New Beginnings

Well here I am again writing in this silly blog. Pretty sure Kris and Mom are the only readers I have left. :) But it is definitely time to update what I've been doing in the past few months.

I got myself a grown up job! (Although I wouldn't go so far as to call my coworkers grown ups...) I am a direct care giver for a group home in Oregon City. I basically get to hang out with five adult residents with varied disabilities all day. Most of the time, it is perfectly wonderful. The only thing that gets me are the petty fights that staff create with each other. I don't really understand why people would do this work unless they truly loved it. It is not the kind of job you get just to pay the bills. But it's just another lovely side effect of our devastated economy. I wish I could write all about the people I serve, but apparently that's against the law. (Psht.) But I will say that each of them have special gifts that I am blessed to experience every day. One of the guys reminds me a lot of my old buddy Paul Lockery that sang my song and arm wrestled me mercilessly. He loves Elvis more than any one I've ever met, which instantly makes him the coolest person I know. He alternates between telling me he loves me and asking me the ever popular question, "You wanna FIGHT, Claire?" :)

I am officially living with Katie again! It will be nice to move into my own space, but I will miss seeing my parents as much as I was. (Yes, I know it wasn't enough, Mom.) But I can't stay away from Salem for too long before I crave family time.

And then there's the other life update of my new relationship. I suppose I don't really feel like writing about the details in an open blog, but I will say that I am so happy with him. Life has surprised me with the curve balls it's thrown me, but I've finally found contentment in my personal life. I must admit that I never expected that to happen. :P

My only struggle at the moment is organizing my time. It is difficult to juggle work, a boyfriend, family, and friends. I knew what I was signing up for when I took a relief position (meaning I am open to work any shift at any time.) I thrive with the constant challenge of never knowing what a day will be like, but I need to start making an effort to see my friends too or I'll go crazy. So, readers, this blog will hold me accountable. I have no excuses now. :)

To those still putting up with me, thank you. I hope to bring you more good stories from the ironic mix of chaos and monotony that is Claire World.

Home Again

Well my friends, it's been quite some time since I've written here. Mostly it's because I've been insanely busy and of course there is that other constant reason...laziness. I also suspect that none of you will be reading this now that I'm not living in another country. "Tales from Salem" doesn't quite have that captivating ring to it.

I can't really remember the blur that is the last week in CASA. We saw some members for final goodbyes, we partied a lot, and gave many hugs before I got in the car to head to the airport. Even thinking about it now makes me very sad. They were my family for a year. The 20 hours it took me to get home were brutal. I hadn't cried at all until the end of the flight movie "The Blind Side." The guy sitting next to me probably thought I was a little to worked up about the kid making it big time in the NFL. Three flights later I finally made it to the Portland airport to find the entire eight people in my immediate family. I can't tell you how nice it was to see them all again, especially my little nephews who were way too big in my opinion.

The last month and a half has been filled with seeing friends and developing a relationship. Weird how different things are now... I'm looking for a job, with a few possibilities at the moment. I'm trying to reconnect with friends. It's interesting to come back and see people because I've learned who my close friends are and who my more casual friends are. There are groups that once I walked in the door I was right back in the swing of things. Then there are groups that I still feel sort of outside of...as if that year was enough to make the connections weaken. I was surprised at some of these, although really it all makes sense. Of course there are going to be people that I just don't relate to as well anymore. I supposed I've changed a bit this past year, and I know that many of my friends have changed as well.

Overall coming home has been really nice. I'll admit my heart is still aching to find it's next adventure. But for now I'll work on the whole "normal life" thing... How bad could that be? :)

Thanks for keeping up with me in the last year. I hope I brought you a bit of entertainment mixed in with what started as a place for me to keep my memories. I think I might still update this from time to time. It's therapeutic in a way.

Take care, all,
Claire

My Last Group

Well I suppose I don't have many more of these to write. I just got done with my last group yesterday. I have to tell you, it was one of my favorite groups! It's no secret that the kids groups are my least favorite. Well that all changed when I was paired with little Niamh (neeve). She is nine years old and has downs syndrome. Niamh is the sweetest child in the entire world. (Even sweeter than my nephews, I must admit!) We spent the entire weekend playing catch, reading, and cuddling! She is so cute and sooooo funny! Her day on Saturday had a rough start. Danielle (who I've been with before...the one that constantly roams and doesn't sleep) grabbed Niamh's glasses off of her face and bent them almost in half! I took Niamh to get them fixed at the Pavillions. She was so good! She held my hand the entire time through the mall and waited with me patiently while we got them fixed. On the way back to the bus, she ran ahead of me and tripped and scrapped her knee! The poor thing... Even after all that she was back to a great mood and we continued on in the day. We took the kids to an indoor playground called Hurly Burly. It was the best place to take them!! It was safe and fun and there was something for each kid, which is hard to achieve with our groups. Niamh had a blast! Darren was giving Kate a bit of trouble on the way back regarding his constant request for crisps (chips for us Americans.) (It's really cute when he says crisps with his lisp. It turns out to sound like "crips.") Kate told him that he can't eat crisps all day long. He thought about that and then responded, "YES. I. AM.....CAN!!!" It was soooo funny!

At the end of the day, Danielle was walking past Niamh and I in the hall. Like a flash of light Danielle went straight for Niamh's hair! She latched on and wouldn't let go even with Canada and I pulling her away! Poor little Niamh. Even after all that Danielle did to her, she still talked to Danielle and asked how she was. She's so sweet! Before bed I took her upstairs to have a bath. She LOVES bath time! She even brought bubble bath! So we had a fun time splashing and playing in the bath, and she gave me no trouble when it was time to actually wash her hair. haha

The next day we finished up at the Swords house and headed over to the Malahide house for games and a treasure hunt. (Another group needed the Swords house that afternoon.) Niamh loved the treasure hunt that Kate set up, and even suckered Kate into two more hunts! After the hunts, Niamh sat on my lap and we looked through the photo albums. Every time she saw me in a photo she said, "There's Claire!" or my personal favorite, "Claire and her smile. Gorgeous!" haha Her parents came to collect her a little early, which was a real bummer! I had a hard time saying goodbye to her. :(

The group was led by one of the managers, Kay. I haven't mentioned Kay much because we don't see her much. She does a lot of behind the scenes stuff. I have to say that I enjoyed her as a leader immensely! She was a perfect back up without being overbearing. She was relaxed and organized the entire weekend. The wrap up meeting was actually productive! She gave us positive feedback (for each volunteer!) and some things that could make groups better in the future. You're probably thinking that this is how a wrap up meeting should go. Well sadly most of them are complete wastes of time. Mostly we just say how we feel about them and then that's it. This was so great! We left the group feeling really positive about our work. It was a great way to end my time here!

Normally we have a few days off after a group, but this week is weird. We had a minister come to the house today to see if he wants to help the funding for CASA. Because of this we invited six members over to the house for a few hours to show him what we do here. I got to see some of my favorites which was so great! Now everyone is gone and I'm going to relax! I have a few days off which are filling up with plans fairly quickly. Thursday is meetings and then Kate and I are gonna go see my two favorite members Gillian (who sings Neil Diamond with me) and Paul Lockery, the one who arm wrestles me and sings me my song. It's going to be so great! I'm dreading coming home after that day though... Friday is another day of visits. I'm gonna go see a bunch of our members at one home, and then head over to see Dora and Marian (!!!).

I can't believe I have just a bit more than a week left! Ah! I wish time would slow down just a tiny bit!

Well I suppose that's all I have for now. Maybe I'll get one or two more in before I come home. Love you!

My Italian Easter

Hello all,







I finally have some time to write in this thing. I suppose I'll only have a few more posts....I can't believe I'm coming home in a few weeks! My year here is almost over.







Before my ten day holiday, we had a teens group. I was paired with Ashleigh. She's a 15 year old girl with spina bifida. She's a very sweet girl who unfortunately doesn't get enough attention at home. Because of this, she can be very difficult. But most of the weekend was really fun. We all played games and even went to a place called Dublinia: Viking World. It's a museum for kids about the time of the vikings. I wasn't expecting much, but it turned out to be a great time. One of the teens, Conor Dillan, was paired with Lennart. He met Ovidiu, our new volunteer driver, and he couldn't pronounce his name. He started calling him Gary and it stuck! He also has the cutest accent in the world! His father is from Ireland and his mother is from Scotland. He sounds like a young Sean Connery. He kept saying, "Go left, Gary!" "Gary, slow down!" It was adorable. The kids loved Gary!







When the group was over I spent the evening cleaning and packing for my very early flight the next morning. At 4am Kate and I took a taxi to the airport. By nine, we were in Madrid with Jose! He was so sweet! He took us to his apartment in town and fed us a traditional Spanish Easter dish, much like French toast. He also has a huge espresso pot, which made me very happy! After we were fed, we went to explore the south western side of Madrid. Unfortunately, due to Holy Week, all the churches were closed. But we spent the day walking around and seeing very cool buildings including the palace, the cathedral, and an Egyptian Temple that was given to Madrid as a gift and brought to them piece by piece. We stopped for lunch at a vegetarian restaurant that Kate wanted to try, followed by, of course, ice cream! After checking out more of the city, we headed back to Jose's apartment for a late dinner. Jose has the box set of the nighttime drama from the 90s, Twin Peaks. Kate happens to love that show, so we decided to watch a few episodes. I totally got hooked! What a crazy series! It was so nice to relax and enjoy the time with the two of them.





The next morning we walked to the garage that held Stefan's car. Stefan is Jose's long time friend from Germany. He's been living in Madrid for over seven years while working at the Prado Museum. He's incredibly smart! He drove us to a small town south of Madrid called Toledo. It was one of the most beautiful places I've ever been! (I know I say that all the time, but you know how it goes with me. Every new place that I connect with gives me another piece of my heart that was missing.) We began the day by having espresso at a hotel outside of Toledo to get a good look at the entire city. It is an older city built of beige stone houses. After we took loads of pictures we headed over to park closer to the city walls. Once we got inside we began our walk. We stopped for lunch before continuing our tour. In the evening we went inside the immense cathedral to view a procession for the stations of the cross. It was so nice to witness, even though I don't understand any Spanish. After the procession we headed back to Madrid for a very late supper and bed.





The next day we swept the south eastern side of Madrid. We began by stopping at a gallery with an exhibit by Jose's favorite artist, Miguel Barcelona. I couldn't take pictures unfortunately, but I really loved his paintings. Afterwards we went to a huge city park called Retiro. It was so amazing!!! It used to belong to the royal family and includes a few man made lakes and a big glass green house. We fell in love with it instantly. After a few hours of walking through the park we stopped at an outdoor cafe. I had the best pork of my life! I can't remember what the style of the pork was, but I don't normally like pork and I thought it was outstanding! Next up was the Prado Museum. We got to see lots of masterpieces by Raphael, Rembrandt, and Goya. After about an hour we moved on to the modern art museum. I got to see many pieces by Picasso and Dali. I had never seen any paintings by Dali so I truly enjoyed that. Unfortunately my leg hurt quite a bit at this point of the night, so we decided to leave and get a drink. I wasn't hungry, but Kate and Jose wanted tapas. I had a bit of theirs, but mostly I drank summer wine. :) Stefan joined us and we went to another part of town to one of Jose's favorite bars. It was in the basement of a building and it had dim lights and a rounded ceiling. The waiters had red coats and there was an old time piano player. Everyone was drinking out of little pitchers of very strong and delicious sangria. I loved it there!





The next morning we had breakfast with Jose before he left for Manchego, his hometown. He was going to be in an Easter parade later that day! (Oh how I love Jose...) Kate and I went out to get a bit of food for the apartment. On the way back down a narrow street, we were walking on the small sidewalk and a car flew by and hit me in the arm! My huge container of yogurt flew out of my hand and onto the ground with a big splat. I was ok, but I was shaking from anger! There was no reason for him to be that close to us. The driver just kept on and I angrily shouted at him in a dramatic response. He got out a block away and I yelled at him to just go. I'm sure he didn't understand my statement, but he figured out the meaning. haha Kate left about an hour later for her train to Barcelona. At this point I had two choices. I could have gone out and tried to figure out what else to see in Madrid, or I could have taken advantage of a full apartment to myself. Of course I chose the latter. I spent the day watching Twin Peaks, drinking espresso, and writing in my journal. It was amazing! At half eleven that night I made my way through the metro system to the airport. I was about to do something I would never have dreamed of doing before. I found a spot on the floor and tried to sleep for a few hours in the airport before my flight was to leave at seven. It wasn't an ideal situation, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be.





I got to Milan at half nine and found Audrey and Andre right away. After a few hugs, Silvia, Gabriele's sister, came over to us. No one in Gabriele's family speaks English. It helped that I met her once before when she came to Ireland. The plan was for her to take us back to their house in Legnano and wait for Gabriele to get off work at half three. I was ok with this plan because I was exhausted. His mother was so welcoming and wonderful! She made us a great meal and even invited one of Siliva's friends over (who is half Italian, half English) to translate for us. It was SO great to see Gabriele when he finally got to the house. He took us to a lake in Como that has views of the Alps. It was so lovely! We walked along the lake and took lots of pictures. After an hour or so we went back to Legnano and got pizza. :)





The next day Lele, Silvia, her boyfriend Simon, and I went into Milan to meet up with Audrey and Andre (who were staying in the city center.) We went to the Duomo first. It was an extremely beautiful and large cathedral in the middle of the city. We had a quick lunch after this followed by a walk through the city center. To be honest, I wasn't impressed with Milan. It was a busy, ugly city with a beautiful cathedral in the middle of it to redeem itself. It was raining that day so by the time we were done wandering around we were all soaked. We stopped at another church called St. Ambrosio. It was a very nice church, complete with the skeleton of St. Ambrosio himself! We decided to leave Audrey and Andre in town and go back to Legnano because I wanted to go to the Easter Vigil Mass with his family. The Mass was really nice. His father knows a bit of English so he was trying to translate some of it from me. I knew what Easter Vigils are like so I knew it would involve lots of extra readings and prayers. I was able to follow along for most of it. I really enjoyed the service, especially the translations. :)





The next morning was Easter! It was a really nice day. Audrey and Andre came to Legnano by train. We all had a huge meal in the afternoon with several courses. Among all the dishes were lamb chops, home made bread, mushroom risotto (!!!), lasagna, and a few other vegetable dishes. There was also an excess of chocolate, dessert, and espresso. Lele's two grandmothers and grandfather came over as well. Gabriele got into an argument with his grandpa during the meal and we were wondering what was happening. He finally translated for us English speakers and it was nothing that we could have guessed. His grandfather bought a deer skinned coat, and Lele is very against that. Apparently the way that they kill the deer in Europe is very different from the way we do it in the States. Regardless, I was very surprised to see him talk to his grandpa just like he would talk to me if we were in an argument. I wouldn't dream of raising my voice to a grandparent. But I suppose it could be a good thing, if it means that he feels comfortable enough to talk to him in that way. It was entertaining, nevertheless. :)

It was raining that day and we were all tired so we just relaxed and watched movies. Audrey and Andre left and I went to bed. The next morning Lele took me to the train station. I met up with my friends and we left for Venice! I was sad to say goodbye to Gabriele because I'm not sure when I'll see him again. He and I always had a lot of fun when he lived in the house.

The train ride to Venice was a few hours but it went by quickly. We went from the train station to our hostel with a few bumps along the way. Andre booked the hostel so I asked him if he had maps of how to get there because Venice is known to be very difficult to navigate. He assured me he had everything he needed. I didn't get any maps because I was planning on getting one from the hostel. Andre just had a GPS program on his phone. This didn't work at all. We kept getting lost and it was giving us the wrong information! It was so frustrating! We were all starving and caffeine deprived so it wasn't pretty. :P We got there eventually and then we all felt much better. Our next order of business was lunch. We stopped at a cute restaurant for some pizza. It was delicious, of course. We all needed money, so we went in search for an ATM, stopping first at one of the notable churches, Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari. It was a beautiful church and well worth the 1.50 euro! We went back to where the train station was (not an easy task!) and we finally found an ATM. After Audrey and Andre got money out, I tried to as well with no luck! I was so frustrated! I knew I had money in my account. We went to another one and it also didn't work. At this point I was freaking out! We finally found another one near the water buses. Success!!! I felt SO happy at this point, because everything was finally in order. Afterwards we decided to take a water bus down the Grand Canal. We ended up saving a lot of money by using public transport instead of a tour boat. We got on first and we got to sit up front, which was prime for picture taking! The rest of the day was spent wandering around the southern island of the city. We stopped for tiramisu and wine at a little restaurant after they promised no cover or service charge. (Most places were charging both!)

The next morning we began as early as it was possible. (Traveling with a couple can be complicated.) We began by walking to Piazza San Marco. The basilica was SO BIG! Inside was something I especially appreciated. I'm very partial to mosaic and this church was covered floor to ceiling in gold mosaics! It was absolutely stunning. Audrey and I went up to the top to see the museum and take pictures of the square. We went to have a picnic along the water with Andre afterwards. Andre really wanted to go to the park at the end of the island so we walked down there and around the park for a few hours. We decided to try to make it to a few more churches before they all closed. We made it all the way out to one of them that ended up closing an hour before schedule! So we raced over to the cathedral named after Saint Paul and Saint John, which I found unusual. There isn't much to say except that it was very big and very beautiful inside. We were all hungry at this point so we stopped at a small restaurant near our hostel. We all had pizza and wine...the perfect end to our night! We were all tired from all of the walking that day. (It's hard to explain how much walking it takes just to go somewhere that would normally take 15 minutes but ends up taking 30 because of how many zig zags are necessary...) We ended up going back to the hostel to hang out and talk before we went to bed. I had to get up at six the next morning to get to my bus on time. I didn't want to leave Venice or my friends. But the walk in the morning was really nice. Everyone was still sleeping I'm pretty sure. I came across just a few sweepers on the sidewalks. Venice was so beautiful and I wished that I could have stayed there much, much longer! The buildings were so cute and the rivers and canals add so much to the uniqueness of the city. I can't wait to go back again! My plane left at ten to take me back to Dublin. I spent the day relaxing and visiting with Ovidiu and Lucy who hadn't gone anywhere for the break.

We were all back to work the next morning. We had to clean and prepare for the group that began the next afternoon. I was paired with Paula, who I was with last summer. She is 30 years old and has a mild intellectual disability. I really love Paula. She's a very sweet woman and very easy to get along with. It was nice to see her again before I leave. June Mills was also in, and I loved seeing her again! I was with her last fall and we had a blast! She was with Kate and they got on very well. It was hard to say goodbye to people knowing that it was my last adult group. It's been such wonderful year and I have so many memories. I can't believe it's coming to a close.

My weekend has been really quiet, which I appreciate. Yesterday, Kate, Canada, Lisa and I went out to Dublin bright and early for a girls day out! We began with hair cuts at one of the teaching salons. Lisa got an amazing hair cut with a big flare of pink in her blond hair. I know it sounds different, but it looks SO good! Both the Kates got trims that turned out very nice. I cut a few inches off my hair and also got some layers. At first I wasn't so pleased with the cut because it wasn't really what I asked for. But I'm coming around to it. It's nice to have it short again for the summer. After the cuts we went to get lunch at Cornucopia, Kate's favorite vegetarian restaurant. We walked to St. Stephen's Green after that and lazed in the sun for a while. When we were ready, we left to go to Queen of Tarts for some dessert. We all got different things and shared equally. It was SO good! We shared a chocolate scone (literally award winning!), raspberry cheesecake, chocolate cake, and chocolate pear tart with almonds. MMMM! We headed back home after that.

I woke up at half one this afternoon! I must have been very tired! I haven't been doing much with my time except for hanging out with my house mates. I'm really trying to spend lots of time with them before I go. But I promised Mom and Kris that I could do this so here it is. I hope it's not too boring! :P

Love you all!

St. Paddy's Day

Hello everyone! I have some fun things to update you on. :)





After the four day group, most people left for mini trips on the five days we had off. I, on the other hand, looked forward to being alone in this house for a few days for my holiday. It didn't actually work out that way, however. Erin was also here tying up loose ends because she was leaving the following Saturday. One of the days off we went on a few visits to her favorite members to say goodbye. I got lucky because John Hart is her favorite and he happens to live with Paul Lockery, my own dear favorite. We took them out for dinner and it was so much fun! Oh how I love Paul. But you all knew that... Tuesday morning I woke up to a stranger in the house. Ovidiu is 26 years old and is from Romania. He is volunteering here for a year and living in the house with us, but he won't be a normal volunteer. They hired him to be our full time driver. This is a great plan! In addition to driving the bus during the groups (which will cut the costs of paying for a professional driver), he will also be able to drive us to visits and to the grocery store. I told everyone in the house that I knew that Ovidiu would be crazy because all the Romanians I know are crazy. Well let me just say that I was right! But more about that later. Another new volunteer arrived later that Tuesday. Lucy is in her mid twenties and she is from San Diego. She has been living and studying in Austria for the past few years and decided to take a break for the summer. She is very nice and funny, but I think it will take some time for her to feel comfortable here. When the Germans came back from Cork, we all sat down and had dinner to welcome the newbies.





Wednesday morning, I went to the bus stop at half six to take the bus to the airport. My friend from the States, Jessica Campbell, was coming to see me for a few days. I waited there for an hour until a lady walked by and told me that because it was St. Patrick's Day, the buses ran on a "Sunday Schedule". It sucked! So I ended up walking back to the house and calling a taxi. Luckily, the airport is only 20 minutes away and the taxi only cost be 15 euro. When I got there I saw that her plane was delayed by an hour and half, but I didn't mind. I was glad that she wasn't there waiting for me, because I was a bit late. It was SO good to see her! Jess and I have been friends since the first grade. We've always kept in touch, even after going to different schools in high school. She's the best! We came back to the house and everyone was awake and ready to hit the town! There was a parade at noon in city center. Apparently, we were all a little late. Everyone alive in this area was cramming the streets dressed in green wigs, leprechaun outfits, and shamrocks painted on their faces. There was no chance of seeing the parade, even though we walked down the road it was going to travel through. Some people brought ladders to stand on, which was a good idea! After watching most of the parade on our tip toes, we decided to get some lunch at Kate's favorite vegetarian restaurant. We then decided to go back home because the crowds were too much! Mary Fox decided that she wanted to make us a traditional Irish meal for a goodbye to Erin. At the time, we were all frustrated because Erin agreed and therefore changed all of our plans to what she wanted. But it ended up being very nice. Afterward we played some games and hung out. A few people wanted to drink with me, but no one wanted to go crazy like you're supposed to do on St. Patrick's Day! I was disappointed. :P





The next day was a working day. I sent Jess off to the village for exploring while we had meetings and cleaned the house for the party. Because Erin had been here for almost two years and was the house leader, the management organized a party for her here at the house with several members invited. I made meatballs (Grandma Hattie's recipe!) and cheesecake. All the food turned out very well! Jess came back and got to meet a few of my favorite members, including Michaelena! We all had nice time, and it meant a lot to Erin. Afterwards we went to Gibney's so that Erin could say goodbye. Jessica had to go to her hostel around half ten. It was too bad that she left because when I returned from taking her to the stop the party was just beginning! There was a crappy cover band playing pretentious punk rock music. Ovidiu started dancing in his seat and then got up and went crazy! It's so hard to describe the dancing that ensued. He said, "This music moves me! I must dance!" hahaha So good... At the end of the night we all got up and busted out the dance moves we've learned from the members. It was so much fun!





Friday was the beginning of our group. I was paired with Marian Cullen. She hasn't been in the house since I've been here, but I've met her before. She is such a fun person to be around! She's in her fifties and lives in the same hospital as Dora. (I was with Dora last November. She is the one who loves Patrick Swayze!) Marian is a really funny person. She loves to mess and play games. She liked to put me to sleep and then take my ring off. Then she'd order me to wake up and I would be shocked to find my ring missing. The game went on and on and I loved it! After everyone arrived on Friday, we had dinner made by Erin. Soon after dinner we headed out to the cinema. Khadija picked the movie, an Irish film called Zonad. Apparently it was about a man who escaped out of rehab and pretended to be an alien to be accepted into a family. Luckily, there was no room for Marian's wheelchair in the theater, so we were sent to Alice in Wonderland. I was so excited! Unfortunately, we had to miss the first twenty minutes. So I look forward to catching up on what I missed. I really loved the movie! Normally I dislike Tim Burton's recreations, but I thought he did an amazing job. I recommend it. :)



When we got back to the house it was after eleven. No one wanted to go to bed, especially the members who were close to Erin because she was leaving the next morning. After midnight Marian and I decided it was time. After I got her into bed I started to leave to get myself ready. She stopped me and asked me if I wanted to pray with her. It was SO sweet! She told me that she really loved being paired with me and that "we are just a good fit, dontcha think?" It really meant a lot to me to be with a member that I love and feel loved in return.



Saturday morning I woke up at seven to say goodbye to Erin. It is so weird to be in this house without her. Now I am the longest here. Strange... Anyways, after breakfast we went shopping in Swords. I had so much fun with Marian! She had loads of money to spend. We got movies and puzzles and she even bought a little puppy stuffed animal for me! So sweet! During lunch she told me about how she was in the beginning of the movie "Inside I'm Dancing." It's an Irish film about two young men who are both in wheelchairs and are living in a hospital setting (much like most of our members.) The movie is about their friendship and how they fight for their Independence. It's a really great film. Marian, Dora, and Dorothy (all CASA members) auditioned to be in the beginning of the movie in the hospital scene. She was telling me about the process and how she got to meet James McAvoy! So exciting! I sent the movie to my sister Sarah, so if anyone is interested in seeing it, let me know.



We had dinner at the house, followed by drinks at the Hilton. There was a three-man band from Spain playing music near our tables. Marian got us all up and dancing. The lead singer dedicated a song to her! She was beaming! During their break, he came over and gave the members CDs of their music and signed an autograph for Marian. He even kissed her hand! She was so excited and kept asking me how jealous I was. haha It was such a great night!



Sunday morning we all went to Mass and returned at the exact time that Jessica stopped by. She came to meet the members and hang out for a bit before she had to catch the bus to the airport. All of the members left by 4:15, which almost never happens. Sharon gave me permission to miss the meeting after the group so that I could take Jess to the airport. It meant so much to me to have that extra time with her.



I haven't done too much on my days off. We all got hooked on that reality show Jersey Shore. I don't know if you know about this show, but basically it's like the Real World only with all "Guidos" or Italian Americans. The show is so absurd but insanely fun to watch with the Europeans. :) I also moved my stuff into Erin's room. It's so nice to have privacy again! One more step closer to coming home!

I can't believe this time next week I'll be in Madrid! Life is moving a little too fast for me!

Oh, LenNART!

Well, I just got done with a four day group, and now I am in blissful rest for the next few days. :)

Tuesday afternoon, I headed to the city center to pick up his member, Michael Doran. Michael was coming in from Nenagh in Tipperary. It's about three hours away by bus. I've met Michael before. He was in on Jose's first group. He is very independent, and he acquired his intellectual disability from a car crash years ago. I was paired with a woman named Helen, who I've been with before. Helen is also very independent. Most of the week, she spent her time flirting with Lennart. She always gravitates towards one man in the house, and Lennart just so happens to be our only boy right now. It was SO funny to see their interaction! She would constantly say, "Oh, LenNART!" And he would laugh and reply with, "Oh, HelEN!" There was a super awkward moment when she wanted to pose for a picture while kissing him on the cheek. Unfortunately, he's much taller than her and she ended up getting him on the neck! hahaha So even though Helen had very little interest in me, I didn't mind so much. Gillian Groves was in! She is my sunshine. :) Gillian is the one I was paired with before Christmas who constantly sings Neil Diamond with me. When I saw her she gave me a big hug and broke out with, "Money talks, but it can't sing and it can't walk." I was overjoyed!

The four days flew by. We had dinner at the house Tuesday night followed by bowling. Wednesday was so beautiful, so we made a trip down to Glendalough. I'd been there before on a day trip with some members, so I knew to expect a beautiful walk! We had a great time out there in the trails. When we were done with our walk, we stopped at the hotel for some lunch. Later that night, we had a volunteer chef (Patsy) come and make us dinner. Michael really loves to cook and the attention it brings him. He was in the kitchen with Patsy helping him prepare the meal. He kept walking around to everyone telling them that he was Chef Michael Ramsey, Gordon's first cousin. haha

The next day we went shopping in Blanchardstown. It was nice to have some forced alone time with Helen. But at some point she asked if we could go find Lennart. I agreed, hoping we wouldn't find him. I think he needed the break. :P That night we went out to dinner at Oscar Taylors. The meal was very good, but poor Gillian got sick. She and Kate went home and had a rough night. But Gillian was as good as new the next morning. We had Mass with Fr. Pat, who we love. Two in the afternoon came very quickly Friday morning. We all said goodbye, one by one, to our members.

That night we all just hung out here at the house. Lennart borrowed the first season of Damages from the library so we finished it off that night. I spent yesterday catching up on emails and watching insane amounts of The Colbert Report. I really needed a lazy day. :) I went to the village today for Mass and a walk. Now I'm just catching up on a few things. This next week will be insane, but I am very excited for St. Patrick's Day in DUBLIN! A once in a lifetime opportunity for me! :)

I hope you all wear lots of green and drink a Guinness or two in memory of me on Wednesday! ;) Love you,
Claire

Ready for Home Already?

Well I finally have some time to update this thing. The past few weeks have been crazy! I'll start with the teens group. It's no secret that the teens and kids groups are not my favorite. This group was no exception. :P I was paired with Leanne. She is 17 years old and had an infection when she was young that led to a delay in her intellectual development. This is a nice way of saying that she's overactive and very difficult to care for. She is such a sweet girl but she is constantly moving from place to place and acting out. I spent the whole weekend balancing trying to have fun with her and telling her no when she constantly asked me for sweets. Her mom told me when she came that she is prone to overeating and I should monitor her intake. She slept well the first night, but the second night was a disaster. She woke me up five times throughout the night. At midnight she woke me up and asked if she could take a shower! At five in the morning she woke up for good and luckily Canada was up and told me to go back to sleep. God bless her! But besides the frustrating moments, I did enjoy hanging out with Leanne. She has constant energy, and she often does her version of messing. This consists of her saying something like, "I'm gonna sit down, I'm gonna sit down, I'm gonna sit down.......NO I'm NOT!" We ended the group by joining the social at Clontarf Castle. I'm not sure who's bright idea it was for us to bring the teens to the adult social. :P Leanne was walking from table to table trying to sneak in more desserts. She walked over to a table of old women and when I told them not to give her any chocolate they looked at me like I was a monster and gave her several pieces! She had just had so much food and dessert! I wanted to smack those ladies! That happened with that table a few times and each time they gave her more chocolate. I'm sure her mother would be thrilled. Overall the weekend was successful, and I really worked hard to do my best. My supervisor said I did well balancing fun and discipline when needed.

The next weekend was a completely different situation! I had an amazing time. It was not a normal group. We invited three members over to join us in fundraising. We split up into two groups and collected money from the two Catholic churches in our neighborhood. I got to collect with my absolute favorite member, Paul Lockery! He's so amazing!!! We went to the first Mass on Saturday night and as we stood with our buckets he turned to me and said, "Should I sing?" I thought it was a great idea! So we stood outside the church and he sang to the people as they came out! I must say it worked very well! He also sang me my song! "Claire" by Gilbert O'Sullivan. I got a video of it (thanks Sarah!) to take home with me! I'm so happy to have that because I will miss him so much when I go home. Sunday was pure joy! Paul and I hung out with Lennart and Ken in between Masses. We went to get coffee and Paul leaned over to me and said, "I'm very fond of you!" It was so sweet! I love that the feeling is mutual!

The fundraising was very successful! We did eight Masses and our total was about 7500 euro! I was very grateful for the generosity of our neighbors!

Monday morning Erin, Canada, Lennart, and I headed down to Cork to stay with Tom on his chicken farm. I went down there with Erin last July (I can't believe how long ago that was!) and I was ready for another trip to the farm! Tom is incredibly generous and let us all stay there, as well as buying us food to prepare the dinner. The next day we met up with Denis, another Cork CASA volunteer, who hung out with us for the day. We went with the two of them to visit two of their members. Mary and Dermott met up with us and we went out for coffee. Denis and Tom take out CASA members all the time and pay for the outings with their own money. They are definitely living out what they believe, and it was really inspiring. We brought Mary and Dermott back to Tom's house and we had another nice dinner prepared by us "kids." Tom took us back to the train that evening and gave us money to take a taxi home because the buses would not be running when we got back to Dublin. He's so great!

The next morning we got the house ready for the group. It was weird to go from a day off to a group without a day to prepare. I was paired with Bernie for a second time. I don't know if you remember, but Bernie is a tough member to be with. She is 25 years old and has an intellectual disability. When I was with her before, we got on great and I had immense patience with her. This time I felt like I had no patience at all. I think I must be getting ready to come home. I'm still working hard and doing my best, but it feels like I'm struggling more to do this than when I started. The more I talk to people from home and make plans to see them, the more I'm dying to leave! That being said, I know that when I do actually leave, it will be very hard to say goodbye. Anyways, sorry for that tangent. Bernie can be difficult to be around because she is constantly complaining about everything around her. She always says that she hates the activities that we do, the movies we see, and the dinners we have. Everyone knows that she says these things purely for attention, because every time she goes home from the break she calls the next week to ask when she can come back. :) So the reality is that from a young age she learned that the only way she would get any attention from her family was to complain. It's really very sad. However, it doesn't really make it easier when she's yelling at you for not being helpful as you're trying to help her. The schedule of the group was really fun. The first day we had an early dinner at a restaurant that we were trying for the first time. The prices were great and the food was even better! We had Mass in the house after dinner with Fr. Frank. He is such a great person! I really enjoyed the Mass, and at the end he said a prayer for us volunteers and acknowledged how hard it can be to leave our homes and families to volunteer here. It's amazing how a simple sentence of recognition can go a long way. I think a lot of us feel that the management doesn't really appreciate how difficult it can be for us sometimes. It meant a lot to me that he prayed for us and our families. On Thursday we went out shopping during the day, came back for dinner at the house, and then went out to the cinema. We saw the movie "Crazy Heart" with Jeff Bridges. I really liked it, but it wasn't the best choice for the group. Friday went by very quickly. We had a late breakfast and then went for a walk to the castle and played a bit of soccer. The weather here has been so amazing! I keep waiting for the rain to come back. It really hasn't rained here any more than it does in Oregon. I don't know what people are always complaining about. :)

Today is a lazy day. I've been working on my trip to Madrid, Milan, and Venice. Trip planning is complicated when several people are involved! But I am just excited to see Jose, Gabriele, Audrey, and Andre one more time before I go back home. The gelato, pizza, and espresso are just icing on the cake. :)

I hope all of you are doing well!

My Roman Holiday

I suppose I should update yous all on group before my trip to Rome. It was supposed to be Jose's last group, but two days before it began he got this full body rash and sore throat. The poor guy spent the three days of the group alone in the Swords house! He was able to stop by to see the members before they left Friday afternoon. We went from having eight volunteers and members to six members and five volunteers because Erin was leading the group and Jose was quarantined. :P I was paired with Maura Noctor. Maura is truly amazing. She's a fifty year old woman with schizophrenia. She also has no teeth and literally talks non-stop. We can understand about 15% of what she says. Mostly she talks about her husband, Joseph Noctor and how he'll beat up any boy who flirts with her. The funny part about that is that she is constantly flirtatiously waving and blowing kisses to every man who passes her by! She takes naps and sleeps well, and the only logical reason for this is that she exhausts herself by talking. She came in the house at two in the afternoon on Wednesday and requested for a nap at three. I didn't know what to do with myself! Everyone made Valentines before dinner. Stephen (one of my favorites!) made me one. It says, "Dear Claire, I hope you are well. I want you to visit Monaghan and see the cattle. We have a new baby calf. Love, Stephen." So cute!! He told me to put it on my wall to which I happily agreed. He also kept telling me to come near him and then he would tell me that he loved me and that I'm good looking. I could hang out with Stephen all day. :) We had dinner at the house that night, followed by drinks at a local pub. Mary, another member, was talking so much that Maura actually commented on it. She sat in silence for a while. It was so crazy! Two constant talkers together forces one of them to step down, and I was surprised that it was Maura. After dinner, we had birthday cake for Maura. She LOVED it! While eating the cake, Kate and I heard her murmuring, "The cake is crazy, too. The cake is crazy, too." Oh my gosh! So funny! She also was talking to me about the cat that comes by our house and the part that I caught was, "And he says to me, 'Meow, I'm crazy, too!'"

On Thursday we had breakfast and then left for the museum at half eleven. I wasn't sure if Maura would have any interest in the museum, but I knew she'd be up for walking around with Lennart and Stephen. We saw the dead zoo first. With every animal we passed Maura posed me this question, "Is he dead, too?" When we moved on to the war exhibit, she asked me the same question regarding the mannequins! It was so funny! When we got to the end of the room there was a guard sitting on a chair. I had to inform her, "No, Maura, he's not dead, too." We had a quick lunch at the cafe and then went on our way to Henry Street downtown for shopping. Going shopping with Maura is an adventure! She loves to talk to everyone, and I enjoyed watching them scramble to think of a response to her chatter. They would look to me to ask what she was saying and I'd respond with a look that said, "I have no idea, but I love it anyways!" We bought loads of things, with the exception of a mobile phone. We're not allowed to make big purchases like that with the members. It was really hard for Maura to accept, and I saw a glimpse of sadness in her when she realized that she's not quite as independent as she thinks she is or wants to be. For me, those moments with the members are the hardest. She was upset about it and after I tried to cheer her up I asked for a hug and she refused. But then, while still looking away from me, she extended her hand out for a handshake and I knew I had won the battle. :) The rest of the day was wonderful. We had dinner again at the house and then Maura wanted to go to bed. It was a long day!

Friday morning was lovely. I had to force Maura out of bed after a while 12 hours of sleep! After breakfast we all settled in the sitting room for Mass. Paddy Murray's brother Fr. Frank came from down country to say the Mass for us. Because of this, Sr. Mary was ordering her PA around the house (and backyard to cut fresh branches) to make up the "altar" that is really just our coffee table. (Mary is in a wheelchair and has limited use of her arms. She has a personal assistant here at all times to help her with daily tasks.) It was actually very comical to see it all happening. She would make sure that Omina put everything in the exact way that she wanted it. Normally for Mass we have a simple cloth and a few candles, but that day we had loads of candles, tree branches, a jug of Lourdes water, and several crosses. When Frank arrived we all sort of stared at him in awe of his likeness to Paddy. Really he is like Paddy from 10 years ago. He's also the sweetest and most tenderhearted person I've ever met! I wanted him to live here instead of Paddy, as much as I like him. :P Maura told me before the Mass, "Oh the priest is coming. I better behave!" During the homily she went into one of her babbling streaks and I know she was telling him that Joseph Noctor would beat him up. But Frank didn't understand her, thankfully, and went on with his homily. haha The Mass was centered around Lourdes because it was the day after it's feast day. He also blessed us with oil and said a prayer of healing. It was a really nice service. We had lunch afterward and then everyone made there way home.

The rest of the day was spent packing and resting before my trip. We got up at half three the next morning to get a taxi at four to take us to the airport. We arrived in Rome around ten but had to wait a half hour for the bus. We got into the city around eleven and walked to our hostel. A man was waiting for us outside the door to inform us that the hostel was shut down due to bathroom problems. Luckily they have a sister hostel a few blocks away. So we wandered over there feeling disappointed, tired, and starving. We dropped off our bags in the very dirty hostel and walked into the first restaurant we saw. :) Now I could talk all day long about the amazing food we encountered during our four days in Rome. Everything was incredibly cheap compared to Ireland and the quality was outstanding. No matter where we went we found affordable and delicious food! But this specific meal was pizza. We each got our own and they were amazing! They were very big, but the crust was paper thin so we were able to eat them all!

After we had our lunch, we began our exploring of the beautiful city. The first stop was to see the ruins of the three forums: Foro Traiano, Foro di Augusto, and Foro di Cesare. It is hard to describe what it was like, but basically it was a few blocks of open ground with broken pillars and pieces of buildings. After getting many pictures, we moved on to the Monument to the Unknown Soldier. It was MASSIVE! We didn't want to take the time to walk up the steps or go inside, but the outside was interesting enough for us. We made our way to the Pantheon, but we stopped first at Saint Ignazio's Church. I suppose I will fore go the descriptions of all of the churches we saw because I'm sure none of it will do justice to their beauty. But what made this church special was the painting on the ceiling. Oh course nothing compares to the Sistine Chapel, but this was close! After our necks began to hurt from looking up, we moved on to experience our first taste of gelato! We were all so excited! (You should see the pictures of us while we were eating it. I don't think my smile gets any bigger...) I had coffee and tiramisu flavor. Mmmm... After doing all but lick the paper cups that held the precious dessert, we were off again. The Pantheon is an ancient pagan temple that the Catholic Church converted to a cathedral. The inside is a round room with a geometrically designed ceiling. Inside lies the body of the artist Raphael under a statue created by one of his apprentice. Two trivial, but funny things happened during our time at the Pantheon. The first was that while we were walking inside there were two men dressed up in very silly Roman guard costumes. One of them lifted his ear flap to answer his cell phone! When inside, Jose noticed a man of 60 or so with a red McDonald's balloon sticking out of his backpack. He said, "Oh this man is having a great day. First McDonald's and then...the Pantheon!" It was really funny. We captured both moments on film. :) Our next stop was the Piazza Navona. We had wonderful timing! We traveled to Rome during Carnivale. There were street performers and little kids in costumes throwing confetti everywhere! The piazza was lovely and had three large fountains within its borders. We wandered into a church there, but I can't remember the name. We walked on and stopped at another square called Campo de Fiori. We were not as impressed with this one, but they did have a few fresh flower stands that were lovely! We then walked along the waterfront and crossed a bridge to take us into a very nice neighborhood where we hopped to find more delicious food and wine. We stopped into one for brushetta and wine. The waitress seemed annoyed that it was all we wanted to order, but I thought it was perfectly acceptable! The wine was so cheap and so satisfying! Being in Ireland makes me appreciate good and affordable wine! We explored the neighborhood a bit more and then went inside Saint Maria Trastevere, the oldest Catholic church in Rome. It was made in the 3rd century! The exquisite nature of this church is indescribably, but I did capture a small percentage of that with my camera. I am very partial to mosaics, and I remember that the wall behind the alter was completely covered from floor to ceiling in intricate and shining mosaic. I was in love! We were all getting hungry again at this point, so we found a great little place to settle in for a few hours. The girls and I shared gnocci (potato pancakes) and pizza. Kate and I shared more wine. Jose had a four course meal that looked amazing! Kate had tiramisu that I tried a bit of. So good! We were all very tired at this point so we walked back towards our hostel, making sure to walk past the Colosseum on the way to get a view of it in the evening.

We woke up early the next morning to have a two euro breakfast at the hostel. In retrospect, we all should have left and bought a pastry and espresso somewhere. What they considered a full breakfast was shreds of bread, nutella, jam, butter, half a box of cereal, and hard boiled eggs that were burned to the pan. The water had evaporated out of the pan, but the burner was still on and one of the eggs literally exploded onto Jose's back. The man working at the hostel told us that there was Mass at the Vatican at eleven so if we left at that moment (10:15) we would make it in time. The Vatican is all the way across town from us, so we booked it all the way there without stopping for pictures. Once we got there they told us that there was no Mass, and the Pope was speaking at noon. I was so disappointed. How could I go to Rome and not go to Mass? So we waited in line to get into St. Peter's Basilica while waiting for Pope Benedict to come out. The line moved much faster than we had thought and we ended up making it past security and into the basilica a few minutes before he came out. We couldn't see him from where we were. I decided it was ok if I just heard him. But then Canada told me that she knew what it meant to me to be there and she would go out with me to see him and stand in line with me again when it was over. It was so sweet of her to do this! So I decided I really did want to see him and all three of them came with me. It was SO cool! He was very tiny because he came from a window in the building where he lives. Most of his speech was in Italian, but he addressed the audience in several other languages, including English. After he was done, we got straight back into the line and made it through in just 15 minutes. Totally worth it! The basilica itself was perfection. I couldn't believe I was there! I won't write about everything inside, but I'll tell you my favorite things. The first was the Pieta, a sculpture done by Michelangelo of Mary holding Jesus after his death. It is behind bulletproof glass because someone shot at it some years back! Along the sides of the church there are huge paintings that weren't really paintings at all. They were mosaics made to recreate the original paintings that once lived there. I think they have the originals in storage somewhere. But at first you can't tell that the beautiful art is not made of paint! The tiles of the mosaics are so tiny and articulately placed. The bronze alter was also one of my favorite things to see there. Under the alter lies the body of St. Peter. How strange to be standing there! As we were walking through it, I noticed, in a small chapel on the side of the church, a Mass just beginning. I told my friends that I wanted to sit in for it and that they could meet me after. They left to go to the top of the basilica and I got to stay for an actual Mass inside St. Peter's Basilica!!! It was SOOOO cool!!! Afterwards I wandered into where the bookshop and sacristy were. I later met up with the gang and we left for lunch. It was three or so at this point and we were all starving! We had a sandwich and espresso there. It was the best espresso I had the entire trip! And so cheap! It was about 80 cents to one euro for espresso there. If I wanted to buy it here it would be at least two euro, and it wouldn't be half as good. Stupid Ireland! :P We walked back towards the center of Rome passing the castle along the way. Our next stop was the Piazza del Popolo. We weren't able to go in the churches there, but we did get to see nuns riding on horses to a medley of Sister Act songs! A fair trade, I thought. :) Down the street waiting for us was the Spanish Steps. We sat among many other people on those crowded steps while enjoying our second dose of gelato. No need to say how amazing it was... From there we made our way back to our hostel while stopping at San Carlo Quattro Fontane, the Piazza della Republica, and and Santa Maria degli Angeli. San Carlo Quattro Fontane is an intersection that has four fountains on each corner. One of the fountains is part of a church. We spent a bit of time in that one because it was exceptionally beautiful. The Republic wasn't anything to write home about, but the basilica was! It was also very old, and so big inside! It was dimly lit, so my pictures didn't turn out well. We left because there was a Spanish Mass beginning. Along the way we stopped in Santa Maria Maggiore. It is one of the more famous churches in Rome. We didn't stay too long because there was a service going on, followed by a concert. The most memorable part of that church for me was how much gold there was everywhere. The alter had a four-post canopy above it and it was painted a shining gold. The concert was lovely, so we sat in for a few songs. at this point we were all starving and after searching for the perfect place, Kate chose "Robin Hood," an "American" style restaurant. It had the strangest decorations! The walls were covered in magazine clippings and there was a big Statue of Liberty painted the colors of the American flag in the corner. I was worried that the food would not be very good, but it was a lesson in not judging things by appearances! It was the best pizza I had there! Our waiter was slightly dorky, and when we didn't have a smaller bill than a 50, his mother chased him out the door to go find change. He came back with a handful of 20 cent pieces that made up seven euro! Kate was like, "Are you kidding me?" It was pretty funny. I walked out with Jose while the girls got ready to leave. He was sick before we left and still had a bit of a rash. He was itching his upper leg when I noticed two people walking up behind him. I told him about the couple. He said to me, "I know. They are thinking, 'Who is this boy, itching his leg without reason?' But there is a reason. The reason is inside my pants." I am still laughing right now about that comment! After dinner we went back to the hostel for some much needed rest.

The next morning we opted out of the hostel breakfast and went to an espresso shop on the corner. It became our favorite little place! There was a father and son behind the counter. While we sipped our coffee and ate our snacks we began to talk about the adorable men working there. Us girls agreed that the son was very good looking. Jose then pointed to the father and said, "Sure the son is cute but you can see his future right there!" The father was about two feet shorter than his son. (Earlier I said that someone was so cute that I wanted to put in him my pocket.) When talking about the father he said, "Another man for the pocket." I don't know if you can tell, but we all love Jose! Our first stop was the Colosseum. We walked all over the inside and listened to our audio guide with information on what we were seeing. There really isn't much to say except that it was stunning! I really enjoyed spending the morning inside the ruins. Our ticket included entry into the Palentine. I don't want to write too much about this because I don't really know many details about it. We didn't have any pamphlets or tours. But basically it was beginning of Rome, even older than the Colosseum! There were ruins of homes, churches, and a stadium. After a few hours of walking around the grounds, we were very hungry! We stopped for pasta in a close by restaurant. I had ravioli, which was good, but I was eyeing Jose's pizza. Apparently I hadn't had enough of it yet! After our meal we went to Saint Maria in Cosmedin. This church holds two special things. The first is the Bocca della Veritas- The Mouth of Truth. For anyone who has seen Roman Holiday you should know what this is! It is what we assume to be a tribute to a Roman god. The legend is that if you put your hand in its mouth while telling a lie, it will bite down on you! I have always wanted to stick my hand in its mouth!!! I was so excited to get there, but I was hit with anxiety right away because they were closing the line ten minutes after we arrived!!! But luckily we made it through and I got my picture of me and Canada with our hands in the Mouth of Truth. :) The second special possession of Saint Maria is the skull of Saint Valentine. It was so cool to see it the day after St. Valentine's Day because they decorated it with roses. Very interesting! When we were finished there, we walked up to see the Fountain of Trevi. This is the famous fountain that holds the legend that if you throw a coin in on your last night in Rome, you are surely to return again someday. We threw in our coins and had some gelato. :) At this point we decided just to walk around and see if we could find some churches to wander into. We found ourselves near our hostel and we tried to find a good place for drinks. Most places didn't want us unless we wanted dinner. Finally we walked into a little place with a big, burly Italian man with suspenders that were thankfully doing their job. Kate and I ordered lemon cello. Then she asked what their house wine was. He told us that it was Chianti and that it was four euro for a glass. I was so excited because Chianti is my favorite wine, but it is usually too expensive. And God bless that man...he filled that glass to the point where any more would surely spill out! It was amazing! We walked around the corner to the same place we had our first meal and had more pizza and pasta. We sat and talked and really enjoyed our evening. It was a really great last night.

The next day us girls left Jose to go to see the Sistine Chapel. Jose had been before so he wandered around Rome without us. We stood in line for a good while, but it was worth it! The tour began with the Vatican Museum which contained so many beautiful things! My eyes were so overstimulated! It was just a straight line through the rooms and it ended in the Chapel, which helped with the overstimulation. Nothing to do but walk on the designated path. Even the hallways were painted floor to ceiling in art! It took an hour or so to get to the Sistine Chapel. It is everything that anyone says it is!!! Michalangelo was a true genius. My camera was dead at this point, but I know my pictures would not do. It was a great way to end our trip! On the way back to the hostel to check out, we stopped for lunch. Kate and I shared a pizza and tortilini. Friends, let me tell you. I will never eat anything that will taste better than that tortilini. We were all depressed when it was over. Fresh pasta covering a ricotta and asparagus filling and coated in a butter sage sauce. Really it's impossible to explain how amazing this pasta was. Nine euro for five medium sized tortilinis, and it was worth every penny! We met up with Jose and picked up our bags before stopping for one last gelato. The rest of the day was dreary with delays and lots of waiting before we could finally reach our beds at after midnight.

My trip to Rome was everything I wanted it to be. I had great company, delicious food, and beautiful sights. What more could I want? I am one lucky girl. :)

Since our trip we've had a group but I'll write about it later. This is enough for one sitting!!! I hope all is well with you.
Love,
Claire

My Perfection

I suppose I've neglected this blog for the past two weeks. I'm not really sure why except that I was floating through them trying not to reflect on my thoughts because Kaitlyn was leaving. Now that she's gone the effort is no longer needed.

We had a kids group two weekends ago. I was with a little five year old girl named Perfect. I've spoken about her before because I was supposed to be with her in the last childrens group. She arrived on time that Friday afternoon with her father. I instantly fell in love with her. She is very small...the size of a normal three or four year old. Her disability is delayed development, both physically and intellectually. She doesn't have much speech, but she was still able to express herself well. Mostly Perfect just wanted to cuddle or to play with my hands and face. The first night was a little rocky because she scratched me a lot with her little kitten like razor nails. But we cut them and then it was much better! She had a way to connect with people (or get their attention) by putting her hand under her chin in an adorable pose. When anyone copied that pose she would then move her hand to the top of her head, and then to the side, etc. It became her game, and it really never got old! Because she was so mellow, I was able to enjoy watching the other kids being crazy. Billy and Darren were up to their usual shenanigans, including taking turns marrying Kate and Kaitlyn. Luke was treating Lennart like a set of monkey bars. We took them swimming on Saturday. Perfect was scared of the water and I didn't want to push her. Khadija kept pushing though, which annoyed me at first. But then we realized that as long as I held her in my arms she was okay floating in the water. I was glad because walking her around the aquatic center would not have been nearly as much fun as floating around the pool with her in my arms. Every once in a while she'd get splashed at and she really didn't enjoy that. Overall it was a fun day. Sunday was kind of a struggle for me for reasons I won't get into. But Perfect was great. :) We went to see Astro Boy (yikes...) and I was happy that she sat through it with me. We came back to the Malahide house for lunch and send the kids on their way. Perfect's father came early, which was sad. We all could have spent a lot more time with her! After she left I sat with Kaitlyn on the couch. Darren came up and sat between us. He looked back and forth between the two of us and said, "Sexy my ladies! Two sexy ladies!" I probably should have told him that it was inappropriate, but it was hard to do so when I was laughing as much as I was. :P Then Kate came and he pulled her on the couch. He yelled, "Hey Luke! I got TWEE!!!" ("Three" with his little Darren lisp.) Probably the funniest thing I've seen him do.

I don't think that any of us didn't anything interesting during our Monday and Tuesday off. Wednesday was a full day of meetings, and Thursday was filled with visits. Kate and I got stood up by Mairaid who was supposed to meet us for lunch. I went to Baldoyle afterwards to visit the regular St. Michael's gang. Sharon (our big boss from Cork) came up on Friday for a meeting regarding the long group. We all said the same things. We think that the four days work okay as long as there is a lot of planning involved to make sure that the right people are brought in and that we have enough activities to provide a good group. Jose and Kaitlyn made closing comments on their time here. Jose began by saying that he had good times and not so good times here. He then when into a speech about the management's attitude about us volunteers and how it could be improved. I though Sharon's eyes were going to explode out of her head. I thoroughly enjoyed his speech, and I couldn't hold that in. I was beaming with a smile. When he was done there was at least 30 seconds of painful silence. Then Sharon slid her intense eyes at me and asked if I had something to add, presumably because of my big smile. I just told her that I was surprised by Jose's comments, but that I completely agreed. He deserved to have someone else back him up on what he said because we all feel the same way.

Friday night was the first party of the three we had for Kaitlyn. We all went to Kathleen's (our office manager) house for dinner. She made us a wonderful meal and always made sure our wine glasses were full. :) We had a great time! The next day we took it easy and played pictionary before heading over to Gibney's for a bit of craic. Sunday night we went to O'Neill's for Blondie's last night with us. She wanted to hear our favorite band one last time. It was a quiet start because Kaitlyn was trying to cover up her sadness with bitchiness. Eventually Lisa yelled at her to stop being mean to everyone and just enjoy her last few hours. Then she started to cry! But after that she was much nicer and really did enjoy the rest of the night. We were all in full support of Lisa's attack. :P We went to The Temple Bar after that, but soon got bored with the crowd there. It was one in the morning at this point, so we were ok with heading home. The taxi ride was awesome! Lennart told the driver that he was from Oklahoma. His hometown in Germany is Wuppertal. So he told him that he was from Wuppertal, Oklahoma. Then Kaitlyn called him a dumb redneck to which he replied, "Why would you call me a redneck!? That's so offensive!" Then Kaitlyn said, "Oklahoma is the seventh circle of HELL!" Without skipping a beat Lennart came back with, "Your MOM is from the seventh circle of hell!" I realize that this might not be funny to sober people who were also not there in that moment, but I still can't think of it without giggling. :) Our taxi driver also got stopped to take a breathalyzer test, but passed with flying colors. We went straight for the kitchen when we got home and devoured the left overs from our meal earlier that night. We ended the night at three because we were all going to get up at seven to say goodbye. Kate and I went to the airport with Blondie, feeling sleep deprived, hung over, and incredibly sad. I came home and went back to sleep for a little while. We all had a full day of visits again. I went with Erin and Jose to see Tony. He is in his 60s and had a stroke a few years ago. He talks a little bit, but mostly he likes to play dominos and drink Guinness. (My kind of man!) It was a rocky start because we got lost due to the lack of street signs overly friendly elderly that will gladly give you directions even if they have no idea if they are right. After 45 minutes of walking in the cold, we finally made it to the Dowling's home. Tony was ready to go and knew the way to the shopping center. We sat down for lunch at a cafe, but as soon as he was done with his coffee and scone he looked up and said, "Pub." :) So we took him downstairs to his pub and we played some dominos. It definitely brightened my bleak day. After we took him home we ventured on the DART again, this time heading to Monkstown. Going to Monkstown is my favorite visit! There, I get to spend time with Paul Lockery, my number one favorite member. Paul is the one who likes to arm wrestle a million times in one sitting. I had a lovely time chatting with him and beating him (twice!) at arm wrestling. I even got my favorite response, "You're VERY strong!" When we left he gave me an extra long hug and a kiss on the cheek! A very happy ending to what could have been a very hard day. Another reason why I tell people that this job is so rewarding for us volunteers, not just for our members.

Today was just a regular group prep day. We have a mid-week group that starts tomorrow at two. I am with a woman named Maura. She has schizophrenia and literally talks non-stop. She is awesome. :) The morning after the group I fly to Rome with both Kates and Jose. I'm so excited! My two dream destinations for the longest time before I moved here was Ireland and Italy. My dreams are coming true for me this year! :)

Jack and the Beanstalk, and Other Crazy Tales

Well I'm happy to report that the weekend's group went much better than anticipated. I will say that our boss' presence did make some of us anxious or uneasy, but for me I ignored it and went along with the flow of the group. I was paired with a woman named Dympna. She is 50 years old and lives in a hospital in Baldoyle. Dympna has a sad story (not to be talked about here) but suffice it to say, CASA is her family, and has been for 30 years. She has a severe intellectual and physical disability that limits her to a chair and no speech. But Dympna has awareness of what is around her and understands most things, we are pretty sure. The best way to care for her, in my opinion is to simply be with her and constantly give her tea. :) Although one morning I left my coffee near her and she grabbed it and drank it all so fast that some spilled down her clothes! We've never known her to drink coffee, but I guess we can always learn new things about our members. She often asks for more tea by grabbing your arm and forcing her cup into your hand. There are two problems with this. The first being that it simply isn't good for someone to drink six cups of coffee or tea within an hour. The second reason is that half of the time she wants to just hold it in her hand until she gets bored with it and then proceeds to spill it on the floor. After a few days of cleaning up spilled tea I was getting a little tired of it. I was pretty sure my boss' head was going to explode when, after a full day of cleaning up spilled tea, I made the joke, "Dympna wants more tea. The floor is really thirsty tonight!" Honestly, sometimes you have to make stupid jokes or vent about something in order to let it go and move on. Anyways, my time with Dympna was good. She's very easy to care for and it was actually nice to just be a presence for her. She deserves the love and attention that CASA gives her.

Among the group, there were three of my favorite members: Michael, Shane, and Julie. Michael is fondly referred to as "Happy Michael." I've probably written about him before, but I'm gonna write about him again. :) He has a very limited vocabulary that includes "happy" (always with a thumbs up), "ABBA," "hiya," and, my personal favorite, "leggy." Every time someone walks by him he says "Hiya!" And he loves being in the house so much that he'll just randomly say "Happy!" with a thumbs up countless times. It is impossible to not love Michael or to be unhappy when he is near. Shane is my age and he is completely deaf. He writes and signs, which allows him to be an active part of the group. I really like hanging out with Shane, and I was excited for him to be in the house. He was supposed to be with me at the Christmas social but he got sick. Julie is an exceptionally nice person. She lives with her big family and never gets the attention she deserves. She is so sweet and thoughtful of others. With a bit of coaxing she sings for us. Her two songs include a Christian song "Totally Yours" and an old country song called "Blanket on the Ground" about an old married couple that wants to bring spice back into their relationship. It is hilarious! She is wonderful.

All of the worried about the six wheelchairs was not warranted after all. Everything worked out okay, in spite of our anxiety. We all agree that it isn't ideal, but now we know we can work with it. The real problem was having so many people that needed a nurse. Sharon couldn't be with everyone at all times. Mona had several seizures throughout the weekend which left a few other epileptic people alone with their carer. We have no training on how to deal with an epileptic attack. So that issue needs to be brought up before we do this again.

On our weekend, we all relaxed as usual. Sarah sent me "Tommy Boy" and "What About Bob?" on DVD so we all got together to watch them. It definitely brightened our spirits! Those movies are so good! Oh actually, we watched "What About Bob?" before the group, which gave us a great line to use whenever we were stressed. "Baby steps to 4 o'clock. Baby steps to 4 o'clock." :) On Tuesday, Kate and I ventured to Dublin to get our hair cut. I hadn't gotten mine cut since June, so it was definitely time! Afterward we had lunch and then separated to do some shopping. I found a really nice Catholic bookstore which was great because I needed to get a lot of birthday presents for the next two months. When I got to the bus stop to go home, Canada was waiting there. It was a nice surprise, because taking the 45 minute bus ride home alone is boring.

Yesterday felt like anything but work. It began in the afternoon with a visit to the Cara Cheshire Home. This is where six of our members take residence, among 20 others. Michaelena and Sean are two popular favorites among CASA volunteers. Michaelena was in the craft room when we arrived, doing her usual masterpieces. Everyone else was either in bed or on their way back from their day centers. Stephen came rolling in after a few minutes, to which Michaelena promptly shouted, "Go AWAY, Stephen." Needless to say, she isn't his biggest fan. :) I happen to love Stephen, though, so I tried to smooth things over. When we were asking Stephen how he was feeling, because he was recently diagnosed with cancer, Michaelena shouted, "Don't talk about that here, Stephen!!!!" It was so funny. Stephen doesn't mind Mickie's attitude because he knows he deserves it. He's always pushing her over the edge. :P

After the visit we all met up at the Gaiety Theater to see Jack and the Beanstalk. A very wealthy volunteer donated a bunch of tickets for us to take members. It was quite a show! There was tons of singing and dancing and an electronic beanstalk that came out of the stage! I was impressed by the quality. And the male dancers were pretty damn entertaining. Not to mention the drag queen that played Jack's mom. haha They also incorporated recent songs like "Single Ladies," "Tonight's Gonna Be a Good Night," and that pop it lock it song from Miley Cyrus. It was a very fun show!

Today has been regular group prep. We have a kids group starting tomorrow. I am paired with Perfect again. I was supposed to be with her last time, but her parents cancelled very last minute. I am praying that she is able to come because I know how badly she needs the break. Any extra prayers would be great!

Belle of Belfast City

Hello all! I have a little downtime after my work day so I thought I'd tell you about my trip to Belfast. Canada Kate, Lisa and I left around ten in the morning on Monday by bus to Belfast in Northern Ireland. Lisa decided to stay in a seperate hostel, so when we arrived we split up to check in to our rooms and met up soon after. We then took off on our Black Cab Tour. In Belfast there is still fighting and violence between the Catholics and the Protestants, although it is truly just a continuation of the fighting that began when the British invaded Ireland many years ago. Our tour guide took us along the "peace wall" that divides the neighborhoods into Catholic territory and Protestant territory. In the 60s and 70s the violence was extreme. I won't go into details of the history because it's too much to write and I probably would mess up the facts. It's interesting though, if you have the time and feel like checking it out. Anyways, the cab took us around the Catholic side of the city and our guide told us a few stories and showed us some of the famous murals on the walls. I enjoyed the tour, although I think our guide laid it on thick with how bad the Catholics had it. They were definitely the ones who were being persecuted, but today, I'd say the violence is from both sides equally. To me it is unacceptable. How humanity hasn't figured out that violence doesn't solve any problems is beyond me. Anyways! After the tour we walked around the city a bit and settled into The Crown Bar, which is known as Ireland's oldest pub. I'm not sure how accurate that is, but the pub was cool! It had a very old fashioned feel to it, and each table had little walls to provide privacy. I liked it a lot. We headed back to the hostel after our much needed pint and made dinner. Lisa went back to her hostel and Canada and I watched My Best Friend's Wedding. The next morning Canada and I went on our day tour (compliments of our hostel, Paddy's Palace who is connected to the tour company, Paddywagon...dead serious, that's the name.) It started with a stop at Carrick-a-Rede which is a rope bridge that connects two of the Carrick Islands. Kate and I skipped the fee to cross the bridge and instead took the walk down the coast. It was so beautiful, and we were blessed with a clear and almost sunny day. :) After an hour or so there, we moved on to Giant's Causeway. I really can't explain what it is and how it was formed, so I'll let Wiki do it for me.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant



Anyways, basically it is a series of rock columns that fit together like a puzzle in various geometric shapes. It's crazy! It is supposedly formed by lava, but the Irish have a legend about a giant that created the rocks and I'm pretty sure they are right. :) After a few hours there we were off again, this time for Derry. Our guide gave us more information on the battle between the Protestants and the Catholics, and we took an hour break there. Kate and I were pretty tired at this point so we didn't do too much there.



We got back around six that evening and we met up with Lisa for dinner. We rushed through our good and much needed meal and headed off to the other side of town. Lisa found us 10 pound tickets to see the show Stomp. I don't know if you've heard of it, but I recommend the show to absolutely anyone! It was so amazing! There were eight people involved on the stage and they did a series of musical performances using brooms, buckets, garbage cans, and lots of other things. The coordination involved in that show was stunning! If you have the chance to go, you have to! By the time we got back to the hostel we were so wrecked. It had been a long but really good day! The next morning we had breakfast and met up with Lisa to do the walking tour. Unfortunately the good weather luck had run out. Because a walking tour in the rain didn't appeal to us much, we spent some time in the museum and then parted ways. Kate and I wanted to check out the mall because everything is much cheaper in Northern Ireland. Lisa wanted to check out the town a bit before leaving. We made it to our bus five minutes before it took off to take us back to Dublin.



I really enjoyed my time in Belfast! The day trip was the highlight for sure. Today was just a regular working day. After work and the meeting in the afternoon, I made a few cheesecakes for tomorrow's group. It is Khadija's birthday, and although she won't be supervising the group, she will stay to make sure everything goes smoothly. We have a weird situation this weekend. They needed to have a nurse for the group, so in order to make it "worth it" to pay a nurse to come, they asked six out of seven people that are in wheelchairs. It is hard to explain just how much a pain in the ass that is. I'll try anyways. :) We only have space in this house for five people extreme maximum in chairs. Because of that, we will be having the group in the Swords house where we have one of those stair lifts. Moving to Swords isn't so bad except for the fact that they are having a kid's social on Sunday afternoon there, so we have to clean and leave the house and bring everyone to Malahide that morning. We also only have room for four chairs in the bus at a time which means two trips everywhere, which means less activities. On top of all that, Erin is leading the group, and Sharon (the break house manager that lives in Cork) is going to be our nurse. So, to conclude the whining, I am not excited about this group. :P I'd say it's about 50% selfish and 50% concern for quality groups for the members. Most of them probably won't care, but there will be a few that will be bothered by the fact that we aren't going out to dinner and we're not going to the cinema. I will have to mentally prepare myself to be in high spirits and consider it a challenge to be completely positive and stress-free the entire weekend. (Am I convincing anyone?)



In other news, I am getting more excited for my upcoming trip to Rome next month! And I just bought a ticket to Madrid for the beginning of my April break. I will be spending a few days there and then heading over to Italy to spend time with Audrey and Andre once more before I move back home at the end of April. Crazy how fast it's coming up.... It's the end of January for goodness sake!



Well time to go get a few more things done tonight. Much love to my people back home. :)

~Claire