Cill Mhantáin (Wicklow)

Hello friends! I hope it's been a wonderful week for you, as it has for me! This week was reading week for some classes, and I was lucky enough to only have class on one day! We had a Bank Holiday on Monday, as I mentioned in my last blog post. My one class on Tuesdays and Thursdays was cancelled, and I don't have class ever on Fridays, so it was a short week!

However on Tuesday I did have a presentation/field trip, so it wasn't completely a slack-off week for me (although it mostly was, I won't lie). My presentation was a part of my Ireland Uncovered class, which is a good amount of work but is very rewarding. It's basically a class about the language, history, and culture of Ireland, which I wanted to take while I live here. The two hour field trip in Dublin's city centre focused on monuments and buildings important to the history of Ireland, and I presented on the Dublin Spire (you can Google it if you'd like to see it). A lot of the stuff we talked about this week was in relation to the 1916 Easter Rising, an event that has shaped and defined Irish history and people. A lot of the Irish identity is linked to that one event, and I happened upon a statue of the famous proclamation that was made today on my hike. The Irish people fought long and hard against British rule and it is crazy that barely 100 years ago, Ireland was not even technically a country! Their fight for freedom and cultural nationalism is still evident today. Take the name Saoirse, for instance. Saoirse means "freedom" and was not popular until after the Rising. Also notice the Irish Gaelic on one side of the monument and the English on the other... another huge symbol of the fight between Irishness and Englishness. Anyway, enough about that for now.

Tuesday was also Halloween, and what better way to celebrate Halloween than by carving a pumpkin?! Halloween originated in Ireland, if you didn't know, as the festival/celebration of Samhain. ResLife provided us with pumpkins and the necessary materials, and out emerged Herman!

We were great friends until I came back today to find him completely sunken onto his side after having rotted... whoops!

On Wednesday, I had classes as normal. Thursday, I slept in late and lounged around for the most of the day. I was recovering from a cold from the past weekend for most of the week, so the fact that I had a relaxing week was perfectly timed! On Thursday evening, I'm happy to say that I finally landed my front tuck at tramp practice!! Hopefully I can get some videos or pictures of me looking successful, as opposed to last week's video :)

On Friday, I went shopping with a friend downtown. Then we went back to her place, ate dinner, ordered a bunch of desserts (there's a place that delivers desserts here!), and watched The Holiday, one of my favorite cheesy movies. On the way home from shopping, my friend and I sat on the top of the bus home (which always makes it feel like we're driving), and it gave us a wonderful view:

I just love Dublin and Ireland in general! I think it's so pretty. After watching a trampoline competition on Saturday, I was ready to get active and get outside, so today I went for a hike in County Wicklow, which is right outside of Dublin! I hiked the Big Sugar Loaf Mountain. It's funny, I'm pretty sure there is a Sugarloaf/Sugar Loaf Mountain in New Hampshire, Maryland, AND Ireland. All of my homes have them... very interesting!

It was a beautiful day for a hike, albeit quite windy (especially at the peak!). The terrain was a little iffy at times- sometimes boggy and slippery, other times rocky and slippery. But it provided wonderful views of the other Wicklow mountains, of Dublin city/bay, and of the Irish sea. I'm so glad I went! Here are some pictures:

After hiking, I was quite chilly and had some time to kill before my bus back to Dublin arrived. I found this really cute pub/tavern in Kilmacanogue, the town that Sugar Loaf is technically in. I have been craving fettucine alfredo for days and what do you know? They had it on their menu! I washed it down with a pint of my favorite cider, and was thinking about getting dessert when two middle-aged Irish women sat down at the table next to mine. They started by asking what I had for lunch and if it was good, and by the end, they were letting me taste their meals and desserts! They were both very kind, although I'll admit their accent was much stronger. The two of them were from County Kerry, an area in the southwest of Ireland known for its thick accent. One of them had recently moved to Bray (in County Wicklow), and they were visiting each other.

They were so kind and friendly, and we chatted about everything from what I was studying to good hiking locations in Ireland. One of them even gave me her number in case I decide to go to County Kerry, and she also told me that I fit right in here with my red hair. By the end of their meal, they made me try their food just to make sure that I had tried all of the Irish cuisine! I sat and talked with them for a while, and it was just a huge reminder of why I decided to come to Ireland- because the people here are just so friendly!

Anyway, here's a picture of the dessert they recommended for me and my fettucine. I'm pretty sure the dessert is called pavlova, but I could be wrong. It was delicious, and so was the other stuff they let me try! I would go back and eat at that place again in a heartbeat. Kilmacanogue was a beautiful town because it was situated in between mountains!

Today was definitely a fulfilling and exciting day. I really appreciated my warm shower when I got home and have been catching up on homework ever since. This upcoming weekend, I'll be going to London and I cannot wait! I'll write to you all again then. Cheers!