Day Eight - 18/9/2012 - Cork

     Made my own version of Irish breakfast with pan-seared pork sausage, baked rashers, toasted soda bread with blackcurrant jam, scrambled eggs, and, of course, breakfast tea.  The International Education Office at UCC was holding a welcome meeting at noon, which I thought would be useful.  On the way there, we passed the main gates, a wrought iron gate with the University crest inlaid, and two impressive stone arches that control access into the campus.  The UCC crest displays a ship between two towers, representing Cork's status as a port where ships may always find safe harbor, a golden lion, the symbol of Queen Victoria (UCC was established as Queen's College), and finally three crowns arranged in a triangle on a blue background, the flag of Munster, the province in which Cork is located.
     There were many students from other EU countries who were here as part of the Erasmus program, which I gathered to be a language exchange program of sorts for students in the EU visiting other EU universities.  There were people from Germany, France, Finland, Denmark, Singapore, and a few students from the US.  I met a masters student from San Francisco and some undergraduates from Colorado.  After the welcome meeting, which gave me a slightly better idea of what I was getting into but really just let me know that I needed to attend orientation the following day, we had a walking tour of the city.  Our tour guides explained to us that nobody really leaves Cork without picking up some of the Cork accent, which can be hard even for other Irish people to understand.  They also explained that everyone in Cork speaks very fast, and there is loads of slang.  People in Ireland are always saying, "That was good craic" (pronounced "crack"), or "Let's have some craic", or "Great craic!".  It was explained that the country is not full of drug addicts but that craic is the Irish word for fun.  It was all great craic.
     During the walking tour, the best pubs and clubs were pointed out, along with cheap groceries and good places to buy bedding and the like.  While we were standing in front of the Courthouse, a popular meeting spot for people coming into Cork due to its relatively central location and proximity to many good pubs, we heard Adele's "Set Fire to the Rain" blasting, echoing up and down the streets.  Thinking it was some annoying teenager in their car, I turned in surprise to see a white van with a glass panel back containing a living room, complete with armchair, table, hanging lamp, and tea set glued to the table.  IKEA was printed in large blue letters along the truck.  Our tour guide pointed out in confusion that there was no IKEA in Cork, but only one in Dublin.
     The group of international students went to a place called Captain America's on South Main Street because they agreed to give us 2 for 1 lunches.  I got chile con carne, which came served atop a pile of rice, but was still pretty tasty (and spicy), and, like everything else in Ireland, came with chips.  Afterwards, we walked to Tesco express, which was a convenience store form of Tesco, and visited Alex, one of the UC students at Victoria Lodge, part of the UCC accommodation.  While there, we turned on the television and saw Spongebob Squarepants come in.  After watching for a few minutes, we realized the voice actors were all different.  Spongebob had been dubbed in Irish!  The Irish government has instituted a program in which Irish students must take 2 years of Irish in order to preserve the language, and in recent years it has become more popular in the larger cities to learn and speak Irish.  We concluded that the government must have paid to dub the show.  After Spongebob, Wipeout came on, termed Wipeout USA.  The show had not been dubbed, containing the original voices, but there was Irish commentary (which we could not understand at all) that made the show even more entertaining.
     That evening, the group of us returned to campus for a free movie night in a lecture hall.  They showed Once, an independent film made in Dublin on an incredibly low budget that won an Oscar for its music.  The film was set in Dublin, and I was able to recognize some of the streets and parks.
     We met up with some more friends from UC orientation, Melina and Andrew, and we all headed to a pub that Alex had been to before, the Flying Enterprise in Sullivan's Quay.  It was about 9pm when we entered,  which, as we quickly learned, is very late for food in Cork.  Most pubs serve food only between 4 and 7pm.  Luckily, the Flying Enterprise still had some sandwiches left.  I got a beef sandwich that came in quarters.  The presentation at most pubs and cafes so far has been phenomenal.  The pub itself is hugely interesting, and I will be returning for a more in-depth look, but it is a museum housing the remains of the sunken ship it was named for.  The walls have fragments of the ship, including blueprints and photos of the actual wreck.  Our table ordered pints of Murphy's with our food, so I got to try Cork's own brand of stout.  It tastes less carbonated than Guinness, with a wheat-like finish rather than a coffee taste.  It's called liquid bread.
     Afterwards, we went to Door 51 on Grand Parade, which is where a group of the international students went after the movie.  They had drinks deals for the students.  UCC has a Student Body associated nightclub that I have yet to visit.  What a different culture.