this morning at breakfast i met four people on holiday from london and they invited me along for a tour of the bogside murals here in derry. they were all very nice and entertaining. the tour was super cool but it started really, really raining about halfway through-- so much that my pants were completely soaked even though i had an umbrella. there were about 25 kids from australia on our tour as well, and we all kept bouncing from tree to tree trying to find shelter from the storm. the rain stopped as soon as we stepped into the bogside artists' studio to meet the artists and watch a short video of what they've done. it was fascinating but soggy. after the video when we went out to look at the murals up close, it started raining again so our viewing was short lived. i think i'm going to try and see them up close again this afternoon now that it's not raining (again).
the londoners took off and i changed clothes and grabbed a sandwich from the deli down the road. two days in a row now i've ordered what i thought was egg salad but what is actually sliced egg with onions and mayo. tasty, but not really what i've had in mind.
in their defense, the irish i've met so far seem to have a hard time understanding me, too. and most of them are relatively ... leery of me. at least it seems that way. i've decided that as a young woman traveling alone i'm easily approachable but that other women are often cold toward me. why, i can't say for sure. single women often treat me fine but most women in a couple--traveling with their husbands or boyfriends-- aren't all that nice. maybe i'm a threat? it's hard to explain-- more like a feeling.
the minute i open my mouth with the irish, though, i become a novelty. with the french it wasn't quite like that-- they seemed more annoyed that i couldn't speak french perfectly and were less interested about me and where i was from. the irish just stare and stare after i order something or speak; and this is more strange, i think, because we have a common language. i haven't met many people who've gotten past the staring part. maybe they're shy? or they're not used to americans all the way up here? all these half baked thoughts.