Beyond the Pale: It's Beginning to Look a lot Like... Nebraska????

When I considered where to take my sabbatical this year, I considered the climate of Ireland, on the whole, to be positive. Sure, it rains here. A lot. However, temperatures are quite mild. As a person who is allergic to the sun and used to spending the sunny months slathering sun block on exposed skin, I looked forward to wearing long sleeves and pants as a matter of course. Regarding the lower end of the thermometer, I was pleased to learn that the weather rarely dips below freezing. In fact, according to the Irish Meteorological Service Online, minimum temperatures fall below freezing “less than 10 days per year in most coastal areas.”

During my last sabbatical, I lived through the European heat wave of 2003, one of the hottest summers on record. I was in Florence, Italy during the month of August—something I cannot recommend. Around 20,000 people died in Italy during that heat wave and I understand why. I was consistently miserable. Any part of me that was touching anything else was hot and there was no break, even at night. Of course, I had no air conditioning and neither did the language school where I spent my mornings during that time. I still remember the evening in early September when I was walking in the Piazza Signoria and I felt the first hint of cool breeze: salvation had come!

In keeping with what appears to be my “sabbatical-in-a-country-with-weather-extremes,” Galway has experienced unusually cold temperatures. I am fairly confident that the temperature did not rise above freezing for several days. We’ve had a good deal of frost and some snow, leaving streets and walking paths quite slick in places. As a Michigander by birth and a Nebraskan for the last fourteen years, I am much more prepared to handle this weather extreme than I was the 2003 heat of Italy.

For the first few days of the extreme cold, I stubbornly tried to keep the heat in my apartment set on low. I have heard how expensive electric heat is here in Ireland, and I don’t want to have to sing on Shop Street with an upturned hat at my feet in order to raise enough money to pay my electric bill. (And, let’s be honest, I wasn’t going to make much money that way!) The day I wore my fleece hat, long johns, and a wool sweater while sitting under a wool blanket, I gave in and turned the heat up.

Temperatures are reaching above freezing now during the day, and for that I am grateful. Today was particularly beautiful. I took a long walk in the sunshine and did not feel cold. I did, however lose my feet once in a slick area that the sun had not warmed yet. Thankfully, I did not fall down.

Another possible benefit of the cold weather is that the otters are back in the harbor and they are frolicking more than ever. On more than one occasion I counted fourteen otters at one time. I’m not sure why they are here now, but I am enjoying every minute of it.