Moving Eastward

The end has come at last. After a ridiculousIy long travel day to rival any others that I've had to do so far, I am finally in China. I have to admit, I'm more than a little scared, but I think my excitement by far outweighs the fear. It's crazy how quickly Ireland flew by though! I cant stop thinking about how lucky I was to have met so many wonderfully kind and funny people, all with my best friend beside me. I still cant believe the trip came to pass when it seemed like there were so many things that would stop it: money, timing, logistics, you name it. Yet we made it, and if there is anyone out there who is possibly thinking about wwoofing in the future, absolutely do it! You put a little bit of work in but get so much more out of it than just food and lodging. 

Elaine let us stay in her beautiful Victorian era house in Bray, a seaside town on the outskirts of Dublin. We only made it to the city for one day, but managed to cram a good bit of touristy stuff in. I naturally had to go to the Guinness factory for the tour and chance to pour the "perfect pint". It was well worth it, I'd say. The Gravity Bar on the top floor has a 360 panorama view of Dublin, and it was so much fun to just sit up there looking at the city while drinking a pint. After that we meandered over to the Book of Kells in the library at Trinity College. That was an incredible experience of a different sort - to see the beautiful intricate art of one of the world's oldest books. It's incredible that a book from 800 AD could still be read and enjoyed today. We also managed to get over to St. Patrick's cathedral and have a look around the famous church. Now Dublin isn't for the cheap of heart, for the city definitely knows how to make the most of its tourist attractions. But it's hard to blame them - the country's trying to boost the economy any way they can and they have a lot of history to show off and be proud of. Temple Bar does have lots of good places to hang out, and it is still possible to get a pint of Guinness for under 5 - just avoid the bigger places. 

Overall, I will miss the beauty of Ireland's land, the warmth of the people, and the fun hearted spirit of the friends Ive made. Truly, I couldn't have asked for a better summer. It was great Craic! 

Stepping Out of and Back Into Ireland

It seems that Ive fallen a bit behind in blogging. It's been what, two weeks? but a lot has happened since Galway. Shannon, MaryBeth and I traveled from Galway up to Banbridge, Northern Ireland to spend a week with her family. I have to admit, I am completely jealous of the fact that she has extended family in a foreign country. Even though they've never met this 22 year old cousin of theirs, they welcomed her with open arms and treated her as if she'd been coming once a year all her life. And good thing too, because a combination of broken water filters at Finlough and late nights/scattered meals in Galway caught up to us and as soon as we stepped into their beautiful home all three of us collapsed into illness. Ann, Shannon's cousin (that's their relation I think, but she is a 50 some year old woman) was so kind and took care of us as if we were her own children. It was so nice and refreshing to be in a real home, with someone making all the meals, access to tv and electronics, and the ability to wake up when we wanted and for the most part do as we pleased. The sunny weather held up, and most of the time while Shannon was still sweating out her fever, I worked on my tan. Unfortunately, MaryBeth decided that she felt too ill to stay in Ireland, and left. So, by the end of the week, it was just Shannon and I, and quite fortunately, she was well enough to go to the "Glorious Twelfth" parade.

How do I describe the Glorious Twelfth? It's what I would imagine a mix of Fourth of July celebration with Southern Pride zealousness would look like. Except its not Southern Pride here but Northern. Northern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom, not a part of the Republic of Ireland, and the people who gathered in the town of Scarva (all some 100,000 of them) were proud to show it. The red white and blue for the Union Jack was everywhere, and part of the parade was shooting down a green flag and waving orange. Bands from all over the area and far away, even as far as Scotland, came to march and commemorate some ancient 1660 battle. But really, it was a Northern Ireland pride thing. It was really fun to see, but also so interesting to think that even though we were on the island of Ireland, and could hear Irish accents around us, it was not technically Ireland. Or at least, not the same Ireland that we had been in. Also, there is still a lot of animosity between Protestants and Catholics - Protestants being the Northern Ireland UK people, and Catholics the more traditional southern Irish. Every year, there are clashes in

Belfast for the Twelfth, but Scarva was perfectly safe. And things have gotten better, since the "Troubles" really ended around the new millennium, but after speaking with Shannon's cousins, it sounds like the two groups still have a long way to go.

It was a very fun time with her family; it was just another example of the greatness of Irish hospitality. I swear, I could not turn around if my glass was less than half full without another one appearing before me. And once they realized I liked Guinness - aka the Black Stout, aka Liffey Water - I was a goner. But who would have thought a one year old's birthday party could be so much fun?

After the North, we had to travel aaaaaaaall the way to the South. As in, we're ten minutes from Baltimore, the southernmost town in Ireland (if you don't count the islands). Once again, we lucked out completely and got seriously the nicest and most generous family in the world as our hosts. We have an apartment attached to the main house all to ourselves, and complete access to a kitchen stocked with food, a library stocked with books, and the biggest movie collection I have ever seen. It is amazing! We just work from around 9 in the morning until 1, helping in the gardens around the house and cleaning up the sheds and such.

Elaine is an incredibly busy woman, and no matter the weather takes her three dogs with her to go swimming in the nearby lake. We've had the opportunity to swim in this lake/lagoon, and while the water is very cold, it is absolutely beautiful. In our free time we've sort of lazed out and taken to watching movies/getting addicted to Game of Thrones, but at first we explored into the nearby woods and went swimming, went into the pubs in Baltimore, and climbed over hills searching for a rock pool. We just had a break and went to Sherkin Island, which was gorgeous and also gave us the chance to relax by a beach all to ourselves. West Cork is absolutely gorgeous, with its many islands and huge cliffs. Hopefully sometime this week well be able to visit some of the old Druid ruins in the area.

Man, it's hard to believe, but we only have one more week here and then it's so long Ireland! Probably should start working on my Chinese...

Never Seen Nothing Like A Galway Girl

Dont ask me why, but i knew that I couldnt come to Ireland and not see Galway (Id say blame an obscure song on the PS I Love You soundtrack). Believe me the place did not disappoint, especially considering the complete change of pace from our life in Strokestown. Galway is everything I hoped that it could be - there's people, shops, restaurants, and pubs crammed together leading down to the ocean. Street performers line the cobbled roads, and every building looks like its been here for at least 300 years (or more). If its nice out, as it was the entire time we were there, you could easily spend hours just on Shop Street (guess why they call it that) and see anything from a man dressed as the devil to a guy building a dog out of sand. Unlike Strokestown, there is a mix of all types and ages. Also there's a large university in the city which gives Galway a lot more diversity than the majority of Ireland.

The place is absolutely packed on the weekends, but if you happen to be stuck there during the week, have no fear! Its Ireland after all, and the Irish don't care if its a Monday night - the pub will still be open just as late as on the weekends, although with a slightly older crowd. Believe me, you have a lot of options and it might just be a bit overwhelming at first. If youre going to visit Ireland you simply HAVE to come to Galway, so here are just a few suggestions from me to you:

Great Irish breakfast: Griffins, it's been around since 1876 and if you don't get their full Irish breakfast you must be either mad or severely hungover.

Trad music: Tis Coili or Taaffes, both conveniently located across from each other with equally cozy atmospheres.

Dinner: If you're sick of pub food then relax by the river or sit next to a working mill at the Bridge Mills Riverside Restaurant.

Great bars: Just go outside! If you want to try a variety, then I can definitely recommend the Viking pub crawl - you might even get the experience of a drunk guide with a ridiculous name like Dom Dom taking you to a few.

Club: If clubbing is your  kind of thing, the pub crawl ended at Club Karma  which was a lot of fun but good luck finding the bathroom.

Accommodation:  Kinlay Hostel. Award winning, it feels more like a hotel than a hostel. Everything is cleaned each day, the staff are incredibly friendly and helpful, new macs for public use, free breakfast, fantastic location and youre bound to meet the coolest people (I mean come on, we stayed there).

The big tourist attraction in the area are of course the Cliffs of Moher, and trust me they are definitely worth seeing. We went with Galway Tours, who had a discount for Kinlay guests. For only 20 euros you get to spend all day in the

Burren looking at sweet castles and Druid relics, culminating in the Cliffs. Though I didn't do it, everyone who did said they really enjoyed the Connemara and Aran Island tours as well.

In short, Galway is great craic. However, it was full of temptations so I'm glad my wallet will get a break in our next destination - Banbridge, Northern Ireland!

Farewell Finlough

While everybody back home is busy celebrating the Fourth of July, we are beginning to prepare for our departure from Finlough. It's hard to believe that we've already been here for about a month, but at the same time I think that we are all ready to move on and leave the simple life for the big city (aka Galway). Life here has certainly given us all a glimpse into a rural Irish lifestyle. It's been so nice to live with no distractions, to live slowly and simply. There isn't all that much around us on a daily basis to really detract from the beauty of the meadows or the lake, or distract one from just being present in a moment. Life hasn't been without some minor inconveniences. The tap water is undrinkable, and the filter slow; a fair host of bugs share the house with us; no washer or dryer; and no nearby mode of transportation. However, don't think I'm complaining! - for the good far outweighs the bad. We've gotten to cozy up to warm fires in the fireplace pretty much every night, have a beautiful old house all to ourselves, befriend the local taxi driver, enjoy the pleasure of cooking and eating the plants that we ourselves harvested, and sleep soundly after a hard days' work. And while I know this next bit is going to sound corny to anyone who has lived in the country before (but come on! I'm from the suburbs), I'm proud to say that I now know my way around tools: spades, pitchforks, rakes, strimmers, mowers, shearers and even scythes! A lot of the work has been pretty labor intensive, involving a lot of digging and weeding and trimming and even cutting turf! If I don't have some serious guns by now, then I'm a hopeless case. I've learned so much about vegetable care, knowledge that I know I will use the day I am able to start my own garden. Living on a farm has overall been such a good experience, and really given me a new appreciation for all of the work that goes into producing some of the food that we eat everyday (conclusion: carrots are needy little jerks).

When I think of our time here as a whole though, both on the farm and the days off of it, the thing that stands out the most is just the wonderful kindness of the people around us. As we've been digging in the tunnels we've ended up listening to a lot of Irish radio, and just like when you're watching a tv station for so long you essentially have the commercials memorized, well the same goes for radio. And there is an "advert" that really stands out in my mind when I reflect on the time here: it's for some initiative called "give one percent" that encourages people to give to some charity despite the country's economic troubles. There's a line in it that claims "we're one of the most generous countries in history," and after spending three weeks in small town rural Ireland, I can definitely believe that. Everyone we have met here has dumbfounded us with their openhearted kindness and generosity. Complete strangers want to go out of their way to help us, three out of place Americans, feel welcomed. Whether it's someone offering to show us the town, a neighbor taking us to their kids' (gaelic) football game, a delivery man refusing to tip us after going out of his way to find our place in the middle of nowhere, or the taxi driver acting as our tour guide by taking us out of his way to show us a nearby town's attraction (and of course pausing so that we might take pictures of such a historic windmill), everyone we come across just seems to be one of the nicest we've ever met.

Getting ready to dig!

Granted, there has been a fairly small sample size, as the cow to people ratio around here appears to be at least 50:1. It might just be a County Roscommon thing, since people are so happy to see another human around here that they do whatever they can to be friends. But I don't think so. We're leaving for Galway on Saturday, and I expect that as we travel around to different parts of the country, we're bound to encounter some more of that wonderful Irish generosity.

Farewell Finlough, Hello Galway!