A Weekend of Giving Tanks and Snow on the Beach 11/25-11/28

A Victoria Lodge Thanskgiving!

The weeks between surf Saturday and Thanksgiving passed with out much excitement. I went to a couple trad sessions held by the UCC trad society at An Spailpin Fanac, watched Survivor: Samoa, got my hair cut (it's a little Bonjovi-esque), and watched Munster beat Australia in rugby.

As anyone who knows me will know, Thanksgiving is absolutely my favorite holiday. I mean what's not to like, it's a day dedicated to eating too much tasty food and spending time with family and friends. Honestly, I was a little nervous about how good an Irish Thanksgiving could possibly be especially since I was planning on spending it in Belfast on a trip sponsored by my program. I couldn't help but remember how alienating and uncomfortable the last program trip was and I just couldn't imagine spending my favorite day of the year in a foreign city with people who wouldn't even notice if I wasn't there! So I decided not to go. Instead I signed up for the surf weekend getaway to Dingle and to bring candied carrots and cobbler to my friend Roger's Thanksgiving dinner party.

What a good decision.

Surfboard covered in ice? Not a good sign!

Thanksgiving started off on a weird note, because it was just another Thursday for everyone around me. I went to lectures as usual and kept having to remind myself that it was, in fact, Thanksgiving! After class I trekked up to Tesco and lugged all of my ingredients back to my apartment where my roommate and I were both frantically preparing our dishes. I worked so hard that I got a blister on my finger from cutting and peeling carrots and apples. Pathetic, I know.

Cooking for other people makes me more stressed than almost anything else I can think of. Eventually my dishes were done (late might I add) and I was so flustered that while transporting them downstairs I dropped my phone in the sticky apple portion of the cobbler! Upon arrival I immediately was relieved. Everyone was in such a cheery and relaxed mood (courtesy of a few pre-dinner drinks, I'm sure) and we were each assigned Thanksgiving roles. Parts included: creepy drunk uncle, teens back from college, happy couple, unhappy couple, foreign exchange student etc.

View from the cottage #1

The qualms I had about a lack of good food were immediately put to rest as there was barely room for our plates on the table! Each person had really pulled their weight by bringing a delicious dish including 3 different types of potatoes, stuffing, chicken (turkey is really expensive here), green bean casserole, garlic bread, brownies, cake, and some other things I'm sure. We each piled the food on our plates and began stuffing our faces. Periodically Roger ("the drunk uncle") would call out people to make toasts and say what they were thankful for. When my turn came I was forced to stand on my chair and said, "Even though this has been the least appropriate Thanksgiving dinner (it really had, those boys have got some dirty mouths!), it's definitely been the most memorable." Or something like that. Pretty cheesy, but I'm proud of thinking of it in such a high stress moment!

View from the cottage #2

Once every one's plates were as clear as they were going to get (some people's eyes are much bigger than their stomachs) we clear the table and began the Thanksgiving tradition of a beer pong tournament. Classy evening, I know.

The next day I packed up my backpack and met up with  fellow surf clubbers to head off for the weekend trip on the Dingle Peninsula!  We stood in the parking lot for about an hour before dividing up into cars and heading out. My friend Jessie and I got into a car with two Irish girls, one from Wexford and the other a Cork native, and freshman boy from Waterford. The car ride over was a blast accompanied by two great CD complete with a mix of Disney tunes, hipster songs, and techno. On the way there we stopped at a couple stores to get drink and food for the weekend, Jessie and I definitely did not get enough food.

On the drive through the Alps

After multiple U-turns we eventually arrived at the Inch Beach Cottages where the surf club had booked 4 cottages. Immediately we threw our stuff on a bed, fixed up a sandwich, and started watching the "Late Toy Show" or something. Apparently it's a one night special where this creepy guy in ugly Christmas "jumpers" hosts a TV show for kids to figure out what toys to ask for from Santa. It's pretty funny complete with malfunction toys and awkward interviews with children. In true Irish and surf club form, someone wrote out rules to make the Late Toy Show a drinking game with rules such as "Drink every time a toy breaks" or "down your drink every time the host is wearing a ridiculous jumper." Although it started off a bit awkward since it felt like everyone already knew each other, it ended up being quite fun with the pinnacle being a midnight snow fall!

Hannah and Me

The next day we all woke up, ate whatever we had for lunch, piled on the layers, and heading to the beach for some surfing. The drive to the beach felt like a drive through the Alps so when we got there most of the girls and I decided to go for a walk instead of plunging into the freezing water. It was such a beautiful day that it didn't matter if we got in the water, just being there was good enough for me!

The drive home though was terrifying. I love the Irish, but they drive like lunatics! We went careening around icy and bendy roads in this little tiny car. I was seriously concerned for my safety. Jessie and I even tried to use some passive aggressive "slow down" techniques, but to no avail.

Eventually we made it home safely and Jessie and I devoured the last bit of our food while watching episodes of Friends. Watching Friends with the surf club was great because on of the boys watching looks EXACTLY like Chandler and all the boys who were watching laughed out loud, something that never happens in the States. After a quick nap we all headed up to the main cottage and spent the rest of the night mingling, sledding, mooching food (including curry powder burgers-yum!) and dancing. It was quite a fun day!

Sunday turned out to be pretty mellow consisting mostly of chatting and cleaning. I have never seen a collection of houses as dirty as those four cottages. It was almost remarkable how big of a mess was made! After doing our share of the cleaning Jessie, Hannah, Inna, and myself headed down for a walk on the beach and sandwiches in a tiny restaurant. Once full we loaded up the cars and headed home before the roads froze over again.

What a great weekend!