Hello everyone!
Sorry this is a little late, but I’ll update you on my trip to Italy finally! We left on Sunday May 3 and after the bus to Dublin, flight to Bologna, and the bus to the train station, we found out that we missed the last train to Florence. We decided to stay in the train station until the next train, which was at 6:15. We played Banana Grams and read and took turns napping in the train station. It was definitely an interesting experience. Then Monday morning, we got on the train to Florence. We found our hostel and checked in, then took a nap to get energized. We got gelato and wandered the city, then ate dinner and went to bed early.
Tuesday, we went to the hills of Tuscany with the Tuscany Bike Tours. We had to take a van up there, and then we got a tour of the Royal Castle that makes Chianti wine and olive oil. We got a free tasting of both and it was so cool to see how they make it and to taste it. We rode our bikes throughout the hillsides and stopped for lunch. We got a huge meal with salads, fried pizza dough, pasta, dessert, wine and cappuccino! It was delicious. We had so much fun talking with the girls we met on the tour and with our amazing tour guides. We rode our bikes some more and then stopped so that the guides could warn us about the steep hill up ahead. They said that even professional bikers have problems with it because it’s so steep, and if we didn’t think we would be able to make it, we should get in the van and put our bikes on the trailer. I thought I could do it, so I started going up, but I had my bike on the lowest gear and it felt like I was going backwards. I went for as long as I could, but I had to stop. Just about all of the people who attempted it were getting in the van. It was me and another girl and a man that were still going. We walked our bikes up the hard part and then rode them up the rest of the way to the top. It was so intense, but I was too stubborn to get in the van ☺ After the hill, we had a water break then rode back to the castle and drove back to Florence. We went to Pop Café and got mojitos (it was cinco de mayo..haha). This café has free appetizers if you order a drink, so it was fun to go out to and it was cheap. We hung out there with some of the girls that were on our tour and our tour guide. It was so much fun to talk with them.
Wednesday, we saw the Jewish Synagogue and wandered the city some more. We walked through the market and got some scarves and bracelets. It’s so interesting to walk through the streets in Italy because everyone is so fascinated with my hair. I had multiple people ask to take a picture with me…haha it was so strange to see that. Then that night we went to La Giostra for dinner. It was such a fabulous meal. They served champagne before we ordered, then we had a bottle of Chianti wine and a tray of appetizers. Then we got risotto asparagus, pear ravioli and balsamic steak. We had ice cream with hot berries and rinsanto wine for desert and then they brought out limoncello! It was a huge meal and they just kept bringing stuff to us. We were there for 5 hours and had so much fun.
Thursday, we walked to Piazza Michaelangelo. We had to climb up to it, but we got a beautiful view of Florence. We sat and read and had gelato all day. It was so relaxing. Then we checked out of our hostel and took the train to Rome. We met with the Bus2Alps tour and took the bus to Sorrento. We didn’t get there until 4 in the morning and then had to find our bungalows in the woods. It was exhausting, but we were so excited for the weekend.
Florence Pictures:
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=457931024/a=157881010_157881010/
Friday, we left at 8 for the Isle of Capri. We took the ferry and stopped at the Blue Grotto. We had to get out of the ferry and into little paddleboats that took us into the cave. The ceiling was so low in the entrance that we had to lay down in the boat to get in! It was so beautiful in there! It’s one of the 7 wonders of the world because the cliffs don’t reach the bottom of the ocean floor, so when the sunlight comes in, the water looks neon blue! It was so amazing! Then we got back on the ferry and got to Capri. We walked all the way up to the top of the city for a great view of the coast, then walked through the city. We got a free limoncello tasting and had lunch, then went back to the beach by bus. We met two older couples from Wales on the bus and they were so friendly and nice to talk to. It’s been so amazing how many cool random people we’ve met on these trips. Then we relaxed on the beach for a while, took the ferry back to Sorrento, and went into town for dinner.
Saturday, we took the bus to Positano. We walked down to the beach and just lay out and relaxed. Erin and I rented a motorboat with some girls and went to go cliff jumping. We had to jump out of the boat and swim to the cliff in the middle of the water, then climb up the side. It was hard to get up and scary to climb up because it was so steep, but we made it. It was only about an 8 foot jump, but I was so scared. I finally did it and it was so cool. I’m so glad I did it! Then we took the boat back and lay out and had some gelato. Then we got back to our bungalows that night a little sun burnt and made pasta in our bungalow with some of the girls we met on the trip.
Sunday, we took the bus to Pompeii. Mount Vesuvius erupted 2,000 years ago and the lava completely covered the ancient city. About a hundred years ago, archeologists started to uncover the city and found that it was completely preserved. It was so cool to walk through and see how old everything was and how amazing it is that things are still preserved even though they were covered in lava. We saw the courthouse, markets, houses, gym and bathing area, a brothel, and even human bodies encased in plaster. It was so fascinating! That evening, we took the bus back to Rome and found our hostel and went to bed.
Amalfi Coast Pictures:
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=463713024/a=157881010_157881010/
Monday, I woke up and Melissa and Erin walked me to the bus stop. We had to say goodbye and it was so hard because we had been spending so much time together lately. I took the bus to the airport, flew back to Dublin, took the bus back to Galway and finished up my packing. I went out with my roommates and some of my Irish friends for the last time. We had so much fun, it definitely made it harder to leave.
Tuesday, my roommates drove me to the bus stop and we said goodbye. It was so great to have such amazing roommates. I couldn’t have asked for better roommates. We had so much fun and I can’t wait to see them again. I took the bus to Dublin, got on the plane and landed in Chicago, got my bags and met my parents. It was so good to see them again ☺ Then we went to the Taco Bell to fulfill my 4 month craving! I came home and was so out of it, but my whole family and friends and Keith were there to surprise me! I was so surprised and shocked. It was so good to see everyone, especially after such a long 22 hours of traveling.
It feels so good to be home and see everyone again. I had the most amazing time abroad and I wouldn’t change anything about it. It was hard at times, but I made it through and I’m so thankful for all of my amazing experiences. I would do it all again in a heartbeat. I can’t wait to go back to Ireland some day ☺ Thank you for all of your support and love. I am so lucky to have so many important people in my life! I love you all and I’ll be seeing you soon ☺
Friday, May 22, 2009
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Last week in Ireland
Hello everyone!
I can’t believe I just had my last week in Galway! I had a final for my Imagining Modern Ireland class on Tuesday, then the girls and I went to Monroe’s for our last night of Irish dancing. We ordered pizza and got to dance with Mike for the last time. I danced with him for a few songs, and I even remembered the dances from the last times! It was so much fun… I’m really going to miss going there.
Wednesday was Maggie’s last night, so we made dinner and went to a few of our favorite Irish pubs for the last time. We walked her to the bus stop at 3:30 and it was really hard to say goodbye. We all live so far away from each other and it’s hard because we don’t know when we are going to see each other again.
Friday, I had my final for my Politics of Northern Ireland class. It was really hard to study for because it’s an upper level class and I think I needed to know more basic information and I didn’t, but I think I knew enough for the essays to pass. I’m now officially on summer vacation!
Today, we walked around town and went to the market, walked to Salt Hill and the beach for the last time. It’s so strange that I’ve been walking around here for 4 months and living here, and now I have to leave. I know I’ll be back some day, but it’s definitely hard to say goodbye.
I leave tomorrow for Florence and the Isle of Capri in Italy. I’ll be back on May 11th, and I’ll hang out with my Irish roommates for the last time, then early May 12th, I leave for home! I can’t believe it’s already a week away. It’s so sad to leave, but I’m so excited to see everyone again! I love you all and hopefully I’ll be seeing you soon after my arrival to the states! ☺
Here's a few pictures from our last nights:
http://www2.snapfish.com/confirmflexupload/AlbumID=358705024/flexupload=true/imagecount=1
I can’t believe I just had my last week in Galway! I had a final for my Imagining Modern Ireland class on Tuesday, then the girls and I went to Monroe’s for our last night of Irish dancing. We ordered pizza and got to dance with Mike for the last time. I danced with him for a few songs, and I even remembered the dances from the last times! It was so much fun… I’m really going to miss going there.
Wednesday was Maggie’s last night, so we made dinner and went to a few of our favorite Irish pubs for the last time. We walked her to the bus stop at 3:30 and it was really hard to say goodbye. We all live so far away from each other and it’s hard because we don’t know when we are going to see each other again.
Friday, I had my final for my Politics of Northern Ireland class. It was really hard to study for because it’s an upper level class and I think I needed to know more basic information and I didn’t, but I think I knew enough for the essays to pass. I’m now officially on summer vacation!
Today, we walked around town and went to the market, walked to Salt Hill and the beach for the last time. It’s so strange that I’ve been walking around here for 4 months and living here, and now I have to leave. I know I’ll be back some day, but it’s definitely hard to say goodbye.
I leave tomorrow for Florence and the Isle of Capri in Italy. I’ll be back on May 11th, and I’ll hang out with my Irish roommates for the last time, then early May 12th, I leave for home! I can’t believe it’s already a week away. It’s so sad to leave, but I’m so excited to see everyone again! I love you all and hopefully I’ll be seeing you soon after my arrival to the states! ☺
Here's a few pictures from our last nights:
http://www2.snapfish.com/confirmflexupload/AlbumID=358705024/flexupload=true/imagecount=1
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Wicklow National Park and Croagh Patrick
Hello everyone!
I have a few things to update you on. Last week was Easter Sunday, and it was really hard to be away from home. We couldn’t celebrate here how we usually get to celebrate with family and friends, but we improvised. We went to mass and then my American friends and I died Easter eggs and played tag and other games outside because it was pretty nice weather. Maggie’s sister and her friend were visiting and the only thing she knows how to make is tacos so that’s what we had for our Easter dinner. It was a lot of fun to celebrate together. I got to talk to my whole family on Skype and even though it wasn’t the same as being there, it was nice to see everyone. At least that was the last major holiday that I have to be away for. I have less than three weeks left!
Last Wednesday, my friends and I went to Wicklow to see the Wicklow National Park, where P.S. I Love You was filmed. It was a really rainy, windy, cold day, so the pictures didn’t really turn out and we didn’t get a good feel of what it looks like. It’s too soon in the season for it to look like it did in the movie because the flowers aren’t in bloom until June. We got to see a 6th century monastery started by St. Kevin. Then we walked through the woods behind it, and got a great view of the mountains. It was very beautiful, even though it was foggy. I wish we could have had better weather, but I suppose if you wait around for a nice day of weather in Ireland, you’ll be waiting for a while.
Pictures of Wicklow:
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=330065024/a=157881010_157881010/t_=157881010
The rest of the week was filled with getting some papers done. I’m done with my two final papers, so now I just need to get to work studying for my two final exams. I can’t believe that in a couple weeks, I’ll be done with my Junior year!
Yesterday, Melissa, Maggie and I went to climb Croagh Patrick. It is in Co. Mayo and it’s where St. Patrick banished the snakes from Ireland. It’s a very religious place, in fact thousands of people climb it every year to make a pilgrimage for St. Patrick. A lot of people climb it on Easter and then have mass on the top of the mountain. The really hardcore pilgrims climb without shoes on! When we got there and started climbing, we thought we were climbing to the smaller of the two mountains, but when we got there, we realized that we were climbing to the big one. It wasn’t too bad, but at parts it got really steep. Towards the top, it was basically a complete vertical incline. There were a lot of loose rocks that made it a little trickier, but the challenge was great. On the way up, I stopped to catch my breath for a little bit, and looked over and there was a sheep standing right next to me. It stared at me for a while, and then started running down the mountain. I wish I had my camera with me to prove it ☺. It took us 2 hours to climb. When we made it to the top, the view was extremely beautiful. It was such a warm, sunny day, and the skies were so clear, we could see out over Ireland. I’ve never seen anything so beautiful. There was a small church on top of the mountain, but it was locked, so we couldn’t go in it. Then we started the climb down, which was almost harder than the climb up, because of the loose rocks and the steep path. Melissa and Maggie fell down a few times, and crazily enough I didn’t fall at all. We all lost our balance a few times and we took a lot of pictures and laughed a lot. It only took about one hour to get down, though. We met so many cool people on the way up and on the way down. Everyone was so friendly and encouraging. We got on the bus to Westport which is the nearest town to the mountain, and realized that we read the bus schedule wrong and there were no buses leaving that night back to Galway, so we had to ask a bus driver and he told us to take a cab to a town that was 20 minutes away so we could get on that bus back to Galway. It was just frustrating because it was an added expense that we hadn’t planned. But oh well, we got back to Galway safe and sound. Then we went to Monroe’s and had pizza and watched Irish dancing. I only have one more night at Monroe’s left!
Pictures of Croagh Patrick:
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=330489024/a=157881010_157881010/t_=157881010
Other than that, things are going really well. I’m trying to get everything in now that I only have a couple weeks left in Ireland and one week in Italy. I’ll be coming home on May 12th and I can’t wait to see everyone! Love you all and see you in less than a month ☺
I have a few things to update you on. Last week was Easter Sunday, and it was really hard to be away from home. We couldn’t celebrate here how we usually get to celebrate with family and friends, but we improvised. We went to mass and then my American friends and I died Easter eggs and played tag and other games outside because it was pretty nice weather. Maggie’s sister and her friend were visiting and the only thing she knows how to make is tacos so that’s what we had for our Easter dinner. It was a lot of fun to celebrate together. I got to talk to my whole family on Skype and even though it wasn’t the same as being there, it was nice to see everyone. At least that was the last major holiday that I have to be away for. I have less than three weeks left!
Last Wednesday, my friends and I went to Wicklow to see the Wicklow National Park, where P.S. I Love You was filmed. It was a really rainy, windy, cold day, so the pictures didn’t really turn out and we didn’t get a good feel of what it looks like. It’s too soon in the season for it to look like it did in the movie because the flowers aren’t in bloom until June. We got to see a 6th century monastery started by St. Kevin. Then we walked through the woods behind it, and got a great view of the mountains. It was very beautiful, even though it was foggy. I wish we could have had better weather, but I suppose if you wait around for a nice day of weather in Ireland, you’ll be waiting for a while.
Pictures of Wicklow:
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=330065024/a=157881010_157881010/t_=157881010
The rest of the week was filled with getting some papers done. I’m done with my two final papers, so now I just need to get to work studying for my two final exams. I can’t believe that in a couple weeks, I’ll be done with my Junior year!
Yesterday, Melissa, Maggie and I went to climb Croagh Patrick. It is in Co. Mayo and it’s where St. Patrick banished the snakes from Ireland. It’s a very religious place, in fact thousands of people climb it every year to make a pilgrimage for St. Patrick. A lot of people climb it on Easter and then have mass on the top of the mountain. The really hardcore pilgrims climb without shoes on! When we got there and started climbing, we thought we were climbing to the smaller of the two mountains, but when we got there, we realized that we were climbing to the big one. It wasn’t too bad, but at parts it got really steep. Towards the top, it was basically a complete vertical incline. There were a lot of loose rocks that made it a little trickier, but the challenge was great. On the way up, I stopped to catch my breath for a little bit, and looked over and there was a sheep standing right next to me. It stared at me for a while, and then started running down the mountain. I wish I had my camera with me to prove it ☺. It took us 2 hours to climb. When we made it to the top, the view was extremely beautiful. It was such a warm, sunny day, and the skies were so clear, we could see out over Ireland. I’ve never seen anything so beautiful. There was a small church on top of the mountain, but it was locked, so we couldn’t go in it. Then we started the climb down, which was almost harder than the climb up, because of the loose rocks and the steep path. Melissa and Maggie fell down a few times, and crazily enough I didn’t fall at all. We all lost our balance a few times and we took a lot of pictures and laughed a lot. It only took about one hour to get down, though. We met so many cool people on the way up and on the way down. Everyone was so friendly and encouraging. We got on the bus to Westport which is the nearest town to the mountain, and realized that we read the bus schedule wrong and there were no buses leaving that night back to Galway, so we had to ask a bus driver and he told us to take a cab to a town that was 20 minutes away so we could get on that bus back to Galway. It was just frustrating because it was an added expense that we hadn’t planned. But oh well, we got back to Galway safe and sound. Then we went to Monroe’s and had pizza and watched Irish dancing. I only have one more night at Monroe’s left!
Pictures of Croagh Patrick:
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=330489024/a=157881010_157881010/t_=157881010
Other than that, things are going really well. I’m trying to get everything in now that I only have a couple weeks left in Ireland and one week in Italy. I’ll be coming home on May 12th and I can’t wait to see everyone! Love you all and see you in less than a month ☺
Monday, April 13, 2009
Family in Ireland!
Hello everyone!
I have quite a few things to catch you up on, so I’ll get started. Last Wednesday, I had class until 3, so after class, I went to the Galway Cathedral to meet my family. I had tried to find their bed and breakfast, but I couldn’t, so we decided that the cathedral was a good landmark. When I turned the corner, I saw Mom, Dad, Aubrey, Tami and David standing on the steps. Dad and Aubz came running at me with open arms. After lots of hugs and kisses, we went into the Cathedral and I showed them around. Next we went to Taaffes, one of my favorite pubs in Galway. Everyone had their first Guinness, then we went to Riordan’s for dinner, then went back to Taaffes for some Irish music. We all walked from town, back to my apartment so they could see where I live. I think now they sympathize a little more with how much walking I have to do here. ☺ After that, we went to our Bed and Breakfast called the Sea Breeze Lodge in Salt Hill. It was such a cute B&B with an amazing view of the ocean. Everyone was pretty exhausted from two full days of traveling, so they went to bed at about 8:30.
Thursday, we got up and had an amazing breakfast and I got to meet Freddy, the owner of the Sea Breeze. He has a dog named Charlie, who is exactly like Willy, our old dog. He’s just a little fatter and hairier, but he reminded us so much of Willy. Dad, David, and I went to the airport to get the rental car and drove back to the B&B. David did a really good job driving on the other side of the car on the other side of the road! I was very proud of him, and by the end of the trip, he got a hang of the round a bouts and the GPS system. ☺ We came back and picked up everyone else and I showed them around Galway. I had to go to my last class at NUIG, so I left to hand in my paper and met up with them later. We walked along the beach and touched the Atlantic Ocean. We went to a pub and then to an Italian restaurant for dinner and the food was absolutely amazing! After dinner, we went to a pub called O’Connor’s. It was such a cool looking pub. There was a big fireplace with underwear hanging in front of it and there were lanterns everywhere on the ceiling. It was very homey. After that, Aubz and I went to Taaffes and the King’s Head with some of my friends here. It was so much fun to hang out and catch up and show her around where I go with my friends.
Friday, after breakfast, we drove to the ferry to get to the Aran Islands. After the ferry ride, we got in a tour van that took us around the island. It was so beautiful and quaint. There are only about 800 people who live on the island, and they didn’t have electricity until the 1970’s. We climbed up to Dun Aonghasa, which is a medieval fort built from stones. It was up really high and we could stand on the cliffs and look out over the ocean. We stopped in a little café and had soup and brown bread for lunch, then got back on the van tour. We saw the world’s smallest church, and we drove by the shore where the seals come in at low tide. We bought Aran wool sweaters, went to a pub for a bit, then took the ferry back. That night we went to McDonaugh’s for fish and chips, which was delicious as usual. After, we went to Taaffe’s and stayed for the traditional Irish band. It was such a fun day!
Aran Islands Pictures:
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=304272024/a=157881010_157881010/t_=157881010
Saturday, we packed up some of our stuff and dropped some bags off at my apartment so we could go on our mini vacation. We drove to the Cliffs of Moher. We walked up and down the cliffs. They were so beautiful! After that, we drove to Tralee. We got hotel rooms and then went to Palm Sunday Mass. After Mass, we ate at our hotel restaurant and I got a steak ☺. It was so good to have real meat! We walked to the Brough’s Inn bar and had a couple drinks and there were some guys performing acoustic music. It was a really fun night.
Cliffs of Moher Pictures:
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=304995024/a=157881010_157881010/t_=157881010
Sunday, we got up and checked out of the hotel and drove to Dingle. We walked around and went in a couple shops, went to a pub for soup and brown bread, then drove to Castle Gregory. We found St. Mary’s Castle Gregory Parish, which is where my great great great grandparents got married. It was a really cute little church, and I’m so glad we found it so easily! Then we got on the road to Cork. We got rooms right in Blarney, and we could see the Blarney Castle from our window! We went to a pub and played a few rounds of Toss up’s (a dice game). I won two games ☺. We ate dinner at our hotel, then went back to the pub for a few more drinks.
Dingle and Connor’s Pass Pictures:
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=303708024/a=157881010_157881010/t_=157881010
Castle Gregory Pictures:
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=305485024/a=157881010_157881010/t_=157881010
Monday, we walked to the Blarney Castle and climbed up to the top and kissed the Blarney Stone. With a little persuasion, we got Tami and Mom to go up and do it ☺. We walked around the gardens on the grounds, did some shopping, and had soup and brown bread at a little café. We drove to Adare, a really small town and found a bed and breakfast. We walked around town for a little bit. All of the houses are small and have thatched roofs. It’s such a cute town. We went to a pub and had a couple drinks, ate dinner, then went to Sean Collins and Sons, which is a cute little bar. They had a group of students come in to perform some music. It was really cool.
Blarney Pictures:
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=306345024/a=157881010_157881010/t_=157881010
Adare Pictures:
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=305758024/a=157881010_157881010/t_=157881010
Tuesday, we ate breakfast and got on the road back to Galway. I went to my apartment and packed up the rest of the luggage, and went to our hotel. We returned the rental car, then walked around Galway a little more. It was pouring rain and really windy, but we walked towards the beach so I could show them where all the swans gather. I think they got a good taste of Irish weather. We had some drinks in the hotel, then I took the family to Monroe’s. We ate pizza and had a few drinks and watched the Irish dancing. We had so much fun and I finally drank my first pint of Guinness! Aubz and I Irish danced our way back to the hotel that night ☺. It was so much fun!
Galway Pictures:
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=303110024/a=157881010_157881010/t_=157881010
Wednesday, we woke up at 5:30 in order to catch the train to Dublin. Melissa met up with us and came with. We went to Trinity College and got to see the Book of Kells. It is a collection of old drawings and writing interpretations of the Gospels. We got to go into the old library above it and it was so beautiful. I’ve never seen so many old books in one place before. I was in heaven ☺. We walked around the city and found Dublin Castle, Christ Church, and the Temple Bar area. We went into a pub for some drinks and got to hear a performer. We requested Galway Girl ☺. We went to an Italian café for dinner, then to Duke’s Pub for a literary pub-crawl. Our leader, Derek, was so good. He told us a lot about Irish writers and some interesting historical facts along with funny anecdotes about their drinking experiences. We went to four different pubs. He did most of his talks outside in between the pubs, but that only left us with about 20 minutes in the pubs, but it was so much fun.
Thursday, we went to the Guinness Factory for a tour. It was so interesting, and it was a lot of fun to do with my dad because he could explain everything that we were reading about. He was like a kid in a candy store the whole time. We got to learn how to pull a pint of Guinness and we even got certificates to prove that we are certified for it. We did some shopping, then went to the Kilmainham Prison. We had a guided tour and it was really interesting to hear about the Irish history that went along with the prisoners’ stories. Many of them were the people who fought for Ireland’s independence from Britain. Next, we went to O’Neil’s for some drinks and dinner. David and I tried to find a Celtic craft store to find our Houlihan family crest. We got a little lost, and had to go back to O’Neil’s empty-handed. So I’ll have to try to find it before I come home. After dinner, we got some last minute souvenirs. We went to their last pub so everyone could have their last Irish Guinness. We came back to the hotel and played some Toss Ups.
Dublin Picutres:
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=307218024/a=157881010_157881010/t_=157881010
Friday, we had breakfast and packed up. It was really hard to say goodbye and it all happened really fast. I had so much fun with everyone, and it was so great to show them around where I’ve been living for the past few months. I only have about a month left, and as hard as it’s going to be to leave all of this, I am excited to be with everyone again. I love my family so much and it was so great to spend so much time with them!
I have quite a few things to catch you up on, so I’ll get started. Last Wednesday, I had class until 3, so after class, I went to the Galway Cathedral to meet my family. I had tried to find their bed and breakfast, but I couldn’t, so we decided that the cathedral was a good landmark. When I turned the corner, I saw Mom, Dad, Aubrey, Tami and David standing on the steps. Dad and Aubz came running at me with open arms. After lots of hugs and kisses, we went into the Cathedral and I showed them around. Next we went to Taaffes, one of my favorite pubs in Galway. Everyone had their first Guinness, then we went to Riordan’s for dinner, then went back to Taaffes for some Irish music. We all walked from town, back to my apartment so they could see where I live. I think now they sympathize a little more with how much walking I have to do here. ☺ After that, we went to our Bed and Breakfast called the Sea Breeze Lodge in Salt Hill. It was such a cute B&B with an amazing view of the ocean. Everyone was pretty exhausted from two full days of traveling, so they went to bed at about 8:30.
Thursday, we got up and had an amazing breakfast and I got to meet Freddy, the owner of the Sea Breeze. He has a dog named Charlie, who is exactly like Willy, our old dog. He’s just a little fatter and hairier, but he reminded us so much of Willy. Dad, David, and I went to the airport to get the rental car and drove back to the B&B. David did a really good job driving on the other side of the car on the other side of the road! I was very proud of him, and by the end of the trip, he got a hang of the round a bouts and the GPS system. ☺ We came back and picked up everyone else and I showed them around Galway. I had to go to my last class at NUIG, so I left to hand in my paper and met up with them later. We walked along the beach and touched the Atlantic Ocean. We went to a pub and then to an Italian restaurant for dinner and the food was absolutely amazing! After dinner, we went to a pub called O’Connor’s. It was such a cool looking pub. There was a big fireplace with underwear hanging in front of it and there were lanterns everywhere on the ceiling. It was very homey. After that, Aubz and I went to Taaffes and the King’s Head with some of my friends here. It was so much fun to hang out and catch up and show her around where I go with my friends.
Friday, after breakfast, we drove to the ferry to get to the Aran Islands. After the ferry ride, we got in a tour van that took us around the island. It was so beautiful and quaint. There are only about 800 people who live on the island, and they didn’t have electricity until the 1970’s. We climbed up to Dun Aonghasa, which is a medieval fort built from stones. It was up really high and we could stand on the cliffs and look out over the ocean. We stopped in a little café and had soup and brown bread for lunch, then got back on the van tour. We saw the world’s smallest church, and we drove by the shore where the seals come in at low tide. We bought Aran wool sweaters, went to a pub for a bit, then took the ferry back. That night we went to McDonaugh’s for fish and chips, which was delicious as usual. After, we went to Taaffe’s and stayed for the traditional Irish band. It was such a fun day!
Aran Islands Pictures:
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=304272024/a=157881010_157881010/t_=157881010
Saturday, we packed up some of our stuff and dropped some bags off at my apartment so we could go on our mini vacation. We drove to the Cliffs of Moher. We walked up and down the cliffs. They were so beautiful! After that, we drove to Tralee. We got hotel rooms and then went to Palm Sunday Mass. After Mass, we ate at our hotel restaurant and I got a steak ☺. It was so good to have real meat! We walked to the Brough’s Inn bar and had a couple drinks and there were some guys performing acoustic music. It was a really fun night.
Cliffs of Moher Pictures:
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=304995024/a=157881010_157881010/t_=157881010
Sunday, we got up and checked out of the hotel and drove to Dingle. We walked around and went in a couple shops, went to a pub for soup and brown bread, then drove to Castle Gregory. We found St. Mary’s Castle Gregory Parish, which is where my great great great grandparents got married. It was a really cute little church, and I’m so glad we found it so easily! Then we got on the road to Cork. We got rooms right in Blarney, and we could see the Blarney Castle from our window! We went to a pub and played a few rounds of Toss up’s (a dice game). I won two games ☺. We ate dinner at our hotel, then went back to the pub for a few more drinks.
Dingle and Connor’s Pass Pictures:
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=303708024/a=157881010_157881010/t_=157881010
Castle Gregory Pictures:
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=305485024/a=157881010_157881010/t_=157881010
Monday, we walked to the Blarney Castle and climbed up to the top and kissed the Blarney Stone. With a little persuasion, we got Tami and Mom to go up and do it ☺. We walked around the gardens on the grounds, did some shopping, and had soup and brown bread at a little café. We drove to Adare, a really small town and found a bed and breakfast. We walked around town for a little bit. All of the houses are small and have thatched roofs. It’s such a cute town. We went to a pub and had a couple drinks, ate dinner, then went to Sean Collins and Sons, which is a cute little bar. They had a group of students come in to perform some music. It was really cool.
Blarney Pictures:
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=306345024/a=157881010_157881010/t_=157881010
Adare Pictures:
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=305758024/a=157881010_157881010/t_=157881010
Tuesday, we ate breakfast and got on the road back to Galway. I went to my apartment and packed up the rest of the luggage, and went to our hotel. We returned the rental car, then walked around Galway a little more. It was pouring rain and really windy, but we walked towards the beach so I could show them where all the swans gather. I think they got a good taste of Irish weather. We had some drinks in the hotel, then I took the family to Monroe’s. We ate pizza and had a few drinks and watched the Irish dancing. We had so much fun and I finally drank my first pint of Guinness! Aubz and I Irish danced our way back to the hotel that night ☺. It was so much fun!
Galway Pictures:
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=303110024/a=157881010_157881010/t_=157881010
Wednesday, we woke up at 5:30 in order to catch the train to Dublin. Melissa met up with us and came with. We went to Trinity College and got to see the Book of Kells. It is a collection of old drawings and writing interpretations of the Gospels. We got to go into the old library above it and it was so beautiful. I’ve never seen so many old books in one place before. I was in heaven ☺. We walked around the city and found Dublin Castle, Christ Church, and the Temple Bar area. We went into a pub for some drinks and got to hear a performer. We requested Galway Girl ☺. We went to an Italian café for dinner, then to Duke’s Pub for a literary pub-crawl. Our leader, Derek, was so good. He told us a lot about Irish writers and some interesting historical facts along with funny anecdotes about their drinking experiences. We went to four different pubs. He did most of his talks outside in between the pubs, but that only left us with about 20 minutes in the pubs, but it was so much fun.
Thursday, we went to the Guinness Factory for a tour. It was so interesting, and it was a lot of fun to do with my dad because he could explain everything that we were reading about. He was like a kid in a candy store the whole time. We got to learn how to pull a pint of Guinness and we even got certificates to prove that we are certified for it. We did some shopping, then went to the Kilmainham Prison. We had a guided tour and it was really interesting to hear about the Irish history that went along with the prisoners’ stories. Many of them were the people who fought for Ireland’s independence from Britain. Next, we went to O’Neil’s for some drinks and dinner. David and I tried to find a Celtic craft store to find our Houlihan family crest. We got a little lost, and had to go back to O’Neil’s empty-handed. So I’ll have to try to find it before I come home. After dinner, we got some last minute souvenirs. We went to their last pub so everyone could have their last Irish Guinness. We came back to the hotel and played some Toss Ups.
Dublin Picutres:
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=307218024/a=157881010_157881010/t_=157881010
Friday, we had breakfast and packed up. It was really hard to say goodbye and it all happened really fast. I had so much fun with everyone, and it was so great to show them around where I’ve been living for the past few months. I only have about a month left, and as hard as it’s going to be to leave all of this, I am excited to be with everyone again. I love my family so much and it was so great to spend so much time with them!
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Irish Dancing!
This is going to be a short one, but I just wanted to let you all know that I got to Irish dance with an old Irish man last week :)
My friends and I went to Monroe's like we do every Tuesday night to watch Irish dancing, and one the regular men who comes to dance, pulled us up and started teaching us the dances. As the music started, he pulled me aside and made me dance the first couple songs with him. It was so much fun and I had no idea what I was doing, but every one was so enthusiastic and nice, it was easy to catch on. He was the cutest old man and he was so energetic, it was hard to keep up with him! He danced a couple dances with each of us, and it was such a great experience.
Now, I'm in my last week of classes and anxiously awaiting my family's arrival tomorrow. My mom and dad, Aubrey, Tami and David, left for Chicago a little bit ago and they'll be in Galway at about 12 tomorrow! I'm so excited to see them and show them around. They leave on April 10, so after that look forward to a new post and pictures about our adventures around Ireland! I love you and miss you all!
My friends and I went to Monroe's like we do every Tuesday night to watch Irish dancing, and one the regular men who comes to dance, pulled us up and started teaching us the dances. As the music started, he pulled me aside and made me dance the first couple songs with him. It was so much fun and I had no idea what I was doing, but every one was so enthusiastic and nice, it was easy to catch on. He was the cutest old man and he was so energetic, it was hard to keep up with him! He danced a couple dances with each of us, and it was such a great experience.
Now, I'm in my last week of classes and anxiously awaiting my family's arrival tomorrow. My mom and dad, Aubrey, Tami and David, left for Chicago a little bit ago and they'll be in Galway at about 12 tomorrow! I'm so excited to see them and show them around. They leave on April 10, so after that look forward to a new post and pictures about our adventures around Ireland! I love you and miss you all!
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Barcelona
Hey everyone!
I hope you all had a great weekend! I went to Barcelona and I absolutely loved it. We had to leave our apartment at 2:45 Friday morning in order to catch the 3:30 bus. Melissa and I almost didn’t make it on to the bus. We didn’t think it was going to be that packed at that time in the morning, but luckily we were the last people allowed on. We made it to the airport, checked in and flew out at 6:45. We landed in Girona that is a city outside of Barcelona, so we had to take a bus into Barcelona. We got into the city and had to ask around for directions to our hostel, then checked in and met our friend Amy from SNC. She’s studying in Toledo, Spain this semester and she was visiting Barcelona with some of her friends, so we met up and shared a hostel with them. It was so great to see her! It was also very helpful that they all spoke Spanish. In Barcelona, they speak Catalan, which is a little different, but most people understand both Spanish and English, as well.
We walked around the streets and found a few of Gaudi’s buildings, and ended up at the Sangrada Familia. It’s a church that Gaudi designed and they started building it in 1898 and it’s still under construction because they haven’t finished yet. The church is so detailed; I feel like we could’ve stood there and looked at it for hours. The whole front side depicts the Stations of the Cross. There are lots of pictures for you to look at. They don’t do it justice, but maybe you’ll get a little bit of an idea. We went into the church and got to see all of the construction, then went up to the top. We got to walk out onto the balcony and we got a great view of the city. It was so beautiful! We also got a chance to see more of the detail of the building. Afterwards, we walked to the 1992 Olympic Stadium and found a park on the way that was so beautiful. The stadium was so huge and there were fountains everywhere. We got to watch the sunset from there and it was absolutely gorgeous! I took a lot of pictures of it ☺ Next we went to the Magic Fountain light show. It’s a gigantic beautiful fountain that lights up and each fountain goes on and off along with the music. It was so beautiful! Then we went to a Spanish restaurant and had tappas and paella. Tappas are little appetizers (little potatoes with spicy sauce, bread with meat on it, and a type of potato salad with tuna). Paella has rice and either chicken, seafood, or veggies. I had veggies because it was Friday, but it was so good! We had a pitcher of sangria too, which was fabulous ☺ Then after dinner, we went back to our hostel because we had all been up all night traveling and went to sleep.
Saturday, we got up early and went to the market. It was so busy and there were so many stands with every kind of food. Then, we walked through the city to Guell Park, which was designed by Gaudi. It was so beautiful! We got to climb above the park and got a great view of the city. We had to climb up 325 steps, but the view was totally worth it! Next, we tried to find another park, but couldn’t find it, so we asked an old Spanish lady for help. She was so confused that we were trying to walk there, because it was really far, so she offered to show us how to get there. She walked with us to the bus stop and rode the bus with us. She told the driver when to tell us to get off. She was so nice and sweet! She spoke in Spanish, but I understood her pretty well. The whole weekend, I felt pretty good with my Spanish. I could understand people for the most part, but I just couldn’t think on my feet fast enough to be able to respond. I was pretty proud of myself for understanding it for the most part. We found a little grocery store by the park and picked up a baguette and some salami and had a picnic lunch in the park. We walked around it, and it was so beautiful. Then, we took the metro to the beach and put our feet in the Mediterranean Sea! We walked along the boardwalk for a couple hours because it was so long! Next, we walked back and found a band singing Spanish music by the port. We sat on the steps and listened and the sun was setting in the background. It was such a surreal moment. We went to a small Italian restaurant for dinner, and then got gelato for dessert. After, we went to a couple small bars for sangria. It was so much fun chatting with the girls about their study abroad experiences in Spain. Their program is so much different from ours, so it was interesting to hear about it. We went back to the hostel and then had to check out at 6:30 in order to catch the metro, bus, plane, bus, and walking back to our apartment. It’s a long day of traveling, but totally worth it!
Overall, it was a great trip. The weather was pretty good, but it’s been so nice this week in Ireland, it was hard to leave. It was about 60’s and 70’s, but very cool when the sun went down and windy on the beach.
Here’s the link for my pictures:
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=254695363/a=157881010_157881010/t_=157881010
Other news: Ireland won the Six Nations Rugby game and every one is crazy here! We went to mass tonight, and the priest talked for so long about how the country is blessed with a great team. It’s so cool how patriotic they are when it comes to sports. So many houses and apartments have Irish flags hanging outside of the windows now. It’s so great! Today is Mother’s Day in Ireland, so Happy Mother’s Day to everyone! ☺
Other than that, not much is going on here. I’ll be working on getting papers done this week, and anticipating my family’s arrival in 10 days!! I’m so excited to see them and show them around Galway ☺ I hope you all have a great week! Love you!!!
I hope you all had a great weekend! I went to Barcelona and I absolutely loved it. We had to leave our apartment at 2:45 Friday morning in order to catch the 3:30 bus. Melissa and I almost didn’t make it on to the bus. We didn’t think it was going to be that packed at that time in the morning, but luckily we were the last people allowed on. We made it to the airport, checked in and flew out at 6:45. We landed in Girona that is a city outside of Barcelona, so we had to take a bus into Barcelona. We got into the city and had to ask around for directions to our hostel, then checked in and met our friend Amy from SNC. She’s studying in Toledo, Spain this semester and she was visiting Barcelona with some of her friends, so we met up and shared a hostel with them. It was so great to see her! It was also very helpful that they all spoke Spanish. In Barcelona, they speak Catalan, which is a little different, but most people understand both Spanish and English, as well.
We walked around the streets and found a few of Gaudi’s buildings, and ended up at the Sangrada Familia. It’s a church that Gaudi designed and they started building it in 1898 and it’s still under construction because they haven’t finished yet. The church is so detailed; I feel like we could’ve stood there and looked at it for hours. The whole front side depicts the Stations of the Cross. There are lots of pictures for you to look at. They don’t do it justice, but maybe you’ll get a little bit of an idea. We went into the church and got to see all of the construction, then went up to the top. We got to walk out onto the balcony and we got a great view of the city. It was so beautiful! We also got a chance to see more of the detail of the building. Afterwards, we walked to the 1992 Olympic Stadium and found a park on the way that was so beautiful. The stadium was so huge and there were fountains everywhere. We got to watch the sunset from there and it was absolutely gorgeous! I took a lot of pictures of it ☺ Next we went to the Magic Fountain light show. It’s a gigantic beautiful fountain that lights up and each fountain goes on and off along with the music. It was so beautiful! Then we went to a Spanish restaurant and had tappas and paella. Tappas are little appetizers (little potatoes with spicy sauce, bread with meat on it, and a type of potato salad with tuna). Paella has rice and either chicken, seafood, or veggies. I had veggies because it was Friday, but it was so good! We had a pitcher of sangria too, which was fabulous ☺ Then after dinner, we went back to our hostel because we had all been up all night traveling and went to sleep.
Saturday, we got up early and went to the market. It was so busy and there were so many stands with every kind of food. Then, we walked through the city to Guell Park, which was designed by Gaudi. It was so beautiful! We got to climb above the park and got a great view of the city. We had to climb up 325 steps, but the view was totally worth it! Next, we tried to find another park, but couldn’t find it, so we asked an old Spanish lady for help. She was so confused that we were trying to walk there, because it was really far, so she offered to show us how to get there. She walked with us to the bus stop and rode the bus with us. She told the driver when to tell us to get off. She was so nice and sweet! She spoke in Spanish, but I understood her pretty well. The whole weekend, I felt pretty good with my Spanish. I could understand people for the most part, but I just couldn’t think on my feet fast enough to be able to respond. I was pretty proud of myself for understanding it for the most part. We found a little grocery store by the park and picked up a baguette and some salami and had a picnic lunch in the park. We walked around it, and it was so beautiful. Then, we took the metro to the beach and put our feet in the Mediterranean Sea! We walked along the boardwalk for a couple hours because it was so long! Next, we walked back and found a band singing Spanish music by the port. We sat on the steps and listened and the sun was setting in the background. It was such a surreal moment. We went to a small Italian restaurant for dinner, and then got gelato for dessert. After, we went to a couple small bars for sangria. It was so much fun chatting with the girls about their study abroad experiences in Spain. Their program is so much different from ours, so it was interesting to hear about it. We went back to the hostel and then had to check out at 6:30 in order to catch the metro, bus, plane, bus, and walking back to our apartment. It’s a long day of traveling, but totally worth it!
Overall, it was a great trip. The weather was pretty good, but it’s been so nice this week in Ireland, it was hard to leave. It was about 60’s and 70’s, but very cool when the sun went down and windy on the beach.
Here’s the link for my pictures:
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=254695363/a=157881010_157881010/t_=157881010
Other news: Ireland won the Six Nations Rugby game and every one is crazy here! We went to mass tonight, and the priest talked for so long about how the country is blessed with a great team. It’s so cool how patriotic they are when it comes to sports. So many houses and apartments have Irish flags hanging outside of the windows now. It’s so great! Today is Mother’s Day in Ireland, so Happy Mother’s Day to everyone! ☺
Other than that, not much is going on here. I’ll be working on getting papers done this week, and anticipating my family’s arrival in 10 days!! I’m so excited to see them and show them around Galway ☺ I hope you all have a great week! Love you!!!
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
St. Patty's Day!
Hello!
Things have been pretty mellow here lately. Last week was my roommate Niamh’s 19th birthday so we had a house party at our apartment, then we went to the clubs. It was a lot of fun and I got to go out with all Irish people. It was definitely a great experience…I’m so lucky to have such great roommates that I love and who are willing to take me out with them and all of their friends. I put up some pictures from the party of me with my new Irish friends, so here’s the link:
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=254680180/a=157881010_157881010/t_=157881010
Yesterday was St. Patrick’s Day and it was so cool to celebrate it in Ireland. I still can’t believe it! Maggie, Erin, and Tristin, my closest American girl friends had their boyfriends visiting this week, so we all got together and made brunch on Tuesday morning and had some bloody mary’s. Then, we walked into town for the parade. The parade was a lot like the ones from home, but not as long and dragged out. There were a lot of people dressed in green, but I don’t know how many of them were actually Irish… I know a lot of tourists are here around this time of year, so it’s hard to tell. The streets were so packed and everyone was cheering and having a good time. After the parade, we went to a couple pubs and had some drinks, then went home to nap for a couple hours. We went out again later that night to the King’s Head, where our favorite band was playing. They sang some Irish songs and some American songs and everyone was dancing around like crazy in their green gear. They played “Galway Girl” and every single person in the bar was singing along. It was such a surreal experience! I had a great day and I feel so lucky that I got to experience a St. Patty’s Day in Ireland ☺
Here’s the link to my St. Patty’s Day pictures:
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=254680689/a=157881010_157881010/t_=157881010
That’s about it for now. I leave for Barcelona Friday, so I’ll have more pictures for you later next week. I love you all and miss you like crazy!!!
Things have been pretty mellow here lately. Last week was my roommate Niamh’s 19th birthday so we had a house party at our apartment, then we went to the clubs. It was a lot of fun and I got to go out with all Irish people. It was definitely a great experience…I’m so lucky to have such great roommates that I love and who are willing to take me out with them and all of their friends. I put up some pictures from the party of me with my new Irish friends, so here’s the link:
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=254680180/a=157881010_157881010/t_=157881010
Yesterday was St. Patrick’s Day and it was so cool to celebrate it in Ireland. I still can’t believe it! Maggie, Erin, and Tristin, my closest American girl friends had their boyfriends visiting this week, so we all got together and made brunch on Tuesday morning and had some bloody mary’s. Then, we walked into town for the parade. The parade was a lot like the ones from home, but not as long and dragged out. There were a lot of people dressed in green, but I don’t know how many of them were actually Irish… I know a lot of tourists are here around this time of year, so it’s hard to tell. The streets were so packed and everyone was cheering and having a good time. After the parade, we went to a couple pubs and had some drinks, then went home to nap for a couple hours. We went out again later that night to the King’s Head, where our favorite band was playing. They sang some Irish songs and some American songs and everyone was dancing around like crazy in their green gear. They played “Galway Girl” and every single person in the bar was singing along. It was such a surreal experience! I had a great day and I feel so lucky that I got to experience a St. Patty’s Day in Ireland ☺
Here’s the link to my St. Patty’s Day pictures:
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=254680689/a=157881010_157881010/t_=157881010
That’s about it for now. I leave for Barcelona Friday, so I’ll have more pictures for you later next week. I love you all and miss you like crazy!!!
Monday, March 16, 2009
New Pictures!
Hey everyone!
The other day, on my walk I realized that I should take some pictures of the path I walk along and the beach where I walk because I'm there just about every day and I want you to see where I go. So here are some pictures. I tried to be a little artistic, but I don't know if it worked too well. Enjoy! Love you all!
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=254655112/a=157881010_157881010/t_=157881010
The other day, on my walk I realized that I should take some pictures of the path I walk along and the beach where I walk because I'm there just about every day and I want you to see where I go. So here are some pictures. I tried to be a little artistic, but I don't know if it worked too well. Enjoy! Love you all!
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=254655112/a=157881010_157881010/t_=157881010
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
London
Hello everyone!
I have another update for you! Hooray! Well this last week was RAG Week at NUI Galway. It is a week for the campus to raise money for charity, and there are a few events put on for this, but they are not publicized at all. It somehow turned into an excuse for Irish students to drink all week long. They don’t go to class at all and if they do, they bring drinks to class with them. There were foam parties during the day, and people drinking outside everywhere you looked. It was absolutely crazy! Irish kids really know how to party… They started on Sunday afternoon and pretty much didn’t stop until Friday. I went out a couple of times, but I cannot keep up with them ☺ It was definitely interesting to watch though!
On Thursday, Melissa and I left for London. We took the train from Galway to Shannon, flew out, and landed in the Stansted Airport, took a train into the city, then got on the subway tube to get to where we were staying. It was so much traveling, but we finally arrived around 8:30. We stayed with one of Melissa’s childhood friends who is working an internship in London this semester. She was really nice and living in an international student-housing complex with a lot of people from Wisconsin. It was nice to hear some familiar accents ☺ We went with them to Karaoke on Thursday night, which was a lot of fun.
Friday, we took a double decker bus tour of the city. We saw pretty much the entire city: Big Ben and the houses of parliament, Westminster Abbey, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Buckingham Palace, Globe Theater, London Bridge, Tower Bridge, and lots in between. Friday night, we went out for fish and chips…delicious! Then we saw Spring Awakening. It is a new musical based in the 1800’s but the songs are song like rock songs. It’s about teenagers going through school and trying to understand sex, and death and dealing with their parents. It’s very different, and the music is amazing!
Saturday, we took the bus tour to some of the places we didn’t get to see the first day, just random buildings and parks, but we got to learn about the history behind things. Melissa and I went to Billy Elliot for the matinee. It’s a story about a boy who wants to dance, but his father wants him to box. The boy was like 10 years old and danced so well! The show was so amazing! The set was unbelievable… I loved it! Then we went to dinner and saw Wicked at night. It’s the story of the two witches from the Wizard of Oz. I read the book last summer, and the musical is very different, but so good! The singing was amazing and the special effects were so great! It was such a good day. I’m so glad I got the chance to see these shows. I don’t get a lot of chances to see shows back home, so it was fun to take the opportunity to see them while I could.
Sunday, we took a boat cruise along the Thames River and ended up in Greenwich. We walked through the park there and saw the Royal Observatory. I got to stand on either side of the Prime Meridian! It was so cool! Then we went to the British Museum, ate lunch, went to mass, and then went on the London Eye. It’s the big ferris wheel type thing. It was very high up, but we got a great view of the city at night. I got some great pictures! After, we went out to dinner, then hung out at Angie’s apartment and went to bed.
We left early Monday morning on the subway, the train, the plane, and the bus, and I made it back in time for my class at 5. These weekends are so much fun, but I miss Galway when I’m away. It’s so nice to get away sometimes, but now Galway is really feeling like home. I also missed having a good skype connection. Because all of the Irish students go home on the weekends, the Internet gets much faster, so I try to take advantage of that when I can ☺
Here’s the link to my pictures on snapfish. It wasn’t letting me delete some of the duplicates, so I’m sorry if there are multiples of some pictures. And some of the buildings were insignificant; I just thought they looked cool, so I took a picture. Enjoy!
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=254600963/a=157881010_157881010/t_=157881010
Other than that, not much is new here. I got a little cold over the weekend, so I’m hoping that will be gone soon. I have a presentation in my Irish Short Stories class on Thursday, so that will be what the rest of my week consists of. I have to present on an author and make handouts for the class. It’s so hard for me to get back into the flow of doing homework because I hardly have to do anything. It will take some getting used to when I get back to SNC in the fall ☺
I hope you are all doing well! Please keep the e-mails and letters coming! As much as I love being here, it’s hard to miss out on things happening at home. I miss you all so much! Have a great week! Love you!!!
I have another update for you! Hooray! Well this last week was RAG Week at NUI Galway. It is a week for the campus to raise money for charity, and there are a few events put on for this, but they are not publicized at all. It somehow turned into an excuse for Irish students to drink all week long. They don’t go to class at all and if they do, they bring drinks to class with them. There were foam parties during the day, and people drinking outside everywhere you looked. It was absolutely crazy! Irish kids really know how to party… They started on Sunday afternoon and pretty much didn’t stop until Friday. I went out a couple of times, but I cannot keep up with them ☺ It was definitely interesting to watch though!
On Thursday, Melissa and I left for London. We took the train from Galway to Shannon, flew out, and landed in the Stansted Airport, took a train into the city, then got on the subway tube to get to where we were staying. It was so much traveling, but we finally arrived around 8:30. We stayed with one of Melissa’s childhood friends who is working an internship in London this semester. She was really nice and living in an international student-housing complex with a lot of people from Wisconsin. It was nice to hear some familiar accents ☺ We went with them to Karaoke on Thursday night, which was a lot of fun.
Friday, we took a double decker bus tour of the city. We saw pretty much the entire city: Big Ben and the houses of parliament, Westminster Abbey, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Buckingham Palace, Globe Theater, London Bridge, Tower Bridge, and lots in between. Friday night, we went out for fish and chips…delicious! Then we saw Spring Awakening. It is a new musical based in the 1800’s but the songs are song like rock songs. It’s about teenagers going through school and trying to understand sex, and death and dealing with their parents. It’s very different, and the music is amazing!
Saturday, we took the bus tour to some of the places we didn’t get to see the first day, just random buildings and parks, but we got to learn about the history behind things. Melissa and I went to Billy Elliot for the matinee. It’s a story about a boy who wants to dance, but his father wants him to box. The boy was like 10 years old and danced so well! The show was so amazing! The set was unbelievable… I loved it! Then we went to dinner and saw Wicked at night. It’s the story of the two witches from the Wizard of Oz. I read the book last summer, and the musical is very different, but so good! The singing was amazing and the special effects were so great! It was such a good day. I’m so glad I got the chance to see these shows. I don’t get a lot of chances to see shows back home, so it was fun to take the opportunity to see them while I could.
Sunday, we took a boat cruise along the Thames River and ended up in Greenwich. We walked through the park there and saw the Royal Observatory. I got to stand on either side of the Prime Meridian! It was so cool! Then we went to the British Museum, ate lunch, went to mass, and then went on the London Eye. It’s the big ferris wheel type thing. It was very high up, but we got a great view of the city at night. I got some great pictures! After, we went out to dinner, then hung out at Angie’s apartment and went to bed.
We left early Monday morning on the subway, the train, the plane, and the bus, and I made it back in time for my class at 5. These weekends are so much fun, but I miss Galway when I’m away. It’s so nice to get away sometimes, but now Galway is really feeling like home. I also missed having a good skype connection. Because all of the Irish students go home on the weekends, the Internet gets much faster, so I try to take advantage of that when I can ☺
Here’s the link to my pictures on snapfish. It wasn’t letting me delete some of the duplicates, so I’m sorry if there are multiples of some pictures. And some of the buildings were insignificant; I just thought they looked cool, so I took a picture. Enjoy!
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=254600963/a=157881010_157881010/t_=157881010
Other than that, not much is new here. I got a little cold over the weekend, so I’m hoping that will be gone soon. I have a presentation in my Irish Short Stories class on Thursday, so that will be what the rest of my week consists of. I have to present on an author and make handouts for the class. It’s so hard for me to get back into the flow of doing homework because I hardly have to do anything. It will take some getting used to when I get back to SNC in the fall ☺
I hope you are all doing well! Please keep the e-mails and letters coming! As much as I love being here, it’s hard to miss out on things happening at home. I miss you all so much! Have a great week! Love you!!!
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Valentine's, Arts Ball, and Castles
Hey everyone! Sorry it’s been a while since my last update, but I will do my best to keep you up to date on my life for the past 2 weeks.
Last week, I went to the NUI Galway musical production of Disco Inferno. I went with my roommates because they knew a girl in it. The storyline was horrible and it wasn’t done very well, but there were a few talented people in the cast. It was not quite up to how our college shows are, but it was fun to see.
For Valentine’s Day, a bunch of my American friends and I had a dessert potluck. I made rice krispy bars, and there were chocolate covered strawberries, key lime pie, puppy chow, cupcakes, cookies, chocolate biscuit cake, and we had some sparkling wine. It was a wonderful dinner of sweets ☺
This week has been pretty low key. Classes are all going really well and I’m actually starting to have some homework for them. It’s hard to get readjusted and find the motivation to get assignments done. It’s strange how back home, I would love if I had these small assignments and here I dread them! But I’m getting back into the swing of things and my classes are pretty good. I had my first final on Friday for my Medieval Castle class. That class has been meeting four times a week instead of the normal two for every other class, so it gets done early. The professor kept telling us that no one has ever failed the test and they even had a chimp take it and he passed. I looked over my notes a few times and I thought I was well prepared, but the questions were very specific. I think I did well and we still have a final paper due, so I’ll be fine. It’s so strange to be done with a class already. I feel like I just got here!
On Wednesday, a few of my American friends and I went to the Arts Ball. They have balls throughout the year for the specific departments that the students major in. My roommates went to the Engineering Ball a couple weeks ago because their friends are in that department. We got all dressed up and went to a pub, then to a hotel in Salt Hill and there was a live band for the first part, followed by a DJ. It was so much fun. It was a lot like prom for us. Here’s a link to my pictures from Valentine’s and the dance.
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=254546209/a=157881010_157881010/t_=157881010
Today, I went on my field trip for my Castle class. We took a bus and went to four different castles throughout Ireland. The first one was Portumna Castle, the second was Pallace Castle, then Loughnea and Clonmacnoise. I explain more about them in the captions of the pictures, so I’m not going to go into detail here. It was very interesting and cool to see the castles that we were studying in class. Here’s the link to those pictures:
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=254551405/a=157881010_157881010/t_=157881010
I hope you are all doing great and I love to hear about everything, so send me e-mails. I leave for London on Thursday and I come back on Monday, so there will be a new blog update shortly after that. I love you and miss you all so much!!!
Last week, I went to the NUI Galway musical production of Disco Inferno. I went with my roommates because they knew a girl in it. The storyline was horrible and it wasn’t done very well, but there were a few talented people in the cast. It was not quite up to how our college shows are, but it was fun to see.
For Valentine’s Day, a bunch of my American friends and I had a dessert potluck. I made rice krispy bars, and there were chocolate covered strawberries, key lime pie, puppy chow, cupcakes, cookies, chocolate biscuit cake, and we had some sparkling wine. It was a wonderful dinner of sweets ☺
This week has been pretty low key. Classes are all going really well and I’m actually starting to have some homework for them. It’s hard to get readjusted and find the motivation to get assignments done. It’s strange how back home, I would love if I had these small assignments and here I dread them! But I’m getting back into the swing of things and my classes are pretty good. I had my first final on Friday for my Medieval Castle class. That class has been meeting four times a week instead of the normal two for every other class, so it gets done early. The professor kept telling us that no one has ever failed the test and they even had a chimp take it and he passed. I looked over my notes a few times and I thought I was well prepared, but the questions were very specific. I think I did well and we still have a final paper due, so I’ll be fine. It’s so strange to be done with a class already. I feel like I just got here!
On Wednesday, a few of my American friends and I went to the Arts Ball. They have balls throughout the year for the specific departments that the students major in. My roommates went to the Engineering Ball a couple weeks ago because their friends are in that department. We got all dressed up and went to a pub, then to a hotel in Salt Hill and there was a live band for the first part, followed by a DJ. It was so much fun. It was a lot like prom for us. Here’s a link to my pictures from Valentine’s and the dance.
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=254546209/a=157881010_157881010/t_=157881010
Today, I went on my field trip for my Castle class. We took a bus and went to four different castles throughout Ireland. The first one was Portumna Castle, the second was Pallace Castle, then Loughnea and Clonmacnoise. I explain more about them in the captions of the pictures, so I’m not going to go into detail here. It was very interesting and cool to see the castles that we were studying in class. Here’s the link to those pictures:
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=254551405/a=157881010_157881010/t_=157881010
I hope you are all doing great and I love to hear about everything, so send me e-mails. I leave for London on Thursday and I come back on Monday, so there will be a new blog update shortly after that. I love you and miss you all so much!!!
Monday, February 9, 2009
Scotland
Hey everyone!
On Friday afternoon, eight of my American friends and I got on the bus from Galway to the Shannon airport. We had to wait a couple hours until our flight took off, but then we flew into Glasgow, Scotland and had to take a 45-minute train ride into the city. It was pretty much a whole 6 hours of traveling, which is draining. We checked into our hostel, but since there were nine of us, we had to split up into a few groups. Melissa, Meagan and I were in a 4 person room. We never got to meet our roommate because every time we were in the room, she was sleeping or not there. It’s definitely kind of strange to be sleeping in a room with a stranger. Next, we went to a bar for dinner. They had a lot of different food, it was lot like an American bar. I had a barbeque chicken panini. It was pretty good. Then we walked around and tried to find a traditional pub, but Scotland has a lot of techno clubs. There really aren’t a lot of pubs like there are in Ireland, which is kind of upsetting. We ended up just having a drink at the bar we ate at and going to bed.
We woke up and had breakfast at our hostel. They provide cereal and toast for you, which is wonderful… we love free food here! We got on a bus to Edinburgh. It’s only like a 45-minute bus ride. We walked around the city and explored. We actually saw a man in a kilt playing the bagpipes. It was so stereotypical, but it was so cool to see! We went to the Edinburgh castle and got a beautiful view of the city. We weren’t really sure of what else to see in the city, so we wandered around and saw some buildings. I’m going to apologize right now for not knowing the names of the buildings I took pictures of. I was intrigued by the beauty of these buildings and I didn’t know what they were, but I took lots of pictures anyway ☺ We tried to get into a pub to watch the Scotland Rugby game, but obviously, they were all packed, so we took the bus back to Glasgow and went to a small Italian restaurant for dinner. It was a lot of fun. After dinner, we went to the same bar as the night before and then hung out in the bar below our hostel. It was a lot of fun and I really got to know more of the American girls that I’m friends with.
Sunday, Melissa and I woke up and went to mass at St. Andrew’s Cathedral. It was a lot more like mass at home, and we could actually sing and participate. One of the ushers even asked us to bring up the gifts. It was so cool. Afterwards, we walked around and took pictures of the city. We saw the People’s Palace and botanical gardens. Then we found the Cathedral and a medieval cemetery. There were so many old gravestones and it was so beautiful. Then we kept walking through the city and found a man playing bagpipes in the city square, so we got hot chocolate and sat and listened. It was so cool. It started snowing so hard. It was definitely a lot colder in Scotland than it is in Ireland. We checked out of our hostel, and went through the whole traveling experience again and got home at like 10 o’clock last night.
Overall, it was a lot of fun. It’s hard to try to cram so much traveling into one weekend. It’s definitely exhausting and hard with so many people. We try to do things that everyone wants to do and we try to see as many things as possible, for the least amount of money. We usually end up just walking around and exploring, but it’s a great experience anyway. They use pounds in Scotland, so it was even more expensive than Ireland. It was so beautiful and fun though.
I hope everyone had a great weekend! I miss you all so much! It’s hard to believe that I’ve already been here for five weeks. I’ll be home to see you all before you know it! I love you all and keep sending me updates on your lives!
Glasgow pictures link:
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=254493860/a=157881010_157881010/t_=157881010
Edinburgh pictures link:
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=254487064/a=157881010_157881010/t_=157881010
On Friday afternoon, eight of my American friends and I got on the bus from Galway to the Shannon airport. We had to wait a couple hours until our flight took off, but then we flew into Glasgow, Scotland and had to take a 45-minute train ride into the city. It was pretty much a whole 6 hours of traveling, which is draining. We checked into our hostel, but since there were nine of us, we had to split up into a few groups. Melissa, Meagan and I were in a 4 person room. We never got to meet our roommate because every time we were in the room, she was sleeping or not there. It’s definitely kind of strange to be sleeping in a room with a stranger. Next, we went to a bar for dinner. They had a lot of different food, it was lot like an American bar. I had a barbeque chicken panini. It was pretty good. Then we walked around and tried to find a traditional pub, but Scotland has a lot of techno clubs. There really aren’t a lot of pubs like there are in Ireland, which is kind of upsetting. We ended up just having a drink at the bar we ate at and going to bed.
We woke up and had breakfast at our hostel. They provide cereal and toast for you, which is wonderful… we love free food here! We got on a bus to Edinburgh. It’s only like a 45-minute bus ride. We walked around the city and explored. We actually saw a man in a kilt playing the bagpipes. It was so stereotypical, but it was so cool to see! We went to the Edinburgh castle and got a beautiful view of the city. We weren’t really sure of what else to see in the city, so we wandered around and saw some buildings. I’m going to apologize right now for not knowing the names of the buildings I took pictures of. I was intrigued by the beauty of these buildings and I didn’t know what they were, but I took lots of pictures anyway ☺ We tried to get into a pub to watch the Scotland Rugby game, but obviously, they were all packed, so we took the bus back to Glasgow and went to a small Italian restaurant for dinner. It was a lot of fun. After dinner, we went to the same bar as the night before and then hung out in the bar below our hostel. It was a lot of fun and I really got to know more of the American girls that I’m friends with.
Sunday, Melissa and I woke up and went to mass at St. Andrew’s Cathedral. It was a lot more like mass at home, and we could actually sing and participate. One of the ushers even asked us to bring up the gifts. It was so cool. Afterwards, we walked around and took pictures of the city. We saw the People’s Palace and botanical gardens. Then we found the Cathedral and a medieval cemetery. There were so many old gravestones and it was so beautiful. Then we kept walking through the city and found a man playing bagpipes in the city square, so we got hot chocolate and sat and listened. It was so cool. It started snowing so hard. It was definitely a lot colder in Scotland than it is in Ireland. We checked out of our hostel, and went through the whole traveling experience again and got home at like 10 o’clock last night.
Overall, it was a lot of fun. It’s hard to try to cram so much traveling into one weekend. It’s definitely exhausting and hard with so many people. We try to do things that everyone wants to do and we try to see as many things as possible, for the least amount of money. We usually end up just walking around and exploring, but it’s a great experience anyway. They use pounds in Scotland, so it was even more expensive than Ireland. It was so beautiful and fun though.
I hope everyone had a great weekend! I miss you all so much! It’s hard to believe that I’ve already been here for five weeks. I’ll be home to see you all before you know it! I love you all and keep sending me updates on your lives!
Glasgow pictures link:
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=254493860/a=157881010_157881010/t_=157881010
Edinburgh pictures link:
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=254487064/a=157881010_157881010/t_=157881010
Friday, February 6, 2009
Pictures of the Protest
Here's the link for the pictures from the protest:
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=254478659/a=157881010_157881010/t_=157881010
Enjoy and stay tuned for Scotland pictures :)
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=254478659/a=157881010_157881010/t_=157881010
Enjoy and stay tuned for Scotland pictures :)
Protest and Other Adventures
Hey Everyone!
I just thought I’d send a mini update on the past few days because I leave for Scotland in a couple hours and I want my next update to be all about that. This week has been really hard for me. I missed Mom’s birthday, Keith’s birthday, and the super bowl. It’s so hard to be away from the people I love on these days, but I know we’ll all be together soon ☺
On Tuesday, I decided to drop my Irish language class. It was adding a lot of stress to my schedule, and I wasn’t catching on. I still have the book though and my roommates told me that they would teach me some words and phrases. It was a cool thing to try, but I wasn’t getting credit for it and I wasn’t enjoying it, so I figured it would be best to get my money back and not worry so much about it.
On Wednesday, I went with Melissa and my roommate Niamh to Dublin for the No Fees Rally. In Ireland, students don’t have to pay to go to College. Their government is thinking about changing that so that they have to pay, and the students are very much against it, for obvious reasons. When I tell them that I pay $33,000 a year to go to school, they can’t believe it. Most of them only pay for room and board, so like 400 Euro a year. I think it’s a great opportunity for them to have the chance to go to school because a lot of them couldn’t afford it anyway, but I don’t agree that they should go completely for free. The slogan at the protest was “Education is a right, not a privilege.” I don’t agree with that statement at all. I believe that education is a right and a privilege. From what I’ve seen of the students here, they don’t take advantage of their education at all. They rarely go to class and even when they are in class, they are very disrespectful of professors and but very little effort in. I feel like if they had to pay for their education they would be more invested in their education. I’m glad I went to the rally so I could see what it’s like for them and form my own opinions on the topic. I’ll put up some pictures I took of the rally. Their signs were ridiculous. Some were serious, but some said, “Fees are smelly,” or “Obama says no fees.” (They really love him over here!) It was definitely a unique experience.
Thursday, my friends and I went to McDonald’s to get some comfort food. I had a rough week, so we thought we would go and treat ourselves. When I got back, I noticed that I didn’t have my two 50 euro bills in my pocket. I started freaking out and tore my room apart and I couldn’t find them anywhere. We called McDonald’s and asked if there was any money found and they said there was, but someone already claimed it. I was freaking out and my friend Sheila called back and asked how much there was and the manager said that the man who claimed it seemed kind of shady, so they were going to look at the surveillance cameras and call me back. I got a call back and they asked me how many people were with me, and I told them. They said, yes that it was me who dropped it and I could go back and pick it up. So luckily I walked back and got my money back. I was so lucky I couldn’t believe it. I have been so stingy here and trying to save as much money as possible, and just throwing away 100 euro made me feel like crap. Someone must be looking out for me, because everything seemed to work out.
Well, I’m about to leave for Scotland now. I’ll be home Sunday afternoon your time, so if you all could send me some e-mails to come back to, that would be wonderful. I’ve been here for a month already. Time is really flying and I know I’ll be home before you know it. Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers! I love you all and miss you so much!
I just thought I’d send a mini update on the past few days because I leave for Scotland in a couple hours and I want my next update to be all about that. This week has been really hard for me. I missed Mom’s birthday, Keith’s birthday, and the super bowl. It’s so hard to be away from the people I love on these days, but I know we’ll all be together soon ☺
On Tuesday, I decided to drop my Irish language class. It was adding a lot of stress to my schedule, and I wasn’t catching on. I still have the book though and my roommates told me that they would teach me some words and phrases. It was a cool thing to try, but I wasn’t getting credit for it and I wasn’t enjoying it, so I figured it would be best to get my money back and not worry so much about it.
On Wednesday, I went with Melissa and my roommate Niamh to Dublin for the No Fees Rally. In Ireland, students don’t have to pay to go to College. Their government is thinking about changing that so that they have to pay, and the students are very much against it, for obvious reasons. When I tell them that I pay $33,000 a year to go to school, they can’t believe it. Most of them only pay for room and board, so like 400 Euro a year. I think it’s a great opportunity for them to have the chance to go to school because a lot of them couldn’t afford it anyway, but I don’t agree that they should go completely for free. The slogan at the protest was “Education is a right, not a privilege.” I don’t agree with that statement at all. I believe that education is a right and a privilege. From what I’ve seen of the students here, they don’t take advantage of their education at all. They rarely go to class and even when they are in class, they are very disrespectful of professors and but very little effort in. I feel like if they had to pay for their education they would be more invested in their education. I’m glad I went to the rally so I could see what it’s like for them and form my own opinions on the topic. I’ll put up some pictures I took of the rally. Their signs were ridiculous. Some were serious, but some said, “Fees are smelly,” or “Obama says no fees.” (They really love him over here!) It was definitely a unique experience.
Thursday, my friends and I went to McDonald’s to get some comfort food. I had a rough week, so we thought we would go and treat ourselves. When I got back, I noticed that I didn’t have my two 50 euro bills in my pocket. I started freaking out and tore my room apart and I couldn’t find them anywhere. We called McDonald’s and asked if there was any money found and they said there was, but someone already claimed it. I was freaking out and my friend Sheila called back and asked how much there was and the manager said that the man who claimed it seemed kind of shady, so they were going to look at the surveillance cameras and call me back. I got a call back and they asked me how many people were with me, and I told them. They said, yes that it was me who dropped it and I could go back and pick it up. So luckily I walked back and got my money back. I was so lucky I couldn’t believe it. I have been so stingy here and trying to save as much money as possible, and just throwing away 100 euro made me feel like crap. Someone must be looking out for me, because everything seemed to work out.
Well, I’m about to leave for Scotland now. I’ll be home Sunday afternoon your time, so if you all could send me some e-mails to come back to, that would be wonderful. I’ve been here for a month already. Time is really flying and I know I’ll be home before you know it. Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers! I love you all and miss you so much!
Monday, February 2, 2009
Cork/ Blarney
Hey there!
Things have been going pretty well this week. On Thursday, I had my last first time going to a class (does that make sense?). I had my Contemporary Irish Writing class at 3 on Thursday afternoon. I was pretty sure that I was in the right room, so I sat down and got my notebook out. The professor walked in and said, “This is Irish Short Stories, right?” Everyone else nodded so I assumed I was in the wrong class. I reluctantly packed up my things and stood up to leave, and the professor asked me if I was in the wrong class. I said I thought I was and that I was looking for Contemporary Irish Writing, and he said, “That’s right. This is Contemporary Irish Writing: Short Stories after Joyce. I just didn’t say the whole title earlier.” So I just sat back down. It was definitely a dumb American moment, but there are only eight people in the class, so it wasn’t too embarrassing. Later on in the class, we went around and introduced ourselves and where we are from. I said I was from Wisconsin and the professor made fun of me and said he’s be talking to me about cheese throughout the semester. He seems really cool and funny so I think I’m going to like the class.
On Friday, I went with the International Student Society to Connemara. We went to the Kylemore Abbey, which is nestled in the mountains. It is absolutely beautiful. We went to a furniture school where they teach students to build furniture art. It used to be a reform school for unruly boys and many young boys were killed there because of abuse and malnutrition. It was a huge scandal and was closed down because of all the deaths. Behind the school was a chapel and a graveyard dedicated to these young boys. It was kind of a random place to see, but it was so disturbing and upsetting.
Saturday morning, I went to Cork with 11 other American friends. We took the four-hour bus to Cork, checked into our hostel and took a short bus ride to Blarney. We climbed up to the top of Blarney Castle and kissed the Blarney stone. The stairs going up to the top of the castle are very narrow and steep. The walk up takes a while and I almost had a panic attack because of how compact it is. But it was definitely worth it when we got to the top. To kiss the stone, you have to lie on your back and hang off the castle upside down. There’s a man sitting there to help you so that you don’t fall, but it’s scary. I now have the gift of eloquence though, so it’s worth it ☺ After kissing the stone, we walked around in the gardens surrounding the castle. It was so beautiful! There were so many waterfalls and beautiful trees and flowers. Everything was so green and gorgeous. It was actually sunny out which was a nice break from the rainy weather we’ve been having. We took the bus back into Cork and went out for dinner. I had a burger and realized that as soon as I get home, I’m going out for a big juicy burger. Their beef is dry and not as good as back home. After dinner, we went back to the hostel and had some drinks at the bar that was below our hostel. We tried to see some other pubs, but most of them were 21 and up or 23 and up and not all the girls are 21, so we ended up staying at the Hostel bar. Our hostel room was pretty nice, there were three bunk beds in a very small room, but it was fine for six of us. We got up on Sunday morning to check out and catch the bus back to Galway.
Last night, I was really excited to go to an Irish pub to watch the super bowl. I could only get one of my friends to go with me and we walked into town at like 11:30 our time (5:30 yours) but none of them were open! The only ones that were open were only playing music, so we walked back to watch the game in our room. Unfortunately, we missed the first quarter. I got to watch it with my roommate, Niamh. She had never watched American football, so I got to explain the rules to her. She’s now addicted to football and she really wants to go to a game. I told her she should come visit me and go to a Packer game ☺ We stayed up to watch the whole thing. It was 3:30 in the morning, but it was a fun game to watch.
I have new pictures up on snapfish so here's the link. There is an album for Connemara and Cork, and I added Irish dancing pictures to the Galway album. Enjoy!
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=254446420/a=157881010_157881010/t_=157881010
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=254454989/a=157881010_157881010/t_=157881010
I hope everyone’s week is going well so far! I miss you all so much and I love all the e-mails, so keep them coming! I love you so much ☺
Things have been going pretty well this week. On Thursday, I had my last first time going to a class (does that make sense?). I had my Contemporary Irish Writing class at 3 on Thursday afternoon. I was pretty sure that I was in the right room, so I sat down and got my notebook out. The professor walked in and said, “This is Irish Short Stories, right?” Everyone else nodded so I assumed I was in the wrong class. I reluctantly packed up my things and stood up to leave, and the professor asked me if I was in the wrong class. I said I thought I was and that I was looking for Contemporary Irish Writing, and he said, “That’s right. This is Contemporary Irish Writing: Short Stories after Joyce. I just didn’t say the whole title earlier.” So I just sat back down. It was definitely a dumb American moment, but there are only eight people in the class, so it wasn’t too embarrassing. Later on in the class, we went around and introduced ourselves and where we are from. I said I was from Wisconsin and the professor made fun of me and said he’s be talking to me about cheese throughout the semester. He seems really cool and funny so I think I’m going to like the class.
On Friday, I went with the International Student Society to Connemara. We went to the Kylemore Abbey, which is nestled in the mountains. It is absolutely beautiful. We went to a furniture school where they teach students to build furniture art. It used to be a reform school for unruly boys and many young boys were killed there because of abuse and malnutrition. It was a huge scandal and was closed down because of all the deaths. Behind the school was a chapel and a graveyard dedicated to these young boys. It was kind of a random place to see, but it was so disturbing and upsetting.
Saturday morning, I went to Cork with 11 other American friends. We took the four-hour bus to Cork, checked into our hostel and took a short bus ride to Blarney. We climbed up to the top of Blarney Castle and kissed the Blarney stone. The stairs going up to the top of the castle are very narrow and steep. The walk up takes a while and I almost had a panic attack because of how compact it is. But it was definitely worth it when we got to the top. To kiss the stone, you have to lie on your back and hang off the castle upside down. There’s a man sitting there to help you so that you don’t fall, but it’s scary. I now have the gift of eloquence though, so it’s worth it ☺ After kissing the stone, we walked around in the gardens surrounding the castle. It was so beautiful! There were so many waterfalls and beautiful trees and flowers. Everything was so green and gorgeous. It was actually sunny out which was a nice break from the rainy weather we’ve been having. We took the bus back into Cork and went out for dinner. I had a burger and realized that as soon as I get home, I’m going out for a big juicy burger. Their beef is dry and not as good as back home. After dinner, we went back to the hostel and had some drinks at the bar that was below our hostel. We tried to see some other pubs, but most of them were 21 and up or 23 and up and not all the girls are 21, so we ended up staying at the Hostel bar. Our hostel room was pretty nice, there were three bunk beds in a very small room, but it was fine for six of us. We got up on Sunday morning to check out and catch the bus back to Galway.
Last night, I was really excited to go to an Irish pub to watch the super bowl. I could only get one of my friends to go with me and we walked into town at like 11:30 our time (5:30 yours) but none of them were open! The only ones that were open were only playing music, so we walked back to watch the game in our room. Unfortunately, we missed the first quarter. I got to watch it with my roommate, Niamh. She had never watched American football, so I got to explain the rules to her. She’s now addicted to football and she really wants to go to a game. I told her she should come visit me and go to a Packer game ☺ We stayed up to watch the whole thing. It was 3:30 in the morning, but it was a fun game to watch.
I have new pictures up on snapfish so here's the link. There is an album for Connemara and Cork, and I added Irish dancing pictures to the Galway album. Enjoy!
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=254446420/a=157881010_157881010/t_=157881010
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=254454989/a=157881010_157881010/t_=157881010
I hope everyone’s week is going well so far! I miss you all so much and I love all the e-mails, so keep them coming! I love you so much ☺
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Limerick
Hey everyone!
So I think I’ve figured out why I keep posting multiple posts at once. Apparently I’m just used to instant gratification and expect to see my post right away, but I guess I have to wait a few minutes before I try again. Sorry about the multiple posts! Hopefully this will help me. ☺
Wednesday, I had to wake up early to register for the seminar English class that I want to take here. They make all of the visiting students take a number and wait in line to register. We heard that most people get there early to make sure that they get into the class that they want (there are only about five places reserved in each class for visiting students.) So Melissa and I got to the line at 8 (an hour before registration was supposed to start) and I was the 135th person. There were people in line since two in the morning in order to get a good number. After a couple hours of waiting, I got into the class I wanted, so it wasn’t so bad, but there were people that had been waiting since five in the morning and got their third choice. I’m taking Contemporary Irish Writing and I’m really excited for it to start next week. I think it’s going to be really interesting. This was such a frustrating situation…I’m glad I don’t have to do that at home.
I had Imagining Modern Ireland this week and it was really interesting. My classes are so different from the ones at home not only in the way they go about teaching, but the topics are just so cool. I am so lucky to have the chance to learn about Irish history and writing in Ireland. I would never have the chance to do any of this at home, and it’s so cool.
Thursday, I had my appointment with Immigration to register. I had to walk to the office and give them my passport, proof of residence in Galway, a bank statement proving I had 2,000 Euro, and my acceptance letter to the school. They took my fingerprints and I got an Immigration ID card. I had to pay 150 Euro… ugh. I was so nervous for that appointment, so I’m happy it’s over with! Thursday night, I got together with American friends and we had a wine and pasta night. It’s so much fun to do potlucks with each other and have some comfort food.
Friday, we got together and planned some trips. Next Friday, I’m going with the International Student Society to Conamara for a day trip, then the American girls and I are going to Cork for Saturday through Sunday. The next weekend, we are going to Scotland. I’m so excited to have weekends planned and I’m sure they will make the time go by so fast. Friday night we ordered Chinese food and watched a Michael Flatley interview on television. We got to watch Superstars of dance afterward. It ‘s so funny how much American television we get to watch here.
Yesterday, I went with a few American friends to Limerick for the day. We got on the bus at 9 and got to Limerick at about 11. We went to the Hunt Museum that has artifacts that the Hunt family collected from past centuries and donated to the city of Limerick. It was really interesting to see all of the items. They had a lot of jewelry, tools, clothes, and things but my favorite section was the religious artifact section. They had rosaries, crucifixes, chalices, and paintings from so many different time periods. It was so cool! After the Hunt Museum, we went to O’Donnell’s restaurant for traditional fish and chips. It was so delicious, but I felt like I ate my body weight in grease ☺ Then we walked around and looked at St. Mary’s Cathedral and St. Patrick’s Church. Next, we went to King John’s Castle. We walked through the museum part and learned about the history of the castle and its importance to the history of Limerick and Ireland. We got to walk through the castle and go up in the towers and into the basement. They even had recreations of what the yard of the castle would have looked like. It was so beautiful. We climbed to the top of the tower and got to see a great view of the city with the Irish countryside in the background. I’m going to put a link to my pictures so you can see them all.
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=254420281/a=157881010_157881010/t_=157881010
I miss you all so much! Thank you for all of the e-mails! Keep them coming! Also, if any of you plan on sending a package, could you just let me know when you send it? Letters come straight to our apartment, but if we get a package, it goes to the front desk of our complex and we have to go pick it up. They don’t call us to let us know that it’s here though, so if you can let me know, that would be great! No pressure ☺ I love you all and I’ll update again later this week!
So I think I’ve figured out why I keep posting multiple posts at once. Apparently I’m just used to instant gratification and expect to see my post right away, but I guess I have to wait a few minutes before I try again. Sorry about the multiple posts! Hopefully this will help me. ☺
Wednesday, I had to wake up early to register for the seminar English class that I want to take here. They make all of the visiting students take a number and wait in line to register. We heard that most people get there early to make sure that they get into the class that they want (there are only about five places reserved in each class for visiting students.) So Melissa and I got to the line at 8 (an hour before registration was supposed to start) and I was the 135th person. There were people in line since two in the morning in order to get a good number. After a couple hours of waiting, I got into the class I wanted, so it wasn’t so bad, but there were people that had been waiting since five in the morning and got their third choice. I’m taking Contemporary Irish Writing and I’m really excited for it to start next week. I think it’s going to be really interesting. This was such a frustrating situation…I’m glad I don’t have to do that at home.
I had Imagining Modern Ireland this week and it was really interesting. My classes are so different from the ones at home not only in the way they go about teaching, but the topics are just so cool. I am so lucky to have the chance to learn about Irish history and writing in Ireland. I would never have the chance to do any of this at home, and it’s so cool.
Thursday, I had my appointment with Immigration to register. I had to walk to the office and give them my passport, proof of residence in Galway, a bank statement proving I had 2,000 Euro, and my acceptance letter to the school. They took my fingerprints and I got an Immigration ID card. I had to pay 150 Euro… ugh. I was so nervous for that appointment, so I’m happy it’s over with! Thursday night, I got together with American friends and we had a wine and pasta night. It’s so much fun to do potlucks with each other and have some comfort food.
Friday, we got together and planned some trips. Next Friday, I’m going with the International Student Society to Conamara for a day trip, then the American girls and I are going to Cork for Saturday through Sunday. The next weekend, we are going to Scotland. I’m so excited to have weekends planned and I’m sure they will make the time go by so fast. Friday night we ordered Chinese food and watched a Michael Flatley interview on television. We got to watch Superstars of dance afterward. It ‘s so funny how much American television we get to watch here.
Yesterday, I went with a few American friends to Limerick for the day. We got on the bus at 9 and got to Limerick at about 11. We went to the Hunt Museum that has artifacts that the Hunt family collected from past centuries and donated to the city of Limerick. It was really interesting to see all of the items. They had a lot of jewelry, tools, clothes, and things but my favorite section was the religious artifact section. They had rosaries, crucifixes, chalices, and paintings from so many different time periods. It was so cool! After the Hunt Museum, we went to O’Donnell’s restaurant for traditional fish and chips. It was so delicious, but I felt like I ate my body weight in grease ☺ Then we walked around and looked at St. Mary’s Cathedral and St. Patrick’s Church. Next, we went to King John’s Castle. We walked through the museum part and learned about the history of the castle and its importance to the history of Limerick and Ireland. We got to walk through the castle and go up in the towers and into the basement. They even had recreations of what the yard of the castle would have looked like. It was so beautiful. We climbed to the top of the tower and got to see a great view of the city with the Irish countryside in the background. I’m going to put a link to my pictures so you can see them all.
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=254420281/a=157881010_157881010/t_=157881010
I miss you all so much! Thank you for all of the e-mails! Keep them coming! Also, if any of you plan on sending a package, could you just let me know when you send it? Letters come straight to our apartment, but if we get a package, it goes to the front desk of our complex and we have to go pick it up. They don’t call us to let us know that it’s here though, so if you can let me know, that would be great! No pressure ☺ I love you all and I’ll update again later this week!
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
New News
Hello everyone!
This weekend was very relaxing. The Irish students go home on the weekends so it was very quiet without them here. I got to hang out with some American friends that I’ve made and it was nice to relax after a crazy week. On Sunday, we went to mass at the Cathedral. This week was much better than last week’s mass. There was a lot of music so I felt like I really got to experience the beautiful Cathedral. Mass is pretty much the same here as it is back home, but they say the Our Father in Irish Gaelic. It’s so cool. We attempted to do laundry here on Sunday afternoon. Everything is pretty much the same as we have back home, but the detergent was a strange consistency. We had to scoop it out with our hands! I guess that’s what we get for buying it at the two euro store. Sunday night, I got to talk to Tami, David, and Grandpa Houlihan on SKYPE for the first time. It was so great to see them! SKYPE has definitely been a saving grace for me here.
This week has gotten off to a pretty good start. I’ve had a few more classes this week in addition to the ones I started last week. I started my Irish Language class this week. I’m not taking it for credit, but I figured I will never get another opportunity to learn the Irish language in Ireland, so I may as well go for it. It’s very hard to learn because I can’t rely on sounding the words out. In some words “bhf” is pronounced with the “w” sound. It’s going to be hard, but I’m excited to learn. Medieval literature will be really interesting I think, but it’s just different to get used to having a lecture for an English class. At home, I’m so used to having English classes discussion based, so this will be interesting. I had Northern Ireland: Politics of a Divided Society today. I think it is going to be really interesting. I never realized how hard it is to learn about history in another country. I feel so behind because I don’t understand some of the terms and specific details that have happened here. I have more new classes this week, so I’ll keep you updated.
I’m getting used to the slang words that they use here. They say “savage” and “class” to mean cool. My roommates like faking American accents so it’s fun to switch accents with them. They still make fun of me for saying things like garbage (they call it “bin”) and a lot of other ones I can’t think of right now. We all get along really well. I’m so lucky to have such great roommates!
Today I went to the College Bar (yes, they have a bar on campus where students go for drinks in between classes) to watch the Inauguration of Obama. It was so cool to watch it with a bunch of American and Irish students. The Irish students are so interested and care so much about what’s going on in our country. It made me feel guilty for not taking more of an interest in my country’s politics. The entire place was packed and everyone was cheering. It was such a cool experience. I know I’m going to remember it for the rest of my life.
I’ve still been getting homesick on and off. My roommates are really good about making me feel better and watching Friends with me to make me feel better ☺ I know this is an amazing experience, but that doesn’t make me miss you all any less. I love you all and I will update again later this week.
This weekend was very relaxing. The Irish students go home on the weekends so it was very quiet without them here. I got to hang out with some American friends that I’ve made and it was nice to relax after a crazy week. On Sunday, we went to mass at the Cathedral. This week was much better than last week’s mass. There was a lot of music so I felt like I really got to experience the beautiful Cathedral. Mass is pretty much the same here as it is back home, but they say the Our Father in Irish Gaelic. It’s so cool. We attempted to do laundry here on Sunday afternoon. Everything is pretty much the same as we have back home, but the detergent was a strange consistency. We had to scoop it out with our hands! I guess that’s what we get for buying it at the two euro store. Sunday night, I got to talk to Tami, David, and Grandpa Houlihan on SKYPE for the first time. It was so great to see them! SKYPE has definitely been a saving grace for me here.
This week has gotten off to a pretty good start. I’ve had a few more classes this week in addition to the ones I started last week. I started my Irish Language class this week. I’m not taking it for credit, but I figured I will never get another opportunity to learn the Irish language in Ireland, so I may as well go for it. It’s very hard to learn because I can’t rely on sounding the words out. In some words “bhf” is pronounced with the “w” sound. It’s going to be hard, but I’m excited to learn. Medieval literature will be really interesting I think, but it’s just different to get used to having a lecture for an English class. At home, I’m so used to having English classes discussion based, so this will be interesting. I had Northern Ireland: Politics of a Divided Society today. I think it is going to be really interesting. I never realized how hard it is to learn about history in another country. I feel so behind because I don’t understand some of the terms and specific details that have happened here. I have more new classes this week, so I’ll keep you updated.
I’m getting used to the slang words that they use here. They say “savage” and “class” to mean cool. My roommates like faking American accents so it’s fun to switch accents with them. They still make fun of me for saying things like garbage (they call it “bin”) and a lot of other ones I can’t think of right now. We all get along really well. I’m so lucky to have such great roommates!
Today I went to the College Bar (yes, they have a bar on campus where students go for drinks in between classes) to watch the Inauguration of Obama. It was so cool to watch it with a bunch of American and Irish students. The Irish students are so interested and care so much about what’s going on in our country. It made me feel guilty for not taking more of an interest in my country’s politics. The entire place was packed and everyone was cheering. It was such a cool experience. I know I’m going to remember it for the rest of my life.
I’ve still been getting homesick on and off. My roommates are really good about making me feel better and watching Friends with me to make me feel better ☺ I know this is an amazing experience, but that doesn’t make me miss you all any less. I love you all and I will update again later this week.
New News
Hello everyone!
This weekend was very relaxing. The Irish students go home on the weekends so it was very quiet without them here. I got to hang out with some American friends that I’ve made and it was nice to relax after a crazy week. On Sunday, we went to mass at the Cathedral. This week was much better than last week’s mass. There was a lot of music so I felt like I really got to experience the beautiful Cathedral. Mass is pretty much the same here as it is back home, but they say the Our Father in Irish Gaelic. It’s so cool. We attempted to do laundry here on Sunday afternoon. Everything is pretty much the same as we have back home, but the detergent was a strange consistency. We had to scoop it out with our hands! I guess that’s what we get for buying it at the two euro store. Sunday night, I got to talk to Tami, David, and Grandpa Houlihan on SKYPE for the first time. It was so great to see them! SKYPE has definitely been a saving grace for me here.
This week has gotten off to a pretty good start. I’ve had a few more classes this week in addition to the ones I started last week. I started my Irish Language class this week. I’m not taking it for credit, but I figured I will never get another opportunity to learn the Irish language in Ireland, so I may as well go for it. It’s very hard to learn because I can’t rely on sounding the words out. In some words “bhf” is pronounced with the “w” sound. It’s going to be hard, but I’m excited to learn. Medieval literature will be really interesting I think, but it’s just different to get used to having a lecture for an English class. At home, I’m so used to having English classes discussion based, so this will be interesting. I had Northern Ireland: Politics of a Divided Society today. I think it is going to be really interesting. I never realized how hard it is to learn about history in another country. I feel so behind because I don’t understand some of the terms and specific details that have happened here. I have more new classes this week, so I’ll keep you updated.
I’m getting used to the slang words that they use here. They say “savage” and “class” to mean cool. My roommates like faking American accents so it’s fun to switch accents with them. They still make fun of me for saying things like garbage (they call it “bin”) and a lot of other ones I can’t think of right now. We all get along really well. I’m so lucky to have such great roommates!
Today I went to the College Bar (yes, they have a bar on campus where students go for drinks in between classes) to watch the Inauguration of Obama. It was so cool to watch it with a bunch of American and Irish students. The Irish students are so interested and care so much about what’s going on in our country. It made me feel guilty for not taking more of an interest in my country’s politics. The entire place was packed and everyone was cheering. It was such a cool experience. I know I’m going to remember it for the rest of my life.
I’ve still been getting homesick on and off. My roommates are really good about making me feel better and watching Friends with me to make me feel better ☺ I know this is an amazing experience, but that doesn’t make me miss you all any less. I love you all and I will update again later this week.
This weekend was very relaxing. The Irish students go home on the weekends so it was very quiet without them here. I got to hang out with some American friends that I’ve made and it was nice to relax after a crazy week. On Sunday, we went to mass at the Cathedral. This week was much better than last week’s mass. There was a lot of music so I felt like I really got to experience the beautiful Cathedral. Mass is pretty much the same here as it is back home, but they say the Our Father in Irish Gaelic. It’s so cool. We attempted to do laundry here on Sunday afternoon. Everything is pretty much the same as we have back home, but the detergent was a strange consistency. We had to scoop it out with our hands! I guess that’s what we get for buying it at the two euro store. Sunday night, I got to talk to Tami, David, and Grandpa Houlihan on SKYPE for the first time. It was so great to see them! SKYPE has definitely been a saving grace for me here.
This week has gotten off to a pretty good start. I’ve had a few more classes this week in addition to the ones I started last week. I started my Irish Language class this week. I’m not taking it for credit, but I figured I will never get another opportunity to learn the Irish language in Ireland, so I may as well go for it. It’s very hard to learn because I can’t rely on sounding the words out. In some words “bhf” is pronounced with the “w” sound. It’s going to be hard, but I’m excited to learn. Medieval literature will be really interesting I think, but it’s just different to get used to having a lecture for an English class. At home, I’m so used to having English classes discussion based, so this will be interesting. I had Northern Ireland: Politics of a Divided Society today. I think it is going to be really interesting. I never realized how hard it is to learn about history in another country. I feel so behind because I don’t understand some of the terms and specific details that have happened here. I have more new classes this week, so I’ll keep you updated.
I’m getting used to the slang words that they use here. They say “savage” and “class” to mean cool. My roommates like faking American accents so it’s fun to switch accents with them. They still make fun of me for saying things like garbage (they call it “bin”) and a lot of other ones I can’t think of right now. We all get along really well. I’m so lucky to have such great roommates!
Today I went to the College Bar (yes, they have a bar on campus where students go for drinks in between classes) to watch the Inauguration of Obama. It was so cool to watch it with a bunch of American and Irish students. The Irish students are so interested and care so much about what’s going on in our country. It made me feel guilty for not taking more of an interest in my country’s politics. The entire place was packed and everyone was cheering. It was such a cool experience. I know I’m going to remember it for the rest of my life.
I’ve still been getting homesick on and off. My roommates are really good about making me feel better and watching Friends with me to make me feel better ☺ I know this is an amazing experience, but that doesn’t make me miss you all any less. I love you all and I will update again later this week.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Address
This is the last one, I promise. I figured out my address and I would love to get mail from you!
Alexa Hollnagel
524 Corrib Village
New Castle Road
Galway, Ireland
Alexa Hollnagel
524 Corrib Village
New Castle Road
Galway, Ireland
Blog problems
Sorry there are like 5 new posts. I've been having a problem with the site all day and now a bunch of them showed up. Just read the one with the title, the other ones are just drafts without as much info. Sorry if this is confusing. I can't figure out how to delete the old ones. I guess I need to work on my technological skills... :)
Classes and Roommates
Hello there!
Sorry I haven't posted anything in a while. I will try to update more frequently, but try to bear with me through this long post :)
Things have been so much better these past few days! We had some more orientation meetings at the end of last week, then this weekend, we walked around some more and went to a few pubs. On Saturday night, we went to mass at the Galway Cathedral (there's pictures on my snapfish account). It's absolutely beautiful inside! We went to mass at 6 and it was over by 6:30. There was no singing at all and they speak very fast. It was a little disappointing because it's such a beautiful church, but we think maybe if we go on Sunday morning, it will be more extravagant.
Sunday night, my roommates arrived! They are so cool, I love them all! Cara has been here all week, she's my American roommate from Pennsylvania. Then Niamh (pronounced Nieve) arrived. She's from London, but attends school here in Galway. Then my roommate that shares my room arrived. Her name is Carol and she's so sweet. She's a nursing major so she spends a lot of time in the hospitals following nurses around. She wants to go into Labor and Delivery so I'm sure she'll love meeting mom and talking to her. Lastly, Maive arrived. She's from Ireland as well and she's very loud and outgoing. They are all so nice and helpful. it's nice to have people around the apartment so that it feels more homey. Since I live in a first year dorm, all of my roommates are 18, so that's interesting. I feel so much older than them! Every time I introduce myself and say that I'm from Wisconsin, they ask me if I like That 70's Show. Apparently, that's all they know of Wisconsin...
I had my first class yesterday. It's and archeology class focusing on castles in medieval Europe. There are 115 students in the class, so that's something that I definitely have to get used to. It's going to be really interesting and it only goes until February 20th. We are even taking a field trip throughout Galway to see castles that we are studying! Our professor informed us that the date of our field trip depends on who is in the Rugby championship that weekend. There are definitely similarities in athletic loyalties between these countries!
Today, I had my Approaches to Women's History. There are only 15 people in this class and I'm the only American. It's definitely interesting to talk to these Irish women and see how they view history. My professor knew that I was a visiting student and saw that my last name is Hollnagel and she assumed that I was German. When I told her that I was from Wisconsin, she seemed relieved that there would be no language barrier.
I had a class today that had another class booked for the same time. It was confusing walking around and trying to figure it out. They figured it out and canceled it for today and now they're going to reschedule. So hopefully this all comes together well.
These last couple days have been really good, but tonight I'm feeling really homesick. These feelings come and go and I know it's all a part of the experience, but it's the hardest thing to deal with. This whole experience has made me appreciate all of you at home. Thank you so much for everything you do for me. I still appreciate the messages and I will try to respond as frequently as I can. I love you all and I miss you more than you know!
Sorry I haven't posted anything in a while. I will try to update more frequently, but try to bear with me through this long post :)
Things have been so much better these past few days! We had some more orientation meetings at the end of last week, then this weekend, we walked around some more and went to a few pubs. On Saturday night, we went to mass at the Galway Cathedral (there's pictures on my snapfish account). It's absolutely beautiful inside! We went to mass at 6 and it was over by 6:30. There was no singing at all and they speak very fast. It was a little disappointing because it's such a beautiful church, but we think maybe if we go on Sunday morning, it will be more extravagant.
Sunday night, my roommates arrived! They are so cool, I love them all! Cara has been here all week, she's my American roommate from Pennsylvania. Then Niamh (pronounced Nieve) arrived. She's from London, but attends school here in Galway. Then my roommate that shares my room arrived. Her name is Carol and she's so sweet. She's a nursing major so she spends a lot of time in the hospitals following nurses around. She wants to go into Labor and Delivery so I'm sure she'll love meeting mom and talking to her. Lastly, Maive arrived. She's from Ireland as well and she's very loud and outgoing. They are all so nice and helpful. it's nice to have people around the apartment so that it feels more homey. Since I live in a first year dorm, all of my roommates are 18, so that's interesting. I feel so much older than them! Every time I introduce myself and say that I'm from Wisconsin, they ask me if I like That 70's Show. Apparently, that's all they know of Wisconsin...
I had my first class yesterday. It's and archeology class focusing on castles in medieval Europe. There are 115 students in the class, so that's something that I definitely have to get used to. It's going to be really interesting and it only goes until February 20th. We are even taking a field trip throughout Galway to see castles that we are studying! Our professor informed us that the date of our field trip depends on who is in the Rugby championship that weekend. There are definitely similarities in athletic loyalties between these countries!
Today, I had my Approaches to Women's History. There are only 15 people in this class and I'm the only American. It's definitely interesting to talk to these Irish women and see how they view history. My professor knew that I was a visiting student and saw that my last name is Hollnagel and she assumed that I was German. When I told her that I was from Wisconsin, she seemed relieved that there would be no language barrier.
I had a class today that had another class booked for the same time. It was confusing walking around and trying to figure it out. They figured it out and canceled it for today and now they're going to reschedule. So hopefully this all comes together well.
These last couple days have been really good, but tonight I'm feeling really homesick. These feelings come and go and I know it's all a part of the experience, but it's the hardest thing to deal with. This whole experience has made me appreciate all of you at home. Thank you so much for everything you do for me. I still appreciate the messages and I will try to respond as frequently as I can. I love you all and I miss you more than you know!
Hello there!
Sorry I haven't posted anything in a while. I will try to update more frequently, but try to bear with me through this long post :)
Things have been so much better these past few days! We had some more orientation meetings at the end of last week, then this weekend, we walked around some more and went to a few pubs. On Saturday night, we went to mass at the Galway Cathedral (there's pictures on my snapfish account). It's absolutely beautiful inside! We went to mass at 6 and it was over by 6:30. There was no singing at all and they speak very fast. It was a little disappointing because it's such a beautiful church, but we think maybe if we go on Sunday morning, it will be more extravagant.
Sunday night, my roommates arrived! They are so cool, I love them all! Cara has been here all week, she's my American roommate from Pennsylvania. Then Niamh (pronounced Nieve) arrived. She's from London, but attends school here in Galway. Then my roommate that shares my room arrived. Her name is Carol and she's so sweet. She's a nursing major so she spends a lot of time in the hospitals following nurses around. She wants to go into Labor and Delivery so I'm sure she'll love meeting mom and talking to her. Lastly, Maive arrived. She's from Ireland as well and she's very loud and outgoing. They are all so nice and helpful. it's nice to have people around the apartment so that it feels more homey. Since I live in a first year dorm, all of my roommates are 18, so that's interesting. I feel so much older than them! Every time I introduce myself to someone and tell them I'm from Wisconsin, they ask me if I like That 70's Show. Apparently, that's all they know about Wisconsin...
I had my first class yesterday. It's and archeology class focusing on castles in medieval Europe. There are 115 students in the class, so that's something that I definitely have to get used to. It's going to be really interesting and it only goes until February 20th. We are even taking a field trip throughout Galway to see castles that we are studying! Our professor informed us that the date of our field trip depends on who is in the Rugby championship that weekend. There are definitely similarities in athletic loyalties between these countries!
Today, I had my Approaches to Women's History. It starts at 9 in the morning and because of where Ireland is, I watch the sun rise in this class. (The sun rises at like 8:45 and sets at like 4) There are only 15 people in this class and I'm the only American. It's definitely interesting to talk to these Irish women and see how they view history. My professor knew that I was a visiting student and she saw my last name and assumed that I was German. I told her I was from Wisconsin and my family was German and she seemed relieved that there wouldn't be a language barrier.
I had another class today that I went to, but apparently, they double booked the lecture hall. After wandering around for a while, I finally understood that they are relocating it. Things are kind of confusing here, but I think I'm getting the hang of it.
The days are getting easier, but I still have my moments where I wonder what I'm doing here and if I can really do this. All of your messages and encouragement help me so much. This whole experience has helped me learn so much about myself already. I appreciate everyone from home so much more and I know I will live my life differently when I get home. Thanks again for everything! I love you all and miss you more than you know!
Sorry I haven't posted anything in a while. I will try to update more frequently, but try to bear with me through this long post :)
Things have been so much better these past few days! We had some more orientation meetings at the end of last week, then this weekend, we walked around some more and went to a few pubs. On Saturday night, we went to mass at the Galway Cathedral (there's pictures on my snapfish account). It's absolutely beautiful inside! We went to mass at 6 and it was over by 6:30. There was no singing at all and they speak very fast. It was a little disappointing because it's such a beautiful church, but we think maybe if we go on Sunday morning, it will be more extravagant.
Sunday night, my roommates arrived! They are so cool, I love them all! Cara has been here all week, she's my American roommate from Pennsylvania. Then Niamh (pronounced Nieve) arrived. She's from London, but attends school here in Galway. Then my roommate that shares my room arrived. Her name is Carol and she's so sweet. She's a nursing major so she spends a lot of time in the hospitals following nurses around. She wants to go into Labor and Delivery so I'm sure she'll love meeting mom and talking to her. Lastly, Maive arrived. She's from Ireland as well and she's very loud and outgoing. They are all so nice and helpful. it's nice to have people around the apartment so that it feels more homey. Since I live in a first year dorm, all of my roommates are 18, so that's interesting. I feel so much older than them! Every time I introduce myself to someone and tell them I'm from Wisconsin, they ask me if I like That 70's Show. Apparently, that's all they know about Wisconsin...
I had my first class yesterday. It's and archeology class focusing on castles in medieval Europe. There are 115 students in the class, so that's something that I definitely have to get used to. It's going to be really interesting and it only goes until February 20th. We are even taking a field trip throughout Galway to see castles that we are studying! Our professor informed us that the date of our field trip depends on who is in the Rugby championship that weekend. There are definitely similarities in athletic loyalties between these countries!
Today, I had my Approaches to Women's History. It starts at 9 in the morning and because of where Ireland is, I watch the sun rise in this class. (The sun rises at like 8:45 and sets at like 4) There are only 15 people in this class and I'm the only American. It's definitely interesting to talk to these Irish women and see how they view history. My professor knew that I was a visiting student and she saw my last name and assumed that I was German. I told her I was from Wisconsin and my family was German and she seemed relieved that there wouldn't be a language barrier.
I had another class today that I went to, but apparently, they double booked the lecture hall. After wandering around for a while, I finally understood that they are relocating it. Things are kind of confusing here, but I think I'm getting the hang of it.
The days are getting easier, but I still have my moments where I wonder what I'm doing here and if I can really do this. All of your messages and encouragement help me so much. This whole experience has helped me learn so much about myself already. I appreciate everyone from home so much more and I know I will live my life differently when I get home. Thanks again for everything! I love you all and miss you more than you know!
Hello there!
Sorry I haven't posted anything in a while. I will try to update more frequently, but try to bear with me through this long post :)
Things have been so much better these past few days! We had some more orientation meetings at the end of last week, then this weekend, we walked around some more and went to a few pubs. On Saturday night, we went to mass at the Galway Cathedral (there's pictures on my snapfish account). It's absolutely beautiful inside! We went to mass at 6 and it was over by 6:30. There was no singing at all and they speak very fast. It was a little disappointing because it's such a beautiful church, but we think maybe if we go on Sunday morning, it will be more extravagant.
Sunday night, my roommates arrived! They are so cool, I love them all! Cara has been here all week, she's my American roommate from Pennsylvania. Then Niamh (pronounced Nieve) arrived. She's from London, but attends school here in Galway. Then my roommate that shares my room arrived. Her name is Carol and she's so sweet. She's a nursing major so she spends a lot of time in the hospitals following nurses around. She wants to go into Labor and Delivery so I'm sure she'll love meeting mom and talking to her. Lastly, Maive arrived. She's from Ireland as well and she's very loud and outgoing. They are all so nice and helpful. it's nice to have people around the apartment so that it feels more homey. Since I live in a first year dorm, all of my roommates are 18, so that's interesting. I feel so much older than them!
I had my first class yesterday. It's and archeology class focusing on castles in medieval Europe. There are 115 students in the class, so that's something that I definitely have to get used to. It's going to be really interesting and it only goes until February 20th. We are even taking a field trip throughout Galway to see castles that we are studying! Our professor informed us that the date of our field trip depends on who is in the Rugby championship that weekend. There are definitely similarities in athletic loyalties between these countries!
Today, I had my Approaches to Women's History. There are only 15 people in this class and I'm the only American. It's definitely interesting to talk to these Irish women and see how they view history. My professor knew that I was a visiting student and saw my last name was Hollnagel and she assumed that I was German. We talked and I explained that I'm from Wisconsin, but very German. She seemed relieved
Sorry I haven't posted anything in a while. I will try to update more frequently, but try to bear with me through this long post :)
Things have been so much better these past few days! We had some more orientation meetings at the end of last week, then this weekend, we walked around some more and went to a few pubs. On Saturday night, we went to mass at the Galway Cathedral (there's pictures on my snapfish account). It's absolutely beautiful inside! We went to mass at 6 and it was over by 6:30. There was no singing at all and they speak very fast. It was a little disappointing because it's such a beautiful church, but we think maybe if we go on Sunday morning, it will be more extravagant.
Sunday night, my roommates arrived! They are so cool, I love them all! Cara has been here all week, she's my American roommate from Pennsylvania. Then Niamh (pronounced Nieve) arrived. She's from London, but attends school here in Galway. Then my roommate that shares my room arrived. Her name is Carol and she's so sweet. She's a nursing major so she spends a lot of time in the hospitals following nurses around. She wants to go into Labor and Delivery so I'm sure she'll love meeting mom and talking to her. Lastly, Maive arrived. She's from Ireland as well and she's very loud and outgoing. They are all so nice and helpful. it's nice to have people around the apartment so that it feels more homey. Since I live in a first year dorm, all of my roommates are 18, so that's interesting. I feel so much older than them!
I had my first class yesterday. It's and archeology class focusing on castles in medieval Europe. There are 115 students in the class, so that's something that I definitely have to get used to. It's going to be really interesting and it only goes until February 20th. We are even taking a field trip throughout Galway to see castles that we are studying! Our professor informed us that the date of our field trip depends on who is in the Rugby championship that weekend. There are definitely similarities in athletic loyalties between these countries!
Today, I had my Approaches to Women's History. There are only 15 people in this class and I'm the only American. It's definitely interesting to talk to these Irish women and see how they view history. My professor knew that I was a visiting student and saw my last name was Hollnagel and she assumed that I was German. We talked and I explained that I'm from Wisconsin, but very German. She seemed relieved
Hello there!
Sorry I haven't posted anything in a while. I will try to update more frequently, but try to bear with me through this long post :)
Things have been so much better these past few days! We had some more orientation meetings at the end of last week, then this weekend, we walked around some more and went to a few pubs. On Saturday night, we went to mass at the Galway Cathedral (there's pictures on my snapfish account). It's absolutely beautiful inside! We went to mass at 6 and it was over by 6:30. There was no singing at all and they speak very fast. It was a little disappointing because it's such a beautiful church, but we think maybe if we go on Sunday morning, it will be more extravagant.
Sunday night, my roommates arrived! They are so cool, I love them all! Cara has been here all week, she's my American roommate from Pennsylvania. Then Niamh (pronounced Nieve) arrived. She's from London, but attends school here in Galway. Then my roommate that shares my room arrived. Her name is Carol and she's so sweet. She's a nursing major so she spends a lot of time in the hospitals following nurses around. She wants to go into Labor and Delivery so I'm sure she'll love meeting mom and talking to her. Lastly, Maive arrived. She's from Ireland as well and she's very loud and outgoing. They are all so nice and helpful. it's nice to have people around the apartment so that it feels more homey. Since I live in a first year dorm, all of my roommates are 18, so that's interesting. I feel so much older than them!
I had my first class yesterday. It's and archeology class focusing on castles in medieval Europe. There are 115 students in the class, so that's something that I definitely have to get used to. It's going to be really interesting and it only goes until February 20th. We are even taking a field trip throughout Galway to see castles that we are studying! Our professor informed us that the date of our field trip depends on who is in the Rugby championship that weekend. There are definitely similarities in athletic loyalties between these countries!
Today, I had my Approaches to Women's History. There are only 15 people in this class and I'm the only American. It's definitely interesting to talk to these Irish women and see how they view history. My professor knew that I was a visiting student and saw my last name was Hollnagel and she assumed that I was German.
Sorry I haven't posted anything in a while. I will try to update more frequently, but try to bear with me through this long post :)
Things have been so much better these past few days! We had some more orientation meetings at the end of last week, then this weekend, we walked around some more and went to a few pubs. On Saturday night, we went to mass at the Galway Cathedral (there's pictures on my snapfish account). It's absolutely beautiful inside! We went to mass at 6 and it was over by 6:30. There was no singing at all and they speak very fast. It was a little disappointing because it's such a beautiful church, but we think maybe if we go on Sunday morning, it will be more extravagant.
Sunday night, my roommates arrived! They are so cool, I love them all! Cara has been here all week, she's my American roommate from Pennsylvania. Then Niamh (pronounced Nieve) arrived. She's from London, but attends school here in Galway. Then my roommate that shares my room arrived. Her name is Carol and she's so sweet. She's a nursing major so she spends a lot of time in the hospitals following nurses around. She wants to go into Labor and Delivery so I'm sure she'll love meeting mom and talking to her. Lastly, Maive arrived. She's from Ireland as well and she's very loud and outgoing. They are all so nice and helpful. it's nice to have people around the apartment so that it feels more homey. Since I live in a first year dorm, all of my roommates are 18, so that's interesting. I feel so much older than them!
I had my first class yesterday. It's and archeology class focusing on castles in medieval Europe. There are 115 students in the class, so that's something that I definitely have to get used to. It's going to be really interesting and it only goes until February 20th. We are even taking a field trip throughout Galway to see castles that we are studying! Our professor informed us that the date of our field trip depends on who is in the Rugby championship that weekend. There are definitely similarities in athletic loyalties between these countries!
Today, I had my Approaches to Women's History. There are only 15 people in this class and I'm the only American. It's definitely interesting to talk to these Irish women and see how they view history. My professor knew that I was a visiting student and saw my last name was Hollnagel and she assumed that I was German.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Pictures!
I can't get the pictures onto my blog, so I put them up on snapfish. Hopefully this link will work and you guys can see a few of my pictures. There will be many more to come. I love you all!
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=254337132/a=157881010_157881010/t_=157881010
Things are still a little shaky here. I'm trying my best to adjust, but I miss home a lot. Everything is new and exciting here, but I wish I could share it with all of you right now! Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers.
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=254337132/a=157881010_157881010/t_=157881010
Things are still a little shaky here. I'm trying my best to adjust, but I miss home a lot. Everything is new and exciting here, but I wish I could share it with all of you right now! Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
I'm here!
I arrived in Galway on Monday, January 5th after a loooong two days of traveling. The flights went well and surprisingly, Melissa and I found our way to our apartment without any glitches. Our apartments are very dirty and moldy (contrary to the pictures on the website), but we are making the best of it. I live in an apartment building next to Melissa which is helpful these first days when we're still making new friends. I share a room with an Irish student who has not arrived yet, because classes don't start until Monday. I can't wait to meet her. From the pictures in the room, she looks like she'll be nice.
The first couple days were a little rough. It's been a lot to adjust to, and that combined with the jet-lag made for a hard couple of days, but it's getting better. Our first day here, we walked around the city centre of Galway. It's about a 30 minute walk from our apartment, but it is so worth it. The main streets are filled with pubs, little shops, and restaurants. We walked to the edge of the city and stood right next to Galway Bay. It was absolutely beautiful! That night we made our way to the pubs, but apparently we didn't get the memo that most people don't go out until later because 8:00 was too early to see the main scene. We sat in a couple pubs and listened to some Irish music and chatted. Some moments here are just exactly how I imagined them to be :)
Yesterday we had a tour of the campus, which helped a little, but the tour guide wasn't too specific. We also had a tour of the library which was very helpful. Last night, Melissa and I attempted to make our first meal in our kitchen which proved to have its obstacles, but we successfully made chicken and pasta! Today we had an orientation for international students. The information was helpful, but very overwhelming. There is so much to think about... my mind is spinning! Tonight we're planning on going to karaoke on campus and then out to the pubs and hopefully meet up with some of the other international students.
That's all for now! I will be putting pictures up soon so you'll know a little bit more about what I'm talking about. Also, if you have some time, send me an e-mail or a message. It's amazing how much hearing from home helps the homesickness! Thank you for your thoughts and prayers... they are very much needed and appreciated. Love you all!
The first couple days were a little rough. It's been a lot to adjust to, and that combined with the jet-lag made for a hard couple of days, but it's getting better. Our first day here, we walked around the city centre of Galway. It's about a 30 minute walk from our apartment, but it is so worth it. The main streets are filled with pubs, little shops, and restaurants. We walked to the edge of the city and stood right next to Galway Bay. It was absolutely beautiful! That night we made our way to the pubs, but apparently we didn't get the memo that most people don't go out until later because 8:00 was too early to see the main scene. We sat in a couple pubs and listened to some Irish music and chatted. Some moments here are just exactly how I imagined them to be :)
Yesterday we had a tour of the campus, which helped a little, but the tour guide wasn't too specific. We also had a tour of the library which was very helpful. Last night, Melissa and I attempted to make our first meal in our kitchen which proved to have its obstacles, but we successfully made chicken and pasta! Today we had an orientation for international students. The information was helpful, but very overwhelming. There is so much to think about... my mind is spinning! Tonight we're planning on going to karaoke on campus and then out to the pubs and hopefully meet up with some of the other international students.
That's all for now! I will be putting pictures up soon so you'll know a little bit more about what I'm talking about. Also, if you have some time, send me an e-mail or a message. It's amazing how much hearing from home helps the homesickness! Thank you for your thoughts and prayers... they are very much needed and appreciated. Love you all!
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