Megan in Ireland - v. 2.0 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2007-07-26: July 26, 2007 So, Glencree, eh? Yup. Here I am. It feels like I never left, but it also feels like a thousand things have changed (mostly all in my head) since the last time I was here. Some of the physical changes: all the volunteers get to live in one building (the Wicklow wing) now which is way better. More private and the rooms are about a million times nicer. No brown water now either!! The new coffee shop is amazing, and there are other improvements and upgrades, but it is definitely still Glencree. It's been great to reconnect with old friends and familiar places. Strangely though, I am actually homesick! That definitely didn't happen last time. I'm missing my Victoria family for sure, and that boyfriend guy, Patrick, and my original family too! It's great! I love that I miss things. It shows that they are important... Thesis work is coming along - still no ethics approval, but I've scoped out my programme weekends, and they aren't until Sept, so I'll work on getting everything set up so I can take off running. I met with my supervisor, Eamon, about 10 minutes after arriving. I see him every day at lunch (talk about accessibility!), and he's been really helpful. I think this is going to be a great space to get this work done. Everyone is really supportive, and there's a good balance of social time and alone time. And it's so beautiful and fun here too! I went to a concert on Friday at the county fair (kind of) in Co. Kildare, and we were in a tent out behind a pub. We saw Kila (http://www.kila.ie/), an Irish band playing a fusion of Irish and Eastern European music. A lot of Rasta and African influence as well. The drummer was the lead on the Bodhran (Ronan is his name), and he does a lot of the lyrics (in Irish). Amazing musicians and energy in the crowd with everybody leaping around dancing too. I've been down to the stream and up to the lake too - so beautiful it pulls at my heart. I've been out to the pub a few times of course - last night we were at the Porter House. The huge outdoor patio faces the ocean, and there was an amusement park set up, so there was a stage the pub faced, and we got live music all night. Too cool. Can't find a better venue! That's about it - the next few days will probably be a bit slow as I tackle my thesis stuff, and try to recover from this stomach/sinus thing. Being sick stinks. Guinness seems to help though ; ) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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