Last Week In Dublin!

Hello everyone! Today is the 11th, which means 7 days until I go home. It feels like I've been in Dublin for a long time, and yet the semester went by so fast. I'm trying to get my screenplay revised by Monday, but it's so much more work than I though, especially since I draft was 50 pages short >.< I'm growing tired and restless of writing. The draft is due Monday, along with all the short documents, by 11 am. Once that is done I have to start my Irish Cinema paper.

Last week was the final week of classes. I had one last theater review to hand in for Irish Drama and a group presentation. I was in a group with two of my roommates and we did our presentation on the play Disco Pigs. We also has a guest speaker, the writer of Freefall, a play we saw the week before.

The last day of screenwriting was Wednesday. Colin gave a talk about producers and how to make it in the industry. Our final movie screening was It's A Wonderful Life. Half of us were crying at the end; that movie has the happiest ending ever. Colin took us out for drinks afterward.

Irish Cinema ended on Thursday. We watched the film Adam & Paul bought two drug users spending a day in Dublin trying to get their next fix. Afterwards the director of the film came in the talk to us.

Since then I've been trying to revise my script.

Our group is doing a Secret Santa. Tuesday and Thursday we had to give gifts under 2 euro along with a clue. My Secret Santa got me socks and some cute cellphone charms. Our final exchange is on Monday at our "Tischmas" Party. Even though there's no classes next week, we have the music video screenings and our script readings. Plus paper writing.

Good luck to those with finals!

Retreat Tomorrow!

Hello everyone. Tomorrow is the retreat for all the Screenwriting students. I'm very excited. We've all been looking forward to this trip for awhile. The place we are staying at has a full kitchen, sauna, and a hot tub! There isn't any free wifi and only three laptops that my teacher is bringing will have internet. That's fine by me though. The internet can be so distracting, especially if we're trying to write a feature.

I had fallen behind in my screenwriting work, and for the past two days I've also developed a cold. Luckily, earlier this week I cracked down and re-vised my treatment and started writing a few pages. I've been worrying about my story too much. Colin says I have it all there. It seems that I'm writing a psychological thriller of sorts, which is fine by me.

Yesterday morning I went with some of my classmates to see the new Harry Potter movie. I won't spoil it for those who haven't seen it, but it was amazing! It is probably one of the best in the series so far. I didn't want it to end! I definitely would recommend it.

I'm bring my camera with me to the retreat. I haven't taken pictures in so long. I'm sure where we'll be staying will be very scenic and photo-worthy.

Day Trip to Belfast and Halloween Weekend

Hello friends. I know this post is long overdue. This week I had a treatment due for my screenplay, plus I been tired. Last weekend on Saturday Tisch took us on a day trip to Belfast, Northern Ireland. The trip was lead by the Irish History professor Tommy Graham. We left at 8 AM, but no one was happy with getting up at 7 AM. I fell asleep on the bus and woke up right when it was time to get off the bus. It was really cold up in Belfast. Tommy took us on a tour of the political murals in the city. They each highlight an important in Northern Irish history, especially during the Troubles.

These murals are all over the city. Belfast is literally divided between Catholics and Protestants (British Loyalists). There is a "peace wall" that divides them. When we first arrived we were on the Catholic side. We were all nervous, especially since Tommy was talking very loudly about history and we were afraid of offending someone. He took us to see a few more murals and cemetry.

Tommy then took us to the Loyalist neighborhood. It didn't look that much different, except for the British flags waving around. Tommy took us to one suburb where there was a few Loyalist murals.

After the political mural tour we all stopped for lunch at the Crown Bar, courtesy of Tisch (thank god I didn't have to spend money in British pounds). The food was good, and we got our own private booths. Belfast's city centre looks a lot more European that Dublin does, I guess cause it's under Britain. After lunch Tommy took us to the old Parliament building, and then we went to the Ulster Transportation Museum. I guess we were supposed to see a Titanic exhibit because it was built in Northern Ireland, but the exhibit was closed for renovations. So we just walked around looking at planes, trains, and automobiles (and bicycles too).

A real de Lorean! They were made in Northern Ireland

After the museum we went back to Dublin. I went out Saturday night in Temple Bar with some friends. Dublin has been celebrating Halloween all week, and Saturday night Temple Bar was crowded with costumed people. It was like Halloween in NYC, except this was the day before Halloween. All the bars were crowded. We didn't stay out for too long, and when we came back we watched Paranormal Activity in my room. That was a scary movie. We were screaming by the end.

I didn't go out on Halloween. The Screenwriting kids had a treatment due Monday, so that's what we were all doing. Except Colin changed the deadline to Wednesday, but I still didn't go out.

This week was a good one. Our Irish Theater class took place in the Irish Museum of Modern Art. We looked around at a exhibit before having class in the museum cafe. Wednesday in Screenwriting Colin brought in his friends who directed the film Cherrybomb (starring Rupert Grint) and they talked to us about their experience making the film.

I did some shopping today before going to Tisch to watch Pirates of the Caribbean (the first one) with the screenwriting class.


44 days left!

Procrastination....

Hello everyone. This weekend I was supposed to be a good student and write a review for a play we saw in class and start my paper for Irish Cinema. However, I'm super lazy and tend to procrastinate a lot. I should at least write my review because it is due Tuesday and it's only 500 words. But I find that I do not like writing reviews because I'm not good at writing in a critical sort of way. I'm choosing to write a review on The Plough and The Stars, because that is the only play we've seen so far that I liked. We saw The Silver Tassie this week, also written by the same man who wrote The Plough and The Stars. However, The Silver Tassie was very boring and I didn't have any attachment to the characters. We had cool balcony seats though.

Last week in Irish Drama we looked at Samuel Beckett, who was an avant-garde playwright in the 50s. His plays are very contemporary and experimental. I think I'd be very interested in his work, even though I'm not much of a theater person. Last night we saw a Beckett play called An Act Without Words II. The audience, which was very small, met up at a hotel and we were taken to the site of the play, which was in an alley behind the theater. All we saw was two sleeping bags and a neat pile of clothes. A door opens with a beam of light, and a pole pokes the first sleeping bag, and it is revealed that someone is waking up inside it. The performance was only a half hour, and there were no words. It was just two men waking up, putting on the clothes, taking them off, and curling back into the sleeping bags. The actors were great. I actually like it because I felt like I wasn't watching a performance. The rest of my friends didn't really like it. They complained it was a waste of 15 euro, and that they could watch the same thing for free in the streets of New York. But I guess Beckett really isn't for everyone.

I'm really excited because my fall break is next week! We leave for Paris on Saturday!

The Plough and The Stars

Production still from The Plough and The Stars

Hello everyone! Yesterday I had my Contemporary Irish Theater class. We had to read an Irish play called The Plough and The Stars by Sean O'Casey. It was such a boring read---I didn't really retain what I was reading after awhile. However, we were going to see the play at the Abbey Theater after class. I wasn't too enthusiastic about seeing a play, especially since it's 4 acts.

The play is set I think during the first World War, where Ireland is trying to liberate itself from the British. It follows a group of people who live in a tenement in Dublin. It shows how the war affects them all.

Lemme tell you, I was amazed by this play. All of us had second row, which was really good seats. The play was so much better to watch than to read. And the performances were amazing. Every actor/actress did a brilliant job, no matter how long they were on stage for. And the last 3 acts were completely heartbreaking. I nearly cried. One part of the play was so sad, and some teenagers in the audience started laughing, which took me out a little bit. All of us really enjoyed it regardless.

I have a big weekend to look forward to! Tisch is taking us to the Aran Islands and Galway!

Immigration and Penelope

Hello friends! Yesterday all the screenwriting students had to be at the Tisch Office by 10 am so we could all head to immigration to get our Irish ID cards. When we first came into the country the immigration officer gave us a stamp telling us when we needed to get our ID cards. Some lucky bastards got a stamp that lasted until they had to go home. My stamp said I had one month from the arrival date.

I forgot my passport so me and my classmate Anthony went back to our rooms to get out passports, then we had to go to the immigration office. We had to wait in line for a number, then wait hours just to get called. When I got there they were calling 100. My number was 236. While waiting I went to a nearby park with my class, went back to the office, got lunch, dozed off in the waiting room, and sat around waiting for my number. When I was finally called I had to show my acceptance letter and pay 150 Euro (about $190) for the card. That was annoying.

Then I had to wait another hour just to get my passport and ID. What was even more annoying was that the man giving out the passport and IDs took his sweet time. We all got to class late, so Colin taught us until 7pm.

Today I was tired and not in the mood for class. I didn't do all of the reading for Irish Theatre but I was able to bullshit like I did. Tonight we had to see a play as a requirement for the class. The play was called Penelope and it was a take on the story about Odysseus' wife Penelope and how she was pursued by different men while he was gone. The play is set at the bottom of a drained pool, where four men try to win Penelope's love before her husband comes home. I couldn't get into it because I was so tired, but it seemed alright. I wish I could see it again so I could have appreciate it better.

Night Out in Dublin

Hello friends. Yesterday was a fun day. After Screenwriting I went with Kasey and Kathleen in search of the supermarket Tesco. It has more stuff and is cheaper than the markets we live near. Kasey looked up the directions on Google Maps and we attempted the mile walk.

Since we are not familiar with the area, we got a little lost in a neighborhood. It wasn't so bad because I really enjoyed looking at all the houses. They were so cute!

We did a lot of going one way and realizing we went the wrong way so we'd turn back. Eventually we got on the right track and made it to the main road where Tesco was. I saw another rainbow on the way. We stopped in a beauty store called Boots, and I got hair ties, shaving cream, and lotion.  The interesting thing about the Irish is that they hardly use plastic bags. If you ever buy something in a store, the cashier will either ask you if you want a bag or just won't give you one unless you say so. Everyone uses the re-usable bags, carry their stuff, or bring their own bags. I had brought my big purses to carry groceries, but in the end I bought a re-usable bag from Tesco.

I bought a lot more stuff like meat, vegetable, milk, orange juice, bananas, bagels, soda, and pasta. The last time I went shopping it cost me 50 Euro. This time it cost me 29 Euro and I think I bought more stuff, if not the same amount. Regardless, I should be well fed for awhile.

Later that night a few people wanted to go out bar hopping. We pre-gamed with cheap vodka Ellis bought, and then went out to an area where there was lots of young people hanging out. We stopped in one bar that was filled with people our age and had great music. I only bought one drink because they were a little pricey there. We were trying to look for some people we could meet, but approaching people in bars is kinda awkward. Stephanie and Kathleen spotted two boys heading over to the smoking section and immediately went to try and talk with them. Paulo also went with them? Me, Ellis, and Natalie just sat waiting for them, but Paulo returned saying the four of them were taking. So we walked over to see them. Sure enough, Kathleen and Stephanie were talking to the two guys, who later introduced themselves as Sean and David. They looked young, but they had to be over 18.

Next to those four were two men. One of them was really drunk and starting talking to us, so we told them we were from the US. The drunk one was from England, and I assumed his sober friend was from the area. The drunk guy was amusing, until he started getting annoyed with Ellis for no reason and starting mocking him. His sober friend apologized on his behalf, but I'm sure we've all been in that situation before.

We all left the bar with Sean and David, having no idea where they were taking us. As it turns out, there is one street where is a bunch of clubs all in a row, and they took us to one. We found out it was a club because it was 5 Euro to get in. That's cheaper that getting into a club in NYC, which is usually $20, $10 if you go before a certain time. The club was pretty much empty even though is was after midnight, but when we went down to the dance floor it got crowded fast.

Paulo, Me and Ellis

Ellis, Me and Stephanie (with Paulo in the back?)

At first the music was lame, then it got really good and we started dancing. Then after an hour the music got lame again, then repeated the same songs as before. By 2 am me, Ellis, and Natalie were tired and ready to leave but Kathleen and Stephanie were having fun with their new found friends. The three of us including Paulo went outside to wait for them to come out. The street was filled with people leaving or going into clubs at 3 AM. While sitting outside we met 2 French people and a guy looking for weed. It reminded me so much of New York City. Kathleen and Stephanie found us. Kathleen got David's number and Stephanie got Sean's. It made me and Ellis miss our boyfriends a whole lot. We all walked home (still filled with drunk people going home) and didn't get back until after 3:30 am.

I didn't expect to be out so late. I had class at 2pm today so it wasn't a big deal, but I was a little tired. I had Contemporary Irish Cinema with Susanne, who is the director of the program. The class is interesting, but sitting in a lecture is so exhausting.

Walking Tour of Dublin

Hello everyone! This morning I woke up at 4 am and have been up since ^^; Good news is that it had stopped raining! It was still cloudy, but I saw patches of blue sky. I hope it'll be sunnier soon.

At 10 am all of us walked to the Trinity College main gates to meet with the Irish History & Politics professor. Even though we're not all in his class we had to go anyway. He took us to the Bank of Ireland,  and area in temple Bar, Dublin Castle, Christ Church, and then back to Tisch. At each location he spoke extensively about the history of the place we were at. It was interesting at first, but my feet started to hurt from standing a lot so eventually I lost interest.

Trinity College

Inside the Bank of Ireland there was this mini-model of the Bank of Ireland

Dublin Castle (which isn't much of a castle)

I forgot what building this was >.<

Christ Church

At 2 pm I had my Contemporary Irish Theater class. The teacher is named Sara Keating. I'm not sure how interested in the class I'll be. The lecture is pretty boring. We analyzing plays, which isn't too hard, but sometimes the other students have more insight that I do. The cool thing about this class is that we're going to see a play once a week (because the class is once a week). We got quite a bit of reading this week. I'm lazy and dislike assigned reading. Oh Nelly, get over it XD

On my way back with my suitemates it started raining a lot for 10 minutes. Then we saw a rainbow.

It made my day.

First Day of Class!

Another cold, rainy day

Hello friends, and Happy Monday! And for all you Americans, Happy Labor Day! My first day of class was cold and rainy :( It's gonna be like this all week. And probably next week too.

I woke up at 10 to get a fresh start with bland cereal and some vanilla yogurt. I watched True Blood before getting ready for class. I was really excited to wear my new outfit, even though it's gross out.

I LOVE my new Star Wars sweater. I bought it at an H&M in New York City. Anyway, I thought my fellow classmates would all leave together, but only Sourabh was still around. We didn't leave Griffith until after 1:30 pm, and we power-walked to get there on time. Well, I did. Sourabh is tall so he just strolled while I scurried behind him. We made it on time, thank god. Next time I'm leaving at 1 pm.

My screenwriting teacher is named Colin McKewon. He's from North Ireland so his accent is different. I'm excited about this semester. It's going to be very writing-intensive. Colin says we'll go on a 4-day writer's retreat up in his hometown, which is 2 hours out of Dublin in the country. We'll spend most of our days writing and talking with professional writers.

Colin just wants us to write in notebooks he gave us. It could be anything, we just have to "exercise our writing muscles." I love to write, but I never have to discipline. Maybe this will help me gain some, and I can finally write my screenplay for Experimental Film in the Spring. We did some writing exercises, like writing every letter of the alphabet and then using each letter to begin a word for a story in alphabetical order. We also played different "Guess That Movie" games, like figuring out titles by looking at Polish movie posters. Colin also says that he will write a feature length screenplay with us as well. We're not supposed have ideas yet because he wants us to start from scratch. I have one idea, but maybe I will come up with a whole new one too.

After class I did some grocery shopping. I have enough food to last me awhile, so I don't have to go out to eat. Maybe I'll do that once a week. I also bought a bottle of Bailey's =). First time buying alcohol and I didn't even get carded. I also bought some chocolate milk to have with it. That should be my alternative to pubs (probably not XD), but I can enjoy a delicious drink in my room.

I have an early bedtime. Tomorrow morning everyone is going on a tour of I think Trinity College. I also have my second class, Contemporary Irish Cinema, from 2-5pm.