A Break for Contemplation

Without anything significant happening since I returned from the Midlands, and with a big few days coming ahead, I figured it would be a good time to do some reflection and synthesis of the experience thus far. And without a coherent structure in mind, this post takes the form of bullet points.

• The weather has been worse than I expected, though it shows signs of improving. Rain comes down in small sessions, sometimes to the extent that we'd call "pouring," but mostly in a calm showers. As I understand it, at least from the cabdrivers, Limerick is undergoing a particularly nasty spell of showers.

• Ireland's youth seem to be in striking contrast with their elders on views of religion. Stephen said that many kids his age and younger don't frequently attend church; the service Richard and I went to, consisting almost entirely of people 50 and over, only reinforced this. I noticed large pictures—the traditional "Sacred Heart of Jesus" portraits—hanging up both in Dean Freel's house and in Mrs. King's house.

• The people have been extraordinarily nice. Everyone whom we've asked directions from, or who we've met—Stephen's relatives, the dean of the Limerick law school, random people in pubs—have been pretty universally courteous.

• Ireland follows UK spellings (i.e., "colour" and "dramatise"). In case you're a nerd like me. Guess I never really thought that they wouldn't—I hadn't thought much about it at all.

• Everything has been more expensive than I would have thought. Not extremely expensive—it's still probably cheaper than England—but not as cheap as one would have thought for a country that has just recently gained first-world status. Professor Eaton chalks up some of the increased cost to rising property values, but the simple fact that the EU supposedly possesses a large "free market" of goods doesn't seem to be having the desired result of driving down goods costs.

• The food has been fantastic. The best meal I probably have had, outside of Stephen's grandmother's fantastic Sunday feast, was at a restaurant in downtown Limerick last week—I had salmon (cooked, not smoked) over a plate of uniquely flavored noodles. The salmon was incredibly flavorful and different. Pepper sauce, ubiquitous on the island, is also fantastic—especially on a steak sandwich. We've tried both Burger King (they still have the Big King!) and McDonald's, with the former in much better shape than the latter. Subways, also, seem to be everywhere.

• Irish politics, is, not surprisingly, rabidly anti-Bush. Ahern seems reasonably popular, but not divine.

Well, that's all for now. Tomorrow we're taking cabs up to Killaloe, a beautiful lake not far from Limerick, for an EU law lecture. Friday we journey to the Cliffs of Moher for a day trip; when we return, I plan on seeing "A Midsummer Night's Dream" at King John's Castle. Saturday morning, I think, Richard and I are planning on taking the bus/train to Cork, probably staying all day Saturday, overnight, and then returning Sunday.