It Rains in Ireland (Halfway through the End)

It rained today. No, I mean, it really rained. Poured. It does that in Ireland, apparently. I just walked home in it. It's that kind of rain, that when you're walking, it completely soaks you in the front and leaves your back completely dry. There is literally a distinction between wet and dry on the seams of my jeans.

I'm really glad I waterproofed my backpack and shoes, and for as "American" as it is, I'm glad I have a Northface jacket. Some Irishman made fun of my Northface-ness..."You Americans always have those things...something about how you think it will keep you dry." That's the key term, my friend: dry. And guess what? My Northface did keep me dry!

In all seriousness, I have been expecting this kind of weather for a month. I was warned, and I took those warnings seriously. Why else would Ireland be so green? Not because of man-made sprinklers, that's for sure. The thing is, it hasn't really rained all that much since I've been here. I came in late August, right after a really wet summer. I was told I came just in time for what was supposed to be summery weather; it had been a miserable summer in terms of weather (something about global warming, I guess....duh!), and finally, the Irish were getting a break.

When Sam came for Thanksgiving (aka non-Thanksgiving), it was the coldest and rainiest it had been the entire time here. And it didn't rain very hard or all that often, it just tended to be wet, windy, and dreary, not to mention really cold. When Sam left, the weather returned to a mild temperate, and the most I had to deal with was clouds.

Then last weekend happened. Even then, when I was stuck in my room fighting off a cold and writing about constitutions, there would be short spurts of really heavy rain and lots of howling wind. I was very happy not to be outside, but it would only last for ten or so minutes every hour or two.

It's been consistently raining...hard, heavy raining...for the last three hours. I went to a meeting for my government internship and my supervisor commented on how miserable it all was; she said this normally happens throughout November (it's the Irish winter weather) and into December. November was pretty mild, though, and I guess the winter is really beginning now.

The sun normally goes down about 4:30 here, but it's looked like it is 8 or 9 at night for the past hour. It's really dark!

For some reason, I'm not struck with misery by this weather. It has kind of put me into a good mood...I think I just am laughing at myself for being taken off-guard by normal Irish weather, and (here's my shout-out to Andy), I don't have any rain pants to keep my legs dry if I ever have to go out in this again. Oh well.

As for now, I am approximately halfway through the end of my term at UCC; I have written about 8,000 of the 15,000 words I need for my various different essays (I have a government paper done, I'm basically finished with my internship report, and I have two history essays at 4,000 a pop to keep me busy through the weekend). I also completed my written exam in Irish this morning (and can I just say, my Irish teacher is amazing! He should have been my professor for EVERYTHING in Ireland). I have my oral exam with him tomorrow, which I hear is not as scary as it might sound (does speaking in Irish to a native speaker scare anyone else? Ya, it kind of freaks me out, too).

Needless to say, I'm on the down slope. I should be completely finished early next week, and will have some time to just kick back and say my goodbyes to Cork friends before Elizabeth, Bri, and I head to Italy for five days. And then, within a week of being back from Italia, I'll be on my way home...arriving in Denver in the late afternoon of Christmas Eve. This gives whole new meaning to that song "I'll be Home for Christmas."

I love Ireland, but man, I'm ready to be home and to see my friends and my family, especially my mom! It's been a long six months away (with the two week stint in Denver), and I'm kind of ready for the home routine again. I think the holidays play into that feeling, and I know by February I'll be aching to flex those travel muscles again. Still, in this moment, I'm excited for home.

In the meantime, I'll just swim my way to and from campus, and hunker down to the sounds of rain and wind to finish those papers. Here goes.

~MJ