Pre-Holiday--Irish Update (Week 8: Oct. 19 - 21)

Greetings! This week in Ireland was a bit dull (mainly because I was scrambling to finish two midterms and pack for my French excursion), though we did have our first rugby match in Cork on the 21st of October! That was quite good craic. We were meant to leave round half ten (though that quickly translated into leaving college at quarter after 11).

The bus ride to Cork was long but fun. I enjoyed (finally) learning everyone's names through various entertaining name games, singing crazy Irish songs and just getting to know the Irish girls. They're very welcoming and fun to be around, which is a nice change compared to how some of the Irish girls were at different pubs and clubs...they were more on the prowl out on the town methinks.

Of course, right when we step off the bus, it starts to downpour. Now if this had been in the States (and probably if it was a different sport), then the game would have probably been postponed/cancelled. Not so in rugby. "The wetter, the better" according to Coach Bertie (a very BIG guy with a scruffy beard; he kind of looks like a papa Grizzly bear, but also cuddly like a teddy bear).

We proceeded to warm-up and get ready for the game. The UC-Cork girls (well...they were more like horses) were BIG. I couldn't help but think of one of my favorite movie quotes to myself when I saw one of them:

"Buzz, your girlfriend...WOOF!"- Home Alone

Warm-ups in rugby entail some running/sprinting, passing, light tackling with tackling bags and the inevitable: getting DIRRTY. My T-shirt, even after treating it with stain-remover and washing it, will never be white again. Alas, such a price to pay to the rugby gods. No matter, tis the nature of the sport.

The game started and we had a good start, though we couldn't manage to get a try; we were definitely playing better than UC-Cork, but they got lucky and managed to get two tries in the first half. During the second half, we got really close to the try line, but injuries started taking their toll. My friend Alison (who's only in her second season in rugby but is a CHAMP!) got a nasty black-eye and was out for the rest of the game, Mary and Meadhbh (pronounced "Maeve"..spelled the Irish way) both got knocked around being on the front line...it was my first glimpse of what rugby is all about. I didn't play much, only towards the end for about 2.5 minutes, but it was fun being on the sidelines and observing.

We may have lost, but another great aspect about rugby is whether your team wins or loses, you drink to celebrate a job well done any how. The drinking songs are sometimes foul and disturbing, but that's what rugby is all about, according to Bertie the Bear (most of these songs were created by drunk guys, so obviously they can be crude). But our UCG Rugby Chick's song has a great line in it: "Win or lose, we're always on the booze". Gotta love Ireland.

As we made our way back to Galway, I was tempted to join the team for the drink-up at Monroe's, but I had to finish packing for my France trip...there's always next time.

Now on to my Parisian and French adventures!