Rain, Finally.

I woke up yesterday to the wind howling and the near-horizontal rain pelting against my window. The same weather followed today, and I think I can safely say that this is the true Irish winter. I have a certain fondness for rain, however, so I just curled up in bed with a good cup of tea.

On Saturday I went to an excellent historical talk on Galway for an hour or so. A tour was to follow, but the lecturer was quite sick. I learned about some facinating bits of history, and I understand a little more why Galway is such a great town. The city centre is actually layed out precisely how it was in medieval times, meaning the narrow streets were preserved (see below) unlike the streets of Dublin, Cork or Limerick. I also learned the term "lynch" came from the tale that the mayor of Galway, of the family Lynch, hung his own son who had disobeyed the law. The window from which he was "hung" is on the right. The lecturer stated that this was the world's first tourist trap... notice the skull and crossbones below the window. It never ceases to amaze me how one small event can have such a profound meaning in history.

I've spent most of the past two deliciously rainy days indoors staying warm though. There seems to be a mountain of paperwork to fill out, classes to choose, and emails to be written. There has been plenty of time for rumination, as I am still quite alone in my apartment. A particular subject has been troubling me for the past few days: which side of the sidewalk it is appropriate to walk on. This may not seem like an important subject to think about for hours, but I do like to avoid those awkward situations of neither person knowing which side to pass on, and end up doing a little dance and apologizing profusely. I logically thought that if they drive on the left, they would walk on the left. But there has been no recognizable trend yet. I haven't mustered up the courage to ask.

In other news, I've progressed from ham and cheese sandwiches to ravioli and salad dinners. The first night I made dinner, I relized I didn't have any means to store the leftovers, and consequently had to eat the entire package of tortellini. The tummy-ache was worth the warm meal. Next on the cooking adgenda is tacos.

I'm greatly looking forward to starting classes tomorrow. The registration system is a little backwards here, as I just picked my classes this afternoon. I formally register in two weeks. Its complicated.

Off to have tea and cake before bed-- love you all!

Caitlin