Muslims in the elevator

We were in Ottawa two days ago and we pushed the button to get on the elevator. Now because there was one elevator down and the elevators were REALLY slow, we were determined to squeeze into the elevator no matter what. So finally the elevator stopped at our floor and the doors opened. In the elevator were at least ten young muslim women, around 18-22 years of age with their dresses on and their head scarves. It was such a foreign sight (pardon the pun) and all these young ladies were speaking Arabic or something and looked horrified that we had the nerve to get on their elevator. We (Chris and my three sons) walked into the elevator and the second Chris stepped in, all the ladies pressed their bodies on the perimeter of the elevator, but it was so squished that of course they had no where to go. Chris was in the middle and the young ladies beside him were desperately trying to not touch him. The girl beside him was a hair distance away from lightly brushing up on his arm and the girl beside her pulled her away from Chris and held here like that.

Have you ever done that experiment with a bowl of water? The one where you sprinkle pepper on the surface of the water and then rub soap on your finger. Once you touch your finger to the water with the pepper on it, the pepper quickly shoots to the sides of the bowl. Well, if you have never done this, go try it, and you will have a better idea of how these young ladies reacted when Chris and the boys got on the elevator.

So on the ride down to the lobby, we are all crammed in there, the ladies desperately trying NOT to touch Chris or Josh especially since they are man sized and they are talking among themselves and pressing themselves on the elevator walls to avoid touching the 'white devil' in the elevator.

I started to think about what these ladies have been taught, that it is a 'shameful' thing to be near a man, much less accidentally brush up against his arm in a very crowded elevator and I was sad for them, and sad for Chris. Chris seemed to be viewed as this great evil. I think the muslim faith has done these ladies a great dis-service, causing them fear and shame for such a small unavoidable incident. And their religion has left a bad taste in my mouth because of their loathsome behaviours towards Chris and the boys on the elevator. For them to go through life feeling that men are bad and a source of shame is a sad thing.

Ironically, when we got to the lobby, they were all gathered at the mirrors on the wall checking how they looked and seemed quite vain. Grooming themselves to make themselves beautiful and them shaming men if they are looked at. It makes no sense. In this country, this behavior is not acceptable to me. It is shameful in Canada to behave in such a way, to bring these views to our country.

In the tour of the Parliament building, we were near a muslim family, all the daughters (4) covered with head scarves and dressed, and the one boy and father looking quite comfortable. It is such an inequality. The father was kind to me, as was his wife and I offered to take a family picture of them because the mother was taking the picture and I felt badly that she was not in the photo. But still, I wish they were not compelled to cover up so much and fear the 'infidel'. We are all just people, looking for love and acceptance, they are not different, but view themselves as different, or us as different and seem to walk around with this difference at the forefront of their consciousness.

Quebec

We arrived in St. Luc Quebec on Saturday night and had supper with my father. Then we went out to see my brother Alexandre's Crossfit gym. The visit was very fun and the boys really enjoyed finally meeting their uncle and seeing him show us his gym equipment. I didnt realize how weak I am until I tried to climb the rope, very embarassing! FYI, for anyone who does not know, this man is my father, and the really strong guy down below is my brother, the cute blond is his girlfriend and the other lady is my father's wife. The rest of the people are me and my kids and Chris.

I really don't know what was on my shirt, but I don't think I will ever wear it again. It was raining so maybe it was rain. And I think I am throwing out those white yoga pants, oh the horror!! My brother is quite strong and was showing us how he pulls himself up on those rings without going upside down. All the boys tried to climg the rings, as did I but Josh was the only one who could make it up to the top.

We stayed in a nice hotel in St. Jean and then left the next morning for New Brunswick.

Look before you sit!

so, we were driving for freaking ever to get to Montreal. On the way, we made a wee pit stop and all of us piled out of the van and into the washrooms. I found myself a semi clean toilet and settled in for a few minutes. After the business was over, i was horrified to discover that there was no toilet paper. I looked on the floor to my right and there were not feet under the stall wall so I looked to my left an saw the feet of what appeared to be a sixty something female (I can only assume she was a she because I was in the she-bathroom and her nails were painted, but I guess there were no guarantees). I put my hand under the wall and pleaded for some spare paper. "No paper in here" was her curt reply. GAHHH!!! If I only could remember to look before i sit down, but I had to go badly and time was of the utmost importance in the execution of this event. At any rate, I had to somehow get myself off the danged toilet and out of there so I saw on the floor an unused folded piece of toilet paper. I carefully tore off the top part of the paper that was folded and not touching the floor and used that. What?!! I had no choice! don't be grossed out, I had to make do and drip drying would have taken WAY too long. so, I got out, washed my hands very well and went out to tell someone about the sicheeashun (that's Northern Irish for 'situation'). It turned out to be the Nicholby's staffer. I told here that the women's washroom was in need of some toilet paper attention. She looked at me shocked, and said that they were just in there half an hour ago, and she seemed quite irritated with my information. I replied "well, they are out again" with a smile that I felt was friendly and non threatening. She said "well they just filled it all up half an hour ago". She seemed very frustrated that any of us 'patrons' would dare use up the precious paper. I threw up my hands and told her that I was just letting her know the problem, then turned on my heels and left.

The moral: why the heck was she so annoyed with me? There must be at least 50 women per hour using that bathroom, they are going to run out quite alot! Especially at meal time. The real moral is: look before you sit!!

nat playing irish song on uke!

I learned this song in Ireland on Inish Bofin. I love it because it has such sweet lyrics.

Here are a few of my paintings, in case you were wondering what kind of things I painted. I love the portrait of the bride. The feet are those of my younges son when he was a month old. the portrait of the boy is my middle son when he was about seven and the picture of the tricycle is my mother and her brother when they were 4 and 6 respectively. The greenery painting is one of my first paintings, it took me forever to do!

LOVE IRELAND!

Well, the overall conclusion is I totally love Ireland. Why? Because, somehow I feel at home there. The air smells good, the breeze on my skin feels good and I connect with the people. Of all the tours I have done so far (and I say that because I will be back, hopefully next summer, to do another tour, maybe a bike tour!) the Connemara Safari one was the most intmate. Initmate with the land that is, but also the group I was with. We only covered a relatively small amount of land and sights, but we were up close to the land because of the hiking. I loved the long walks (like 4-6 hours) on the islands and the fjord.

But, if you wanted to see more of the prominant sights of Ireland, the Vagabond Tour I did last year was good for that. the group was only 14 people, I like smaller gruops, and we bumped around in a jeep for seven days seeing all the sights on our path. I loved this tour as well, and connected nicely with the people on it. The average age was younger than the connemara safari, around 30 or so compared to the connemara which was mainly comprised of 50 plus aged tourists. I think the price point for both these tours were about the same, but the Vagabond was more days and only breakfast was included. Connemara was 4.5 days and everything was included, all meals.

Shamrocker was great because it was cheap and we hit the main attractions on our route. Nothing was included in the trip but your seat on the bus, everything else was extra. We stayed in hostels, which were nice, and ate at our own expense. I think the Shamrocker is a great affordable way to see the sights in Ireland. Average age on the tour, about 24 years old.

So, three very different tour companies, all with their own advantages depending on what you are looking for. I know, this blog is boring, I just tought it would be good to summarize my experience so far. I am glad I did all three tours, they were all enjoyable and worth doing. A great selection for anyone intending to travel there, you just have to know what you are looking for. Hopefully next year, I will be able to add another tour company to my list of experiences!

Now, this blog will convert to my everyday ramblings of life and thoughts I might have here and there, with the odd picture when I take it.

tootles!!

Shamrocker day three

This morning we took a black cab tour of Belfast and were driven around to many of the murals in the city. My favorite is the bloody hand of Ulster. Story has it that the king said whoever sailed to land firstand touched the soil could mary his daughter and be kind of his land so when the second guy realized he was going to loose, he cut off his hand and threw it onto shore, therefore winning the prize. I think I would rather keep my right hand, but it just shows how passionate these people are about their land.
We went to a memorial and were told about the people who died inside the walls of Belfast (catholic side) and I noticed the caging on the backs of the houses closest to the walls. These cages were just recently installed. The fear is still very real between the catholics and protestants.

We also had a bus load of really hung over young adults (gosh I am old!) and I stood up and turned around to see everyone with eyes closed and many of them snoring loudly.

We drove up to an old cemetary with beautiful celtic crosses as grave markers. I stood and talked to the three older people manning the info desk for about 20 minutes and had a grand time chatting to them. Their passion for what they do is clear. That's what I love about Ireland, it seems the people I encounter are passionate about their heritage and take pride in it.

The bus of younguns finally did liven up and I told them all to look alive for this last shot. They did pretty well considering some of them went to bed at around 6am after having gone to some Irish guys house to play Wii. Oh the follies of youth.

Day two Shamrocker

After a good nighs sleep in the Independant hostel in Derry, we boarded the bus and went on to Dunluce Castle. This castle was so beautiful it was easy to see the extravagance in the design and how it's previous owners had lived in luxury for their time. Heck, even for our time, such a buiding would be beautiful. I could envision the art up on the walls and the great feasts they would have had in the dining room. The kitchen was neat with it's oven's too. The kitchen was constructed outside the regular house in order to prevent fires.

We set off for the famous giant's causeway. Legend says a giant threw rocks in the water to build a causeway to get to Scotland. Science would have you believe that it occured because of cooling lava. Either way, it was very cool, geometrical shaped colums, kind of like the old video game Q-bert. It was lovely to walk out on the lava rocks and climb over them, certainly a miracle formation and I think should be a wonder of the world. I am amazed that nature can construct such a phenomenon.

Our next stop was the rope bridge used by fishermen to get from the mainland to a small rock island where the fishing is better. The bridge was restricted to hold only nine people for safety reasons and it was quite wobbley too, but I was not worried, everything was too beautiful to worry about the bridge. The beauty here is like a quenching drink for the eyes and dare I say the soul too. Many times, I would stand and close my eyes to smell the air, then open my eyes, to try and imprint the images on my brain forever. I love the rugged, untamed beauty that is Ireland. Something seems wild about the country here.

We made our way to Belfast where we would spend the night at the Independant hostel, a clean reasonable place to stay. But first, look at the Guiness clock and university in Belfast. I took these pictures on our walk to find the cheapest drinks.

Shamrocker day one

Well July 6th and I was off to the Shamrocker tour. I cabbed downtown to the Kinley house hostel for 8:30am. This after a night of throwing up and being sick the other way too (I know, too much info, but I must impress upon you how ill I was). I considered cancelling my north tour due to this nasty spell of illness, but really had nowhere to stay if I didn't go. By the way, this Murf (the weeuns called him smurf).

Turns out I just felt like I would throw up all day but I didn't actually throw up. The bus ride was bouncy and I had to focus on not being sick. But we made our way up north, towards Eniskillin. It was rainy that day and I ran to the phone booth to wait it out. After ten minutes, I went to the place to change my money over to Pounds instead of Euros (the north is part of the British Isles) and I am pretty sure I got ripped off but anyway.




We boarded the bus again and the tour guide had us all inroduce ourselves and say something intersting, I chose to tell a discolorful joke about a priest that I had heard the week before, on the Safari (tanks Martina!) I shan't put the joke here, but if you are curious, you can ask me sometime, it is quite funny.




We stopped at Trim Castle, very pretty, and wandered around on our own. I took lots o photos!




I believe this was in the city of Antrim.
After, we road the bus to Loughcrew cairns, which is an old burial site above ground in a small little hut like structure on the side of the mountain. This picture is me just following the guides bum into the wee tiny place, only big enough for about nine of us to go, sans backpacks. ( I was still feeling quite sick!) The carvings on this stone illustrated the importance of the sun and how i moved as the sun shone in the tomb. As the day grew older, the sun moved down and to the right, you can see the picture of the sun in three spots, which signifies where it was at a certain time of day.








It is after the cairns that we went to Eniskillin where it rained. Then we went to Derry where we took a walking tour of the walled city of Derry. The wall is beautiful and fully surrounds the inner city. You can see many murals on house walls depicting "the troubles" as they are called. The troubles are the war times. Bloody Sunday happened in Derry and there is a mural all about that too. One of these pictures is one of the I think four gates enclosing the city of Derry.

On the way again!

Well, Saturday morning (july 4th), the owner of the Castle arranged for me to catch a ride up to Sligo to see my friend Sam and his wife and baby. Jerry, the tour guide was my ride and he was so nice to talk to all the way there, it took 2 hours. We talked all the way to Sligo about all sorts of things and by the end of the trip I was quite attached to Jerry and was sad to say goodbye. I apologized for talking so much and Jerry said it was the fasted rideto Sligo he has ever had. I like him lots and will definately want to see him again next time I am here.

When we arrived in Sligo I called Sam and he gave us more precise directions to get to his house, I said goodbye to Jerry and saw Sam walking down the lane. It was great to see him and finally meet his lovely wife Anna, who I know would be a great friend if we lived closer to eachother. She is smiley and gentle with little baby Cian too which is sweet to watch. The baby is adorable and we had a nice day visiting.

I ended up crashing their friends kids third birthday party that day too, which is totally fun. I tagged along and ended up making the guocamole for the party under the direction of Brian, the dad of the kid whose birthday it was. The people at this party were mighty craic and I had a ball visiting and meeting with new people. Gosh I love meeting people!!

Later that evening, Sam had to take a train back to Dublin so I tagged along because i had to be there the next day as well. We stayed overnight with his brother and sister in law and had an evening of laughing, singing and fun. They were very hospitable to let me stay there, especially since the didn't know I was coming. The next morning, Philip and Ozlem (Philip is Sam's twin broter, Ozlem, Phil's wife) took me out for coffee and then we walked to the Irish Sea beach area and vegged. Ozlem and I walked thruogh the water in our barefeet and picked up shells for Jordan. New friends again for me are these lovely people and hopefully they will come visit me in Canada!

This wood carving man is Sam's uncle by the way and if you are ever in Sligo, you simply MUST visit his store. He makes amazing carvings in an old butcher shop in town and while he works, can tell you all kinds of local tales and folklore, he is a great story teller. His hame is Michael Quirke and even on the plane ride home recently I met a young man from Sligo who knew all about Michael. In this picture, he is making me a small carving of my little dog, which now is one of my favorite things from my trip.

Clare Island

Well, after Inish Turk, where we actually stayed two nights, we ferried over to Clare Island. That island is pretty also and the town seems busier and more populated. We hiked up the mountain and took lots of pictures, my feet were killing me here because we were walking on the rocky road, which is harder on my feet than the spongy turf we had been hiking on the past couple of days. The hike took about an hour and a half and while we were walking a cute little girl ran down her driveway to say hello to all the tourists. I asked her if I could take her picture and she said ok with her Irish brogue.......very cute.

When we got to the center of our hike, we had the option to go up to the lighthouse, which would add another hour and half to the hike and though my feet were blistered, I went uphill to see the lighthouse. The view was spectacular, it always is, and we sat up there on the ground to take it in.

We stopped to see a small church, which is said to be the burial ground for Grace OMalle the pirate queen of Connemara (I am told a really great book to read by the way) and inside the church, the ceiling was painted with fresco figures which Jerry explained in detail. It was very beautiful and we spent about half an hour listening to stories and looking at the artwork. If you look carefully, you will also notice that the two narrow windows in the church are shaped like a flickering candle at the top, really cool!

After the Island walk finished, we got back on the ferry and went to the mainland accross to catch our bus and three hour ride back to Abbeyglen castle were we stayed for the night (this was not included in the package but most of stayed on because we didn't want to say goodbye yet. The dutchman sang his song again(he had made a song for Jerry and sung it on the second night at Inish Turk) and it was quite good. I have it recorded, but cant upload it right now. I was put in a beautiful room with a huge tub, which I fully used before supper. The picture of the castle is the Abbeyglen, very pretty scenery.

The evening went well, we all said our goodbyes and then I turned in at around eleven thirty, so tired I dropped into bed and fell asleep quickly.