Christmas in Carna

Photo highlights, top to bottom:

a house in the snow at sunrise
kids opening Kindles on Christmas
Abby, and kids at Christmas dinner
Abby Skyping with the Sanders in Wa. state
unique table, with poppers
relaxing after dinner
Gerard admiring a pub trick
more snow photos




Christmas is certainly a festive time here. This year, it was enhanced by lingering snow, which as a local said is "once in a blue moon." We learned to be creative in our gift giving, due to our rural location. Stephen gave out slips of papers, with free jobs, like one free car wash. We ordered some gifts from Amazon, the kids were thrilled to receive Kindles. We shopped locally, at the new chemist (pharmacy) which has more than prescription drugs, and in Galway, an hour and a half away.

Stephen and I went to a Santi (Santa) party at the local pub. There was a visit by a local Gaelic speaking Santi, who gave a present to all the children there. Stephen was not interested, especially after discovering the only pool table in town. I had a pint with a neighbor, and every time it got down to half full, someone would buy me another pint. I finally caught on after the 3rd free pint arrived. I finally had to give away one of the pints, in order to get out of there.

The week prior to Christmas, Justine took the bus to Galway, and that day the big snowstorm hit. The bus stop is about 20 miles from our home. I got stuck on the hill near my house when I attempted to go to get her. Gerrard felt his car would handle better, but he got stuck as well. Then I called Dr. Casey, who has a Volvo SUV, to get her. He later told Justine that trips like getting her was what he had bought that car for. Justine had asked everyone on the bus if anyone was going to Carna, and she was able to get a ride halfway here, with a friendly stranger. She waited at their house, until Dr Casey got her.

When you walk into the local shops on Christmas week, you are met by a cheery staff that gives you a glass of mulled wine. It is a warm, sweetened, red wine. So you drink this while you are doing your local shopping. The local shops were crowded, with everyone stocking up on food for the holidays. Everyone talked about the weather, and the roads, as they were bad.

There was no gritting (sanding) locally. After nearly a week, the national TV interviewed Dr. Casey, who expressed his concern about the conditions. We were certainly concerned about what would happen in case of a medical emergency. The next day, the main roads around Carna were gritted. The problem is that Ireland is not used to this kind of weather. Just as Washington state is getting hundred year floods every three years or so, Ireland is getting previously rare persistent freezing and snow now 2 years in a row. They will have to start developing an infrastructure to handle these new conditions. Many, many homes lost water, due to frozen external water pipes, which are either uninsulated or not buried deep enough.

A highlight of our holiday was having a cousin, Abby, stay with us. She is from Vermont, living in Boston, where she is in law school. She is in Galway for 3 months, working on an interesting project related to international copyright law. It was great to see her, and hear about her experiences here in Ireland. Here urban life is quite different than our country life, but with its own set of challenges. It was good to be with some family, over Christmas. She suprised all of us with nice gifts.

Christmas afternoon, we followed the Hookes over to a friend's house, for a wonderful dinner. Linda is a physician working in Clifden, and her husband Patrick is a fisherman. The have built a beautiful home on some waterfront land that belonged to his father. The food and drink was excellent, and we enjoyed their generous hospitality in their warm house. One tradition was opening poppers, seen on the table. Two people pull at each end, and inside is a riddle, and a prize.

St. Stephen's Day

Today is St. Stephen's Day, the day after Christmas. We were aware this was a big shopping and drinking day here. I had also been told that in certain parts of Ireland, children would go house to house, for some reason. I had not discovered what that was about. Well, we just had 2 young boys visit our rural house, on this blustery day. They came in, each holding a jar with a live wren, one colorful, and one grey. I just figured that they were here to show their catches to Stephen. They said when they caught them, the birds were sleeping on the hillside. Stephen later told me that he didn't know the boys. I gave them some Christmas candy, and they left. It wasn't until after they left, that I realized the connection with St. Stephen's Day. I found some interesting information about St. Stephen's Day on Wikipedia:

In Irish, it is called Lá Fhéile Stiofán or Lá an Dreoilín — the latter translates literally as another English name used, the Day of the Wren or Wren's Day. When used in this context, "wren" is often pronounced "ran". This name alludes to several legends, including those found in Ireland linking episodes in the life of Jesus to the wren. Although now mostly a discontinued tradition, in certain parts of Ireland persons carrying either an effigy of a wren or an actual caged wren [live or dead], travel from house to house playing music, singing and dancing. Depending on which region of the country, they are called Wrenboys and Mummers. A Mummer's Festival is held at this time every year in the village of New Inn, County Galway and Dingle County Kerry. St Stephen's Day is also a popular day for visiting family members. A popular rhyme, known to many Irish children and sung at each house visited by the mummers goes as follows (this version popularized by the Irish group The Clancy Brothers):

The wren, the wren, the king of all birds,

St. Stephen's Day was caught in the furze,

Although he was little his honour was great,

Jump up me lads and give us a treat.

As I was going to Killenaule,

I met a wren upon the wall.

Up with me wattle and knocked him down,

And brought him in to Carrick Town.

Drooolin, Droolin, where’s your nest?

Tis in the bush that I love best

In the tree, the holly tree,

Where all the boys do follow me.

Up with the kettle and down with the pan,

And give us a penny to bury the wren.

I followed the wren three miles or more,

Three miles or more three miles or more.

I followed the wren three miles or more,

At six o’clock in the morning.

I have a little box under me arm,

Under me arm under me arm.

I have a little box under me arm,

A penny or tuppence would do it no harm.

Mrs. Clancy's a very good woman,

a very good woman, a very good woman,

Mrs. Clancy's a very good woman,

She give us a penny to bury the wren.

Well, I can say this tradition is alive and well here in Carna! Happy St. Stephen's Day.

Nollaig Shona Duit (Happy Christmas)

We wish all our friends and relatives a Happy Christmas, as they say here. We are grateful for our health, and the many new friends we have made here, and our friends back home, whom we will see again sometime in 2011.

We have had a wonderful experience here. We live in a tight knit community, where people look after themselves, and each other. There is kindness here to a degree that we have rarely seen elsewhere. When the frozen roads were impassible and many people were without water, due to snow and sub zero freezing conditions, unparalleled in recent history, everyone made sure their neighbors were okay. When the government ignored the snow/ice on the roads, the locals got their trailers, found some sand, and spread it on the roads themselves. Local stores ran out of staples like bread and milk, yet concerned storekeepers, instead of waiting for delayed deliveries, drove the treacherous roads afar, to get some supplies for the community. Our hardships are tolerable and are good lessons especially for our children.

We are dealing with some isolation, we miss some familiar food, and the basic conveniences that are taken for granted in the U.S. We spend hours together as a family unit, in the living room. This is healthy, yet challenging. We keep the rest of the house cold, as electricity and oil are precious commodities.

We are enjoying the snow. We are happy that the days are starting to get longer, here on the 53rd latitude. The moon, stars and Milky Way have been brilliant these crisp nights. This community, where nobody owns a sled, is looking forward to rain next week, signaling the end of this arctic spell, and the hardships the snow has brought. The pipes will thaw and the cars will return to the roads. As we write this today, our pipes are frozen, we have no water.

A few weeks ago, I polled a couple of dozen people " do you prefer cold and sunny or warm and rainy?" the vast majority desired the former. Now, they can't wait for the familiar winter rain that normally covers Ireland.

We will cross into 2011 in a few days. What adventures and experiences lay ahead? We head to Paris, and London, for a fun winter school break, in two of the world's greatest cities. The transition from rural Ireland to these vibrant cities will be a whole lotta fun!

Sneachtea (snow, again)

Well, we are getting more snow. As I said previously, this is an unusual occurance. Before last year, it had been perhaps twenty years since there was snow here. Especially along the West coast, where the Gulf stream moderates the temperature. One resident of the Carna Nursing Home told me that the last big snow was in 1948. Sure puts us in the Christmas spirit. We even got a little tree up, with a lot of home made ornaments.

Because of the snow, the kids had their school cancelled, another rare happening. There was no notice, the bus just didn't show up. The kids enjoyed frollicing in the snow. There are no sleds to be had. It was fun, from our hillside vantage point, to see the snow showers blowing in, then clearing to a blue sky, intermittantly all day. The kids did get a little cabin fever, as a couple of the photos show.There is no road maintance, so driving is a bit of a challange. Weather can be a big topic here (like Seattle), so we were well aware this storm was on the way. The Irish radios do good public service (except no school closure notification), and incidentally are of great quality, music and talk wise.

The last photo shows a farmer and his 2 dogs hustling his cattle down the main road, something you have to be on the alert for.

" Fittin in" at School

Photos, top to bottom:
Summer,Stephen & Paris in their school uniforms
Secondary school,Carna
Stephen,arriving at his school
School's out




Stephen is in sixth grade in the primary school in Ardmore. He taking the following classes: math, spelling, English, Irish, science, geography, reading and physical education. He is with eight other 6th graders, as well as ten other 5th graders. He has not struggled at all. He has tested up to 100% for some end of the year tests already. The classes are mainly taught in Irish, but there is some English spoken as well, especially for him. He is picking up the Irish language the most, amongst our three children. There has been a little Irish dancing taught in PE. He also plays soccer. Recently, he scored a goal from midfield, which his schoolmate told him was a “class goal”. He was proud of that moment. He has had a school friend over to teach him baseball. That was a big hit, so to speak.

He also goes to his friend’s house and plays various games. His friend went to Florida for the October break. He went to the major amusement parks. Many of the people here have relatives in the states. They live mostly in the east, especially the Boston area. Typically, their relatives here have visited them, often frequently. I usually take Justine and Stephen to the local store by his school, on my way to the clinic each morning. Justine soon after drops him off when the school opens, then she walks the mile home. She walks back and gets him each afternoon. She has become quite recognized, walking the road each day. Sometimes, a teacher, or even a complete stranger, will give them a ride. The strangers are local residents. One gave her a big fresh salmon. The girls ride the school bus, we pay 300 euros each, for the year. They stand across the street from our house each morning, often in the cold blowing wind. If one misses the bus, no big deal, as I leave around the same time. The bus really helps with their return, four miles, as I work until 6 or 7 at night, and we have one car. So far Justine is not driving, and I often use it on call up to 4 days per week.

Summer and Paris are in the secondary school. It is also called the National school. There are about 130 kids in the whole school, grade 7 “1st year” thru grade 13 “6th year”. Summer’s classes are: Irish language, maths (yes there is an s) English, social personal health education, business, history, geography, PE, German, science, art, home economics, religion and OSSP (personal rights and responsibilities). She is learning Irish, the teacher helps her individually, speaking to her mostly in English. Most of her classes are taught in Irish, but she follows along and picks up the concepts, as most of her books are in English. Also, some or the subject materials are just review for her. In PE, she played handball, with a net, and her classmates are learning volleyball, something Summer knows quite well, thanks to her coaches in Stanwood. Business has taught her about income and expenses, and tracking this. Religion has taught her about community, eye contact and body language, to date. Summer just got a county wide award for an art poster that she drew, along with forty euros.The whole school starts each day with a prayer in Irish. That is the only secular reference all day. There is a free breakfast, consisting of tea and cereal. The free lunch is a sandwich, with choices of tuna, ham and cheese. Also hot chocolate or tea. Fruit is 5-10 cents.

The only gas station in Carna happens to be across the street, where you see the school kids crossing to get their sugary items. Gas is 1.33 euro ($1.86) for 1 liter unleaded, and 1.26 for diesel (I have to brag that my diesel Renault station wagon gets 65 mpg, thank God-after I fill it up, for 60 euros, it says I can go 755 miles). Gas just went up, government mandated, so now I pay 1.33 euro per liter, about 2 more euros per tank, to help pay for the national debt, incurred by the bankers. The report from the gas station owner is that the girls are “fitting in” well. This is a familiar saying as daily patients ask how are the kids “fitting in” at school. It is nice to have eyes around. She says she sees Paris and Summer surrounded by other kids. They say that there are no clicks, and everyone is real friendly to them.

Paris has most of the same classes as Summer, and is actually in one class together with her. She studied private limited companies in business. She made chicken curry in home economics. Math is algebra. She gets a fly in Irish. Religion is teaching Christianity principles. OSSP teaches Ireland’s government. She is reading a drama play in English. The principle expects about 1.5 hours of homework per night. Geography now has geology subjects. Also, most of her classes are taught in Irish, and may be repeated in English, apparently not just for Paris. Paris says the students prefer to learn in English, claiming that it is easier. PE is currently co ed volleyball. Art is lineal prints. Science is already the subject of physics.

School was the biggest concern for Justine and me, on this adventure. It is a great relief that this component of our worries is not a big worry.

Snow, An Unusual Occurance

Well, we had a little snow this weekend. Good for the holiday spirit, as we enviously read about the early snow in the Pacific Northwest. Last winter, Ireland had some snow as well, but apparently it was otherwise quite a few years ago when it last snowed. It has been cold, by local standards. Typical day temperatures around 6 degrees Celsius and nights around freezing, with some black ice. The days have been clear, for a week. A good respite from the wild, windy storms that hammer this first piece of land that they encounter coming off the Atlantic. We have had 2 storms with winds between 50 and 85 mph, to date. The girls bravely go down the driveway, and wait for the bus. Occasionally I will drive them to the school, as I do for Stephen. The days have been brilliantly clear and crisp.

Yesterday, Summer celebrated her thirteenth birthday, with four Irish girls from her school. Justine asked them if they would go to college, and they all said yes. Typically, a large percent of children do go on to college, in part because it is pretty cheap. They take exams for the last few weeks of high school, which are graded by a point system. The highest scores on the test get into the most competitive fields, for instance medicine. This is called the "Leaving Cert." for leaving certificate. Patients often ask me for a "cert." when they are sick and can't go to work of school. The girls have big tests this week and next, in their twelve school subjects.

We celebrated Thanksgiving, even managing to find some turkey. Justine cooked up a big feast. I worked, and the kids had school. Somebody anonymously dropped off a box of cookies on our front doorstep. We have been given fresh lobsters, crabs, salmon and homemade jam, from this kind community.

The Celtic Tiger, No More

We arrived in Ireland in September, when the news was bad about the countries' economy. The unemployment rate has been well into the teens, and the bank most people around here use had been nationalized, due to bad debt. Does this scenario sound familiar? It is worse than in the USA, where by most measurements, the unemployment rate peaked at 10%, and the economy has bottomed out, and is in a slow recovery phase. Here, the economy has gotten worse, each month.

It all started with the Celtic Tiger. This was the name given to the country's roaring economy during the last decade. Ireland had never seen its' economy accelerate and grow like it did then. Houses appreciated astronomically, often to one million euros. The banks loaned money to virtually anyone, without checks and balances. People bought second homes, villas in Spain and elsewhere, There was a speculative frenzy, fueled by the banks and developers. Much of the money loaned out by banks in Ireland came from speculative monies from Germany and France. Do you remember when we all felt safe depositing our money in an institution with the highest regard? Then, the world economy slowed. Jobs were lost, and home values plummeted, often as much as 75%. Many of the patients that I see are of able bodies and minds who haven't worked for 2 years, collecting 200 euros per week, wishing that they had a job.

Then, the Irish government, with the ruling party Fianna Fail, nationalized some big banks, taking their private debt, and making it sovereign debt, to be paid back by the people of Ireland. They felt this was necessary, in order to prevent these banks from closing their doors. This decision is costing the country, many say impoverishing it, for years to come. The speculators, who gave monies to the banks to lend out, are getting paid back by the Irish populace. You might expect those who lent money to the banks to share in the losses. The government felt otherwise, turning this private debt into public debt, handcuffing this economy for years to come.
The Irish have developed an austerity program, in order to get rid of this debt, which is around 36% of their GDP, compared with the US debt which is under 10% of their GDP. This country is cutting expenditures and raising taxes. I am already taxed at 41%.

Ireland is part of the European Union, which, in a way, is like the United states. there is one currency, the Euro, and no border crossings per se. Germany is the economic powerhouse, still healthy with a low unemployment rate. Other EU countries are at vriable states of economic health. Greece got bailed out a while ago. Then, the EU came to Ireland, offering a bailout, which happened very quickly.With all the politics, it was and wasn't a surprise. The monies are loaned to support the ailing banks,as Ireland can't print money, which is how the USA is (fairly successfully, I might add) solving their crisis. The proud Irish cringed when they accepted this bailout, and many wonder if the government, with a 17% approval rating, has been making the right choices. I believe, in the USA and here, there are many bankers who behaved recklessly, and they should be in jail. Millions of people are affected by their mis behaviors, loosing their livelihoods.

In the last month, even with the bailout, the Euro has dropped in value from $1.40, to $1.30 and the US stock market is also dropping. The worries are that multiple other countries here may need financial help, and that the EU cannot bailout them all. If this developes, the world economy will suffer significantly. This state of affairs is changing almost daily, as we saw with the lead up to the Ireland bailout. There are big demonstrations happening in Ireland and Europe, as people are faced with the reality of a worsening recession. Nobody wants to see people suffer, I hope this economic crisis "settles down" as the Irish say.

Cashel, Ireland

Photo highlights, top to bottom:



Cashel church

Tombstone for woman who died at age 103

Paris, looking at vistas, including cemetery off in distance

Small blue pond, in front of the Twelve Bens (Na Beanna Beola, mountains of Connemara)

Coastal island

Old abandoned house, with tree shadow

Various old rock structures



Paris and I went for a hike around Cashel today. This is a small village not far from Carna. We parked in the local church parking lot. The church is 109 years old. We walked up in the hills behind the church. Interestingly, the cemetery is a half a mile up the hill from the church, in the middle of nowhere. We saw a grave for someone that lived to age 103.


The views from up the hill were incredible, up and down the coast, and inland. I should mention that the scenery is somewhat brown, not always the green that one expects when picturing Ireland. I hear that the hills change with the seasons, and this is true. Most of the trees have lost their leaves, and the ferns are brown. It was a bright sunny, albeit cool autumn day. We walked amongst the usual contingents of cows and sheep. We are becoming used to walking amongst the herds and flocks. Sometimes they startle us and sometimes vice verse. We could see the twelve Bens, an inland mountain range, and the coast, from Carna northward. On our descent, we found an abandoned house, complete with basic furnishings, slowly falling apart. We could only wonder who used to live there, out in the country, and what had happened to them.



Back home, we saw another great sunset. Amazingly, at this time of the year, we can see the sunrise to the southwest, over the sea, as well as the sunset, to the northeast, also over the sea!