I'm taking a break from studying to write this because I know I won't be able to focus unless I update my blog. Just to warn you, my next post probably won't be for another two weeks. Finals are (scarily) just around the corner and I should be devoting every waking hour to catching up on work. Yuck. So there's no need to sit around and wait for my always frequent and regular posts.
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Right. Down to business. Two Saturdays ago I went on a field trip with my archaeology class to County Roscommon. We saw Roscommon Castle, Roscommon Abbey, and the deserted village of Rindoon/Rindown. It was cold but thankfully not raining. It was beautiful area. We were tromping through pastures for several hours. It felt just like home. *Sigh* I felt pretty bad for the students who were wearing sneakers - it was muddy enough to pull a shoe off. I don't think that actually happened but it was a definite probability. It was great to be able to go to a few of the places we had learned about in class. It was also great to see a part of Ireland that I wouldn't have visited on my own.
Then last weekend, Butler took us up to Belfast for Thanksgiving weekend. (Happy Late Thanksgiving, everyone!) We left Thursday morning, which gives you an indication of how serious the Irish are about attending classes since we had to miss the last two days of classes of the entire semester. Anyway, it was about a six hour bus ride so we got to the hotel in Belfast just in time for dinner. We walked to a hotel restaurant where they served us Thanksgiving dinner. It was really a Thanksgiving-themed dinner. Even if the hotel had served the perfect, just-like-Mom's Thanksgiving dinner, I don't think it would have been the same. Thanksgiving really has a lot more to do with the environment of the whole day than the actual meal, I think. Being in the kitchen, watching football, sprawling out on the couch with everyone else. That's what makes it Thanksgiving. The dinner was still fantastic. The dessert especially (graham cracker/brown sugar crumble-cheesecake-pumpkin-caramel/rum sauce loveliness). Friday was a bus tour to the Giant's Causeway, which is basically a really cool rock formation. We had a couple of stops to a rope bridge and a somewhat-intact castle. Our tour guide was really informative and he talked a little about growing up during the Troubles, the conflicts in Belfast between the Catholics and Protestants. It was really inspiring to hear how he dealt with the trauma of living amid so much violence. We were able to go on the Black Taxi tours Saturday morning where the drivers walked us through the history of the Troubles and took us to memorials and famous neighborhoods. I really had no idea how recent the Troubles were. It was really eye-opening and reminded me how lucky I am to live in a peaceful and stable community. The Black Taxi tour was only an hour and a half, so my friends and I walked around the downtown area for a while. We stopped at St. George's Market, which is like LA's Grand Central Market, had lunch at Victoria Square, and went to the HUGE Christmas market by the city hall for dinner. I spent my leftover pounds (the money, not the weight) on chocolate (of course) and honey-roasted cashews and macadamia nuts. Those were the best purchases I made all weekend. The city had their Christmas decorations up, and it was so beautiful when all of the lights were lit. It also snowed while we were there! The snow was more like Dippin' Dots rather than actual flurries, but snow is snow is snow! It was a great kick-off to the Christmas season. Although since Ireland, the silly country that it is, doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving, Christmas decorations have been out almost since Halloween. I've had to temporarily give up my diatribe against celebrating Christmas before December because there is just no fighting the city lights and enormous store window displays. There's no way I would have won. But it doesn't matter anymore, because it's December!! I fully embrace the Christmas music now; I've been playing it all day. It actually snowed here in Galway yesterday too, which I thought was impossible. Something about it being too warm. And these were legitimate flurries. There's actually still snow on my balcony. Most of the snow outside the apartment complex has turned into ice, unfortunately, but it doesn't make me feel so bad about missing the snowfall at home.
Oh boy. I just scrolled back up through my post and saw how long that paragraph was. Ooops. That, kids, is what not to do in an English paper. I suppose I could have just said I had a wonderful time in Belfast and I'm so happy it's December, but where's the fun in that?
I should probably get back to the salt mines, but now you know how I spent the last two weekends and I can rest easy.
Happy December, everyone!
love always.
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