I've had a very musical past few days. Saturday night, a few of us went to see Handel's Messiah at the Grand Canal Theatre. I decided it'd be fun to dress up, so I wore my favorite heels (the ones that I never get to wear, because they're two inch heels, and everyone I hang out with is shorter than I am). That was a bad decision. Dublin had gotten around 3-4 inches of snow wednesday, thursday, and friday. Beautiful winter wonderland, white, powdering packing snow, snowmen and snowball fights GALORE on Trinity's campus. Sounds great, right? Except that the city of Dublin doesn't own any shovels or snow plows, and so they FREAKED OUT. Shut buses, had three snow days, and worst of all, didn't know how to handle the baby-amounts of snow, so they just let it build up on the sidewalks and turn into a 3-inch layer of solid ice. On Trinity's campus, it's relatively shoveled and slushy and harmless. But out there on the streets.... it's a different story. I fell TWICE in the course of the evening. I'm shocked I didn't fall more often. The first fall I handled relatively gracefully. It was more of a "slip." I didn't completely hit the ground. But the second fall... well, it was spectacular. I involuntarily rotated about 180 degrees, one leg flying up in the air, and grabbed a fence next to me in desperation, but I definitely fell. Scratched up tights and knee, nothing more. My friend Kyle tried to ensure me that I fell gracefully, despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
The show itself was wonderful. The soprano, especially, was mesmerizing. I wasn't so keen on the mezzo though. The best part was, obviously, was the Hallelujah chorus. Everyone stood up for it and sang along. Really powerful. Worth going just for that. I felt very fancy and happy and christmassy.
Today, at the O'Connell house, we had a program potluck dinner and traditional Irish session. My friends Stevie, Pete, and Becky played the guitar, badhran, and tin whistle, and I sang (and danced). They played a reel, which I Irish danced too (I hope I wasn't too out of practice), a jig, and a slow air called Boolavogue, which I sang. Then the trad sesh turned into a jam sesh, and I sang "The Park" while Kyle accompanied me on the guitar, then Stevie and I sang a duet of "Baby it's Cold Outside." The guys ended the night with a rendition of santa clause is comin to town... the bruce springsteen version, that is. It was really hilarious. Steve on the guitar, Pete on the harmonica, and kyle on the piano (kyle doesn't play piano. but he rocked out on the three repeated chords that the song requires). It was a great time. Everyone in the program was laughing and singing along and having a good time...they seemed to enjoy it. Apparently "The Park" made someone cry...so that's always good! Haha, maybe that's odd, but I think it's a compliment, in some way shape or form.
I've felt quite nostalgic these past few days, and I can't figure out what for--for Notre Dame, a bit. For Beverly Hills and home and my family, definitely. Very nostalgic for Christmases past. But at the same time I'm strangely nostalgic for Dublin! I'm a little sad I didn't take advantage of getting to know everyone in the Notre Dame program here from the outset. I was so homesick and overwhelmed by everything. But now I know everyone really well, and love spending time with them--just in time for them to leave!! I intend to use every second of next semester getting to know these knew people, soaking up Dublin even more, enjoying my time here. Because I'm never going to have an experience like this again! And I've really only been fully appreciating that, and enjoying Dublin, for the past month or so. I'm so thankful that I'm here a year!
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