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 ☺