It has been about two weeks since all my fellow Champlainers and I arrived in Dublin. The first weekend was filled with various orientation activities including powerpoint presentations, scavenger hunts, group outings to a couple of pubs and a beautiful town outside of Dublin, called Bray. Anyway, after this activity filled weekend, Monday morning finally arrived.. the first day of classes. Of course everyone expects the first week to be a drag as it is usually entails awkward introductions, going over the syllabus, grading procedures, future assignments, etc etc. However Monday morning we were pleasantly surprised with our first class of the semester. It is called Cultural Immersion through Irish Music. Yes, we did do introductions and yes we did go over the syllabus, but this syllabus was different than most of the others we were going to receive the rest of the week. Yes, this syllabus was filled with grading procedures and future assignments, but it was also filled with various activities we were going to embark on over the semester. Some of these included making our very own traditional Irish drums, called bodhrans, learning how to play a few different instruments including the drum and a brass whistle, as well as attending various concerts/gigs throughout the semester. What a way to start off the semester! I'm sure all my fellow students were just as happy about all of this information as I was. Included in this syllabus was also an assignment to be done throughout the semester which would be our individual creative projects. It is an open-ended project, meaning each student may decide on their topic and content themselves. For my creative project.. well this is it! I am starting a blog which will feature all of our activities we embark on in our music class this semester. Whether it be a reflection on our instrument lessons or reviews of the Irish music concerts/gigs we attend this semester. For those of you interested in hearing about Irish Culture through the Sounds of Music, please enjoy!
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