Sorry it's taken me so long to post! We had a test this week (yeah, I forgot I was here for school too) so I decided that I should dedicate some time to that. I'm always surprised with how smart Tech students are. I start getting to know people and they're goofy and fun, and then all of the sudden we're studying and they go into serious mode and whip out crazy knowledge that makes me question how I'm at the same school as them. It's cool.
Anywho, Friday night in Enniscorthy proved to be the definition of a non-touristy experience. Victoria and I arrived at the b&b to be greeted by Kenneth, our host (see below picture. He's the one with the video camera). I thought he was a mute when we first walked up, but after he had guided us upstairs to our bedroom (literally a room with a bed), he greeted us. He was nice, but the whole time I was thinking about what an adventure the night would be when we got to be characters in a real life horror story. After he had given us the tour, Victoria and I sat in our room and decided we were only staying if a) we had a solid escape plan (jump out the window onto a tree and use it to break our fall. We were only 2 stories up) and b) if we could find a way to barricade our door (we did, there was also a chair in our room). I promise I'm making this sound more sketchy than it actually was, but this is the product of 2 girls traveling by themselves for the first time and not wanting to disappoint all the people who had told them to be extra careful.
After we had carefully mapped our escape route, we headed out to the city for the Opening Ceremony of the 7th annual "Music and Dance Street Festival". It was Victoria's birthday weekend, so we wanted to celebrate by going to a cool festival in the heart of Ireland. An hour later, all we had found in our exploration of the town (it had about 3 main streets) was a fast food restaurant with milkshakes. As we were finishing up, we heard tambourines playing from outside. We excitedly got up to see the parade that would kick off the festival, and we see what reminded me of my high school's homecoming parade, just with participants ages 8-75. I saw Mickey, some Not very believable Disney Princess, and baby bop riding in the back of a convertible. This was followed by 3-4 groups of what looked like community theater groups. The walkers were laughing and talking with each other as they beat their tambourines off beat and walked to the central square. It was about then that we realized that we'd come to Enniscorthy for a community gathering rather than a cultural festival. The night continued with a cheesy announcer, a couple of performances by the groups, and the announcement of Baby Bop's birthday party tomorrow at the castle. We headed home when it started drizzling and all the kids had just gotten called onto the state to "break a world record" of the world's biggest hokey pokey.
All that being said, I'm REALLY glad it's how we spent our Friday night. It was cool to see that Ireland isn't just nice people pretty scenery, and good Guinness. It has communities that are trying to engage their embers and youth. It has parents who are supporting their kids in doing ridiculous things because that's what you do when you're a kid. I ended up just sitting and people watching for out of the festival, and it was so cool to see the way a community functioned outside of what's put on for tourists. I probably wouldn't say it's a critical thing to see if you're thinking about coming to Ireland, but it was a really cool experience, and the fact that it was slightly sketchy will make it a story that we continue to tell when we get home.
We went to Cork on Saturday and were graciously hosted by Sarah, one of the girls my sorority. More on that next post!!
Anywho, Friday night in Enniscorthy proved to be the definition of a non-touristy experience. Victoria and I arrived at the b&b to be greeted by Kenneth, our host (see below picture. He's the one with the video camera). I thought he was a mute when we first walked up, but after he had guided us upstairs to our bedroom (literally a room with a bed), he greeted us. He was nice, but the whole time I was thinking about what an adventure the night would be when we got to be characters in a real life horror story. After he had given us the tour, Victoria and I sat in our room and decided we were only staying if a) we had a solid escape plan (jump out the window onto a tree and use it to break our fall. We were only 2 stories up) and b) if we could find a way to barricade our door (we did, there was also a chair in our room). I promise I'm making this sound more sketchy than it actually was, but this is the product of 2 girls traveling by themselves for the first time and not wanting to disappoint all the people who had told them to be extra careful.
After we had carefully mapped our escape route, we headed out to the city for the Opening Ceremony of the 7th annual "Music and Dance Street Festival". It was Victoria's birthday weekend, so we wanted to celebrate by going to a cool festival in the heart of Ireland. An hour later, all we had found in our exploration of the town (it had about 3 main streets) was a fast food restaurant with milkshakes. As we were finishing up, we heard tambourines playing from outside. We excitedly got up to see the parade that would kick off the festival, and we see what reminded me of my high school's homecoming parade, just with participants ages 8-75. I saw Mickey, some Not very believable Disney Princess, and baby bop riding in the back of a convertible. This was followed by 3-4 groups of what looked like community theater groups. The walkers were laughing and talking with each other as they beat their tambourines off beat and walked to the central square. It was about then that we realized that we'd come to Enniscorthy for a community gathering rather than a cultural festival. The night continued with a cheesy announcer, a couple of performances by the groups, and the announcement of Baby Bop's birthday party tomorrow at the castle. We headed home when it started drizzling and all the kids had just gotten called onto the state to "break a world record" of the world's biggest hokey pokey.
All that being said, I'm REALLY glad it's how we spent our Friday night. It was cool to see that Ireland isn't just nice people pretty scenery, and good Guinness. It has communities that are trying to engage their embers and youth. It has parents who are supporting their kids in doing ridiculous things because that's what you do when you're a kid. I ended up just sitting and people watching for out of the festival, and it was so cool to see the way a community functioned outside of what's put on for tourists. I probably wouldn't say it's a critical thing to see if you're thinking about coming to Ireland, but it was a really cool experience, and the fact that it was slightly sketchy will make it a story that we continue to tell when we get home.
We went to Cork on Saturday and were graciously hosted by Sarah, one of the girls my sorority. More on that next post!!
Kenneth is the dude with the black beanie and the video camera
Our barricade!
This guy was really into it...
The directions we followed to get to the hostel. They were actually pretty accurate!
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