home.

A short entry today to start off the weekend.  For as much as I had to post about yesterday, a whole lot happened today, too.  For one, and most importantly to making Galway a second-third-or-fourth home (I lost count after Yellow Springs), today was the first official Formal Friday I've celebrated.  Last week was a little weird because no one had any idea what day it was and I forgot because I was in a really bad mood.  But I was determined to remember today!

Today I wore my thrift-store polka-dots, Julia leggings, Linda tank top, free box sweater, Mom necklace, saint bracelet from Casey, hiking boots, and Striz Sister hat.

I went to class, to Dunnes (tip: never go grocery shopping hungry!  You'll end up with more than you can fit in your backpack and have to look like a dork sliding around in the mud, trying not to drop your bagels, lettuce, and stuffed pasta), ate a box of raspberries, did a lot of dishes, and started a load of laundry while Amy was in class.  When she got back, we headed out to town to see some churches and hit up the Claddagh ring museum.

 Exterior of Galway Cathedral.

 

Interior of Galway Cathedral.

On our quest for St. Nicholas Episcopal Church and the Cathedral, we found two other little churches as well.  Honestly, from the moment I walk into these places, dip my fingers into the usually-freezing bowl of holy water, an almost magical feeling washes over me.  It's a feeling that's difficult to grasp, and more difficult still to string into coherent phrases.  In my art history class, the professor tried to get us to look at buildings and works of art like this through the eyes of the people who experienced them before us: to see the gigantic crucifix, the terror and uncertainty of Judgment Day, and to really experience that same sense of awe, of gratitude, love, devotion, and fear.  At first I thought she was certifiably insane, but the more slides we looked at, the more days I spent in the Medieval & early Renaissance room in the AMAM, the more I think I began to understand.  

St. Therese.

Art (in this case: religious art) is a form of expression--of love, devotion, respect--and it also evokes expression.  Here I am, writing a convoluted blog entry about my ~feelings~ after seeing all this art.  I was inspired to start playing viola at Newman Mass after hearing someone sing a beautiful Ave Maria at Midnight Mass my freshman year.  I guess what I'm trying to say is that, when I look at all these magnificent cathedrals with their stained windows, expansive space, ornate organs, all of it, even though there is some merit to criticizing it as frivolous luxury, I feel closer to and more comfortable with my own spirituality.  I feel connected, and I understand.  So, even if it doesn't seem like I'm making any sense, I know where I'll be going to Mass on Sunday, and that, like Formal Friday, is one more step closer to feeling like home.

Goals for the weekend:

Find the Farmers' Market and buy delicious cheese/bread

Go to Mass at the Cathedral

Do more exploring/museum fun

Join societies & clubs
FIND SOME TRAD IT'S ABOUT TIME SERIOUSLY

Bus tour up to Cliffs of Moher/Canamara?