Kerry & Blarney

Hello All! It's been many moons since I've last written (or at least it feels like it). I have had some adventures since I was in Dublin a few weeks ago. Two weekends ago my study abroad group when to County Kerry to experience the Ring of Kerry Heritage Weekend. We had all of our meals prepared for us, and stayed in nice hotel rooms. A much welcome change from the "roughing-it" we do in the apartment (ha!).

The first night we learned some Irish dance, and I am pleased to announce that I am definitely NOT coordinated. At all. In lieu of steps I did a bunch of kicking and spinning, but it was good craic nonetheless. We took a few bus tours and did our share of hiking and photography (I did not bring proper footwear. Note to all: flats are not a good time in rural Ireland).

In the summer months you can take tours out to those islands and actually hike. The next time I am in Ireland I will be taking that trip. 

Kerry was a bit closer to what comes to mind when people think about "typical" Ireland. It was a welcome change to city life, at least for one weekend. I do need the occasional noisy pub and silent disco to keep my sanity though :) 

Last week my roommate had a few friends from home visit, so over the weekend we decided to take a trip to Blarney Castle. Blarney is in County Cork, and is approximately a 3 hour bus ride. Our bus left from Galway at half eight and arrived in Cork at half eleven. From there we went to the main bus station and purchased tickets to Blarney. It was 20 minute bus ride that took us directly where we needed to go. 

We started out by visiting a pub for lunch that had delicious vegetable soup, and I tried chips (fries) and vinegar for the first time. Delicious! Then we went straight to the castle. Admission was 10 euro for students, and it was worth every cent. The grounds are absolutely gorgeous. We definitely made a good choice coming during the off-season, that allowed us to run around and pose for pictures every 20 steps. Blarney was a different experience than I was expecting, I was imagining carefully roped off pathways, but it felt like a giant playground. You're free to explore caves and dungeons, or take a long walk on the grounds if you choose to. 

Totally haunted. No doubt in my mind.

Eventually we ended up at a small cafe and I was able to sample Irish Coffee for the first time. For those of you who don't know, Irish Coffee is whiskey, sugar, coffee and cream. We then continued to run around until we found an actual playground. 5 Adult females always feel right at home on a tire swing or playing in a giant pile of leaves. 

Our bus from Cork was departing for Galway at 7pm, and I'm paranoid so I wanted to get back as soon as possible to allow for error. We hopped on a bus from Blarney at half five, and it's a good thing we did. Because of my (poor) judgement what should have been a 20 minute bus ride turned into an hour and 20 minutes (oops). This left us enough time to grab a bite to eat before our bus. We arrived at the bus stop in plenty of time, and occupied ourselves with a sing off between us and the large group standing next to us (whether or not they were aware they were participating is to be determined). As we waited in the freezing cold, 7 came and went. 7:10 came and went. 7:15 came and went. Eventually we saw a man with a CityLink jacket on and he told us that the bus had broken down and they were sending a new one. In total we stood outside for a sold hour before the bus arrive at 7:45. 

Even with the hiccups, Blarney was completely worth it. Allison and I are heading to Scotland next weekend, I'll be sure to update you all on our adventures there!

Until next time!

Dubh Linn

This past weekend my study abroad group had our excursion to Dublin. We took off early, and i mean EARLY, saturday morning. Meeting at the coach station at 7:30 am. We went straight to our hostel to drop off our bags. Except me. I was able to pack everything in my purse of doom, which if you ever have the opportunity to stay in a hostel, the lighter you pack the happier you'll be. 

Dublin (Dubh Linn, "the black pool") is a great city. It is absolutely gorgeous. Initially I wanted to take pictures of all the buildings I thought looked really beautiful, but all I got out of it were crappy pictures that looked like this; 

What on earth was I going for?

From our hostel we took a short walk through the city on our way to the Viking Splash Tour. The bus is painted to look like a boat, and we were given viking hats to wear during the tour. 

As we have discussed this tour was called Viking Splash. So, I'm not sure why I was so surprised when  the bus actually DROVE INTO THE WATER. 

Orange life vests are flattering

I say the bus drove into the water, but it was a more drawn out process than that. They did give each of us a life vest (safety first) and attached some big yellow floaties transforming our tour bus into a tour boat. From there we saw some buildings involved in the Easter Rising, U2's recording studio, and the largest theatre in Ireland (or maybe it was in Europe. Hard to keep things straight) 

After the tour we headed to a restaurant for lunch, where I finally found spicy food here and some delicious cocktails.  Then we headed to Dublin Castle. It was a gorgeous building, with parts of the foundation original to the Viking settlements. There is a portion of the original river (moat??) still visible underground where tourists throw change as a sort of wishing well. Our guide told us that over 70 human skulls were found in that river, curious then why people use it for wishes.

Our last stop of the day was to the Guinness factory. It was a self guided tour, which basically means you run to the 7th floor as quickly as you can to get your free pint of Guinness. I tried to drink it, I really did. But, I have something against a beverage that is reminiscent of used motor oil. Regardless, seeing the whole process was pretty interesting. If you have the opportunity, I think this is definitely worth a stop. 

Saturday night meant going out for drinks in Dublin, it was a good time but me and three other girls came back to the hostel super early because we were dead tired. (I regret nothing). While we're on the subject of the hostel, check out this awesome artwork 

The hostel was covered with paintings like this. It was a pretty cozy experience. (No one was killed like  Hollywood would have us believe). 

Sunday morning 10 am came much too soon, but we took a tour of a prison and then we headed to Trinity College to look at the Book of Kells. If i am not mistaken, the Book of Kells is just the Gospels that are written in latin. They are so old. It is crazy that they survived this long. I would have a few pictures to show you, but they don't allow any photography in the exhibit. 

The Book of Kells was our last stop, we had about an hour to kill in Dublin so a few of us walked around the city center (down town) and got lunch. Then we hoped on a bus from 2 and half hours back to Galway.

Dublin is a gorgeous city and I would like to spend more time there in the future, but I still prefer my Galway. The friendly atmosphere is unmatched, and I was happy to get back. 

Until next time!

Procrastination is Best!

I am being a terrible blog updater. In the interest of procrastination I've decided to remedy that! Since I last wrote my study abroad group has had an excursion to the Aran Islands. Before this trip the Cliffs of Moher had been my favorite thing in Ireland, but the islands were so much better.

We started off at 9am Saturday morning (much too early for my taste) and we took a bus to the ferry. The bus was absolutely jam packed, we were luck to all get seats. We then road the ferry for 45 minutes to the island and rented bikes once we arrived. In total we probably rode for 3 hours or so, and my butt definitely reminded me of that for the next few days, but I digress. Riding around the island was absolutely gorgeous. Our main goal was a fort (I think it was a fort), so we ditched the bikes and took a short hike up a hill.

When we finally got to the top, it look like this.....

Except it was way better because pictures never do the sights here any justice at all.

We were lucky enough to get perfect weather, there was barely even a breeze, in fact I was able to get right up to the edge and peer 87 metres (that's how they spell it here) down to the Atlantic, sorry Mom. After we got back to Galway Allison and I took a trip to Tesco to stock up on supplies for that evening. A couple girls came over and we all made a fort that looked something like this; 

In light of the days activities, it seemed appropriate. 

Also, today I found out that the keyboards they have here are different, and believe me that is a MAJOR disability. Quotes and "@" are switched, and where the shift key usually lives there is a forward slash instead. Add that to the fact that I have basically no clue how to use Word for PC's and I'm sure you can understand what a dunce my group members probably think I am.

The next time I update will most likely be in a couple weeks after we've had our Dublin trip. 

Until next time! 

I've been a bit lazy the last few weeks, I didn't realize how long it had been since my last blog until just about right now.  3 weeks! Crazy. I'm getting the hang of things here in Ireland and how daily life functions here as opposed to home. For instance classes start 10-15 minutes late, and that is "on time". I also learned that when searching for classrooms 125g is NOT the same location as 125. In all honestly, all the buildings here seem sort of unorganized. Some classrooms don't have numbers at all, just long names (and that is super fun to navigate). Other buildings have rooms 150, 200, and 250 all on the same floor right next to one another. However, with the cards against me, I managed to successfully locate all my classes (with the help of a few strangers).

I've joined a few extracurriculars as well, The Potter Society (yes, this is a club about Harry Potter), Mountaineering Club, and Archery Club. I haven't participated in mountaineering yet because I've somehow managed to injure my knee and I don't think it would appreciate being dragged all over Ireland on steep slopes. Archery is super fun though, there was a huge mass of people at the first meeting, but I enjoyed my experience. I'll be shooting like Katniss in no time! (ha) The volunteering fair is coming up next week so I'll be adding to my list of events on that day too, I'm sure.

I am pleased to announce that my apartment is no longer empty, and my last two roommates are in fact Irish. This is most helpful when trying to find the good pubs, and just to have someone to ask the odd question. I was surprised that they are just as interested in our culture as we are in theirs. We've had in depth conversations on everything from television to high school vs. secondary school.

Since I have been here for over a month and my only transportation are my feet, I have had more than a few close calls with traffic. Being a pedestrian in a country that drives on the left is more treacherous than I could have imagined. In the US when crossing the street you look left, then right, then left again. If i were to do that here I would look left then right and I would be hit by a bus that was sneakily approaching on my left. It's just so ingrained in me, that has probably been one of the most difficult transitions.

As far as homesickness, that is basically gone. I miss my bed, my boy, and decent wifi, but I'm adjusting to Irish life. I enjoy drinks, and I enjoy being late so I would say things are going quite well :)

Until next time!

Craic!

I'm pretty well settled into my new apartment at this point. Is it as nice as the pictures led me to believe? Almost! I figured out how to work most everything here. In Ireland they have switches that you have to flip in order to be able to use the light switches. There are also switches for outlets. There are practically switches for switches! And there is only hot water in the morning, which will definitely be an adjustment for me taking my 2 a.m. showers.

I think the thing that is throwing me the most at this point is how everything functions at school. Things work completely differently here then at home, for instance classes end on November 24, we have a week study break and then exams begin on December 4th, ending December 14th. And if that isn't strange enough for me, we have a two week "grace period" where we find out if we want certain classes and we register for the whole term on September 17th. I feel like I'll hardly be in school at all!

So far I've met mostly American students, the word on the street is that all the other students (non-international students) will be moving in tomorrow. And since we have two empty bedrooms that is most exciting for us! I am hoping they are Irish, but I will be equally satisfied with anyone I think. In any case I'm ready for this big apartment to be filled and for rooms to stop echoing.

Last night was our first group activity with CEA. We went to an event called Trad on the Prom which is boasted to be "Irish Music, Song & Dance at it's Best". I enjoyed it immensely, the performers were some of the most talented people I've ever witnessed. It was "good craic" as my study abroad director would say (pronounced like "crack" but as I've been told numerous times, it has nothing to do with the street drug). I think I have a new found love for the fiddle and I will be visiting itunes shortly.

Today was my last day of orientations, which is an extremely good thing, believe me. Now I just have to figure out this wonky registration process and I'll be all set!

Until next time!

Look out for deer??? No, Look out for Sheep

Today was my first full day in Ireland. A huge step up from the utter horror that was yesterdays debacle. We started by visiting Bunratty Castle and it was a really beautiful trip. But, I’m beginning to find out that much of Ireland is very, very beautiful. Anyway, back to the castle! The grounds are largely reconstructed to look like they would have in the functioning days of the castle with small cottages and a small village. They even had a woman making fresh cream from cows milk!

Baby Dicky and Toothless enjoying the grounds!

Bunratty Castle

Baby Dicky and Toothless make friends so quickly!

This is the village. Ignore the people, this place is a tourist trap.

     The castle was quite impressive. We were able to view the different rooms and they were decorated in the period themes. My favorite part was the tower, it had an absolutely stunning view. After Bunnratty we went back to Shannon to see if the airport either had 1. My bag or 2. My phone number. They didn’t and they did, respectfully. It’s beginning to look as though I will be purchasing an entirely new wardrobe while I’m here. I put all of my extreme valuables (lap top, nice jewelry etc.) in my carry on so it’s nothing too tragic, but it certainly is annoying. I had some of my favorite outfits in there! Not to mention a lot of new things that I had bought specifically for this. Fingers crossed that Air Lingus comes through for me!

     After Shannon we started our travels to Tullycross. I can’t be sure, but I’m fairly certain that it was a 3 or 4 hour drive. Along the way we stopped in a small town for dinner. It was so quaint, I can’t tell for sure but I think this is the sort of place where you buy meat from the butcher and bread from the baker. After lunch we ventured to Tullycross. We saw some of the most gorgeous scenery. This place really is green, they do not call it the Emerald Isle for nothing. There were fields, tons of livestock (everywhere! Even right next to busy highways) stone “fencing” everywhere. There were rollings hills and lakes, the ocean, and even Mountains. We’ve been fortunate to have beautiful weather for the first few days which allowed us a good look at everything. Oh yes, and sheep. There are sheep littered everywhere in the countryside. And we’re not talking behind fences peering out at you while they munch on their farm cultivated grass. These puppies are roaming wherever they please, and taking their sweet time crossing the road. It sort of reminded me of Meijer when people will stop in the middle of the isle to go about their business paying no mind to all the people around them. 

Completely untouched. This place is truly green.

Near Tullycross in Connemara 

Eventually you do pass what seems like miles of grazing land and enter a very foresty area. You’re no longer bothered by sheep but then you have to deal with extremely narrow roads. EXTREMELY. Oh, and speaking of narrow roads, in Ireland it’s apparently okay to park on the side of the road in either direction and on the traffic lanes. Honey Badger don’t care, neither do the Irish, but I digress. We found ourselves lost along the way, but a minor correction and Kristin knew where we were supposed to be headed. We are now all settled into our cottage for the next seven days (I’m sure we’ll have moved on by the time I’ve posted this). Sleep is calling me. Night! 

Phew!

I made it! I’m finally here! And let me tell you, it was a process. Our first flight was set to take off from Traverse City at 4:55, then connect at O’Hare and depart from Chicago at 5:05 (with the time change this really gave us about 15 minutes to get from point A to point B). Cherry Capital Airport being the soul sucking wretched business that it is, delayed out flight by 35 minutes. This left us absolutely hauling butt to make it to our flight from Chicago to Manchester, England. Oh and did I mention that the airport couldn’t check our bags from Traverse City to Shannon? They checked them from Traverse City to Manchester. Which left us in a position where we had to go through customs, pick up our bags, get rechecked and go through customs again. Mom and Kristin found their bags without incident. But, mine? Oh where are mine? According to the worker they had been put on the plane to Shannon. That was all well and good, except waiting for my mysterious luggage had caused us to miss our flight to Shannon. From there we booked a flight to London, then finally to Shannon.

            I know you’re all on the edge of your seats wondering, did she get it?! Was her bag there!? Well folks, it certainly wasn’t. So that left me with forms to fill out and numbers to call. And allegedly they will have my bag to me by tomorrow morning and no matter where I am staying they will bring my bag to me. That’s wonderful news, however I am still without all my clothes and toiletries for the night. We ended up going to a local department store so that I could get a shirt for tomorrow at a toothbrush at least. 

Oh, and we drove to the store. Drove. In a car. On the left side of the road. Maybe that doesn’t sound all that scary to you, but when you have already been in an airport for 19 hours running around and haven’t had any sleep in 24 hours it is a positively terrifying and stressful experience.

After we picked up a few things at the store we went back to the airport to pick up a sim card so that we will have a phone again. I’m so disconnected, it’s really strange.

It’s now 10:30 pm here, and I am absolutely exhausted. I must depart to take a shower, fore I am a dirty child. Until next time!