Ireland!

I was in Ireland today.  And the day before that, and the day before that, and the day before that...

Ireland was quite the experience for me.  Before I even applied for this study abroad I was telling my mom, "You know where you should go? Ireland! If I were going to travel anywhere else, that's where I would go!"  And now, I have been there.

So, there are WAY too many things to tell you about Ireland, and knowing how I have the ability to make a short story long, I would be a wary reader if I were you.  This post could get lengthy.  So, at least now I've given you fair warning.  Here are a few of the great things I did in Ireland:

1. Stayed at a hostel called Jacob's Inn.  As far as hostels go, this one actually wasn't that bad.  And I would know, because I've only stayed in 1 hostel my whole life.  We even got free breakfast in the morning.  (The free breakfast was white bread and coffee, but still--free.)  There were some interesting moments there, though.  Like the time those drunken frenchman next door kept us awake at night.  Or in the shower that you had to push the knob to keep the water coming down on us.  (Whenever I see those faucets in shabby public bathrooms, I think they were just installed to make people use the least amount of water possible.  Mission accomplished, Jacobs Inn.  That's probably one of the driest showers I've ever taken!)

2.  Explored Christchurch Cathedral, where we met the first of many nice Irish people.  My friend didn't have 3 euros to get into the church, and I only had a 2 euro coin.  In London, they would've told us we were out-of-luck, stupid Americans.  (Okay, so probably not that harsh, but I wouldn't be surprised.)  In Ireland, though, the guy said "Oh, that's alright.  Just put in the 2 euros and that'll be fine."  I walked away BEAMING. Because I love to know that there are still some charitable Christian people left in this world.  Little did I know that's just how all the Irish people are.

3.  Met up with Jane Anne Jackson, my buddy for the trip.  Jane Anne, I would have starved without you.  And I wouldn't have had ANY pictures.  Or laughs.  Or fruit leather.  Or moments of normalcy at a movie or Hard Rock Cafe.  Thank you, thank you.

4.  Took a bus tour across Ireland to see the Cliffs of Moher--also featured in The Princess Bride as the Cliffs of Insanity--and a few beautiful places along the west coast.  This bus ride was amazing because our group had a bus all to ourselves, we got to see Ireland in all its splendor, and most of all, we had a fantastic tour guide named Gerry.  This may sound trite, but I will never forget Gerry.  He's the type of guy you meet that just inspires you; you don't exactly know what it is about him, but there's this passion and this composure and this sophistication he has that you can only hope to attain in your lifetime.  When he told us a lot about Irish history, I thought it was just information he had acquired after years of bus touring his own country.  Then he told us about his American hero--a man I had never even heard of--and I realized that Gerry was just plain smart.  By the end of the trip, he had quoted Shakespeare, Lewis Carroll and James Joyce (just to name a few).  Gerry the Irish bus driver, you are my hero.

5.  Took a very uncomfortable and inconvenient bus to Swords Castle.  Again, this experience--at least for me--was made much better by the actual Irish person than the landmark itself.  We got to the castle at 11:50, ten minutes before their hour lunch break, and yet we were welcomed with open arms, a guest book, a lovely Irish senior-citizen woman, and "literature" about the monument.  This nice lady, whose name I unfortunately never caught, opened up the castle for us and we got to explore it all by ourselves.  Then, she told us to come back after their break so she could give us a tour of the castle's cathedral that was undergoing renovation and wasn't open to the public.  And she kept her word! We got that private tour, and it was awesome.  That lady also really touched me.  She could've easily stayed behind her information desk and told us that cathedral was off-limits.  Instead, she walked us through the mud, unlocked it for us, gave us a private tour, then offered to take our pictures.  Just to give you an idea of this lady's coolness: she pointed out the wooden heads carved out of the vaulted cathedral ceiling.  They were new additions, she said, that they had added during this recent renovation.  Then, she told us that the face in the front right wooden panel was hers.  That's when you know you've arrived--when they carve your head into the wood of a cathedral built in the 13th century.

6.  Visited a couple of towers and an old cemetery in the middle of Swords.  At the recommendation of the sweet Irish lady mentioned above, we walked through Swords and found old ruins laying by a cemetery.  For me, this was a great experience.  Maybe it was because the sweet lady made me really happy, or maybe it was because I was in such a beautiful place, or maybe I was just feeling abnormally emotional, because walking around that cemetery was profoundly awe-inspiring to me.  Being next to something so old, so striking, surrounded by so many people (albeit dead people) really made me think.  There were so many people who had gone to that place before me, and while their lives meant nothing to me, they meant something to someone.  Just like I might've been one more drop in the bucket of visitors to Ireland, my experience means something to me.  Although I'm just one of billions of people on this earth, just as the people in those Irish graves were, my life, and their lives, were still important, still meaningful to someone.  Those names were just letters to me, but they represent lives--hopes, dreams, disappointments, failures, all of it.  I guess that's why I loved being in that cemetery: because it represents the existence of so many people--the people who built the tower, lived in the tower, admired the tower, and were buried by the tower.

7.  Took the dart train along the coast to a little town called Bray.  What a beautiful place! Between the beach and the lush green hills is an assortment of houses that I would probably sacrifice a body part to live in.  I can't believe how pretty it is!  Bray was probably one of the prettiest areas I have ever seen.  While we were there we walked along the beach, hiked up a large hill for some spectacular views, then ate lunch at a quaint little place called The Boat House that was right next to the beach. It was very pleasant.

If I could choose one word to describe my Irish experience, it would be fulfilling.  More than beautiful, old, Celtic or historical, Ireland was fulfilling.  Having been there, seen its wonder and met its gracious people, I am content.