JandalsnAll

Thursday morning I left Inishmore (Im slowly getting the spelling right) early to reach Galway at about 10.30am. I needed to do this so as to maximize my shopping time aswell as my absence from the island that over the last few days had begun to feel somewhat like a prison. The ferry trip was rather uneventful – no vomit here. I booked in at Salmon Weir hostel in Galway which was highly reccomended to me and which I can highly reccomend to you. Its just like a two storied house really, with a kitchen, living room, bathrooms, bedrooms. But very homely and quite out of place in the city. And the living room had guitars which immediately sent my opinion rocketing. Only slightly weird thing is that everyone there except me spoke French due to the fact this particular hostel I am told is at the top of the main French guidebook. So now I know what it must be like to visit France.

After settling in and a round of Bonjours I promptly set off. I was on a mission. The list of items of things I was going to take back to a desert island included:

chocolate
battery charger and batteries
art supplies
books and other boredom cures
tax code
bag
shoes
clothes

in order of importance of course.

Well that first Friday I spent the morning trapsing all over Galway being sent from one building to another to find out what I actually needed to work legally in Ireland. The first office couldnt do anything till I’d been to the next office who couldnt do anything til I’d got this number which I couldnt get til I’d been to the next office who would post it out to me.

After that pleasant introduction to the Irish tax system I focused on my list, scoured both sides of town and returned with a scarf and a singlet. Not required items for living on a deserted island. My problem is I can never make up my mind – Do I buy Cadbury or Nestles? Dark, milk or white?

Actually the biggest problem was finding decent cheap clothes. They have plenty of clothes shops in Galway but they all sell the same clothes, all specifically designed without me in mind. Pastel colours are big. As are t-shirts declaring the wearer to be ‘Juicy as a Peach’, ‘Cheeky’, ‘Hot Stuff’ or from various American states. All of which I am not…well maybe cheeky but not enough to warrant labelling.
Day two saw me going into the same shops just to check I hadnt missed the section labelled ‘Ordinary Clothes For Normal People Who Are Neither Juicy Nor Cheeky’. Alas I hadnt.

Day three I discovered the Galway Saturday markets by accident where I bought several more scarves (head scarves) I know they weren’t on the list but I decided they were actually a neccessary item now I am a cleaner, especially for acheiving that authentic cleaning lady look – or washerwoman – or chemotherapy patient. Plus I need a new obsession. I also found some delicious fresh sushi – I think thats the first Ive seen in Ireland and I hadnt realized how much I was missing it. And Galway main street really comes alive on a Saturday. I think Ive mentioned it’s a pedestrian only cobbled road, and today the shoppers and buskers were out enmasse. There was the obligatory statue guy who does a funny little dance if you throw a coin his way (I was tempted to actually throw a coin at him to see if that too would make him move but Im not quite cheeky enough to do something like that), copycat statue guy who wasnt a very good statue but could do crazy things with a crystal ball in his hands when offered money, African drummers who were not African, crazy blues piano guy with an actual piano in the street, and some weird dancing electronic puppet things that I stayed away from – as far away as possible. Its a great atmosphere to be a part of.

That afternoon after three straight days shopping, feeling satisfied I’d exhausted all possibility of finding anything cheap and wearable and without any fruity connotations, I ripped myself off by paying Ireland too much for a pair of ChuckTaylors, an army shop hoodie, and a Nike zipup top (with the smallest possible Nike symbol possible, less I be mistaken for an athlete or at least a sporting fan). I may be poor now but at least Im happy, and only slightly more athletic looking.
I also got (because I know you’re dying to hear about the rest of my purchases):

watercolours
the aforementioned battery charger
a harmonica and harmonica instruction book – dont laugh, its so I can play the blues if I get lonely.
chocolate – It was 5 for EU2 so I couldnt buy just one – they made me.
dried fruit and other such ‘healthy’ treats to counteract the chocolate
5 books at a great secondhand book store – what? you want to know what they are? Okay, since you asked..
The house of Sand and Fog
Round Ireland with a Fridge
McCarthys Bar
The Alchemist
The Bone People – I was suprised to see that one. Actually there were two copies…so I dont know if that means it was popular enough in Ireland for there to be spare copies lying around, or whether two Irish people bought and didnt think it worth keeping. I had to buy it out of Kiwi pride.
Oh and a book I ‘borrowed’ from the hostel The TimeTravellers Wife – sshh dont tell them.

I’ll give you day to day accounts of each chapter of each book if you like. Can you tell yet Ive got a bit of time on my hands?

Its been so quiet since Ive been back on the island. Nice and quiet. It was an absolutely beautiful day today finally, and I went for a walk down to the village and almost felt like a local. Ive even started to pre-empt the greetings of other locals with my own ‘Halloo’ but you’ve got to get in really quick – they’re speedy these Irish polite-conversationalists – its like a ‘who can be the friendliest the fastest’ competition. I’ve almost got up enough courage to move onto ‘Nice day?’ followed by a prompt ‘Very good’. But these sorts of culturally sensitive issues shouldnt be rushed so I’ll just take it one day at a time I think – one day at a time.

I’ve been getting the finger from lots of the locals as they drive by as well. The good finger I mean. There’s no footpath in this primitive society so you’re forced to walk down the roadside and if you’re very lucky, and look very closely when a local drives by you’ll see them twitch a finger up off the steering wheel as if to say ‘you’re okay, I’ll let you walk down my road in your obviously touristy manner and I wont run you down…. this time’ Either that or they’ve all got cramp. It feels friendlier here today. I dont know if thats because of the weather or because the people here are starting to accept me as one of their own eccentrics. There goes crazy scarf lady I bet they’re thinking. Look at all her scarves.

Actually I have made one new friend here at the hostel. His name is Wilson. Sometimes when I get lonely on the island he keeps me company and plays with me. Yesterday after I’d got back from Galway I couldnt find him – I looked everywhere, all the while gettting more frantic til my panic culminated in an anguished ‘Wiiilson!!’ ‘Come back Wilson!’ But its okay someone had left him round the front and this morning when I woke up, I looked outside and saw him just sitting there in all his white round glory staring up at me as if to say ‘Where you been?’ …
Okay so hes just a ball and his name’s not really Wilson. But he does have a face. And sometimes he talks to me……and it’d be downright rude for me not to answer….

Tags: Inishmor

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