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Published: July 24th 2015
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Phoenix Park
Micah with the giant cross The Irish folk really do use the word craic (pronounced crack) a lot and I definitely started using it every day language. Being my last full week in Dublin, I made sure to have a ton of awesome craic every day! At the beginning of the week I met Micah and Salvador at the stop by their work and we went to Phoenix Park. Thankfully the sun cleared up and we were able to walk from the front entrance to the huge cross. There were many bunnies twice as big as American bunnies. The animals here are all a bit larger than back home! We tried to catch one, but none of us were fast or quiet enough. I walked the guys over to the giant cross where we sat at the top of the grass hill staring at the incredible view of the city. The boys ate their sandwiches I made them as a post-work, pre-dinner snack when Micah and I started talking about childhood memories. When I was little, my parents would take us children, cardboard boxes, and snacks to a huge hill. They flattened the boxes and we would sit on them, holding on tightly as we slid
down smiling from ear to ear. Other times we, like every other child, roll down the grass hills. So Micah and I, two grown twenty year-olds, decided to roll down the hill! We raced and attempted to stand up at the bottom of the hill each time. We didn't do it once, but five or six times. Salvador stayed at the top of the hill laughing hysterically at our dizzy selves. After we couldn't handle the dizziness anymore, we headed back to the city as spotted two deers with giant pairs of antlers! We were much quieter walking through the grass than we were with the bunnies and were able to get really close. They were so elegant and peaceful grazing through the fields.
On Tuesday, my roommates and I went to see Once the musical at the Olympia Theatre. I haven't seen the movie, but I've fallen in love with the soundtrack! We restrained from singing along because people who do that, just no. The musical is about a Irish man who is just about to give up on his love for music when he meets a Czech woman who helps him rediscover his passion. The show is
Last Day at PALS Preschool
Play and Language School was an unforgettable internship unlike any other I've seen because every single one of the actors and actresses play an instruments. There were guitars, banjos, drums, violins, and cellos. I loved it. LOVED it. I want to write about it so much more, but I know I'll end up spoiling everything.
I took the day off work on Wednesday to hike Sugarloaf mountain which is in Wicklow about an hour and a half away form my apartment. As my luck has it, it rained all day on Wednesday, so Emily and I went to Dun Laoghaire one last time instead! We got a snack and for the hour of the day it was sunny, we sat on the edge of the sidewalk, feet dangling over the water, with the view of the lighthouse and the Irish flag waving in the wind. We weren't going to let the rain stop us from hiking at least a little bit so we climbed around the rocks of The Forty Foot area. The coast is amazing to hike along. I know I've talked about it a lot in different blog posts, but it really is different every time in each city and mountain. I can't get over
Jameson Whiskey Tasting
Brittney, Ben and I, and our good friend Whiskey neat the views! After spending the day there, we went to the Temple Bar Night Market. It was filled with artists of all different types and many of them reminded me of the art from Austin. I miss the art of my city. The graffiti, the music, the street art; Dublin is a little piece of home.
Thursday is when Brittney and Ben flew in to town! I was at work all day and they went to explore after they napped. I planned their entire day for them so they wouldn't have to think with the jetlag from the flight. I know the feel, so I wanted them to have the most relaxing welcome possible! I met them at The Little Museum of Dublin around half seven. From there, I took them on a quick tour of the city center and was able to show them the Dublin nightlife. We had a nice evening at Madigan's where Ben drank his first Irish Guiness! There was an Austrian couple sitting next to us that gave us a lesson on the best of the best Irish Whiskey. Friday afternoon we explored around Parnell and the markets around there and went to the
Jameson distillery where Brittney and Ben did the tour and afterwards we tasted many different whiskey drinks. Then, we headed to Beshoffs for fish and chips for dinner because you can't leave Ireland without a proper fish and chips meal! It definitely lived up to the hype. Lastly, to end our night and time in Dublin, we chilled at The Brazen Head. It is the oldest pub in Ireland which dates all the way back to the 11th century. One room's walls were decorated with cash from customers all of the world, another decorated with pictures of famous customers and vinyl records. We watched the sunset on our way home and headed to bed before midnight for our big travels in the morning.
The best craic I had all week was at work. But first, we worked really hard during all therapy sessions helping the little turkeys accomplish as much as possible. They were so good and attentive. I think they knew it was the last week as well. Thursday was the highlight of the work week! It was one of the boys' 5th birthday celebration along with the end of year party. This means that mom brought a
Dublin Bus
You know you've had a fantastic day when you fall asleep on the bus ride home Harbio cake topped with loads of jellies (gummies). On top of that, the staff brought cakes, cookies, candies... oh man. Everyone was on a sugar rush. There are specially made sensory headphones for some of the kids and we, the staff, definitely contemplated wearing them. The noise and the craziness was worth every ear-to-ear smile of the four and five year-olds that couldn't stay still for more than 15 seconds. At the end of the day we gave the parents the graduation photos and hand print artwork made by their children. It was emotional for the families and staff even though it wasn't the very last day. Friday we went to Imagination, the children's museum of Dublin. The children and the staff had a blast! It's a three story, interactive museum that has loads of everything you can think of. It has an outside garden, miniature bank, grocery store, news station, music room, etc. I think the staff was more excited than the kids.
It's bittersweet that my internship has come to an end. I will not miss the commute. I will not miss the crowdedness of the office during lunch hour. I will not miss the loudness of 12 children bouncing off the walls. I will miss the laughs while sharing stories with Tiffany and Caitlyn all 3 hours of the commute to and from work. I will miss my friends who started out as only coworkers, and the crazy lunches that started out as quiet 30 minute breaks where I made small talk. I will miss the smiles, the hugs, and the running from 12 happy children.
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