Updated Pics: (they go from oldest to newest, but I did add some new pics to some of the old albums...)
Ireland, Take 1
http://nd.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2110657&l=3cd41&id=5619987
Ireland, Take 2
http://nd.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2110662&l=7d1bc&id=5619987
Ireland, Take 3
http://nd.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2110903&l=a9e44&id=5619987
Ireland, Take 4
http://nd.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2112288&l=7f4fe&id=5619987
Ireland, Take 5
http://nd.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2112294&l=19688&id=5619987
Ireland, Take 6
http://nd.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2114363&l=69f4d&id=5619987
Ireland, Take 7
http://nd.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2116597&l=bf76e&id=5619987
Ireland, Take 8
http://nd.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2115679&l=de844&id=5619987
Ireland, Take 9
http://nd.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2116618&l=a699b&id=561998
I'm leaving for Germany tomorrow morning at 4am. We will be taking a cab to the airport in Dublin, then flying to the Frankfurt-Hahn airport (which is NOT actually in Frankfurt... do not be fooled). Then we're taking a bus to Frankfurt, a train to Osterode Am Harz, and my friend Johannes is picking us up there! Woo hoo! I'm really excited, but getting pretty nervous considering we have really nothing planned except our plane ticket and Johannes picking us up. I'm pretty sure it's pretty easy to get a bus and train ticket, so I'm not too worried about that, I guess. But we have no idea what other cities we are going to be visiting when we're there. We have a few in mind that we'd like to see, but Johannes told us just to wait until we get there to decide because he has friends in lots of cities. But I know I really want to go to Fussen to see the castle that inspired Cinderella's castle in Disney World. So, we'll see... the next time I'm on here to blog I'm sure I'll have LOTS to talk about!
Yay!
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Germany, here we come!
So, last weekend we went on another SMC daytrip. Our first stop was Loughcrew (which we were expecting to be a lake, but wasn't. There probably was a lake there somewhere, but we didn't see one). We had to climb up a mountain (well, it was really a hill, but it seemed like a little mountain to us). When we got to the top, we could see lots of Irish countryside and lots of sheep. It was really beautiful (the countryside, not necessarily the sheep). At the top of the hill was a giant megalithic tomb that we got to climb on and even go inside! There were ancient carvings on the rock inside, and we did some Crayola rubbings. They're pretty cool.
After Loughcrew we had a delightful soup and sandwich lunch at the little cabin at the foot of the hill. Then we were off to Trim Castle. Trim Castle was by far my favorite castle so far. There's still a lot of it left, so it's easier to get a good idea of what it was actually like in its prime. (Parts of the movie Braveheart was filmed in/outside the castle... which really means nothing to me because I've never seen that movie, but it might appeal to some of you). When we went inside the castle, there was a choir singing; they were having a concert or something, and we just caught the end of it. There was enough of the castle left for us to climb up the levels to the very top and look out over the land. The whole experience was really cool.
That night we went into Dublin to watch the Notre Dame game with the Notre Dame kids that go to Trinity and UCD in Dublin. Before the game, we went to a cute little coffee shop that Kelli had read about in her travel book. Kelli and I went upstairs and sat down and had a smoothie and a tea. We sat right by an open window, and we could look out and hear the harpist and flute player right below us and see all the people walking by. It was pretty cool! And on the way to the ND building, we saw this hilarious man playing accordian. He was just dancing around the street and having the time of his life. It was inspiring...
The ND building in Dublin is really cool-- it used to belong to Daniel O'Connell (who we've been hearing a lot about in history class... he was a famous Irish nationalist). ND bought it several years ago and refurbished it. Now the Notre Dame kids have classes in there, and the Notre Dame professors and program coordinators have offices in the building. Seeing the buliding, however, was probably the best part of that night. We walked in and this nice guy said hi to us, but everyone else COMPLETELY ignored us. I mean, I guess we're used to a little discrimination, being from Saint Mary's, but seriously? We're in a foreign country! We're all Fighting Irish fans, and we should all be united. For real.
We later found out that the nice guy that said hi to us was the program coordinator or something like that. Yeah, figures.
But we left at halftime and went to the train station and sang show tunes and ate candy from the vending machines. We had forgotten how socially awkward lots of Notre Dame kids can be, and we are now appreciating the Irish here a little more...
Sunday we had dinner with Karen Chambers, our coordinator from Saint Mary's. She was in town for the week to visit us. I had the most AMAZING steak at a restaurant in Maynooth-- seriously MADE my weekend. And she brought us chocolate chips and American candy! Yay!
The rest of the week was mostly filled with boy troubles, which I'm sure none of you want to know about in detail. In summation, I was very very close to being Niall's girlfriend until he realized that I'd be leaving in 8 months, and he just decided he didn't want to get close to me. It was all much more drawn out and romantic than that, but now that's all over, and I'm actually very okay with it. I'll always have memories of my little Irish romance. And today I bought a really cute hat and it cheered me up an awful lot. It's now known as my therapy hat.
Plus there's way too many things to be happy about in my life right now for me to be sad about Niall. I'm pretty sure Morgan and Jim (two of my best friends from high school, for those of you who may not know them) are almost definitely coming to visit me in the spring which I'm STOKED about. My family's coming for Christmas, my boss at the YMCA resigned (a good thing), AND we are now allowed to take backpacks and purses into the Noble Family Dining Hall (the dining hall at Saint Mary's... so now I have something to look forward to upon returning). AND today Elizabeth and I talked to Johannes on Skype and made some plans for our Germany trip next week! We leave on Monday, and we're going to visit him for a few days before going down to Bavaria to visit Fussen (which has a castle that was the inspiration for Cinderella's castle in Walt Disney World), Munich, and Nuremberg. We're getting really excited now, even though we don't have a lot of plans made. But we know we're staying with Johannes the first few nights, and he said we should just wait until we get there to plan out the rest of the trip. We're scared beyond belief, but SOOOO excited! Our friend Tom might come with us now, so that would make traveling a little less scary, I think. But either way, it will be quite an adventure!
Overall, it's been quite the week. I'm definitely looking forward to a break from classes and from going out here in Maynooth... but I'm going to miss everyone here too! And I still miss everyone at home! So much missing going on, and so much excitement, I don't even know what to think about next. I think I'll just lay down, put on some Josh Groban, splurge a little bit and turn on my heater, and sleep until noon (well, not noon, because I have class at noon... plus they don't say "noon" here... so I'll sleep till "half eleven," as the Irish would say).
Germany, here we come!
After Loughcrew we had a delightful soup and sandwich lunch at the little cabin at the foot of the hill. Then we were off to Trim Castle. Trim Castle was by far my favorite castle so far. There's still a lot of it left, so it's easier to get a good idea of what it was actually like in its prime. (Parts of the movie Braveheart was filmed in/outside the castle... which really means nothing to me because I've never seen that movie, but it might appeal to some of you). When we went inside the castle, there was a choir singing; they were having a concert or something, and we just caught the end of it. There was enough of the castle left for us to climb up the levels to the very top and look out over the land. The whole experience was really cool.
That night we went into Dublin to watch the Notre Dame game with the Notre Dame kids that go to Trinity and UCD in Dublin. Before the game, we went to a cute little coffee shop that Kelli had read about in her travel book. Kelli and I went upstairs and sat down and had a smoothie and a tea. We sat right by an open window, and we could look out and hear the harpist and flute player right below us and see all the people walking by. It was pretty cool! And on the way to the ND building, we saw this hilarious man playing accordian. He was just dancing around the street and having the time of his life. It was inspiring...
The ND building in Dublin is really cool-- it used to belong to Daniel O'Connell (who we've been hearing a lot about in history class... he was a famous Irish nationalist). ND bought it several years ago and refurbished it. Now the Notre Dame kids have classes in there, and the Notre Dame professors and program coordinators have offices in the building. Seeing the buliding, however, was probably the best part of that night. We walked in and this nice guy said hi to us, but everyone else COMPLETELY ignored us. I mean, I guess we're used to a little discrimination, being from Saint Mary's, but seriously? We're in a foreign country! We're all Fighting Irish fans, and we should all be united. For real.
We later found out that the nice guy that said hi to us was the program coordinator or something like that. Yeah, figures.
But we left at halftime and went to the train station and sang show tunes and ate candy from the vending machines. We had forgotten how socially awkward lots of Notre Dame kids can be, and we are now appreciating the Irish here a little more...
Sunday we had dinner with Karen Chambers, our coordinator from Saint Mary's. She was in town for the week to visit us. I had the most AMAZING steak at a restaurant in Maynooth-- seriously MADE my weekend. And she brought us chocolate chips and American candy! Yay!
The rest of the week was mostly filled with boy troubles, which I'm sure none of you want to know about in detail. In summation, I was very very close to being Niall's girlfriend until he realized that I'd be leaving in 8 months, and he just decided he didn't want to get close to me. It was all much more drawn out and romantic than that, but now that's all over, and I'm actually very okay with it. I'll always have memories of my little Irish romance. And today I bought a really cute hat and it cheered me up an awful lot. It's now known as my therapy hat.
Plus there's way too many things to be happy about in my life right now for me to be sad about Niall. I'm pretty sure Morgan and Jim (two of my best friends from high school, for those of you who may not know them) are almost definitely coming to visit me in the spring which I'm STOKED about. My family's coming for Christmas, my boss at the YMCA resigned (a good thing), AND we are now allowed to take backpacks and purses into the Noble Family Dining Hall (the dining hall at Saint Mary's... so now I have something to look forward to upon returning). AND today Elizabeth and I talked to Johannes on Skype and made some plans for our Germany trip next week! We leave on Monday, and we're going to visit him for a few days before going down to Bavaria to visit Fussen (which has a castle that was the inspiration for Cinderella's castle in Walt Disney World), Munich, and Nuremberg. We're getting really excited now, even though we don't have a lot of plans made. But we know we're staying with Johannes the first few nights, and he said we should just wait until we get there to plan out the rest of the trip. We're scared beyond belief, but SOOOO excited! Our friend Tom might come with us now, so that would make traveling a little less scary, I think. But either way, it will be quite an adventure!
Overall, it's been quite the week. I'm definitely looking forward to a break from classes and from going out here in Maynooth... but I'm going to miss everyone here too! And I still miss everyone at home! So much missing going on, and so much excitement, I don't even know what to think about next. I think I'll just lay down, put on some Josh Groban, splurge a little bit and turn on my heater, and sleep until noon (well, not noon, because I have class at noon... plus they don't say "noon" here... so I'll sleep till "half eleven," as the Irish would say).
Germany, here we come!
Friday, October 19, 2007
Grey's Glitch
So, big news: went on a date (to the cinema) with this boy named Niall. (He was one of the boys that we played football with last week). They don't really "date" here, so the fact that he took me on an American-style date is pretty dang adorable. It was so much fun! He's really cute and really nice. We'll see what happens with that...
Nothing else too exciting happened this week... we had a pasta night, and a chicken and mashed potatoes night, and then one night Katie made us scrambled eggs (yeah, I pretty much never have to cook for myself). Oh, Wednesday night, though, I went to gospel choir. It's really informal, and they don't even read music. The director girl just plays a part and has us sing it back. It was so much fun! Although I found it a bit funny that there were about 60 Irish kids singing gospel music and not a single black person in the bunch. But seriously, LOTS of fun!
Also on Wednesday night we had an anniversary party with all the Saint Mary's girls-- I can't believe we've already been here for a whole month! It sure has flown by!
Today we ordered (what's becoming) our weekly pizza and watched this hilarious movie called "Waiting." Then we tried to watch Grey's Anatomy, but we couldn't get it to upload anywhere. We were REAL mad.
Kind of stressing about the Germany trip in a week because we still haven't gotten our stamps from the Garda (Irish police). But Roberta told us we'd be able to figure something out, so hopefully that works out for us. A friend of Elizabeth's dad emailed her and told her where we should go, so at least we kind of have a plan now. It should be lots of fun! Can't wait!
Tomorrow we're going to Trim Castle and Loughcrew (for now and for future reference, "lough" means "lake" in Irish/Gaelic). It should be a nice day trip. But we have to get up early, so I'm off to bed!
Nothing else too exciting happened this week... we had a pasta night, and a chicken and mashed potatoes night, and then one night Katie made us scrambled eggs (yeah, I pretty much never have to cook for myself). Oh, Wednesday night, though, I went to gospel choir. It's really informal, and they don't even read music. The director girl just plays a part and has us sing it back. It was so much fun! Although I found it a bit funny that there were about 60 Irish kids singing gospel music and not a single black person in the bunch. But seriously, LOTS of fun!
Also on Wednesday night we had an anniversary party with all the Saint Mary's girls-- I can't believe we've already been here for a whole month! It sure has flown by!
Today we ordered (what's becoming) our weekly pizza and watched this hilarious movie called "Waiting." Then we tried to watch Grey's Anatomy, but we couldn't get it to upload anywhere. We were REAL mad.
Kind of stressing about the Germany trip in a week because we still haven't gotten our stamps from the Garda (Irish police). But Roberta told us we'd be able to figure something out, so hopefully that works out for us. A friend of Elizabeth's dad emailed her and told her where we should go, so at least we kind of have a plan now. It should be lots of fun! Can't wait!
Tomorrow we're going to Trim Castle and Loughcrew (for now and for future reference, "lough" means "lake" in Irish/Gaelic). It should be a nice day trip. But we have to get up early, so I'm off to bed!
Saturday, October 13, 2007
A Cloudy Sunrise
I cannot believe how fast this week went by! I have a feeling this is how the next nine months are going to be.
Monday was pasta night again. Delicious as always.
Tuesday I was really stressed out because I missed one of my tutorials and I was just really overwhelmed by all the reading I have to do. I went to a tutorial on Wednesday instead, and the tutor said he would just switch me into his tutorial. The girl I sat next to was really nice, and my tutor said he's been to Wausau! Small world, right? I also had my tutorial for anthropology; we got split into groups, and the people in my group are really nice. I'm really excited about my tutorials because I miss being in small classes and getting to know your classmates. Plus there's not Saint Mary's girls in my tutorials, so I'll have a better chance to get to know some people. Wednesday night we took a nice walk down Carton Ave. (this really beautiful footpath in town), and then we had taco night at Beth's flat. While we were eating our tacos, we happened to notice this boy outside in the courtyard throwing around what looked like an American football. Since we are all basically going through American football withdrawl, we all got really excited. Leslie and I stuck our heads out the window and asked him if we could play. He told us he'd meet us all outside a half hour later with his friends. So, we changed into our trainers (tennis shoes) and met these 5 boys outside behind the apartments to play football. At first we were trying to play boys versus girls (I was quarter back, which shows how good our team was), but then the guys were complaining that American football moves too slow. So we tried to play rugby, but we had no idea how to play. They tried to explain it to us, but it didn't work out too well. So, we split up into mixed teams and tried football again. It was really fun, and Beth caught the winning touchdown pass for our team. We chatted with the guys after, trying to explain to them the concept of boys asking girls on dates (because they don't really do that here). After that Leslie and I noticed John Flynn (a boy she knows from tennis) up in his room, so we threw rocks at his window until he opened it and invited us up. So, Leslie, Elizabeth and I went up and chatted with him and his roommates David Riley and Brenden (I don't remember Brenden's last name). Then we met up with Missy because she had to go meet Dave (a boy that she met at the Roost the first week and has a major crush on). While we were walking him back to watch a movie at Missy's, Leslie waved at some boys looking out their window in the River Apartments. She grabbed my hand and pulled me into their apartment building. We sat around and chatted with our new-found friends: Tiernan, Peter Ryder, Brian, and Porick (I don't think I'm spelling that right... it's the Irish version of Patrick). When we came back, Beth, Erin and I got dressed up and went to Brady's. We saw Marky and Jimmy (some guys that we had met at the Roost... Marky is the most hilarious dancer and sooo nice). They waved us over and we chatted with them for a bit, met their friend Martin, and then we made our way to the crazy crowded dance floor. We danced with Marky and his friends, and with the football boys that came later. I danced with the boy that was the quarterback on our team when we played football. His name is Niall. He's pretty cute. It was lots of fun, except when this boy triend to kiss Beth and she freaked out. That's the way the Irishmen do it at the clubs, I guess. So, we immediately left. I consoled Beth on the walk home, and we met up with Leslie in John Flynn's room again and chatted before bed. Besides Beth's bad time, it was a really great day... so much happened!
Thursday after classes we went out to the Roost. We met up with Peter Ryder and Tiernan and danced the night away. I tried a vodka and lime and it tasted like key lime pie-- real yummy! Friday I vacuumed my room (that's a big deal because I feel so much better about being in my room now). My SMC girlies came over to order pizza... Tiernan and Peter Ryder came up and chatted with us for awhile too. Peter had to leave to take the bus home, and the rest of us watched Boondock Saints in my room. (FABulous movie! But now we realize that that their Irish accents in the movie are pretty bad). Tiernan's friend Martin came up, and after the film, we chatted for awhile. Tiernan and some of the girls left until it was just me, katie, leslie, tom, and martin. I got Skype going, and we talked to my mom and my sister katie. Then, we were just chatting until we realized that it was 3 in the morning and we weren't even tired. Martin had to catch a bus at like 8am, so we decided just to stay up all night. I finally went to bed after sunrise (which was cloudy and uneventful) and slept until 2:30pm. The rest of the day was spent trying to make myself do some reading until I came to katie's to cook some pasta for dinner, eat some digestive biscuits, and now we're going to dunne's to get chocolate before we watch grey's anatomy.
Monday was pasta night again. Delicious as always.
Tuesday I was really stressed out because I missed one of my tutorials and I was just really overwhelmed by all the reading I have to do. I went to a tutorial on Wednesday instead, and the tutor said he would just switch me into his tutorial. The girl I sat next to was really nice, and my tutor said he's been to Wausau! Small world, right? I also had my tutorial for anthropology; we got split into groups, and the people in my group are really nice. I'm really excited about my tutorials because I miss being in small classes and getting to know your classmates. Plus there's not Saint Mary's girls in my tutorials, so I'll have a better chance to get to know some people. Wednesday night we took a nice walk down Carton Ave. (this really beautiful footpath in town), and then we had taco night at Beth's flat. While we were eating our tacos, we happened to notice this boy outside in the courtyard throwing around what looked like an American football. Since we are all basically going through American football withdrawl, we all got really excited. Leslie and I stuck our heads out the window and asked him if we could play. He told us he'd meet us all outside a half hour later with his friends. So, we changed into our trainers (tennis shoes) and met these 5 boys outside behind the apartments to play football. At first we were trying to play boys versus girls (I was quarter back, which shows how good our team was), but then the guys were complaining that American football moves too slow. So we tried to play rugby, but we had no idea how to play. They tried to explain it to us, but it didn't work out too well. So, we split up into mixed teams and tried football again. It was really fun, and Beth caught the winning touchdown pass for our team. We chatted with the guys after, trying to explain to them the concept of boys asking girls on dates (because they don't really do that here). After that Leslie and I noticed John Flynn (a boy she knows from tennis) up in his room, so we threw rocks at his window until he opened it and invited us up. So, Leslie, Elizabeth and I went up and chatted with him and his roommates David Riley and Brenden (I don't remember Brenden's last name). Then we met up with Missy because she had to go meet Dave (a boy that she met at the Roost the first week and has a major crush on). While we were walking him back to watch a movie at Missy's, Leslie waved at some boys looking out their window in the River Apartments. She grabbed my hand and pulled me into their apartment building. We sat around and chatted with our new-found friends: Tiernan, Peter Ryder, Brian, and Porick (I don't think I'm spelling that right... it's the Irish version of Patrick). When we came back, Beth, Erin and I got dressed up and went to Brady's. We saw Marky and Jimmy (some guys that we had met at the Roost... Marky is the most hilarious dancer and sooo nice). They waved us over and we chatted with them for a bit, met their friend Martin, and then we made our way to the crazy crowded dance floor. We danced with Marky and his friends, and with the football boys that came later. I danced with the boy that was the quarterback on our team when we played football. His name is Niall. He's pretty cute. It was lots of fun, except when this boy triend to kiss Beth and she freaked out. That's the way the Irishmen do it at the clubs, I guess. So, we immediately left. I consoled Beth on the walk home, and we met up with Leslie in John Flynn's room again and chatted before bed. Besides Beth's bad time, it was a really great day... so much happened!
Thursday after classes we went out to the Roost. We met up with Peter Ryder and Tiernan and danced the night away. I tried a vodka and lime and it tasted like key lime pie-- real yummy! Friday I vacuumed my room (that's a big deal because I feel so much better about being in my room now). My SMC girlies came over to order pizza... Tiernan and Peter Ryder came up and chatted with us for awhile too. Peter had to leave to take the bus home, and the rest of us watched Boondock Saints in my room. (FABulous movie! But now we realize that that their Irish accents in the movie are pretty bad). Tiernan's friend Martin came up, and after the film, we chatted for awhile. Tiernan and some of the girls left until it was just me, katie, leslie, tom, and martin. I got Skype going, and we talked to my mom and my sister katie. Then, we were just chatting until we realized that it was 3 in the morning and we weren't even tired. Martin had to catch a bus at like 8am, so we decided just to stay up all night. I finally went to bed after sunrise (which was cloudy and uneventful) and slept until 2:30pm. The rest of the day was spent trying to make myself do some reading until I came to katie's to cook some pasta for dinner, eat some digestive biscuits, and now we're going to dunne's to get chocolate before we watch grey's anatomy.
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Pancake Party
I spent the weekend decorating the common room in my apartment. It's so much homier now, and I hardly spent any money. I got some Christmas lights from the box of stuff that the Saint Mary's girls left us last year and put them on top of the cabinets... I got a cheap blanket in Dublin yesterday to cover the couch, some pillows at Dunnes, a few table clothes, some inexpensive candles, and a pot of daisies... it's pretty cute, I must say, and I feel a lot better about my apartment now.
Friday night we went to the Roost. There weren't many people there since all the students go home for the weekend, but right when we walked in, Missy spotted this beautiful boy in a red shirt and said she was going to talk to him. Well, it took her awhile, but by the end of the night we were cutting a rug with him and two of his friends. The red-shirt is apparently a Gap model, and the other two are Civil Engineers. They live in the next town over, and they said they'd love to take us on a tour of Dublin sometime if we want. They were really nice! Also, earlier in the night, we had decided to split up because a big group of 10 Americans can be a little overwhelming. So Elizabeth, Katie, and I ended up together at this table. Suddenly, this man... probably in his 30s, comes and plops down and starts trying to talk to us. His name was Ray, and, well, as it was very loud in there and he had a very thick brogue (Irish accent), it was hard to understand him. He was pretty nice, I guess... but mostly we just nodded and smiled as he chatted away until the music started playing and we told him we were going to go dance. It was awkward. But, in retrospect, funny.
Fun times in Dublin yesterday! I love that city! It's so old and charming, and I love how people just walk down the middle of the roads... I feel like I'm in Disney World. I love that it's a big city, but not too big. It's not as crowded as the big American cities, and it feels a lot safer. The train wasn't running, so we took the bus. It took a little bit longer but it was nice for a change. And it was cheaper. We went to H&M and Penney's. Penney's is pretty much my new favorite store-- it's soooo cheap! I got a few things to treat myself, including this really fabulous and cheap skirt. I also got a Claddagh ring: The Claddagh ring is a traditional Irish ring, given in friendship or worn as a wedding ring. The design and customs associated with it originated in the Irish fishing village of Claddagh, located just outside the old walls of the city of Galway. The ring was first produced in the 17th Century during the reign of Queen Mary II, though elements of the design are much older. The Claddagh's distinctive design features two hands clasping a heart, and usually surmounted by a crown. The elements of this symbol are often said to correspond to the qualities of love (the heart), friendship (the hands), and loyalty (the crown). The expression which was associated with these symbols in the giving of the ring was: "Let love and friendship reign." The way that a Claddagh ring is worn on the hand is usually intended to convey the wearer's romantic availability, or lack thereof. Traditionally, if the ring is on the right hand with the heart facing outward and away from the body, this indicates that the person wearing the ring is not in any serious relationship, and may in fact be single and looking for a relationship: "their heart is open." When worn on the right hand but with the heart facing inward toward the body, this indicates the person wearing the ring is in a relationship, or that "someone has captured their heart". A Claddagh worn on the left hand ring finger, facing outward away from the body, generally indicates that the wearer is engaged. When the ring is on the left hand ring finger and facing inward toward the body, it generally means that the person wearing the ring is married. It was one of the things I just really wanted to get while I'm here, so I can cross it off my list!
Overall, it was a fabulous day. It was beautiful out, and we treated ourselves to hamburgers and cheese fries at Eddie Rocket's. DELICIOUS! When we got back, a few of the girls came back to my room to watch Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice. Can't miss Grey's!
Friday night we went to the Roost. There weren't many people there since all the students go home for the weekend, but right when we walked in, Missy spotted this beautiful boy in a red shirt and said she was going to talk to him. Well, it took her awhile, but by the end of the night we were cutting a rug with him and two of his friends. The red-shirt is apparently a Gap model, and the other two are Civil Engineers. They live in the next town over, and they said they'd love to take us on a tour of Dublin sometime if we want. They were really nice! Also, earlier in the night, we had decided to split up because a big group of 10 Americans can be a little overwhelming. So Elizabeth, Katie, and I ended up together at this table. Suddenly, this man... probably in his 30s, comes and plops down and starts trying to talk to us. His name was Ray, and, well, as it was very loud in there and he had a very thick brogue (Irish accent), it was hard to understand him. He was pretty nice, I guess... but mostly we just nodded and smiled as he chatted away until the music started playing and we told him we were going to go dance. It was awkward. But, in retrospect, funny.
Fun times in Dublin yesterday! I love that city! It's so old and charming, and I love how people just walk down the middle of the roads... I feel like I'm in Disney World. I love that it's a big city, but not too big. It's not as crowded as the big American cities, and it feels a lot safer. The train wasn't running, so we took the bus. It took a little bit longer but it was nice for a change. And it was cheaper. We went to H&M and Penney's. Penney's is pretty much my new favorite store-- it's soooo cheap! I got a few things to treat myself, including this really fabulous and cheap skirt. I also got a Claddagh ring: The Claddagh ring is a traditional Irish ring, given in friendship or worn as a wedding ring. The design and customs associated with it originated in the Irish fishing village of Claddagh, located just outside the old walls of the city of Galway. The ring was first produced in the 17th Century during the reign of Queen Mary II, though elements of the design are much older. The Claddagh's distinctive design features two hands clasping a heart, and usually surmounted by a crown. The elements of this symbol are often said to correspond to the qualities of love (the heart), friendship (the hands), and loyalty (the crown). The expression which was associated with these symbols in the giving of the ring was: "Let love and friendship reign." The way that a Claddagh ring is worn on the hand is usually intended to convey the wearer's romantic availability, or lack thereof. Traditionally, if the ring is on the right hand with the heart facing outward and away from the body, this indicates that the person wearing the ring is not in any serious relationship, and may in fact be single and looking for a relationship: "their heart is open." When worn on the right hand but with the heart facing inward toward the body, this indicates the person wearing the ring is in a relationship, or that "someone has captured their heart". A Claddagh worn on the left hand ring finger, facing outward away from the body, generally indicates that the wearer is engaged. When the ring is on the left hand ring finger and facing inward toward the body, it generally means that the person wearing the ring is married. It was one of the things I just really wanted to get while I'm here, so I can cross it off my list!
Overall, it was a fabulous day. It was beautiful out, and we treated ourselves to hamburgers and cheese fries at Eddie Rocket's. DELICIOUS! When we got back, a few of the girls came back to my room to watch Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice. Can't miss Grey's!
Today before my pancake party I spent the day cleaning my apartment while the roomies were gone. I mopped and scrubbed and swept and sponged, and it feels good to have the place nice and clean. I had to have it all spic and span for my Pancake Party tonight! All my Saint Mary's girls came over for pancakes and french toast; it was delicious! After dinner we watched the Notebook-- classy!
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Tons of Giant, Ugly Crows
We took our laundry into town the other day. It felt like I was pampering myself when I shouldn't be, but it really is cheaper just to take it into town. Otherwise it costs 6 Euro per load plus detergent... Anywho, we rolled our suitcases through town, dropped them off, and picked them up a few hours later. And my towel was warm when I took a shower that night... gotta love that feeling.
Yesterday was fairs day where all the clubs and societies from the university set up tables in the sports complex and you can go sign up to be a part of them. It costs 2 Euro for each club-- not a bad deal. I signed up for choir, drama society, and SVP (Saint Vincent de Paul-- it's a volunteer group... Elizabeth and I are hoping to get involved in a tutoring opportunity through SVP; I'm not sure I could make it the whole year without being around kids). I really wanted to do "Playdough," an arts, crafts, and photography club, but I don't want to be involved in too much.
Our first drama society meeting was last night already, and I'm really excited about it! There were 330 kids that signed up, and they do about 7 plays and 1 musical every year. This year they are doing a series of one-acts just for first years, so that will be a really great way for us to make friends. My friends Jackie and Katie signed up too. They also put on workshops through the Gaiety School of Acting, which apparently is a pretty big deal. I'm really excited to get involved in all of that!
After our drama meeting I went to Beth's apartment to do her roommates' make up for the Moulin Rouge Ball. I did a pretty fabulous job, if I do say so myself. They looked pretty hot :) Then we watched the first few episodes of the first season of Grey's Anatomy in Beth's room. It's really annoying that Irish DVDs are different than American DVDs, so you can't watch American DVDs on the Irish DVD players, or vice versa. Dumb.
Also, I've been meaning to say that there are TONS of giant, ugly crows here and they gross me out.
It's really sunny and beautiful outside right now, so I'm sitting in my windowsill with my window open writing this. Just thought I'd mention that because we don't get that a lot. It's not that we never get sun, it's just that we don't get whole days of sun. The weather literally changes every five minutes. It could start raining any minute right now, even though it's really nice at the moment. Oh well, it just makes me appreciate the sun even more.
So my roommates basically just ignore me when I walk into the common room. Sometimes they say hello, but that's about as far as it goes. What the heck? If I was back at Saint Mary's and I had a foreign roommate, I would be totally curiuos to know all about them, and I would certainly try to make them feel as welcome as possible. I guess I haven't been making a huge effort, but I'm really not in here very much anyway, and when I do come into the common room, they're usually deep into some Irish or British soap opera and I don't want to interrupt them with "so, where are you from again?" THEN, my new roommate Rachel who just came last Thursday is in the common room when I walk in yesterday. She goes "oh, Kelsey, I've been meaning to ask you: sometimes I like to smoke out the window... does that bother you?" What the heck, right? YES, it bothers me! Everyone smokes here, and it's so disgusting. I just want to yell: "Don't you know that that can KILL you and that it STINKS?!?" Every time you walk out of a building here, you walk into a big cloud of smoke from the sick cigs outside. Anyway, I said to her "yeah, actually it does bother me." After an awkward silence, I said "oh, no, now you're going to hate me." Rachel replied: "Oh, no, it's okay. I might still do it when it's really rainy outside, but I'll try not to."
TRY? How can you TRY not to smoke inside? First of all, it's illegal to smoke inside... second of all, it ALWAYS rains, so basically that means she's going to smoke in here all the time. And third: why did she even ask me if she was going to do it anyway? Ugh.
Oh well, things will get better, I think... but clearly we aren't going to be life-long friends.
I've tried to like alcohol, but I just can't. I don't know HOW people can drink it! It's disgusting and it burns my throat. I've had sips of beer and wine and mixed drinks and they all just make me want to puke. I guess I'll have to stick with the fruity drinks that don't taste like alcohol. Or maybe I'll just go with a Coke next time... if I'm going to spend the money, I might as well get something I really love, right?
They don't have screens on the windows here... I'm kinda scared that I'm going to fall out of it... or that a bird will fly in or something... that would be scary.
Tuesday nights are officially pasta nights with the SMC girls, and this Tuesday, yet again, we had a delicious meal of spaghetti, garlic bread, salad, and this delicious carmel chocolate icecream cake that Mary got. MMM! Tuesdays are good days!
I think Elizabeth and I have decided that we're going to Germany for fall break... Johannes (the German exchange student at my high school senior year who said I could come stay with him) said he's going to be home the same week as us! I can't wait! We also might meet the other girls in Paris for a few days and go to EuroDisney! Yay!
That's all the exciting news in my life thus far, I guess. Things get better every day!
Yesterday was fairs day where all the clubs and societies from the university set up tables in the sports complex and you can go sign up to be a part of them. It costs 2 Euro for each club-- not a bad deal. I signed up for choir, drama society, and SVP (Saint Vincent de Paul-- it's a volunteer group... Elizabeth and I are hoping to get involved in a tutoring opportunity through SVP; I'm not sure I could make it the whole year without being around kids). I really wanted to do "Playdough," an arts, crafts, and photography club, but I don't want to be involved in too much.
Our first drama society meeting was last night already, and I'm really excited about it! There were 330 kids that signed up, and they do about 7 plays and 1 musical every year. This year they are doing a series of one-acts just for first years, so that will be a really great way for us to make friends. My friends Jackie and Katie signed up too. They also put on workshops through the Gaiety School of Acting, which apparently is a pretty big deal. I'm really excited to get involved in all of that!
After our drama meeting I went to Beth's apartment to do her roommates' make up for the Moulin Rouge Ball. I did a pretty fabulous job, if I do say so myself. They looked pretty hot :) Then we watched the first few episodes of the first season of Grey's Anatomy in Beth's room. It's really annoying that Irish DVDs are different than American DVDs, so you can't watch American DVDs on the Irish DVD players, or vice versa. Dumb.
Also, I've been meaning to say that there are TONS of giant, ugly crows here and they gross me out.
It's really sunny and beautiful outside right now, so I'm sitting in my windowsill with my window open writing this. Just thought I'd mention that because we don't get that a lot. It's not that we never get sun, it's just that we don't get whole days of sun. The weather literally changes every five minutes. It could start raining any minute right now, even though it's really nice at the moment. Oh well, it just makes me appreciate the sun even more.
So my roommates basically just ignore me when I walk into the common room. Sometimes they say hello, but that's about as far as it goes. What the heck? If I was back at Saint Mary's and I had a foreign roommate, I would be totally curiuos to know all about them, and I would certainly try to make them feel as welcome as possible. I guess I haven't been making a huge effort, but I'm really not in here very much anyway, and when I do come into the common room, they're usually deep into some Irish or British soap opera and I don't want to interrupt them with "so, where are you from again?" THEN, my new roommate Rachel who just came last Thursday is in the common room when I walk in yesterday. She goes "oh, Kelsey, I've been meaning to ask you: sometimes I like to smoke out the window... does that bother you?" What the heck, right? YES, it bothers me! Everyone smokes here, and it's so disgusting. I just want to yell: "Don't you know that that can KILL you and that it STINKS?!?" Every time you walk out of a building here, you walk into a big cloud of smoke from the sick cigs outside. Anyway, I said to her "yeah, actually it does bother me." After an awkward silence, I said "oh, no, now you're going to hate me." Rachel replied: "Oh, no, it's okay. I might still do it when it's really rainy outside, but I'll try not to."
TRY? How can you TRY not to smoke inside? First of all, it's illegal to smoke inside... second of all, it ALWAYS rains, so basically that means she's going to smoke in here all the time. And third: why did she even ask me if she was going to do it anyway? Ugh.
Oh well, things will get better, I think... but clearly we aren't going to be life-long friends.
I've tried to like alcohol, but I just can't. I don't know HOW people can drink it! It's disgusting and it burns my throat. I've had sips of beer and wine and mixed drinks and they all just make me want to puke. I guess I'll have to stick with the fruity drinks that don't taste like alcohol. Or maybe I'll just go with a Coke next time... if I'm going to spend the money, I might as well get something I really love, right?
They don't have screens on the windows here... I'm kinda scared that I'm going to fall out of it... or that a bird will fly in or something... that would be scary.
Tuesday nights are officially pasta nights with the SMC girls, and this Tuesday, yet again, we had a delicious meal of spaghetti, garlic bread, salad, and this delicious carmel chocolate icecream cake that Mary got. MMM! Tuesdays are good days!
I think Elizabeth and I have decided that we're going to Germany for fall break... Johannes (the German exchange student at my high school senior year who said I could come stay with him) said he's going to be home the same week as us! I can't wait! We also might meet the other girls in Paris for a few days and go to EuroDisney! Yay!
That's all the exciting news in my life thus far, I guess. Things get better every day!
Monday, October 1, 2007
Sun in the Forecast
Wow! It's been awhile since I've written... I guess I've been pretty busy!
Last week we went to Brady's Pub on Wednesday night, but it was CRAZY busy and all the girls had short little skirts and dresses on and we felt WAY under dressed. The music was so loud we couldn't even make conversation. We ended up leaving pretty early...
Thursday night we went to the Roost which was also SOOO packed! I think the first two weeks will be really busy and everyone will be going out every night, but hopefully after this first fortnight things will calm down. Anywho, I found a 20 Euro bill on the ground by the bar which pretty much made my night. It got really busy so we left early again, but this time we went to Maximas and got garlic cheese chips (french fries) which were amazingly delicious. Then we came back and sat outside and chatted until we met these two random Irish boys named Stephen and Siaorsea (I don't think I spelled that right, but it's pronounced "Seer-shuh" and means "freedom" in Irish). They were really funny and we were chatting and taking pictures. Then, some guy shouted something at us out a two story window, and we started having a conversation with him... the Siaorsea started talking to him for like 10 minutes in all Irish. It was all very funny. Then he invited us up to the apartment, but we had to be quiet because it wasn't really his apartment and his friend was passed out on the couch. We went up and all chatted for awhile before retiring to our own apartments for the night. It may not sound that funny, but the whole situation was really hilarious... guess you had to be there...
Friday night Katie and I stayed in, made pasta, and watched Maid in Manhattan in my abandoned apartment (since all my roommates go home on the weekends) because we had to get up early Saturday morning for a trip with the Saint Mary's girls.
Saturday morning we left at 8am to go to Co. Sligo in the northwestern part of Ireland. It felt like most of our time was spent on the bus, but we watched the entire second season of Grey's Anatomy, so that made things go faster...
Our first stop was at Boyle Abbey in Co. Roscommon (the county that my great great grandmother was from!) Boyle Abbey was settled by the Cistercian monks 1161 when they were invited by archbishop St. Malachy in order to help him reform the old Irish church back to Christianity. The monastery was laid out according to the usual Cistercian plan, a church on the north side of a roughly rectangular cloister area, with a chapter house for meetings of the monks on a second side, a kitchen and a refectory on the third, and probably store houses and dormitory above on the fourth. Only small parts of the cloister survive, because it was turned into a barracks by the Elizabethans in 1592 and the Cromwellians who besieged it in 1645. We also stopped at King House (an old manor) in Boyle before lunch.
We had lunch at a charming hotel in town, and it was absolutely delicious! Fresh ham with parsley sauce, mashed potatoes, cabbage, and cooked carrots with chocolate cake! It was probably the best meal I've had since I've been here.
After lunch we headed to Carrowmore in County Sligo. Carrowmore is the site of a prehistoric ritual landscape. There we saw pretty landscapes (more mountains!) and lots of neolithic stone tombs. We were supposed to hike up to see the famous Queen Maeve's tomb, but our bus broke down earlier in the day in Boyle and by the time we got there it was already getting dark. We were very disappointed...
So we departed for Bundoran, Co. Sligo where we stayed over night. Bundoran is apparently a resort town, but it was pretty dead when we were there. There was a pretty main street and a boardwalk leading down to the OCEAN which was BEAUTIFUL! I'm sure the town is bustling and bright in the summer. We walked around down town and took pictures by the beach. Then we headed back to the apartments we were staying in and made burritos and chocolate chip cookies that were both delicious. It was a fun and relaxing night eating cookies and watching X factor (England's version of American Idol). In the morning, however, we had no electricity because we had used up our 5 Euro limit. So, we couldn't shower and we had to get ready in the dark. It was lovely.
We left Bundoran and headed back toward Maynooth that morning. We stopped at Parke's Castle in Co. Leitrim. Parke's Castle is located on the banks of Lough Gill (a lake); the lake was like glass... it was really beautiful. The castle was built by Robert Parke in 1610 on the site of the earlier fifteenth-century O'Rourke castle. The castle was pretty, but the fake people inside were a bit tacky, I thought. We had tea and scones in the tea house and got back on the bus.
Our last stop was at Knock, Co. Mayo. This is the site of a well-known shrine and is a major pilgrimage site where Catholics believe that in 1879 there was an apparition of the Virgin Mary. There were hundreds of people there. I guess it's a pretty holy place, and maybe we just didn't appreciate it enough, but Elizabeth and I got bored and went to get icecream. We felt pretty guilty, but it wasn't a super beautiful place or anything. I mean, don't get me wrong, it was a very interesting thing to witness: all these people traveling to this shrine. But the icecream suited us quite well, and we were very happy.
More Grey's Anatomy kept us busy on the three hour drive home, and when we got back we went to Jackie's to order pizza and chips! It was very delicious.
Today I had classes and work all day, and then we went to see Maynooth Castle with Roberta. It's incredible that Maynooth used to be a political centre of Ireland. There isn't much left of the castle, and it's strange that it's in the middle of town with a pub across the street and Dunne's store just behind it where the gardens used to be...
I'm very excited about my English class... we are studying poetry for the first half and drama in the second half of the semester. My sociology class today was kind of a waste of time because we talked about finding sources the whole time... Seriously, if you don't know how to do that by now, you shouldn't be in college (or university, as they call it here). I almost fell asleep.
We got our stipends (food money) today for the rest of the month, and we just got word from Roberta that Saint Mary's has granted us 5 Euro a week MORE than we thought we were getting (because she complained that we weren't getting enough)... so now we get about 200 Euro more for the whole year! Yippee! I went grocery shopping right after we saw the castle, and I'm pretty freakin' excited about all the food that I bought. I splurged a bit and got some things that I really love.
Tonight Katie and Elizabeth came over to make scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, and BROWNIES! Elizabeth was in charge of making the brownies, and they weren't QUITE cooked all the way... but we were impatient and we ate them anyways. I hope I don't end up with a bellyache tonight. But I think it was worth it... they were delicious!
I've got three classes tomorrow and some tasks from Roberta to complete. We are going to take our laundry to town too (it's cheaper and easier just to take your things into town, I guess, and pay to have them launder it... fine with me!) It should be a long day, but I think there's sun in the forecast!
Last week we went to Brady's Pub on Wednesday night, but it was CRAZY busy and all the girls had short little skirts and dresses on and we felt WAY under dressed. The music was so loud we couldn't even make conversation. We ended up leaving pretty early...
Thursday night we went to the Roost which was also SOOO packed! I think the first two weeks will be really busy and everyone will be going out every night, but hopefully after this first fortnight things will calm down. Anywho, I found a 20 Euro bill on the ground by the bar which pretty much made my night. It got really busy so we left early again, but this time we went to Maximas and got garlic cheese chips (french fries) which were amazingly delicious. Then we came back and sat outside and chatted until we met these two random Irish boys named Stephen and Siaorsea (I don't think I spelled that right, but it's pronounced "Seer-shuh" and means "freedom" in Irish). They were really funny and we were chatting and taking pictures. Then, some guy shouted something at us out a two story window, and we started having a conversation with him... the Siaorsea started talking to him for like 10 minutes in all Irish. It was all very funny. Then he invited us up to the apartment, but we had to be quiet because it wasn't really his apartment and his friend was passed out on the couch. We went up and all chatted for awhile before retiring to our own apartments for the night. It may not sound that funny, but the whole situation was really hilarious... guess you had to be there...
Friday night Katie and I stayed in, made pasta, and watched Maid in Manhattan in my abandoned apartment (since all my roommates go home on the weekends) because we had to get up early Saturday morning for a trip with the Saint Mary's girls.
Saturday morning we left at 8am to go to Co. Sligo in the northwestern part of Ireland. It felt like most of our time was spent on the bus, but we watched the entire second season of Grey's Anatomy, so that made things go faster...
Our first stop was at Boyle Abbey in Co. Roscommon (the county that my great great grandmother was from!) Boyle Abbey was settled by the Cistercian monks 1161 when they were invited by archbishop St. Malachy in order to help him reform the old Irish church back to Christianity. The monastery was laid out according to the usual Cistercian plan, a church on the north side of a roughly rectangular cloister area, with a chapter house for meetings of the monks on a second side, a kitchen and a refectory on the third, and probably store houses and dormitory above on the fourth. Only small parts of the cloister survive, because it was turned into a barracks by the Elizabethans in 1592 and the Cromwellians who besieged it in 1645. We also stopped at King House (an old manor) in Boyle before lunch.
We had lunch at a charming hotel in town, and it was absolutely delicious! Fresh ham with parsley sauce, mashed potatoes, cabbage, and cooked carrots with chocolate cake! It was probably the best meal I've had since I've been here.
After lunch we headed to Carrowmore in County Sligo. Carrowmore is the site of a prehistoric ritual landscape. There we saw pretty landscapes (more mountains!) and lots of neolithic stone tombs. We were supposed to hike up to see the famous Queen Maeve's tomb, but our bus broke down earlier in the day in Boyle and by the time we got there it was already getting dark. We were very disappointed...
So we departed for Bundoran, Co. Sligo where we stayed over night. Bundoran is apparently a resort town, but it was pretty dead when we were there. There was a pretty main street and a boardwalk leading down to the OCEAN which was BEAUTIFUL! I'm sure the town is bustling and bright in the summer. We walked around down town and took pictures by the beach. Then we headed back to the apartments we were staying in and made burritos and chocolate chip cookies that were both delicious. It was a fun and relaxing night eating cookies and watching X factor (England's version of American Idol). In the morning, however, we had no electricity because we had used up our 5 Euro limit. So, we couldn't shower and we had to get ready in the dark. It was lovely.
We left Bundoran and headed back toward Maynooth that morning. We stopped at Parke's Castle in Co. Leitrim. Parke's Castle is located on the banks of Lough Gill (a lake); the lake was like glass... it was really beautiful. The castle was built by Robert Parke in 1610 on the site of the earlier fifteenth-century O'Rourke castle. The castle was pretty, but the fake people inside were a bit tacky, I thought. We had tea and scones in the tea house and got back on the bus.
Our last stop was at Knock, Co. Mayo. This is the site of a well-known shrine and is a major pilgrimage site where Catholics believe that in 1879 there was an apparition of the Virgin Mary. There were hundreds of people there. I guess it's a pretty holy place, and maybe we just didn't appreciate it enough, but Elizabeth and I got bored and went to get icecream. We felt pretty guilty, but it wasn't a super beautiful place or anything. I mean, don't get me wrong, it was a very interesting thing to witness: all these people traveling to this shrine. But the icecream suited us quite well, and we were very happy.
More Grey's Anatomy kept us busy on the three hour drive home, and when we got back we went to Jackie's to order pizza and chips! It was very delicious.
Today I had classes and work all day, and then we went to see Maynooth Castle with Roberta. It's incredible that Maynooth used to be a political centre of Ireland. There isn't much left of the castle, and it's strange that it's in the middle of town with a pub across the street and Dunne's store just behind it where the gardens used to be...
I'm very excited about my English class... we are studying poetry for the first half and drama in the second half of the semester. My sociology class today was kind of a waste of time because we talked about finding sources the whole time... Seriously, if you don't know how to do that by now, you shouldn't be in college (or university, as they call it here). I almost fell asleep.
We got our stipends (food money) today for the rest of the month, and we just got word from Roberta that Saint Mary's has granted us 5 Euro a week MORE than we thought we were getting (because she complained that we weren't getting enough)... so now we get about 200 Euro more for the whole year! Yippee! I went grocery shopping right after we saw the castle, and I'm pretty freakin' excited about all the food that I bought. I splurged a bit and got some things that I really love.
Tonight Katie and Elizabeth came over to make scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, and BROWNIES! Elizabeth was in charge of making the brownies, and they weren't QUITE cooked all the way... but we were impatient and we ate them anyways. I hope I don't end up with a bellyache tonight. But I think it was worth it... they were delicious!
I've got three classes tomorrow and some tasks from Roberta to complete. We are going to take our laundry to town too (it's cheaper and easier just to take your things into town, I guess, and pay to have them launder it... fine with me!) It should be a long day, but I think there's sun in the forecast!
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