In Dublin, people say the "th" sound as more of a light "t." They end up saying things like, "I tink tat's te ticket." When the cab driver kept saying "tirteen," it came out more of a strange way of saying "dirty." He was describing the train tracks the city of Dublin is laying down to put their new tram system in place. Why the city would be so interested in putting in so many dirty tracks was a little baffling, but you never know with the Irish now, do ya?
Ay, but they're a nice lot. The 'rents and I visited the city and saw the sights this weekend, and although Dublin is a nice enough place, most of our energy was spent just enjoying one another's company and making fun of each other. That's true family fun. Mom's on crutches, which made movement a bit more difficult, but I don't think anybody seemed to mind: we were all on the same wavelength as to how much of an effort we really wanted to put into sightseeing. I was grateful for that, because, really, I didn't feel like hanging out in museums or the Guiness brewery, although both were options. Instead, we got coffee, wandered (hobbled, in Mom's case) around for a bit, bought some Irish goods, ate a lovely dinner, and called it a day. I guess I'm getting old, but I consider that to be a fabulous way to spend a Saturday in a new city. Sunday was equally as pleasant, although cut short because we had early evening flights to make.
I had just started getting into the relaxed pace of vacationing with my parents when I had to return to Paris. Upon arrival, I learned that:
1. I have to be at my first day of work tomorrow at 9.30. I haven't prepared a lesson yet, and I think I'll pretty much be winging it come tomorrow morning.
2. Someone killed himself today along the train tracks that would have taken me into the city from the airport. So instead I had to wait around for a whole lot longer in order to catch the overcrowded Air France shuttle bus. It's four euros more and takes twice as long, but ach... had to be done.
3. I have so much Arabic to prepare for Friday I think I'm flipping out! And I'm not really the type to flip out about homework! Our teacher sends us homework via email. Whoa nelly. I missed class on Friday (to take an afternoon flight to Dublin) and man, now I'm waaayyy behind.
So, for all the relaxation and good a nice weekend with my parents did me, it's back to the grind tomorrow morning.
The good thing is that I can now tell my English students that they shouldn't worry so much about pronouncing their "th"s anymore. They can just pretend they're Irish and say them as "t." No questions asked. That takes some of the pressure off me now, doesn't it?