Spaghetti and M&M Cookies!

Beth Murphy made us spaghetti, garlic bread, salad (no, our new friend Tom from upstate New York brought that salad), and M&M cookies (because they don't have chocolate chips) for dinner last night and we watched Grey's Anatomy (although they are pretty far behind on episodes, it was still fun to watch).

I had my first bag of Irish potato chips yesterday (although they call them "crisps" or "taytos.") They call the courses here "modules," cell phones "mobiles," and shopping carts "trollies." To "call" someone is to stop by their place, and to "ring" is to call them on the telephone. "Grand" is good, "Lovely" is better, "Brilliant" is better yet, and "Savage" is the best. If you have a class at 10:30, it's at "half ten," and all the clocks are on military time. And doing something for "good craic" (pronouned "crack") is doing something for fun. I'm slowly learning the lingo...

Today I had anthropology with an American professor. All my professors so far seem really really nice, but it's just weird that there are hundreds of people in the lecture halls and that my professors will probably never know my name. We will have smaller discussion groups or tutorials for a few of the classes, but it's still going to take some getting used to; my biggest class at Saint Mary's last year was about 30 people...

The sun was out this morning when I woke up; it was beautiful.

Poland!

I just talked to one of my roommates (Milena, the friendly one), and she's from Poland! I'm very excited to get to know her. The other two girls still aren't very friendly... and Milena said the last of our roommates is coming on Thursday; I think she's friends with the two unfriendly Irish girls... maybe she sill make things better...

I just ate a ham sandwich. I'm sick of ham sandwiches.

Also, I have a crush on the head of the English department... good shoes. I hope I have him for a class :)

I'm sure you're all very interested in what I eat for lunch and who I have crushes on, but, well, as the excitement dies down, there will be less and less to talk about on here...

Funky Tasting Alfredo Sauce

My roommates finally came today! I haven't talked to them much; one of them, Milena, seems really really nice, but she's quiet and keeps to her room when she's here. The other two (I'm supposed to have 5 total, but I've only seen 3 so far) are friends already... they aren't very friendly, and when I come into the common room they pretty much ignore me. Their names are Maria and Onya (I'm not sure how to spell that), and they have a friend named Brita that is always in here with them too. Roberta told us the Irish are pretty shy, though, so I think it will just be a matter of breaking the ice. We got a TV, though, which will be nice. We watched a little bit of "Coronation Street," an English soap opera which was hilarious, and I even caught a little snippet of Oprah today!

Last night the fajitas that Deb (my friend Beth's Irish roommate) made us where delicious, and then we all did a shot (my first) of tequila... blecgh. It was disgusting. But now I can say I tried it, I suppose. Then we went to the student union (where they have a bar), and danced for while... it was fun, but we didn't stay out too late because classes started today!

I only had one class so far and it was so packed with hundreds of students (including a LOT of adults) that I had to sit on the steps. I still have no idea what's going on with my schedule, but I'll catch on, I guess. I'm learning how to "go with the flow" here; that's just how the Irish do it.

I also started "work" today. I'm the assistant to the Saint Mary's coordinator, Roberta, and I basically just had to run errands and copy some things down for her. She said most of my job will be to make calls and reservations for the trips she's planning for us, run errands, and a lot of the time she won't have work for me so I can just sit in the office, do homework, and use her heater (free heat!).

I had pasta for dinner tonight with some funky tasting alfredo sauce... it was kinda gross. I'm going to have to really start thinking about cooking soon...

We had a meeting/class with Roberta today in which we just asked her quesitons and told her how we were adjusting. She had some things that the girls last year left us, so I got some string lights that are now hanging in my room, a clock (which is on military time, so it won't be much use), some hairspray, cold medicine, tape, and hangers! Whoopie!

That's all, I guess... nothing too exciting today. I'm staying in tonight (even though it's "fresher's fortnight and we're supposed to go out every night) because I have a class at 9am toorrow. I'm sure my Tuesday classes will result in more questions than answers, but I'll figure it all out.

I'll figure it all out...

Polish Cheeks

It's sad to see all the Irish students moving in today with their families here to help, but what's even more sad is that my roommates STILL aren't here!

Today I finally got to sleep in! Some of the girls went to church, and after, Beth's Irish roommate Deborah took us into Dublin to show us around a bit. We met her friend Jason there too; Deb and Jason are soooo nice and friendly. We took the train into Dublin which only cost like 5 Euro. (Luckily, the German dream boat came too and we all got to chat with him a bit... although we found out he has a girlfriend at home. But that's okay, we can still be his friends.) We stopped to eat at a cafe and I had a delicious chicken pannini (yes, I DID spell that right; here they spell the word "panini" with an extra "n".) After that we walked down to Temple Bar which is pretty famous. We went in a few shops, and then to a shopping center where we found a TK MAXX!!! I got myself a new winter coat, and now I'm finally done spending money (until it comes time to go on a trip!) We didn't have a lot of time in Dublin today, but we got to know Dominik (the German boy), Clare (his French friend), and Deb and Jason, and now we know where the train station is and we know how to go about getting to Dublin, so all in all it was a good day. We only had a slight problem getting the train to come back... Jason took us through Trinity College to get the the train station there, but when we got through the college, the entrance to the train station was blocked off, so we thought we were going to have to walk all the way around (and then we'd have missed the train), but we found a whole in the fence and slid through... it was quite funny, but some ladies watching us didn't seem to approve. But we made the train! When I told Deb today that I'm Polish, she told me that I look a bit Polish: that I have Polish cheeks... just something kind of interesting that I learned about myself! :)

It also didn't rain all day today! Two days in a row with no rain! It's been beautiful! (knock on wood).

Tonight Deb is providing us with nachos, fajitas, icecream, and tequila (although I only gave her 5 Euro instead of 10 because I'm only going to be there for the food.) At least I don't have to cook again! And where there's people, there is warmth!

The Roost, The Roost, The Roost is on Fi-re!

So much has happened in the last two days! Yesterday we had more orientation, and I got most of scheduling problems figured out. Looks like I'll be able to stay the full year! Yay! The SMC girls went over to the reception for international students after orientation, which was totally awkward (Domer fest part two), and by the time we got there, all the food was picked over and cold. We did meet a nice boy named Seoseph on the way over, but he later developed a crush on Leslie and we ditched him (even though we felt bad; but he was quickly becoming an Irish creeper). After the reception we went to The Roost-- one of the local pubs in Maynooth. Leslie, Elizabeth, Erin and I all got in, but Mary, Beth and Missy had to go back to get their IDs, so we watched the Irish vs France rugby game (or pretended to watch it) until they got back. They are all very interested in us! It was sooo crowded in the pub because of the rugby game, and we had trouble finding seats, but we met up with some kids that live near Maynooth and got to Trinity College in Dublin. Missy and some of the other girls had met them a previous night, and we all sat around and chatted. We met lots of nice people! I even had my first drink (a Bacardi Breezer that tasted like orange soda and NOT like alcohol... don't worry, mom, I only had one), and I even tasted Dave's beer. It was disgusting. We danced in the top floor of the Roost before Elizabeth and I retired early (we had to be up at 7 this morning and needed our sleep).

Today Roberta (our program coordinator) took us on our first trip to County Wicklow. We could not have asked for a more beautiful day! The sun was shining all day, and it was nice and warm, but not too warm! I've never appreciated the sun more than I do here. We started out at Glendalough. Glendalough ("Glen of Two Lakes") is a village located at the site of a monastery founded in the 6th century by Saint Kevin. The village was destroyed by Viking raids, but many of the buildings still stand in ruin. The monastic site includes a 33 metres tall round tower built around 1066. This tower is one of several early Irish medieval towers built throughout Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man. After Glendalough was destroyed and abandoned, it was still held very holy by Irish Christians. The village is now covered in tombstones indicating the people buried there since the village was abandoned. Bodies were buried up to 9 to a grave, and some are still buried there today. The graves cover the whole village, including inside the churches and buildings. The village is built at the foot of the Wicklow Mountains, and there was an amazing view of the mountains and the valley from where we were. We also took a walk along a path to one of the two lakes, Upper Lake," which was very beautiful as well.

After we were finished at Glendalough we took a short drive to Powerscourt, also located in Co. Wicklow. The estate occupies 47 acres, and is famous for it's castle and scenic gardens. The house was originally a 13th century castle and was a centre of strategic military importance. Lunch was on Saint Mary's, so we stuffed ourselves full and then set out into the gardens to explore. After we smelled all the roses, we came back to the castle to do a bit of shopping (although I think the most expensive thing anyone bought was postcards; I fell in love with a beautiful red coat until I saw the price tag... only 300 Euro... roughly $400. I almost cried). A fire in 1974 left the house lying as a shell until it was renovated in 1996. The house/castle has been converted into shops, a restaurant, and a five star hotel. It's charm is inexpressible.

After the hour trip back to Maynooth, we all had a computer party in Beth's room where we uploaded pictures onto facebook and sent emails while chatting and being mean to eachother (we were all very crabby as we still haven't had a chance to catch up on sleep). We listened to a bit of the ND game online until we were all too tired to care and thenceforth retired to our rooms for our first good night's sleep. Tomorrow I get to sleep in! Then Beth's Irish roommate Deborah is taking us into Dublin to show us around, then back to NUIM for the first night of "fresher's fortnight!" (Fresher's fortnight is apparently two weeks worth of partying that is particularly for the fresher, or freshmen... we'll see how I handle that!) And classes start Monday!

If you'd like to see my pictures, you can view them at:

http://nd.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2110657&l=3cd41&id=5619987
and
http://nd.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2110662&l=7d1bc&id=5619987

Blue-Eyed Dream Boat

Each day I'm here, I feel better about everything. Pretty soon I'll feel downright silly for making such a big deal out of everything, but I'm writing this blog day by day and recording exactly how I feel the moment I'm writing it.

But thanks so much for all the words of advice, words of calming, and words of encouragement. I can't tell you how helpful it's been to know that there are so many people supporting me at home.

It's warmer tonight. It rained on and off all day again, but tonight I'm only wearing one pair of socks and no long underwear! We finally got a shower curtain, although I still have no roommates :( I hope they come soon.

Today all the Saint Mary's girls met early to walk over to orientation together. It was all a lot to take in, but it was very helpful. (Not to mention that on the campus tour Elizabeth and I met a German boy named Dominik who we've deemed the "blue-eyed dream boat." We're hoping to see him again tomorrow!) At orientation they told us that we have to pick our classes, find out when they are (by looking at the website), and go to them all week, then come to registration to sign up for our classes. I had all the classes I was planning to take written down from last year when Karen Chambers (the Ireland coordinator at SMC) helped me choose them. There are only a limited number of classes we can take here and still get credit for them at Saint Mary's, so mine fit perfectly into my four year plan at SMC. HOWEVER, after looking at the lecture schedule, SEVERAL of my classes conflict with each other. And I've looked at my papers till my eyes crossed, and I just can't figure out a way to get enough classes into my schedule that I'll get credit for at Saint Mary's. I hope I can get them all in, because if I can't, then I might be coming home a semester early (I don't want to just fill my schedule with useless classes here and then end up having to take an extra semester or year of school at Saint Mary's!) I emailed Karen Chambers and I'm waiting to hear back from with her for advice. They just don't leave us much time here to figure all this out! And they only have one section of each course, so there's hardly any flexibility when it comes to scheduling. Ugh! Just one challenge after another. But I'll figure it out eventually!

It's pretty sad that we were so excited today when we got bags of free stuff and there was a Nutrigrain bar in it. Wow.

More orientation all day tomorrow, then they are having a reception for all the international students... then, I guess we're all "going out" to the pub. Wish me luck!

The Sun'll Come Out Tomorrow (Well, Maybe Not, But Things Will Get Better)

It drizzled on and of today, but it was a bit warmer, and the few scattered minutes of sunshine certainly helped to brighten my day.

I have a hair dryer (though it was expensive), I have the internet, a converter for my computer plug, pictures on my walls, a pretty pillow sham, and bins for my underwear. I made pictures frames out of the cardboard that my hair dryer and water filter came in. My room is more "mine," and I'm feeling much better already. My biggest worries are classes, food, and my bank account, but I feel better and better each time I get something done.

And I'm also learning a LOT. This morning, when I woke up, I was extremely thirsty. All I'd bought so far to drink was milk and apple-currant juice, so I went for the juice. As I hadn't washed any of the cups yet, I decided to drink straight from the giant bottle. It was very thick and very bitter, and it did NOT quench my thirst. While we were shopping all day, I was even more thirsty than I'd been when I woke up. When I came back to my room later and looked at the bottle, I saw something I hadn't noticed before. The juice was concentrate. To drink, you have to add 3 parts water to one part juice. No wonder I was so thirsty all day! My body was probably working so hard to dilute all that damn juice! Jeesh...

We also learned how to use the "trollies" (or shopping carts as we call them here). You have to put a Euro coin into the slot that hookes the trollies up to eachother in the trolly park. When you push in the Euro, the lock unlocks and you can use the trolly. When you are done with it, you lock it back up, and the Euro pops out. Pretty good idea, huh? It just would have been easier had they had a sign.

Also, Ireland is "green" in more than one sense. The countryside is green because of all the rain, but they are also green in the sense that they are a lot less wasteful than us Americans. At the market you have to buy fabric bags and reuse them instead of just being given plastic bags. They keep the lights and water heater off unless they need them, the oven and many appliances have switches on the walls to save electricity when not in use, and they hardly heat their buildings at all! I'm not sure how I feel about the heat thing, but it's nice to feel like I'm being a little less wasteful.

My roommate poked her head into my room a bit ago to tell me she's leaving for the weekend and she'll be back Sunday. Though she seems really nice, that's about all the talking we've done so far. We're just never in the room together. The rest of my flatmates haven't shown yet, and neither has our supposed "new" shower curtains.

Classes start on Monday, but we register for them the following Friday. We are expected to go to class for a week to figure out which we want to take. And then we have to go to our professors to sign up and have them sign our registration form. As of now I've been planning on taking Biology, but I think I'm going to drop it... I just don't want to take a class I KNOW I won't be good at-- I don't need anything more to stress about. I just don't know what other class I'm going to take...

I've hardly eaten at all these last two days; food is the last thing on my mind. Today I had some cereal, an apple, and a little pizza for dinner. Once everthing is settled, I'm sure I'll have more time and energy to figure out the food thing, but for now, I'm just living day by day.

I'll write more tomorrow, but I've got to go to bed now. I have to meet the Saint Mary's girls early tomorrow morning to go to orientation together. And now that I have a hair dryer, I'll actually be able to make myself look presentable! Yay!

My eyes and the sky

When I left my parents at the checkpoint at O’Hare, I had no doubts or fears. Okay, that’s not entirely true… I was nervous, but I had more excitement in me to override my fears. I knew I would miss my family and friends in time, but for now I was looking forward, ready to embark upon my greatest adventure yet.

The flight left about an hour and a half late, but only lasted about eight and a half hours. After eating my dinner of chicken, potatoes, beans, bread and butter, cheese and crackers, and an Andes candy served by Damien on the flight, I drifted in and out of sleep—in and out of dreams of green fields and Irish boys.

We met Roberta, our Saint Mary’s “mother” while in Ireland. She checked us all off and sent us onto a bus with a strange and quiet Irishman with a large nose and watery eyes. Boarding the bus on the left side was strange, but at we drove the 50 minute drive to Maynooth, I was happy and at home to see the large amounts of Toyotas and Nissans on the road (although they were on the wrong side of the road). I slipped off to dreamland once more, and when I awoke, we were pulling up to our Village apartments at NUIM. They were lovely and quaint on the outside with ivy growing up the walls. We proceeded to get our keys and swipe cards from the O’Neils—our lovely landlords—and then it was time to drop our things off in our rooms.

I a vision in my mind of what my first apartment would look like, and this was certainly not it. Although a nice whistling man that was hanging notices on the doors helped me carry my suitcases up the stairs to the second floor, I was instantly presented with my first shock when I opened the door to my apartment. The door opened to reveal a long, cold, and narrow corridor with four green doors on either side. My room (8D) was on the end, and as I dragged my heavy baggage down, I ran into the first of my flat mates coming out of her room. We said hello and exchanged names (although I’m pretty sure she was foreign and I honestly don’t remember her name to save my life), and I dropped my stuff off in my room. (That was the last I saw of my first flat mate so far). I met up with Roberta and the rest of the girls in the middle of our four apartments for a “tour” or Maynooth. That “tour” consisted of a stroll down the main avenue in Maynooth (which, is so cute), and an indication as to wear Roberta’s office is so we could find her if we needed anything.

After naught but a few words of wisdom, Roberta deserted us for the second time in one day. We were tired, hungry, and scared, with not a square of toilet paper in our washclosets, and our supposed “mother” just left us in a foreign country with hardly any of the guidance we expected. I mean, I know that this is all supposed to be a learning experience, and it’s all about independence, but there’s got to be a better way to ease into this independence thing. Last year, when I moved into my room at Saint Mary’s, I at least had a cell phone and my belongings, I was familiar with the campus, I knew who my roommates were going to be, and my parents were just a phone call or an email away if I had any questions.

Now I am in a foreign country with no cell phone, no internet access, no way to contact my parents to even tell them I made it safely across the pond. It is cold and sprinkling, my bed is naked, and there are no drawers for my underwear! My outlet doesn’t work, my room is sad and lonely, the cheap sheets and duvet I was able to buy so far make me feel like I’m in a hotel room or a Travelodge. My room has no character, my roommate has not returned since I saw here earlier this afternoon, I have spent so much money on stupid things that I have at home and don’t want to spend money on, the food is foreign and expensive, you have to pay for “trollies” (what we call carts) at the grocery store, you have to buy your meat at the butcher, and I still don’t have a hair dryer or any pictures on the walls in my room.

I do, however, have a cell phone, which cost me approximately $100. I get unlimited texting in Ireland for €20 a month, but calls are 25c per minute nationally and 50c per minute internationally. (Although I get free incoming calls, so if anyone has an international plan at home, feel free to call me!) I’m not sure that is the best deal out there, but I needed something quick so I could at least call home, and that’s what all the other girls got.

My labtop, thankfully, still has some juice left on its battery, but I need to get an adaptor if I want to use it after tonight. Josh Groban is currently soothing my worries.

It doesn’t all sound bad at all, but there are a lot of new things. I didn’t realize how foreign Ireland really would be. I mean, there were things that I expected to be different, but there were lots of things I DIDN’T expect. And it’s so hard to know what to buy when my flat mates aren’t here yet. But I do finally have sheets on my bed, a few towels, some shampoo, and a little bit of food to get me through the next day. We’ll make another trip to “Dunnes,” the department store with EVERYTHING that is just down the road in the nearby mall in Maynooth. But I’ve already spent a ridiculous amount of money, and I still have so much to buy.

The girls and I (Elizabeth, Beth, Missy and Me) clinged to eachother today, and when we made our cardboard pizza for dinner and tried to help eachother figure out how to start up our cell phones, we all started crying out of such frustration. We just felt so abandoned… we are planning people, and to not have a plan at all, nor any sort of guidance was just such a difficulty for us. I wish I had my pillow.

But, I’m trying to look on the bright side—things can only get better from here on out. I will learn things every day that will help me survive here, and I always know that I have my new Saint Mary’s friends even if I don’t make friends from Ireland or Europe. I think it will get better when the rest of my flatmates move in, when I get everything I need, when I get a chance to decorate my room and make it more my own, and when classes start and I make more friends. It’s just been a VERY VERY long day, and we’re all overwhelmed. I just need to cry myself to sleep and hope my toes don’t fall off from frostbite (we have to pay for our heat and electricity, so Roberta told us not to turn on our heater unless we’re sick. We also have to turn on the water heater about 20 minutes before we shower. And our shower doesn’t even have a shower curtain! Oy.)

It will get better. I just need to take it one day at a time.

I trust

Before today, all of my favorite things were just in a pile in the middle of my bedroom. Now, excluding the things I need to use before Monday and the clothes that are still being washed, my life has been conceled in two giant bubblegum pink suitcases. Goodbye blue house. Goodbye little brother. Goodbye Denny's. Goodbye Bourbon Chicken. Goodbye friends.

I think I'm getting nervous because I have no idea what my future holds. I don't know what Ireland's like, I don't know what is going to happen this year. I have no idea what the weather will be like, what the shopping will be like, what the people and the food and the school is going to be like. And I am a very organized, responsible person. I am a planner-- I make sure I know what is going on at all times and what I am getting myself into. But this year, I will be taking a leap into the unknown, and THAT'S what scares me. But it seems like whenever I am aching with a terrible question (this time "How to Be Uncomfortable With Uncertainty), I find wisdom in the words of a fellow author. And this time was no exception. So, here I would like to share with you the wise words of Betty Lou from Love, Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli:

"Live today. Not yesterday. Not tomorrow. Just today. Inhabit your moments. Don't rent them out to tomorrow. Do you know what you're doing when you spend a moment wondering...? You're cheating yourself out of today. Today is calling to you, trying to get your attention, but you're stuck on tomorrow, and today trickles away like water down a drain. You wake up the next morning and that today that you wasted is gone forever. It's now yesterday. Some of those moments may have had wonderful things in store for you, but now you'll never know."

So, like Stargirl, "I will sail into the future on mystery's wings and I will not look back... Let's just be fabulously where we are and who we are. You be you and I'll be me, today and today and today, and let's trust the future to tomorrow. Let the stars keep track of us."

"Leap and the net will appear." -Julia Cameron

I trust.

A Splendid Year

I can't believe that in one weeks' time, I will be thousands of miles away, across the atlantic ocean, living on an island with hundreds of strange irish lads and lassies. I haven't started packing (only 2 suitcases of 40 lbs each... how am I going to pack for 9 months with only two suitcases of 40 lbs each? I could fill that with SHOES!), I've barely begun to say my good-byes. I've actually been trying to avoid thinking about leaving at all. Don't get me wrong, I'm excited, but I'm better at just "ripping off the band-aid" (right, elyse?)... therefore, I refuse to think about it until I absolutely have to. For now, I'm going to spend as much time with my friends and family as I can. The "me" that will exist in Ireland will be a different "me" than the girl that exists here right now. My life in Ireland will be a different world, and when I am in it, I will exist in the moment, and will not wallow in what I may be missing at home. Don't worry, friends, I will miss you, but I know I will see you again, and with that I am content.

I hope you all have a splendid year. And if you find a four leaf clover, hear about another fighting irish loss (or win, if we're lucky), or spy a rainbow after a warm fall rain, think of me!