Sligo, Ireland

I'm currently in Sligo, Ireland and have officially begun my Watson! I've been here for three days now. On my first day I arrived in Dublin and then took a train for three hours to reach Sligo. The train ride was beautiful and in some ways reminded me a lot of all the trains I used to take in Japan. The trains themselves are very clean and quiet. The windows are large and made it easy for me to view all the greenery and hills dotted with sheep, cows, and horses.

The town I'm currently staying in for the next few weeks is called Sligo. Sligo is a really small town, but very pretty and very wet (it's always raining). Sligo is best known for Yeats. Yeats's father owned a shipping company, so I was able to see the harbor where his ships used to reside. I'll also be going to a painting exhibit that showcases paintings by Jack B. Yeats (his brother) this weekend.

I'm staying at this self-catering hostel called "Yeats Village." I'm in a huge house, but no one else is currently staying here. So far I've just been exploring the town--going to small cafes and browsing through bookstores. I've noticed that unlike bookstores in the US, the poetry sections here are always displayed near the front in a prominent position. While I usually have the entire section to myself at Barnes and Nobles, I now have to reach over other browsers to find the poetry volumes I'm looking for.

I've been hanging out in the Yeats Society building a lot. It's a really cute brick building directly across the way from the town's Yeats statue. Attached to the building is a Yeats tea room where you can buy scones and tea. The Yeats building also has a large collection of books (a Yeats library), display of photographs, and a place to view videos on Yeats. With nothing else to really do, I've currently watched all the DVDs on Yeats. Until my seminar classes start next week Monday, I have a lot of writing/thinking time. Registration for the summer seminar series starts this Saturday. Famous poet critic/Harvard professor Helen Vendler supposedly arrives in Sligo tomorrow! Although her seminar was full by the time I registered, I still hope to meet her and am looking forward to hearing her lectures.

I don't have access to my pictures yet, but once I figure out a way to upload my photos off of my camera, I'll post them to my blog!

Miss you all already!