Ireland

A couple of girls and I went to Ireland for St. Patrick's Day. It was very different from being in the US! First of all we realized just how we have taken that holiday and made it into an excuse to drink! Yes, they drink over there as well, but not like we do. It is mostly beer...no shots, no drinking for the sole purpose of getting drunk.

The day started off with the St. Patty's Day Parade, which was exciting because we saw many university bands from the US marching, such as University of Arizona, and University of Texas. It was actually nice to see the American flag because by this point it had been about 2 months since we left and we had not really been reminded of home much. Once the parade was over we toured the Dublin Castle, and then proceeded to tour the Guinness Factory. The showed how beer was made, as well as free beers throughout the whole building. Once we reached the top we were able to pour our own beer, and got a certificate that says "I poured the perfect pint!" One of my favorite pictures from over there is a picture of me in a bright green shirt (we all got matching ones made) that said "trust me, i'm a teacher" and I am holding a rather large beer. It is even funnier if you know me, because you know that I do not drink very often at all, so just seeing me with a drink is amusing.

Once we left there we proceeded to tour the Jameson Factory to find out how Whiskey is made. That was a very interesting experience as well. I enjoyed learning about that! We got free samples again along the way, however as I said I do not drink often, and straight whiskey is not my choice of a drink, so I stuck my tongue in, but that was about it. I poured the rest away.

This was probably one of my favorite trips while we were over there. Ireland is beautiful, although I have heard that Dublin is not even the best place to visit. I would like to go back and see the rest of the country at some point in time!