Times up
June 2nd-August 10th. 71 days I will have spent in Ireland. In those 71 days my life has changed in more ways than I could have ever imagined. An experience like this has helped me grow on a professional level and a personal one. I am excited to come back home so I can take what I have learned here and apply it to my everyday life. For example, I want to start making breakfast every Sunday. Eggs, sausage, bacon, toast, and maybe pancakes if I am feeling dangerous. They say studying and living abroad can change you, I feel changed and I would like to say it is for the better. I get 4 more days until I have to get back to reality so I will enjoy every minute I have left.
One last time in Dublin
To begin our 3 day weekend we took a trip over to Dublin. We drove into town instead of taking the Luas and although it was filled with crazy drivers, it was a fun experience. It was a good thing I spent an entire month in the city because I remembered exactly where I had to go once I had my bearings. After buying the rest of my souvenirs, it was time to eat and the only thing that got my attention was a big, fat, juicy burger. I spent way too much money on my lunch but when it comes to grilled beef in between two toasty buns, it is always worth it. After eating my fill I washed it down with 2 cups of tea. I spent the rest of my time in Dublin walking down Grafton St. listening to all the different street performers. I don’t know when I will be back in Dublin but next time I am, I hope I have neither work nor school to worry about.
Good day in Dublin
Spraoi: All at Sea
On Sunday we drove down to Waterford to attend the Spraoi street fair. We picked up my host mom’s niece and nephew and all 5 of us went to find the best performers of the day. Before I saw any performers, my host dad took me to go see the famous Waterford Crystal. It is a really expensive and heavy crystal that is made into glassware. If I wasn’t a broke college student, these are the fancy types of glass I would buy for my future home. They also had glass replicas of famous sport trophies and sculptures of all different shapes and sizes. I know nothing about making glassware, all I know is that if you want great glassware get it in Waterford.
Like the sign says
After exploring the wonders of glassware I finally saw my first performance of the day. Morbid & Sons. The theme of the show was how no one dies anymore and their funeral home is going out of business. Pretty morbid if you ask me. The group was from Ireland and knew how to interact and poke fun at the audience. At the end of the show they had a condolences book you could sign. The show was to die for.
Me. Dead.
The next show I had the pleasure to witness was a music group from Catalonia. The Always Drinking Marching Band. Not only were they phenomenal musicians but they were also great entertainers. Ironically, only one of the performers was drinking water and happened to spill it all over himself, you could tell it was not a part of the show. This street fair is like nothing I have ever been to before. I will have to look for a street fair of this scale when I get back home.
Play that funky music
After watching various performers we ended the day with a parade and fireworks. Being over here during the 4th of July, it was nice to see fireworks before heading back to school. The parades theme was All at Sea. Every float was a ship, fish, or some kind of water creature. One of my favorite parade experiences to date. I ultimately got to watch the parade twice, as it finished for us we went to where the fireworks would be and found the first float still going. I would say I got my money’s worth but the parade was free.
Save the turtles
5th Week Done
Ended the week with a trip to Dublin, finally getting those fireworks, and if you were wondering, yes, I did get dessert and it was good too.
