First we had the Royal visit from Queen Elizabeth II which was incredibly monumental as an English monarch has not visited Ireland in 100 years and the two countries have had a very turbulent history. For the most part, I gathered, that many people were happy about her visit and she was well received. In some ways I suppose her visit was meant to be a symbol of piece and unity. There were, however, protests against her visit which resulted in a few skirmishes with the Garda as reportedly rocks and "missiles" were thrown and some false alarm bomb threats. Fortunately no one was hurt and I think the Queen left with a positive impressions of Ireland.
Next President Obama came to visit! To see me of course, and then he was polite enough to say hello to everyone else. It was wonderful to see that he was so popular here. He gave a speech in the centre of town near Trinity College, at least 30,000 people came to see him and had to wait in line for hours to get through security, braving the wind and rain, I was one of them. While I was only able to see him from a large portable screen that was put up I was very glad to be there. Everyone was wearing red, white and blue and waving American flags which was a bit surreal. Obama's speech was great and I think between the Queen and his visit there is a new sense of patriotism for the Irish which has been greatly needed during this dark recession. It felt good to be an American in Dublin as Obama reminded us in his words, "There has always been a little green behind the red, white and blue."
On Sunday I took the bus to Kilmacanogue, Co. Wicklow to climb what is called the Great Sugarloaf, a small mountain at 1,644 feet high. First I missed my stop and had to get off at the next one where I got a local bus with a sympathetic driver who took me back in the general direction I was meant to go and the dropped me off where I could walk to the town. After finally reaching Kilmacanogue I referred to the directions in my guide book on how to get to the trailhead, however, the directions were vague and stated I should walk along a small road opposite the church. I easily found the church but all the roads surrounding it were small, as this is Ireland after all. Finally I chose the narrowest of roads which seemed to be going in the direction of the Sugarloaf and walked to the end of it where I found a small trail. There were these yellow wildflowers blossoming everywhere and the air was thick with their sweet, nectary smell. As I climbed higher I could see the town of Bray and the Dublin Bay. Then my little trail disappeared and I was left picking my way through bogs and nettles until I finally found a rocky trail again. Though it is not a particularly big peak, as I got closer to the top the slopes became incredibly rocky and steep and the winds were viscous. The last bit requires you to climb up the rocks in order to get to the very top. It was well worth it, the view was spectacular. I could see Dublin Bay down to the Wicklow coast and behind me the the Wicklow mountains and fields of green. As I climbed down I missed the little trail again and found myself walking through someone's farm, there were some nice horses and sheep who started making a lot of noise. Oops! If only a handsome farmer had come to my rescue. Alas, no, for as dramatic as my life may seem at times it is not the stuff of Hollywood films. Fortunately I made my way back to the road and safely onto the bus to Dublin! Whew.
Last night I had the last class with one of the community drama groups I have been working with. It was bittersweet, but I am very proud of the work they have done and I hope they enjoyed it as much as I have. Hopefully I will have the chance to work with some of them again in the fall when their class resumes.
Well, that's the weekly report! Over and out.
