Well, it’s about 4:00 a.m. and I’m wide awake. Thanks jet lag. I slept in until mid-afternoon today thanks to the time change and my body finally relaxing after finals. So here I sit looking at various camp picture on Joseph’s wall, sobering up from a few pints had down at the Diamond Bar, and waiting to be tired again. Seems like a good time for my first update.
I’m staying with the family of Joseph and Jon Brown (friends from Farm and Wilderness.) They live in a small town called Raphoe in County Donegal. Donegal is the northernmost county in Ireland. It’s a crescent of land sandwiched between the western side of Northern Ireland and the ocean. Their house is a lovely place on a hillside about half a mile west of the town’s center. The last time I stayed here was the summer before starting college and it’s great being back. For now it's just Joseph, Jon, their parents and me here, but their older brother and two other house guests will be arriving in a few days. Soon it will be a very full house.
Ireland is much as you’d expect. Rolling green hills and such. We’re far enough north that the sun isn’t much more than a hand’s width above the horizon at noon. The temperature has been hanging around a bit above freezing. The only consistently heated room in the house is the kitchen so I wear a jacket most of the time. I’ve also been drinking an ungodly amount of tea. In the first nine hours that I was here I had tea on at least six separate occasions. I remember I never liked tea until the first time I visited here, and I became a tea lover by necessity.
Tonight I went to the bar with the brothers Brown and their friend Scott who’s just back from university at Glasgow. It was a session night which means lots of people bring their instruments to play traditional tunes together. Much can been said about the tradition of pub sessions in Ireland, how tunes are learned by heart through playing at the sessions, but I’m not very knowledgeable about the details of it. Suffice to say it was a pleasant evening of good company and good music.
Well, I am going to try sleeping again. I hope everyone is enjoying being home and looking forward to the holidays.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
reading this post is like watching an indie film. are you going to be in the states for any considerable amount of time before new zealand? I have some questions... at any rate, I'm pretty jealous of your life, robair.
can i say how glad i am your posts are under the name "indiana jones"? it's rainy and upper 40-s in chicago today. very ireland-ish weather. beat up philip for me. miss you.
Does Joseph's bro not have an Irish accent either? As Kate mentioned, up till yesterday it was in the 40s here in the windy city, but today, it remembered that it is officially winter and dropped to about 15 w/out the wind chill, and let me tell you, it is certainly windy. Hope you have a great christmas,and I'm glad your adventure is off to a good start.
K.O.
Jman - I will barely be back in the country at all between Ireland and New Zealand, but I have e-mail for questions, and maybe even answers.
Kate - I figured Indiana Jones was a good communal name for the group, seeing as how we're all traveling around the world fighting Nazis and all.
KO - Not really. Their mother is American. They have their own special accent. You'll just have to get over it I guess. Sorry.
Post a Comment