"The Kingdom": 28 Jan - 3 Feb

Ó mo léan, January is over! I can hardly believe it's already been a month. I've seen and done so many things, and I know there are so many more waiting for me. Knowing that the month was ending just made this week feel all the crazier, when in actuality I didn't do much different than previous weeks. The first big event was the message calmly stating that Mom was going in for surgery because she broke her arm. I could hardly believe it because it was only a few days after Dad had his surgery. So the next night, we celebrated. ... Bad timing, that. We did, though. We decided to do a big hurrah, called it Taco and Tequila Tuesday, then went out to a dance pub. When getting ready, I didn't think about how far the walk to city centre was, so of course I wore shoes that were impossible to walk in, let alone dance in... But that's ok. A person has to do something stupid every once in a while. On the walk back, we met a guy who was completely drunk but gave us each a piece of his pizza anyway. He was funny, in a not creepy way. When we asked about the pizza, he said he didn't even remember paying for it, but who turns down a pizza when it gets put in your hand? His company made the walk back a bit more merry. And the next day, I did nothing. Hard to believe after dancing all night. The only things I accomplished were my laundry got clean, and somehow my room too. We all got emails telling us to accept the rules and terms for the exam room so we could get our schedule for May. Unfortunately, it was not possible for me to do so on a mobile device. It's all taken care of now, but for a few days I was a bit peeved that I didn't know what my schedule was, or if I had to correct it. But the entire day was made better when the thunderstorm rolled in. I absolutely love thunderstorms so I was literally bouncing in glee when I saw the lightning flash. The people walking home weren't so enthusiastic, but I was pretty sure I was in heaven. If we can't have snow, then send us thunderstorms. On Thursday, my entire day was all about Buddhism. I had a huge reading assignment due the next Monday and there was no way I could finish it all over the weekend. On top of that, we watched a one hour video about Buddhism...It was really hard to get out of my head that night. But the fact that the next day, after dance class, we were going to Kerry definitely shoved religions to the side.

On the Ring of Skellig:Geokaun Mountain & Fogher Cliffs

Kerry is an absolutely beautiful county. I'm not surprised that it's often referred to as "the Kingdom". It was everything stereotypical about Ireland. The hills were green, there were bogs, and sheep, and drystone walls, and churches, and so many things. I loved it. Maybe it was all better because it was my birthday weekend. I don't know. But for sure, it has been my favorite part of Ireland so far. There were two places in particular that enraptured me. Killarney National Park was the first.

Torc Waterfall

There's a waterfall known as Torc Waterfall and the path up to it is literally so green, it was like a fairytale. And the views of the lakes, and the serenity of it all. Gorgeous. And the other place I loved so much was the Ring of Skellig. This is a little known path contained inside the Ring of Kerry. Most of the people in the region speak Irish all the time and only learn English when they go to primary school. Most of them are also farmers of one kind or another. We had a speaker who is native to the area tell us some stories of her life and childhood. And the things to see in the area. Oh, I loved it so much.

Biddy Dancers for St. Bridget's Day

If I ever move to Ireland, I think I'll go to the Iveragh Peninsula, marry a farmer, and raise lots of Irish speaking children. ... Probably not, but it's a nice dream anyways. There are so many more things that I could say, but it would take me forever to write them all and no one would want to read them. The best I can do is, if you visit Ireland, Kerry, especially Skellig and Killarney National Park, must be a high priority.