Well this week was a sad one because we are being sent home early. We all know that CVOID-19 has been causing harm wherever it goes and now it ended our trip. We all saw it coming being sent home but none of us thought that it was going to be this early. For our last week of classes we only had two which was our literature class and our tin whistle class which was a lot of fun. She taught us two more songs to learn and they are kind of difficult.
When we found out on Thursday that we were going home, the attitudes of everyone went down. A lot of us were sad because our experience was being taken away. We wouldn’t be able to go on our last two group trips to the southern part of the country. I got together and Dan and Marta played some music for us while we all sat there in our thoughts.
The next day I walked to Spiddal for the last time. Here I went for the first and last time into the craft village to shop. I found some souvenirs to bring home. I also went to the beach there in Spiddal for the first time and walked right along the sand brushing against the cool Atlantic Ocean. There was no rain but gray clouds held the sky hostage as the tears escaped from my eyes. That night I went with the group and we watched our last sun set together. The only issue was that the clouds held that hostage too.
We spent the weekend packing and sharing our time with one another. John Paul opened the bar Saturday night after our potluck and we had a farewell party with some of the locals. I had a really good time and everyone had some pretty good laughs. Sunday we gathered all of our belongings and loaded up on the bus at 2:45 in the morning and headed to the Dublin airport. The plane rides were okay, I started to feel sick on the descent of our first one. Our plane was delayed three and half hours because they were waiting for as many people as they could to get out of customs to make sure that families were able to be together. Due to our first delay we missed our connecting flight and had to wait until about 9:30 pm in Newark for a flight to Omaha. It was a long day but I did get to see my parents because they picked me up at the airport.
It was about one in the morning when we got there and I was so tired. Looking at this picture I look a little worn out. I was so tired and was feeling a little sad because I knew that it was really over and that I really am no longer in Ireland. This is an experience that I will never forget! I loved every minute that I was there and I could have stayed forever. I also loved the people that I was with and I hope that we all keep in touch throughout our lives.
Now that we are back we are in quarantine for 14 days. It is an interesting time that we are living in but I know that it will also be a new chapter in my life.
I hope one day I can return to Ireland and maybe do things that I missed out on and see more of the country. #Ireland2020.
Journey To Ireland 2020 