Secondly, while hitchhiking is not frowned upon in
this part of the world, be careful with what you ask for when flagging someone
over. Requesting a ‘lift’ will result in
you climbing into the car and being escorted to your destination. Asking for a ‘ride’ will either end with the
Irishman driving indignantly off while you stare perplexedly down the roadway
or, more interestingly yet, the abashed American receives exactly what he or
she requested. It will suffice to say
that this bit of knowledge could save you a world of trouble in the long
run.
Finally, everything within a square radius of
fifteen miles is considered ‘walking distance’.
So when you start off from your bed and breakfast on foot and in search
of the promised sightseeing that is ‘just down the road’, don’t be surprised if
it is a good day’s hike away. While this
can be an excellent time to see some of the magnificent countryside, most
people prefer to be slightly more prepared for such an outing (like having
means of a ‘lift’ back home).
These are three things that I learned very quickly
upon arriving in Ireland.
Once every spring, Duluth, Minnesota’s College of
St. Scholastica offers their students the opportunity to spend a semester
studying abroad in County Mayo, the Republic of Ireland. This year’s twenty-one accepted students will
live for thirteen weeks in Louisburgh, a town of roughly three-hundred
citizens, while calling the village’s ‘holiday cottages’ home. During their stay, the students will not only
learn the fine art of heating their home with a peat fireplace, but will also
spend their three day weekends traveling either independently or with their
group, seeing much of the Republic of Ireland before returning to the
States. As number twenty-one of the
people studying here, I can easily tell you that Ireland will touch your
soul.
There is a rugged, well-worn feel to Ireland that I
have never experienced anywhere else in my life. As I stand on the ruins of an ancient burial
site or marvel at the complexity of a Celtic cross, a deeply moving sense of
history tugs within my heart. For a
moment, I can almost see the ancients striving to survive on this weather torn
land. I can feel their pain in war and
their firm will to survive, a strange desire to protect this magnificent land
stirring within my unsuspecting heart.
Seeing Ireland’s holy mountain, Croagh Patrick, for the first time
paralyzed me with its majestic serenity.
For while I expected the country to be lovely, I did not fully
appreciate the effect it would have on me until that first glimpse of Ireland’s
beauty.
And, of course, the landscape is only part of the
appeal Ireland holds for many of its visitors.
The Irish people themselves hold a deep appreciation for their land and
thereby can usually understand why Ireland’s beauty moves those who have never
witnessed it before. They are welcoming
and sincere, accepting a group of twenty-one students and three faculty into
their homes with open arms, going well out of their way to ensure the ‘Yankees’
are comfortable. It is a strange and
wonderful sensation to be three thousand miles from where you were raised and
yet still feel at home.
From Ireland’s food to its ancient cultures to its
abundant green fields, I’m inviting you to take the journey of a lifetime with
me. The College of St. Scholastica will
be in Ireland for thirteen weeks, Ireland will be in our hearts forever—of this
there is no doubt. Take some small piece
of that away with you as well. Whether
your interest is in the rough shores carved by the Atlantic or the green fields
flecked with white sheep, so long as it is within ‘walking distance’, you will
find something here. Welcome to
Ireland.
~K
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