kate (ireland): craic

craic (n)(pronounced: crack): from the irish, meaning "fun times;" "witty banter." ex: "there was great craic at that pub" and (my favorite) "where's the craic tonight?"

well kids, ireland is great craic. i've been hanging out with my upstairs and across-the-way neighbors and running around all over galway meeting people.

on tuesday, i met up with amanda's irish friends who, as fate would have it, had made friends the day before with my neighbors megan and erin. so everyone trekked over to the rosain dove pub and had some beers (galway hooker for me--what else?). let me tell you, irish kids are ridiculously funny and wild and silly. my cheeks hurt so much from laughing all night. went to a club afterwards and talked and danced and laughed--and yes, irish kids cannot dance. it's my impression that irish boys are merciless flirts and teases but they like to take care of girls--stay with them to keep creepers away, make sure they get home ok, pay for taxis. and yes, there is a giant world of truth in the drunk irish stereotype. these kids have livers of steel.

wednesday brought a catastrophic hangover and a walking tour of campus. national university of ireland is 15,000 students, quite the change from beloit. the campus is great, lots of places to eat, cool buildings, etc. pictures are up on facebook.

thursday and friday i went out with neighbors to pubs and clubs. one place, called the quays (pronounced keys), is beautiful, full of interior art and structure from a medieval french cathedral. we saw a live band doing covers of beatles, stones, james taylor, etc. super fun. the oldest pub in galway, with foundations from the 1200s, is called the king's head and i had an amazing time there last night. meeting irish people is amusing--add some booze to that accent and it's pretty hard to decipher.

today i failed utterly, slept through the outdoor market downtown with another stupid hangover. must learn that i'm only 25% irish and cannot drink the way they do, even when they pay. been thinking about you guys a lot, miss you tons. send me love.