Killarney

Greetings!
Where to start... work is amazing! Getting to talk with the kids about their project and their perceptions is very eye-opening. I have been learning so much about the culture... learning to live in a foreign city is intense... culturally and mentally... everything. Its all too much to try to put into words for a blog, I feel...
At the moment I am freezing my ass off because my feet got wet today in the rain and I can't get warm... will be taking a scalding shower as soon as I get done writing this.
Last week we went to The Last Days of A Reluctant Tyrant at the famous Abbey Theatre. It was so well done, so fabulous... my new favorite play (formerly Les Mis). An older woman of course played the lead, and the writer wrote the script specifically for this actress... what an amzing choice. She was totally captivating, and held the stage for her final monologue for what felt like 20 min. I was completely absorbed... she was incredible. Very glad for the excursion!
This weekend Camille and I went to Killarney. We had big plans to see castles and gardens and lakes, oh my! However, it pissed rain on us for most of Friday and Saturday so we didn't get to. The town was beautiful regardless of the rain, and when the sun would make an appearance, it was really wonderful. The town is small, pretty and clean, very community oriented... we saw pretty much the same people both nights we went out and met some really nice folk everywhere we went. The hostel was beautiful... the rooms were very hostel-like, but the building was an old 18th century mansion and it was fabulous. See pictures of the weekend!: http://picasaweb.google.com/enger.emily/Ireland71713?feat=directlink
We didn't sleep Saturday night, and the sun came out in all its glory on Sunday morning. One of the hostel employees graciously led us up a hill behind the mansion that came out into an open field that overlooked all of Killarney, the town, the lakes, the mountains, everything. It was breathtaking, and the epitome of my reason for wanting to come to Ireland. The pictures are in that link as well :)
During all this, I have been thinking a lot about my Ph.D. and intentions for that... and have realized that I really need to just step back for a awhile and breathe. I don't need a Ph.D. right now... being that I can't figure out exactly what I want to be doing in 20 years anyway. I've been going to school nonstop since I was 5...so I'm thinking I should calm down for a bit. And paint in my spare time instead of having no spare time. The art galleries in Killarney were fabulous, and it reminded me that I should be doing that. So now my thoughts are starting to revolve around what kind of job I want to get after graduation and the end of my current contract with the City. Arts/music? Yes. Nonprofit? Yes. Fundraising/event planning? No. Policy/Advocacy? Yes. Marketing? Maybe. Education? Yes. If anyone has any ideas or knows of anything... please share. For now, I'm still exhausted and freezing... so off to shower and bed :)

Cheers,
EM