Trailing Off....: A Real Summer: Dublin 2013

The Ha'penny Bridge over the River Liffey

The autumnal equinox has passed and soon winter will tighten its cold grey fist around the days. I can’t believe I’ve been here three months. An entire season. It feels like just yesterday I stepped off a plane from India wobbly stomached and frazzled, unsure even how to be in an English speaking country. And yet, simultaneously, it feels that I’ve always been in this city.

The Spire on Henry Street and O'Connell early morning

The summer of 2013 wasn’t just special for me but for the entire Irish population. Record number of days of sunshine and hot temperatures inspired the pastiest of citizens to clad themselves in beach holiday gear. Though they panted and wheezed and bemoaned their melting state (in 80 degree temps mind you), the Irish seemed aglow in contentment. Ice cream vendors and shops sprouted up everywhere and makeshift tables were brought into the streets so people could drink their pints in the sunshine. The only thing better than drinking a pint in a cozy pub on a dreary cold afternoon is drinking a pint outside a pub on a lovely sunny afternoon. The sun set at 11 and rose at 4. Everyone collectively smiled, shrugged and said, ‘What recession?’ An eternal sunshine of the rotless mind.

Outside a pub on sunny Saturday afternoon. One of those pints better be mine.

I was working much more and much sooner than I expected. Four hours a day in a windowless room with a polite but disinterested Russian teen. And hour commute each way. But it didn’t matter. The sun was out, the weather was much, much cooler than in Thailand and the deserts of India. I walked each day between train stations, loving the feel of a sweater on my skin and listening to inane conversations in English. ‘Connor, where did you get them shoes? Did someone pay you to take them out of the store? That colour!’ And the dramas of the methheads 'I swear to ya, I didn't see her. I haven't even talked to her, like. Jaysus, get off me back.'

I am rather proud that we both got work almost immediately after arriving

Stephen’s parents were so gracious to let us stay in their lovely house while they went on holiday to Turkey. So I took advantage of my short work days to explore nearby Bull Island, which I just found out this very moment is a UNESCO biosphere site. It was here that I officially fell in love with Dublin skies. Every day the sky offers up a new and beautiful cloud pattern. When I run in the morning, I look up as much as I can at the Dublin sky to see the big fluffy things drift and change capturing and tossing out the sunlight.

A completely different kind of beach than Thailand, but I love it

I think this was at about 9:30 at night. It took me forever to get used to such long days.

As I mentioned in my Thailand posts, I greatly missed the live music, cinemas, theatre, comedy clubs, etc that a typical city has to offer. Paul and Maura gave us a tickets to see Damien Dempsey perform live at Iveagh Gardens. He’s one of the most popular Irish singer/songwriters. The feel of his music and the way crowd reacted reminded me a lot of Bruce Springsteen in his prime. It was fabulous. The sun didn’t set until 10:30 and all those people were so happy to be there, drinking beers and singing along to all the songs.

Happy crowd, tipsy photographer?

Damian Dempsey in the background, dorks in the front

A truly great performance

Of course the best bits about coming ‘home’ are the people who make it home. I attended my first christening ever , which was for this little guy, Mr. Ciaran Clarke:

Jamie (godmother), Gary and Ciaran, Aoife and Sean, John (godfather)

Ciaran, Paul, and Maura

younger brother of this handsome lad, Mr. Sean Clarke.

Sean and a lolly

We had many a wonderful dinner with S's family and I felt completely welcomed and part of the family. I've been on my own in foreign lands for so long that this has been an unexpectedly great feeling.

I also was forced to take a month long course to be certified to do what I’ve been doing the last 7 years, which is teaching English as a second/foreign language. The upside of the countless hours of homework, learning ‘sessions’, and teaching practices was that I met a lot of interesting people whom I hope to stay in contact with.

I didn’t do any marathons or swim in the sea as I had planned and I never even had an ice cream cone, but it was a three months that will always bear the stamp of ‘Summer’ in my memory.