Shoe Puddles or Tales of the Waterlogged

It rained. All day. Which would have been fine, aside from the fact that we had taken a bus to the beautiful coastal town of Kinsale to spend a day walking around, shopping, and taking in the scenery. The sad thing is that every other time it's rained, it's gotten sunny again within an hour. Not today. No, it rained and rained, and the wind managed to break two of the four separate umbrellas we acquired during the day. My Irish language teacher was telling us that we will be spending an inordinate amount of time learning to talk about the weather for the simple reason that Irish people spend an inordinate amount of time talking about the weather. "They're obsessed," he said, and I believe it. Coming to Ireland, we expect rain, and it's not much of a shock, or even much of a disappointment. But it seems people here are so attached to those sunny days that it's a slap in the face each time it pours again.

But Kinsale... Yes, it was a really beautiful little town with a little beautiful graveyard where I took mediocre pictures and was disappointed with myself. I suppose the shops might have been a bit more fun if we hadn't been squishing our way through them, but honestly, it was just something to do and a new place to see. Because after spending a couple of months here, "authentic Irish goods" aren't quite as thrilling as they once were. But it was nice, and I imagine Eric and I will go back on a nice day to take some nice photos and walk along the pier. Unfortunately, however, we're all sick, and as I may have mentioned, it was raining, so we headed home to order pizza and watch the Office before our big excursion to London tomorrow. LONDON! We're going to see Wicked on Thursday and tour Stonehenge on Friday. I feel mildly as if I'm betraying my people, because even though they claim not to harbor any ill-will towards the English, I'm willing to bet there are one or two who would have something to say about that. I guess we know where my priorities lie. Musicals can really force me to betray any number of moral inclinations.