The Craic in Northern Ireland

          Hellos from Limavady, Northern Ireland! Here's the craic: I'm visiting Laura's family here for the week. Her parents are absolutely lovely. They've been giving me history lessons - both ancient and modern. It's a treat being somewhere old enough to have ancient and modern history. The Irish countryside is just as picturesque as I thought: quaint, brick and stone homes nestled amidst rolling, green hills.

Green, green, green from the grass to the gables.

           In Ireland, Halloween is celebrated with parades and fireworks. Limavady is close to Derry, so we headed to its 13th century walls and the brand new Peace Bridge to watch. Derry is a City of Culture for 2013 (along with San Francisco!) so I'm feeling ahead of the times on this visit. 

'Twas quite chilly but here's Laura, her friend Laura, Laura's mum and dad, and me on Halloween in Derry! We were not dressed up. Although I was pretending to be Irish.

          I feel quite at home here. Mostly because the immigration officers looked at my customs form and said, "Welcome to Ireland, Mairead." I was so shocked to hear my name pronounced properly I'm pretty sure I said "Merci" in response. And then I met Laura's parents. And we met neighbors and townspeople and Laura's friends. And everyone knows how to say my name. No "it rhymes with parade", no "don't worry, I know it's hard to pronounce", no "you can just call me Margaret", no "actually my parents didn't make up my name, it's Gaelic." Just "Mairead."

          And I've converted...into a tea-aholic, that is. English breakfast tea, to be precise. For years, I've snubbed my nose at the flavorless, watery concoction I thought to be tea. 

          Cate, as if I'm not inhaling traditional Irish shepherd's pies, and non-traditional, but equally delicious, curries, I've been nibbling on Irish cheddar. It's much better here.