*yawn*

it's not so early on a monday morning, but i am pretty durn tired. in the good way, though, as i got to go out last night and enjoy the sunday-night dublin pub scene. pubs here are different than anything i've ever seen, in the sense that they are full of people of all ages - from as young as 10 or 11 (generally there with their parents), to upwards of 70 or 80. another difference is that there is really no such thing as just going there with your friends; when you get to an irish pub, everyone is your friend. also, they tend to get crowded and rowdy by about 7 or 8pm, most bars close around midnight, and the rowdiest ones are dead by 1:30. everyone will enjoy the fact that i get carded everywhere i go here, despite the fact that the drinking age in ireland is 18; the cheery elderly bartenders always check my passport in detail and then make some grandfatherly comment about how young i look and how could it be that i'm 21? then they often shake my hand. most bars seem to start off with mostly irish music, but as the night wears on the music gets more and more american - to the point where at 1am yesterday an entire packed pub of irish people and poles and tourists were belting out sweet home alabama at the tops of their lungs.

no, i am not getting to see przemek very much. there is a long string of excuses; the second night, his car broke down. then his boss called him in to work on saturday; on saturday evening he drove me out to a really gorgeous suburb called howth just north of dublin, where there are endless trails along a very flowered and cliffy coast; the view is all rocky and grassy islands, and when we were there there were also 3 rainbows at a time. it was quite lovely. but even then he had to be home by 10 to babysit his sister's baby. we were supposed to spend sunday together but he got sick, and apparently still is. i'm disappointed since this is likely the last time i'll see him, but i'm still glad i'm here. as it is, i've been left up to my own devices to not get lonely; on my first lonely night here i met a couple from florida, a south african doing a world tour, a californian from the peace corps and an ex-morman from utah who's touring ireland for 90 days. they walked around with me and we got out to pubs as well. now the south-african and californian have gone, and i mostly hang out with the guy from utah; it's really interesting comparing our cultures and hometowns, and honestly what has been normal in his life is a completely new world to me. my foot is still bothering me so i don't get to see much of the city, but i'm trying to get out exploring one or two things a day. yesterday in the afternoon there was honestly nothing to do, so we went to see the movie 28 weeks later; my GOD that was gruesome. for those of you like me who don't have a tv and so are not at all exposed to pop culture, it's a very graphic apocalyptic zombie movie which is the sequal to 28 days later. MAN that was gruesome.

i'm off to go try to find a birthday present for renata in hungary while it's still gorgeous and sunny out, and while i'm still able to stay awake. the hostel has free internet, so i'll likely post again before i leave for russia early friday morning.