So for the first weekend of my study week or rather, Spring Break, I headed to Dublin and caught a three and half hour bus to Clonmel. When I finally arrived at the Clonmel station, I was exhausted, but was welcomed with great hospitality from one of the girls, Siobhan and her family. Being late by the time I got there, we simply caught up on what we had been up to the past 6 months. It was a completely out of sorts feeling to be in Siobhan's house knowing that she had already been to mine, she knew my family and had met my friends..it was almost like getting a slice of home in a total reverse, strange sense since none of my friends here have ever been to Peoria and I can't talk with them about the delights of Emack n' Bolio's or my dog Guinness. Once I had finished my dinner and tea, we watched a movie with Siobhan's family and then headed to bed.
In the morning, I was greatly surprised by how daylight can greatly change your surroundings. As I looked out the window, I saw mountains in every direction. And they had told me they hated Clonmel?! The scenery alone astounded me, it was nothing I had ever pictured from the girls' descriptions. With only twenty minutes before Siobhan had to go to Kilkenny for Orchestra so into the car we were shuffled for a whirlwind tour of Clonmel! Quickly Siobhan's mom drove me up a hill and we descended back into the city so I could see how it was a valley and was surrounded by the mountains and I must saw it was gorgeous and just as Siobhan protested against driving all around, it reminded me of myself with my mom as we showed them all around Peoria. It's amazing what sights you get so used to as you see them everyday and how your appreciation can hinder over the years. But I loved barreling around and seeing the landscape. We also made a quick stop, in twenty or rather forty minute tour, at St. Patrick's Well. We were meant to be there for a minute before Siobhan's mom met a man who maintained the area and he gave us a quick tour of the well where St. Patrick had once met to convert people. In it was a large stone which was older than the pyramids. Now we don't have anything of this sort in America, so I am always continually impressed at how much Ireland has to offer. We also went into the church at the site with the roof having been burnt by Cromwell's forces of course. Hurriedly, we ran back up the stairs to drive around a bit more to see the site of an old English estate with a beautiful property containing a picturesque lake. We then passed into the main area of Clonmel with it's Irish town, where the Irish peasants had been forced to live outside the old walled city of Clonmel and then passing through the city gate into the old English area where the aristocrats lived within the walls of the city. I found the differences between the two areas, both located on the same street, to be quite fascinating. On the Irish town half of the street, the buildings were smaller and all packed close to the road with a small sidewalk. On the English half, the buildings were larger and set back from the road with large sidewalks. After passing through the main area, we worked our way to pick up Niamh, another girl who stayed with my family and is also my age. I had seen Niamh before in Dublin for dinner so it was great to see her again.
Off to Kilkenny we went..we arrived soon after and as Siobhan went to practice for a few hours, Niamh and I explored Kilkenny. We didn't quite know what there was to see, but we did know there was the famous castle so we went there first to see it. Outside it was immense and well preserved surrounded by gardens and large lawns. Inside we explored all of the rooms and being the off season, there were no tours so we relied on the signs in each room and our own historical imagination. The castle was more of a large manor, serving as an estate for the Butler family. Once we were done exploring all of the rooms, we were hungry and went to look for some lunch. Across the street was a pub and thinking we could sit down and have a nice lunch, we were quickly put in the wrong as we walked in and couldn't hear ourselves think. Since I have arrived in Ireland, the 6 nations rugby tournament has been going on and that day, Ireland was playing Wales so the pub was packed and there was no room for food. Either you were there for a pint and a few hours of screaming or you were out. Choosing the latter, we left and made our way to the mall where we had a nice lunch and explored the shops. Then we headed back to the main street trying to kill some time and then went for some coffee and cake. After that, we headed back to meet Siobhan’s dad and then were driven to Clonmel.
When we arrived back, I went to Niamh’s house and met her family. I am constantly surprised at the amount of generosity I have been given since I have arrived here. Her mom made us dinner and then we sat around talking and when her mom asked me what I liked about Ireland, I could have gone on for days. However, when she asked me what I really didn’t like about it here, I would it to be the hardest question to answer. I wasn’t sure what I hated about Ireland…was there anything I asked myself? I had gotten used to the laid back attitudes and the military time, but there wasn’t much else I could ever hate about the Emerald Isle and as I sat there, I could think of nothing. Soon we got ready to go out for the night. I was told that a night out in Clonmel was nothing special and that I shouldn’t get my hopes up too high. Siobhan picked us up and then the three of us went to see Clonmel at night. First we went to a small pub and then moved to a more active pub with a dancefloor and met the third and final girl who had stayed with my family, another Niamh. It was so strange to be back together with all of them at once because when I saw their bus pull away in July, I wasn’t sure I would ever see them altogether like this again, but there we were. Our final stop of the evening was a pub with two dance floors and on one dance floor they had a projection screen and were playing U2’s Rattle and Hum documentary which I was personally excited about, but it was strange to see some faces at the pub who I had seen before back in Peoria. After awhile, we were ready to leave and we parted from Niamh and Niamh and I went back to Siobhan’s house for the night.
The next morning I only had a little bit of time before I had to be back at the station and head back to Dublin on the bus. I was a bit disappointed at how short of time I had in Clonmel, but I was so glad I had the time with all of them that I did. When I arrived back in Dublin after another three and half hour journey, I made my way to Maynooth on the train and quickly got ready only to head back to Dublin. It was my friend Bridget’s birthday so we headed to the Temple Bar area for dinner at a Mexican restaurant. I am surprised at how much I have missed Mexican food since I have been here and it was a great treat to have a burrito, even though its spices nearly ruined my taste buds. But after dinner, we headed to a pub and listened to my friend Jackie’s roommate’s dad play traditional Irish music. Since I was younger, I have dreamed of coming to Ireland, sitting down in a pub, and listening to traditional Irish music-a fiddle, a flute…it’s been my ultimate dream and here I was making it come true. I sat in awe as Phil, the fiddler, moved his fingers back and forth producing sounds at a rapid pace. I was in my own euphoria and I didn’t want it to end. I was content to stay there for forever. Nothing beats the pounding in your chest, the beating of your feet to the beat, and the electricity in your fingers. Unfortunately, the night had to come to an end and we made our way back to Maynooth for two days of our break.
