31 Days and Counting...

So with a month left to go, the mixed feelings are beginning to start again. It is almost like I'm getting ready to leave home, except returning to Ireland may never happen again.

Most days I forget I'm here. It has become home; I'm often not conscious that it actually isn't. We live here, we have some friends here, we know our way around. We still hear from home frequently, and it all has just become normal for us.

I'm glad school is about over, but I'm not certain that I'm ready to come home yet. Part of it is just the fact that it is a change. I'm going to back to a familiar place, but life has gone on there. Things have changed at Thomas More. My family and friends have continued living, some making big decisions about next year and many graduating college. Not only have their lives moved on, but mine has too.

It makes me wonder how difficult it will be to get back into things once home. They always say that Study Abroad changes you and often, your relationships with others, but for some reason, I thought I'd be the exception. The thing is to remember though is that change isn't a bad thing.

I'm sure I've changed while here, and its probably not even over. With only three-fourths of the trip is complete at this point, it still leaves plenty of time. What is odd about it though is that I'm not entirely sure how I've changed yet. I'm not sure I'll ever be able to pinpoint it completely until I get home and others note it for me.

All of this isn't to say that I won't be thrilled to be home once it comes. Leaving Ireland in a month will certainly be bittersweet, but there is a whole list of things I'm looking forward to returning to. For the time being though, I intend on living out this last month in Ireland fully, spending a week with my family, finishing off school, and certainly travelling.

There are 31 days left and counting...


Phillip and I atop the Cliffs of Moher during our Spring Break.

No Luck of the Irish

Limerick Racecourse is no Keeneland, and being in Ireland certainly didn't bring me any luck.

Phillip and I decided to venture out to the racecourse for Student Raceday. Clearly, we weren't going to be able to make it to Keeneland this season, and we just felt like we were missing something. Although we didn't expect it to be exactly the same, we expected it to be more similar than it was.

For starters, there are about 20 bookie tents where you can make bets, not just one betting desk with the same odds and payouts. From the start, we had to not only attempt to read the program - which was a fail in itself- but then find where we could get the best payout if we bet correctly.

Then when it came to betting, no one bookie was the same as another. Some only took 5 euro bets, some refused to give change, some didn't mind giving change. Also, you can only make two types of bets - either to win or both ways. To Win is the same as home; Both Ways gives you two bets, one to win and one to place. You can't just bet to place. You certainly couldn't bet to show, and don't even try to bet trifecta, superfecta, or anything fancy. Phillip tried with no avail and probably made a few bookies upset asking because he held up the betting lines.

Beyond that, the track was different too. It wasn't flat and it was only grass. There was a significant hill in the track and the grass wasn't even nicely trimmed or even. Also, there was no score board, video screen or the like in the field, or anywhere for the matter. When watching the race, if you didn't have binoculars, you weren't going to see what was happening until the finish. At the end of the race, you had to walk around the stands and to the show ring to see what the top three finishing horses were if it wasn't obvious from the finish.

Some things were the same though. My luck certainly hasn't changed since I've been in Ireland. I'm still terrible at betting on horses and didn't win a single race. College kids are still the same. We had a streaker jump the fence and run part of the track. The track is still the same length and race lengths are no longer either.

Either way though, we still had a great time there. It made me miss Keeneland, Turfway, and just Kentucky Horse Racing in general. We're going to go to one of the local bookie offices and see if we can put money down on the Kentucky Derby over here. Maybe I'll get some more luck of the Irish before then!
Phillip and I along the track at Student Raceday.

A Mother's Wisdom

'Things have a way of working themselves out, don't they?'

My mom texted me that last week when, after much difficulty with our Spring Break plans, things finally seemed to be working out for the better. Our original plan of spending three days at the Aran Islands were swamped when we arrived to 12 foot waves which were certain to keep us on the mainland. Great. With 80 euro reservations at a hostel on one of the islands, a bus trip that was a headache to make up to Doolin, and few options, we turned right back around and returned to Limerick. The weather outlook for Doolin was not good for a few days and staying there would have only put more money into a trip that was failing already. We got back to the apartment, soaked up our woes in a dish of Chili Dip and were unmotivated to make new plans, bummed that we weren't biking on the beach at that time.

But as the week progressed, and I came down with a not-so-nice cold, we became rather thankful our plans changed. Instead of being miserable with a headcold on the Aran Islands, we took is slow for a few days. For the first part of the week, we did the plans we originally had for the second half of the week. We saw 'Alice in Wonderland' in Ennis, we went out to dinner in Limerick, and eventually became more motivated to make new plans.

Halfway through the week, the weather turned beautiful. We went to Tralee in a (failed) attempt to go to the beach. Tralee tourism is either very deceitful or geared toward tourist with cars. Either way, we saw the muddy mouth of the Dingle Bay and Ireland's largest working windmill, which ironically wasn't working the day we visited. Regardless, the weather was warm and sunny, and the views were scenic, even if they weren't the beach.

For our big excursion of the week, we found a bus tour of Bunratty Castle, the Cliffs of Moher, the Burren, and Doolin. Not only did we have beautiful weather for the trip, but we had the most quality tour guide we've encountered here in Europe. From him we learned that drinking from bottles is fashionable, you should buy the book 'Angela's Ashes', today's youth will not have pension when we get older, there should still be a window tax, and many other quality life lessons. We returned to Doolin, the place where our Aran Islands excursion failed, and went to our new favorite coffee shop. We trekked along the Cliffs of Moher [and I scared Phillip to death by screaming bloody murder about a bee that landed on me on top of the unstable part of the Cliffs]. We walked around the Burren, a rocky land that you can't grow anything on and we drove one of the most scenic drives in all of Europe.

After that, the weekend brought us our normal Limerick life. Market on Saturday. Mass and skyping on Sunday. Homemade dinners. Munster Rugby Games. Our Favorite Pub.

Although I didn't get to spend three days on the beaches of Ireland, our Spring Break was extremely successful. In fact, I am glad things didn't work out the way they were supposed to. Now we can return to the Islands in better weather. We got to see the Cliffs of Moher. Everything worked itself out.

That, though, seems to be the theme of this trip. Often things don't go the way we panned, but somehow everything always works out better than planned. As for future plans, the Easter Bunny brought us Munster Rugby tickets and the day after the game, my family comes to visit! We just have to get through these next two (and last two) weeks of classes, then its smooth sailing until we come home.
Phillip and I on the West Coast of Ireland during our Friday Bus Tour.