Irish Tradition

   This past weekend I traveled to Dublin with a few other girls and realized that I should be living in Ireland.  Seriously, I fell in love with everything about the place from the people to the music. We stayed in Dublin the first night and took a tour through the country on Friday with a WONDERFUL tour guide.  I wanted to do a tour that wasn't as "touristy" as some of the others.  I've been reading a series of books about the country in Ireland and have been longing to visit it.  Our tour guide took us through little winding roads to a castle and to The Hill of Tara.

   The Hill of Tara was a very moving place.  It was an old burial ground and the place where the old Irish kings had their coronation.  While I was standing on the hill I had a very spiritual experience.  You could almost feel power and traditions coming out of the ground.  From the top of the burial ground you could look out and see almost all of the counties of Ireland, and it was breathtaking.  The Irish are very protective and proud of that sight (they should be, it's a magical place).  Our tour guide just went on and on about how special the hill was and told us many old stories that the Irish still hold on to.

  After visiting the hill, we stopped at an old pub with a thatched roof for lunch.  It was seriously the best food I've ever eaten!  I wanted to try some traditional Irish food, so I had the "traditional Irish stew," and it was amazing.  The place was just so wonderful because it seemed to be just the way that it had been for years.  Even the signs on the bathroom doors were written in Gaelic, an old Irish language that's almost forgotten.

  On Friday and Saturday night the girls and I went out to listen to some traditional Irish music and had the time of our lives.  I learned how to do some Irish dancing with an older Irish woman who was so proud to show me how.  The band played beautifully and there was even a "jig off" between two people.

  So overall, I feel that I got the Irish experience that I've always wanted.  Now, I just have to convince my parents to let me move there!  But really, I just became so aware of how the Irish people are so proud of their country and traditions.  I feel like we lose some of that in America, and it's really sad.  We need to learn a few lessons from the Irish.