So, it is Christmas and what have we done?

Deciding what to do at Christmas time when you are a foreign student, living miles and miles away from home is difficult.

I am homesick!

Ah! How it hurts! Christmas is one of my favourite seasons of the year. It’s such a great time to spend with family.  Brazil...I really miss you …

..hold on a second…am I out of my mind?? Wow … I LOVE IRELAND!

I love Ireland, I-DO-REALLY-LOVE-IT-HERE! I have to admit that I love Christmas time more than any other season. (especially the day after when everything is on sale). In my opinion, family is having everyone you love around you, home is the place you reside, alas…thank you Ireland for believing in me and making my dreams come true!

Alright, I can not change the subject so let´s “talk” about Christmas time in Ireland. 

Jervis Shopping Centre - Henry Street - Dublin

It's a time when good things happen.

I feel like I am living in a fairy tale, all the streets wrapped up in an eclectic mix of colours and lights, shining everywhere.  I love to see people smiling, greeting unknown faces and wishing you a Merry Christmas.

Grafton Street - Dublin

Oki doki…it is time to go shopping. There is the Christmas market at St. Stephen’s Green, the shops in town are all decorated and the staff wearing seasonal costumes. How beautiful it is to see people wearing Christmas jumpers....it is a kind of tradition and you have to have one to not feel left out...in all places and events, it is important that everyone knows it’s  already  Christmas.

Grafton Street - Dublin

Christmas Market, St Stephen´s Green - Dublin

Christmas Market, St Stephen´s Green - Dublin

The city has a magical atmosphere, effusing a real sense of hope. Almost all Christmas trees are real, and the smell lingers in the air.

There are so many gifts distributed in the streets, food stalls selling typical Irish food, "children" who live far away are coming back home to surprise their oft times elderly parents. 

The city is crowded and sometimes it is difficult to walk along the streets, as they narrow with so many people passing through.

This is Christmas in Dublin, frozen and windy, rainy and dark, but at the same time, so bright and effervescent, lots of happy faces, plenty of hot drinks and that burning sense that snow awaits you in the not so distant future!

Ilac Shopping - Dublin

Nothing compares to a "thanks love" by a lovely lady working the market stalls, or "I beg your pardon" when someone needs to pass you...or the kind way to ask you to repeat something "pardon me?" …actually, this for me sums Ireland up nicely. Christmas time makes this simple action more intense.

So, it is Christmas, and what have you done? The year is finishing and a new one is about to begin. With it comes a chance to make it better than what passed before...

Let´s make things happen,

Let´s be proud of ourselves in everything we do

Let´s love more,

Let´s have no war

Let´s live life

Let´s go somewhere…  maybe Ireland ;-)

Let it snow, Let it snow …

Wicklow Mountains - Ireland