1. Why did Pat come to the states, and why did the sisters not come here to visit or him go there to visit over the 60 years?
ANSWER: Pat's father wanted him to become a priest and sent him to seminary school for several years. Pat didn't want to be a priest, didn't get along well with his father, and left on uncomfortable terms. Pat never wanted to go back, he "wanted to remember it like it was". His sisters have never flown and have no intention to now; in fact, they already want him to come back.
2. What did the local want to know about our elections? How you felt? Is the coverage accurate? Etc.?
ANSWER:We weren't able to talk long, but he was very intersested in the election, as well as our economy. He wanted to know if it was as bad as they heard, and apparently Ireland is also going through a similar economic crisis. He seemed to want to compare the media reports with someone who lives in the states.
3. Did you get to see any moors? Any rural areas? if yes, pics?
ANSWER: Not sure if I saw any moors - would I know if I did? Most of the west side of Ireland seemed to be rural. Miles and miles of pastoral land, rock and ivy hedges, cows, sheep, and narrow roads.
4. How was the flight, coming and going... airports, etc.?
ANSWER: Flights going were fine. We flew from Ontario, CA to JFK in New York, then a few days later flew from JFK to Shannon, Ireland. Coming home was another story. Our 6.5 hour flight from Shannon to JFK last Sunday was delayed 5 hours because of thunderstorms in New York. We sat on the runway in Boston for hours. Then we had about 3 hours of sleep before we had to leave JFK to come back to California. A tiring trip home.
5. Did you go to a pub, you know, one such as those almost always included in Ireland based movies?
ANSWER: With this group, we visited lots of Pubs! Did you know Pub is short for Public Place? But none of the pubs in Ireland have a sign that says Pub; they all say Bar. The drinking age is 18, so all the cousins were out late at night, trying the Guinness. Even my 16 yr old Ryan had a few; they don't check for ID. We had told him he could have ONE, but then after we went home, his older cousins bought him more. The pubs were fine; all served food and some had music.
6. What were the biggest differences between there and the states? How's the diversity?
ANSWER: Diversity? What diversity? I think I saw one black family the entire Ireland trip, and never saw any hispanics. There were asians and each town seemed to have a chinese or thai restaurant. There were lots of workers from the mid-east, and many that work in the restaurants and pubs are from other areas of the world. Also, we did notice that there weren't many fat people at all. So that means you can eat all the potatoes and drink all the Guinness you want! The people all seemed friendly in the towns we visited, although Dublin is pretty much just another large city. Lots of people walking around with their cell phones or Ipods hooked to their ears. Makes it kind of hard to get their attention to ask directions!
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