Hello Ireland!

         After three flights and two hours of sleep, we arrived in Shannon Ireland!! Our plane landed in Shannon at 6:30am (1:30 am in Grand Rapids). My first encounter with an “Irishmen” was at customs. I asked the customs official how she was and her response was “Pass.” I was so confused because I had already given her my passport and my customs letter and did not know what she was referring to. Despite my blank and confused stare she said “Pass” again. I had to ask what she was referring to and she explained that “pass” meant she did not want to answer my question! I quickly realized that although English is spoken here, the manner in which people speak and the phrases they use are very different!

          After we all made it through customs and got our luggage, we all boarded a bus and headed to Tully Cross, a three hour journey. We stopped in Galway for about ½ an hour to stretch our legs and look around. We saw Kennedy Park, named after JFK, the bus stop, and the tourism center. We were given time to walk around and I went to a local coffee shop and had my first cup of Irish Tea. From Galway, we got back on the bus and drove for another hour before stopping for lunch. Lunch was at a cute little restaurant where we were served sandwiches, soup and crisps (what we call chips). After lunch we had one more hour left to go before we arrived in Tully Cross!

The view of Connemara as we drove to Tully Cross

          The drive into Tully Cross is beautiful and at the same time very hard to describe because any description or picture I provide will not do any justice to the Irish landscape. The landscape around Shannon is what you think of when you try and picture Ireland, the rolling green hills with sheep and cows roaming around. The houses are close together and well populated. The road that we took was very narrow and there is no such thing as a shoulder on the roads. The trees and houses are right next to the road and as we drove by I felt like I could reach out and touch the trees and the cows/sheep in the pastures. It is very different to be on the opposite side of the road and I kept thinking that we were going to crash with the oncoming traffic because I thought we were on their side of the road! The roads are narrow and winding so for those with motion sickness it’s not a fun journey. 

 After lunch the scenery completely changed. It went from rolling hills to bog land and steep mountains. The houses became sporadic and very far apart from each other. As we were getting closer to Tully Cross, our bus driver Owen told us “take a good look at the houses, this is the last time you will be seeing civilization for a while.”  Sheep are everywhere and take the shape of little white fluff balls on the slopes of the mountains. They are all spray painted so the owners know which of the sheep belong to them. It was such a surreal experience because I have never seen anything more beautiful. On the way we stopped and took a picture of Kylemore Abbey and to take in the surroundings.

The Welcome Sign

          Tully Cross is gorgeous; it is so weird to finally be in the place that I have been looking at in pictures for the last few months. Our backyard is a beautiful view of the surrounding mountains and also we can see the Atlantic Ocean. When you walk into our cottage you walk right into the living room which has a couch, two chairs, our dining room table and a fire place. There is a stair case which leads to the upstairs loft, where I am sleeping. Attached to the living room is our kitchen which is very small and narrow. Off of the kitchen is our bathroom and two bedrooms. I am absolutely in love with our cottage and feel so familiar already.

          I had my next Irish encounter when I went across the street to attempt to use my phone card and call home. I went into the pub and since no one was behind the counter, I went up to a table of three local women and asked them where the telephone was. As soon as they heard my accent they all smiled and were extremely kind and pointed me in the direction of the phone. As I was leaving, one of the women said to me “You’re welcome.” I was so embarrassed because I thought that maybe I had forgotten to say thank you. I stopped in my tracks and as I turned around to say how sorry I was that I did not say thank you, the woman said that she meant I was welcome in Tully Cross and in Ireland. Once again I was duped by Irish phrases.  

Once we moved our luggage from the bus and into our cottage, we unpacked for a little while and then headed to Tully, about a ten minute walk from the cottages where we stopped at the gas station and grabbed some food for dinner and breakfast. As a cottage we cooked pasta and vegetables and had our first Cottage 9 dinner. We do not have immediate hot water, in order for our cottage to have hot water, we have to turn on the hot water heater and it takes about 15 minutes to heat up also in the shower we have a hot water heater in the shower and we have to set the temperature we would like the water at and hit start (it will definitely take some getting used to).

          After dinner we unpacked some more and played a quick game of Bananagrams and then headed across the street to Sammons Pub to meet the locals. The first person we met was Patrick Sammon, the owner of the pub. He was very welcoming and loved to chat us all up. We also met Brian Coyne the owner of the other pub two doors down. Everyone I have met so far has been so nice and welcoming, I feel as though I have already been here for a long time. After going out for a bit last night, I went home and slept for about 11 hours and ended the extreme exhaustion and am now on Ireland time.

A street in Clifden with the church in the background on the left

          We woke up this morning had breakfast and then got on a bus and went to Clifden, a “big” town nearby, which was about a 15 minute ride. We had three hours to walk around and go grocery shopping. We stopped in a local shop and got a map of Ireland as well as a few postcards and from there went to lunch. We ate at this cute sandwich shop called “Upstairs Downstairs.” After lunch the five girls of cottage 9 went grocery shopping. We stocked up on potatoes, fruits and vegetables, milk, eggs and ingredients for soup and spaghetti. We also bought a ham and chicken pie which we are going to cook in a little bit for dinner.

          After Clifden we returned to Tully Cross and had our first class which was a quick overview to our Irish Culture class. A few of us are now in the study cottage, the only place where we get internet talking to family and friends and journaling. There is an eery fog that has settled today and it visibility is very limited.Tonight at 9:00 a dart team from the town over, Letterfrak, is coming to Sammons Pub to battle the Tully Cross dart team at Sammons pub. I have never been to a dart competition before and I am very interested to see what it is like.

          We are taking a walking tour on Friday and classes are beginning tomorrow.  I am having such an amazing time already and cannot wait for the days to come!