House of Brigid 2009-10

House of Brigid 2009-10

21 August 2009

Cultural adaptations

Slainte, friends!

So we arrived in Ireland safely, with luggage in tow and high spirits intact. Labs survived the plane ride, I survived the transfer to Gatwick airport, Martha survived the way a seasoned international traveler always does (she was just fine!). We were met at the Dublin airport by Fr. Denis and Des, and traveled by mini-bus back to Wexford.

These past few days we've been hosted by Emmett and Gráinne Cullen at Granville House, a lovely B&B not far from our house in Cluain Dara, which isn't quite ready yet. No bother, though, as they say here--the tiler has been working all week, and once he's finished, the carpets will be installed, furniture moved in, and we'll be all set!

In the meantime, we've been overcoming jetlag and adjusting to the new time zone (5 hours ahead of our EST friends, 6 hours for my crew in the CST), as well as getting to know the town through the tours given by our gracious hosts at Clonard Parish. We've also been getting used to the weather here. It's much cooler than the sweltering summer we left in the States, but it has also rained for at least part of every day since our arrival. Our new friends say that the rain has been much more prevalent this summer, but so far, it hasn't dampened our spirits at all. Myself, I feel as though I'm experiencing the real Irish weather for the first time, since the sun shone through all of my previous visits here. I'm just going to have to stop associating rainy days with perfect opportunities for four-hour naps and repeated viewings of Jurassic Park (best rainy day movie ever; The Goonies is a close second).

All in all, we're getting our feet wet--figuratively and literally--and we're learning our way around. Tonight we go to the Wexford Opera House for a concert performed by The Swell Season, fronted by Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová of the movie Once. This is just the first of hopefully many of our adventures in this little Irish town with the huge music scene.

As for everything else--the house, getting started with work, settling in to parish life--again, as we've heard so many times here, "We'll sort it out!"

2 comments:

  1. Hi Chris, Carolyn and Martha,
    Delighted to have met you at our Festival of Faith for youn people in Our Lady's Island on Sat. evening.
    I welcome you to our Diocese and I hope you will find your time here interesting and fulfulling.
    Having met a group of American Sisters at the Festival who are doing pastoral work in Bunclody you will know that if you get homesick you will have shoulders to cry on!

    Thanking you for coming to Wexford,
    + Denis Brennan,
    Bishop fo Ferns.

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  2. CHRIS....DON,T WORRY ABOUT THE RAIN AND COLD. THAT IS AN EVERYDAY THING HERE NOW. I,M GLAD YOU ALL SURIVED THE FLIGHT OVER.I WAS SURE YOU WOULD WE ALL MISS YOU HERE BUT KNOW YOU ARE IN THE RIGHT PLACE. YOU WILL MAKE SO MANY NEW FRIENDS, PEOPLE YOU WILL NEVER FORGET AND PLACES YOU WILL CALL HOME FOR A LONG TIME. ARE YOU PROUD OF ME THAT I ACTUALLY WAS ABLE TO USE THE COMPUTER ? ENJOY EVERY MINUTE AND KNOW THAT I LOVE YOU AND HAVE YOU ALL IN MY PRAYERS. LOVE YOU.....GRANDMA.

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