Good morning everyone,
I´ll do a separate Halloween post, because there was so much happening on Monday.
Well, it all started, very early Monday morning. I woke up at 3:30 a.m. to drive to the airport with my family. It was a rather quick “goodbye” because we were all very tired and didn´t have that much time, between all those taxis. It didn´t feel like a “goodbye” though and as kitschy as it sounds, it felt more like a “see you later”. I guess, for us we just appreciated that we were lucky enough to spend some time together and all of us know, that we will see each other soon enough :)
When my host father and I got back home, I went back to bed for some more hours. I knew it would be a long day and I certainly wouldn´t have made it without at least 2-3h of additional sleep. Fortunately, I could sleep and woke up quite happy in the morning. the next event was just around the corner. We had lovely family breakfast and then all got ready. My oldest host sister had the county final. It´s the Gaelic Team, I was training with and they are all lovely girls. All of them were super excited, as playing a county final is one of the highest things you can do in their Gaelic competition. It was a horrible day to play, as it was splashing rain the whole time, but I think it was a bit to our advantage, because they had trained to play in the rain and it evened it out a bit. The game began and they were playing against a very high praised team from the Dublin suburbs and not that many believed in the girls. They called it being realistic, but still, all of them were all in into the game. I stood with some of the mommies and had the village´s colors on my cheeks and was waving with the colors. I had a good time. As the game went on, I got more and more engaged into the game and suffered nearly as much as the mothers. The team was down by a lot and it had looked like they were gonna lose. Out of nowhere the girls got back into the game and the crowd all went crazy. It felt so good, being part of the supports. I have one specific moment, where I found myself screaming and cheering with my hands to fists and everything and I have no clue how I got there. I was just in the game. That´s what sports is about and I was so happy to stand there in the splashing rain, cheering for those lovely girls, I had trained with previously. They had a draw after regular time and had to go into extra time. Those minutes were pure torture for all of us that were watching. The got the lead and then the other team caught up. Eventually my host sister, who was just put on for the second extra time half, caught the ball in the last minute and won a free. That free went over the bar and got the girls the point they needed. The final whistle blew and off we ran onto the pitch. Those girls have made history for the club. They are the first ever winning girls in a county final and to bring home a trophy. They played brilliantly and each of them can be very proud of what they have achieved. All you could see were smiling and crying faces, it was pure joy. The parents were full of pride and so proud of their daughters. One thing I forgot to mention is, this was the U14 girls’ final. My village´s team consisted 2/3 of U12 girls. Their opponents all were 14 and tall and everything. So, for them to win it meant even more. Pure magic, I´m telling you! Afterwards we drove through our neighbor town with a beeping parade and flags hanging out the car window. We stopped at a restaurant and the team had their own room there. The coach did a short speech and you could just hear and see, what it had meant to him and how proud he is too. They all made history together and for them to win this game was well deserved and hard fought.
Their win was the main event of the day and wherever we went afterwards, the win was topic number one.
Shortly after we got home, we were on the road again. I was just tired and for the first time, I had really felt the damp wetness of Ireland. It felt so cold and wet ´til deep in my bones, but I didn´t want to miss out on Halloween, so off I went. (In my 3rd jacket of the day). We first went trick or treating, but since we live in the countryside, it´s not that exciting. You get driven around and the parents talk to their friends before, so they know you are coming. It was still good.
From there on, we went straight to a fire show and there was supposed to be a bond fire. That was cancelled due to the rain, but the fire show was still on and quite impressive. Sadly, we didn´t get front stands, so I didn´t get to see that much. My only option was to watch through other people´s phones, who were filming. When the rain got stronger again, they put their phones aways and that was it with my view.
All of us were just cold and soaking, so my host parents and their friends decided to go to the house of one family. That was a good time. A good few, of the winning girls, did their sleepover there, so they were just smiling all over their face and the rest of the kids were very happy as well. The parent´s had the greatest time themselves. They talked and talked and I just sat there and listened. You really get to know some stuff if you listen to their conversation. In Ireland everyone knows everyone and they always have some relation, it´s mad. There is so much gossip around and they know it´s bad but still go all in. But they have a good time, so that´s all that matters.
Around midnight we got home after a very long, but brilliant day :)
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