Slán go fóill

One month of free time. What would you do with it? May at UCC for most students is a long month of studying most of the time and some free time. I’m the lucky duck who had all her tests at the end of March so I had lots of free time J For the first two weeks I went to the pool most days and walked around Cork a lot. I then went for a weekend to visit the Cahalans once more.  That was followed by a week of packing and cleaning, then Sam came to visit for my last week in Ireland J But first, the Cahalans.

This time my visit to the Cahalans was more hands on. After having visited them a few times before, I felt much more comfortable just being there for a few days. I loved being able to just chat with whoever was around and see what was happening around the farm. I did learn a few things and did lots of stuff I’d never done before. I think the coolest thing was that I drove the tractor. Now, I’ve only driven a manual once, and that was a tiny car in a parking lot. So when David moved over and said, “you drive” it didn’t hit me until he had to walk me thru it all that I was driving a very big vehicle. Either way, I wasn’t the smoothest driver but I didn’t crash the tractor or smash into anything J I also learned a lot about horse fertility, including how far a vet has to stick his arm up their asses to get a reading for follicle size. Other farm-like activities I learned: I conquered the gates, got shocked by the wires, helped dose a foal, and helped put up fence posts. Now, I’m sure any Cahalan farmers reading this blog are chuckling that these are accomplishments for me, since they grew up doing these things, but I really enjoyed learning about the farm and tagging along to see how everything works. I’m really glad I took another trip to visit them; I had a really good time and got to know them much better.

After my visit to the Cahalans, I had a few days to pack up and clean up before Sam arrived. Sam was coming for my last week here. She arrived on the morning of the 22^nd and I was going up to Dublin a few days before to see people off. Apparently my body had a different idea though and I was too sick to handle a bus for a few days. But! I made it in time to meet Sam, which was really the important part. It was great to have Sam here for my last week- since most people had earlier flights than me, I would have just been watching people go home and probably been a bit jealous. But since Sam was here, I was very happy to stick around J We had one day in Dublin, where I was still not feeling great and she was jetlagged, so we walked around and went to the Guinness factory and Sam tasted her first Guinness…not a fan. That was my third time to Guinness…it’s a cool tour,

but I think I’ve had enough to last me a lifetime. While in Dublin, we ran into a few familiar faces: both Nordic choir and the Notre Dame Folk choir were singing there. So we went to the concerts and said hi to my cousin Sarah in Folk Choir and Marissa, Erin, and Logan in Nordic. It was an odd 24 hours in Ireland. After Dublin, we made our way down to Cork and camped out there for most of her stay. We did a few day trips, one to Blarney on my birthday (extra eloquence for the birthday girl) and one to Waterford. The day in Waterford was my favorite. The tour of the crystal factory was really cool. We actually got to see the crystal blowers at work in every step of the process and the things they make are just incredible. The following day was a cleaning day, and it was gorgeous outside, so Sam and I hiked up a big hill to sit in a park overlooking the city. I think we even got a bit of sun :P Our last full day in Ireland, we made our way back to Dublin and found Slattery’s pub in honor of Mr. J Slattery, Sam’s boy :P It was a cool pub and I had my last pint in Ireland there L I very much enjoyed my Smithwick’s.

I sent Sam off to the airport this morning at 4:30am and have been bumming around Dublin today, waiting for my flight tomorrow morning. I am so glad Sam was here for my last week here. She made even the boring stuff fun and it was great to show her how different my life has been here. It made me realize how much this semester really has impacted me. Up to this point, Sam and I had had similar life experiences. We grew up together. But this, this is different. I’ve spent 5 months adjusting to a different culture, figuring things out here like I’ve never done before. I’ve had an amazing time and would love to come back and visit, but it also makes me appreciate my life at home so much too. I miss knowing the system. I miss not sticking out. And mostly I miss my friends and family. I wouldn’t trade this for anything, but I’m ready to be home.

In 12 hours, I will have been in Ireland exactly 5 months. I flew in with a group of 20 students who were just as lost as me in this intimidating city of Dublin. I’m now preparing to fly out, having made many solo trips, backpacked around Europe, and made lots of new friends, feeling at home in this country. I’m going to miss so many things here; I can’t even imagine it yet. As I was leaving Cork yesterday, it finally hit me that I’m really leaving, and I don’t know when I’ll be back. But I know I will. I can’t imagine not coming back. I need to share this with the one I love. I’m going to go back to Ballingarry and see how the Cahalans are holding up. I going to go back to the Fran Well, and maybe if I’m lucky, One Horse Pony will be playing there that night while I sip on some Rebel Red. So Ireland, thanks for the amazing semester. I will be seeing you again. Slán go fóill, goodbye for now.