It has been a month since I'd arrived in Derry, Northern Ireland and I could not love it anymore than I already do. I have since made a pretty solid group of friends that I feel quite close to already within the short time I have been here. They are really all I have got in this place. It is like we have created a family. We are all in this alone, but we do not have to be loners.
Studying abroad is sort of a once-in-a-lifetime experience and it is the people who make it better. So, I must ask the question to those studying abroad who sit in their rooms and do nothing... Why the hell are you here? Taste the fucking beer, dude! Talk to people! Eat some weird-ass food! Find pieces of home in another person! What are you doing in another part of the world if you do not want to be part of it? How is the world so uninteresting to some people? Wake up, mother fuckers!!! Every part of the planet has the potential to be blasted off of the face of the Earth by nuclear weapons in a matter of a seconds and you are sitting in your room absorbing nothing from this! That is what I call 'fuckin' stupid'.
Since I have been here, I have planned to make my way around Europe as much as I can afford. I have experienced the Giant's Causeway in all of its majesty. My eyes really could not comprehend it when I first experienced it. I have never actually seen such a big, open piece of Earth so I think my brain had trouble processing its clarity and beauty. I have images of it burned into my mind. Photos really do not do it justice. It sincerely was the most epic thing my brain has ever had to deal with, aside from stupid boys with their commitment issues... but that is a horse of a different color. A stupid color. At least this time, the 'epic' was all positive.
I meandered over to Belfast for a day with Bebe Francais, Bebe Machine, Jersey, The German and Bebe Bordeaux. Belfast is a pretty interesting city, but it had the same things to offer as any other city. I think I really enjoyed the historical sense of Belfast. We toured by where the Titanic was built and the White Star Line buildings stood. Here is where I will say I was not impressed. It was so industrial and crumbly looking that it took away from how I imagined it to look. I expected too much, but it was still cool to just be in the presence of where all these crazy ships and ideas were born.
Walking the city wall in Derry always leaves a haunting feeling within my soul. I know that I don't even know half of the events, battles and wickedness that occurred upon that wall, but it is still amazing to be walking on a piece of history. It is so old that it is essentially a permanent part of the geography of the city. The little shops and boutiques within the wall are so beautiful. They are essentially everything you would want to see inside a walled city. There is a tiny craft village within the wall with a place called The Boston Tea Party that I have yet to try, but it is definitely on my list. I bought my little, silver claddagh ring inside of this little craft village. It really is nothing special, but the fact that I purchased it at the right place and the right time will always mean something to me. Passing pieces of my life down to the next generation of people I will love will always be important to me. Whether it be my children or both of my sister's children.
My future travels include a trip to Gibraltar, Spain which is happening this coming Friday on October, 21, 2011. I will be meeting up with a good friend, who lives and works there currently. He left the U.S.A. earlier this year when he could not find a job in America as a U.K. citizen. Ha! Americans cannot even find jobs in our home country. The next trip after this one will probably be a weekend in Dublin. I am in Ireland. How dare I not see Dublin. I might decide to get my tattoo there. I am trying to decide what I would like to get printed on my body and where. I was thinking the word 'nathaí' would be appropriate for me. It means 'wit' or 'wiseacre' in Gaelic. I have also toyed around with the word 'ainmhí' which means 'animal' in Gaelic. However, if I somehow make my way to the town that Damien Rice grew up in which is Celbridge, in County Kildare, then I will finally get my favorite lyrics from his song "The Professor" inked onto the outer side of my foot. It will say "What makes the animal runway?" This lyric is so powerful to me in that it has to do with a lot of my experiences in life. So why the fuck not?
After that, come late November, I will be taking a flight up to Glasgow, Scotland with Jersey to go see Lisa Hannigan play. Then, Jersey and I will be bussing it to Edinburgh for a few days of relaxation and breathing in some of the city.
If you are wondering if this little hippie is going to make her way to Amsterdam, then you have wondered in the right direction. The Frenchies, Jersey and I are spending five days in the center of the city before Christmas. Yeah...I know...
And it will be quite a Merry Christmas for Jersey and me for we are going to spend it with Bebe Francais and Bebe Machine in East France. I am literally going to eat my way through Europe. We are most likely going to venture into Germany and Switzerland since they both live very close to both countries. They are so lucky to live where they live. They get to have the best chocolate in the world right at their doorsteps.
Anna and I are going to finish off our travels in Paris for New Year's Eve. Now, I am an agnostic, but I feel blessed in so many ways to be able to do any of this. Europe is definitely more in-tune with real art and the savory things in life. America takes advantage of the wonders we have. I can recall the lyrics, "Big paradise, put up a parking lot..." and that is how I describe living where I have grown up. I will never hate America because it is my home, but I think those who run it have forgotten the purpose of our country. We are so throttled by what we have done to ourselves that we cannot figure out how to get out of it. Europe has its pros-and-cons but at least art is still important here.
Finally, my family, sans the middle sister Stiney, who I wish could see this place, are coming to Derry! The four of us are going to tour the Republic of Ireland for a week and then I am off this little island and back to the U.S.A. for another semester at WCSU. I dread the idea of being back there. This place is such a high. That place is the bottom of the ocean in my mind. However, I am starting to miss my friends so fucking hard. I just wish they could all be here.
I feel at ease in this country. I think I may have found another place to call home. My parents may have to drag me by my hair to get me out of this country. Maybe, I will just lose my passport on purpose, like a day before I leave.
Fuckin' smart!
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