And I sang a song for Ireland

I have so many things to say about our weekend in Galway, Dublin and Belfast, but I have a major migraine right now and there's no way I can describe how much I love this country (these countries, actually!) in this state.. so, more updates laterrr!

And I was Thursday's child

So.. I didn't get to write a post on Wednesday, but yesterday we went to work for Seamus again. This time we actually were involved with a story about the Meals on Wheels program through the Sligo Social Services office. 

We went to the Meals on Wheels office and watched the cooks prepare meals for the elderly and disabled. Then, we headed off on a meal route with Pat and Brian, two volunteers. They are the sweetest people on Earth (even though I say that about everyone here in Sligo) and we got to talk to the best people ever. 

Ted Gallagher is by far my favorite meal recipient.. Despite all of his problems, he is still as charming and positive as if he had no problems in his life. He's very inspirational.. as are Pat and Brian.

After work, Kali and I went shopping and had a glass of wine at this adorable little restaurant. It was very chic and very French and I completely loved it. I wish I could work for The Sligo Champion for the rest of my life and just go to Tobergal's every day after work.

When we got back to St. Angela's, we got ready to go out on the town again. It was the best night of my life.. We met so many of the same people that we interviewed for our vox pop and we made so many friends that I felt like a local. It was amazing. 

Oh, and I saw Simon again :)

This one kid that we interviewed, Shane, said that when Kali and I first approached him, he was thinking, "What are a bunch of Americans doing working for The Sligo Champion?" 

Haha.. I thought that was funny :)

Today we did not do much.. we just worked a bit on our story, visited the Meals on Wheels programme again, and then packed up for Galway and Dublin! Woop!

Clouds that look like mountains in the sky

P.S.: I am not that upset about not having a camera for Ben Bulben and Glencar because, well, I'll just let John Mayer sum up my feelings:

I'm writing you to catch you up on places I've been

You held this letter

Probably got excited, but there's nothing else inside it

Didn't have a camera by my side this time

Hoping I would see the world with both my eyes

Maybe I will tell you all about it when I'm

In the mood to lose my way with words

Today skies are painted colors of a cowboy's cliche

And strange how clouds that look like mountains in the sky

Are next to mountains anyway

Didn't have a camera by my side this time

Hoping I would see the world with both my eyes

Maybe I will tell you all about it when I'm

in the mood to lose my way

but let me say

You should have seen that sunrise with your own eyes

It brought me back to life

You'll be with me next time I go outside

Just no more 3x5's 

Guess you had to be there

Guess you had to be with me 

Today I finally overcame

Trying to fit the world inside a picture frame

Maybe I will tell you all about it when I'm in the mood to

lose my way but let me say

You should have seen that sunrise with your own eyes

It brought me back to life

You'll be with me next time I go outside

No more 3x5's

But I did get pictures from the other girls, so I'll post those later.. *hopefully*

Goodbye, Ruby Tuesday

Today we (Kali and I) went to The Sligo Champion for a little assignment from our favorite editor ever :)

We went out to O'Connell Street to conduct a vox pop, or a "man on the street" as I have known to call them. We met quite a few people who wanted to talk but did not want their picture taken. We also had quite a few people who just rejected us (which is something I was used to having done this before, but I don't think Kali was.. but she got used to it pretty quickly!). 

After working for a few hours, we finally toured the inside of the Lissadell House. It was very very beautiful, but I was very upset by the random Tropicana box thrown in the historic fireplace and the addition of the pictures of the new owners' kids. 

The last place we went was what I like to call MY FAVORITE PLACE IN THE ENTIRE WORLD. We drove to Glencar Waterfall (I now only drink Pure Glencar water because of it) but before we got to the waterfall, we stopped to view Ben Bulben. 

Now, I don't know what it is about us and the sun, but we seriously could not have asked for better weather to view Ben Bulben. Over Knocknarea, over the Tower Bridge, over Salzburg, over EVERYTHING, this is the most beautiful view I have ever seen in my entire life.  It was so beautiful and so vast that it just seemed fake. I wanted to stay in that moment forever and never leave the side of that mountain. 

I did find this little baby house on the side of the mountain that I am going to buy in a few years. It's very cute. It is a little round cottage and it looks like a little cottage from a fairy tale. I am going to marry Simon (the bartender from Hargadon Pub), buy that cottage and have a huge farm with lashings of sheep! And we will go to the Glencar Waterfall whenever we want because when the sun hits that area just right, I feel like I am truly living in a dream world of sorts.

The walk up to the waterfall was wonderful. The most vibrant green grass and beautiful flowing trees led up to this gorgeous waterfall. Now, I know I am a huge fan of waterfalls, and I do not know how one can be more beautiful than the other (unless you're talking about a huge set of waterfalls like Niagara Falls), but the area around Glencar in both County Sligo and County Leitrim is what makes this waterfall my favorite waterfall :)

I wishwishwish I could post pictures of my favorite place in the world, but 1) my camera died before I could take any pictures, and 2) I CAN'T POST PICTURES ON BLOGGER.

Boo :(

Today = best editor and best view in all of Ireland. I love it.

It's just another manic Monday

Today we went to Carrowmore. This is especially interesting to me because I love following all of the archaeologic findings regarding Stonehenge, and since National Geographic just recently put out a two-hour TV show about all the things archaeologists just found out about Stonehenge, I was very interested in the history behind the little tombs that make up Carrowmore.

I find it so interesting that only some of the tombs are being explored. With Stonehenge, they dug up so much of the land surrounding the stones in order to completely fill in the story behind the creators of Stonehenge. 

Next we went to the Yeats' Society Memorial Building. It is a very tiny place, but interesting nonetheless. We watched a video on Yeats on this cute, VERY ancient TV. I loved it.

After the Yeats' Society, we visited The Sligo Champion, Sligo's weekly newspaper. We met with Seamus Finn, the youngest newspaper editor in Ireland's history.. and I ADORE him! He's so funny.. and the way he described The Champion reminded me of Broadside completely. It's a weekly paper in a town that has about as many people as Mason. 

When we were looking at all the pages mapped out with the various stories placed on them, it reminded me of the Broadside newsroom when I would make people print out pages.. Some people hated it and ruined my night by fighting with me over something as simple as printing out pages, but Seamus agreed with me that it is absolutely necessary in planning out the pages of a paper!

After we came back to campus, Jess, Kali and I all decided that we would take advantage of every opportunity that was presented to us--so we decided to climb Knocknarea. 

While we were climbing this huge freaking mountain, I honestly thought I was going to die. Three twenty-somethings should not be lagging behind a bunch of adults who are twenty years older than us. But once we got to the top, nothing mattered. It was the most beautiful view I could ever ask for, especially considering how the sun was shining through the clouds. Being up there with the sun like that, you could not help but liken that spot to Heaven.

Now, I do have a vlog that I taped from the top of Knocknarea, but that will have to wait until later.

Niiight!

Sunday morning rain is falling

Today all the girls arrived. There's Jessica, Kendra, Jen and Naomi.. & I love them all (so far.. haha). 

Kali and I planned to wake up early this morning, but that did not happen. Oh well, gym! We'll just have to make up the exercise by walking around my favorite little county in Ireland :D

After the girls rested a bit, we went to dinner at Caesar's, an Italian restaurant in Sligo town. It was very delicious which made me happy because I am such a picky person when it comes to food that I am not used to.

Kali, Jess and I then went to Hargadon Pub on O'Connell Street to have our first Guinness. It was not bad considering I normally detest beer.. & we met Simon, the very cute bartender at the pub. He is going to Oxegen festival this weekend. I really really really wish I could go, but I do not think that will happen :(

Oh well!  I'll just have to come back for Oxegen another year..

I have only my dreams.

I love this Yeats poem.. When I was flipping through a few of Yeats' poems, I fell in love with this one.. & it just happens to be under a statue (I think he was called something like the pensive man? Not sure..) at Drumcliffe.

HAD I the heavens’ embroidered cloths,

Enwrought with golden and silver light,

The blue and the dim and the dark cloths

Of night and light and the half light,

I would spread the cloths under your feet:

But I, being poor, have only my dreams;

I have spread my dreams under your feet;

Tread softly because you tread on my dreams. 

W.B. Yeats (1865–1939)

"He Wishes For the Cloths of Heaven"

I wish I were like Constance.

When I first got off of the plane, I went through customs. This customs officer was much nicer than the one I met in Heathrow. That guy there wanted to know everything I was doing.. including an itinerary from my study abroad program. Bizarre.

I then sat in Shannon Airport for awhile. I was dying to buy an Irish Times, but I had no euros with me and the currency converters were closed, but when I left with Joe (our driver) and Kali, I was too excited to care about the newspaper. 

First entering a country is probably my favorite feeling. You never know what to expect because honestly, what do pictures do? They certainly never do a place like this any justice. Seeing the street signs, the advertisements, the cars, the grass, everything, just made me feel like I was finally doing what I am meant to do again--travel. And hearing accents.. well, that is what I live for. Accents. 

We talked to Joe for awhile about Irish culture. It was amazing to talk to a native about things, not that I do not appreciate historians. He is originally from Galway, where Gaelic is the native tongue and the first language taught to students. English comes second to Gaelic in Galway, unlike the rest of Ireland. I find this fascinating and I wonder just how much longer Gaelic is going to be around. 

Joe moved to Sligo for his job and never left because he would never take his kids out of the life that they have created in Sligo. He showed us a little village made up of primarily Brazilians, which was very interesting to see. 

Another excited part of being in Ireland is the fact that I can see sheep wherever I go. I just love them!

When we got to St. Angela's, I was absolutely surprised at how nice the apartments are. I looked at all the pictures on the website beforehand, but I am just not used to getting what I see in online galleries. 

When we took the little bus ride around Sligo, it was a bit hard to take in all that was said about things like the Constance Markiewicz statue because I was paying so much attention to the little town around me, but after learning about her at Lissadell, I have decided that I would truly love to learn more about her--and Irish women in general. 

We then visited the Lissadell house [from the outside] and Drumcliffe. The Lissadell house is very pretty, but I find it peculiar that someone who is not related to the Gore-Booths actually owns the property. 

W.B. Yeats' grave was just another grave, which is exactly what he thought himself. 

Back at St. Angela's we met a few of the people from the Lehigh University group on campus over dinner, then we headed to Aras Michael for a lecture from Stella Mew about the Gore-Booth family. Their history is so interesting, especially Constance's story. 

Stella is such a passionate person that she talked for 1 1/2 hours on this family. Even though this was hard to stay awake through after the amount of traveling we did, I am amazed at what she knows.

Oh, and we met Jeremiah Lynch, too! He's a very nice man, but leaving for Korea tomorrow..

Pictures are not working for Blogger right now, so I'll have to update that later.

I do love my country, but..

I am so excited to be going to Ireland.

After reading How The Irish Saved Civilization, I have an even greater interest in uncovering my ancestry. "Leary" is such a common Irish name that I always think I am related to every Leary I come across, like Art O'Leary from our book. It would be really amazing to find out that I am related to some sort of ancient Irish royalty. 

After quite a huge fiasco with my passport, I am glad to finally be leaving.

Here I come, Sligo!