Back from the motherland!

I think every English teacher should get money to go to England (and Scotland, Ireland, and Wales) at least once in his or her career.

I spent almost two weeks in the UK and Ireland and came back feeling oh-so-literary. I didn't go to any famous writers' birthplaces or anything like that, but just being around the towns and hills and ruins made me feel suitably reverent. If I lived there (anywhere in the British Isles), I would just wander around with a tent, sleeping bag, suitcase, camera, and laptop and write about the beauty, the people, the music, and even some of the sadness.

We spent a couple of days in Scotland - high point was probably the visit to Inverrary Castle - absolutely gorgeous. While in England, I got to the British Museum, Windsor Castle, and the Tower of London - amazing! In Ireland we drove around several peninsulas in the southwest - spent three days in Dingle and took a boat ride out to Blasket Island. Saw the Cliffs of Mohr and some other cliffs that just took my breath away. The last night we spent in Ennis - 15 miles from the airport - and saw a movie "The Wind that Shook the Barley" in a packed theatre. This taught me a lot about the fight for independence right after World War I - Ireland has had so much sadness and strife in their history.

Whenever I come back from Europe, I'm reminded how young our country is and I understand how much evolution we probably have to go through. People overseas look at us with a mixure of indulgent tolerance, amusement, irritation, and affection. We're like an obstreporous teenager with a lot of potential, but behaving badly way too often!

Makes me want to read, that's for sure!