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!