I am much better today, my last night in Ireland I had slept at the airport since my flight on Sunday was at 6:30 in the morning and so I didnt get any sleep. Add that to all the other nights with limited sleep and I was a mess. Even though I was exhausted, I had a great time at dinner with my roommates last night. We went to my favorite tapa place and sat out on the patio to people watch, which was great as the place is right off La Rambla and is ideal for people watching. When I am sleep deprived I become more emotional, indecisive, and sometimes cranky. Today I feel good although I am not looking forward to hauling all my stuff to Jessicas. Today is a bank holiday so everything is closed even my internet cafe so I am using Annes laptop to write this but it is hard because it is a Dutch keyboard so the letters are in different places. I wanted to write more about Ireland and the people I met since it was such an amazing experience but yesterday I wasnt up to writing so much. At my hostel in Dingle there were two brothers staying there and they were from Kentucky. They were cute, just pure and nice and religious, just good boys. An example was their parents came to meet them in Ireland and were staying at the hostel and they would eat at the table together, saying their prayers before the meal. The boys were camping out in a tent the parents were staying in the hostel, I couldnt believe how many people camped, not my thing. I was just really impressed by their family, such love and respect, it is pretty unusual for boys in their 20s and 30s hanging out with their family. Also a group of the guys started a game of frisbee out front and this Polish guy had never played before so even though he was big and athletic looking he was totally akward trying to throw and catch the frisbee. They didnt tease him, were just really patient in trying to show him how to do it better. Our hostel was a bit out of town in the country and it was so beautiful out there. One night Ben and I hung out on the stairs until late just staring at the stars, breathing in the fresh air and talking. It was a beautiful clear night and it seemed a shame to go to bed and not enjoy it. Another group of great people I met were Dan, Dolly, and Dave that were older in there 60s, they were all cousins. Dan loved Ben and it was funny how the two of them hit it off. Dan kept giving Ben beer and they were bonding. I had gone on my dolphin cruise earlier when the two of them met and when I returned I was amused at Dans adoration of Ben as I hung out at the table with the group. The next day we walked into town and went our separate ways as Lara and I were going to do some shopping and Ben didnt want to, so when we returned from town Dan asked us where Ben was. We didnt know and poor Dan was crushed as he had bought a bunch of food and wanted us all to have dinner together that night as they were leaving the next day. I was unconcerned as I knew Ben would show up sometime as we were going to go drinking and listen to music that night. Dan asked me if I would show him where Bens tent was so he could check to see if he was in there. We walked out together to Bens tent and lo and behold the screen was open and we could see Ben was asleep in his tent. Dan stuck his head next to the screen and said Ben, wake up we want you to have dinner with us, I was standing behind Dan covering my mouth trying to stop myself from laughing as Ben woke up looking at Dan confused and sleepy, than at me who was trying not to collapse with laughter. Ben is so nice he jumped up and said yes I would love to cook dinner for you guys. Oh that was the other thing Ben had said he loved to cook so Dan wanted Ben to cook the meal, any way you look at it was a win win for me. Dan and Dolly both now also loved me as I had chatted away with them when Ben was off sleeping in his tent. Ben is just a youngin and he needed more sleep than me. It was a really nice evening good food and drinks and I took some pics of us at dinner that night. Ben ended up being a good cook which scored him big points with me, hee hee. I teased him later that night about how startled he looked when he woke up with Dan looking into his tent, I can´t stop laughing as I write this just remembering it. He admitted to being shocked being woken up like that, I told him he handled it really well, which he did.
I also met this couple that were going from Ireland to Uganda where they were going to be volunteers at an orphanage, just amazing. I have met so many people that have travelled and volunteered for different causes which is so inspiring. I have many more stories but I better go get packed and moved. The main thing I took away from Ireland is a sense of community and family. The pubs were usually family run and a lot of people knew each other. I am glad I stayed in the smaller towns because although there were a lot of tourists you still got a sense of the local people. OK off I go to pack up all my stuff and move. Next stop Amsterdam which is probably the most opposite of Irelands innocence as you can get, should be interesting... I return Sun from Amsertam and leave Tues for London, fly out of London on Wed for home, a jetsetting life is exhausting but enjoyable..
XOXO Marci
