The Weekend

Hello,
I know I haven’t written in a while but the only internet is in the classroom. Since our classroom here in Dingle is in the main church, I haven’t been there this weekend. I am doing well tonight. It is Saturday and I went to Conner’s Pass today. The view was absolutely beautiful. This is how it worked. Nicole, Naila, Carrie, and I got a cab ride 2-3 miles out of town up this mountain. Then he dropped us off in the middle of the road and we took pictures and he went on his way. So Conner’s pass is an old pass that Irishman used to take and we were fortunate to have the same opportunity. I have now found out that there were a number of groups from the different schools who attempted it but only a very few made it through. The reason for this is that there is no trail. You must blaze your own way through the mountain and through the sheep fields. Basically, trespassing through farmers lands. We were fortunate to know our way. Not only that but we decided to take an excursion around the mountain because we still had some extra energy. Up till now this is the best day that I have had. I am now learning that SIU is a far superior school to other schools that are on this trip and know for sure that I have made the right choice. Then when we got back we went for dinner and it was excellent as well.

Sunday, May 25, 2008
Today was the day. Wow ...wow. I have never or rarely been so proud of myself. I have done something no one, my trip mate, the bike shop rental guy. Or the locals or the tourists said I could do. I have successfully biked around the dingle peninsula. You might say, big deal ...right. This is a very difficult bike for even experienced riders and I haven’t been on a bike for 9 years. Naila and I said that we would go for a bike ride today around town because we have done everything else we the town has to offer. Instead, we later decided to do the bike tour. Never imagining that we would get anywhere near doing it. I am really sore and am in immense pain but I really feel like I have accomplished something. When we brought the bikes back to the rental place the guy couldn’t believe us. This is a 30 mile bike ride through the mountains, 50 kilometers. It took us from 9:00 in the morning until 6:30 this evening. In some sense I could feel Grandpa pushing me on. Saying you can do it. At one point we almost stopped and called for a cab, but the lady was VERY rude and wouldn’t let us use her phone. I think it was fate. So we continued on. My chain even broke loose from the gears and I managed to get it back on with only my hands and carried on full of grease.
There is a store that has been converted into a compilation of newspaper clippings where tourists have been stranded, fallen from cliffs, gotten lost for over one day, and a few have even died. I am so proud of myself I can’t begin to describe it to you. I am so sore, I am sun burned, I am wind burned. This is one of the windiest days of the season so far. The bike man said that he was sure that we would return the bike within the half an hour and couldn’t believe we did it. He said there is no way an American could do it. Much less a fat American like me. I also have to give Naila credit, she was great moral support. She kept pushing me on. Wow...Wow. Some things in life make you realize just what you can do. As you can imagine, I have lost a great deal of weight so far. I walk at least 7-8 miles a day up and down hills. I am tired, but I am feeling so proud of myself. I know I am only 25 but I never believed I could do what it is I am doing. I feel like I am doing really well in class. I have gotten my grades back in some classes from SIU and I have done even better this semester. Law school is teaching me to push myself to the limit and I am meeting the challenge head on. I sometimes like to compare myself to Grandpa and know that I haven’t even begin to accomplish what he has but I know that if he could see me know he would be really proud of me. I feel like his spirit is alive in me. I am really proud to come from his line. Today I have pushed my body in a way I can barely remember and the self gratification and scenery has rewarded me well.
On a personal note. My rooming situation is getting frustrating because my roommates are kind of slobs and there is stuff everywhere. One smokes and both chew tobacco. There is spit everywhere. There is dirty dishes and food laying out and I am tired of cleaning. I hopefully will have a new rooming situation when I move to the next town. I am too tired to give you the London stuff today but I have tickets there and back and a hotel for one night in Galway as we don’t get our cottages until after class. The hotel is the Best Western Flannery’s and we are taking “Aer Lingus” To England, and “Aer Aern” back here to Ireland, right into Galway. It is 10:00 now and I need some sleep. I look forward to seeing all of you soon. Also, because of the Euro, buying gifts will be very hard as even a home cooked meal costs 10- 12 Euros per person. 16-23 Dollars per person. SO because of that I need to be careful what I spend money on. I have thought about what I want to bring home to each of you and have been on the lookout. I still am having trouble wrapping my head around the expense of living here. I have grown to hate the dollar.

I don’t want to leave you with the person note so I will leave you with this. Ireland is a country of great history where nothing is ever finished. The homes, the construction, the roads, or the service. It is a land of quitters. But in this land of quitters, where nobody though Naila and I could do the trip, we fought back. I feel like I have conquered the mountain.