Blog 18: Jack Johnson in a Dublin Pub

Blog 18: Jack Johnson in a Dublin Pub

            *Sorry I’m falling behind on blogging so this will be a longer update.

            Let me share one of my favorite experiences abroad so far. So I was sitting at a pub in Dublin, having a Guinness with this French guy I met.  I happened to make eye contact with the young musician playing in the bar and he yelled out, asking me where I was from. When I told him I was from Hawai’i he gave me a grin and said, “Let me play you a Jack Johnson song then.” After spending the past four months away from home, it made me feel all warm and giddy hearing Jack Johnson. The easy breezy, oh so familiar lyrics whisked me back to home. For a moment I felt like I was in the car with my dad, driving out to Ukumehame for a surf. But no I was in an Irish pub in Dublin being serenaded…so I’m not complaining!

            I spent four days wandering in the lively city of Dublin. As soon as I stepped out of Dublin airport, I was blasted with crisp air. That’s the first thing I learned about Ireland. There’s no point to a weather report. One minute your sitting on a park bench drenched in sunlight then suddenly hail is falling from the sky. And it’s already May! It is no wonder Ireland is nicknamed the Emerald Isle because it rains almost everyday of the year. But despite the somewhat depressing weather, the Irish are the most friendly and downright hilarious people I’ve met. Playful banter and singing at the top of your lungs seems to be a national sport. Pubs in the Temple Bar area are jammed packed with people during the weekends. They are like typical bars expect they have more character and charm. There’s something very lovely about stepping out of the biting wind and into the warm belly of a pub. Everything is warmly lit and has a welcoming, rustic look. Friends gather in groups laughing and singing. And there are Guinness beers (basically all you drink in Ireland) all around. In nearly every pub there are musicians playing and singing so that the room is bursting with music! I have a special love for live music so I was in heaven. People clap, cheer, dance and sing along to their favorite Irish tunes. I felt like I was part of a huge family.

            Dublin is also the hub for Irish history. Ireland didn’t gain its independence from Great Britain until 1921. Then it suffered from a civil war after disagreements about being a free state with counties that are today known as Northern Ireland. During this time, Dublin became a battlefield. Many historic buildings in Dublin were taken by the rebels and the streets of Dublin were bombed. Irish heroes like Michael Collins were killed in order to give Ireland the freedom that it has today. It’s a very complicated history but every Irish person that I’ve met has had great pride in their country because of how hard and long they had to fight to achieve independence. 

But there is also immense beauty in Dublin despite an ugly past. One of my personal favorite sights in Dublin is Trinity College’s Old Library. As the most prestigious college in Ireland, Trinity College has a beautiful campus and one of the most gorgeous libraries I’ve seen. It also holds the Book of Kells, which is old Gaelic scriptures written by monastic monks about 1000 years ago. The preservation it takes to keep these books from turning into dust is impressive. The writing looked too perfect to be drawn by humans and I couldn’t help think how much patience it must have taken to inscribe these books. The words are beautifully drawn and crafted with intricate artwork that frames the words. It’s had the perfect blend of simplicity, since this is a religious text, and extravagance worth marveling over.  These drawings are so detailed that it looks like something only magic could produce. The Old Library at Trinity was equally mesmerizing. You enter and all the knowledge in the world seems to be surrounding you. There are millions of books filling the bookcases (there were two stories) and busts of the great philosophers, scientist and writers along the walkway. It was truly like being encased in a sea of knowledge. Apparently when George Lucas saw this library he was instantly inspired and tried to recreate this library in one of the scenes in Star Wars. I had to sit on a bench in the library for a moment while taking it all in. Ireland certainly knows how to seduce a girl.

Guinness!

Trinity College

Trinity College

Streets of Dublin