Let's start with Friday. Well, it was a blast. Sara was lucky enough to get two free tickets to the Republic of Ireland's first World Cup 2014 qualifier match. Thankfully she brought me with her! To our surprise, when we got to the field, we had front row seats! Right on the goal line. It was such an experience, unlike any other. The crowd was full of energy, the team played so well and Sara and I got to experience it first hand. Ireland won that game three to "nil" and we got to see two of the goals scored on our end of the field. That was fantastic. I have not been so passionate or enthused for a game or a goal in some time. It sent chills down my back.
Then Saturday we went on a preplanned trip with EUSA. They took us on a bus tour to New Grange. Before visiting New Grange we visited two other sites. One was of historical ruins in the country side of Ireland. These ruins were over 5,000 years old. The fact that there is still structure and parts of these buildings still standing strong baffles me. I love how old everything is in Ireland, gives me much more of an appreciation for history.
We ended our trip at New Grange which was fantastic. It is this above ground tomb. Basically there is one corridor that leads to the middle of the tomb and all around is land that is filled with the remains of mostly family members of who built this tomb. It's magnificent because when you look at it it just looks like a large hill, with some sort of wall on it. The wall is only recently put up to help preserve the tomb. But this tomb has been in place for thousands of years now. It was built with a roof opening that faces the sunrise and that on the day of the Solstice, December 21, the sun will light up the inside of this tomb for approximately 17 minutes. Once the sun passes this placement the tomb will not be lit inside again for another year. Luckily, they have lights throughout the tomb for tourist accommodation, therefore we got to go inside the tomb and experience it. Everything about this monument was astonishing. How they were able to build such a structure without all the tools we have today is beyond me. I wish everyone could experience this monument, it really makes you wonder and reflect on history itself, what went on before our time. INCREDIBLE.
Sunday we took a trip to Bray. Bray is just a city on the coast outside of Dublin. It is stunning. We were able to take a hike up to the top of a extremely high hill. This hill is on the edge of the coast so when we made it to the top it was beautiful because you were looking out onto the ocean at one side, the town on another and the hills of Ireland on another. It's so hard to describe the beauty of Sunday. My favorite part was getting to the top of the hill, sitting on the edge, looking out over the ocean and just being silent. It was like the world stopped moving and I was at peace with everything. I hope everyone gets to experience that feeling once in their life. I give thanks to mother nature for that feeling. It's crazy how something so constant and always there can make you feel so at peace if you just let it and if you just embrace it. Just through that one day of hiking, I learned more about myself and the world than I have in quite some time.
I am in love with this country. End of story. I have been here for two weeks and I have already learned more about myself than I have in the past three years of college. I hope that everyone gets to experience this feeling and this realization like I have. Thank you to everyone who has supported me so far. You all are making this trip even more worth it.
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