"Bravery is being the only one who knows you're afraid." -Franklin P. Jones

For the first time this trip, I really have nothing to post! I had a very lazy day today even though I'm feeling better... I didn't want to overtax myself and have this cold come back full-blast. So I watched a movie and took a nap. I did go to the post office, but that was the most exciting thing I did all day. Now, because even the nicest Irish people make promises and don't follow through on them (Paula and my internet) I'm sitting in Dingle Benner's Hotel again with a cup of tea, long cold by now.

I'm feeling those all-too-familiar pangs of homesickness again today, not in the drastic way I was in Cork, mind you (so don't worry, Dad, I'm still fine). But every once in a while the magnitude of what I'm doing hits me. One whole month. Which really isn't such a long time in the grand scheme of thing, I grant you. But imagine a whole month of being alone. I fully admit that I'm not fully trying to connect with people... my shyness is magnified here... and I know I should be getting out and meeting people. It's just difficult. Going into pubs scares me because I feel like I have a big neon sign above my head that says TOURIST.

However, after a conversation with my sister, I have resolved to go out to a pub tonight to hear some music, and not care what anyone thinks about my being a tourist. This is a tourist town, for heaven's sake! So now I'm going to have a cup of Dingle Bay Seafood Chowder at the hotel, go home and take a "shower" (a.k.a. wash my hair over the tub and do a quick soap because there's not enough hot water for an actual shower), and head down the street to the pub to hear some traditional Irish music, which I understand begins at 9:30 every night. There, Tess, I put it in my blog, so I can't go back on it... happy?

Wish me luck!