Great Craic

Kiki

I am so excited that you have been working on an organic farm too. Hahaha, our readers are kind of scary. They attacked you about the age thing. I am worried about what I may write. I have been making bread and scones and jam too. No cheese the place in macroom used to have goats and make cheese but their farm is too small now for that. I feel like Ireland was my enrichment country. I am knitting a sweater, learning to play guitar, learning organic farming, and making jam and scones. I have just learned so much in Ireland and had the best time doing it. I am only two days out of the country and I already miss it. I think back on the last two weeks and they were just such great craic (Irish word for fun).

The weekend before last was my first and only trip outside county Cork. I went to Galway to meet an American girl, B, I met on the wwoof website. We had been talking for about a two months and we could never seem to both get a weekend free to travel together. It was worthy the wait though. She was great craic and just as into photography as you. It seems I can not get away from the it. Due to weather we stayed in town and had a great time shopping and eating and watching rugby. I am now a huge rugby fan and I am sure that you will be too. We went to see the H-Cup on Saturday and I met one of Padraig form Hong Kong's friends. I was amazed that I randomly met someone that knows one of the three people I know in Ireland. We went out with them later and they were such great craic. They were dancing all over the place plus a few of them picked me up and started to carry me around the bar. It was a bit scary/hilarious. Then security stepped in and I am sure almost kicked them out. Later they knocked down two girls and I think spilled at least fifty drinks, including mine. B and I left soon after that because we had both had one too many jellyfish (vodka shots and Smirnoff ice and the head of Guinness).

B and I looking for good craic

Galway by the sea

The week was pretty uneventful just naps and school runs and feeding pigs. As I said before I am knitting a sweater and the past week I was trying to rush and finish it before I left. Yeah that did not happen. The grandmother of the kids that I was looking after was reteaching me how to knit and teaching me new techniques. I have been crocheting too much and now knitting is really hard for me. Thankfully she is really patient.

My last day as au pair was this past Friday. It was sad to say goodbye but I am happy to be headed home to see our family. I stopped in to Midleton to see Michelle before I left the country. Her family was so amazing. They welcomed me into their home and made me dinner and bought me a pint or two. I had Michelle promise that she would have herself sorted by august so that when I come back I can stay with her. I wish I would have taken more photos but it just never happened. You know me sometimes I am not in a picture mode. You should go to Ireland I think that you will love it so much. There is a goat farm in Baltimore that is supposed to be amazing. Plus Baltimore is a beautiful place with good seafood and an amazing fiddle fair. If you go, you have to go to the restaurant next to Bushe's and have the mussels. They were so good although I was drunk when I had them.

Ireland has been like home for me. I want to go back. I think that I could live there. Everyone I met in Ireland told me I was going to meet someone and never leave. That did not happen but I did fall in love with the country. I should say that I fell in love with west Cork because I never left that area. I loved living out in the middle of nowhere. Surrounded by farms and countryside. I could sit on top of a hill and hear the ocean in one direction and see miles of green hills in the other. The people are so involved in the community. Every weekend the market is full of people, struggling to make ends meet, spending more money for locally grown organic produce. They all have something that makes them different. It is this quirkiness that I love.

Lula (what the kids call me)

Maggie, Cian, and the new kitten taking pictures for a school project