I would like to start off by saying that I actually partied less here than I usually do in the States. The day was dedicated more to cooking and socializing rather than getting inebriated beyond all coherence. Don't worry, Irish car bombs were still involved in the nighttime events :)
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| Commence cooking breakfast at 10am! |
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| Our exquisite meal: Chocolate chip pancakes, Smithwick's (beer) potatoes, bacon, scrambled eggs, and Irish coffees! |
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| The view of the Cork parade from JQ's deck |
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| Downtown Cork...I've never seen it so packed! |
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| The crew at Reardan's (it's 5pm somewhere!) |
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| A bonafide Irish sunset. (Photo cred: Rebecca!) |
Like most things in Ireland, St. Patrick's Day was very laid-back. You could see throngs of families with their children hanging out in pubs all day long, which was quite an interesting sight. The day was mostly spent eating, drinking good beer, and going out at night. I even made guacamole and fried chips from scratch (thank you, Kate!) for snack food and chicken tacos the week before. It's happening...I'm starting to really enjoy cooking!
It's hard to grasp that I'm in my last week of school. Today I had my last Step Dancing class in preparation for our exam next week, and I'm still mourning the experience. We were paired off with the partners that we will dance with in front of the examiners and did a kind of mock-performance. I almost forgot how much I love performing in front of an audience and how much I thrive off of that pressure. I feel so comfortable with all three of the dances now, especially the hornpipe. After class ended, our teacher Peggy was telling us the history of this dance and it only added to my pride in taking up Step Dancing in the first place. Apparently in 1912, the first Step Dancing competition took place in Cork and women came forward to perform the hornpipe, which was seen as uncouth for ladies to partake in during that time in history. Ever since then, only women have been allowed to perform the hornpipe in competitions, so in some oddly relatable way I feel that I have a lot to uphold next Monday. I was also talking to a fellow dancer and she told me that Peggy (who I estimate to be in her 80s) was a national Step Dancing champion for Ireland in her 20s and even danced in the ceremony celebrating British withdrawal from Ireland in 1938. It is a beautiful thing to witness the strength of a woman who has carried her love for dance with her into her 80s, and will only stop once she's grown too old to stand. I can only hope that in old age, I will be just as vivacious and graceful as her. This has been just another learning experience in Ireland that I will take with me and remember for the rest of my life.
I was talking to my flatmate about his fiddle-playing the other day, and he related that he feels extremely lucky to have found something he can completely lose himself in. As I descended the hill from the UCC music building where I have my dance practices, it dawned on me that I've found this in dancing. I may not have amazing technique, or even maintained a fraction of the flexibility I used to have, but I can honestly say that I love it and never want to stop. I wish I could really detail how I feel when I dance, but I think the best way to impart the experience is that I'm completely relaxed and immersed in this otherworldly place that is devoid of judgment or constraint. I'm sure this has been a huge factor of my happiness in living here. Dan and I have also voluntarily decided to start doing a creative-writing type exercise where we periodically exchange a piece of creative writing and critique each other on it (this is what happens when you throw two English major nerds together in a living situation, in addition to constant pun-age and word play). I'm working on parodying a specific poetic style at the moment. Before writing this blog, I also sat down with my other flatmate who is a French-speaking, Computer Science major (talk about opposite end of the spectrum) and vocally edited his Computer Science thesis paper for a big project he's been working on all year long. It was a really effective way to critique and gave a me a good opportunity to hone my editing skills. I think that in addition to the dancing and writing, I've been thoroughly enjoying editing my flatmates' papers and could really see myself doing this for a living.
...and the self-realizations just keep on commin'...
I'm finding that this whole study abroad blog is starting to morph into one big journal outlet, but I think I'm okay with that.
Next week is Paris, and after that, Rome! Get ready for lots of description of my travels in Europe (it'll be my first time traveling out of Ireland since I've arrived here). I betcha can't tell just how elated I am. Till next time!
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