Fridays

Now as an Au Pair Friday night generally is a word the stands in for "end of the week exhaustion that requires and 8:30 bed time-- for me, not the kids."

But this week was different.

Not that I wasn't knackered enough to pass out. That was still true. But anyway.

When I first came to Ireland it was in spring of 2010 on the Bristish Literary Tour from my college Brigham Young University Idaho. Yes I know, Ireland is not Brittish, but, we had to call it something.


That same tour was returning this month, and they were going to be in town on Friday night. I was given all this information from the professor who had also been a leader of my group.

So I was making my way to the hostel they were staying at and I saw three girls walk past me. I'm not saying they looked like tourists. They didn't really stand out, but then Galway is a pretty popular tourist haunt. Anyway, I noticed one of them was wearing a Young Women's Medalion. I called after them and asked them if they were from BYU-I. They responded the affirmative. They seemed a little freaked out but as Megan N. (when we were on our tour together she was Megan J.) pointed out, it was a little creepy of me.

I told them "I'm on my way to meet Brother Waddell. I was on this tour in 2010!"
They responce was something like "That's great! Nice to meet you!" and "So... what are you doing here?"
To which I was able to answer "I live here now." Which was a pretty fun answer. The girls did the appropriate responce of excitedly asking me for details.
We chatted and ended up going to the hostel together. At the hostel I was invited to share dinner, which was wicked nice,  free taco salad is great.

Brother Waddell asked me about my life and told me about the new tour. Where they were going and what they had already done. We talked a lot about Scotland-- because that's where they were heading next. And Ireland becuase that's where we were. I told him about my branch.
Then I ended up spending the rest of the night with a handful of the girls.
We shopped.  (They shopped. I'm trying to save.) 
We walked-- I showed them Eyre Square.
Then they were like "Where's a pub?"
Me: "It's Ireland, there's about three in view from where we are standing."
Them: "Where's a good one?"
Me: "I haven't been to a pub since I came here in 2010. I mean yeah you have to go to a pub when you are in Ireland... but since I don't drink I haven't really gone to any sense. But we'll find one if you guys want to go."

They wanted one that played live music. So we went up and down shop street looking for one that played live music. I'm sure if we actually bothered to go into any instead of standing outside saying "I wonder if that one plays live music?" Our search might have been a little more successful.

But I found it funny as this was pretty much exactly what my friends and I did on our night when we went looking for a pub. I had thought that now that I lived here I wouldn't act like a silly tourists. I was wrong.
Anyway, eventually we found street performers playing traditional music so we just stopped and listened to that.
Then it was really time for me to go to sleep and prepare for my long weekend. One girl, the one with the medallion from the beginning,  gave me a hug and said "I'm so glad I met you! I wish you were coming."

Anyway, it was fun to spend the evening with people my age and feel like an excerpt of where I live and immigrating. Which I'm not. But still nice to feel like one.