It has been 6 days since I left my beautiful family in London and started traveling with my wonderful mother in Ireland. We spent two days in London town, which consisted of going to the National Gallery and seeing two shows. I loved seeing the familiar works of all the artists I have grown to love on this trip. Caravaggio, Monet, van Eyck and the like. The first show we saw was Wicked, which was absolutely incredible. Best voices I have ever heard in my life. It was the kind of show you find yourself thinking of days and days after you’ve seen it. The second was Jersey Boys. I knew it was a popular show, but I never assumed it was they type of show that 2,000 Brits would go crazy over… I mean they were just 60’s American pop-stars (nothing compared to their own bands like The Beatles or the Rolling Stones if I’m being generous). I seriously thought that these women I was sitting behind were going to take their tops off for these actors (actors- not even the real Four Seasons). Audience members on all sides of me were clapping to 5 different beats to every single song. It was just ridiculous. But nonetheless, still a good show.
Though I rarely ever needed to navigate while I was on Europe Semester, I have realized during this week how much better I am at it now that I have been on that trip. But I suppose the only thing to do with my directional challenges was to improve (I was pretty damn awful). I think the next four months will be an adventure just discovering the ways my European adventures have shaped me. There are the stereotypical changes of being more globally minded, seeing other religions in a new light, and having the Bible ‘come alive’ in Israel etc etc. Now those are all things we could all use transformation in, but I am not altogether sure that those will be my changes. I would like to think of myself as somewhere outside those boundaries of learning. I will like to sit hear and wait for those changes to unravel into some kind of mess that will be my new self. We are always a beautiful mess though aren’t we?
After London we flew to Dublin. We briefly explored the city and traveled to the Cliffs of Moher, small cities on the west coast, as well as Glendilough and the surrounding countryside. Last night I had the pleasure of meeting up with two of my friends from Europe Semester and getting drinks with them in Temple Bar- the last Euro Sem reunion in Europe ever.
I have wanted to see the hillsides of Ireland for many years now. Before I knew that green was my favorite color even, ha. It’s as beautiful as you would think. It’s as beautiful and peaceful as you’ve seen it portrayed. And isn’t that nice to know?
We stayed in a great hostel in downtown Dublin. Lucas who worked there was from Bakersfield and had in the last 10 years been to 65 countries. That is not the lifestyle for me. I have met so many people with that itch for travel: the more countries to scratch it the better. But I love the comfort of a home and the ease of being near those I love. I do not need distance or new food or strange languages to make me feel free or alive. The wind outside my door is enough for that. I merely long to see great mountains, long reaching meadows, tall forests, low, slow moving rivers, and fields of flowers. Lord willing I will one day settle down near to these and traveling to them will be no longer necessary.
But until that day, I will journey to places like Montana, Wyoming, Maine, the Great Smokey Mountains of the South, the Rockies of Colorado, and the Wicklow Mountains of this here Ireland. And I will be satisfied in their beauty.
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