It's here. The Final Word

As I traveled throughout Ireland it seemed as if each segment of my journey was competing with the last to be more fantastic, more memorable. The scenes all attempted to surpass each other by being larger, greener, rockier, more severe, more unique. Though the Irish use the term “grand” to casually say “that’s great,” “grand” is probably the most appropriate descriptor for the places I’ve been over the past six weeks. Because I am still here in Ireland and not completely done with my trip, I can’t imagine that I will be able to properly reflect on everything that’s happened to me; however, I believe my thoughts while I am still here are not consequently invalid. I cannot predict how leaving this context for another environment might consolidate my perceptions or alter my life. A more refined reflection might be more elegant, but I think that there is some value in the raw feelings that I have at this moment. This might get wordy, so I’m going to attempt to organize my summary of experiences into a few categories replete with thesis statements and works cited (thanks Expos 20). I’m kidding…sort of. I think most of my blog thus far has covered my little stories that have made things exciting. I could go on with those vignettes forever, but I don’t think that should be the focus of this ultimate self-expression. If you want juicy stuff I recommend skipping to Chapter 4.

Table of Contents:
1) The Places (in Ireland)
2) The People (of Ireland)
3) The Profession (of research-writing)
4) The Person (me)

1) Oh, the Places You’ll Go! (The Places)
You’ve heard me rave with considerable consistency about the beauty of Ireland. A person would be hard-pressed to find an ugly place on the island. I don’t think that needs reiteration. Instead, I’m going to attempt to rank my favorite places with brief explanations why. Oh, and these are not limited to places I’ve reviewed for Let’s Go, but are obviously limited to places that I have been at some point.

5. Killarney. Though touristy, it is fun because it is so active. The town is a great size—more than a single main street, but easily walkable. Killarney National Park along the Ring of Kerry is a great place. Sure, it has the roadside stops with tons of camera-toting retirees, but the scenery is worth it. The Black Valley and Gap of Dunloe down in the middle of the ring is often neglected, but is impressive being surrounded by the largest mountains in Ireland.


4. Beara. Often passed by for the attractions of the Ring of Kerry, the Beara is stunning. It also has a really really fun road to drive down. Healy Pass is a super windy road that goes down the side of a mountain. I felt like a Formula One driver. Also, the Dzogchen Buddhist Retreat Centre is set along the peaceful cliffside coast. It is a most excellent place to slow down and get in touch with yourself.


3. Dingle. The town is bit too touristy, meaning it is packed to the brim with people from all over. As the sister city of Santa Barbara, California, it definitely lives up to the cute yuppiness with nice cafes, restaurants, and pubs. The best part is the rest of the peninsula. The Blasket Islands, no longer inhabited, are gorgeous and Slea Head Drive has incredible views and interesting archaeological attractions. Northern Dingle is very quiet and has a genuine local appeal. Also, Inch Strand is the best beach I’ve seen in Ireland; it’s huge, not crowded, and has perfect sand and an impressive view of the Ring of Kerry.


2. Achill Island. Too far northwest for most tourists, Achill Island is having trouble getting enough business these days. That doesn’t make it any less fantastic. The scenery is jaw-dropping. The accommodations are top-notch. If you like big mountains that dive into the Atlantic Ocean, this is the place. Keem Strand at the tip of the island is like a hidden tropical alcove. Also, the island has a bridge that will get you there instead of the long ferry that costs a bunch to get to the Aran Islands. I’ll take the big beaches and mountains of Achill over the Arans any day.


1. Connemara. It wins this competition for its romantic appeal and sheer beauty. Most tourists stop at Galway City and don’t explore Galway County, which contains a very untouristed, unpopulated plot of pure nature. The Twelve Bens and Maumturk Mountains dominate the skyline. Bogs cover the fields with their unique flora and fauna. The Western Way is a majestic walking trail that wanders throughout. The national park is well-designed. Towns are authentic Irish experiences. Gaeltacht regions retain the Irish language heritage. Connemara is such a dream that there is a popular French song all about it. Sorry, I don’t know the words. All in all, Connemara is the most poetic of places I’ve been.

2) Hello, I love you. Won’t you tell me your name? (The People)
Saying that Ireland has changed is a huge understatement. I’ve mentioned most of this stuff in previous entries, but it is striking enough to reiterate one last time. First of all, the native Irish are changing immeasurably. Rural areas are being connected to more commercial, cosmopolitan regions through larger roads, Internet access, and increased tourism. The international media access to larger towns and cities is encouraging the Irish youth to put on the skin of American and European cultures while attempting to hang onto traditional Irish values. Put all that in a blender and you get drunken boys taking drugs from cocaine to steroids and drunken girls puking in the bathroom and getting boob jobs at age 16. With the glories of modern society come some serious problems. It will be interesting to see how Irish culture reacts to this assault on its values. That being said, most places I saw were impressively rooted in the Irish ways that make them such an attractive people. They are wonderfully kind and welcoming people with a true understanding of community and hospitality (even though they can get quite vicious while speeding down the narrow windy roads).
Ireland used to be known as a place that people left. Now it is a place that people come. It’s that simple. From famine, internal strife, and a weak economy has emerged the Celtic Tiger (that’s not my term—it’s the national phrase for the fierce economy and strong will of the people). Eastern Europeans and Africans flock to Ireland for jobs, especially in labor. The Polish plumber is the stereotypical image of the human immigration. However, the huge amount of construction jobs that Ireland has created is going to slow down at some point. Where will all these people go if the jobs start to disappear? The Irish people don’t seem to mind the influx at all as long as there are plenty of jobs to be had. The multiculturalism seems to be relatively well-accepted in major cities. However, smaller towns have yet to interact with black people or compete for Mr. Fix-It jobs with the hard-working eastern Europeans. Who knows what will happen, but for now it is very apparent that Irish demographics are in flux. With only 4-5 million Irish citizens, the 300,000 immigrants constitute an enormous proportion of society now. As Americans, it doesn’t seem like a big a deal because we’re used to it, but this is quite the shake-up.
Despite the modern social issues confronting Ireland, my primary impression fixates upon the incredible culture and community here. Being able to truly dig into this unique society has been the experience of a lifetime. I believe that only by traveling alone could I have achieved the level of participation and understanding of this place that I was lucky enough to gather.

3) Where the Streets Have No Name (The Profession)
Although it seems like Bono was singing about a specific mythical place in the song, all of Ireland is “Where the Streets Have No Name.” Seriously, navigation cannot be taken for granted around here. There are no addresses or street signs. I learned quickly that good planning and a hefty dose of luck usually gets you to the right spot after a while. Ireland is small so you can’t get lost for very long.
The job was definitely tedious. I never expected writing the copybatches to be fun and exciting, but it still managed to put a damper on my enjoyment of the place on a few occasions. Then again, that work is the entire reason why I was here in the first place, so I can’t complain. In fact, researching was downright awesome. It basically forced me to have fun. I guess the job consisted of was what I would do while there even if it was just vacation. In fact, that’s probably why I didn’t take any rest days. I just worked 35 days straight because most of the work was enjoyable. It also frequently shoved me out of my comfort zone. No hiding in a bubble during this mission. I had to put on a few different hats to get the job done sometimes, and for that I appreciate how this experience made me a little socially hardier than before. A lot of people don’t realize how easily they become intimidated when thrown into situations alone. Going it alone takes some balls, but after traveling like this, I would much prefer walking into a good pub alone than in an insular group of obvious foreigners. Once I finished with work, it took me a few days to calm down my frenetic researching frame of mind. No longer must I check opening hours, admission fees, or entrée price ranges. Have some fun, you nerd.
The only things I will shamelessly complain about are the wages. For my route, I rarely stayed in the same area two nights in a row. I was constantly on the move. Being perpetually homeless like that is not simply mentally trying, but financially demanding, especially in a ridiculously expensive country like Ireland. “Hello, Let’s Go? Yes, this is the World speaking. All my people know that Ireland is one of my most expensive places to survive, let alone vacation. It has been a long time since it was the poverty-stricken town drunk of Europe. Throw your poor RWs a bone.”
As I’m sure you noticed, I took advantage of my wonderful surroundings and proved to be a little camera-happy. I like pretty things. My pictures help me to share those places with you all as well as help me remember my greatest moments here. I’m the 21st century version of the guy who pulls out five million pictures of his kids from his wallet. Well, I don’t have kids (that I know of), so my babies that I’ve forced upon willing observers have been my majestic Kodak moments of mountains and lakes. Also, my photos make great desktop backgrounds.

4) I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For (The Person)
This is the part that I’m not sure I can fully appreciate yet. I think that it will be reflection in future situations that will trigger the deepest personal analysis. I know that I joked about finding myself out here alone, but we all know how impossible that task truly is for most people. I took a course called Self and Identity and just like at the end of that seminar, I found here that I go home with more questions than answers. To myself and throughout the blog I’ve caught myself romanticizing the traditional Irish life, the small town community, the simple things. I idealized the mental offerings of Buddhism and its focus upon compassion and happiness. I’m not saying that I want to be these people I’ve admired; I most certainly will not trade in my lot in life to be an Irish farmer, but I think there are important lessons here that I hope I can incorporate into my own life while still being a mainstream American.
There are so many different directions pulling my life at this moment that I am utterly befuddled by the prospect of making a decision. I hoped that this time here in Ireland would offer me some clarity of vision and rare insight into my life’s calling. As most of you know, I’m a stark realist. I don’t believe one bit in the “meaning of life” or “fate” or “purpose.” Those are all tools used to make us feel important, to lift our existence up above the level of dogs. However, freeing yourself from any prescribed meanings of purpose gives us the ability to assign our own purpose to ourselves—quite a liberating situation if one can conquer the difficult question of what purpose they want to pursue in life. The only ultimate judge is oneself. So, with that mentality, I ask myself, “what the hell should I do with myself to maximize my satisfaction?” As Johnny Cash sang just years before his death, “One thing’s for certain/When it comes my time,/I’ll leave this ole world/With a satisfied mind.”
The way I see it, there are three important players in my life: me, other people, and society. I split other people and society apart because society is kind of a faceless entity with norms, pressures, competitions, etc. Other people, on the other hand, are the individuals that make up society but do not necessarily embody society’s values. For instance, working for a nonprofit school would be working for other people and even improving society but not necessarily personally succeeding by society’s standards. Running a corporation, owning a big home, and being well-known are all society-driven successes but may fail to satisfy the other two categories. Of course, the personal category is often neglected for pursuits in the other two fields. Though I make society sound like the Devil, I, too, want some degree of social success. Saying otherwise would be lying to myself—I have always been very perceptive of my social appearance. Here’s the main idea: I want to do something that helps others, is appreciated by society, and stirs some passion within me. It’s a tall order—idealistic to say the least. Despite what some of you think, I’m a sensitive person. Despite what others of you think, I’m a cold-hearted bastard. Such are the variety of faces each of us may have.
On a somewhat lighter note, I’ve had plenty of emotional time while driving alone or hiking around the scenic countryside. Actually, it’s not a lighter note at all. The range of emotions available for experience when you’re by yourself is surprising. At some point you get comfortable with yourself and let go of the restrictions that you’re used to imposing upon yourself. I like how I’m putting this in second-person to avoid talking directly about myself. Well, you can do the translation yourself. I’ve laughed, cried, yelled, whispered, made faces, not made faces, talked to myself in an Irish accent, talked to myself in an Aussie accent, and all kinds of other inane things that I rarely have the chance to do simply for the sake of doing them. I think that’s an incredible feeling—not having to check your emotions at the door. I know that I’ll have to return to the world of civilized society, but I hope that I can take a little of this personal freedom with me wherever I may go in the future. Let loose a little, be a kid. Speaking in rigid, technical terms: being an adult 100% of the time literally kills people. Hey mom, that’s something I learned in class at Harvard!
Going home to my sister’s wedding got me thinking a little bit. I’m not about to start telling you about the specifics of who I want to marry, so don’t get excited. The situation just made me realize that she found Patrick when she was a junior in college. I’m well past that mark and I’m not in a serious relationship. As much as I’ve romanticized being alone, I’ve also felt a strong desire to be able to share life with someone. Some people try to tell themselves that they’re loners, but humans are social creatures with a need for tight connections to others. We find each other. While on the road alone, I met countless other souls doing the same as I. We all enjoyed each other’s company and spent time talking about anything on our minds despite the fact that we’d be parting ways the next day. Yes, it’s important to have private time, but our minds are designed for social interaction. As much as I like being a hermit or a lone hill-walker, I cherish relating the experiences of life to my friends as much as I cherish the experiences themselves. Long story short, even though people know me as one who likes to hop from relationship to relationship (following the advice of my dad), I really only do that in hopes of finding someone that can appreciate life as I do in a state of perfect mutual enhancement. Perfect is probably a horrible word to use because it seems to be that unreachable horizon, but if you don’t think of perfect as a single pinnacle but as a state reachable through many possible avenues, then perfect is quite realistic.

On that note, I’d like to end this by saying that this trip was perfect. Sure, there were lows, but as with all things in life those made the highs feel so much higher. I finish this journey completely ready to go home in an excellent mood. I have not yet tired of Ireland—I don’t know if I ever could. I am simply pleased with what I’ve seen and done; I’ve left nothing wanting. I’m ready to return to earth with these memories in my pocket and hopefully utilize some of the lessons that I’ve learned. Thanks for reading this far and bearing with the glimpses into my mind. If any of you made it this far, I’m thoroughly impressed. I hope I’ve entertained.

The final count:
44 days
50½ pints of Guinness.
Countless memories.