So this week in Sligo (and in some other cities as well) was something called Raise and Give week, or Rag week in short. Basically, this week is supposed to be about charity. Some activities in which you can participate in and donate money to charity that way, bars donating money for charity when buying certain products etc. But, what this week mostly is really about, is partying for almost one week straight.
There were all sorts of different parties organized in almost every bar and night club in town and some of them were open as early as 12 am.
On Monday, the first day of Rag week, I went to one of the bars near to my school and very popular among students, with my friend, just to see what this "infamous"Rag week is about. It was maybe 7 pm when we got there, and already many people were feeling rather, cheerful. But all in all, it was a nice night, met quite a lot of people we knew and all that. And it wasn't even nearly as crowded in the bars and pubs as it was in the last days of Rag week, which was really nice.
I went out with friends on couple other nights as well, though most of the parties that for example the night clubs were organizing, were a bit disappointing. If there was supposed to be any theme in any of the parties, you really couldn't tell. The only major difference to any other week was that it was a lot more crowded in the bars, especially in the last few days of Rag week.
It seems that the bars aren't too big on the themes of their parties, which is kinda sad. Especially when, for example this "White party", me and my friend actually bought some white clothes and got all dressed up, only to find out that very few people at the party were wearing anything white. But oh well, at least me and my friend can feel good about the fact that at least we did something for the theme.
All the time I've been here in Ireland, there's been talk about how much the Irish drink. And until Rag week, I would've said that the Irish drink just about as much as the Finns, nothing too shocking about their drinking habits. But Rag week, now that's something that the Irish beat Finns at, not even we have anything like this. A lot of people really seemed to be drinking the entire week, since I saw a lot of people already drinking when I for example walked to school or when I went to do the groceries early in the afternoon. What surprised me though, was the fact, that even though so many people were drinking a lot and many days in a row, there seemed to be very few more or less serious accidents. Or then I just haven't heard about them. I guess that's the difference between Ireland and Finland; if anything like Rag week were to arrange there, I'm sure a lot more people would get hurt, accidents would happen etc. So in a way, I am happy that we don't have it in Finland. But, it was still nice to experience it and see what it was about. And now that I think about it, maybe it wasn't as bad as I would have thought. But all in all, this week was incredibly interesting, both in the good and in the bad, with loads of random events happening when I was out with friends.
After Rag week ended, it was time for something completely different: Sports, and not just any sport, Gaelic football. I've always hated watching sports, it just doesn't interest me in any way. But for some reason, I really loved watching Gaelic football. It was first time ever seeing the game, and I have to say, it was very interesting. It was Sligo v Offaly, and at first, me and my friend were confused which team was which. But then, when we managed to figure it out, we could really get into the game. The game looks quite random, since it has elements from sports like basketball and football. And to be honest, we're still not entirely clear of the rules of the game, but since we are definitely going to see another match of this cool game, we're gonna do some research. And next time, following the game and more importantly, actually understanding what's going on in the game, will be a little easier.
Another sport I'm really interested in going to see, is hurling. Another Irish sport. It's weird, normally I'm not interested in watching sports, so I'm not exactly sure what is it with these Irish sports that makes even someone like me interested in them.
To finish up, here's a couple of photos from the match:
There were all sorts of different parties organized in almost every bar and night club in town and some of them were open as early as 12 am.
On Monday, the first day of Rag week, I went to one of the bars near to my school and very popular among students, with my friend, just to see what this "infamous"Rag week is about. It was maybe 7 pm when we got there, and already many people were feeling rather, cheerful. But all in all, it was a nice night, met quite a lot of people we knew and all that. And it wasn't even nearly as crowded in the bars and pubs as it was in the last days of Rag week, which was really nice.
I went out with friends on couple other nights as well, though most of the parties that for example the night clubs were organizing, were a bit disappointing. If there was supposed to be any theme in any of the parties, you really couldn't tell. The only major difference to any other week was that it was a lot more crowded in the bars, especially in the last few days of Rag week.
It seems that the bars aren't too big on the themes of their parties, which is kinda sad. Especially when, for example this "White party", me and my friend actually bought some white clothes and got all dressed up, only to find out that very few people at the party were wearing anything white. But oh well, at least me and my friend can feel good about the fact that at least we did something for the theme.
All the time I've been here in Ireland, there's been talk about how much the Irish drink. And until Rag week, I would've said that the Irish drink just about as much as the Finns, nothing too shocking about their drinking habits. But Rag week, now that's something that the Irish beat Finns at, not even we have anything like this. A lot of people really seemed to be drinking the entire week, since I saw a lot of people already drinking when I for example walked to school or when I went to do the groceries early in the afternoon. What surprised me though, was the fact, that even though so many people were drinking a lot and many days in a row, there seemed to be very few more or less serious accidents. Or then I just haven't heard about them. I guess that's the difference between Ireland and Finland; if anything like Rag week were to arrange there, I'm sure a lot more people would get hurt, accidents would happen etc. So in a way, I am happy that we don't have it in Finland. But, it was still nice to experience it and see what it was about. And now that I think about it, maybe it wasn't as bad as I would have thought. But all in all, this week was incredibly interesting, both in the good and in the bad, with loads of random events happening when I was out with friends.
After Rag week ended, it was time for something completely different: Sports, and not just any sport, Gaelic football. I've always hated watching sports, it just doesn't interest me in any way. But for some reason, I really loved watching Gaelic football. It was first time ever seeing the game, and I have to say, it was very interesting. It was Sligo v Offaly, and at first, me and my friend were confused which team was which. But then, when we managed to figure it out, we could really get into the game. The game looks quite random, since it has elements from sports like basketball and football. And to be honest, we're still not entirely clear of the rules of the game, but since we are definitely going to see another match of this cool game, we're gonna do some research. And next time, following the game and more importantly, actually understanding what's going on in the game, will be a little easier.
Another sport I'm really interested in going to see, is hurling. Another Irish sport. It's weird, normally I'm not interested in watching sports, so I'm not exactly sure what is it with these Irish sports that makes even someone like me interested in them.
To finish up, here's a couple of photos from the match:
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