Happy St Patrick’s Day, Christchurch Style
The day after the disappointing whale experience I woke up excited as a child on Christmas morning-except it was St Patrick’s Day. I went downstairs and to my delight, the lobby area and reception had been decorated with green and gold balloons. Even the girl working reception was decked out in green and a leprechaun hat. I was almost sad we were leaving Kaikoura and going to Christchurch for the celebrations, but I knew that the city would be a better celebration.
After napping on the bus ride there, I woke up recharged and ready to go. We passed by so many Irish pubs and people celebrating on our walk to the hostel. I claimed my bed and was ready to go. My Irish friend John-Paul was already at a pub called The Bog and I was supposed to meet him there. When I got to the pub, I had aGuinness, trying to keep the spirit. I’ve never had a more watered down Guinness in my life and honestly had a very hard time finishing it. I did and promptly switched to the local beer, figuring as long as I was in the right frame of mind, it didn’t matter what was getting me there.
I found John Paul with quite a few Irish people, an Isreali who was attempting the Irish jig all night, and an Aussie girl who was planning to skydive in two days and wanted to know if anyone would do it with her. I was already on my way out of soberland, so I agreed. We planned to meet at Starbucks the next day at 2. I’m not sure if either of us thought the other would be there. (Is anyone sensing foreshadowing here?)
The band was decent, played a lot of jigs and reels, and not as many sing-alongs as I would have liked, but they still kept the atmosphere fun. I seemed to hear brogues everywhere, and even found myself in a contest with other non-Irish to see whose fake Irish accent was best. We had to say “Top of the mornin to ya” and “cup o tea” and I won. I won nothing, but knowing that a bunch of drunk Irish people thought I sounded most like them made my day.
The band switched to an American cover band song, which I was a bit annoyed at, but danced and sang along with my new friends anyway. It was an excellent St Patricks Day, but didn’t compare to my usual festivities-being my cousin’s groupie with my family and friends. Thinking about this St Patrick’s day compared to others lead me to this realization: I didn’t miss my family for Christmas, I didn’t miss my friends for New Years, but I missed everyone on St Patrick’s Day. I now know that St Pat’s is my favorite holiday.
Tags: New Zealand
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