Ireland's nickname of being the Emerald Isle is well deserved. It is one of the greenest if not the greenest place I've ever been. I'm learning though that to reach that brilliant level of green that is over so much of Ireland, you need a lot of rain.
I've been very lucky so far. I mean don't get me wrong as soon as I crossed the Atlantic, I haven't worn flipflops, tshirts or shorts but the rain hasn't been that bad. It's been sunny for some days. On a few occasions, I've even taken off my jacket and only had on one layer. And the rain has been pretty light (they call it "Irish Sunshine" when it's drizzling) so I've gotten to see a couple of rainbows.
However the time has come (the walrus said) for fall (or autumn as they call it over here) and it has come with a vengeance. My roommates are convinced that there is no way to appropriately dress for the weather because it will go from warm to windy to cold to rain in a matter of minutes. Another issue with the weather is America is the only place to do it's temperature in Fahrenheit. Unless I want to do mathematical conversions in my head, I'm pretty lost when I turn on the TV and see that it's 17 degrees out. To me, that's really cold. In Fahrenheit, it's 63 degrees which isn't bad at all.
In addition, I'm pretty sure the Irish are born with thicker skins. Or maybe it is developed. I'm a naturally cold person, and so I haven't gone out with less than three layers on. And I'm still cold. The Irish (particularly the females) will go out in short skirts..and heels. The roads are steep here. I'm constantly in awe of seeing how females walk down the street in stilettos. But I digress...
There's an old English joke that goes something like a guy went to the bathroom and ended up missing summer. I didn't get it growing up. Now I understand.
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