My first whiskey in Ireland

Tonight there was a thank you dinner for volunteers from the conference on which I helped back in the beginning of October. We ate at the Commons which is something a student can only do with a faculty host. Steve thought it would be a nice treat and way of thanking everyone for their efforts. The dinner was slightly surreal in that they begin PROMPTLY at 18:15 and finish by 19:00. There is a clap to initiate and everyone rises for the prayer which was, as far as I could tell, the "Our Father" in Latin. We then sat down to eat our soup. We were rushed through every course (which included a half pint of Guinness). When the clock was about to strike 19:00, there was another loud scuttle of chairs as everyone rose for the closing prayer, again in Latin. And then the elders, clad in traditional black robes of academics, exited the room followed by the other guests. As I said, surreal.

Then our group adjourned down the street at a hotel bar for coffee and drinks. I invited Riku to join me in a whiskey. It seemed appropriate. It was THE BEST WHISKEY I have ever had. It still burned in the way whiskey does, but it was a softer warmth and a smoother flavour than I have ever encountered.

To all those who feared I would return home at the end of this year with an Irish accent, a cigarette hanging from my lips, and a whiskey in my hand: two out of three ain't bad!