Drama workshop
"Leave at home everything you think you know about acting" was what Tine told us before she started her drama workshop and it serves well as the capture of this very interesting adventure. And so we did - or at least tried to do. We all (and this includes participants from the Achill 2000 Project as well as islanders) enjoyed ourselves, got to know each other a little better and gained some first experience in acting. This was not about posing though, not about trying to be somebody else on stage but about having a purpose, being tense - about acting and reaching. By now I don't know how I would act out Hamlet (Tine's favorite example) but I may know just a little about how to be on stage without looking like I do not belong there. Furthermore we tried to let our bodies talk rather than our voices and tried to find out (similar to an intercultural experience) how we could match together best. All in all it was a lot of laughter, strange movements, imagination and - fun!by Anne Mevenkamp
Visiting a Gaelic Class
Many of our group are interested in different languages and their characteristics and we decided to go and visit a Gaelic class. We contacted McHale College and they invited nine of us to attend the lessons on Thursday afternoon. First we had to have a lottery on who can go because so many people were willing to participate.The nine lucky ones of us took a taxi to the school at 2 p.m. on Thursday. We found the entrance after minor difficulties and entered the building. My first expression was that I was 15 years younger and back in my own school. The building was old with narrow aisles and small classrooms, very cosy and homely. We wandered back and forth trying to find the right class or a person who could show us where to go. Finally, we were taken to a classroom full of students aged between 13 and 14.
After we had introduced ourselves, two girls volunteered and started teaching some basics of Gaelic to us. We learnt how to say 'Hello', 'How are you?', 'Thank you' and to introduce ourselves. We also were taught the weekdays and how to count to ten. Then it was our turn to tell about our countries. The pupils heard facts and characteristics of Sweden, Greece, Germany, Iran, Finland and the southern part of England. After that we went on to visit another Gaelic class and to talk about our cultures.
The visit was enjoyable and I believe that the students got something out of it as well as us. It was enlightening to see what a small school in the outer regions of Ireland is like and to have a look on the everyday education in another country. Both the students and the teachers made us feel welcome and we have to thank them for giving us a chance to make the visit.
Is maith an scéalaí an aimsir
"There is no fireside like your own fireside":
Níl aon tinteán mar do thinteán féin
"A friend's eye is a good mirror":
Is maith an scáthán súil charad
"Praise the young and they will blossom":
Mol an óige agus tiocfaidh sí
"There are two sides to every story and twelve versions of a song":
Bíonn dhá insint ar scéal agus dhá leagan déag ar amhrán
Irish Music Performance
Our week here in Achill had progressed fast - by Thursday we had gotten to know the island, some of the people, foods and beer, the weather... all that was needed now for a complete picture of life on Achill Island was the music. The chance to see a live performance of traditional Irish music came along that night when Kieran, Kevin, and John brought their instruments to the hostel to give us a taste of Irish Folk. At first we were treated to several songs played with the accordion and the Uilean Pipes - the latter are not to be confused with Scottish bag pipes since they enable you to play two and not just one ocatve as Kieran explained to us. We learned that most traditional Irish songs are rather melancholic because they were often written by men away from their country and loved ones. Many of them are never actually written down on paper and thus don't have any names but are being passed on from generation to generation. Melancholic or not, they were most certainly very danceable tunes and I for one regretted not having any room to dance, especially when John joined the performance with his tin whistle and Shuna, our landlord's daughter, got out her fiddle as well. After being treated to Irish songs two students from the Swedish group, Kimmo and Hanna, shared in as well, and performed several Swedish songs for everyone around to enjoy. It was interesting to see how music transcends language as well as age barriers and how a lively discussion about the music and instruments rounded up the evening.by Katrin Uhl
Dr. Laurent Borgmann
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