I think it's funny that I can talk up a storm to anyone willing to listen about how great Ireland was. And I'll tell all these stories that I'm probably the only one that finds them funny because they're the "it's hilarious but you had to be there" kind of joke. But I try and type up a blog entry about it and I seem to be drawing a blank.
I guess I'll just start with this photo. It's of Emo gas station (yes that's the real name) in Ballyvaughan, Ireland. This little place holds a ridiculous amount of memories as it's conveniently located right at the beginning of the street I lived on. It's also the place where we meet up with another house to get pick up by Brian and the bus. Brian was our main bus driver for the 4 months there and the bus was mainly this giant tour bus. A lot of time was spent on this bus. A lot of the kids got so annoyed with being on it so much over time, but I never got sick of it. The bus rides, to be honest, were one of my favorite and most missed things about Ireland. And Emo gas station is where those little adventures always start. I guess the introvert in me who will always have a soft spot for solitude loved them because there were only 30 of us and this huge bus so it was always easy to have your own seat. Those who wanted to sit with someone did, and those who didn't...didn't. Most of the time I didn't. Most of the time I was somewhere near the front sitting by a window with my knees on the seat in front of me. I always bring my iPod so I could just tune everything around me out and stare out the window. I would secretly get so excited for bus rides because in those moments I'm able to not only realize and comprehend what was currently happening in my life at that moment, but I was able to enjoy it. I was able to just sit back and relax and enjoy the fact that I was on a bus, listening to my favorite song, surrounded by people I consider friends and staring out at these irish landscapes that just look like one postcard after another. I think if I could have anything I felt or experience in Ireland again, it would be the feeling I felt in those moments.
