(no subject)
First point of rumination: did you know that the dictionary's primary definition of "ruminate," as either a transitive or intransitive verb, is "to chew cud"? I bet none of you fine readers came up with that idea first.
Anyway, my time in Galway is coming swiftly to a close. It seems like just a few weeks ago, I was sitting around the TV room, with The Two Towers playing, writing about how soon I would be leaving for the unknown world of Ireland. Now, I've got just more than 12 hours left before I leave this apartment forever, and return to the home I haven't seen for nearly nine months. Almost all of the belongings I plan on bringing back with me are in the two bags that brought them here, and all I need to do before calling a cab to take me to the bus station in the morning is clean up a bit. It's all very over, and it's a little bit hard to grasp.
As I left the band hall for the last time on Saturday, everybody there asked me when I was planning on coming back. That's a question I've been asking myself, as well. I really love this city, and everyone I've met in it. I know I have to leave, but I really do not want to. It will be nice to be home, I know, but I can't bear to leave all of this behind. Playing with the brass band has been an incredible experience, and I can't thank them enough for all they've done for me. The same is true with the big band. I owe all of those guys a deep debt of gratitude for everything. When anybody asked me when I would be back, my answer was, invariably, "As soon as I can."
As I went through security at Logan before leaving, I kept thinking to myself about what a gamble I was taking. The year could be great or horrible, I thought to myself. With the uncertainty ahead of me, I assumed it would be the latter, but I put on a brave face and got through it. Looking back on it, though, this has been one of the best experiences of my life. I couldn't have done any of it back home; everything I had an opportunity to do, all the places I saw, and all the people I met added up to make it a great time.
James Joyce wrote in Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, "But real adventures, I reflected, do not happen to people who remain at home: they must be sought abroad." He is definitely right that adventure must be sought. However, even if one goes abroad, there is no guarantee of adventure. One of the Holy Cross students here in Galway spent most of her time either holed up in her room or at the library. She once confessed (not to me, admittedly, but to someone who is, at best, a moderately reliable source) that her sole purpose in coming here was to put it on her resume. I am quite sure that her experience was quite different from the one the rest of us had. The point of this year was to go out, experience cultures, and meet people. She did none of that.
I'm going to wrap this up with a list of things I will or will not miss about Galway.
I will miss:
Bands, and band people
The river Corrib
Menlo Castle
Sheep
Shop Street
Curry at the Market every Saturday
Fresh baked bread at the Market every Saturday
The Market every Saturday
Live music
Irish pubs
Euro coins
Talking about the Lisbon Treaty
Duncan the Turkey
Accents. Oh, man, will I miss accents.
Tea
Castles
Nice old men wearing tweed caps and wellies
Never being carded
Father Ted
Open Mic
The West Coast Big Band
Weather maps
Rabbitt's
Eyre Square
The fact that Kennedy's Bar and Club Cuba are right next to each other
I will not miss:
The Euro
Having to explain baseball
Paying $6 for a pint
Being unable to get a good cup of coffee
The view from my apartment window
I'm going into town to take pictures of things that I won't see again, at least for a while.