The Time I Was Irish For a Day
This is Conor.
He was our host in Donegal, when Pamila and I visted Ireland in 2014.
Our experience with Conor was different, to say the least. For starters, it began with him searching for us for an hour! He eventually found us casually dining at a nearby restaurant from where we were going to meet. I guess he didn't see the email I sent postponing the time we were to meet by an hour. It was my fault really; I mean I did send that email out five minutes before our scheduled meeting time!
Anyway, I remember seeing this dopey looking man walking towards our table. Believe me when I say, it was the slowest walk I had ever witnessed. I caught myself telling Pamila “grab your shit, creeper alert”. Thankfully, his slow pace was just enough time for us to put two and two together and realize that this was OUR HOST!
After some small talk and apologizing about a 100 times for the miscommunication, Conor guided us back to his place. It was an easy drive...just up a hill, around a corner, down a hill again, through a windy road, two sharp corners, and a roundabout later, we were there!!
Before we could recover from the drive, Conor had already taken out our luggage from the car (including Pamila's, who I swear packed rocks). How kind! We settled in as we sipped on the mint tea Conor had prepared for us and curiously took in our home for the night. Just like his personality, we hadn't yet figured out Conor's taste in decor!
By the time we had unpacked, Pamila and I were far too tired to do anything adventurous. So we unanimously decided to follow Conor around for the night (I swear he suggested it first!), and what a night it was.
We first joined him for dinner, a small Bengali restaurant. We instantaneously bonded with the restaurant owners over what brought us to Ireland. We shared our stories as we sipped on our Chai tea and snacked on probably the most moist carrot cake we have ever eaten. And let's be honest, watching Conor (i.e. white people) eat brown food is never short of entertainment.
After dinner Conor offered to show around Donegal. We have never been known to decline a tour, let alone a FREE one so we hopped in his car for an adventure (…if my parents knew). The car ride was anything but uneventful. Every corner we turned we said “WEEEEEEEEEEEEEE”, as the drive really felt like we were on a rollercoaster. Conor joined along in the “WEEEEEEEEEEEEE”-ing as well. It was not long before he became the initiator of it.
First on our tour was the nearby wooded area (…I realize this is sounding like it’s headed for a horror story, and again…if my parents knew). It was beautiful though. I remember in your sight, all you could see were beastly brown trunks and hints of the blue sky peeking out between the deep greens. Unfortunately we only enjoyed it for a few minutes before we headed to our next destination, the beach; we were on a race against the end of daylight (which mind you was still going strong at 9pm!)
The beach was so serene. It was a sight I cannot put into words, so here is a photo:
I remember not too long after arriving, Pamila whipped out her plastic bags. It was like instinct. She collected sand (and whatever bugs came along with it) on our walk closer and closer to the water. While at the beach, we met a few of Conor’s friends surfing the waves at 9:30 at night! They were such free spirited souls! So ecstatic to meet us and share their Canadian stereotypes:
“This water should not be cold for you two! Y’all from Canada EH?! Isn’t everyone blue there from the cold anyway?”
Several laughs later, we helped Conor’s friends walk their surfboards back and we parted ways. One of the surfers was staying with Conor as well. She was an Austrian studying for her PhD and staying with Connor for the summer as she wrote her thesis. She'll be referred to as "The Austrian" as I cannot for the life of me remember her name but she was an absolute delight and thoroughly entertaining on our drive back to Conor's.
We reached back home at 10:30pm from our tour, and daylight was still out! Of course, this called for a selfie.
We changed into our PJs before Pam, Conor, The Austrian and I all gravitated towards the living room. We sipped on our drinks and chatted while Conor lit the fireplace. The fire really set the mood as it not only kept us warm but lit the space as daylight had finally faded at 11pm!
During our chats, we had a surprise visitor, Conor’s neighbor. He was about 30 years of age but had Irish knowledge extending far beyond his years! We sat around for hours as he shared with us old Irish tails. Finally, early into the morning hours, we reluctantly gave into our fatigue and called it a night.
The sleep was cold, but good.
The next morning, we had just missed Conor. He had left for work (...although is climbing mountains really work?). So it was just myself, Pam and The Austrian for breakfast. The Austrian made us lemon tea. Pam acted like she had just witnessed Jesus turn water to wine when really all the Austrian did was toss sliced lemon into hot tea. Nonetheless, I let Pam enjoy her moment and watched her drink at least five cups of this "magic" tea.
Soon after, it was time to leave Donegal..obviously, not before making Pamila pose one last time against the beautiful scenery outside Conor's home. That blue sky though!
I think one of my biggest regrets of the trip was not staying at Conor's for another night. I was also bummed we would have to settle for thanking Conor via email for his warm hospitality….and the four slices of bread & jam we helped ourselves to for breakfast (totally NOT included in our stay there).
It's really not everyday you meet such genuine, selfless people like Conor and The Austrian, and even though this wasn't the most 'happening' day we had in Ireland, for me, it was certainly the most engaging; I got a dose of the small town Irish culure and it kept me yearning for more.
