Ireland

04/09/2009

Within the past few days I believe I have spent more time riding public transportation than on the ground. Ever since leaving Munich on Monday, life has pretty much been constant travelling. When Eldon and I got to London from Munich all we had time to do was find our hostel, check in, walk around trying to find an ATM, and go to bed. The next morning we woke up at 7:00 a.m. to get an early start on our journey to Londonderry/Derry in Northern Ireland where our friend Katie is studying. We thought that we’d be able to arrive in Derry the same day that we left, but our expectations were thwarted. Our train left at 9:10 a.m. from London, and our ferry did not get into Dublin until around 6:00 p.m. The bus from Dublin to Derry takes about four hours, and the next bus did not leave until 7:45 p.m. That would mean that we’d get into Derry around midnight, and our hostel did not accept check-ins after 10:00 p.m. I guess we were just spoiled by Italy’s public transportation system. So we ended up having to cancel our hostel in Derry for the night and got a hostel in Dublin. In Dublin I did get to experience some Guinness and “chips” in an Irish pub, but that’s about all I did besides sleep in the hostel. The next morning (Wednesday) we got up early again to catch a 7:15 a.m. bus to Derry. I slept most of the way to Derry, but when I did open my eyes I was able to see the beautiful Irish countryside. It is obvious why Ireland is called the Emerald Isle because everything is a vivid shade of green. I also saw two rainbows during the bus ride, which called to mind Irish leprechauns and pots of gold.

When we finally did get to Derry we found out that our friend Katie didn’t get off work until 5:00, which is pretty much what I expected. I decided that I needed some major alone time, so I went for a long run in the rain (it seems to always be raining in Ireland) around the medieval city walls that enclose the city center. We finally met up with Katie around 5:30, and she took us back to her dorm to make dinner. Eldon and I had brought pasta and wine from Italy so we could make a nice dinner, and it was really nice to be able to cook again and to just be with an old friend. Katie is one of the friends who I’ve known since freshman year of college, and she is going to be one of my village-mates next year. I’ve come to really appreciate the group of friends that I met freshmen year, and after being away for a semester it is really nice to reconnect.

Today (Thursday) Katie had to work until 5:00 again, so Eldon and I took a day trip to Giant’s Causeway, which is a national park area on the northern coast of Ireland. It is a really beautiful area and contains a lot of volcanic rock formations that are really something to see. Ever since I saw Katie’s pictures of the area I had wanted to go, and I really enjoyed this day. After we got back we met back up with Katie and went out to dinner. It was one of her roommates’ birthdays, so we celebrated by going out to an Italian restaurant. It was kind of strange to eat Italian food in Ireland, as it wasn’t at all like the Italian food in Italy. It was still good food…just different. We also did some laundry, which was much needed for me. I have a limited supply of clothes, since I am living out of a backpack, and I must admit that certain articles were getting pretty foul smelling. It will be so nice to have clean clothes to wear again!

Tonight I am not staying in a hostel. Instead we are catching the 12:45 a.m. bus from Derry to Dublin, which gets into Dublin at 4:10 a.m. Then we take an 8:45 ferry and get into London around 3:00 p.m. It will be a long day, but I guess you gotta do what you gotta do. I am definitely looking forward to getting back to Italy next Tuesday and being with my mom and brother and doing some things that I am familiar with. It has been challenging to figure everything out during this week or so of travelling, but it has also been a great confidence booster. I feel like I could travel anywhere now and get along alright, and I really feel like I have developed an ability to think on my feet and to stay calm in stressful situations. These are two traits that you really need to have when you travel. You just have to trust that everything will be okay, and you also have to use your resources and ask for help when you need it.