Hello everybody! My name is Fay and I would just like to begin this introduction by stating how I know absolutely NOTHING about Ireland, its history, political background, or writing style. A few interesting things about myself are that I am a licensed EMT going to college to become a surgeon. I am also a combat medic in the United States Army, and I am fluent in basic American Sign Language. Besides the obvious reasons, I took this course because, though I lack any knowledge of Irish writing, I love English and was looking for a way to expand my knowledge of literature and thought that a class on Irish literature would be a good place to start. My favorite novel of all time is The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand. After discovering the novel my sophomore year of high school it has always been the book that I come back to year after year. Something about the main character Howard Roark and his passion and drive to continue fighting for what he believes in, even when the whole world is against him, always inspires and comforts me. Although I try not to fixate on a certain type of writing, I tend to gravitate towards fiction. I find that when I open a book I hope to find in it something that leaves me feeling inspired and a little bit wiser for it.
Unfortunately I have not taken an English class since my senior year of high school when I took AP English, so my experience is a little lacking in the English department. My knowledge of literature is geared more towards classical, however I am an avid reader of all forms of literature, except apparently Irish. This being an entirely online English class I am unsure of how it will work, and am especially curious as to how the class will come together to discuss these novels. As I said earlier, I know nothing about Ireland, so I will be little help to the class in that aspect. Nonetheless, my mother was born and raised in England and her European history is much better than mine so I am hoping for her to shed light on any questions I have regarding its history.
It may come as a shock to everybody, but I am not, nor have I ever belonged to any online community. I guess you could say that I am antisocial. I have never understood the interest in these communities, so it is fair to say that I am highly inexperienced when it comes to online communities. Having said that, it should not come as a shock to hear that I am a little anxious to see how this blog will go.
In my life I have traveled to many places throughout the world, but the most amazing place that I have visited has to be Petra, Jordan. Putting the blistering heat aside, being able to ride through the city of stone that has so much history behind it was absolutely incredible. I’m not going to lie, I felt a little like Indiana Jones riding through Petra on a camel and seeing the amazing structures, minus all the Nazis. (This picture, nor any others that I found, do Petra justice).
I know that it is not very original, but not being a very computer dependent person, the site that I frequent the most often, besides my email, is www.youtube.com. Although I mostly visit the site for entertainment purposes, it is also my good source for current events and news.
I came across this Irish commercial awhile back and no matter how many times I watch this video I cannot help but laugh at how ridiculous it is. I just hope that the form of entertainment the Irish use in their toy industry is not mirrored in their writing style.J
Hi Fay!
ReplyDeleteWow! That commercial is just wrong...on so many levels...
Glad to have you in the class. I think it's exciting that your Mom is from England. English and Irish history is so inextricably linked, and it is difficult to understand one without the other.
Hi Fay,
ReplyDeleteThat commercial is hilarious...and wrong! I think it's so interesting that many European countries have much less censorship or prudish attitudes towards what they show on TV.
What made you decide you wanted to become a surgeon? What's your undergrad major? I was pre-med when I was an undergrad but changed my mind after becoming a nurse and working for a while. I often wonder though if I'll ever go back. Surgery is definitely an interesting area of medicine.
Online classes are usually pretty good so I think this class will be fun.
Hello Fay,
ReplyDeleteWell welcome to the wonderful world of the web and every bit of nonsense that goes with it. Be glad that you haven't been sucked into the nonsense that is social networking... yet. Beware those who come bearing friend requests or something like that.
It's good to see someone with a military career in the class. Everything that you do for the soldiers, here and overseas, is greatly appreciated. A lot of my friends and family have and are serving right now and I like knowing that they're in good hands. It's also nice to know that I'm not the only one who hasn't had a lot of English since high school. I can definitely understand what you mean about fiction. I'm much the same way myself, expecting to leave a book with more than I went into it with.
English and Irish history are inexorably linked so it should come in real handy having your mom to help you out with that side of things at least. And don't be afraid of hitting the Celtic Studies Department down at the campus with questions. A lot of the staff there is from Ireland, one from Scotland too if I remember correctly, and they all love to give tidbits of insight about history and culture.
And like Dreamer said, this should be a whole lot of fun, even if it is only online.
Here's to a good start,
WS
Hi Fay,
ReplyDeleteI think it is so cool that you have been to Petra and Jordan. I'm sure it was an amazing experience. I would love to hear more about it or see more pictures. The only places that I have been to outside of the United States are France and England. I have so many places that I still want to visit and I hope I get a chance to travel more often in the future. I'm studying at UWM to become a teacher and I think it would be so incredible to teach abroad for a couple years. I've been looking into teaching in South Africa.
My cousin Steve was also a combat medic in the United States Army. I am so grateful for all of our United States soldiers. I'm sure you have learned a lot from that experience. Becoming a surgeon is a very admirable aspiration. What inspired you to become a surgeon? It is a very noble job. I wish you the best of luck.
I feel like we are all on the same page about having little knowledge about the Irish tradition. Hopefully we will feel differently at the end of the semester.
I'm also curious, where in England did your mom grow up? Has she ever been to Ireland? I have been obsessed with England ever since I went to go visit and as you can tell by my display name (Lucy in the Sky) I'm obsessed with the Beatles. I got to visit Abbey Road which for me, was awesome.
Looking forward to online discussions with you in the future.
Best,
Nicole Gehrman
Hi Fay!
ReplyDeleteAre you Active duty, then? If so, where are you stationed? I wish I would have been adventurous enough to take courses while I was in (although I did try out University of Phoenix for a brief period- I don't want to bash anything, but I was NOT impressed)I was stationed at Ft. Story, VA from 2004-2008.
It's a beautiful little post- although there's some people who lived in the area their whole lives and didn't even know the post was there. That's really good that you are doing something in the Army that actual relates to what you are doing (and working towards) in your civilian career. I ended up in Transportation (before I even had a driver's license!) as a girl who wanted to be a teacher...that's what happens when you aren't assertive enough, I suppose.
Your trip through Jordan sounds amazing. I would love to have had that experience. Camels and all, huh? That's not something you get an opportunity to do very often!
There's quite a few people just like you who haven't been hooked into the online social networking yet. It's very much an addiction. You're perfectly happy now without any, but if for some reason you were to sign up for one, it would suck you in! My sister used to be completely against it, claiming she was "too old" (at 32! I had to explain to her again and again that I'm Facebook friends with some of my friend's GRANDMAS, ha ha!)but she broke down one day and joined. Now she's just as attached as the rest of us, sucker :P I was new to this blogging thing too, so I admit that even with my experience with the other sites, I was a little intimidated about this requirement. So far, so good though! I think it's going to work out just fine.
Oh and by the way, I can't get over that commercial!!! That's definitely something that could only be done in a foreign country :P
ReplyDelete