Monday was Memorial Day, and my first parade with the Zor Shriners. It was fun, and the uniforms are really sharp, but I kind of stumbled on some of the tunes. To be fair, I only got them last Thursday, but I wish I played them better. No worries, though. We sounded good, and there's another parade on Sunday. I love being in a pipe band. There's no feeling in the world than being in the middle of 8 pipers, blasting "Scotland the Brave" with the whole crowd on their feet cheering. My heart swells every parade I march in. I wouldn't trade that feeling for anything.
Today I began my Irish language lessons with Dineen Grow. Dineen is a librarian at the UW Madison and was the one who got me the spot at Fitchburg Days. She's really great and is an amazing teacher. I think I'll be learning a lot form her, and hope that my Irish education can continue beyond this summer. The reason I'm taking Irish lessons is not purely for fun, although that is a factor. I just learned that my project for the Young Ambassador Program will be studying Irish music at the Taisce Cheol Dúchais Éireann, or Irish Traditional Music Archive. This is directly sponsored by Foras na Gaeilge, the Irish language advocacy group. Therefore, I (and the program) would like my Irish to be a bit more polished by the time I get over there. Of course, I won't be fluent (or anywhere near fluency), but at least I'll have a basic understand and grasp on the language that I am there to study.
The next big thing on my Celtic calendar is the Milwaukee Highland Games on June 7th. Highland Games are always fun, and I'm really looking forward to it...I just have to get off work first!
Friday, May 30, 2008
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