Dublin, Ireland

I’m still waiting to be released from the thrall of Ireland so life can return to normal.  I feel chained to the place, which is interesting, because I looked up the word “thrall” and found that in Scandinavian culture, during the Viking age, it was the term for slave.  

This is appropriate considering the Viking’s history of harassing the Irish and also somewhat humorous, because I jokingly apologized to my new Irish friends for the follies of my ancestors on several occasions.  Now here I am under the thrall of their culture.

Vague history lesson aside, what this means for me right now is I need to get my head on straight and concentrate on what’s to come.  There will be lots of change this next year, with or without any return trips to the Emerald Isle.  I even found a study abroad program with Whatcom Community College, where I’m taking some prerequisites, that would allow me to study in Cape Town, South Africa in Fall 2011.  That’s an opportunity I’ve been looking for locally for a couple of years.  Can’t get distracted now…