An Update from Ireland

It's incredibly hard to feel inspired to write a good post while glancing at the daunting pile of critical essays I should be reading. Still, I am staring at these pages in a computer cluster at NUI Galway...

Ireland is as wonderful as it always has been and the Irish are as fun as I hope they always will be. While I wouldn't want to live here, there's no doubt in my mind that I'd choose to visit Ireland before almost any other place in the world. I have yet to find a place as great as this tiny island-off-an-island-off-the-coast-of-Europe.

Even when the Irish fulfil all stereotypes of being light-hearted and fun they are still shockingly well-informed and perceptive. Their sharp wit can be suddenly reigned in as serious debates about National Identity (intentionally capitalized) capture the interest of the room. The most unassuming people will constantly surprise you with their detailed knowledge of Irish history and their incredible insights into current events.

In my opinion, Ireland is a very particular type of woman. On the outside she is the perfect hostess -known for her talents in music and for the quality of the food and drinks she serves. Her beauty leaves visitors in awe and her welcoming charm ensures that her house is always full of guests. However, there is a side to her that visitors never get to see. Her life has been full of struggles and sorrows as she has seen her possessions seized and her children killed or force to flee and, even within her own home, her children at arms with each other.  Beneath her smiles and graces she is a woman of amazing strength and perseverance and hardly any of her visitors will ever know it.