Discoveries

This intrepid traveler has discovered many interesting facts about Ireland. The first, is that you take your life in your hands when you go jogging/walking on narrow winding roads at dusk. Especially if there is a steep bank on either side of the road filled with nettles. It's all trails for me from now on. It was a breath-taking walk though.
Another is that a majority of the people here are, let's just say, on the petite side. I could seriously be a pro wrestler here. I could call myself Amazonia. There could really be a future for me here. Kim assures me that all the men that I see that look to be lighter than 115 lbs are not indeed Irish. All the Irishmen at that time of day would be in the pub. This leads me to my next discovery.
There are tons of Polish people here. The Polish people are slightly resented because they flood the workforce here and work really hard, then send the money back home. Sounds familiar, huh? It was so much fun to peruse the aisles of the grocery store, eavesdropping on all the conversations in Polish. I only remember a few phrases, so unless they were saying they had to pee, I wouldn't be able to understand them. I did make me homesick for Poland, though.
Look at the teensy carton of milk! Not a gallon in sight.
One sister for sale! Did we look like dorks to all the Polish shoppers? Yep.
My mom was a Kerr, so I thought these potatoes were cool.
Look at how bright and clean the carrots are! The produce was so fun to look at, each little container was from a different place in the EU. Cherries were from Greece, blueberries from Poland, parsnips from Spain.... Look, I'm a professional grocery shopper back home. Could I resist the lure of the local store? Indeed not!
Want to know something cool? Everything is in English AND Gaelic. Britain was ruthless at trying to homogenize Ireland. Now Gaelic is required for every school child. Way to stick it to the Man, Ireland!
We're heading into the countryside for a road trip to Limerick today, so get ready for lots of pictures of pastoral fields, cottages and sheep. I can't wait!!!

I Heart Ireland

After about an hour on our own at the airport, we ran into Kim. She'd been there all along, waiting at the barrier with her daughter holding adorable welcome signs. We figure she didn't see us for a reason. While she was waiting for us, she met a little girl who is terminally ill. Her family is throwing a party for her, just to celebrate that she's still with them. Kim, a stranger to her until then, is making her a castle cake for the occasion. It was one of those important connections. It all ended up the way it was supposed to.

Ireland is stunning. It's lush, and rain comes and goes during the day. My hair loves it. Kim is delightful. I hadn't seen her since 9th grade, but she's been so fun and welcoming. It was great to arrive at her house, shower, crash, then all crowd on the bed for talking and giggling.

We have a very good view into the neighbor's backyard, and were fascinated with her laundry hanging activities. Later on in the morning it began to rain, so we dashed back upstairs to see what she would do with her laundry. This gal can report that the woman didn't care. She left her laundry hanging during the shower. I'll be sure to keep you posted as the situation develops.

We Made it!

After some nail-biting break-neck speed dashes through unfamiliar airports, flight changes and rearranging, we made it to Dublin! We're now international women of mystery. Due to the drama, we're at the airport alone, and my sister's freaking out because she can't understand anyone. We don't have any contact numbers for Kim, so we're livin' dangerous and free. Look out Ireland!