Home sweet home...
My newest discovery...Beal Ban. A gorgeous beach, only 15 minutes away. Haven't taken a swim yet, although I feel it coming.
My neighbors. No really. I walked out back last night to take some pictures of the sunset and Lou and Harry wanted to send you a warm Irish smile.
Maybe I'll stick with one picture per blog...that just took f-o-r-e-v-e-r. So...
I'm staying in a room in Tig an Tobair (Gaelic for house of the well) with another intern at the pottery studio, Conor. He's in his third year at Limerick Art School and had some family ties with Louis Mulcahy, so here he is. I forgot the joys that come with having a roommate...cooking dinner, drinking beers, having some good laughs, cleaning out the hair in the bathtub drain...you know! Speaking of bathtubs. We actually have no shower. Yup, three or so baths a week does it for me...but I must remember to turn on the boiler 2-3 hours before I actually want to bathe. Cold baths=no good
Ballyferriter is a quaint little village that at the moment is flooded with teenagers at "Irish School." They come down here to live in a Gaeltacht (Gaelic speaking region) and learn a bit. I've genuinely tried to learn some, but it's like no other language ever created. So far I've got...
Failte-welcome
Slan-goodbye
Slainte-cheers
Good enough for now.
The majority of folks both in Ballyferriter and Clougher (where the studio is) speak Irish as their main language, and in a way, I feel, look down a bit on English. Families and groups of Irish camp kiddos come into the studio speaking Irish and I just turn and point to Joan, the local woman who runs the "Open Room," I'm working in.
Basically my job is to center 1-1 1/2 pounds of clay for kids and their parents and let then "have a go" with their future masterpiece. It can be a lot when it gets busy, but come on...does it get any better than that? Especially when I get to walk outside and see that view above! Pretty incredible.
So many of you are thinking...what a great adventure...what amazing things she is doing...it's all so wonderful...I agree. But I must share with you the chaos I've been dealing with since my first night in Dingle last Saturday night -- that is, the night that my wallet was stolen. Yup it sure was.
We (myself, Conor and his 7 insane friends from Limerick) started on "the black stuff" a bit early in Ballyferriter then taxied it into Dingle for our first night on the town. We went into The Little Bridge, a renown place for it's djs and dance floors. Long story short, despite keeping my bag on me, a fellow dancer must have unzipped and reached in! After having a panic attack in the taxi on the way home, my next step was to call my Aunt Lul. Calling mom was absolutely out of the picture...you know how moms worry. Anyway, the next morning I get a call that the wallet itself was found, but of course lacking the 250 euros I had been carrying in it! I know what you're thinking...what in the hell are you carrying 250 euros on you? I had no idea what the ATM scene would be like out in the country, so I went to the bank in Galway and cashed in a few travellers check.
SIDE NOTE: when travelling in Europe DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT get travellers checks! No one uses nor accepts them anywhere here! ok...
so...my license , debit card, and credit cards were all in there, but Lul had already cancelled them, so I still had no access to cash. I've been on the phone almost daily with TDbanknorth trying to get a new card send to Ballyferriter. It should be here tomorrow. Although I thought I heard a knock earlier today...I went to open the door and a sweet woman was wondering if we sold cards. See, Tig an Tobair used to be a shop and cafe back in the day, and with all the signs still up, people can knock every once an awhile. She saw the note I had left FedEx on the door (Please knock loudly) and saw that I was a bit disappointed the she wasn't clad in all blue Fedex gear...and of course asked what was going on. Twenty minutes later, she refused to walk away without putting 20 euros in my hand. She reminded me that good things happen in Ireland too.
So here I am...2 hours and 3 minutes later at the local internet cafe in Dingle...off to get a kebab with my newly acquired 20 euros.
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