Tuesday, July 5, 2011

God Bless America

I’ve reached to point of dangerous spiraling. The weeks keep moving faster and faster. August 6th is breathing down my neck, and, try as I might, I can’t seem to put any distance between that date and I. With my time here already halfway over, it only makes me want to pack even more experiences into every moment I have left.

Generally, these experiences strictly exclude North American contact. I’m not trying to be unpatriotic or a snob, I just have been around Americans my whole life and will be around plenty more come Fall, so this summer has been about meeting people from all over the world, or really just anywhere except the U.S. (minus my GE friends). However, this past week I made a few exceptions. One of the interns met some Americans on the bus and got a little nostalgic when she found out one was from her home state of Texas. They were three soldiers in the army, currently stationed in Germany, and it was their first night of five in Dublin. They asked her for pub recommendations and she agreed to meet them later for a drink. Not wanting to go alone, she enlisted a few of us to join her. Seeing as it was a Monday night, and my plan otherwise had been to stay in and chill with my American roommates, I decided a little U.S. exposure wouldn’t kill me. Turns out they had been traveling around Europe the past few weeks and Dublin was their last stop before heading back to the base. They had a lot of interesting stories and provided us with a photo tour of European highlights they saw on their trip. At the end of the night, plans were made to meet up again Thursday. I was a little hesitant about this, but with the week leading up to the 4th of July, what better time to hang out with Americans? We introduced them to Howl at the Moon, and discussed plans for our nation’s birthday. Unfortunately, they’d be gone by then. So at the end of the night, we bid our soldiers goodbye and thanked them for fighting. Friday, my friend and I were back on track talking to Irishman and got proposed to by two Obama-enthused Dubliners looking for a green card and all the possibilities America has to offer. They had the best teeth in all of Europe and promised many goats and cattle. It was difficult to turn down.

Saturday, I met up with Catherine, and we drove down to Gorey in County Wexford to film interviews and actuality shots for a new documentary. It’s about two men, Ian from Gorey and Lee from Denver, Colorado, cycling 17,000 miles from the top of Alaska to the southern tip of Argentina in 350 days. It is 350 because, according to scientists, 350 parts per million of CO2 in the atmosphere is the safe limit for humanity. We are currently at 391 ppm. Along the way they plan to meet the Irish diaspora of the Americas and hope to raise €100,000 for the Carers Association (you can check them out on Facebook and Twitter). We arrived at a cute house with a beautiful garden on a little country lane off the main drag to find the director and cameraman unloading equipment and the soundman pulling in behind us. We got some footage of Ian working on his bike, riding his bike, and packing for the trip, as well as interviews with himself, his girlfriend, and his parents. They are all very lovely people, so friendly and relaxed. His mother was always checking to make sure we had enough to eat and drink, offering us tea and scones as soon as we walked through the door. She made the most delicious Sheppard’s pie and potatoes for lunch. She gave me a giant list of places I need to visit in Ireland, and told me all about sites I had to see that most people miss (if only I’d had a pen and paper at the time, because it’s difficult to remember them all now). Around 9:30, we went into town and filmed his going away party at French’s pub. It was so sweet to see all his friends so excited for him. There was lots of singing, guitar playing, and well wishing. They presented him with a jersey to wear while he’s biking with his name and the 350 South logo. We wrapped up our filming so he could enjoy his time with his friends and family.

My Saturday was originally supposed to be spent on a trip to Kilkenney and Glendalough with Global Experiences. Instead, I had to work, which I thought was unfortunate at first. I was a little disappointed to be missing out on experiencing more of Ireland, but on my way back to Dublin, I realized I did experience more of Ireland. It was my first whole day as the only foreigner around. I got to spend time with an Irish family, learning the norms of their life and customs. Kilkenney and Glendalough will be there for me to visit in the future, but this kind of opportunity, exposure to an Irish family and their preparations to part from their son, friend, and boyfriend for a year, and helping in the process of capturing it all on camera, that’s something I could only get to do on that Saturday in that town.

My weekend also included trips to the two most popular attractions in Dublin, the Jameson Distillery and the Guinness Storehouse. At Jameson, two of our group splurged and got the “Jameson Tasting Experience” while waiting for our tour where they got to try the Jameson one would buy now, a 12-year-old Jameson Reserve that you can only get at the Jameson factory in Dublin, a Jameson Gold Reserve, and an 18-year-old Jameson. At the time (note the tense in that phrase) I didn’t pride myself on being a whiskey connoisseur and didn’t think I’d be able to tell the difference, so I didn’t buy my own tasting. One of them let me sample his 18-year-old Jameson, though. It was apparently supposed to have a fudgy and vanilla taste. I’m not sure if I agree with that, but it was certainly smooth and minty. Once they finished, it was time for our tour, so we gathered at the door and were ushered into a small theatre. After getting a brief history on John Jameson, the guide asked for volunteers to participate at the end of the tour, and I was lucky enough to be chosen.


We went through the tour, learning how it is made and what makes it so much better than all other whiskeys. At the end, us volunteers were sat at a table and were given a taste of American whiskey (Jack Daniels, distilled once), Scottish whiskey (Johnnie Walker Black Label, distilled twice), and Irish whiskey (Jameson, distilled three times). The guide had us sip the Irish first, and then try the Scottish and American in turn with the Irish. Ireland is leaps and bounds ahead in whiskey making. Johnnie Walker tasted like smoky bark and Jack Daniels tasted like a straight up ashtray. And boy did they burn! The whole experience has turned me into a whiskey snob. When I turn 21, I am not wasting my money on Jack and Cokes, it’s all about the Jameson and Ginger.


At the Guinness Storehouse, the tour was self-guided. We made our way through the six floors leading up the Gravity Bar. I learned about how it is made, the history of its creation and creator, and its advertisement over the years. I got to hone my bartending skills and poured my own pint.



Naturally, I poured a perfect pint (as my certificate states). One more thing I can add to my résumé. After all the hype about how heavy Guinness is, I thought it would be much more harder to drink. But the Irish are good at making things that go down smooth (maybe that’s why they drink so much), although I could’ve used a piece of chocolate or something sweet when I was finished. We made our way up to the Gravity Bar where we got a 360° view of Dublin. It was beautiful, and we picked a great day for it. You could see for miles.



Monday was spent out on a shoot for The Club documentary where … (wait for it) … I got to use a camera! They interviewed another one of the main girls they are focusing on and filmed the teams training, and I got to film and interview the crew for behind-the-scenes footage. It felt so good to get my hands on a camera again, playing with angles and shot sizes. On Wednesday, I get to go back out to Howth to interview the editor for more behind-the-scenes. He works out of an editing lab in his house. I’m so excited to see it, and maybe get some ideas for my future home (though The Holiday already had a pretty nice layout for me to model mine after).

I finished up around 9:30 and went to meet up with the other GE interns already in full celebratory swing for the 4th of July at Captain America’s. I made a quick check at the front desk to see if mail had come in for me before heading out. Sure enough, I had a letter with two American flags enclosed (thanks Mom, perfect timing!). I waved them proudly and joined my fellow Americans in belting out every patriotic song we could think of. While normally on this trip I would choose people from Europe over people from the U.S., however on July 4th there is no group of people I would rather spend my time with than a bunch of obnoxious Americans.


No comments:

Post a Comment