Hi all-
My name is Marie. I'm a registered nurse with my BSN from UW-Madison in 2001. I'm currently a grad student in a dual degree program working on an MS Nursing and an MBA. This is my last semester. Three interesting facts about me would be...since 1996 I've moved about 13 times including to Florida and Arizona. Apparently I'm somewhat nomadic. I'm the first person in my mother's and father's families to go to college . A year ago I went to Ireland and loved it, my grandmother's family came from Ireland.
I signed up for the course because I'm currently fascinated by all things Irish. As I stated before, I had so much fun exploring in Ireland and I can't wait to go back. Really I just hope to get a better idea of the various cultures related to Ireland that has developed over the years.
My favorite novel remains, "Gone With The Wind". I read it when I was in high school and have loved it since. I've also read the supposed sequel, "Scarlett" and enjoyed that as well. I'm really a fan of almost any historical romance novel. Stephanie Laurens is my current favorite. As for my expectations in a book, I generally love a story that actually draws you in. The kind of novel where you actually feel like you are there and it almost plays out like a movie in your head.
The only college English courses courses I've taken were in my undergrad program. I took a basic composition course and a women in literature course. I think the biggest difference with an online literature course is just the interactions with classmates.
I don't have much of a background with Irish literature or literature in general. However, as I stated earlier, I went to Ireland last year and my grandmother is Irish. I've done a lot of geneology searching for that side of my family in trying to learn more and I learned a fair amount about Irish history during some of the tours from my trip last year.
As for other online communities, I'm on Facebook, Myspace, Linkedin, and a few various chat rooms and forums. I've had several online courses already and I find that online communication works well. I like being able to read other people's thoughts and opinions and love being able to respond openly. The only issues I've encountered with online communication is that telling the tone of a comment is difficult to interpret. Some discussions can become heated due to a misinterpretation. Also people tend to be less inhibited in their commentary which can sometimes become antagonistic.
At the top of my blog page is a picture from my trip to Ireland. This was from a hiking trip in the Glendalough (pronounced Glendalock) mountains. It was absolutely beautiful. This picture was taken in January and it was pretty cold, but everything was so green. I really want to go back again in spring/summer to see what it looks like then as well.
Not sure if these next answers were supposed to be somehow related to the course, but mine are not.
A website that I frequent would be http://www.woot.com/ . I like it because I love a good deal and they often have funny t-shirts.
Here is a youtube video I like because I think it's hysterical, probably because I have 3 cats myself. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiFLTP076Wg I think that humor is one of the most important things to have in life because it can help you get through just about anything. ;D
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Hello Celtic Dreamer,
ReplyDeleteI think it’s so cool that you have actually been to Ireland! That will probably make this class even more interesting for you. Travel is always a great way to open up your mind and learn about different cultures. It may even spark an interest in something you never expected. I also think Ireland is a dream vacation spot and it’s really neat that you got to go there.
13 is a big number and the fact that you’ve moved that many times must be either difficult or nice. It would be difficult because of all of the change, but it might be nice because of all the change. I guess it depends on how you feel about it.
I feel the same way about online communication as you do. I like it, but since tone is completely absent in email, IM, and texting, it makes it difficult to use sometimes. But, in today’s day and age, I really couldn’t imagine a world without it.
I think that the picture you have on the top of your blog is absolutely beautiful. I’m a photographer myself, and I love capturing the simple beauty of nature. I bet it would look even prettier in the springtime.
The cat video is hilarious! I love animals. I do not have any cats but I have a dog who is the biggest goof in the world. But I do love cats too. I also watched the Charlie bit my finger video. I think it has made my top 10 favorite list.
Hi Marie,
ReplyDeleteI love the way that you described how you enjoy novels that draw you in where you actually feel like you are there and it almost plays out like a movie in your head. I also feel that those are the type of novels that I enjoy reading as well. It takes a talented writer to engage readers to picture everything in their head. I feel that a lot of my favorite books have actually been made into movies (The Notebook, A Walk to Remember, The Other Boyeln Girl, Lovely Bones, The Da Vinci Code, Marley and Me etc) even though the movies have been good I always prefer the "movie" that I imagined in my head.
I can't wait to hear more about your experiences in Ireland. That is so cool that you have actually been there! Hopefully throughout the course you can share more about the little tid bits of culture that you experienced and observed while you were there. It's always the little things that fascinate me.
The picture that you took in Ireland is gorgeous. I've always heard that Ireland is a beautiful country. That is so funny that someone asked you if you were enjoying the "crack" in Ireland! It is so funny how countries are so different. I'm so interested in learning about different cultures and am looking forward to learning more from this course. When I was young a family from England moved in across the street. The neighbor told my mom that she couldn't wait for the cooker to move in (cooker means stove or oven apparently) for years I thought my English friends had a professional cook that lived with them!
Looking forward to learning with you this semester.
Best,
Nicole Gehrman
Celtic Dreamer,
ReplyDeleteI think it's wonderful that you've traveled to Ireland. I've always wanted to visit Glendalough, but I never had the opportunity when I was over there. What other places did you visit? You say you're currently interested in "all things Irish." What other aspects of the culture are you curious about? I love how you named your blog with an Irish title. It reminds me of what they post outside of pubs! Are you interested in learning the Irish language?
I just wanted to welcome you to the class. I hope it gives you more insight into Irish culture, and I look forward to working with you this semester.
Colleen
On my trip we spent most of the time in and around the Dublin area. We went to the Glendalough Mountains and tried to go the Wicklow Mountains but the gap to pass by bus was too icy. We also went to the oldest wool mill in the area but I'm blanking on the name right now.
ReplyDeleteI would love to learn how to do Irish dancing. I've been dancing Jazz, Hip Hop, and some Ballet since I was about 12. And I would absolutely love to speak Gaelic. I think it's a beautiful language and I'm sad that it's not more popular. Other than that, I really enjoy doing geneology searches and would like to continue my search with my Grandmother's family on my next trip to Ireland. On my last trip there I had a very limited amount of time to search, but did manage to find some new leads while in the library there.
As for the title, I thought it would be fun. That was another thing I enjoyed a lot while in Ireland was the fun and laughter at the Pubs...well that and the Jameson! ;D