To market we go....

Every weekend in Limerick City (and throughout most of Ireland, really) tons of people and families get together for the weekly Milk Market. It literally looks like a scene from a movie. Freshly picked fruits and vegetables, still-hot from the oven baked goods, home-brewed jams and juices, crafts, music, and even puppies fill the streets. I'm pretty sure this is going to be an every Saturday morning type of thing in my book....I could't get enough.

Of course, it's not to say that we don't have awesome farmers markets right in the US. I've been to plenty of those...I just wish we had more of them. I loved the way that families seemed to fall into the

tradition of going to the market together every weekend and how children as young as two and three laughed and ran around as if they had already known the layout by heart. It was nice to be among the chaos.

I think, what I am slowly coming to realize at the end of this first week is that I don't really miss home so much as the physical place. I love where I grew up but I miss people far more than the familiar deer-ridden landscape of Lake Hopatcong. When it comes to friends and family, I tend to be a creature of habit. I love the friends I have and I wouldn't trade them for the world so, I guess meeting new people tends to intimidate me. So far, I've been incredibly fortunate to meet some really fun and friendly people to hang out with here in Ireland and, in

many ways, that alone has given me a great deal of reassurance and confidence. When everyone

told me that it was better to study abroad without friends, I wasn't so sure I believed them but, slowly, it feels more and more true. Being forced to venture out on my own, ask questions and meet people is definitely something that everyone needs at some point in their life and I suppose, at this

point, I'm just saying that I'm sort of proud of me for forcing myself into that situation.

Sheesh....all of that after only a week. Let's see if my spirits are still this high after another week of Dunkin Donuts detox....