The really weird thing about traveling somewhere… anywhere… is that when you first arrive, it’s not only filled with possibilities, but there is that one moment of dread. I don’t mean it lasts forever, but whenever I get off the plane one of my first thoughts is “Wow. I’m going to be here for X amount of time. (This is usually filled with an amount of time.) How will I make it the whole time? Did I bring enough stuff?” It happens when I go away for three days, and it certainly has happened on this trip, when I went away to Ireland for a month.
Now, the feeling never lasts long. Like I said, it’s quickly replaced with “hey, here’s a fun new thing to do! Let’s go do it!” And then I run off, usually until I remember that I should probably pick up my bags from customs. Fun times.
Then there’s the reverse feeling, and it hits about this time. Ladies and/or Gentlemen… I only have about five days left here in Ireland. Less, actually. And I can’t believe the time has gone by so quickly. As I type this, we’re all sitting around, waiting for the breakfast room to open so we can go eat before our final class. When class is over… well, we’ll probably all go to a bar or something, but at some point tonight we’ll pack up our stuff for a second to final time, and then tomorrow WAY to early - not that I’d complain or question the wonderfulness of Professor Lister, who hasn’t graded us yet - and head off to Dublin for our final adventures, which includes the Writer’s Museum, the Yeats Exhibit, and the Jameson factory!
Quick note: The Jameson factor may not be a school sponsored trip, but I believe most people are going, and I’ve unofficially named myself the teacher on that particular leg of the trip. I’ve not yet informed Doc Lister of this.
This trip is primarily a school trip, which means that most of our time was spent inside a classroom. That always adds a layer of routine to the trip, which I think is important. Once you have a routine somewhere, it makes it real, it makes it more like you live there, rather than just visiting. We get up. We go to breakfast. (which is nice since it’s free, but not as nice as when we were in Kulmurvey house) then we go to class.
At this point, I’ve spent my time writing two pieces, one the 26 page start of a novel called “Mars Kaplan Saves The World” which is a reworking of Mars and Kaplan Save the world, whereupon I threw out all of the characters and a good chunk of the plot for what I used in Nanowrimo. And I’ve written a memoir piece. Since it’s a workshop, the 9 other people in the class have done the same thing, which means I’ve also READ a bunch of pieces from people, including the fastest 30 pages I’ve ever read on a piece that was so good, I almost ate it out of sheer jealousy at this writer’s talent.
I throw this in because I have been active on Instagram and Twitter, posting pictures of all of our fun, so it can get lost that we came here to hone our skills as writers. We did this as a legit class, trying to better ourselves as we would in any other class. It’s easy to get wrapped up in the pubs or music festivals, but yes, we are working hard. And today marks a great achievement. We’ve done over 90 hours of class at this point. Today is the final moment, the time when we can relax, and fully enjoy the few final days in Ireland…
It’s been a good trip. I’ve made some connections that I didn’t think I’d make, quite frankly. There’s one Graduate Student on this trip. Guess who? Guess how easy it would have been for me to essentially spend a month alone, but no one let that happened. And I don’t know if I can let anyone know how grateful I am that happened.
So, that’s way too much smarm for this early in the morning. Let’s head off to class, and then, to whatever Dublin has to hold for us! I’ll post a proper goodbye to Doolin… especially the Doolin Donkey… later. I just can't believe it's almost over.
No comments:
Post a Comment