It's difficult to sum up how I feel right now as I spend my last day in Dublin.  Bittersweet is the only adjective I can think of.  I said goodbye to the city today, and tried to go to the James Joyce musuem.  Of course, since it was something literary it ended up being closed for the season.  My friend Felix and I were disappointed, but I should have figured that it would happen.  The museum is in a tower by the Irish sea, so it got me out to say adios to the Irish sea.

Dublin is always packed, but it has been worse lately because of holiday shoppers.  I can't believe the amount of people who can fit on a city street.  I've been trying to a avoid the stores, but there's not really much to do that's not in the city center.

My last week has been spent like a traditional Irish week - pretty much staying in the pubs, drinking too much stout, coming home wicked late, and waiting in long taxi ques.  It's been a lot of fun, but I'll be ready for some rest when I get home.

I am not looking forward to my flights tomorrow.  I have to check my baggage twice which will be a little nightmareish.  Luckily everything fits in my suitcases, but my bags are probably 4 stone heavier than when I left.  (Notice my new Irish slang - stone = 14 lbs roughly).

Don't feel like writing. I'm going to play with my host sisters instead.  I am most sad to say goodbye to them.

The other night I was talking to my host sister Ruth (she's almost six).  She says, "Marisa, I don't want you to go home.  But, we'll get another one in a few weeks."

I am starting to feel like the family gold fish who is about to croak.

My friend Courtney's sister said to her, "I'm sad you're leaving, but at least it'll be Christmas soon and I'll get presents."  At least I am being replaced by another human than toys at Christmas like Courtney!

Then tonight I was working in my room and my other almost 6-year-old host sister came in and saw that my room was messy from packing.  She looked around and said "Make sure when you leave that you take all your stuff.  Finnoula moves back in this room and she'll want it clean."  Man, I better clean up if a 6-year-old thinks I'm getting bad.

I'll miss these funny little girls when I'm gone.

The official countdown has begun.  One week and I'll be home.  A lot of the other students are saying that the last few months just flew by, but I actually feel like it hasn't.  Yes, it has gone rather fast, but I feel like I have seen so much and traveled to amazing places, that I have used my time wisely. I know I'll miss a lot here, but I am very anxious to get back to Colorado.

I just completed my last class today.  Well, actually I showed up to class and it was cancelled.  There is a huge protest going on today in the city center by a large union in Ireland called SIPTU (not sure what the acronym stands for).  They are protesting against Irish Ferries who employ many Irish people, and are considering outsourcing their employees, and/or changing where they dock so that they don't have to pay Irish minimum wage to their employees.  The story has been all over the news.  This protest is so large that all the city buses stopped running at noon (they are on strike too), so the town's pretty much shut down.  It would have been an interesting one to go see, but since I'm still sick, marching and getting stuck in the city center wasn't for me.

I won't miss any of my classes, that's for sure, but I will miss my teacher for Irish history, Don.  He was funny.  Here are some words of wisdon from Don:

"All saints have a past and all sinners have a future."

"God may be a crutch, but he's a very good one."

"The place is so small, you couldn't swing a cat."

"Education is the one thing that can never be taken away from you.  You go to class to learn, but you come abroad to get an education."

"I'm a liberal, but not a wishy-washy bloody liberal.  I don't eat granola or wear open-toed sandals or anything."

After a long transportation journey late last night (Paris metro to bus station, bus to airport, plane to taxi, taxi to home), I got back to "home" around midnight. 

My trip to Paris was wonderful.  It seemed like the perfect length of time, because I saw everything I wanted to see and didn't feel rushed for time.  What suprised me most was how much I loved the city.  Of course I thought I'd like it, but it has a reputation of being dirty and unfriendly, both of which were untrue.  The French people who I met were friendly and welcoming, and I got by with some smiles, lots of pointing, and my few words of French (I attribute my French vocab to Beauty and the Beast).  Also, the city was very romantic.  I always thought it was a little cliche about the romance of Paris, but it is true, especially around Christmas time when everything is lit up. 

I think my favorite thing about French culture, besides the patisseries where I'm sure I picked up some cavities, were the couples.  French couples of all ages are always embracing and kissing.  At first I found it a bit strange since no one seems to touch in Ireland, but I found myself appreciating a culture where people could show affection openly.  Plus, French men seem very romantic and have a way of clutching their women like they are desperate for their affection.  I guess Paris being a city of lovers is one pre-conception that came true.  It was very sweet.

I got into Paris on Saturday afternoon and met my friend Nikki from CU.  She has been studying in Wren for the semester.  She is great at French (even though she doesn't think so), so having her around made the trip very easy.  Together we negoitated the metro systems and found lots of great sites.  My first stop was Notre Dame.  The church was impressive because of its size, but the inside definitely wasn't the prettiest of churches I have been in - it was very dark and incredibly crowded.  Maybe I have a bad impression of that church anyway because I hate the story, the Hunchback of Notre Dame. It's way too sad.  It's hard to list all the places Nikki and I went, but we walked all along the Seine River, went out in the Latin Quarter, saw the Arc de Triomphe and the Luxemborg Garden, which had beautiful fountains.  I saw two amazing churches in addtion to Notre Dame.  One was St. Sulpice, which was dominated by large pillars and lovely murals.  It was off the beaten path, so I liked the emptiness of it.  Also, I went into St. Chapelle church, which has chapels with walls that were entirely stained glass.  It was stunning.   Nikki and I went to an art exhibit by Australian artists including one of her favorites, Klimt.  I really liked his work, he has a famous painting called the Kiss, and it shows lovers kissing, with a woman's head tilted back and a gold border.  I'm sure most people would recognize it.  We had to wait in line for about an hour and a half to even get into the exhibit.  At first I thought that waiting that long was crappy, but then I though how cool it was that people were willing to wait in line to see some beautiful art.  Plus, we had musicians playing the accordion and clarinet outside, so we were entertained while waiting in line.

Nikki had to leave on Sunday night so she could make it back to class on Monday.  It was rather odd to stay alone in a new city, esp. since I couldn't speak the language.  I had never stayed in a hotel alone before either.  But, traveling by myself was a new experience, and I like the pace of doing whatever I wanted for as long as I wanted to stay.  On my own, I went to the Eiffel Tower.  I didn't go to the top, because the line to get up there was huge, and I'd already been to a high point of the city. Instead, I called my sister from a phone under the eiffel tower - it was great to talk to her and witness a classic monument.  That day I also went to the Louvre Museum.  It was awesome!  The building itself was pure artwork, with murals on the ceiling and carvings all over. Of course I went and saw the famous pieces like the Mona Lisa (not much different in person than in a reprint, plus you had to wait in line to see it), and the Venus De Milo statue.  My favorite piece was the large statue of the phinx.  I could only handle being in the museum for a few hours, because I was in absolute sensory overload.  I think I saw more religious paintings this weekend than collectively in my entire life. 

Now I am home, dreading finishing those final papers, but very excited because the next time I go to the airport, it is to go home!  At the moment I have a cold.  It started coming before my trip, but I fought it off and now it has hit.  Also, my ears haven't fully popped since my flight last night.  I was in a lot of pain yesterday, and I could barely hear.  So, hopefully at some point they will unclog, and I really hope I don't have an ear infection.