Last night was undoubtedly the best night I have had in Ireland and, as much as I was yearning to be at Vassar or in the states for it all, election night in Dublin was something I'll never forget. Of course, nothing started happening until eleven here, so I went with my roommates to a friend's apartment and borrowed her hospitality and her television for the first couple hours. When my roommates tired out -they had just gotten back from Madrid- I took a cab into town and met some friends in a pub called Cafe en Seine that is neither a cafe nor on the Seine. It was an election party, so the interior was adorned with banners and streamers and balloons (that I stole at the end of the night for our apartment) and a beautiful melange of Irish, Americans, and everything in between (people-wise, not the Atlantic ocean). Everyone was friendly and cheerful and buying drinks for everyone else and it was truly amazing to see so many people from other countries so invested in the outcome of the race. Even my cab driver going into town went on and on about the hope he has for Obama and how much power he would have to restore the world's faith in America.
So I don't know most of the people in the first photo or several of the ones next to me in the second, but people didn't seem to care who knew who when it came to taking happy photographs.
Technically the pub had to close by 3, but they took more of an "oh, there are still people here?" approach and "forgot" to kick anyone out. So we stayed long enough into the morning to meet Obamites from across the world and watch CNN call President-elect Obama. And according to my mother, the Kansas bond issue passed! So for many reasons, the evening will probably not be topped in my time here.
Although today was pretty enjoyable as well. My linguistics professor began his email to the class today with "Dear Obamaphiles, Yes We Can!" and proceeded to talk about changes in the lecture schedule. And although I didn't make it to my seminar today, an American friend of mine made it to hers and said that when she walked in ten minutes past the hour, the professor stopped talking and the class clapped while she found her seat. The words I've heard most frequently today from the Irish are probably "surreal," "proud" and "right on." So hopefully the Anti-Americanism that invariably arises when conversation turns to politics might begin to eek away.
I love you all and hope that election night at home was every bit as wonderful as it looked on TV. Happy Guy Fawkes day and may this phrase take on new meaning in light of the historic events of 2008: Remember, remember, the fifth of November.
2 comments:
Dear Christine:
Thanks for this great post. It is very gratifying and satisfying to read of how folks over there care about our election and see this as a very positive thing for not only America but also the world. Hopefully those expectations will be met and even surpassed over the next four years.
Love,
Dad
Amazing. I don't think there's ever been such a universally and overwhelmingly positive response to a U.S. presidential election in our history. It's wonderful that you were able to experience your part of this history from the unique perspective of being abroad. I'm so glad it turned out the right way -- otherwise being abroad wouldn't have been quite as fun!
Good luck with not coming down with bronchitis or the like. I know it took a couple of days for my voice to recover from all the revelry. See you in two and a half weeks!
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