Ireland

I don't think I've ever done something quite so depressing as getting on the plane home from Dublin today. Getting to Ireland was a huge hassle, but I had the time of my life. Seriously, I think this has been the best week ever, and I really didn't want to leave. Everyone was so nice and welcoming and helpful! I met tons of people--I was only really lonely in Dublin and the first day in Galway. It was just fantastic.

Dublin wasn't exactly to my taste, but I didn't realize it until I actually left. I thought it was great when I was there. I didn't do anything particularly spectacular or interesting, but it's a nice enough city. I don't even want to talk about the process of trying to catch that plane, though. It was really hard Wednesday night, because I was exhausted from trying to finish all my coursework and pack and everything. I got in and crashed. I read all of the Hound of the Baskervilles that night and went to bed at like 10:00. Sad. People kept banging on the door, though, because they forgot their keys. I didn't get hardly any sleep. The next day, I ran around and went to musuems and stuff. I took a bus tour (so I would actually learn something for once, instead of wandering around like a fool), and met some people from Long Island. They were all really impressed that I was there alone. That night, I met a guy from Galway who had to be about my dad's age. I talked to him for two-three hours. He tried to tell me that my Irish family were from around Galway because my last name sounds kind of like a name from around there. I was like, you're only saying that because that's where you're from. Anyway, that was nice.

Killarney was absolutely fantastic. I adored it. It's my favorite place so far. I went hiking in the national park one day and biking the next--and I don't bike. I also met a couple of Australian girls who let me latch onto them for the weekend, which was really cool. I (fortunately) did not end up out way too late either night. Also fortunately, they failed in their goal to get me drunk. Thank god. I did have a bunch of drunk Irish guys hanging off me one night, which was not exactly fun...oh well. I had a good time anyway. I also went to the St. Patrick's Day parade in Killarney. It was pretty small, which I liked. It was like a parade we'd have back home.

Galway was pretty cool too. The first day, I wandered aimlessly. Galway's a lovely little city. It's pretty laid-back, too, which is nice. I'd really like to live there, actually. Anyway, that night, I met a brother and sister travelling from Chicago, and they invited me out with their friend and her family who were also travelling Ireland. It was a bit awkward, but fun, and again, I wasn't in the hostel by myself! Yesterday, I went to Inis Mor with these two (which was beautiful, just stunning), and then went out with them again.

It was absolutely crazy and totally out of character for me (and I definitely spent way more money than I should have), but so incredibly fun. I'm still just trying to process everything. I mean, it would have been amazing even if I had been alone for the entire week, just because I've wanted to go to Ireland my entire life. But it was surreal, to say the least. I loved it.

Oh, and my mom's booked my ticket back. I leave on May 20th. I don't want to go home anymore!