I'm not gone yet

Greetings to all my readers! Although Ireland is now over, I still feel that I should document my feelings and emotions about how things are now that I am Stateside again. Well, it was rough leaving Ireland. At the Reception that I went to with the rest of my peers where we got our "diplomas", that was when it set in that I was not going to be there for much longer. I would go back to my life in the United States and the life that I led in Ireland would turn into a dream; flashing images; nothing more than memories. I signed up to give a farewell speech at the Reception, and my speech made people tear up. The Irish and my peers both teared up. The following is my farewell speech to the Irish:
Good Evening to the great men and women of Co. Waterford! Although it is exciting that my peers and I are traveling back to familiar surroundings, the town of Dungarvan and its people have become a second home for me. The hospitality bestowed on us by the officials of Dungarvan and the Park Hotel were beyond the most luxurious thoughts our imaginations could think of. Simply saying “thank you” a thousand times doesn’t even come close to expressing to how grateful I am for being given the opportunity to come and experience life and culture in such a country as Ireland, and in such a town as Dungarvan. From the moment we arrived, we were treated like we were the best thing since the invention of Guinness! Throughout our stay, the history, the pubs, the scenery, the music, the athletics, and everything else never gave us a dull moment!
From the bottom of my heart, I want to say thank you to the Irish, who worked relentlessly to make our experience here the best that it could possibly be. I will never forget my time here. I also will always remember how warm and welcoming the people were to me, and how eager they were to offer a helping hand if I ever needed it.
Tonight, as we gather together for the last time and reminisce about all the great memories we’ve made, I can’t ignore the feeling of dread: The feeling that this wonderful and fulfilling experience is drawing to an end. I get choked up just thinking about it, but as Dr. Seuss said “Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened.” I smile because something magical happened on this trip, and it wasn’t caused by leprechauns or faeries! It was caused by you, the great people of Waterford County, who showed us how phenomenal the Irish people really are! Thank you so very much for everything you’ve done! To quote a song I know and keep close to my heart, “So fare thee well my own true love, I’ll think of you night and day. A place in my mind you will surely find, although I am so far away. And when I’m alone far away from home, I’ll think of the good times once more. Until I can make it back someday to Paddy’s Green Shamrock Shore.” Slointe Vaith agus go niery an bover lat.
When I landed in Chicago, it was then that I realized just how far away I was from home. The place that I longed to return to and the place that captured my heart completely. Eight years ago, I said that I left half my heart in Ireland. This trip took whatever it had not taken already. My home is 5,000 miles away across land and sea. I will return home one day. That is a promise!
Now, it is house chores and studying for my Praxis test. It is exciting but as I unpack my gifts and look at my postcards and pictures, I get a heavy feeling in my chest to know that I will not be able to make it back to Ireland for a few years. The reason is because I need to establish my life, get to where I want to be in life, and then decide from there what I want to do. What I want to do more than anything though is travel; to live in another country for a few years and gain a European outlook on life. Well, I'm getting ahead of myself. I have to pass my 3 Praxis exams before I can even begin to think about any kind of future abroad!
Well, I must get back to studying! I hope to write again in my blog soon! :-) Until then, be well readers!

Riots in Greece

What I am about to write about is almost terrifying, even though I am nowhere near the occurrences happening in Greece right now. There are riots in the streets of Athens because of a new bill that is being proposed!
The New York Times writes "The austerity measures that spurred the current unrest aim to squeeze savings of some $38 billion through 2012. They include public sector salary cuts, higher taxes on alcohol and cigarettes, and tighter retirement rules."

************************************************************************************
I do not know enough about the proposed bill yet to document my views on it. I will blog about the riots again as soon as I know more about what is going to be happening.

A Vexing Development

So my beloved bloggers, there has been a vexing development:

NO LONDON!!!

The reason is because the volcano in Iceland is still erupting and the ash cloud is back. The airports are closing again all over Europe and it just would not be a good thing to get stuck in London and have to pay more money to stay there and get new flights back to Ireland anyway. So I am sitting on my bed in my townhouse typing this instead of visiting Big Ben, The London Bridge, the Tower, and Buckingham Palace.

I guess there is only one thing to do: COME BACK AGAIN SOME DAY! :-)

Woe is me! Finals!

Okay I know that finals are completely necessary, essential actually, to determine the amount of knowledge and comprehension that a student has attained throughout the course of the..well..course! But Dear God! Woe is me! Wailing and gnashing of teeth! FINALS!!!!

They are stressful! They are tiresome! Overwhelming! They take at least 5 years off my life each time I have to study for them! Sometimes I wish that all finals could be oral at least. For me, it's easier to verbalize my thoughts than to write them down. I don't know why that is - trust me, my cranium is very complex. The human brain is so alien and mine takes alien to a whole new level!

I only have 2 finals: One for Dr. Reed and one for Dr. Snyder. So I guess it could be so much worse than it actually is. But it's bad enough that I'm writing it down! Blog out some of this pent up angst so that maybe studying will be a little easier..which it is now!

Wow, blogging is actually therapeutic! I would recommend it to you, reader, if you're ever experiencing anxiety!

Last Days of Class

Okay, is it just me or did the time fly super freaking quick? It seems like just yesterday I was flying over to Ireland, traveling and seeing all the beautiful sights that this country and the countries surrounding it have to offer, and then sitting down in my first class of Spring Term! Now, it is my last day of class!

Somehow, I feel like I have learned more this term in Ireland with Dr. Reed and Dr. Snyder than any other term in the regular classroom. It's weird I know.

Well, I will blog more about this later! It's the night of our farewell reception and I have to shower and get ready! ... I also have to pack :-(

<3

Meeting Giants

This weekend was the Music Festival in Dungarvan, Ireland and I must say that this was THE most fun that I've ever had in my life! We got to volunteer with the festival so the security officials gave us jobs to do! Melia and I were placed at the Blow-up Castle where all the small children were. That was the most frazzling experience of my life! It was so unorganized and chaotic, but Melia and I finally established a system that was thoroughly successful! She kept the slide of the castle running smoothly and I kept the entrance clear for the children. We had to get a little forceful at times with the kids, but pretty soon it started running so smoothly it was amazing!
There were many bands that weekend but the one that was the most glorious of all was The High Kings! On March 17, 2010, the Mayor had posted one of their songs on his profile. Megan and I heard the song and completely fell in love with them! We wanted to attend a concert, but we'd always miss them! We were so upset at the time, but it all worked out amazing in the end because we actually got to listen to them sing!! And what's more: WE GOT TO MEET THEM!! I couldn't believe that I was able to meet the giants of the Irish musical world! The High Kings are all brilliant singers! I got pictures with my three favorite men: Finbarr, Brian, and Darren! It was a day that I will never forget in my life because for a few moments, I stood with legends! I stood with men that I will listen to for the rest of my life and I hope that I will be able to see them once again in concert before my life is done! I do not mean to sound morbid by any means. I just mean that it would be nice to see them all again!
In the songs, I could hear all the stories of Ireland that I've been learning about in my classes! Applying the history to the songs, the songs took on a whole new meaning for me. When that happened, the songs became even more beautiful than they already were! I can't exactly explain it. It's odd I know, so maybe when I come home I'll be able to clarify a bit better.
Until my next post, stay well reader!

McNamara Family Everywhere in Co. Clare

Greetings to you, blog readers! This will be a very short post, but I suddenly had the overwhelming desire to type a quick blog about how the name "McNamara" was all over Co. Clare! I mean I guess I already knew that since I was here 7 or 8 years ago and it was the same story then!

The picture on this page is a bar that I ate in when I was in Lisdoonvarna! I didn't go into the bar and say that I was a McNamara too, but I have been meeting many people with that last name and it's odd because in each and every person, I could see a distinct family trait. It's like...in one person, I see my grandpa's smile. I see my dad's eye shape and color in another. I see my aunt's twin! It's just crazy. Some students on the trip say that there's no possible relation. Every McNamara has come from the same place and so however distantly the relation is, we are all related! So it's so cool because I'm spending time with "family".
This just makes my love and pride to be Irish go even deeper! Since I've been here, I've gotten in touch with my Irish side and I've never been more proud to be Irish! :-) It's a great thing!