Way of the Irish

I got up early today. The Airport shuttle picked me up at 6:30 and now I'm sitting at a coffeeshop by my gate. My stay in Ireland has come to an end and soon I will be leaving for Paris. Looking back at my experience in Ireland I find it kind of awkaward to try and form a perception about a country and its people in so short of time. We all know it's impossible to judge a person after knowing them for a few days, let alone makeing broad statments about a nation and its people. This is clear to me and I'm sure you understand this as well.

In the last few days as I walked through the streets of Dublin, talked to its people, hiked through its country side and drank its guniess I gained a new found respect for the tiny island country. Before this trip my connection to these people were limited to Lucky charm cerials and Bill O'rielly. Ireland is a beutifull country with beutiful people. They have a rich and colorful history, with never ending ups and downs. One of the reccuring themes that keeps coming up in Irish history is a sense of "Struggle". From their early viking days, through their ordeals with the Biritsh, the famine and their eventual indepence, a sense of struggle has alwasy been present in Irish life. The more I looked around and the more I talked to the locals the more this idea seem to be present still.

Ireland went through a big economic boom during the last decade. It began to progress and for the first time it was establishing itself as an advanced european country. However following the economic downturn, Ireland got hit hard. This is evident not only through all the "for sale" and "reduced priced" signs scattered across the country, but also on its people's faces. There is a sense of uncertenty and doubt that lingers through the streets of Dublin. The Irish find themsevles once again, struggling and uncertain of the future. I wish nothing but the best for this tiny country and its people and I hope next time I visit, "struggle" has given its place to "progress and prosperity"

Now it's time to visit the French. Next stop Paris!