An Adventure in Cork?

It's hard to believe that even after three months of living here, there is so much of Cork left to uncover and an ordinary afternoon can turn into quite the adventure.

About a month ago, I decided to bite the bullet and get a library card. At the rate I've been reading books here, my funds are not sufficient enough to cover a new book purchase each time I need a good read. At the time, I had been reading a few of my roommate's books, so there was no need to actually check out a book. I chatted with a few of the Bennies about some good books to read, so when the time came for a new book, I would know which one to check out. Blue Earth, being the small town that it is has only one library. Cork has five. The closest one is only a ten minute jaunt away. However, when I looked for the book that was recommended to me by a friend, I discovered that it was not available in that closest library. Rather than ask the library closest to me if they could have it brought there (like inter-library loaning), I decided to go right to the source.

Since the Tory Top Library is on the south side of the river (or the more "posh" side, according to my Irish professor), I thought it would be an okay adventure to take on by myself one of these afternoons that I have less going on. So yesterday after class, I headed in the general direction that I thought it was. Being brilliant, I had only a vague notion of the general direction I needed to walk in, and only the street name that the library was on (i.e., none of the other street names). About 20 minutes later, I was sufficiently lost. I had turned instead of gone straight. Luckily I had called my friend Emily who got me straightened out and headed in the right direction. After walking approximately another 20 minutes down the correct road, I thought for sure I had made another mistake and missed it. Feeling a little disappointed, I turned around and trudged back to the apartment (which then took a total of about 40 minutes to get back).

I do not give up that easily, however. Even with blisters, I got back to the apartment and looked at a Cork City street map. Turns out I had been only about three blocks away from the library when I turned around! So today, I again set out for the adventure and found the library this time! It only took about a half an hour to reach it this time by foot. I really enjoyed getting lost in Cork. The weather has been beautiful here, and it was nice to see a little bit more of Cork suburbia while getting in a little exercise and fresh air. It's an experience I hope to repeat in the near future! Not to mention, I found out where the lake was, a few pubs that our group has been wanting to go to, and a few new parks.

Speaking of which, I have a feeling there will be more of these experiences since I am officially done with classes! I can hardly believe how fast the time flew by. This also means that this will be my last post before I leave for Barcelona and Paris next Tuesday. I hope things continue to go well wherever ye all may be.

Slan.