Ireland to me...
...is the voice of an angel and the light sound of Gaelic, down-to-earth people with strong spirits and a wicked sense of humor.
Ireland to me is sharp cliffs and green fields, the smell of Spring rain and an old bus in Dublin.
Ireland is women going grocery shopping with incredibly high heels and short skirts, or ratty jogging pants, and an accent like thick butter.
It's a lilting tune and a steady beat, a day of accordion music and "five, six, off you go"; colorful outfits and bouncing curls and a zillion pins at the end of the day. It's a skip and a leap and a step that takes you across the stage, rythmic taps so fast that your feet seem to blur, and the exhilaration of flight.
It's ceili evenings and a pint of cider with live music playing, singing traditional songs with their steps for lyrics and your hands doing the dance in your feet's stead; it's thick stew and warm scarves and people with big hearts and sharp tongues, and it may seem like only a small element of the country, but to me... Ireland really is dance.
