Day 0: Friends of Saint Patrick Blog

May 30-31

A bench behind our accommodations in Newcastle, Northern Ireland.

Round as an apple,

deep as a pail--

she'll never bawl out

til she's caught by the tail.

When I landed at Dublin airport, I was already two hours later than everybody else. My travel had been delayed a full three times: first leaving Chicago, then boarding the plane at Washington-Dulles, and then again waiting on the tarmac for the storms to pass.

Finally though, I was picked up by a white minibus packed full of other young people and a smiley Dr. Tim Campbell. I felt a bit conspicuous at first-- not only was I late, but everyone else claimed Irish descent, belonged to Irish American associations (Ancient Order of the Hibernians and Ladies Ancient Order of the Hibernians), and were Catholics. It turned out on the bus that at 25 I was also the oldest of the group-- earning me the nickname "grandma."

I knew that my participation in the trip was a bit unorthodox, but I felt reassured in remembering that the Milwaukee chapter of Friends of Saint Patrick was happy to have me represent them. I leaned into my newfound senior citizen status, and explained that though my heritage differs from the rest, my reasoning for the trip was the same as others': an interest in the people and culture of Northern Ireland, and in the work of the Saint Patrick Centre. I find many similarities between the story of the Ashkenazi Jewish diaspora (my family's origin) and that of the Irish, and I'm excited to learn more alongside the rest of the Young Ambassadors.

Though we were all jet-lagged, we got out at a rest stop midway between Dublin and Newcastle, Northern Ireland, and, at the behest of Dr. Tim, competed in a series of challenges including hula hooping and answering a riddle (linked at the top). Note: for you American readers, to hear the riddle as Dr. Tim said it, please pronounce "round," as "rind."

Did you figure it out? We were stumped for a while until Michael mimed the motion of reaching up and grabbing something 'by the tail'... The answer is a bell.

The Irish seem to be particularly fond of riddles, and I'm liking to reflect on what that suggests about them. Dr. Tim has told us that we won't be knowing our itinerary ahead of time, so in a way the entire trip will be like a riddle, slowly deciphered day by day.