Dear Ireland: Its not goodbye, its see you later

My bags are packed, my flight is checked into, and in a little less than 24 hours I'll be taking my last transatlantic flight for awhile (or at least the next 6-12 months).  In the past 10 months, I've walked on the Giant's Causeway, taken a very cramped lift ride to the top of the Eiffel Tower, ridden the London Eye, stared in wonder at the beauty that is La Sagrada Família, and explored the most amazing German towns I could have ever imagined.

A year a half ago I overheard someone in my class talking about au pairing and I immediately thought it was the best idea I had ever heard.  Two weeks later, I met and fell in love with the Kennedys and I never looked back.  I had to get a passport specifically for this journey (that's right my first time out of the country was to live abroad for year!) and undergo the process of getting a visa.  Now, 10 months later I'm returning home with 5 different stamps in my passport and I don't think I've ever been more proud of myself. 

I've always wanted to get out of my hometown, out of North Carolina, out of America, and I did it!  This time hasn't always been the time of my life, some months were very, very hard to be away from home.  I've never been one to suffer from homesickness until this year.  My freshmen year of college I unpacked my things, waved goodbye to Mom and Dad and didn't really go back home until Christmas break.  Living out of the country, I've gained a lot of perspective on what home means to me and how much I truly appreciate where I come from (I still have no desire to move back to Sherrills Ford, lets not push our luck here...).  

There are so many people who I could individually thank for their support during this time (but I'm trying to keep this short and sweet!).

To the Kennedys: You have truly given me a home away from home.  I will be forever thankful that you allowed me to come into your family and giving me a wonderful au pair experience.  I can't believe I'm leaving now but I can't wait to see the girls grow up over the years!

To my fellow au pairs: I have been so blessed to not only experience the Irish culture but to get a glimpse into every one of your cultures as well!  You have all provided me with an ear to listen, a place to stay in another country, a traveling buddy, and many memories.

To my own friends and family at home:  I would never be here if it wasn't for all of you.  Your support both before and during my time in Ireland has been priceless, especially those of you who came to ring in the New Year with me or listened on the phone when I needed a piece of home the most! (And those who helped me with flight funds, thanks Mom and Dad!)

And finally, to Ireland: Thank you for taking me in and giving me a wonderful place to call home.  I was a bit skeptical before I came but now I know its true: You ARE the most friendly and hospitable country in the world!  And the greenest.

I didn't know what to expect when I got to Stamullen ten and a half months ago but it became very clear in that first day that I'd be leaving a part of my heart behind when I left. Luckily, its in the hands of three beautiful girls.

November in a Nutshell

Hi Everyone!

Its been so long since I’ve written but you haven’t missed out on too much! November came and went without too much excitement.  I had a wonderful birthday weekend!  I went out with Ioana and Martina the night before my birthday in Balbriggan, which is another town about 5 minutes from Stamullen.  Balbriggan has more than one bar (unlike Stamullen) so it was a great place to go out without traveling all the way into Dublin.  We drank a lot of Bulmer’s and enjoyed the live band!  

 

On my actual birthday Ciara invited up Ioana’s host family (Ciara’s sister-in-law) and we had a Mexican fiesta!  Well, we had nachos, fajitas, and lots of beer so it was as close as it gets to a fiesta in Ireland.  She even made not one, but two desserts for the occasion! I was very thankful to be surrounded by my surrogate family since I couldn’t be with my own.

Other than that, I went into Dublin and met up with Hailey quite often.  We’ve been busy planning out our Christmas extravaganza.  Since we can’t go home, we’re going to London the weekend before Christmas and going to PARIS on Christmas Eve!  I can’t wait to have three stamps in my passport instead of just my one, lonely Irish stamp.  We’re even spending Christmas Day night at the Eiffel Tower! It’s kind of the only thing open on Christmas Day, but hey, we’ll be in Paris so it doesn’t really matter!

Today, I got up at the crack of dawn (8 am) and walked to the bus stop in the cold (I could see my breath) to go back into Dublin to explore some Christmas markets!  It’s a big thing in Ireland and around most of Europe to have huge Christmas markets where vendors sell, gifts, foods, and other crafts in the weeks leading up to Christmas.  The one I went to today happened to be here:

Look familiar?  That’s Christ Church Cathedral.  I posted a picture of the outside after one of my very first trips to Dublin.  I haven’t been back since until today when I found about a Christmas Market that takes place here.  And it just so happens the market is IN the CRYPT!  Pretty cool, especially since the market was free to get into so I got into the Crypt without paying the usual 6 euros and almost everything was on display like usual.

The Crypt

Book of Common Prayer from 1622

Missing a mummy?

The Tudors did filming here and these were some of the costumes used in the show!

Gilded Communion Plates. That's a lot of gold.

 

Christ Church Christmas tree

Ruins on the church grounds. Of what? I'm not sure.

After leaving Christ Church, I decided to go find St. Patrick’s Cathedral.  In my six months I’ve spent taking day trips into Dublin, I still hadn’t seen it yet.  I was so surprised to find a beautiful park right next to it.  I didn’t go into the cathedral yet since I plan on doing that with MaryClaire, Erika, and Hillary when they come for New Year’s but the outside of the cathedral and the park itself was a beautiful place to spend some time!  Unfortunately, Google has decided I exceeded the number of pictures I can post to a blog unless I buy more space so you'll have to look on facebook for pictures!

I only have two weeks until I leave for London and then its on to Paris!  Between planning for those two cities and planning what we'll be doing when Erika, MaryClaire, and Hillary arrive in Dublin I've got my hands full the next two weeks.  When I get back you can all look forward to multiple posts about my Christmas abroad!

Southern Hospitality, Ghosts and Gouls, and an Irish Fesh

My trip home was exactly what I needed (Aside from sharing half of my seat with a very large man on the flight to Philadelphia)! I was able to eat my fill of country ham biscuits, sweet tea, and Taco Bell! I also made visits to most of eastern side of the state: Raleigh, Greenville, Charlotte and even went to Washington (NC) for the first time.  Did you know its the first city in the United States named after George Washington? Well you do now!

Washington has a lot of crab statues. Why? I have no idea but they looked cool!

Walking on the Pamlico River

When I got back to Ireland, everyone was in full blown preparation mode for Halloween!  Halloween has many Celtic influences so Ireland is a great place to celebrate.  Halloween here isn't really that different from how it is at home.  The girls went trick or treating while I handed out candy and then we all went to Fiona's (Dave's sister) house for a party.  The kids bobbed for apples, played games, and generally spent the night eating as much candy as they could get away with.

Ruby was a devil

Pippa was a ladybug, but abandoned her costume before I could get a picture!

She's got the best chubby cheeks for kissing!

Maisy was a ghost but she also took her costume off early and was too busy eating candy for any photo opportunities.

This past weekend, I went with the family to see Ruby and Maisy's Irish Dancing Fesh.  I still really don't know exactly what fesh means but basically its a recital/competition.  The girls competed in two dances: the reel and the light jig. This was Ruby's second fesh and Maisy's first.  Ruby came in 4th and 5th place in each dance out of twenty girls!  Maisy's age group had only eight girls and she came in 1st place for one of her dances and, most importantly to Maisy, got a trophy!

Maisy's trophy and medal!

The girls were very proud of themselves and they have another competition in a few weekends.  They've been practicing non-stop and have even taught me a few steps!  It was really interesting to see the older girls dance at the competition.  They all had on the traditional Irish dress and a lot of the dances are very complicated.  It was really cool to see a young generation so dedicated to keeping this Irish tradition alive.

Other than that, I've been keeping busy during the week by taking Zumba at the rec club in Stamullen with Ioana and Martina on Wednesday nights.  I've also decided to brush up on my high school spanish for when I visit Natàlia and Mercè in Spain! There are a ton of free language resources I've found online and I'm already starting to learn a little bit.  Other than that I've been dusting off my resume to start the job hunt for when I get home in May.  Its hard to believe I've already been in Ireland for 5 months on Tuesday!