Since I’ve written last, I’ve done a little bit of traveling, but mostly I’ve been trying to figure out my classes, which is a frustrating and daunting task in a country that is not my own and in a school that is very different from mine. Scheduling conflicts and credit transfers and seminars vs. lectures – it seems just too much sometimes. But alas! All things will find a way in the end, even if it causes me frustration and confusion, because, I suppose, that is the way of the world.
But in any case, you would rather hear about the side-trips that I’ve been taking. I can assure you that they’re nothing grand seeing as how college students are cheap and I can’t leave the country until my appointed meeting with the Garda (Irish Police) on September 22 where I prove to them that I’m not a terrorist and that I have enough money to be in this country for 3 more months.
On Friday morning, a lot of my friends went off to see the Cliffs of Moher because they somehow found a way not to have any class on Fridays. Luckily for me, I have class at 11. However, so does another friend, and a few of us waited until the afternoon and decided to merely go exploring and we took a 13 o’clock bus into the countryside. We stopped at a town called Oughterard and got out to be touristy and pop in the shops and take pictures. However, it took me almost no time at all to realize that my camera was gone and that it must have fallen out on the rather disconcerting bus-ride that went dizzyingly fast on a narrow windy road where the brush and trees actually scraped against the windows. In a panic at my own stupidity and inattentiveness we quickly found the number to the bus company in Galway and I explained my situation. The man I spoke with was very calm and nice and promised to call me back within a few hours. With nothing else to do about it, we set off towards a lake on the edge of town that was indicated by a sign with an arrow in the town center. Too bad there was only the one sign…
Chelsea, Scott, Carlee and myself walked and walked, in some rather areas with horses and such, but still, we figured that we had to be lost. Finally we saw the lake in the distance to our right, and attempted to make our way there. However, as anyone who has ever spent a good amount of time with me can tell you, I have absolutely no sense of direction. After a little bit longer it was getting hot (an exciting and rare occurrence here!) and Carlee and Chelsea suggested that we just turn around and head back into town. However, around the same time, a big sandy dog that to me looked like a lion had bounded up to us and was walking a little bit of ahead of us, but always turning around to keep us in sight. We stopped at a point where a little dirt road came off of our road and the dog bounded down it. Scott and I were game to follow, but Chelsea and Carlee were thoroughly unconvinced that the road would lead anywhere and were adamant that we should turn back. However, the dog seemed insistent that should follow him down this road and he kept running back to see if we were coming. Scott and I decided that it was a sign, and we told the girls to stay there and that we would just go around the corner and have a peek down the road.
Believe it or not, that dog had led us to the lake. There it was around the corner! It was large and beautiful and we took lots of pictures of it as the dog jumped in and ran around and shook his coat on us. I decided that because of his looks like a lion, and the prophet-like quality he had because of his opportune appearance and directions, I would name him Aslan, after the lion in the Chronicles of Narnia. I continue to refer to this mysterious dog as such, even though Chelsea insists that it is inappropriate to name a dog Aslan because one would not name a dog Jesus. I’m still trying to figure out what that one means, but I feel as if it’s not the same thing since Aslan is in fact, fictional…
In any case, we finally headed back into town, and as we walked, I received a call from the friendly bus man to tell me that my same bus was making a stop in Oughterard in 20 minutes time, and that the driver had my camera safe and sound for me. Huzzah! So we walked back into town, waited for the bus, retrieved my camera and headed back to Galway, where we finished the nice afternoon with a walk along shop street and down to the bay where we got milkshakes and ice cream. An interesting day for sure, but a good one.
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