Easter, Irish style

It's already the end of April, can you believe it!? It was hard to fathom that another holiday was approaching. Yet, I was able to celebrate Easter this year in a more grandiose fashion than I ever have back home in Sacramento. Somehow I was goaded into attending Catholic mass in the morning, which wasn't a horrendous experience. On the contrary, it gave me time to reflect and share a religious experience with my Catholic friends, Kasey and JQ. Going to church on Easter is apparently a huge affair in Ireland, and the church by our apartment was packed. After mass, we went back to Copley Court and cooked scrambled eggs and banana pancakes. A delicious brunch, indeed!

Our local Catholic church

Duck eggs for breakfast...yum?

We had heard about a festival going on at our favorite local brewery in town, called The Franciscan Wells, so we went there and tried a variety of delicious beers ranging from Bavarian and wheat beers to chocolate brews. After filling our grateful stomachs with pints of beer, we headed back home to paint eggs, as all celebrators of Easter should do. I haven't done this since I was probably twelve or thirteen years old, so it was an altogether nostalgic and fun experience. We were all biding our time until dinner, which I was most excited about the whole day. Kasey's mom was gracious enough to give her money to buy a honey-baked ham for all of us to have for Easter dinner. Kasey, JQ, and Rebecca went above and beyond their usually phenomenal culinary skill and made a delectable meal, which reminded me of my mom's own cooking. They baked the ham with a pineapple glaze, made green bean casserole, and mashed potatoes. Candles were lit, and all!

Rebecca painting away!

Easter dinner with my Irish family

Although the day was filled with merrymaking, it became hard to ignore the palpable sadness that had befallen the group. All of us are starting to really miss home as we near four months of being away, and I think that such a family holiday as Easter reminded us of our increasing homesickness. Although I consider all of them to be my family, as well as my friends, I definitely felt this same melancholia in realizing that I still have three more months until I get to go home. I just try and remind myself that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and to fully embrace these emotions, even if they entail a little gloominess.