Another week has passed...not sure where the time has gone!
I left Dublin Tuesday afternoon to meet up with my parents in Galway. I took the train, which happened to be my very first train ride! My seat was way in the back and it was perfect for a few hours of "me time" with my book. The train took off and I was in complete happiness as I read and looked out the window. It was a beautiful day! A few minutes after the train took off three teenage girls came back and sat near me. Normally this would be a small annoyance, but I would be able to ignore the giggling and high pitch voices. But the girl next to me was playing music on her phone (loud annoying techno) and singing along with it. Then she started talking to me and asking me questions about what I thought of her clothes. I'm sure she was a nice girl, but it was obvious I was reading and had no interest in talking to her, or listening to her second-hand crappy British music. (Ok so I'm still a little bitchy about it...sorry!) Anyways, I made it to Galway and met my parents at their B&B. It was such a nice place! And it was so great to see them!
We were all starving so we head out with the Bakers to a restaurant down the street. After a nice meal and good conversation, we all went back to our rooms. It was nice to relax and talk, without feeling like we needed to go out and do something. The next day, Mark, Tish, and Dad went on a trip out to Knock and the Cong Abbey. Mom wanted to stay behind and spend time with me, which was great because I have already been to Knock. It was nice to just hang out with her for the day. We went on a walk along the water and ended up in a casino! We played the slot machines and lost four euro. Not bad for an hour or so of entertainment! Then we went and got some snacks and went back to the B&B. We played cards and chatted and it was really nice. The rest of the group got back about two or three that afternoon. I can't really remember what we did... I played cards with Dad, and the three of us chatted for a while. Then Mark and Tish went out to see Galway Town. I encouraged my parents to go as well, because I liked Galway. But they were tired and I was ok with skipping it because I had been before. Later, we walked down the street and found the best food of my life! (Ok maybe not the best but it was the best I've had in six months!) I can't remember the name, but it was a small Italian restaurant with very reasonable prices and huge portions. My mom had mushroom tortellini with homemade pasta, my dad had a pizza that was coming off the edge of the plate, and I had a calzone. We all shared our meals and everything was soooooo good! Ok I'll stop myself from talking even more about it... After the meal we went back to the B&B and went to bed early.
The next morning they dropped me off at the station which included only a little mayhem and an almost car crash. My trip home was much more peaceful. When I got back to the house everyone was decorating for Halloween. The kids were to arrive around 2pm and we were preparing activities and games for them. My parents left Galway and headed over to Dublin with a few stops on the way. I made plans to meet up with them for dinner, but I was able to be at the house for a few hours of the Halloween party. It was so fun to see our little members dressed up in all sorts of costumes. Billy (one of the toughest boys I know) dressed up as a princess complete with a pink dress and wig!
My dad picked me up and we met up with Mom and the Bakers in the Malahide village. I had never tried the food at Gibney's, but we thought we'd give it a try. It was really cheap food and pretty good. The Bakers left after dinner to go pack and get things ready to return home the next day. Mom and Dad dropped me off back at the house and gave me a few last minute hugs before leaving. It was hard to say goodbye again, but I know that the next six months will fly by just as fast as the previous six. I am lucky that I got to see them here, because I won't be making it home before I return for good in May.
Friday morning, we all gathered in our sitting room and awaited the arrival of Rose, our communication training teacher for the day. There has been a weird vibe in the house lately, so our boss thought it would be a good idea for us to have a day of team building and learning new communication skills. Peter, the newest volunteer from South Korea, will be leaving the break house in a few weeks, and that has caused a bit of tension. But we were able to come together for the training and I think it went well. It was a full day, and we were all worried the time would pass slowly. Sitting in a room for 6 hours is hard. Surprisingly, the time flew by and it was over before we knew it. As part of our training day, we were given a bit of money to buy dinner, provided we all stayed together to eat it! It was really nice to be together as a group and we all hung out after dinner and played games.
I woke up on Saturday and didn't want to leave my bed. It was nice to have the option to stay in as long as I wanted. I highly recommend doing this sometime. When I did finally face the day, Kaitlyn and I went out to find last minute Halloween costumes. I wanted to be a cowgirl but I couldn't find a hat or boots...it was sad. So I had a plaid shirt and I put my hair in pigtails. I was a recession cowgirl. Kaitlyn, however found a hot red dress and got some girly devil accessories. Kate put little cereal boxes around her body with plastic knives piercing them and red paint coming out of the cuts. She was a cereal killer! Lisa was a cat woman. Lennart was Edward from Twilight. He did this because Lisa has a deep love of the Twilight movie and books and we always tease her about this. He put his hair back, painted his face white, and put glitter all over his face. (For those who aren't in the know, in the Twilight series, the vampires don't burn when sunlight touches them. Instead, their skin is shimmery... Yes. That's right.) Peter, Jose, and Erin had no costume. I can't blame them. We went out around half six because Kate wanted to see some of the parade. When we got into town, there was no parade to be found. This didn't bother me at all because I've never liked parades. However, it meant that we were in town WAY too early and I think it is the reason I didn't want to stay as late as the others. Anyways, we went to a bar called Fitzsimons. It was a good atmosphere, and after an hour or so there were loads of good people watching opportunities. We left there, hoping to find a good place for some dancing. Most of us were up for it, with a few exceptions. I wanted to go to a cool place that we went to for May's last night because there was no cover and cheap drinks. However, we ended up going to a place and stood in line just to find that there was a ten euro cover and no one wanted to pay it. So we went to a nearby bar to listen to a band play. It was a good band that played fun music. They were all dressed up as skeletons and the drummer was a girl! I ended up leaving to catch the half eleven bus, because some of our group wanted to stay until one or two and I wasn't up for it. So Lisa, Lennart, Peter, and I left to head back home. Not a bad night, but I was hoping for a little more excitement!
The next day, I got up early and went to the village for Mass. I wanted an opportunity to get out of the house, so I volunteered for the teen social. I couldn't find a ride there, so I trusted the internet for bus routes to Swords. I ended up getting on the wrong bus! The driver was SUPER nice and went out of his way to get me closer to my destination. The walk there wasn't too bad. It wasn't raining! I arrived only a few minutes late, but it was ok because there were only a few kids there. I had never been to a teen social before so I had no idea what to expect. There were 17 volunteers there! I had only met Rebecca, the group leader, so I felt a little overwhelmed. But I was paired with Conor, one of my favorite kids, so that put me at ease. During the social we all had fun together, played games, and enjoyed a married couple who brought music and drums for the kids to play. Conor LOVED that and got up and danced around the room when the woman played "Wheels on the Bus" for him! It was so much fun! It was only four hours long, and the time flew by! I think the fact that I'm used to 48 hours straight had something to do with that. Rebecca gave me a lift home which was great! I had no idea how else I would have made it back. I made dinner and then convinced (easily) a few of my roommates to watch Sleeping Beauty with me.
Yesterday was Lisa's birthday. We all had to leave the house while the cleaners were here, so we went to a coffee shop and planned our trip to Edinburgh which happens to be THIS WEEKEND! I can't believe how fast time is going by...It's November! Jeez... Anyways, we made dinner and gave her our presents. We all pitched in to buy her the fourth book in the Twilight series. Kate made her a card. Lennart drew her a picture of herself next to Robert Patterson (Edward in Twilight.) It was so great! Lennart is an amazing artist and wants to be an illustrator. We all headed out back to the village to an Italian restaurant for dessert. When we got back we watched The Virgin Suicides which was a very sad movie, but I think I liked it.
Today was just a regular working day. I went grocery shopping with Lennart as the others cleaned the house. We all had lunch and then our typical planning meeting. Now I am waiting for a bit before we head out for a visit. We are going to Baldoyle to take a few members out to dinner. Should be nice. And then I'm going in to town to meet with Michael, an Irish volunteer who I also went to Lourdes with, for a movie. Zombieland. I hope it's good! :P
Tomorrow is a mid-week group. Lisa, Kaitlyn and I head to Edinburgh VERY early on Saturday and we will be back Tuesday evening. So to the several people that I've been meaning to call, I hope you can be patient for another week! In the meantime, don't be so damn lazy and write me emails! ;)
Love to Oregon,
Claire
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