Nothing too exciting happened on my weekend after the last group. We were all pretty tired and stuck to the house mostly because it was rainy and partly because it was Monday and Tuesday and there is nothing to do when our weekend falls on those days. Our work week was very short and only consisted of three days of visits. Wednesday afternoon we filled a bus with six volunteers and four members and made our way out to Glendalough. It is a beautiful part that contains the remains of a 6th century monastic development founded by St. Kevin. Glendalough means "Glen of Two Lakes" and we made the small hike through the woods to see both of them. The weather held out as long as it could, but we were all rather wet by the time we made it to the hotel on the other side of the park. But it was absolutely worth it to see the great big hills on either side of the two lakes and the deep blue water that was oddly still that day. The members seemed to really enjoy the day as well, and I think it was an overall success. The following two days were spent with quicker visits, only lasting 3 or 4 hours.
We had three days off this weekend, and our group split up. Gabriele's sister came over to see him from Italy, and he took her up to Northern Ireland. Bohye, May, and Kate made the trip with them, but I wasn't willing to spend the money. Katie is coming to see me in a few weeks and we are going all over Ireland, so I decided to stay behind this time. Erin told me that we were all invited down to Cork for the 40th birthday party of a long-time CASA volunteer, Tom. She told me that she planned on going down for two nights and she informed me that she would be able to stay at Tom's place. I couldn't pass up a free place to stay! So off to Cork we went on Friday morning. The bus ride took about four and a half hours, and we arrived at the station around half two. Tom picked us up and took us to the grocery store. He bought us some ingredients with the agreement that we were to make dinner. (It was a great plan, if you ask me!) So Erin and I made fajitas, which he had never had before. Mexican food isn't very big here, which is unfortunate. Anyways, the night was quiet, which we gladly accepted. Tom lives in a huge house that he built a few years ago. He built the house on his parent's farm, which now partly belongs to him. On that farm he has 5,000 chickens!! He has a fancy conveyor belt that brings all of the eggs from the coup into the shed where he sorts and collects them every day. He also has a little garden with mostly carrots and potatoes, and a small greenhouse with tomatoes, onions, and grapes. The house is simply beautiful with a kitchen I would kill for! His hospitality was so wonderful and I won't forget the generosity of him and his family. They all treated us like we were one of them, although, I must admit that I could only understand about 50% of what they were saying. The Cork accent is very difficult to understand! We got up very early the next morning and went to the half eight mass. The three of us had breakfast (with fresh eggs!) and enjoyed the few minutes of quiet before the day really began. We were informed that the party was going to be much bigger than we expected with about 200 guests, a quartet, a DJ, and a bouncy castle for the kids! Katherine, an old friend of Tom's and the party coordinator, came in around ten and we were her helpers for the rest of the day. My wrist is still feeling the effects of buttering 15 loafs of bread for the sandwiches! (The Irish use butter instead of mayo on sandwiches and I find this very odd...) There were SO many sandwiches by the time we were done. Three different women made loads of little cakes and tarts and even after the swarm of people at the party, there were hundred of cakes and sandwiches left! We definitely did not go hungry during our stay! After the preparations that seemed endless, the guests began to arrive. Erin and I sat down and enjoyed a glass of wine. After two glasses of wine, my understanding of the Cork accent went from 50% to about 20%, but luckily the Irish laugh at their own jokes so I was able to join in without too much of a delay. :) The welcome was fantastic, and the party was a huge success! I even got to see my member from the big group, Linda. It was lovely to see her, and nice to talk to someone that I had previously met. By half ten, most of the people had gone, but there were some late arrivals that had no intention of leaving for a while longer. I decided to go upstairs and rest for a bit, and join the party later. I woke up around midnight still in my clothes. I could hear that people were still downstairs having fun, but I got up, put my pjs on and climbed back into bed. I wasn't going anywhere!! I woke up around nine this morning and came down to the kitchen around ten giving Tom a sheepish look. "Well, well, here you are twelve hours later!" he said with a smile. Apparently, I didn't miss much, and Erin admitted that even she did not understand half of what was said, so I think I made the right decision. After breakfast, we went down to check out the chickens. Tom put us to work gathering all of the eggs. He told us that for every 100 chickens there were about 90 eggs every day. So you can imagine how many eggs we sorted today! After that job was done, he showed us the inside of the coup and it was a little scary! So many chickens everywhere! He told us that in a few weeks they will all be collected and taken to the slaughterer, so that was kind of sad. He has a few weeks to clean out the inside of the coup, which is apparently a huge job. Then he'll get a new batch of 5,000 chickens and start all over again. I had fun on the farm, but I'm definitely a city girl. I'm happy that Dad decided to be a deacon and not a farmer like his siblings! Anyways, we sat around and drank coffee and tea for a few hours before we had to go back to the bus station. We left feeling very relaxed and a little sick of cake!
We have a kids group starting tomorrow afternoon and ending Friday. It's a four-day group, so I'm expecting to be extremely tired by the time Friday afternoon rolls around. We all have to be ready to work at nine so I better not stay up too late tonight. It's almost eleven and I'm not tired yet! I had plenty of sleep last night... But I guess I better go pack my things because we will be at the Swords house for the group. Say a prayer for me, if you have one to spare. My last kids group was very exhausting mentally and physically. I hope my energy lasts! :)
Monday, July 27, 2009
Sunday, July 19, 2009
N-O Spells NO!
The house feels very empty right now as we all settle down from an exhausting group. By the time we were done with our goodbyes and the meeting afterwards, it was already half six! Sharon, the breakhouse manager, was up from Cork to lead the group. She is usually doing work behind the scenes, but she was covering for Khadija, our usual supervisor, because she is on holiday at EuroDisney in Paris! (I am too jealous to explain.) I was a little nervous for Sharon to be here because the last time she was here I didn't get a proper meeting with her and I wanted to make sure that I did a good job.
Patricia arrived at exactly 4pm on Friday. She was the first to arrive and she loved being the center of attention! It made it difficult for me to bond with her because she talked to the people she knew. But as the other members arrived she started to respond to my attention. She is a very loud and outgoing woman. She especially loves boys, and fought for the attention of Gabriele and Jose (the two guy volunteers). She was satisfied often by them fighting over dances with her and as many pictures as she would let them take. As for me, she enjoyed a love/hate relationship full of the phrase "N-O spells no!!!" Every once in a while she'd give me a smile that I understood completely. She liked to mess with me and pretend that she didn't like me, but I know that she really had fun being my partner. We made breakfast for everyone on Saturday morning and she boasted about making amazing omelettes. She had previously told me that at her home she gets breakfast in bed and watches TV all day. So I told her that I was going to come to her house next Friday for an omelette in bed, and I asked her to get some of my favorite movies ready. That really worked her up! "Ohhhhh, no! No way! N-O spells no!" It was a really weird and fun game that proceeded for the rest of the weekend. Those were her staple phrases that we all enjoyed shouting out with her.
When we went to the Pavillions for shopping, she went straight for Penny's. She works there three days a week in the lingerie department, which gives us endless teasing material. Patricia really loves to buy people presents, and Jose had teased her earlier telling her that he loves ties. The minute we entered the store she darted off in the direction of the men's department. Three minutes later she had two ties in her hand and she was ready to check out. Later, she gave me a big hug and bought me some fudge. It was really sweet! When it was time, we all met up for a film. Ice Age 3 was this week's choice and everyone seemed eager to see it. To be honest, I was just happy for a mental break! But the movie was fun to see. When we made it back home, everyone went to their rooms to get dressed for dinner. Patricia impatiently waited for the boys to come out so that she could give them their ties. It added a fun element to the night, and it meant so much to her! We went to a restaurant called Oscar Taylor's right here in Malahide. After dinner, we went downstairs to the pub and everyone got a drink. Patricia was sure she was a little drunk after her non-alcoholic beer. :) At home, we all settled down in the living room for songs and dancing.
Sunday morning was a blur of showers, dressing, breakfast, and loading up the bus. We went to the church here in Malahide for Mass, which was a nice change of pace from our normal small Mass at the house. Afterwards, we had a simple lunch and spent some time in the sitting room before the members were picked up. Patricia's taxi was right on time, and she was thrilled! She literally ran upstairs to get her back and suffered through the quickest goodbye's she could possibly manage before rushing to the car. I could tell that she was ready to go home that morning, so waiting until four in the afternoon was a lot for her. She is used to routine and she likes all of her room mates, which is a really good thing. After she was gone I was able to spend time with some of the other members in the house. I really bonded with Gabriele's member Shane. He is about my age and he is deaf. Before the group started, Erin gave us all the Irish sign language alphabet. It was fun to use it with Shane and to be able to communicate in that way. He is able to read and write, which was also helpful when there was more to say than a few words. We were told that the last time he came in the house, he sat in the corner with his volunteer and didn't really join in on the group. But Gabriele did a great job of keeping him included, and us volunteers also did well with bringing him into the conversations. Someone said that they still don't feel like they know Shane well, but I honestly think it depends on the effort you put into it. It was really easy for me to connect with him because his personality really shines through.
I don't think I'll ever forget the important things I've learned while being here. I have only been here two months and I feel like I'm in a completely different place emotionally and spiritually from where I was in May. I hope all of these lessons really sink in with me. It's amazing how much we take for granted in our lives. I know it's one of those things that people say all the time, but being here and witnessing the obstacles that these members face...it's really amazing. Most of them have such a positive attitude about life and it is truly inspiring. It is hard to really appreciate things like walking, talking, listening, seeing, etc. when it is just a small part of our daily lives. But to someone who can't walk or talk, it is extremely significant. I just hope that this year gives me a better understanding of the gifts that I've been given.
Anyways, there is a little window into my thoughts...scary huh? That's about all I have for now. As always, I hope that everything is well with you, wherever you are. I love you guys! Write me!
Patricia arrived at exactly 4pm on Friday. She was the first to arrive and she loved being the center of attention! It made it difficult for me to bond with her because she talked to the people she knew. But as the other members arrived she started to respond to my attention. She is a very loud and outgoing woman. She especially loves boys, and fought for the attention of Gabriele and Jose (the two guy volunteers). She was satisfied often by them fighting over dances with her and as many pictures as she would let them take. As for me, she enjoyed a love/hate relationship full of the phrase "N-O spells no!!!" Every once in a while she'd give me a smile that I understood completely. She liked to mess with me and pretend that she didn't like me, but I know that she really had fun being my partner. We made breakfast for everyone on Saturday morning and she boasted about making amazing omelettes. She had previously told me that at her home she gets breakfast in bed and watches TV all day. So I told her that I was going to come to her house next Friday for an omelette in bed, and I asked her to get some of my favorite movies ready. That really worked her up! "Ohhhhh, no! No way! N-O spells no!" It was a really weird and fun game that proceeded for the rest of the weekend. Those were her staple phrases that we all enjoyed shouting out with her.
When we went to the Pavillions for shopping, she went straight for Penny's. She works there three days a week in the lingerie department, which gives us endless teasing material. Patricia really loves to buy people presents, and Jose had teased her earlier telling her that he loves ties. The minute we entered the store she darted off in the direction of the men's department. Three minutes later she had two ties in her hand and she was ready to check out. Later, she gave me a big hug and bought me some fudge. It was really sweet! When it was time, we all met up for a film. Ice Age 3 was this week's choice and everyone seemed eager to see it. To be honest, I was just happy for a mental break! But the movie was fun to see. When we made it back home, everyone went to their rooms to get dressed for dinner. Patricia impatiently waited for the boys to come out so that she could give them their ties. It added a fun element to the night, and it meant so much to her! We went to a restaurant called Oscar Taylor's right here in Malahide. After dinner, we went downstairs to the pub and everyone got a drink. Patricia was sure she was a little drunk after her non-alcoholic beer. :) At home, we all settled down in the living room for songs and dancing.
Sunday morning was a blur of showers, dressing, breakfast, and loading up the bus. We went to the church here in Malahide for Mass, which was a nice change of pace from our normal small Mass at the house. Afterwards, we had a simple lunch and spent some time in the sitting room before the members were picked up. Patricia's taxi was right on time, and she was thrilled! She literally ran upstairs to get her back and suffered through the quickest goodbye's she could possibly manage before rushing to the car. I could tell that she was ready to go home that morning, so waiting until four in the afternoon was a lot for her. She is used to routine and she likes all of her room mates, which is a really good thing. After she was gone I was able to spend time with some of the other members in the house. I really bonded with Gabriele's member Shane. He is about my age and he is deaf. Before the group started, Erin gave us all the Irish sign language alphabet. It was fun to use it with Shane and to be able to communicate in that way. He is able to read and write, which was also helpful when there was more to say than a few words. We were told that the last time he came in the house, he sat in the corner with his volunteer and didn't really join in on the group. But Gabriele did a great job of keeping him included, and us volunteers also did well with bringing him into the conversations. Someone said that they still don't feel like they know Shane well, but I honestly think it depends on the effort you put into it. It was really easy for me to connect with him because his personality really shines through.
I don't think I'll ever forget the important things I've learned while being here. I have only been here two months and I feel like I'm in a completely different place emotionally and spiritually from where I was in May. I hope all of these lessons really sink in with me. It's amazing how much we take for granted in our lives. I know it's one of those things that people say all the time, but being here and witnessing the obstacles that these members face...it's really amazing. Most of them have such a positive attitude about life and it is truly inspiring. It is hard to really appreciate things like walking, talking, listening, seeing, etc. when it is just a small part of our daily lives. But to someone who can't walk or talk, it is extremely significant. I just hope that this year gives me a better understanding of the gifts that I've been given.
Anyways, there is a little window into my thoughts...scary huh? That's about all I have for now. As always, I hope that everything is well with you, wherever you are. I love you guys! Write me!
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
My Large Group
We had a late start on Friday evening. People from Cork arrived at the Malahide house at around 9pm. By that time, members from Dublin had already arrived and had their tea. Between the members and us volunteers, there were a lot of hungry people waiting for their dinner! Because it is a large group, we had a full house in Malahide, a full house in Swords, and 12 people in a nearby bed and breakfast. I was chosen to stay in the bed and breakfast, and I was thrilled! But we split up the bed and breakfast people between Malahide and Swords for dinner.
When the bus finally pulled up, I went outside to greet Linda. She is in her mid thirties and is blind. I've never been a helper to a blind person, so I was a little nervous that I would run her into a chair or something without looking! (Most of you know what a bad driver I am!) But I think I did a good job. We got along very well. She is very soft spoken and sweet. Dinner went by extremely fast because we were all starving! We left right after to head to The Malahide Guest House. It was a nice little place, tucked away behind the Malahide Castle. Meeting the other volunteers and members from Cork was very enjoyable. They are all older and have been volunteers for CASA for a long time. They do similar work in Cork, but they don't have overnight respite care. They mostly just do day trips or events.
We went shopping and saw a movie the next morning. Between the limited choices of "Bruno," "The Hangover," and "Fired Up." These are all movies that would definitely have dirty humor and we are a group of Catholic adults, including an elderly nun! But they chose "Fired Up"...not exactly a piece of good American film, but I'll admit I laughed a little. I wasn't sure Linda enjoyed the cinema, but she was ok with going, and I just helped her here and there when she got lost on what was happening. When we got back to the bed and breakfast, we all went into our own rooms. This was weird because in the Malahide house, we always stay together as a group and play games. But I had three hours with Linda just the two of us. And it would have been perfectly fine, but I woke up with an extremely sore throat and talking was a challenge for me. But luckly, she was exhausted as well and we took a nap! It was really nice. And then we got dressed for dinner and left at eight. We all met up for dinner at the restaurant that CASA owns called Ten Fourteen. We all enjoyed a great meal, and Linda even indulged in two glasses of wine. (She was so excited!) Towards the end of the meal, there were three women who dressed up like the Andrew Sisters and sang like them too! We got an hour of really great songs from the 40s such as "The Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" and "Don't Fence Me In." The members loved it! And if my voice was working at all I would have sang along! We didn't leave the restaurant until about half eleven, and by the time we all got to our homes we were so tired!
The next morning, Linda and I had a nice breakfast in the B&B and then walked with the others to the castle. Jimmy, our bus driver, wasn't due to pick us up until half twelve. After he came and collected us, he took us to The Grand Hotel. We rented out a room there and we had Mass together followed by lunch. The Cork people had to leave soon after lunch to catch their train.
The weekend went by very quickly. I really loved my time with Linda. She was such a sweet person. When we were shopping she helped me pick out meds for my cold because Irish medicine is different than American medicine. And she kept trying to give me lotion and perfume samples that she had gotten from her favorite store in Cork. I wonder if I'll be able to see her again while I'm here. We don't do much with the Cork crowd. She mentioned that she is going to Lourdes in October with CASA and I am really hoping I'm picked to go as well. So maybe we'll meet then.
I didn't do much this weekend. I'm just trying to rest up before this next week. We are going to be very busy with visits in the next couple of days and then we have another group starting Friday afternoon. I spent a lot of time planning my trip around Ireland when Katie come here in August. It's only a month away! I'm hoping there are plenty of rooms left at hostels and B&Bs.
Well it's raining like crazy here, which of course makes me feel right at home. I hope you are all enjoying real July weather. :)
When the bus finally pulled up, I went outside to greet Linda. She is in her mid thirties and is blind. I've never been a helper to a blind person, so I was a little nervous that I would run her into a chair or something without looking! (Most of you know what a bad driver I am!) But I think I did a good job. We got along very well. She is very soft spoken and sweet. Dinner went by extremely fast because we were all starving! We left right after to head to The Malahide Guest House. It was a nice little place, tucked away behind the Malahide Castle. Meeting the other volunteers and members from Cork was very enjoyable. They are all older and have been volunteers for CASA for a long time. They do similar work in Cork, but they don't have overnight respite care. They mostly just do day trips or events.
We went shopping and saw a movie the next morning. Between the limited choices of "Bruno," "The Hangover," and "Fired Up." These are all movies that would definitely have dirty humor and we are a group of Catholic adults, including an elderly nun! But they chose "Fired Up"...not exactly a piece of good American film, but I'll admit I laughed a little. I wasn't sure Linda enjoyed the cinema, but she was ok with going, and I just helped her here and there when she got lost on what was happening. When we got back to the bed and breakfast, we all went into our own rooms. This was weird because in the Malahide house, we always stay together as a group and play games. But I had three hours with Linda just the two of us. And it would have been perfectly fine, but I woke up with an extremely sore throat and talking was a challenge for me. But luckly, she was exhausted as well and we took a nap! It was really nice. And then we got dressed for dinner and left at eight. We all met up for dinner at the restaurant that CASA owns called Ten Fourteen. We all enjoyed a great meal, and Linda even indulged in two glasses of wine. (She was so excited!) Towards the end of the meal, there were three women who dressed up like the Andrew Sisters and sang like them too! We got an hour of really great songs from the 40s such as "The Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" and "Don't Fence Me In." The members loved it! And if my voice was working at all I would have sang along! We didn't leave the restaurant until about half eleven, and by the time we all got to our homes we were so tired!
The next morning, Linda and I had a nice breakfast in the B&B and then walked with the others to the castle. Jimmy, our bus driver, wasn't due to pick us up until half twelve. After he came and collected us, he took us to The Grand Hotel. We rented out a room there and we had Mass together followed by lunch. The Cork people had to leave soon after lunch to catch their train.
The weekend went by very quickly. I really loved my time with Linda. She was such a sweet person. When we were shopping she helped me pick out meds for my cold because Irish medicine is different than American medicine. And she kept trying to give me lotion and perfume samples that she had gotten from her favorite store in Cork. I wonder if I'll be able to see her again while I'm here. We don't do much with the Cork crowd. She mentioned that she is going to Lourdes in October with CASA and I am really hoping I'm picked to go as well. So maybe we'll meet then.
I didn't do much this weekend. I'm just trying to rest up before this next week. We are going to be very busy with visits in the next couple of days and then we have another group starting Friday afternoon. I spent a lot of time planning my trip around Ireland when Katie come here in August. It's only a month away! I'm hoping there are plenty of rooms left at hostels and B&Bs.
Well it's raining like crazy here, which of course makes me feel right at home. I hope you are all enjoying real July weather. :)
Thursday, July 9, 2009
My Holiday
Friday night, after the group, Kate and I got dressed up and headed out to Dublin. We were definitely ready for some good times and a little bit of separation from the house and Malahide. We planned to sing 80s karaoke, but the place was completely dead when we got there, so we ventured out to the Temple Bar area, which was bound to be active. We were not disappointed! Every bar was packed with people, and the streets were alive and buzzing with people. We wandered around for a bit and just enjoyed the atmosphere. There was a band performing on the street and people in the crowd were eager to dance to the jazzy Spanish music. We made it into a few pubs and had a lot of fun just the two of us. We ended up in a bar that was crazy packed! Within two minutes we had several drink offers and a couple of weird guys trying to dance around Kate. I think his goal was to impress, but because of the alcohol intake (I hope it was that and not just his dancing skills) the result was far from impressive. We met a lot of different people, including an Elvis impersonator who tried to convince us that he was the real Elvis! Amazing... :) We left shortly after that, feeling the positive effects of Operation De-Stress.
Early Saturday morning, Gabriele, May, Kate, Erin, and I headed out on our five day holiday. (I'm in Ireland now, so I have "holidays" not "vacations". :) ) Were were all excited to get on the bus and head out to the west coast to Donegal, our first destination. There was music and excitement coming from the diamond in the center of Donegal Town as the bus pulled up to the station. We instantly smiled as we heard the Macarena playing while 5 dancers dressed as animals showed off their moves. There was a festival going on during the two days we were there, which was amazing. There were a lot of events and concerts to participate in and it was all free of charge. After we wandered around a bit, we made the 1 km walk to our hostel. We quickly settled in and went right back out again to join in on the festivities. Kate had been talking about fish and chips before we even left that morning, so we were all craving it desperately by the time we made it to Mama's Kitchen. After the delicious meal, we walked around the diamond inspecting all of the pubs that enveloped it, occasionally stopping inside the diamond to listen to a band. The Olde Castle Pub was my favorite, not only because of it's charm and warm atmosphere, but because that was where we met Leo. About two minutes after we sat down, a very drunk man in his early thirties stumbled up to the table, put a little booklet on the table, and asked, "Do any of you read English?" Amused, we all answered him, "Yes." He asked May to read one of the poems aloud. It didn't take us long to figure out the dirty content of the little booklet of poems, and we all began to laugh and joke with our new friend Leo. He asked us if we wanted drinks and I wasn't to shy to give him my order of Guinness and Kate's order of whiskey and club soda. His brother came up to the table and said, "What are you doing? Am I gonna have to pay for all of their drinks??" They had a somewhat private, drunken argument about it and then came back with drinks for us all! Before Leo left, he tried to kiss us all on the cheek, even Gabriele! Leo wasn't taking the rejection from Gabriele very well, and Lele had to tell Leo that he had a boyfriend back home. It was probably one of my Top 3 favorite moments from the entire trip! Nothing else too memorable happened that night. We made it back to the hostel by 2am and woke up early the next morning for more adventures.
Erin left us that morning to head over to Sligo a day early. The rest of us wanted a second day in Donegal, so we split up. I went to Mass and met up with the others in the Abbey Hotel lobby. We hid from the rain and read our books until the sun decided to show it's face again. There was a few fun performances in the diamond, including a band that played the drums while on stilts! It was amazing!!! The Donegal Castle was on all of our to-do lists for that day. It was the first time I've ever been inside a castle! I was not disappointed as we walked inside. The tour was short because it was a very small castle. After the tour, we walked over to the water and waited for our waterbus ride! Before we got on the boat, we saw the ruins of an old abbey not too far off, and we spent our extra time there exploring it. I can't really describe the beauty, but I posted pictures of it on Facebook. I feel like even the pictures only capture a fraction of the real view that I get from being here. But it's the best I can do! The waterbus tour was very fun, and the captain had interesting information for us about several spots along the riverbank. Unfortunately for you, I can't remember any of it! By the time we got done with the boat ride, we were all starving! After much debate on what to eat, we settled on trying out an Indian restaurant. I was slightly apprehensive but pleasantly surprised at how good the food was. The rest of the night was quiet because we were all so tired! After a few more concerts in the diamond we all headed back to get sleep before our departure early the next morning.
We arrived in Sligo in the late morning. Erin met up with us at the bus station and we walked less than a block to The Railroad Hostel. Sligo Town was not very exciting, but it had a quiet charm that agreed with me. Our next plan was to go out to the tombs in Carrowmore. It is the largest megalithic cemetery and one of the four large ones in Ireland. There is much I could say about it, but I'll leave it up to Wikipedia to anyone who might be interested. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrowmore The coolest thing about it was that there were tombs there dated back 6,000 years! It is really hard to comprehend just how old that really is. After we spent some time there, Kate wanted to walk up to the tomb of Queen Maeve. I wasn't really that interested in it, but everyone else was so I decided to go along. We walked an hour to the foot of the mountain. I am not really used to hiking, not to mention I hate it, so I wasn't thrilled about going up a mountain. There was a rocky "path" that lead the way, and I was really not enjoying myself. After about a half hour of walking up the steep rocky trail, I decided it was enough for me. I am not in the shape that the others are and I didn't even really care about seeing Queen Maeve's tomb anyways. So I stopped and enjoyed the spectacular view that I was too annoyed to even notice previously. I even called my mom from that spot! It's amazing that I have one bar of reception in my home in Malahide, but on top of a mountain in the middle of nowhere I had full bars! It turns out that there wasn't much more to go because the others came back to where I was only about 20 minutes later. I felt much better after my rest, and then soon realized it was a good thing I did! After we got down the mountain, we had to walk another 3 miles to the nearest town to get a taxi back to Sligo Town!! By the time we got there I was so happy that I didn't have to walk anymore! We were all starving, but we had bought food at the grocery store earlier so we were able to be lazy in the hostel for a while. The friendly hostel owner Sean informed us that there was live traditional music playing at a nearby pub, and we all were excited at the thought of drinking a pint and listening to local music. The band was really good and they even took May's request for Galway Girl. (One of my new favorites now!)
The next morning, we walked around Sligo Town. The highlights included The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception and the old Sligo Abbey ruins. (No matter how many abbey ruins I see, I never get sick of them!) May, Lele, and Erin headed back to Malahide that afternoon, but Kate and I stayed behind. I'm so glad we did! We had dinner and relaxed while reading our books. I started Gone With the Wind on the day we left for Donegal and I hadn't had much of a chance to read until that afternoon with Kate. It was nice to get deeper into it. I love it so far! Anyways, Kate and I left the hostel around half nine to go to a bar that advertised Tuesday night Karaoke. It didn't take long for us to figure out that the party hadn't started yet. There was no one to be found except for the tired and bored looking bartender. He let us know that it wouldn't start until half ten. So we went to find a different pub to hang out in and waste some time. I wasn't too sure about the place we decided on as we walked in and saw 10 faces starting up at us. Everyone there was at least 60 years old! The bartender however, was in his late 20s and very cute! So we sat down and ordered our drinks. An older gentleman came up and told us that the young bartender was his son and asked us what we thought of him. Glenn, the bartender, sheepishly looked up and informed us that this older man was not his father. It was so funny! Kate and I spent some time talking to Glenn and told him that he should come over to the other bar when he was done and sing karaoke with us. On the way out we were stopped by the older gentleman we met earlier. He and his girlfriend were very sweet and very funny people. He tried to quiz us on American history! Then his girlfriend shouted, "Shut up! These girls don't want to hear you talk about that!" It was great! The other bar was packed by the time we got there. We were instantly greeted by the people inside and offered drinks. It was quite the welcome! Kate and I have previously shared a deep love of Neil Diamond, so it was very appropriate that we should sing my favorite of his, "Forever in Blue Jeans." It is needless to say that we were both tipsy and it is impossible that we sang in tune, but that didn't stop everyone from cheering us on and giving us a huge applause at the end! It was my number one favorite moment from the trip. Hands down. The bar closed a little after our song and the guys asked us to go to a club with them. But Kate had the good sense to say no, and we made our escape back to the hostel. It was late and we were scheduled to leave the hostel at half ten the next morning. I later thanked her for stopping us from being out later than 2am! We left the Sligo at half eleven the next day, feeling very satisfied with our trip and sad to go back to "reality". It's only fair to put quotes on that because I feel like even my reality is still a fun adventure.
Today was filled with chores and meetings. We have a large group that begins tomorrow. It is the same format as a regular group, but we have volunteers and members coming up from Cork and staying here in Malahide. We will have this house and the house in Swords filled with people, as well as a local bed and breakfast. I will be in the bed and breakfast with people from Cork. I won't know anyone there, so I am excited to meet other volunteers and members from another area.
I'm not sure if any of you actually made it through this massive update, but if you did, I love and miss you! More to come after the group!
Love,
Claire
Early Saturday morning, Gabriele, May, Kate, Erin, and I headed out on our five day holiday. (I'm in Ireland now, so I have "holidays" not "vacations". :) ) Were were all excited to get on the bus and head out to the west coast to Donegal, our first destination. There was music and excitement coming from the diamond in the center of Donegal Town as the bus pulled up to the station. We instantly smiled as we heard the Macarena playing while 5 dancers dressed as animals showed off their moves. There was a festival going on during the two days we were there, which was amazing. There were a lot of events and concerts to participate in and it was all free of charge. After we wandered around a bit, we made the 1 km walk to our hostel. We quickly settled in and went right back out again to join in on the festivities. Kate had been talking about fish and chips before we even left that morning, so we were all craving it desperately by the time we made it to Mama's Kitchen. After the delicious meal, we walked around the diamond inspecting all of the pubs that enveloped it, occasionally stopping inside the diamond to listen to a band. The Olde Castle Pub was my favorite, not only because of it's charm and warm atmosphere, but because that was where we met Leo. About two minutes after we sat down, a very drunk man in his early thirties stumbled up to the table, put a little booklet on the table, and asked, "Do any of you read English?" Amused, we all answered him, "Yes." He asked May to read one of the poems aloud. It didn't take us long to figure out the dirty content of the little booklet of poems, and we all began to laugh and joke with our new friend Leo. He asked us if we wanted drinks and I wasn't to shy to give him my order of Guinness and Kate's order of whiskey and club soda. His brother came up to the table and said, "What are you doing? Am I gonna have to pay for all of their drinks??" They had a somewhat private, drunken argument about it and then came back with drinks for us all! Before Leo left, he tried to kiss us all on the cheek, even Gabriele! Leo wasn't taking the rejection from Gabriele very well, and Lele had to tell Leo that he had a boyfriend back home. It was probably one of my Top 3 favorite moments from the entire trip! Nothing else too memorable happened that night. We made it back to the hostel by 2am and woke up early the next morning for more adventures.
Erin left us that morning to head over to Sligo a day early. The rest of us wanted a second day in Donegal, so we split up. I went to Mass and met up with the others in the Abbey Hotel lobby. We hid from the rain and read our books until the sun decided to show it's face again. There was a few fun performances in the diamond, including a band that played the drums while on stilts! It was amazing!!! The Donegal Castle was on all of our to-do lists for that day. It was the first time I've ever been inside a castle! I was not disappointed as we walked inside. The tour was short because it was a very small castle. After the tour, we walked over to the water and waited for our waterbus ride! Before we got on the boat, we saw the ruins of an old abbey not too far off, and we spent our extra time there exploring it. I can't really describe the beauty, but I posted pictures of it on Facebook. I feel like even the pictures only capture a fraction of the real view that I get from being here. But it's the best I can do! The waterbus tour was very fun, and the captain had interesting information for us about several spots along the riverbank. Unfortunately for you, I can't remember any of it! By the time we got done with the boat ride, we were all starving! After much debate on what to eat, we settled on trying out an Indian restaurant. I was slightly apprehensive but pleasantly surprised at how good the food was. The rest of the night was quiet because we were all so tired! After a few more concerts in the diamond we all headed back to get sleep before our departure early the next morning.
We arrived in Sligo in the late morning. Erin met up with us at the bus station and we walked less than a block to The Railroad Hostel. Sligo Town was not very exciting, but it had a quiet charm that agreed with me. Our next plan was to go out to the tombs in Carrowmore. It is the largest megalithic cemetery and one of the four large ones in Ireland. There is much I could say about it, but I'll leave it up to Wikipedia to anyone who might be interested. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrowmore The coolest thing about it was that there were tombs there dated back 6,000 years! It is really hard to comprehend just how old that really is. After we spent some time there, Kate wanted to walk up to the tomb of Queen Maeve. I wasn't really that interested in it, but everyone else was so I decided to go along. We walked an hour to the foot of the mountain. I am not really used to hiking, not to mention I hate it, so I wasn't thrilled about going up a mountain. There was a rocky "path" that lead the way, and I was really not enjoying myself. After about a half hour of walking up the steep rocky trail, I decided it was enough for me. I am not in the shape that the others are and I didn't even really care about seeing Queen Maeve's tomb anyways. So I stopped and enjoyed the spectacular view that I was too annoyed to even notice previously. I even called my mom from that spot! It's amazing that I have one bar of reception in my home in Malahide, but on top of a mountain in the middle of nowhere I had full bars! It turns out that there wasn't much more to go because the others came back to where I was only about 20 minutes later. I felt much better after my rest, and then soon realized it was a good thing I did! After we got down the mountain, we had to walk another 3 miles to the nearest town to get a taxi back to Sligo Town!! By the time we got there I was so happy that I didn't have to walk anymore! We were all starving, but we had bought food at the grocery store earlier so we were able to be lazy in the hostel for a while. The friendly hostel owner Sean informed us that there was live traditional music playing at a nearby pub, and we all were excited at the thought of drinking a pint and listening to local music. The band was really good and they even took May's request for Galway Girl. (One of my new favorites now!)
The next morning, we walked around Sligo Town. The highlights included The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception and the old Sligo Abbey ruins. (No matter how many abbey ruins I see, I never get sick of them!) May, Lele, and Erin headed back to Malahide that afternoon, but Kate and I stayed behind. I'm so glad we did! We had dinner and relaxed while reading our books. I started Gone With the Wind on the day we left for Donegal and I hadn't had much of a chance to read until that afternoon with Kate. It was nice to get deeper into it. I love it so far! Anyways, Kate and I left the hostel around half nine to go to a bar that advertised Tuesday night Karaoke. It didn't take long for us to figure out that the party hadn't started yet. There was no one to be found except for the tired and bored looking bartender. He let us know that it wouldn't start until half ten. So we went to find a different pub to hang out in and waste some time. I wasn't too sure about the place we decided on as we walked in and saw 10 faces starting up at us. Everyone there was at least 60 years old! The bartender however, was in his late 20s and very cute! So we sat down and ordered our drinks. An older gentleman came up and told us that the young bartender was his son and asked us what we thought of him. Glenn, the bartender, sheepishly looked up and informed us that this older man was not his father. It was so funny! Kate and I spent some time talking to Glenn and told him that he should come over to the other bar when he was done and sing karaoke with us. On the way out we were stopped by the older gentleman we met earlier. He and his girlfriend were very sweet and very funny people. He tried to quiz us on American history! Then his girlfriend shouted, "Shut up! These girls don't want to hear you talk about that!" It was great! The other bar was packed by the time we got there. We were instantly greeted by the people inside and offered drinks. It was quite the welcome! Kate and I have previously shared a deep love of Neil Diamond, so it was very appropriate that we should sing my favorite of his, "Forever in Blue Jeans." It is needless to say that we were both tipsy and it is impossible that we sang in tune, but that didn't stop everyone from cheering us on and giving us a huge applause at the end! It was my number one favorite moment from the trip. Hands down. The bar closed a little after our song and the guys asked us to go to a club with them. But Kate had the good sense to say no, and we made our escape back to the hostel. It was late and we were scheduled to leave the hostel at half ten the next morning. I later thanked her for stopping us from being out later than 2am! We left the Sligo at half eleven the next day, feeling very satisfied with our trip and sad to go back to "reality". It's only fair to put quotes on that because I feel like even my reality is still a fun adventure.
Today was filled with chores and meetings. We have a large group that begins tomorrow. It is the same format as a regular group, but we have volunteers and members coming up from Cork and staying here in Malahide. We will have this house and the house in Swords filled with people, as well as a local bed and breakfast. I will be in the bed and breakfast with people from Cork. I won't know anyone there, so I am excited to meet other volunteers and members from another area.
I'm not sure if any of you actually made it through this massive update, but if you did, I love and miss you! More to come after the group!
Love,
Claire
Friday, July 3, 2009
I'm ready for a holiday....
After the past week, I'm really anticipating our five days off! I think that all of the work pushed so close together has really tired me out. It's no wonder why today I'm having a little trouble unwinding. There are a few other minor reasons to add to that but I'll spare you. They are unimportant.
My short weekend was very nice. Monday was quiet, as we were all resting from our previous group. On Tuesday, Kate and I headed in to Dublin in the early afternoon. We went to the National Museum of Archeology and the National Library. We spent about 3 or 4 hours in the museum! There was a lot to see, including some really amazing religious artifacts. There was a shoe that belonged to St. Brigit and many items that belonged to St. Columba, the lesser known patron saint of Ireland. I enjoyed that exhibit immensely! The rest of the museum was interesting, but nothing too amazing in my opinion. Normal historical objects. :)
After the exploring, we walked down Grafton Street for a while and had lunch for a second time at Cornucopia. It's a wonderful vegetarian restaurant, and Kate's sister says it's the best in the world! Then we headed to Toni and Guy's Salon for my haircut. Because haircuts are really expensive here (average of 45 €) I decided to get it done by a trainee which would be much cheaper. It ended up being a very long haircut and the girl was super nice. When she walked me to the door she gave me her number and told me that I could call any time for another cut and it would be free! And then she shooed me out the door when I tried to pay her! So it was a free haircut with the promise of more in the future. Amazing huh? Very nice for a volunteer. When we got home I decided that I wanted a new color for my new style. I chose a reddish brown. I didn't want to go too crazy! But it ended up being much more red than I expected! It's taking getting used to, but I'm really starting to like it. And I fit in with the locals more. :)
We got up early on Wednesday to get ready for the group. There was a lot to do before 2pm when they were scheduled to arrive. Normally we have a working day before the group starts to prepare, but because of the weird schedule, there was no time for that. We managed to get it all done, however, and even make the place spotless before Sharon, the break house manager, arrived. Sharon lives in Cork and doesn't come up here very often. I have only met her once before at Kyle's going away party and that was for about five minutes! I was nervous about her being here for the group, and I wanted to make a good impression. Brenda was one of the first members to arrive. She lives in St. Michael's Hospital in a nearby town with four other CASA members (and, of course, many others.) I have met her once before, but only for a quick visit. She is in her 60s and has very limited speech. I was worried that I would have trouble communicating with her, but we got along very well. She is a very special person. On Wednesday night, we all had dinner and then we went bowling. Thursday morning went by very quickly with everyone getting ready and having breakfast before Jimmy (our bus driver) arrived at half eleven. It was my first time assisting someone in the shower alone, and I think I did very well! I was nervous that I would do something wrong, but everything turned out just fine! She is able to transfer out of her wheelchair very well, only needing someone or something to hold on to for balance. After we made it to the Pavillions, we were all off on our separate journeys through the mall. Brenda is a big fan of shopping, and we easily spent her 50 euro! We picked out a few jumpers and some jewelry. She loves to look nice and she received many compliments on her choices. We all met up at half two for the cinemas. Hannah Montana: The Movie was the film choice. Needless to say, I wasn't exactly thrilled by the pick. But it wasn't nearly as bad as I expected! And I heard several of the members singing along, so that was fun. After the movie we all headed back to change for dinner. We went to JJ's All American Bar and Grill again! I really like that place. And the members enjoyed it as well. When we got home, we were all pretty tired but we mustered up some energy for a quick game of Bingo.
This morning seems like a blur to me. After we were all awake and ready, we had a quick breakfast before Mass. Brenda really loves Mass and she was thrilled to sit by the priest! I was really touched by her singing "Here I Am Lord." She isn't really able to pronounce the words, but she sure knows how to join in to the song! It was a really special moment for me. I think there was a mixture of many emotions, including missing home, that caused me to tear up. Mass is really the only time that I feel homesick because it is such a big part of my family. I haven't cried once since I arrived almost two months ago (can you believe it's been almost two months!!??) but that moment got to me. It was really nice in a way. I guess it's the unity of Catholicism that I love the most. Even though I'm so far away I feel connected to home somehow through the Mass. But now I'm back to loving it here and not being able to imagine leaving. So don't worry!! :)
We had a small lunch before the members were picked up one by one in the afternoon. Another member I really enjoyed meeting is Michael. He is such a great presence in the house! He doesn't say much. His three words that he uses often are "happy" "no" and "yeah". He always gives a big thumbs up and says "Happy!!!" It is so great and it makes everyone smile. While we were on the bus at one point Kate asked him if he was ever sad and after a few seconds of contemplation he said, "No!" It was so funny! I look forward to seeing him again.
So now the house is relatively quiet. I'm in the office right now because our computer isn't working. I'm the only one in the house that doesn't own a laptop so I'm kind of cut off from home until they get it fixed. Using this computer is sort of a one time deal. (It's kind of ridiculous but that's all I'm gonna say about that...) So you might not get an update again for a while. Which is fine because I'll be out of town for my holiday anyways! I still need to pack! I better get on that now actually, because Kate and I are headed in to Dublin tonight for Operation De-Stress. I think some 80s karaoke is in order.
Until next time,
Claire
My short weekend was very nice. Monday was quiet, as we were all resting from our previous group. On Tuesday, Kate and I headed in to Dublin in the early afternoon. We went to the National Museum of Archeology and the National Library. We spent about 3 or 4 hours in the museum! There was a lot to see, including some really amazing religious artifacts. There was a shoe that belonged to St. Brigit and many items that belonged to St. Columba, the lesser known patron saint of Ireland. I enjoyed that exhibit immensely! The rest of the museum was interesting, but nothing too amazing in my opinion. Normal historical objects. :)
After the exploring, we walked down Grafton Street for a while and had lunch for a second time at Cornucopia. It's a wonderful vegetarian restaurant, and Kate's sister says it's the best in the world! Then we headed to Toni and Guy's Salon for my haircut. Because haircuts are really expensive here (average of 45 €) I decided to get it done by a trainee which would be much cheaper. It ended up being a very long haircut and the girl was super nice. When she walked me to the door she gave me her number and told me that I could call any time for another cut and it would be free! And then she shooed me out the door when I tried to pay her! So it was a free haircut with the promise of more in the future. Amazing huh? Very nice for a volunteer. When we got home I decided that I wanted a new color for my new style. I chose a reddish brown. I didn't want to go too crazy! But it ended up being much more red than I expected! It's taking getting used to, but I'm really starting to like it. And I fit in with the locals more. :)
We got up early on Wednesday to get ready for the group. There was a lot to do before 2pm when they were scheduled to arrive. Normally we have a working day before the group starts to prepare, but because of the weird schedule, there was no time for that. We managed to get it all done, however, and even make the place spotless before Sharon, the break house manager, arrived. Sharon lives in Cork and doesn't come up here very often. I have only met her once before at Kyle's going away party and that was for about five minutes! I was nervous about her being here for the group, and I wanted to make a good impression. Brenda was one of the first members to arrive. She lives in St. Michael's Hospital in a nearby town with four other CASA members (and, of course, many others.) I have met her once before, but only for a quick visit. She is in her 60s and has very limited speech. I was worried that I would have trouble communicating with her, but we got along very well. She is a very special person. On Wednesday night, we all had dinner and then we went bowling. Thursday morning went by very quickly with everyone getting ready and having breakfast before Jimmy (our bus driver) arrived at half eleven. It was my first time assisting someone in the shower alone, and I think I did very well! I was nervous that I would do something wrong, but everything turned out just fine! She is able to transfer out of her wheelchair very well, only needing someone or something to hold on to for balance. After we made it to the Pavillions, we were all off on our separate journeys through the mall. Brenda is a big fan of shopping, and we easily spent her 50 euro! We picked out a few jumpers and some jewelry. She loves to look nice and she received many compliments on her choices. We all met up at half two for the cinemas. Hannah Montana: The Movie was the film choice. Needless to say, I wasn't exactly thrilled by the pick. But it wasn't nearly as bad as I expected! And I heard several of the members singing along, so that was fun. After the movie we all headed back to change for dinner. We went to JJ's All American Bar and Grill again! I really like that place. And the members enjoyed it as well. When we got home, we were all pretty tired but we mustered up some energy for a quick game of Bingo.
This morning seems like a blur to me. After we were all awake and ready, we had a quick breakfast before Mass. Brenda really loves Mass and she was thrilled to sit by the priest! I was really touched by her singing "Here I Am Lord." She isn't really able to pronounce the words, but she sure knows how to join in to the song! It was a really special moment for me. I think there was a mixture of many emotions, including missing home, that caused me to tear up. Mass is really the only time that I feel homesick because it is such a big part of my family. I haven't cried once since I arrived almost two months ago (can you believe it's been almost two months!!??) but that moment got to me. It was really nice in a way. I guess it's the unity of Catholicism that I love the most. Even though I'm so far away I feel connected to home somehow through the Mass. But now I'm back to loving it here and not being able to imagine leaving. So don't worry!! :)
We had a small lunch before the members were picked up one by one in the afternoon. Another member I really enjoyed meeting is Michael. He is such a great presence in the house! He doesn't say much. His three words that he uses often are "happy" "no" and "yeah". He always gives a big thumbs up and says "Happy!!!" It is so great and it makes everyone smile. While we were on the bus at one point Kate asked him if he was ever sad and after a few seconds of contemplation he said, "No!" It was so funny! I look forward to seeing him again.
So now the house is relatively quiet. I'm in the office right now because our computer isn't working. I'm the only one in the house that doesn't own a laptop so I'm kind of cut off from home until they get it fixed. Using this computer is sort of a one time deal. (It's kind of ridiculous but that's all I'm gonna say about that...) So you might not get an update again for a while. Which is fine because I'll be out of town for my holiday anyways! I still need to pack! I better get on that now actually, because Kate and I are headed in to Dublin tonight for Operation De-Stress. I think some 80s karaoke is in order.
Until next time,
Claire
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