Well I just got done with my third group. Everyone showed up at our house around 4pm on Friday afternoon. We all just spent some time in the living room and visited for an hour or so until we had dinner, which was made by a volunteer. My girl was Sarah. She is 19 and she has cerebral palsy, which keeps her in a wheelchair. But that doesn't slow her down! She is very active, and even made it over to New York last year to compete in track and field. She is extremely friendly and loves to talk. I'm afraid my only shortcoming in her eyes was that I am a girl and not a cute boy. But other than that we got along very well. It was a big change from last week when I wasn't talking so much as I was running around a lot. This weekend was all about conversation, which was great.
After dinner, we all went bowling. All of the members seemed to love that, but Sarah was the winner with a record 100! That didn't go over so well with Martin, who was only a few points behind. After we got back I expected to stay up late like we did on the other groups, but we must have tired them all out! We were all in bed and asleep by 11. Saturday morning we all got up and got ready for breakfast. To be honest I was nervous about helping Sarah out with changing and showering, but it all went smoothly. Khadija, my supervisor, was there to do most of it, and Sarah was very vocal about what she needed. It made it much easier for me than I expected. After we all had breakfast we were off to the Pavillions where we went shopping and had lunch. Sarah was determined to help me find slippers, but we actually found a lot of things for her instead. She was so excited about the good deals she got. She is quite the bargain shopper. (She'd give you a run for your money, Dad.) We had a quick lunch and met up with the rest of the group to see Night at the Museum 2. Most of the members enjoyed the film, with the exception of Erin's girl Marie who needed some sleep. :) We all piled back into the van very tired and ready to go home.
The weather is so beautiful right now, especially for Ireland. The sun is shining with no rain and it's actually warm! So instead of going out to eat last night we all helped put together a BBQ. We have a nice backyard, so we all sat in the sun and shared a meal together. It was so nice, and it was great to break up the routine for the members who have been coming here for a long time. We were all pleased with the success of the day. We had some ice cream and then spent a little time hanging out in the living room before some of the members wanted to go to bed. It was only half nine, as the Irish say. But the rest of us played bingo (jealous Katie?) and that was really fun. But that was about all we could take before we were all ready for bed.
This morning we all got up and had breakfast. We got to sit out in the sun again and wait until it was time to head out for Mass. They were unable to get a driver, but it was a blessing in disguise. We all got to walk to Mass in this amazing weather, and we packed a lunch to take with us for afterwards. Boyhe and I made some sandwiches and Khadija got some drinks. It was perfect. After Mass we walked over to the Malahide Castle Park and had our picnic. We headed back around half 2 and got everyone packed and ready to go.
It was such a nice weekend that they were all sad to leave. But I must say I'm ready for a few days off! Erin and I are headed back to the park and I'll actually get to see the castle. Can you believe I've been here three weeks and I haven't taken the 15 minute walk to the castle by my house? I managed to make it all the way to the other side of Ireland before I made it to the Malahide Castle. Everyone here won't let me forget it so I am excited to get over there. :)
We have two days off and then another group on Wednesday. Not much time to relax so I better make the most of it. I might head out to the beach tomorrow because it's supposed to be another nice day.
I hope you're all doing well and I miss you guys!
Love,
Claire
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Friday, May 29, 2009
My First Night Out
Well my actual weekend (Monday and Tuesday) were completely uneventful, which I was very happy about! I was so exhausted after the last group that I didn't feel like doing anything! And in addition to be mentally and physically drained, I was sick on top of it.
On Wednesday, we had a BBQ at the house to say goodbye to Kyle. Kyle has been a volunteer in this house for two years, and he is leaving early tomorrow morning. He means a lot to this organization and to all the members. So all of us volunteers had a big job of running a BBQ for 30+ people. We got up early to clean, made all the food, set up the tables outside, and entertained the guests. Most of the guests were members, so a lot of them needed extra attention. After we had everything set up outside and everyone was all settled in with their food and drinks, it started raining! It shouldn't have been much of a surprise but we weren't prepared for it! So we all hurried to get inside and then made an attempt at saving the food. Everyone squeezed into the living room, which was quite an accomplishment! For the rest of the evening we all just ate and visited with the guests until about half past seven when the big soccer match began. Now anyone who knows me knows that I absolutely hate soccer. I think it is the most boring sport (besides golf...even though golf isn't a sport) of all time. However, you can't live in Europe without watching the damn game, so I've tried to embrace it. And when I heard that my room mates were placing a bet on Barcelona I couldn't help myself! Gambling always makes things more interesting! So I put 10 euro on the game, and I wasn't disappointed! We won against Manchester 2-0. It was actually a lot of fun. :)
I got up very early yesterday to head in to Dublin with May. I needed to get my visa because I'll be here for an entire year. It was great to actually see the city in the day time, but I wished I could have seen more of it. Unfortunately, yesterday was a day of cleaning and preparing for our next group that starts this afternoon. So there was no time to hang out in the city. I wasn't too bummed though because later that night, all the volunteers went out to show Kyle a good time on his last night out in Dublin. I was super excited because I have been dying to go out in Dublin since I got here a few weeks ago.
We started at this really cool restaurant called The Church. It's actually a renovated church that once was St. Mary's Church of Ireland. They still had the old organ and a few statues. Apparently, Arthur Guinness was married there! After that, we started pub hopping. I honestly can't remember all the names of the places we went. And it isn't because I was drinking! I only had a few last night. I was just so tired and they all sound the same! One of them had a live band that played traditional Irish music. It was three people about my age and they were so good! I really enjoyed that.
We ended up at a night club around one in the morning. We all got out there and danced! It was so much fun! The only not so fun thing was when this guy came up and grabbed my hand and tried to hit on me in the middle of the dance floor! I couldn't hear him, and I tried to politely excuse myself back to my group but he wouldn't let go! My stupid guy friends totally dropped the ball on this one. They didn't see him at all. I eventually forced my hand out of his and just walked away! Crazy Irishmen...Erin and I actually saw that guy later that night outside and he tried to do the same thing. She got him to leave us and he went right over to the next group of girls. I don't think he was too hurt. :P
After we all danced as much as we possibly could, we got a taxi and headed back home. I had a really good time, and I think I got my fill of the night life for a while. :)
Now I'm just relaxing before the group starts today. I think it will be another new challenge for me, so say some prayers! :)
On Wednesday, we had a BBQ at the house to say goodbye to Kyle. Kyle has been a volunteer in this house for two years, and he is leaving early tomorrow morning. He means a lot to this organization and to all the members. So all of us volunteers had a big job of running a BBQ for 30+ people. We got up early to clean, made all the food, set up the tables outside, and entertained the guests. Most of the guests were members, so a lot of them needed extra attention. After we had everything set up outside and everyone was all settled in with their food and drinks, it started raining! It shouldn't have been much of a surprise but we weren't prepared for it! So we all hurried to get inside and then made an attempt at saving the food. Everyone squeezed into the living room, which was quite an accomplishment! For the rest of the evening we all just ate and visited with the guests until about half past seven when the big soccer match began. Now anyone who knows me knows that I absolutely hate soccer. I think it is the most boring sport (besides golf...even though golf isn't a sport) of all time. However, you can't live in Europe without watching the damn game, so I've tried to embrace it. And when I heard that my room mates were placing a bet on Barcelona I couldn't help myself! Gambling always makes things more interesting! So I put 10 euro on the game, and I wasn't disappointed! We won against Manchester 2-0. It was actually a lot of fun. :)
I got up very early yesterday to head in to Dublin with May. I needed to get my visa because I'll be here for an entire year. It was great to actually see the city in the day time, but I wished I could have seen more of it. Unfortunately, yesterday was a day of cleaning and preparing for our next group that starts this afternoon. So there was no time to hang out in the city. I wasn't too bummed though because later that night, all the volunteers went out to show Kyle a good time on his last night out in Dublin. I was super excited because I have been dying to go out in Dublin since I got here a few weeks ago.
We started at this really cool restaurant called The Church. It's actually a renovated church that once was St. Mary's Church of Ireland. They still had the old organ and a few statues. Apparently, Arthur Guinness was married there! After that, we started pub hopping. I honestly can't remember all the names of the places we went. And it isn't because I was drinking! I only had a few last night. I was just so tired and they all sound the same! One of them had a live band that played traditional Irish music. It was three people about my age and they were so good! I really enjoyed that.
We ended up at a night club around one in the morning. We all got out there and danced! It was so much fun! The only not so fun thing was when this guy came up and grabbed my hand and tried to hit on me in the middle of the dance floor! I couldn't hear him, and I tried to politely excuse myself back to my group but he wouldn't let go! My stupid guy friends totally dropped the ball on this one. They didn't see him at all. I eventually forced my hand out of his and just walked away! Crazy Irishmen...Erin and I actually saw that guy later that night outside and he tried to do the same thing. She got him to leave us and he went right over to the next group of girls. I don't think he was too hurt. :P
After we all danced as much as we possibly could, we got a taxi and headed back home. I had a really good time, and I think I got my fill of the night life for a while. :)
Now I'm just relaxing before the group starts today. I think it will be another new challenge for me, so say some prayers! :)
Monday, May 25, 2009
My Biggest Challenge
This weekend has been extremely challenging for me. Overall, the kids group went really well. I loved playing and being silly with all of them. They are all so great, and they love coming to the house, so it was a fun vacation for them. We were meant to be their entertainment and not their babysitters, so I was looking forward to a nice weekend of fun, and not any discipline or scolding....but I was very wrong to assume that!
There were seven volunteers, seven children, and a supervisor, Rebecca. Rebecca works for CASA in the kids groups only, so she knows all the children very well, and they all love her. She's very lovely and I like her a lot. However she is really easy on the kids and lets them get away with everything they want, which is hard for us because then we have to tell them to stop hitting the other kid with the golf club, or to stay by us at the zoo when they are running way ahead. In theory we weren't supposed to do any of that stuff, but unfortunately we were all left to it.
I didn't grow up with younger siblings, and the only kid I ever babysat was Joey my cousin and he's pretty much the easiest kid to look after ever. I LOVE kids and I love to play with them, but I've never learned the right way to handle the hard stuff. So this will be good for me I think...but we'll see...maybe it will just make me not want to have them! haha
I got to the Swords house (the other breakhouse that doesn't have permanent inhabitants and is used for bigger groups) on Friday afternoon and met with my girl for the weekend, Lauren. Lauren is 11 and she has a very unique disability. I can't remember the medical term for it, but basically her skull stops developing and her brain continues to grow as she gets older. You can't notice anything right now because she's little, but apparently as she becomes an adult, it will become more noticeable. Anyways, the bigger reason she comes to the CASA house is because of her home life. I don't know much (and it wouldn't be appropriate to share anyways) but she is having some serious stuff to deal with at home, and it makes it hard on her. She's also one of 6 kids and Rebecca says that she doesn't get the attention she needs. So she has a lot of behavioral problems that are difficult to work with.
I really struggled with this. One moment she loved me and wanted to be my buddy and the next she was running away from me and pretending to cry. I could never tell what she needed from me moment to moment. I wanted to have fun with her and make it the best time for her as possible because it was her weekend. But at the same time, it was hard to not scold her because she was often causing problems with the other children. And Rebecca was of no use to me, which made it even harder. I'm really not trained to watch after children with Lauren's problem, so I felt very inadequate the entire time. I really wanted to be good, and I felt like I failed. But Rebecca assured me that I did great, and there really wasn't anything that anyone could have done differently. She said that Lauren wasn't usually this volatile, but this month has been especially bad at home.
The first night we all had pizza and watched a movie on the projector. That was a lot of fun and the kids loved it! The next day we had breakfast and played in the morning until the bus came to take us to the zoo. I was already really tired by 11am because another one of Lauren's quirks is that she is only able to do an activity for about 4 minutes before she's bored and wants to do something else. I realize that most kids are like this, but she was the only one out of the seven kids that was quite that bad. So I was literally following her from the sitting room to the kitchen to the living room to her bedroom to outside where there was a bouncy castle and then the same thing over again! I definitely got my workout! :) So the zoo was pretty cool. I had a hard time, however, because Lauren was constantly running ahead of the group and never wanted me to follow her, which made her run even further away. She'd take me to the bathroom a million times, and the second we got to it she miraculously didn't have to go anymore. She wouldn't stay in line for lunch, so she ran off while I was waiting for my food, which was stressful. By the time we left, I realized that I spent the whole time chasing after her, and I worried that she didn't even have fun at all. But I really didn't have control over that. What was I supposed to do...not follow her? We got back to the house and had more running around and playing. She painted my nails. :) She also tried to teach me soccer, which is hopeless. haha But she played with the boys and she definitely gave them a run for their money! A volunteer came and made us dinner, which was great. And then Megan (who is another little girl that I loved!) had an idea for a disco dance party! It was so much fun! All the kids had a great time, and it was nice to have a whole hour of one activity with Lauren. :) After the dancing we all settled down for a story and then bedtime. My heart melted when I tucked Lauren in and she asked me to lay down next to her and read her just one more story. It was moments like that that made up for all the craziness of the day.
Yesterday morning we all had breakfast and played until Mass at 11. A priest came over to the house, which was really nice. I can't imagine what sitting in a church for an hour would be like with Lauren. After Mass we all went to a park and had lunch. There is a farm at the park with lots of animals and a petting zoo area. That was really fun. After the kids had enough of that we went to the playground and they got to run around a bit more.
We got home and cleaned up a bit before it was time to go. Lauren gave me a huge hug and I could tell that she really did have fun that weekend. And even though it was really hard for me, I had a lot of fun too. I know that I'm complaining a lot in this thing. And some of you must be thinking that if I can't handle one weekend with children, then I better not have any of my own! And believe me, I've been thinking the same thing. But I do realize that it's a completely different situation not only because of the disabilities but also because they aren't my children. And I think that makes a huge difference. Lauren knew that she could push the boundaries with me and that's exactly what she did. I only hope that I learned from this weekend so I can move forward and be better on my next kids group.
I think I'll write a little about the other kids. They were all so great! Kyle was with Billy. Billy is about 6 years old and he has down syndrome. He is the cutest kid I've ever seen! (With the exception of my nephews, of course.) He is so funny too! He loves to dance and be really silly, so he's constantly entertaining. Erin was with Chrissy. She also has down syndrome. She loves High School Musical and she was so excited about her pjs that had a HSM theme. She also gives the best hugs. And then there is Darren. He was with Gabriele. Darren is 10 and also has down syndrome. He has the BEST expressions! And he loves attention! He likes to be a comedian for sure. And he asked me to kiss him on the cheek and as I went to give him one he quickly moved to try and get me to kiss him on the mouth! Luckily I was on to him! No kiss for Darrin! Sneaky little guy huh? Bohye was with Connor. I can't remember what Connor has but it's a pretty severe mental and physical disability. He liked to spend all of his time away from the group with Bohye, but he did make an appearance at the dance party to show us his moves. He also LOVED the peacocks which were at the zoo and the farm, so he was excited about that. And he really loved the vaccum and the washing machine. :) Johnny had Matthew. He was a fun kid. I think I heard the phrase "guess what" a 100 times each day from him. haha And lastly, there's Megan. She was with May. Megan is 13 and she has a slight physical disability. She loved everything girly, and she always wore neon colors! She really liked me because i knew all the movies and music that she loves. She was so sweet.
So there you have it! That was my incredibly crazy weekend. Like I said, overall, it went well. But I definitely have some learning and growing to do! I think this year will be the challenge I was looking for....
There were seven volunteers, seven children, and a supervisor, Rebecca. Rebecca works for CASA in the kids groups only, so she knows all the children very well, and they all love her. She's very lovely and I like her a lot. However she is really easy on the kids and lets them get away with everything they want, which is hard for us because then we have to tell them to stop hitting the other kid with the golf club, or to stay by us at the zoo when they are running way ahead. In theory we weren't supposed to do any of that stuff, but unfortunately we were all left to it.
I didn't grow up with younger siblings, and the only kid I ever babysat was Joey my cousin and he's pretty much the easiest kid to look after ever. I LOVE kids and I love to play with them, but I've never learned the right way to handle the hard stuff. So this will be good for me I think...but we'll see...maybe it will just make me not want to have them! haha
I got to the Swords house (the other breakhouse that doesn't have permanent inhabitants and is used for bigger groups) on Friday afternoon and met with my girl for the weekend, Lauren. Lauren is 11 and she has a very unique disability. I can't remember the medical term for it, but basically her skull stops developing and her brain continues to grow as she gets older. You can't notice anything right now because she's little, but apparently as she becomes an adult, it will become more noticeable. Anyways, the bigger reason she comes to the CASA house is because of her home life. I don't know much (and it wouldn't be appropriate to share anyways) but she is having some serious stuff to deal with at home, and it makes it hard on her. She's also one of 6 kids and Rebecca says that she doesn't get the attention she needs. So she has a lot of behavioral problems that are difficult to work with.
I really struggled with this. One moment she loved me and wanted to be my buddy and the next she was running away from me and pretending to cry. I could never tell what she needed from me moment to moment. I wanted to have fun with her and make it the best time for her as possible because it was her weekend. But at the same time, it was hard to not scold her because she was often causing problems with the other children. And Rebecca was of no use to me, which made it even harder. I'm really not trained to watch after children with Lauren's problem, so I felt very inadequate the entire time. I really wanted to be good, and I felt like I failed. But Rebecca assured me that I did great, and there really wasn't anything that anyone could have done differently. She said that Lauren wasn't usually this volatile, but this month has been especially bad at home.
The first night we all had pizza and watched a movie on the projector. That was a lot of fun and the kids loved it! The next day we had breakfast and played in the morning until the bus came to take us to the zoo. I was already really tired by 11am because another one of Lauren's quirks is that she is only able to do an activity for about 4 minutes before she's bored and wants to do something else. I realize that most kids are like this, but she was the only one out of the seven kids that was quite that bad. So I was literally following her from the sitting room to the kitchen to the living room to her bedroom to outside where there was a bouncy castle and then the same thing over again! I definitely got my workout! :) So the zoo was pretty cool. I had a hard time, however, because Lauren was constantly running ahead of the group and never wanted me to follow her, which made her run even further away. She'd take me to the bathroom a million times, and the second we got to it she miraculously didn't have to go anymore. She wouldn't stay in line for lunch, so she ran off while I was waiting for my food, which was stressful. By the time we left, I realized that I spent the whole time chasing after her, and I worried that she didn't even have fun at all. But I really didn't have control over that. What was I supposed to do...not follow her? We got back to the house and had more running around and playing. She painted my nails. :) She also tried to teach me soccer, which is hopeless. haha But she played with the boys and she definitely gave them a run for their money! A volunteer came and made us dinner, which was great. And then Megan (who is another little girl that I loved!) had an idea for a disco dance party! It was so much fun! All the kids had a great time, and it was nice to have a whole hour of one activity with Lauren. :) After the dancing we all settled down for a story and then bedtime. My heart melted when I tucked Lauren in and she asked me to lay down next to her and read her just one more story. It was moments like that that made up for all the craziness of the day.
Yesterday morning we all had breakfast and played until Mass at 11. A priest came over to the house, which was really nice. I can't imagine what sitting in a church for an hour would be like with Lauren. After Mass we all went to a park and had lunch. There is a farm at the park with lots of animals and a petting zoo area. That was really fun. After the kids had enough of that we went to the playground and they got to run around a bit more.
We got home and cleaned up a bit before it was time to go. Lauren gave me a huge hug and I could tell that she really did have fun that weekend. And even though it was really hard for me, I had a lot of fun too. I know that I'm complaining a lot in this thing. And some of you must be thinking that if I can't handle one weekend with children, then I better not have any of my own! And believe me, I've been thinking the same thing. But I do realize that it's a completely different situation not only because of the disabilities but also because they aren't my children. And I think that makes a huge difference. Lauren knew that she could push the boundaries with me and that's exactly what she did. I only hope that I learned from this weekend so I can move forward and be better on my next kids group.
I think I'll write a little about the other kids. They were all so great! Kyle was with Billy. Billy is about 6 years old and he has down syndrome. He is the cutest kid I've ever seen! (With the exception of my nephews, of course.) He is so funny too! He loves to dance and be really silly, so he's constantly entertaining. Erin was with Chrissy. She also has down syndrome. She loves High School Musical and she was so excited about her pjs that had a HSM theme. She also gives the best hugs. And then there is Darren. He was with Gabriele. Darren is 10 and also has down syndrome. He has the BEST expressions! And he loves attention! He likes to be a comedian for sure. And he asked me to kiss him on the cheek and as I went to give him one he quickly moved to try and get me to kiss him on the mouth! Luckily I was on to him! No kiss for Darrin! Sneaky little guy huh? Bohye was with Connor. I can't remember what Connor has but it's a pretty severe mental and physical disability. He liked to spend all of his time away from the group with Bohye, but he did make an appearance at the dance party to show us his moves. He also LOVED the peacocks which were at the zoo and the farm, so he was excited about that. And he really loved the vaccum and the washing machine. :) Johnny had Matthew. He was a fun kid. I think I heard the phrase "guess what" a 100 times each day from him. haha And lastly, there's Megan. She was with May. Megan is 13 and she has a slight physical disability. She loved everything girly, and she always wore neon colors! She really liked me because i knew all the movies and music that she loves. She was so sweet.
So there you have it! That was my incredibly crazy weekend. Like I said, overall, it went well. But I definitely have some learning and growing to do! I think this year will be the challenge I was looking for....
Thursday, May 21, 2009
The Lost City of Clonmacnoise
So I wrote this whole post and realized that I haven't explained who Mary is and why she's a part of CASA. Mary is a nun who was a huge part in opening this breakhouse. She used to be a paid worker for the organization until her MS got worse. Now she lives in the house and still joins in on activities from time to time. She wanted to take all of us volunteers to Clonmacnoise and Tullamore, where she grew up. Ok now back to my post. :P
Today we the volunteers, Mary, and Mary's PA Omina all squeezed into the bus (literally 6 inches of leg room between seats) and headed out to County Offaly to see the lost city of Clonmacnoise. This place is truly amazing! It is a little bit of land with many ruins of old buildings that once made up a monastery and a university (older than Oxford and Cambridge!) It was founded by St. Ciaran in 545. Now all that is left is a few ruins and a LOT of graves. The monks were all buried around the buildings, and there is a public lot behind all of that. It was strange to walk around all the headstones. Most of them were not legible anymore, and quite a few are starting to sink into the ground! The city is right along a river and it is so beautiful. Please look at the pictures I have on Facebook! :)
My favorite part of the whole place was a small open chapel they have outside. They built it about 30 years ago. It had 3 glass walls and a roof that only shelters what would be considered the altar. There is a place for a priest to sit and also a podium. On the wall inside there is a stone tablet that says: His Holiness Pope John Paul II Prayed Here Sept 30th 1979. How cool is that??? I can only imagine how crowded that little graveyard was on that day!
There is so much more I could say about this place, but I'm afraid I might butcher some of the details. For more info, check this out. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clonmacnoise
After we looked around for a while it was time to head out. Mary wanted to take us to lunch at the rectory of the church where Fr. Frank Murry lives. He is Paddy Murry's brother, who is another big person in the world of CASA. He also lives here! Anyways, Fr. Frank and his helper Mary made a lovely lunch and we all had a good time. After that, we were off to see the house where Mary grew up. I expected a modest house that would be really old. It was HUGE! I wish i got a picture of it! haha
We headed back home extremely full from the lunch, and ready to get out of that damn bus! :)
I have a group this weekend, and this time it's kids! I'm really excited. Pray that the weather is nice (that's a big prayer around here) so that we are able to take the kids to the zoo.
With love,
Claire
Today we the volunteers, Mary, and Mary's PA Omina all squeezed into the bus (literally 6 inches of leg room between seats) and headed out to County Offaly to see the lost city of Clonmacnoise. This place is truly amazing! It is a little bit of land with many ruins of old buildings that once made up a monastery and a university (older than Oxford and Cambridge!) It was founded by St. Ciaran in 545. Now all that is left is a few ruins and a LOT of graves. The monks were all buried around the buildings, and there is a public lot behind all of that. It was strange to walk around all the headstones. Most of them were not legible anymore, and quite a few are starting to sink into the ground! The city is right along a river and it is so beautiful. Please look at the pictures I have on Facebook! :)
My favorite part of the whole place was a small open chapel they have outside. They built it about 30 years ago. It had 3 glass walls and a roof that only shelters what would be considered the altar. There is a place for a priest to sit and also a podium. On the wall inside there is a stone tablet that says: His Holiness Pope John Paul II Prayed Here Sept 30th 1979. How cool is that??? I can only imagine how crowded that little graveyard was on that day!
There is so much more I could say about this place, but I'm afraid I might butcher some of the details. For more info, check this out. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clonmacnoise
After we looked around for a while it was time to head out. Mary wanted to take us to lunch at the rectory of the church where Fr. Frank Murry lives. He is Paddy Murry's brother, who is another big person in the world of CASA. He also lives here! Anyways, Fr. Frank and his helper Mary made a lovely lunch and we all had a good time. After that, we were off to see the house where Mary grew up. I expected a modest house that would be really old. It was HUGE! I wish i got a picture of it! haha
We headed back home extremely full from the lunch, and ready to get out of that damn bus! :)
I have a group this weekend, and this time it's kids! I'm really excited. Pray that the weather is nice (that's a big prayer around here) so that we are able to take the kids to the zoo.
With love,
Claire
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Letting go...
Ok, so there really isn't much new to report, but I have a few minutes of down time and I thought I'd write a little bit about my latest life lesson.
But before I do that, I got a cell phone over here and this is the number, including the country code: 353 087 299 3107
A few days ago my batteries in my camera died. So I put them in my charger and a few minutes later the charger light was off. So I thought maybe I had plugged it in wrong. (These damn European outlets are driving me crazy!) So I put the batteries in my camera to see if they had charged at all. Instead of the normal "Low Battery" screen, it was not working at all. So I went to the village yesterday to buy some batteries until I could go into Dublin and get a new charger. Well as it turns out my camera was broken too! So I spent the whole day yesterday very upset about the whole thing. I want to use my money here for traveling, not for a camera that I shouldn't need! I went to the mall today to ask if they could fix it. The fellow behind the counter explained that I probably had a leak in the batteries which killed the charger and then killed my camera! I have such bad luck! How was I supposed to know that that had happened? So all because of a damn battery, I needed to buy a new camera and a new charger. But he showed me some good deals on cameras and they all came with chargers. I found a good one that wasn't too expensive (although everything in Ireland is expensive...) and I got it. After I got it I felt so much better that it was taken care of. And then I realized how ridiculous it was for me to be so upset over something so material. I think maybe I needed a little lesson in letting go and accepting what life throws at me, especially while I'm over here in a different country. So there is my silly little story that most of you probably won't be interested in! haha I now have a camera and I will be taking pictures like crazy! I think I will definitely learn a lot this year...
But before I do that, I got a cell phone over here and this is the number, including the country code: 353 087 299 3107
A few days ago my batteries in my camera died. So I put them in my charger and a few minutes later the charger light was off. So I thought maybe I had plugged it in wrong. (These damn European outlets are driving me crazy!) So I put the batteries in my camera to see if they had charged at all. Instead of the normal "Low Battery" screen, it was not working at all. So I went to the village yesterday to buy some batteries until I could go into Dublin and get a new charger. Well as it turns out my camera was broken too! So I spent the whole day yesterday very upset about the whole thing. I want to use my money here for traveling, not for a camera that I shouldn't need! I went to the mall today to ask if they could fix it. The fellow behind the counter explained that I probably had a leak in the batteries which killed the charger and then killed my camera! I have such bad luck! How was I supposed to know that that had happened? So all because of a damn battery, I needed to buy a new camera and a new charger. But he showed me some good deals on cameras and they all came with chargers. I found a good one that wasn't too expensive (although everything in Ireland is expensive...) and I got it. After I got it I felt so much better that it was taken care of. And then I realized how ridiculous it was for me to be so upset over something so material. I think maybe I needed a little lesson in letting go and accepting what life throws at me, especially while I'm over here in a different country. So there is my silly little story that most of you probably won't be interested in! haha I now have a camera and I will be taking pictures like crazy! I think I will definitely learn a lot this year...
Monday, May 18, 2009
Cliffs of Moher
Hello!
Yesterday was such an amazing day! Five of us (Johnny, Gabriele, May, Bohye, and I) got up at 6:30am and left to get a rental car for the day. We all packed a few sandwiches each and snacks so that we wouldn't have to buy any food. I had my food in my own bag, but everyone elses was in one bag. After driving an hour, Johnny and Gabriele discovered that they left the food at the rental place!! They were all so angry at poor Gabriele. I offered to share my food, but it was of course not nearly enough for everyone for two meals. We stopped at a small market somewhere in the middle of Ireland to get food. It was actually very funny!
We then headed over to the west coast of Ireland (we are on the east coast) and it only took us about 3 hours to go across the entire country! It was such a beautiful drive. There really is no place like Ireland. I am so in love with this country.
My batteries were dead for my camera and my charger decided to break. So I have no pictures of my own. As soon as May lets me borrow hers, I'll put them on Facebook.
We went to the Cliffs of Moher first. What an amazing place! It's so hard to describe how beautiful it was. We walked along the edge, and Gabriele was so mad that they put up a stone wall! He says it's because of the stupid American tourists who fell off the edge! I think he's right... :) There was also the O'Brien Tower which was great to see. (Yes, I did think of you, Christy and Eamon!) After we walked around for a bit, we left to go to the Ring of Kerry. I think that it was the most magnificant place I've ever been! If any of you come to Ireland, you must go there! There are huge rocky hills and a road that drives through it. There is also a river that flows along the road. We saw lots of wildlife. Sheep, deer, ducks, heron (I think...) and many other animals. There are no words to describe it, so you must look for the pictures when I put them up.
I love driving through the country because you never know when you'll pass an old stone building or ruins. They are everywhere! It's like a tresure hunt!
We left the Ring of Kerry, and we got a little lost. But I didn't mind because the ride was so enjoyable. I'll never worry about getting lost in Ireland. :) We drove a bit more but then we decided to head home. We were all so tired and it was 3 more hours to get back. Gabriele took a turn driving, which was all scary for us! We all know how those Italians drive...He did ok though. :) We finally got into Dublin, and we were so happy to be near home. But then we saw the sirens. The police came up to the car and asked Gabriele to get out of the car. All we saw was two guarda talking to him. He gets back in the car and says, "No problem!" He had run a red light! Stupid, Italian! haha He is very lucky that they didn't check his ID because he wasn't old enough to drive a rental car. Apparently, the guarda don't care about anyone driving a rental car because it is too much trouble to give tourists tickets. We were lucky! We got home about 15 minutes later. Whew! Such a long day! We got home about 2am. I slept until 12pm today!
I'm not sure what I'll do today. I think I'll head into Malahide village and run some errands. The cleaners come here around 2 and it is adviced that we leave and let them work. I need to get some batteries and figure out a cell phone plan. I didn't think I'd need one, but they told me I have to get one so they can keep track of me when I'm out. C'est la vie.
We have another day off tomorrow, and then a training day Wednesday. I think we are traveling to the country side on Thursday as a group. And then a group of members come in on Friday for the weekend. It's a group of children this time! It should be a lot of fun.
I'll write again soon! Love,
Claire
Yesterday was such an amazing day! Five of us (Johnny, Gabriele, May, Bohye, and I) got up at 6:30am and left to get a rental car for the day. We all packed a few sandwiches each and snacks so that we wouldn't have to buy any food. I had my food in my own bag, but everyone elses was in one bag. After driving an hour, Johnny and Gabriele discovered that they left the food at the rental place!! They were all so angry at poor Gabriele. I offered to share my food, but it was of course not nearly enough for everyone for two meals. We stopped at a small market somewhere in the middle of Ireland to get food. It was actually very funny!
We then headed over to the west coast of Ireland (we are on the east coast) and it only took us about 3 hours to go across the entire country! It was such a beautiful drive. There really is no place like Ireland. I am so in love with this country.
My batteries were dead for my camera and my charger decided to break. So I have no pictures of my own. As soon as May lets me borrow hers, I'll put them on Facebook.
We went to the Cliffs of Moher first. What an amazing place! It's so hard to describe how beautiful it was. We walked along the edge, and Gabriele was so mad that they put up a stone wall! He says it's because of the stupid American tourists who fell off the edge! I think he's right... :) There was also the O'Brien Tower which was great to see. (Yes, I did think of you, Christy and Eamon!) After we walked around for a bit, we left to go to the Ring of Kerry. I think that it was the most magnificant place I've ever been! If any of you come to Ireland, you must go there! There are huge rocky hills and a road that drives through it. There is also a river that flows along the road. We saw lots of wildlife. Sheep, deer, ducks, heron (I think...) and many other animals. There are no words to describe it, so you must look for the pictures when I put them up.
I love driving through the country because you never know when you'll pass an old stone building or ruins. They are everywhere! It's like a tresure hunt!
We left the Ring of Kerry, and we got a little lost. But I didn't mind because the ride was so enjoyable. I'll never worry about getting lost in Ireland. :) We drove a bit more but then we decided to head home. We were all so tired and it was 3 more hours to get back. Gabriele took a turn driving, which was all scary for us! We all know how those Italians drive...He did ok though. :) We finally got into Dublin, and we were so happy to be near home. But then we saw the sirens. The police came up to the car and asked Gabriele to get out of the car. All we saw was two guarda talking to him. He gets back in the car and says, "No problem!" He had run a red light! Stupid, Italian! haha He is very lucky that they didn't check his ID because he wasn't old enough to drive a rental car. Apparently, the guarda don't care about anyone driving a rental car because it is too much trouble to give tourists tickets. We were lucky! We got home about 15 minutes later. Whew! Such a long day! We got home about 2am. I slept until 12pm today!
I'm not sure what I'll do today. I think I'll head into Malahide village and run some errands. The cleaners come here around 2 and it is adviced that we leave and let them work. I need to get some batteries and figure out a cell phone plan. I didn't think I'd need one, but they told me I have to get one so they can keep track of me when I'm out. C'est la vie.
We have another day off tomorrow, and then a training day Wednesday. I think we are traveling to the country side on Thursday as a group. And then a group of members come in on Friday for the weekend. It's a group of children this time! It should be a lot of fun.
I'll write again soon! Love,
Claire
Saturday, May 16, 2009
My First Group
Hullo all!
Today is going to very relaxing. After the week I had, I deserve it! :) There is so much to write about, so this will be very long. And I probably will forget a lot of it!
On Wednesday afternoon, one by one, the members entered the CASA Breakhouse. We greated them all with tea and biscuits (which are just really delicious cookies). It turns out that if there is ever a time that we are not eating a meal, we're drinking tea and eating biscuits. I've had to swear them off already! I will be the first person in CASA to not gain weight! I have to stay strong! It's just that all they do here is eat...it's insane. Sorry for that tangent...back to Wednesday. All of my fellow volunteers are paired up each week with one member with a disability. My member's name is Margaret. She is probably the sweetest woman I've ever met! She only has a mild intellectual disability, so she is very independant. She didn't need me to help her shower, use the bathroom, or get dressed. I really enjoyed my time with her. She was extremely easy going, and enjoyed all of the activites that we did with them. After we had tea, we had dinner together. It was a tight fit around the table with 15 people, but we seemed to manage. I guess it's abnormal to have seven volunteers in the house at one time, so it's a larger group than they are used to. But it seemed fine to me because I don't know any different. After dinner we all went bowling! It was so much fun! And it was great because they had a metal frame that was used by the members in wheelchairs so they were able to play as well. We got back for more tea and biscuits before bed.
The next morning we all had breakfast together. After that, we went straight to the mall. We had time for some shopping and lunch before we went to see a movie. I got to help Margaret pick out a nice pair of shoes. She was so excited! And then we met Kyle, Ken, and Khadija for lunch at a burger place in the mall. We weren't very hungry because we had a big breakfast, but the burgers were HUGE! And they came with lots of chips! (They aren't called fries here, of course. And the chips are called crisps! I'll get the hang of it soon...) And we were expected to have a large dinner as well. But anyways, we went to a movie after that called Monsters Vs. Aliens. Margaret slept through most of it! It was a little too noisy for her. :) The movie was ok. I think most of the members enjoyed it. After that we came back to change for dinner. Margaret wore a red dress that she bought the last time she was in the CASA house. She looked so great! She was worried that it was too short, but we assured her it wasn't. She is very concervative. She said she didn't want to attract boys! She said that she could handle them, but they couldn't handle her! haha It was funny when she said things like that because she's so quiet and reserved most of the time. I have some pictures, and I'll put them on facebook soon. Dinner was great! We went to a restaurant on the marina called Cruzzos. It was very fancy! The members loved it! And then we came back for some tea of course.
Friday morning was very busy. We had breakfast early, because the priest was coming over at 11 for Mass at the house. It was very lovely because we all got to particpate in the Mass with the readings and singing. After Mass, we all had lunch (which was only about 2 hours after breakfast!) and more tea. We then got everyone ready to go back to their homes. I think that they all had a great time.
It was a good introduction for me into how things work around here. I am scared because Margaret was so fun and easy to work with, that I think next week I might not be so lucky! I am not prepared for someone who might be a little more difficult to work with. But there was a big variety of disabilites and abilites in this last group, so I was able to learn by watching the other volunteers. I think that I will really love doing this work. :)
After the members left, Kyle, Johnny, Erin, and I went to a birthday party for one of the members. I had never met John before, but he greeted me with open arms and a kiss on the cheek! It was a very fancy party in a conference room at a nice hotel with food and drinks and a dance floor! We had a really nice time. I look forward to seeing John again when he comes to CASA next.
When we got back to Malahide, we went straight to Gibley's for drinks. We met the rest of the volunteers there. It was very crowded but we managed to find a table with some locals. They were all very nice. I had a lot of beer! But not too much of course. No need to embarrass myself yet. Gabriele had quite a few however, and he was very funny! He started calling me Chiara, which is Italian for Claire. He tried to teach me a bit of Italian too, but it was hard to understand, I'm afraid. :P
Now I am just hanging out here. I think I'll head to the Malahide village again today and walk around. I'll go to Mass tonight, because we are leaving very early tomorrow to go to the Cliffs of Moor, which is where they filmed The Princess Bride! How cool is that? I'll take plenty of pictures, so don't worry about it. :)
I miss you guy so much! You should email me if you have a chance. It would be good to hear about what's going on over there.
Love,
Claire
Today is going to very relaxing. After the week I had, I deserve it! :) There is so much to write about, so this will be very long. And I probably will forget a lot of it!
On Wednesday afternoon, one by one, the members entered the CASA Breakhouse. We greated them all with tea and biscuits (which are just really delicious cookies). It turns out that if there is ever a time that we are not eating a meal, we're drinking tea and eating biscuits. I've had to swear them off already! I will be the first person in CASA to not gain weight! I have to stay strong! It's just that all they do here is eat...it's insane. Sorry for that tangent...back to Wednesday. All of my fellow volunteers are paired up each week with one member with a disability. My member's name is Margaret. She is probably the sweetest woman I've ever met! She only has a mild intellectual disability, so she is very independant. She didn't need me to help her shower, use the bathroom, or get dressed. I really enjoyed my time with her. She was extremely easy going, and enjoyed all of the activites that we did with them. After we had tea, we had dinner together. It was a tight fit around the table with 15 people, but we seemed to manage. I guess it's abnormal to have seven volunteers in the house at one time, so it's a larger group than they are used to. But it seemed fine to me because I don't know any different. After dinner we all went bowling! It was so much fun! And it was great because they had a metal frame that was used by the members in wheelchairs so they were able to play as well. We got back for more tea and biscuits before bed.
The next morning we all had breakfast together. After that, we went straight to the mall. We had time for some shopping and lunch before we went to see a movie. I got to help Margaret pick out a nice pair of shoes. She was so excited! And then we met Kyle, Ken, and Khadija for lunch at a burger place in the mall. We weren't very hungry because we had a big breakfast, but the burgers were HUGE! And they came with lots of chips! (They aren't called fries here, of course. And the chips are called crisps! I'll get the hang of it soon...) And we were expected to have a large dinner as well. But anyways, we went to a movie after that called Monsters Vs. Aliens. Margaret slept through most of it! It was a little too noisy for her. :) The movie was ok. I think most of the members enjoyed it. After that we came back to change for dinner. Margaret wore a red dress that she bought the last time she was in the CASA house. She looked so great! She was worried that it was too short, but we assured her it wasn't. She is very concervative. She said she didn't want to attract boys! She said that she could handle them, but they couldn't handle her! haha It was funny when she said things like that because she's so quiet and reserved most of the time. I have some pictures, and I'll put them on facebook soon. Dinner was great! We went to a restaurant on the marina called Cruzzos. It was very fancy! The members loved it! And then we came back for some tea of course.
Friday morning was very busy. We had breakfast early, because the priest was coming over at 11 for Mass at the house. It was very lovely because we all got to particpate in the Mass with the readings and singing. After Mass, we all had lunch (which was only about 2 hours after breakfast!) and more tea. We then got everyone ready to go back to their homes. I think that they all had a great time.
It was a good introduction for me into how things work around here. I am scared because Margaret was so fun and easy to work with, that I think next week I might not be so lucky! I am not prepared for someone who might be a little more difficult to work with. But there was a big variety of disabilites and abilites in this last group, so I was able to learn by watching the other volunteers. I think that I will really love doing this work. :)
After the members left, Kyle, Johnny, Erin, and I went to a birthday party for one of the members. I had never met John before, but he greeted me with open arms and a kiss on the cheek! It was a very fancy party in a conference room at a nice hotel with food and drinks and a dance floor! We had a really nice time. I look forward to seeing John again when he comes to CASA next.
When we got back to Malahide, we went straight to Gibley's for drinks. We met the rest of the volunteers there. It was very crowded but we managed to find a table with some locals. They were all very nice. I had a lot of beer! But not too much of course. No need to embarrass myself yet. Gabriele had quite a few however, and he was very funny! He started calling me Chiara, which is Italian for Claire. He tried to teach me a bit of Italian too, but it was hard to understand, I'm afraid. :P
Now I am just hanging out here. I think I'll head to the Malahide village again today and walk around. I'll go to Mass tonight, because we are leaving very early tomorrow to go to the Cliffs of Moor, which is where they filmed The Princess Bride! How cool is that? I'll take plenty of pictures, so don't worry about it. :)
I miss you guy so much! You should email me if you have a chance. It would be good to hear about what's going on over there.
Love,
Claire
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Long Hikes and Local Liquor Shops
Hello all!
It is 6:30pm and I am TIRED! I just got back from an entire day of walking. And as you probably know I'm usually a very lazy girl! My room mates May (from Hong Kong) and Bohye (from South Korea), and I hopped on the DART (Dublin Area Rapid Transit) that took us to a suburb of Dublin called Howth (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howth). It is a small peninsula that has many huge houses all around it. But there is a trail that goes around the whole thing, and that is the part that we walked. We were about 5 feet away from falling to our death for the majority of the time. But it was SO windy that if I tripped I would have flew into the field and not over the edge. It was quite a long walk, but definitely worth it. We cut through the peninsula towards the end and followed the road back to the DART station, instead of walking the rest of the way along the coast.
On the way back to the house we stopped in the little Malahide shopping area to go to the library and O'Brien's, which is the liquor shop. It is crazy expensive for alcohol here, so we all got a few cans of beer. (Typically around $2.50 for one can.) So I got the cheapest one, which just happened to be a budweiser. I definitely got made fun of for that! But I had a real guinness last night so everyone just needs to leave me alone! haha There were two young guys working behind the counter so I tried to use some of my American charm. I think it worked! I think I'll definitely by stopping by there again soon. :) (Although I admit I'm embarrassed now about that damn budweiser...they probably think I'm a stupid American!)
So now the girls are making dinner and I feel like I should go and help. That is all for now. I hope you're all having fun without me! How was that "Claire's Finally Gone Party?" :)
Love,
Claire
PS I can't put pictures on here, but they will be on Facebook. Let me know if you want an email. The lighthouse was beautiful!
It is 6:30pm and I am TIRED! I just got back from an entire day of walking. And as you probably know I'm usually a very lazy girl! My room mates May (from Hong Kong) and Bohye (from South Korea), and I hopped on the DART (Dublin Area Rapid Transit) that took us to a suburb of Dublin called Howth (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howth). It is a small peninsula that has many huge houses all around it. But there is a trail that goes around the whole thing, and that is the part that we walked. We were about 5 feet away from falling to our death for the majority of the time. But it was SO windy that if I tripped I would have flew into the field and not over the edge. It was quite a long walk, but definitely worth it. We cut through the peninsula towards the end and followed the road back to the DART station, instead of walking the rest of the way along the coast.
On the way back to the house we stopped in the little Malahide shopping area to go to the library and O'Brien's, which is the liquor shop. It is crazy expensive for alcohol here, so we all got a few cans of beer. (Typically around $2.50 for one can.) So I got the cheapest one, which just happened to be a budweiser. I definitely got made fun of for that! But I had a real guinness last night so everyone just needs to leave me alone! haha There were two young guys working behind the counter so I tried to use some of my American charm. I think it worked! I think I'll definitely by stopping by there again soon. :) (Although I admit I'm embarrassed now about that damn budweiser...they probably think I'm a stupid American!)
So now the girls are making dinner and I feel like I should go and help. That is all for now. I hope you're all having fun without me! How was that "Claire's Finally Gone Party?" :)
Love,
Claire
PS I can't put pictures on here, but they will be on Facebook. Let me know if you want an email. The lighthouse was beautiful!
Monday, May 11, 2009
I Made It!!!
Well here I am in my new home in Ireland. I'm not sure how much patience I have to write in here. This keyboard likes to stick on most of the keys! I haven't slept since I left Portland about....25 hours ago. I think I might take a nap so that I can go to the local pub, Gibley's, with the other volunteers later tonight.
I guess I could start from the beginning. (A very good place to start, according to Julie Andrews.) My parents, Katie, and I left Salem at 4am to head to the Portland Airport. We had time for a doughnut and coffee before I had to go through security. After a short line and a LOT of waves goodbye, I was off on my journey alone. I arrived in Seattle not long after that. It was a very small plane, and everyone was half asleep, so it was quiet. I made my way to the next flight headed to New Jersey. I tried to sleep, but it wasn't easy. The people were very quiet on that entire flight as well. I really enjoyed my window seat, as we landed in Newark. I had a clear view of Manhattan, which was really fun to see. As soon as I got off the plane there, I had to figure out how to get all the way to the other side of the airport, which wasn't as complicated as the three (yes...three...) employees made it seem. I even had time for a meal (I honestly don't know if it would be considered lunch or dinner....my time is WAY screwed up!) and a quick call to my family.
I settled in to my seat on my last flight that took me straight to Dublin. I was ready to read some of my book and maybe enjoy some of the free flight entertainment. A guy about my age sat next to me and introduced himself as Mike. I smiled and said hello, but went back to my book. I was so tired! But then I noticed a rosary around his wrist and I couldn't resist the question: Are you Catholic? Little did I know that this question would lead to a conversation that extended almost the entire 7 hours of the flight! I was pleasantly surprised by this. He is headed on a two week trip around Ireland with some of his friends from the college he works for in campus ministry. His presence definitely made the flight seem much shorter and more bearable! It really is a small little Catholic world sometimes. :P
When I got to Dublin, I was SO excited! Even though my body was so tired and my eyes were so red, I couldn't even feel the exhaustion because of the adrenaline rush! My buzz was almost instantly killed at the customs desk. The lady almost didn't let me through because I supposedly didn't have proper proof of my purpose here. She was quite rude and I almost lost it right then and there. After a lot of talk (I won't go into it...) she let me through. I rushed to the baggage claim to make sure that the woman who came to pick me up would still be there for me! Kathleen welcomed me with open arms and my anxiety melted away. It's amazing what a hug can do for a person. She later spoke with the woman from customs and gave her a good talking-to. :)
Kathleen is a part time employee for CASA. She drove me around the neighborhood, and took me by the ocean. It's only a 20 minute walk from my house! Yay! We then made it to the house where all of the volunteers were still sleeping! It was 8am for them! One by one they came down the stairs, a little groggy, but happy to greet me. Two of them will be leaving within the month. It seems like people are always coming and going here. Which leads me to believe that I won't be the newbie for too long!
After a shower, a lot of paperwork, and several cups of coffee, the volunteers and I walked over to the little town area for some breakfast. They showed me the pub that they like to go to, the library, and some of the other little nearby shops. They are all doing their own thing now. I am off to get a tiny bit of sleep before I collapse!
If any of you are actually still reading this long post, I miss you!! I'll take pictures as soon as I can and I'm sure I'll be on here again soon.
Love,
Claire
I guess I could start from the beginning. (A very good place to start, according to Julie Andrews.) My parents, Katie, and I left Salem at 4am to head to the Portland Airport. We had time for a doughnut and coffee before I had to go through security. After a short line and a LOT of waves goodbye, I was off on my journey alone. I arrived in Seattle not long after that. It was a very small plane, and everyone was half asleep, so it was quiet. I made my way to the next flight headed to New Jersey. I tried to sleep, but it wasn't easy. The people were very quiet on that entire flight as well. I really enjoyed my window seat, as we landed in Newark. I had a clear view of Manhattan, which was really fun to see. As soon as I got off the plane there, I had to figure out how to get all the way to the other side of the airport, which wasn't as complicated as the three (yes...three...) employees made it seem. I even had time for a meal (I honestly don't know if it would be considered lunch or dinner....my time is WAY screwed up!) and a quick call to my family.
I settled in to my seat on my last flight that took me straight to Dublin. I was ready to read some of my book and maybe enjoy some of the free flight entertainment. A guy about my age sat next to me and introduced himself as Mike. I smiled and said hello, but went back to my book. I was so tired! But then I noticed a rosary around his wrist and I couldn't resist the question: Are you Catholic? Little did I know that this question would lead to a conversation that extended almost the entire 7 hours of the flight! I was pleasantly surprised by this. He is headed on a two week trip around Ireland with some of his friends from the college he works for in campus ministry. His presence definitely made the flight seem much shorter and more bearable! It really is a small little Catholic world sometimes. :P
When I got to Dublin, I was SO excited! Even though my body was so tired and my eyes were so red, I couldn't even feel the exhaustion because of the adrenaline rush! My buzz was almost instantly killed at the customs desk. The lady almost didn't let me through because I supposedly didn't have proper proof of my purpose here. She was quite rude and I almost lost it right then and there. After a lot of talk (I won't go into it...) she let me through. I rushed to the baggage claim to make sure that the woman who came to pick me up would still be there for me! Kathleen welcomed me with open arms and my anxiety melted away. It's amazing what a hug can do for a person. She later spoke with the woman from customs and gave her a good talking-to. :)
Kathleen is a part time employee for CASA. She drove me around the neighborhood, and took me by the ocean. It's only a 20 minute walk from my house! Yay! We then made it to the house where all of the volunteers were still sleeping! It was 8am for them! One by one they came down the stairs, a little groggy, but happy to greet me. Two of them will be leaving within the month. It seems like people are always coming and going here. Which leads me to believe that I won't be the newbie for too long!
After a shower, a lot of paperwork, and several cups of coffee, the volunteers and I walked over to the little town area for some breakfast. They showed me the pub that they like to go to, the library, and some of the other little nearby shops. They are all doing their own thing now. I am off to get a tiny bit of sleep before I collapse!
If any of you are actually still reading this long post, I miss you!! I'll take pictures as soon as I can and I'm sure I'll be on here again soon.
Love,
Claire
Monday, May 4, 2009
Packing
Hey all,
I just thought I'd take a few minutes on my break from packing to write a little bit. I am almost done, which is really relieving. This week has been much harder than I expected. I'm not very good with goodbyes. I mostly just act like nothings wrong, but then end up feeling really sad after each goodbye. I think it would have been different if I was leaving Portland because I was unhappy here. But I truly have loved living here, in spite of all the ups and downs that have been included. I have made a life for myself up here with several groups of friends that have been a big part of my life. I have also grown up so much and have become so much more independent than I was before. Part of me worries about being able to keep in touch with everyone. I know that once I'm in Ireland I will be so busy with meeting new people, adjusting to living in a house full of people, not to mention living in a new country, and all of the training that I will be doing as soon as I get there. But I'm sure that once things settle down, I'll be able to get in touch with people.
I find myself saying things like "You guys won't even know I'm gone." or "It's only a year! I'll be home before you know it!" But saying that kind of pushes back my actual feelings, and it makes it seem like I don't want to at all. But I really do want to go. My heart is filled with such joy and happiness. This is God's plan for me. Even if I go and come back in a few months, I know that this is His Will for my life. So I will let myself be sad this week, and then I will work towards moving past that and preparing for this amazing journey ahead.
Well...I guess my room isn't going to clean itself! I better get back to packing.
Please pray for me that I will enjoy my time here that I have left and have a safe trip over there!
Love,
Claire
I just thought I'd take a few minutes on my break from packing to write a little bit. I am almost done, which is really relieving. This week has been much harder than I expected. I'm not very good with goodbyes. I mostly just act like nothings wrong, but then end up feeling really sad after each goodbye. I think it would have been different if I was leaving Portland because I was unhappy here. But I truly have loved living here, in spite of all the ups and downs that have been included. I have made a life for myself up here with several groups of friends that have been a big part of my life. I have also grown up so much and have become so much more independent than I was before. Part of me worries about being able to keep in touch with everyone. I know that once I'm in Ireland I will be so busy with meeting new people, adjusting to living in a house full of people, not to mention living in a new country, and all of the training that I will be doing as soon as I get there. But I'm sure that once things settle down, I'll be able to get in touch with people.
I find myself saying things like "You guys won't even know I'm gone." or "It's only a year! I'll be home before you know it!" But saying that kind of pushes back my actual feelings, and it makes it seem like I don't want to at all. But I really do want to go. My heart is filled with such joy and happiness. This is God's plan for me. Even if I go and come back in a few months, I know that this is His Will for my life. So I will let myself be sad this week, and then I will work towards moving past that and preparing for this amazing journey ahead.
Well...I guess my room isn't going to clean itself! I better get back to packing.
Please pray for me that I will enjoy my time here that I have left and have a safe trip over there!
Love,
Claire
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