campus of the National University of Ireland.

The rest of the day was spent sightseeing and souvenir shopping around City Centre (one more birthday present down).

It’s hard to believe that with this weekend now coming to a close, I have a mere two weeks left Ireland. I don’t understand how the time has flown by so quickly. It seems like just yesterday I was attempting to wheel a broken suitcase, courtesy of Delta, through the airport, and today I’m going to private screenings of future blockbusters in posh homes. Does this really have to end?