Jennifer Willis

I didn’t mean my previous post to suggest that I’ve been having a rotten time here. Quite the contrary. I’ve found the vast majority of Irish people — natives and immigrants alike — to be remarkably friendly and generous people.
As an example, I took the train from Dublin to Mullingar the first Saturday that I was here. I was off to meet with the childhood friend of an acquaintance of mine from Portland — my one and only Muslim contact in the small town. After I’d gotten off the train, I patted my pockets checking for my wallet, house keys, [...]

I’ve been holding off on writing this, because I wasn’t quite sure how I wanted to approach it. Head-on, I guess.
I’ve been frankly shocked by the number of people who smoke here. Maybe I’ve gotten used to the cleaner air and the largely cleaner lifestyles of most of the people I know in Portland, but I’m still (five weeks later) surprised by the huge clouds of smoke every time I step onto the street. There’s no smoking allowed in restaurants or pubs (except for designated areas), but I swear sometimes it smells like there’s someone just behind me smoking, even [...]

So I have only a few days remaining here in Ireland, where I’ve been talking to lots of folks — Buddhists, Pagans, Jews, Muslims, atheists, religious educators, etc. — about religious diversity. I’ve put together a wide variety of story pitches based on what I’ve been finding. And I still have not a single assignment to show for it.
Last night, I finally let this news drop — to someone other than my boyfriend. I was at Gogarty’s Pub in Temple Bar and found myself sitting by a middle-aged Toronto couple on vacation. As we got acquainted, they asked about my [...]