Today was truly fantastic! We started off with breakfast, then off to class. Today our speaker was one of our profs, Charles MacQuarrie, linguist extraordinaire. He spoke about the background of Indo-European languages, then a bit about our first book up for discussion, the Tain Bo Cuailnge. After that we broke up into groups to start discussing the study questions Charlie had given us on the book (which is clearly his favorite; there are over 100 questions on this book and maybe 20 for each of the others).
Then, it was field trip time! We walked down the Promenade and tried to catch a ride on a horse tram, but ended up at the Electric Railway temrinal before we found one available. We took an hour-long ride up to Mount Snaefell, the highest point on the Isle. According to legend, one can see Man, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, England, the Irish Sea, and Heaven from the top of the mountain. Unfortunatley, Manannan's cloak kept us from seeing too far out. We spent about an hour exploring the mountaintop, which was amazingly green and mossy and springy and covered with sheep and battered by time and wind. When we came back down to Douglas, we caught a horse tram, which carried us back to the hotel.
At dinnertime, we headed to the Sea Terminal and boarded a crusie ship, which took us on a three hour tour of the Isle. We had a few setbacks, but all in all, the cruise was really enjoyable. We got to spend time together both as a whole group and mingling around in small groups. The Isle and the Irish Sea were both beautiful at night.
After that, some of us headed off for a pint at a spot near the sea...and here I am, back at home! Still having picture troubles (ARGH), so for now, keep checking that Facebook link back a couple of posts.
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