Failte!

I'm excited to share my adventures with all of you! I want your first taste of my life in Ireland to be this poem that I wrote very late one night when I was a Junior in College. Its meaning seems eerily prophetic now. More than anything, I've created this blog to make the actualization of this life-long dream of mine visible to those I love: my friends who are my foundation, my endlessly supportive family, my mentors and co-workers who inspire me, and my former students who have given me enough satisfaction and fulfillment to last two lifetimes... Have the courage to believe that your wildest dreams can come true.

Is fhearr fheuchainn na bhith san duil, (It is better to try than to hope)

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Mourn (A Seaside Peak in Southern Ireland)

The dark, earthen sod saturates her fair feet,
but briefly since she frolics fast in knee high
blades of greenest grass that blow dizzily in the Celtic-sea air.

Her wool skirt, stiffened by ware of evenings past
is splashed by cresting waves that break
against a beach blacker than her hair.
Those once stiffer fibers were loosed by nights upon nights
of hanging perfectly on his line before being wildly blown dry
by the crisp Hibernian salt air.

The pair sits to rest a while instead of dodging
breakers or skipping paler stones.

"Indian summer's here," he says softly,
but all of summer here feels like the edge
of autumn to her, even though she grins in agreement
as she dangles her pale, soft feet off Achilles' peak,
where Erin's vermillion-gold sky meets
an ocean that is grey with years.

She sleeps with her eyes closed tight most nights.
He asks her if she believes in Tier-Nan-Og,
and she asks him if he believes in anything eternal.
Outside the tide is rising, or it's receding—
She never can tell but for the strengthened smell of
salty freshness strained through his light, lace curtains.
She thinks to herself that he is like trying to hold the sea 
and she imagines the water running between her fingers--
clenched so tight.

And so, the night calls her out of her sleeping,
like daytime chides her into dreaming.
She slips her white fingers through the holes of an old loose scarf
that affords her more company than warmth
on these newborn autumn evenings. She is off-- 
Night clouds reflect emerald from land to sea,
And the tara that she never eyes from long hours of
staring too far into star blanketed skies,
feels cool against the thickening pads of her pallid feet.

Elisabeth Lewis (2005)

11 January 2012

now i know why they say the best things are free|

Because of a little bit of bad luck with the USPS around the holidays, I've been trapped errr.... sequestered in Dublin for the last 7 days with very little money. Tomorrow my money becomes available! Hooray! But I wanted to reflect on the last week and what I've done to keep myself occupied on this glorious island during the first week of the New Year before School Starts the 16th! It would've been easy to be bitter about the delay, but I'm glad I got to remind myself that the old saying is true, the best things in life really are free!


If you don't believe me or Monica, check out this great SLATE article!

10. Discovering new routes for my 3 mile run [and the old faithful to school]
9. Deep cleaning the apartment. We're talking bleach on mold & intense dusting and much needed home repairs
8. Window Shopping [and making lists for spring wardrobe]
7. Catching up on Skype! 
Shout outs to Sissy, Vero, Leslie, Joshua, Magan, and Matty for some awesome sessions :)
6. Getting my gluten-free diet started with some fun new recipes
5. Awesome DIY manicures
4. Walkabouts--finding those hidden nooks in the city
3. Emailing my professors to the point of annoyance 
2. Great PODCASTS! Like This American Life, varied Yoga workouts, Wait, Wait, and The Sam Livecast
1. Season 2 [the best season] of FRIENDS


Tomorrow I'll be doing some shopping and fieldwork before heading off for a cross-country road trip with the girls on Friday. The time alone has actually flown and I'm so excited to have a full house :)
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