I hope life is treating everyone as well as it seems to be treating me here. Thanks to everyone who sent me advice about what I should do about a job. Just kidding! Thanks to Hanne, because, apparently she is the only one that loves me. hehe. sorry. Did I mention you all should leave me comments? Shameless plug. Oooookaaaay.
I'll be quick. I swear. (Do my epic blogs ALWAYS start like this?)
This last half week of life in Dublin has been amazing. I would go so far as to say that I am becoming comfortable here, and, I actually had an "I love Dublin" moment when I was walking down the street earlier in the week. The moment scared me, because I'm not ready to leave, and, thank you United States Government, I have to. Also special thanks to whoever at the hospital in Puerto Rico decided to make my mother's birth certificate, real age, and real birthday cease to exist sometime around the time she was born. It makes for a very difficult visa request process.
I went salsa dancing on Thursday night with my friend Katie and her flatmate Kristin. It was SUCH a blast. It is amazing how unpretentious the salsa dancers in this city are. (And they are SO good!) I actually ended up staying long after my friends were gone, just to dance...which is something I never had the confidence to do in NY. The downside is that I wore heels and now I can't walk properly because my feet are so cut up. Why in the WORLD did some man invent these awful things women wear on their feet to make them look tall, slim, and sexy? I am sure this is an age, old question dating back to some Medieval torture device. I came home after dancing and fell into the couch, and then spent three hours talking with Markus about life into the wee hours. It was really nice to have some roomie bonding time, but I will admit that he doesn't make ice cream or brownies appear the way James does. And he doesn't cook. Ever.
On Friday I went to the gym with Markus and rediscovered swimming. How awesome a sport is that? Why didn't anyone make me do it when I had a broken foot last year? (Oh wait, many people tried and I was too stubborn to listen. right-o.) Friday night I finally got to experience what the towney bar is like. Oh yea, it's towny. All the moms, dads, grams, gramps, teens, tweens, and twenty-somethings congregate there. And you know what? It's SUPER fun.
This is Finney and David taking the piss. Or something. Finney is the first Irish person I've met that doesn't have blue eyes. Turns out he's actually half British. (Did you know that Ireland is one of the most inbred countries in the world? Hmmm...)Saturday I learned what Irish weather is really all about. I got all my running gear on, and then it pissed rain for about an hour. Sheets and sheets of it the way that you can't even see your hands if you hold them out in front of you. And then, lo and behold, it got bright and sunny and HOT. What? So, I went for an 8 mile run and I discovered SWANS. Yes, there are swans on the other side of the estuary I've been running at. It is astonishingly beautiful. There were dads fishing with their kids, grandparents going for walks, and it felt like home. I swear I'm going to take a picture of it eventually. It's just so far to WALK to take a photo.
I went into Dublin for a quick, early hang-out with Mariel (my super cool new music loving friend from Boston cum Rochester!) and got on the bus to come home at a reasonable hour because I had to wake up this morning at 7am. I accidentally met up with David and company at Gibneys (towny pub), we accidentally went back to Rory's house to listen to people play guitar, and I accidentally got home this morning in time to change into sneakers to go hiking. I was wrecked all day, but it was worth it.
This is Rory's dog and Fin. We are taking the dog for a run tomorrow morning! (Didn't I always say my dream was to come to Ireland and get a dog? Well this is a start.) Anyway, tomorrow is a "bank holiday" so after my run I plan on crawling back into bed and sleeping for a long, long time. And then maybe figuring out what I'm doing with my life. And then I'm going to Montenegro.So, on Regina's suggestion, I went to Glendalough today, with Mariel. It is in the Wicklow mountains ("Ireland's Garden" is what it is fondly called by the Irish) and it was spectacular. So peaceful and green and quiet.
Wicklow is where Braveheart was filmed, and now I need to go from being the one American who hasn't seen that movie, to being someone who finally has. I am inspired. We also went to Kilkenny, which is a quaint little New England-town in County Clare. It was a great day, though now I am so tired I could die.
This is my obligatory jumping in elysian fields photo. :)I love you all and miss you dearly. Leave me comments because I feel like no one actually reads this.
Cheers :)
Sarah
5 comments:
I would definitely go to England if you can get a job there. But make sure you get paid enough to afford it.
Andrew, I will keep you posted for sure! (I would be making 135GBP a DAY there, just to substitute teach!)
I just noticed that if you look at the picture of me jumping, there are sheep crossing the road :)
hullo my luv,
i just wanted to give you my two cents on the subject of you leaving ireland or staying. i think the universe is telling you something, and i think that if you take this job in england many more things could open up from it. however, if you stay in ireland without a job and nothing opens up there, then you'll be back in the u.s. in no time. i would do whatever i could to ride the adventure out to it's fullest!
good luck! wish i could come play around with you.
c.
We have tried to spread word of your travels to everyone we know. Your 90 year old grandparents are even reading your blog. I can't tell you which choices to make, but I know you will make the right ones, because you always do! By the way, Steve Park and Jan Van Tassel want you to know that there is a Sarah Hammer on the US Olympic cycling team. Could you possibly be in China instead of Ireland?
DAD! I'm sooo glad that grama and grampa are reading the blog. I couldn't figure out their email address properly. I HEARD there was a cyclist with my name. She is such a stealer!
And Christina, I'm taking your advice...have you taken mine yet?
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