Dublin, Day 1

Made it to Dublin with relatively few difficulties (compared to last year). Our hostel is very comfortable, and Robert, the guy who runs it, is very cordial and friendly to us as his guests. Mixed feelings overall, this time around. On one hand, there's not much mystery to Dublin anymore, and we kind of had to hit the ground running, meeting and practicing music even though our internal clocks are still on Eastern time. On the other hand, the familiarity of it allows some of us to move through everything a little bit easier, and also, after getting everyone together and playing through a few songs, I am very confident in the turnout of this week's goings on. Shenandoah in particular sounded very nice with cello, violin, whistle and accordion (along with other instruments). Lots of new faces, but we're getting to know each other quickly, and the familiar faces (both from the trip last year and those from Dublin) really help. Tomorrow we're on the streets playing and then a coffee house in the evening. Pray that goes well!