christmas with the irish

some time ago, we had the great luck of meeting amanda. amanda is an irish gal who is now living in holland. amanda saved us as we got off the bus in paraty, brazil. it being a rainy day and we, as usual, having no idea where we were going or staying for the night. she told us to follow her and the rest is history. we had even greater luck when she invited us to spend the holidays with her and her family in ireland. it is always nice to spend the holidays with a great group of people and we jumped at the opportunity. amanda and her adorable mom picked us up from the bus station. i was so excited to have the chance to ride in a car where the people drive on the opposite side of the road than we do in the states. this is something that seems pretty mundane, but it is one of my favorite things about ireland and the UK. granted, i will most likely get hit by a car, since i am not always sure which way the cars are coming from, but i just find it so fascinating!

we then headed over to her house, which is in west cork, about an hour away from the bigger city of cork. west cork is a small village, with really one main street , that houses all the local businesses. amanda's family has a huge house on quite a large plot of land, so it was like we were on a lovely holiday away from it all. we were met at the house by colin, one of amanda's younger brothers. he is a super outgoing and hilarious character. one of my favorite things about him was when he kept telling annette, "quiet you!!". this was a source of relief for me because it can get to be quite exhausting always being the one to tell her that.

on christmas eve night the family went to mass. this was my first one and although i was nervous about being struck down entering a church, i managed to pass through with no visible damage (the deterioration of my soul is apparently not on catholic god's watchlist). i wasn't really too sure what to expect, but it was in all honesty, quite nice. i do not plan on becoming a regular churchgoer or anything, but the message was nice, and i was intrigued by the ceremony of it all.

after mass we all went to a pub (i love the irish!!) and had a few beers. here is where i got to talking to amanda's other 2 brothers, evan and cormac. evan is studying theater at the uni in cork, and had just played jason in medea, one of my favorite greek tragedies. i loved talking with him because i got to speak about the topic i am most knowledgeable in, tv. yes, i know that it is pathetic, but man, how i do light up when tv talk abounds!!! he even knew of and loved arrested development, one of my all time favorite tv shows!!! so we were fast friends. cormc is the youngest and he is still in high school. he is super quiet, and he loved annette's cookies (a surefire way into her heart). also, amanda's mom came to the pub with us, which i thought was so neat. this is a pub where everyone really knows your name (except for mine and annette's) because it is such a small village and people have been there for generations. amanda's mom is probably one of the sweetest women i have ever met. i felt so papmpered at their home because she just kept feeding us the most amazing food. she and annette were kindred spirits due to their affinity for being in the kitchen. it was just so lovely being part of such a dynamic and close family...a family who took us in even though they had no idea who we were.

christmas morning (or afternoon, seeing as how i did not wake up until 1:40), was a joyful time. there were presents to be opened around the tree. amanda's mom didn't have time to put the labels on the presents, so there was a guessing game of which present belonged to whom, which really livened things up a bit. then we had christams dinner, which of course was mind blowing!! in ireland, turkey and ham are served at the same time. the evil meat-eater in me was blissful...AND they have the best tradition ever, which are crackers. basically there is a long tube that has a prize in it. you pick someone and you each take an end of the tube and pull (similar to the wishbone i think, but not as barbaric). and when you pull, there is a big cracking sound and the person who gets the part with the prize gets to keep the prize. it was so much fun!!! the prizes are usually little toys and you get a paper hat cut like a crown. and even better, each tube holds a joke/riddle, which you then read around the table and people try to guess the answer. man, oh man, how i love the irish!!!!

the next morning amanda's dad took us coursing. i just adored amanda's dad. he is definitely the strong, silent type. he didn't talk much, but when he did, he was a hoot! coursing is basically these races where 2 dogs (who are muzzled) chase after a hare (not a rabbit). the dog who gets the hare to go underneath a gate first is declared the winner. some people bet on the dogs, but others are just there to watch. it was a fascinating event. annette, amanda, and i were betting amongst ourselves based on names only. like in horse racing, all the dogs had really cool names like "very bad tonight" or "big momma's house" (just kidding; i made that one up, but it would be a great name!). it was a fascinating experience, my only gripe was the freezing cold, which i really cannot handle in the least.

anyhow, we had a prodigious, grand ole time with this amazing family in a marvelous country. every once in a while i have to think about how lucky we are not just to be traveling, but also to meet such amazing people, who really take care of us. it makes coping with missing people back home a wee bit easier.