I voyaged to Ireland!! I arrived in Dublin on a Sunday and my friend Jessica picked me up and brought me back to her house where I met her family and had dinner with them. They were so incredibly welcoming and I had a great time getting to know them a little bit. That night, Jess and I went and saw the movie “Brothers,” which is the first movie I’ve seen in English since leaving the states. The next day, we went into Dublin and I saw the Book of Kells at Trinity College, we visited Christ Church, and just had a nice time walking around downtown Dublin. That night I had my first Irish pub experience. Being in Ireland, I of course had to try Guinness. It was disgusting, and I can easily say that the taste of beer is one will never acquire, no matter how many times I try it. Never. The next day, Jess and I went to a tiny town called Glendalough, which just so happens to be the city where my ancestors are from. I sadly didn’t have their names with me, so I wouldn’t have been able to find out any information, but it was still really cool to see the area they lived in. While in Glendalough, Jess and I walked around a mountain and a lake for a few hours, which was so long, but really fantastic all the same. We also saw a sheep just lying on the mountainside, and we tried to help it move by prodding it with a stick. It didn’t work, but we heard the farmer was coming to take care of it. It was definitely a fun story to take back with me, haha.
The next day, Jess went to Amsterdam and I went out to Galway to visit my friends from Aquinas! On the way to Galway, my camera died completely and thus I was forced to buy a new camera in Ireland. It’s a nice camera, and it has panoramic picture-taking capabilities, which is the coolest thing ever. I arrived in a little town called Clifden, explored for a while, and then went up to Tully Cross to meet my Aquinas buddies who are studying there this semester! I felt so amazing when I saw my friend Katie, because she was the first person from home I have seen since arriving in Europe. While in Tully Cross, we visited Kylemore Abbey, went to a couple pubs to celebrate a couple birthdays, and we walked to the ocean a few times. My friend Nicole, with whom I was in an a capella vocal group last year, gave me a huge hug when I arrived and asked me if I would sing a song with her while I was there. I of course said yes, and she and I sang the “Flower Duet” by Lakme. It was absolutely beautiful and it felt good to read challenging sheet music again. I explored the surrounding area with my friends Sean and Katie, and it was so great to be with them. There came a moment that I was standing on the ocean shore, looking out at the waves crashing over the rocks and I was suddenly overcome by so much love that I began to cry. There is no doubt that I had a wonderful set of friends first semester in France, but they were very quickly formed friendships, and it was hard. There is an enormously special part of my heart that cherishes everything about home, and for the past five months that part has been aching for something familiar. At that moment, I felt like God had lifted me up and reunited me with not only my friends from home, but with other Christ followers.
A week after I arrived, I was on a plane back to France and reflected on my experiences. I absolutely loved my time in Ireland, and there are so many things I still want to see. Therefore will be going back at some point in the next few years I hope. However, the atmosphere in Ireland is rather similar to the USA, and I really missed France while I was gone. I found myself going through a sort of reverse culture shock in Ireland: I heard English all the time and had trouble remembering to not speak French, I felt less inclined to eat certain foods that I’d eat normally in the states, and there was an aura that was very different from France. I was really relieved and happy to get back to France, and even though I still miss my family and friends from home, I can truly say that I am not homesick in the least. I have less than four months left before I’m home, and I am going to live up and embrace the time I have here!
Pictures of my time in Ireland at this website: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=147256&id=567399020&l=9fb7aeb2c5
You, my dear, haven't had nearly enough beer to start acquiring a taste for it, haha. Guinness is good. :) lol
ReplyDelete-Alex