this may be a repeat.

But it deserves a second whine...

Things you don't read about Ireland: gale-force winds.

I am not any where close to over-exaggerating. We're talking 80-140km/hr. This has been my last week. I was first introduced to these lovely breezes as Jonathan & I walked to lunch one afternoon. There was this constant harsh wind, but every once in a while there would be a crazy-wild gust that came out of nowhere and nearly knocked us down. We literally had to walk bent over, like we were climbing a steep hillside, headfirst into the wind to reduce drag. Is that what you call that resistance with wind? Drag? I know that's the word in swimming... hmm...

anyway!

Jonathan's immediate reaction to this insanity was "brisk, isn't it?!" followed by "this is so rejuvenating! I love days like this!" All I could think was, "& I thought SK was windy." That was in November. Before Winter hit.

Now, in lovely wet January, it feels like I am walking around in a 35F degrees (+5ish C?) hurricane! Umbrellas are useless - although it is fun to hold them in front of you was you walk and pretend you're carrying a shield. The term "waterproof" means nothing. Everything is grey except the grass. And there is a 15 min walk to campus. yay. I try to stay home until I run out of food. Or library books are due. There is a reason God made hurricane season in late-summer. At least your hands don't go numb from the wet gloves in August!

Three nights this week I actually wondered if one of our windows would break, the wind & rain pounded so hard against the glass for days...

So there you go. You have been warned. I have experienced many things here that can't be captured in words, but seriously, folks - psychotic winds could have been mentioned somewhere - in all the stories about "soft rain" (which I have personally experienced & I admit, they aren't half-bad) that make Ireland sound magical, someone could have thought to bring up the fact that your hair stands straight up in the whirlwind created by your umbrella... for the entire 15-min walk to campus... :)

bye for now ~