Sitting on top of the world

Tonight was unexpectedly awesome, so despite the fact that I have ages and ages of adventures and blogging to catch up on (I really have been awful at keeping up with this blog recently), I want to write about it instead.

I got home from my week-long trip to Italy last night (Wednesday). It was an extraordinary trip. I spent 4 days in Florence and 3 in Venice. I definitely was not ready to return to Cork. Not to say that I don’t like Cork, but rather that I met so many awesome people when in Italy, and right now Cork is just… kind of lonely? Both of my flatmates have gone back to the States, so I’m all alone in my flat. Without anyone here to motivate me/to interact with, and without any classes or reasons to go out and do stuff, I kind of just find myself sitting around the flat, going online, watching TV, etc. And especially in the 24 hours after I got back from Italy, I found myself getting more and more lonely, depressed, and homesick – for family, friends, Reed, and Portland.

Anyway, around 8pm this evening I decided that I really needed to get out of the apartment. Especially since I had very little food left and really wanted some veggies (not something that you eat a lot of when you are on a budget & traveling). So I headed off to Tesco. The weather was utterly beautiful – sunny & warmer than it has been the whole time I’ve been here (i.e. above 15 C/60 F). The sun doesn’t set until around 9:30, and it’s not completely dark until after 10pm.

I walked along the river over towards Tesco, enjoying the weather and being outside. As I came to Oliver Plunkett (a street running through the center of Cork) I heard some awesome music. There were three guys playing really good bluegrass-y type music; one on mandolin, one on fiddle, and one on guitar – they also were singing, with very good harmony. A sign said that they were from Portland, Maine USA. I stood and listened for a little, then continued to Tesco. Got my shopping done very quickly, and hurried back to where they were playing. I stood on the street corner and listened to them for another half an hour, and I talked with them some in between songs (when you’re traveling/in a foreign country, it’s really wonderful to talk with someone who has the same accent you have!). They had come to Dublin about a week ago, I think, and they were planning on spending the summer making their way through Europe busking.  I didn’t have any money on me, other than my debit card. So when they were done and gathering up their stuff I said “hey, I don’t know if you’ve had dinner yet or if you’re hungry, but I’m was going to head home to cook dinner, and I would love to cook you dinner if you’d like.” So it was that I brought 3 musicians from Portland, Maine back to my apartment in Cork, Ireland, and fed them dinner! Obviously, it turned out to be a fantastic evening, way better than I expected!

With Tricky Britches, of Portland, Maine USA: Seth, Tyler, Me, and Jed

I have to say, I think that before two months ago, I would never, ever have had the self-confidence or courage to do something like this – just invite 3 strangers into my home and cook dinner. That’s definitely something I’ve gained from my traveling – much more self-confidence, particularly with interacting with new people. Because when you travel alone everyone you meet is a stranger, and if you don’t just introduce yourself and start talking you’re going to have a really, really lonely time of it. It’s also amazing the kinds of adventures you can have and people you can meet, if you just open yourself up to it. Life can be so crazy, but so good.

Anyway, time for bed – I really do need to study tomorrow for my last exam, so I should get some sleep and get up at a decent hour. I swear I will write all about my traveling adventures and post pictures soon – I really will, I promise! But not right now.

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