You know how there are some moments where everything is just great? Moments when even though there are innumerable things going wrong, or just not going the way you want, you still can’t help but smile? This week was a series of those moments, intermittent with moments that I sincerely hope will never be dismissed from my memory with time or age or what have you.

The week started off fairly normal, until around Wednesday. On Wednesday, everything got a little bit troublesome. See, we (meaning Andy and I) had planned a trip to Dublin, Ireland weeks ago with around ten other international students from Radboud. I had been looking forward to this trip basically since we booked our plane tickets because when I decided to study abroad, Ireland was one of the places I put on my “must-see” list—cheesy, I know. The main reasons for the placement were pretty straightforward- one, that I am half Irish on my mother’s side, and the other is that Dublin has a extraordinarily rich history in Literature, producing some of my favorite writer’s—James Joyce being the most prominent among them because, well, he’s James Joyce.

Therefore, up until Wednesday, the Dublin trip was always in the back of my mind, something to get excited for. But on Wednesday, Andy and I discovered we had a problem. Our flight left at 8:05 from Weeze airport, outside of Dusseldorf, Germany, which is about 45 minutes by car from Nijmegen. Because we had to arrive fairly early to get though security, there would be no train leaving from Nijmegen early enough to get us there on time. The solution to this problem, which I can say with all confidence, really, really, sucked, was that we had to take a shuttle to Weeze at 3:30 in the morning on Thursday, and then stay in the airport until our flight left at eight. We understandably did not get much sleep before the shuttle left, or in the terminal after we arrived (you would think they would make those places more suitable for sleeping). So, between the lack of sleep, and the exhaustion of travel, we arrived at our hostel in Dublin in a state of semi consciousness. We were woken up, however slightly, by the fact that we had made it, and were now free to enjoy the city, which, I can say with no doubts is my favorite city in the world.

But, as I said in the beginning, this initial sensation of being in such a wonderful place wore off, however slightly, due to extenuating circumstances. For one, of the ten people who said they were going to Dublin at the same time as we were, only two actually came. Also, at some point before or after leaving for the trip, I was bitten by some type of unknown poisonous insect on the leg, and therefore, by Friday, was having trouble walking, which does not help with any site-seeing endeavors I wished to involve myself in of. Also, when we arrived back in Nijmegen, parts of my bike which were previously attached had mysteriously become unattached. This last concern is really a mute point because this morning, when I woke up, my bike had mysteriously disappeared altogether into thin air, ending the fledgling reign of the second bike I’ve owned since arriving in The Netherlands.

BUT, and there is a but, as I said in the beginning of this entry, throughout all of this, I could not help but to smile. Even though my leg was throbbing, and Dublin was not the party we had envisioned, and the fact that exhaustion was carried along to all of the sites we visited like heavy baggage, throughout all this stuff, I smiled. I smiled because I couldn’t believe I was there. I smiled because I wanted to sit in the Temple Bar with a pint Guinness and a plate of fish and chips, and never leave that spot. I smiled because of all the things I could have done and actions I could have taken, smiling seemed the best option thinkable. I smiled, and still smile for a million other reasons I can’t express and which don’t really matter in the grand scheme of things. The important thing to remember throughout this entire post is that I smiled. And, I know most of the problems I just told you about are trivial and more inconveniences than real problems, so it is a lot easier for me to sit back and say “just smile” when life inconveniences creep up and bite you, but I promise, if you do, or if you at least try, all those troubles will be put into perspective. If at some point you can sit back, cross your arms, and show the world those pearly whites, all those things you were vexed about a moment ago will fade into the background, individual ships on an ocean of space and time. After all, if life is all there is, then you’ve got it all. So, as I wrote in my last post, and will continue to write until arthritis makes it impossible to do so– smile.

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