Okay, so I went to Dublin like two weeks ago and now I'm writing about it. But hey, I have had 3 papers, a presentation and now 2 exams coming up!
In a nutshell, we first had to travel 2 hours to a countryside town called Kilkenny. It was a small, cute town. We stayed with an Irish family, the Downey's (thank you so much Thomas and Muiread!) who were really generous. Brittany worked with Thomas, so that's how we had the hook up.
Their house looked and felt very much like a typical American home on the inside, so I felt like I would have in the US, which was a great feeling considering we've been living in an apartment all semester. All of Ireland in fact, felt more like the US than England ever could. It was all the little things like the air being crisp and cold like Connecticut is this time of year, and all the leaves were bare on the trees like they are right now at home.
We went on a pub crawl around downtown Kilkenny at night which was alot of fun. Every bar reminded me of bars back in Hartford. Why Hartford? I think it was something about that small town/city feel at night and then in the middle of it, all the girls dressed up in sequined outfits with loud techno music/flashing lights in the bars that reminds me of the Hartford nightlife.
The funniest part of the night was where this Irish girl with braces kept trying to steal Thomas (Irish guy whose family we stayed with) from Brittany. She lost, Brittany won, you know how it goes down.
The next day,(Sunday) I attended my first ever Catholic church service (I was raised Muslim you see) I am a very open-minded person, so I am willing to try anything I normally wouldn't be able to do. Although I felt lost at times with the verses they were chanting (it felt like everyone was singing a song to which I didn't know the lyrics) and there was certain church protocol I wasn't aware of, I think it was a cool experience. Mrs. Downey seemed really proud that I made the effort to learn about their religion, so that was encouraging. At the service, the priest actually gave us four American girls a shout-out which was really nice as well. I have never felt so welcomes in a religious institution before.
In Dublin, we went to the Guinness Storehouse, The Gravity Bar is so amazing! You can see a 360 view of all of Dublin! I also visited Temple Bar (they have alot of shops and restaurants) as well as the famous, Grafton Street. The next day, we went to Houth, which is by the shore. It felt like a really beachy town and there were many cliffs. It was really picturesque, in fact, it reminded me of home again. This time, Block Island.
Although I stayed in London, last weekend was pretty eventful. Katie had to be rushed to the hospital because of a kidney infection and had to spend like 2 nights there. She's doing fine now.
This weekend, I was at Harrod's picking up some last-day gifts when I was outside the store, and this little kid comes up to me and asked, "Can I have 30 pence?" His mom, also impoverished looking is looking at me like a puppy dog as well.
The whole scenario pissed me off because it looked like the mother was "whoring" out her son just to ask others for money. What could give others the audacity to ask complete strangers for "hand-outs" on the street in the first place? I have seen my share of homeless people: in Times Square a guy in a Native American outfit had a huge sign saying "I need to go back to Arizona" and I've seen a homeless guy openly making a park bench his residence in Beverly Hills -- of all places.
I don't mean to treat this into an essay for Sociology class, but I mean, can't these people (how they got into poverty I'll never know) use all their energy they spend begging others for change to scrape by and put it towards getting a job (even the lowest job imaginable) and make themselves more productive members of society? I know if I lost everything and had no money, I'd be doing everything I can to find a way to make my own $$$. I wouldn't ask around. Isn't there something society can do to rectify this problem? Why aren't there enough shelters/organiztions to insure no one is left on the streets? It makes me so sad there are people who have to live like this.
On a more happier note, I am gonna be leaving London a week from today! I'm excited to be coming home, but I will definitely miss the city life, certain people I have met here and miss London. Hopefully I'll be back someday. Looking back on this experience, I have learned alot about how truly independent I am and the lengths I will go to get what I want in life.
Cheers!
Farida
