No particular order

The following is in no particular order.

1. I am so excited to Jacob LaFond. He is the member of my family that it has been the longest since I have seen. He is also one of my best friends.

2. Leaving these kids and this family is one of the hardest things I have ever done.

3. In my church we pay tithing eg. 10% of your income you give to the church. The church uses it to get aid to those who need it, to support education, to build temples and chapels ect. I have been very blessed for doing that this year.

4. I love European chocolate. I am considering giving up chocolate this summer. Because I need to loose weight somehow. Once I get to the point when I will like American chocolate again I will, hopefully be back in school in Wales.

5. A lot of people travel to meet new friends. I find a beautiful aspect of traveling is complete one on one time with yourself.

6. That isn't to say that I haven't made brilliant friends this year.

7. "Brilliant", "fantastic", "manky", "class", "posh" "hiya" "cheers" and "spanner" are now all part of my vocabulary.

8. I can say "That's mine." In Irish, which means that I can have an argument with a toddler in Irish.

9. I no longer use "British" and "English" as synonyms. because they are actually two very different things. Britain is the Kingdom comprised of four countries. England is one o those countries.

10. Along those lines, Ireland and Northern Ireland are different countries as well.  Approximately 6000 people have died in the last forty years fighting about this fact.

11. I have gone native. I can rattle on for hours about Irish history, specifically everything the English subjected the Irish too.

12. The Irish and the English are friends now. There will always be extremest on both sides. But, now the reasonable people have seen what catastrophic consequences listening to these people can have.

 13. I've said it before but again the Irish are some of the kindest and most genuine, generous and open people you will ever meet.

14. I will miss an efficient public transport system.

15. I had never seen Doctor Who before this year.

16. I did National (technically it is international) Novel Writing Month. I won.

17. I decided to get my post graduate degree in International Relations rather than Theatre, Film, and Performance.

18. I have been accepted into the best program in the UK for International Relations.

19. Irish people don't name their children Shannon.That was a name Irish Americans came up with who missed Ireland.

20. I have been to four countries this year. Not as many as I thought. But still impressive and I loved them all.


21. I made it most the year basically without a bank account. I will be glad to have one again.

22. Excited for flip-flops again.

23. It feels like I am going to a foreign country rather than my native one.

24. Excited to go to thrift stores with my mom and sister.

25.Turns out "Gypsy" has very negative connotations in Ireland. When you say Gypsy here you are not referring to a fairy-tale like people based on real people but who have become very romanticized. Here if I were to call myself a Gypsy people would interpret it as my calling myself a crack-whore. Not that all people of traveler dissent are bad. But that is what the word "Gypsy" carries. So yeah, that made this blog title interesting.

London Baby

Over Easter Break I went to London.
It was an exhausting and beautiful mini break. Why I am blogging about it now? Because I am waiting for my mom to get online and call me so I can talk to her about arriving tomorrow. Also I need to stay up all night so I can hopefully sleep through my 14 hour excursion home tomorrow.

Day one was a Friday. My host mom let me off early in the afternoon and gave me an extra thirty euros bonus because I'd had a few extra hours that week. Well, that was the reason she gave. Mostly she is just nice.

Because of my early afternoon I got to the air-port hours early. It was nice to be on my way... but airports get boring after about six hours when your gate isn't even yet listed.

I got a look of myself in the bathroom mirror and I looked so bad. Saggy eyes and wrinkly eyes. Megan would have held me down and pushed eye cream on me. Anyway. Then I was board and positive my eyes were ugly. It is funny what you obsess over.

Finally, when I thought I was going to die of a migraine I was on the plane. Luckily, it is like 45 minutes from Dublin to London by flight.

I managed to find a shuttle to Victoria Station. There was a nice Lithuanian girl who let me know which stop was Victoria. Once there I tried to find the bus that my directions said would take me to my hostel. A muscular, tall, beautiful Middle Eastern man saw me waiting and asked me if I would like to come back to his hotel room with him.
This scared the begeebers out of me. I ran to the other side of the street and hailed a cab and hopped in.
But, on the positive side as creeped out as I was I felt better about the bags under my eyes.


My hostel turned out to be like the mankiest place in London. It was apparent after two minutes inside that the "No smoking" rules were a formality.

But I was able to get enough sleep to head out for an adventurous weekend.

SATURDAY:

St. Paul's Cathedral. Didn't get to go in this time. But I saw it at a distance and it is just so lovely. Supposedly during the London Blitz  in WWII every morning Churchill would ask "Is St. Paul's still standing?" And miraculously it always was.

London Fire memorial.

Tower of London.

Entrance.

Tower Bridge from Tower of London

I don't know but it was lovely so I shot it.

London from Tower.

Real Entrance

Traitor's Gate. I have been reading about this place since I was... what fourteen? Most people who entered this way never left again.

 

Look at all the tourists. He also had an old woman executed here. Her crime? Her son, The Cardinal I think, had pissed him off. But this son was in Rome doing Church things. So, Henry had his mother killed. She refused to put her head on the block saying, I am paraphrasing  "That is for traitors and I am innocent." She then picked up her skirts and ran. The executioner chased after her hacking her to death. An old woman. An innocent old woman.

The bottom floor was where they tortured people. They lived in higher floors. I am not kidding this is a creepy place.

That is where the Crown Jewels are kept. It seemed silly to go all that way and not see them. But the que was much to long. Hours long. Which means you would have been herded pas the jewels once you finally got there anyway. So, I didn't see them. Maybe next time. If I ever go back. The Tower actually really shook me up.

These are the houses where the Yomen live with their families. Which is cool.

Memorial to Anne Boleyn, Catherine Howard, and Jane Grey.

But one of these homes is where poor Jane Grey was forced to wait and watch as they dragged her husband away to be beheaded. By the way, both of them were teenagers. She was somewhere between 15 and 17. She then had to watch them drag his headless body back past the window. Then she watched as they built the scaffolding for her own beheading. Then the poor girl was beheaded. I knew all this. I have read about this for years. But still, the cruelty people can impose on one another still appalls me like it is the first time I have heard it.

Top Old Cannon. Bottom ruins of the Original Wall of London.

Getting artsy.

Tower Bridge.

 I also went to Harrods the largest department store on Saturday night. It was lovely. Lush lip-sticks, silky gloves, clothes to make you faint... I bought a stake pie and chocolate. It was Easter after all.

 

 

Sunday:

That's right! Portobello Road.

221 B Baker St. It was closed. But the nice "bobby" in the gift shop gave me one of the consulting detective's business cards.

MONDAY

Big Ben

Westminster Abbey.

Home again home again.

Leaving 1

So the little boy I mind is old enough to understand that I will be leaving. And his very upset about it. It is heartbreaking.

Today I explained to my little boy that I was very sad to be leaving him. But that both of us had exciting changes coming up in our lives. I said it was okay to be sad because we would miss each other. But that it was also okay to be happy and excited for all the changes.


"We're both kind of happy and sad and the same time today, right?" I said. "I'm sad because I am going to miss you but I am happy to see my family again." I pulled him in for a cuddle. "You're sad because you are going to miss me. But, you're excited for the new baby, for your new friend to live here, and summer camp right?"

He sighed and held up his left hand "This is sad." He said. Then he held up his right hand. "This is happy. And this is me." He smacked his hands together.
"You're stuck right in the middle?"
"Yes."

Yep the little fella sums it up pretty well for me too.

The Irish Way

My time in Ireland is ending.

A part of me is wicked excited for the next step.

The other part of me has an undeniable feeling of impending doom. Okay. More like impending unknown. And impending possiblity of having to get a summer job in customer service. Which, I naivly thought wouldn't be a nessecity after getting my bachelors.


Anyway. In a completly unrelated conversation the other day my host mom mentioned that "Just getting on with it" was a common Irish mentality to about any situation.

So that's what I'm trying to do.

I don't want it to sound like I hate the idea of leaving Ireland. I don't. It is just a big change.

But I'm Just-Getting-On-With-It.

I have a pretty fool-proof plan for this.

1. Write. I love writing. One friend pointed out that I should use this time of transition to really go crazy with writing because it will be comforting.

2. Work out-- This has been my goal all year. The first half I was really good. I have been less good since January. But I don't want to go home fluffy.

3. Paint my toe nails. It helps me feel good.

4. Help other people. Okay. I put this in because it felt like an incredibly self-absorbed blog post so far. Sure I'll help people. That sounds good. Or I'll at least state the intend so I don't look like such a selfish person.

5. Watch more Bones and less Spooks, Doctor Who, Eternal Law, Scott and Bailey, Last Tango in Halifax Hustle and Downton in an attempt to re-familairize myself with American culture.

6. Just kidding. I'm going to watch Spooks because it is what I do when I'm in the midst of a freak out.

Yeah that sounds about right.

Reading

I don't read as much as I used to.

I am sure there are many factors in this.

But. I have come up with a plan. My mother used to describe me as "She's not a control freak. She's a planner." I am feel much better with a plan.

So, here is my plan.

For the forseeable future I will be reading.

1 thing for fun
1 thing on history or current events
1 classic.
This will be on top of any beta reading I will do.

Currently

1 thing for fun -- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire-- UK/Ireland adult edition
1 thing on history or current events-- (pardon the Irish Slang) The Feckin' Book of Irish History for anyone who hasn't been paying attention for the last 30'000 years 
1 classic-- Crime and Punishment I have been reading this since last summer. I am on chapter nine. I actually really enjoy it when I remember I am reading it.

That's the plan. I'm now going to finish my book on Irish History.

 Wait-- oh yeah. Sleep... No. Goals first.

Passing

Today I was home sick. Not homesick, but literally stuck in my bed feeling icky.

So, I made a to do list, so as not to waste my not getting out of bed day by not doing anything .

I had five things on it. Five things that would take a chunk of time to do. Also, it was about four pm when I made the list. The list is merely for your reference. It probably won't make sense, it is just to give you an idea of the sort of tasks I'd set myself.

List is as Follows

1. Write argument scene
2. Apply for a job
3. Prepare interview questions
4. Message questions to Uni
5. Read friend's chapter

It is nine fifty eight now. And I have gotten three of the things on this list done.

Which I think is actually pretty good. Granted, I would be happier if all five were done. But, not accomplishing the two does not negate the fact that I did accomplish the three.

I am also thinking of going back and adding things I did accomplish just so I can tick them off.
I could put.

1. Go to shop
2. Go to post office find it closed, drop stamped and addressed letter in the drop box and give up on further errands
3. shower

4. watch spooks
5. Eat
6. Talk to family
7. Chat with host family 
8. Read scriptures
9. Wrote blog

I am struggling to create a good closing paragraph. Draw your own conclusions.

P.S. After writing this I went and completed another thing on the list. So that's four out of five. It is now eleven forty.

Bridge

Today I went to Dublin to do some shopping. I  stopped while on the bridge to just enjoy the moment. I was staring at the river and beautiful view of the city. I was thinking it was the exact same place where about three years ago I gazed at this amazing city for the first time. And how lucky I was to be back. I was thinking that except for Branson I had a lot in common with Sybil from Downton. Okay, maybe the only thing I had in common with her was moving to Ireland. But still, it is a big thing.  Picture of me on same bridge three years ago.

When all of a sudden this grandad came up to me and was like "Don't jump!"
I responded with something, witty, charming and relevant like "Um... I wasn't going to. I was looking."

Then he said. "Be safe. You have to watch out. Hold your bag in the front love. There. Be safe. Be careful."

I was like. "Um okay. Thank you."

He wasn't satisfied until I backed away from the railing of the bridge and moved on with my shopping. "Alright now."

It was funny and sweet. I am a granddad magnet. Seriously. Old men just appear to help me. It is a genetic thing actually, my mom has it too.

But on a less funny note I saw two Nazis today. I was shocked. Two kids in white body suits covering their whole bodies ( I guess that is implied in the title "body suit") masks and swastikas attached to the hoods of the body suits. It was actually very disturbing.

I guess this is a post on the incredible range of the human species. We have old men who stop to help young girls. Even when said girl was not melancholy so much as philosophical. But we also have members of our species who embrace and revel in hate.