I'M DONE WITH FINALS!!! AHHHHHH!!!!!!
I am SO excited! I have nothing but fun planned for the next two and a half days. Our last Family Dinner is tonight, and we are all making something. The boys are making the main course, Amy, Robyn, and Jenn are making the appetizers, and Alyssa and I are making dessert. Then tomorrow we're making pancakes for breakfast and then going into town and ice skating!
I'm going to sleep in as late as I want, and clean, and pack, and listen to Christmas music ALL THE TIME because I DON'T HAVE ANYMORE HOMEWORK! I'm donedonedonedonedone!
Whew! All of that jumping around is really tiring.
I actually have a few things that I need to do before I leave on Saturday. (That's right - THIS Saturday! I can't WAIT to go home!! I get to sleep in my own bed, eat Mama's cookin', watch football, see my friends, drive my car, play with my puppy, watch my Disney movies ... Yayyayyayyayyayyayyayyay!!!! Yay! Ok, second wind over.) I have to close my bank account, go to the grocery store and buy the European candy and tea that I've grown to love, visit the Christmas market one last time. It's all fun stuff though, so I'm not worried about a thing. That will probably change once I start packing but I haven't done that yet so I'm just not going to think about it right now. I am a little worried about flying on Saturday. I'm not sure if my bags will be under the weight limit (Yeah, I've turned into that girl. I have so much stuff I want to bring home!), and I have a really tight connection in Philadelphia. I don't want to spend the night in a hotel! I just have to walk fast and pull out the puppy dog eyes when I get stuck in really long lines.
Anyways, since my semester here in Galway is pretty much over, I thought I would give you (and me!) a little recap of what I've done these past three months (Wow, that's crazy. Time really does fly.) And, of course, I'm putting it in list form. Because I love my lists.
1) I learned the Double Jig. Just don't ask me to perform it when you see me; I probably won't remember it.
2) I went blues dancing.
3) I went salsa dancing.
I didn't do near enough dancing this semester as I'm used to at Scripps or would have liked to, but I feel like what I did do was still wonderful. I learned Irish dance while I was in Ireland. You can't get any more legitimate than that. I can also say that I blues danced and salsa danced in Europe. I'm trying to find the words to describe how amazing those experiences were, but I'm falling a little short. It's just so crazy to think that it was kind of the same as dancing in Claremont because it's the same dance, but then it's so different because I'm not only dancing in a different community but also in a different country.
4) I volunteered at a community homework club.
Yes, it was a class requirement, but A) I was able to take a class that let us go out into the community and tutor kids and B) I was able to talk to kids, people I normally wouldn't have encountered at all this semester. I actually had a lot more conversations with them about the differences between America and Ireland than I did with Irish students my age.
5) I travelled
6) and found my "Favorite Places".
Kylemore Abbey, Belfast, Edinburgh, and Blarney Castle. I think I fell in love with all of them because they are all such beautiful places and there's so much history connected with them; it's simply incredible.
7) I began to learn how to cook.
I feel a little silly including this in my list - I can't even say I learned how to cook while abroad - but it still is somewhat of an accomplishment. It is a life skill, after all, and I had to start sometime. It reminded me how amazing my mom is, not just because she's a fabulous cook, but because she does it ALL the time. I feel so guilty now for not helping more often. But that will change during Christmas break. I'm pretty excited to show off the recipes I've perfected this semester to my family.
8) I went to Mass (for a short period of time).
The reason this is on my list even though I only went a couple of times is because it was on my "My Goals" list (the list I made before I left of things I wanted to do in Ireland; very creative title, I know) and putting it on this list reminded me that I did do something here that I set out to do before I had any idea what my semester would be like. I did enjoy going to Mass; it was just a really long walk.
9) I experienced the Christmas season.
It starts so early here because they don't have Thanksgiving! I love seeing the Christmas lights and the Christmas decorations. Shop Street is so pretty with the decorations, and the Christmas market is so cute. I got all of my Christmas shopping done there. This was definitely a welcome change from Southern California's leaves-still-on-the-trees-because-it's-70-degrees-outside. Gah, I LOVE Christmas.
10) I visited the four sides of Ireland.
My main goal this semester was to do most of my traveling in Ireland. I didn't do as much as my idealistic self had originally planned, but I hit all of the main spots - Connemara, the Cliffs of Moher, Dublin, Cork, and Belfast. All I can say is Ireland is absolutely beautiful.
11) I studied abroad.
I can say that now that all of my exams are over and I didn't accidently forget to go to an exam and automatically fail the class. A lot of this semester has been about the places I went or the friends I made, which has all been amazing, but the real reason for me being here has been so I could take classes. I sometimes didn't give classes and homework enough priority which sort of came back to haunt me during finals, but again, I'm done so there's no use crying over spilt milk! I enjoyed my classes and I did learn a few things, honest I did!
So there's my list. I'm sorry it's so long; I was in a particularly ramble-y mood today. Thank you SO much for reading my blog this semester! I hope you enjoyed reading it. I still can't believe this is my last one and that I'm going home in three days. EEEEEEEE!!!!!!! I love you all and can't wait to see you!
And because I need to finish what I've started ...
Never say good-bye because good-bye means going away, and going away means forgetting.
-Peter Pan
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NICOLE!
I hope you have a wonderful, beautiful, and fabulous day today, Nichoche!! Treat yourself to a Human Bean, use the excuse, "But it's my birthday!" at least twice (once for Mom and Dad and once for the teacher of your choice), and and remember, when you're thinking of stealing those pretty pretty shoes, that you get more jail time now. Love you.
I had my first exam today! Exclamation point ONLY because it's over. I'm not done until the Wednesday after next, and my friends and I already have plans for Thursday and Friday next week. Pancake breakfast, ice skating, one last big night out, and visiting the Christmas market! And I think we might have one big packing party in Robyn and Jenn's apartment Friday night, since Jenn, Alyssa, and I are all leaving Saturday morning. Ahhh!!! I can't wait to go home! I just have to get through the next week ...
Good luck with finals, to those of you still in school!
Hugs and kisses.
I had my first exam today! Exclamation point ONLY because it's over. I'm not done until the Wednesday after next, and my friends and I already have plans for Thursday and Friday next week. Pancake breakfast, ice skating, one last big night out, and visiting the Christmas market! And I think we might have one big packing party in Robyn and Jenn's apartment Friday night, since Jenn, Alyssa, and I are all leaving Saturday morning. Ahhh!!! I can't wait to go home! I just have to get through the next week ...
Good luck with finals, to those of you still in school!
Hugs and kisses.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Just chillin' in my study cave
I'm taking a break from studying to write this because I know I won't be able to focus unless I update my blog. Just to warn you, my next post probably won't be for another two weeks. Finals are (scarily) just around the corner and I should be devoting every waking hour to catching up on work. Yuck. So there's no need to sit around and wait for my always frequent and regular posts.
...
Right. Down to business. Two Saturdays ago I went on a field trip with my archaeology class to County Roscommon. We saw Roscommon Castle, Roscommon Abbey, and the deserted village of Rindoon/Rindown. It was cold but thankfully not raining. It was beautiful area. We were tromping through pastures for several hours. It felt just like home. *Sigh* I felt pretty bad for the students who were wearing sneakers - it was muddy enough to pull a shoe off. I don't think that actually happened but it was a definite probability. It was great to be able to go to a few of the places we had learned about in class. It was also great to see a part of Ireland that I wouldn't have visited on my own.
Then last weekend, Butler took us up to Belfast for Thanksgiving weekend. (Happy Late Thanksgiving, everyone!) We left Thursday morning, which gives you an indication of how serious the Irish are about attending classes since we had to miss the last two days of classes of the entire semester. Anyway, it was about a six hour bus ride so we got to the hotel in Belfast just in time for dinner. We walked to a hotel restaurant where they served us Thanksgiving dinner. It was really a Thanksgiving-themed dinner. Even if the hotel had served the perfect, just-like-Mom's Thanksgiving dinner, I don't think it would have been the same. Thanksgiving really has a lot more to do with the environment of the whole day than the actual meal, I think. Being in the kitchen, watching football, sprawling out on the couch with everyone else. That's what makes it Thanksgiving. The dinner was still fantastic. The dessert especially (graham cracker/brown sugar crumble-cheesecake-pumpkin-caramel/rum sauce loveliness). Friday was a bus tour to the Giant's Causeway, which is basically a really cool rock formation. We had a couple of stops to a rope bridge and a somewhat-intact castle. Our tour guide was really informative and he talked a little about growing up during the Troubles, the conflicts in Belfast between the Catholics and Protestants. It was really inspiring to hear how he dealt with the trauma of living amid so much violence. We were able to go on the Black Taxi tours Saturday morning where the drivers walked us through the history of the Troubles and took us to memorials and famous neighborhoods. I really had no idea how recent the Troubles were. It was really eye-opening and reminded me how lucky I am to live in a peaceful and stable community. The Black Taxi tour was only an hour and a half, so my friends and I walked around the downtown area for a while. We stopped at St. George's Market, which is like LA's Grand Central Market, had lunch at Victoria Square, and went to the HUGE Christmas market by the city hall for dinner. I spent my leftover pounds (the money, not the weight) on chocolate (of course) and honey-roasted cashews and macadamia nuts. Those were the best purchases I made all weekend. The city had their Christmas decorations up, and it was so beautiful when all of the lights were lit. It also snowed while we were there! The snow was more like Dippin' Dots rather than actual flurries, but snow is snow is snow! It was a great kick-off to the Christmas season. Although since Ireland, the silly country that it is, doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving, Christmas decorations have been out almost since Halloween. I've had to temporarily give up my diatribe against celebrating Christmas before December because there is just no fighting the city lights and enormous store window displays. There's no way I would have won. But it doesn't matter anymore, because it's December!! I fully embrace the Christmas music now; I've been playing it all day. It actually snowed here in Galway yesterday too, which I thought was impossible. Something about it being too warm. And these were legitimate flurries. There's actually still snow on my balcony. Most of the snow outside the apartment complex has turned into ice, unfortunately, but it doesn't make me feel so bad about missing the snowfall at home.
Oh boy. I just scrolled back up through my post and saw how long that paragraph was. Ooops. That, kids, is what not to do in an English paper. I suppose I could have just said I had a wonderful time in Belfast and I'm so happy it's December, but where's the fun in that?
I should probably get back to the salt mines, but now you know how I spent the last two weekends and I can rest easy.
Happy December, everyone!
love always.
...
Right. Down to business. Two Saturdays ago I went on a field trip with my archaeology class to County Roscommon. We saw Roscommon Castle, Roscommon Abbey, and the deserted village of Rindoon/Rindown. It was cold but thankfully not raining. It was beautiful area. We were tromping through pastures for several hours. It felt just like home. *Sigh* I felt pretty bad for the students who were wearing sneakers - it was muddy enough to pull a shoe off. I don't think that actually happened but it was a definite probability. It was great to be able to go to a few of the places we had learned about in class. It was also great to see a part of Ireland that I wouldn't have visited on my own.
Then last weekend, Butler took us up to Belfast for Thanksgiving weekend. (Happy Late Thanksgiving, everyone!) We left Thursday morning, which gives you an indication of how serious the Irish are about attending classes since we had to miss the last two days of classes of the entire semester. Anyway, it was about a six hour bus ride so we got to the hotel in Belfast just in time for dinner. We walked to a hotel restaurant where they served us Thanksgiving dinner. It was really a Thanksgiving-themed dinner. Even if the hotel had served the perfect, just-like-Mom's Thanksgiving dinner, I don't think it would have been the same. Thanksgiving really has a lot more to do with the environment of the whole day than the actual meal, I think. Being in the kitchen, watching football, sprawling out on the couch with everyone else. That's what makes it Thanksgiving. The dinner was still fantastic. The dessert especially (graham cracker/brown sugar crumble-cheesecake-pumpkin-caramel/rum sauce loveliness). Friday was a bus tour to the Giant's Causeway, which is basically a really cool rock formation. We had a couple of stops to a rope bridge and a somewhat-intact castle. Our tour guide was really informative and he talked a little about growing up during the Troubles, the conflicts in Belfast between the Catholics and Protestants. It was really inspiring to hear how he dealt with the trauma of living amid so much violence. We were able to go on the Black Taxi tours Saturday morning where the drivers walked us through the history of the Troubles and took us to memorials and famous neighborhoods. I really had no idea how recent the Troubles were. It was really eye-opening and reminded me how lucky I am to live in a peaceful and stable community. The Black Taxi tour was only an hour and a half, so my friends and I walked around the downtown area for a while. We stopped at St. George's Market, which is like LA's Grand Central Market, had lunch at Victoria Square, and went to the HUGE Christmas market by the city hall for dinner. I spent my leftover pounds (the money, not the weight) on chocolate (of course) and honey-roasted cashews and macadamia nuts. Those were the best purchases I made all weekend. The city had their Christmas decorations up, and it was so beautiful when all of the lights were lit. It also snowed while we were there! The snow was more like Dippin' Dots rather than actual flurries, but snow is snow is snow! It was a great kick-off to the Christmas season. Although since Ireland, the silly country that it is, doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving, Christmas decorations have been out almost since Halloween. I've had to temporarily give up my diatribe against celebrating Christmas before December because there is just no fighting the city lights and enormous store window displays. There's no way I would have won. But it doesn't matter anymore, because it's December!! I fully embrace the Christmas music now; I've been playing it all day. It actually snowed here in Galway yesterday too, which I thought was impossible. Something about it being too warm. And these were legitimate flurries. There's actually still snow on my balcony. Most of the snow outside the apartment complex has turned into ice, unfortunately, but it doesn't make me feel so bad about missing the snowfall at home.
Oh boy. I just scrolled back up through my post and saw how long that paragraph was. Ooops. That, kids, is what not to do in an English paper. I suppose I could have just said I had a wonderful time in Belfast and I'm so happy it's December, but where's the fun in that?
I should probably get back to the salt mines, but now you know how I spent the last two weekends and I can rest easy.
Happy December, everyone!
love always.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
And the countdown begins!
Hello! I am so excited to talk at you. It's been a while (as usual)!
And again, as usual, these past couple of weeks has been pretty eventful. Classes are starting to wrap up because ... dun dun dun ... I only have one more week of school left! WHOA! I'm trying to work up enough steam to seriously sit down and study. And let me tell you, it's not going so well!
I registered a couple of nights ago for next semester's classes. I had a fabulous registration time although Claremont McKenna's psychology department had to make things a little difficult. I still ended up with a pretty cool set of classes. I can already tell I am going to be pretty busy, especially compared to this semester. I guess that's what the Scripps Off-Campus Study Office meant when they told us about the possibility of experiencing culture shock when we come home.
I went on my last international trip last weekend. I stayed with another fabulous Scrippsie in Edinburgh, Scotland. Let me just start off by telling you how much I LOVE that city. A lot. I was hooked within minutes of arriving there. I got there pretty early Friday morning, and since LeeAnn had class until 11, I had a few hours to do whatever. I actually had a lot of work to do, so I went to the Elephant House Cafe where J.K. Rowling wrote Harry Potter!!!!!! I originally didn't want to go there because I thought it would be really touristy but it wasn't at all. I was actually the only person there for a while. Granted, it was 8:30AM, but still. Sitting in a cafe seems like a pretty ordinary thing to do, but it was actually a pretty amazing experience. I was able to find the cafe all by myself, and since I had to walk from where the airport shuttle dropped us off, I was obviously able to see some of the city. It's absolutely amazing. ALL of the buildings are so OLD (and so pretty!) - it's awe-inspiring. And then to sit in the same cafe as J.K. Rowling and be writing a fabulous piece of literature (well, not really, it was just an essay), it was just a really cool feeling. And to top it all off, Edinburgh just exudes Harry Potterness. It's like the modern-day, city version of Hogwarts and definitely forever cemented in my 10 Favorite Places list. LeeAnn and I went to a museum, a cafe that had beautiful peach tea, did more homework, went to a pub for dinner, and then went to another pub and had yummy mulled wine. We went to the town of St. Andrews on Saturday and saw the cathedral ruins, went to a couple of cute craft fairs, had famous ice cream (Carmel Coffee flavored - YUM!), and ended the day at a used bookstore. Absolutely wonderful.
I'm glad I went to Scotland and saw LeeAnn, but I'm also glad I don't have any more international trips planned. I didn't realize how exhausting these weekend trips would be! I do have a fieldtrip with my archaeology class (we're going to County Roscommon to look at ditches and mounds that were once moats and walls with maybe a few castles and churches thrown in) this Saturday, and then a trip to Northern Ireland with Butler next weekend. And that will be the end of my You-went-where?! trips. I guess my stay in Galway would count as one of those trips too.
It's funny - after next week (my last week of classes), I have Study Week, then two weeks of finals, and then I come home! It's almost unbelievable. I can't believe how fast my time here has gone by. Though I will admit that ever since the beginning of November I've been pretty ready to come home. To be fair, I think that it has a lot to do with my impending finals. As Timon says to Simba, "When the going gets tough, the tough get going!". But even without finals, a semester abroad is just the right amount of time. I can't even imagine how I would be feeling right now if I had decided to stay for a whole year. I can't wait to just be with my family and friends. There's something to be said about physical proximity and knowing that my mom or sisters or friends are in the next room or right down the hall. Ahhhh, I'm so excited to come home!
I haven't posted pictures in a while so here are a few snapshots of my trips!
Wow, I completely forgot how long it took to upload photos. It wasn't just because I've been too busy. I hope you like them!
love always!
And again, as usual, these past couple of weeks has been pretty eventful. Classes are starting to wrap up because ... dun dun dun ... I only have one more week of school left! WHOA! I'm trying to work up enough steam to seriously sit down and study. And let me tell you, it's not going so well!
I registered a couple of nights ago for next semester's classes. I had a fabulous registration time although Claremont McKenna's psychology department had to make things a little difficult. I still ended up with a pretty cool set of classes. I can already tell I am going to be pretty busy, especially compared to this semester. I guess that's what the Scripps Off-Campus Study Office meant when they told us about the possibility of experiencing culture shock when we come home.
I went on my last international trip last weekend. I stayed with another fabulous Scrippsie in Edinburgh, Scotland. Let me just start off by telling you how much I LOVE that city. A lot. I was hooked within minutes of arriving there. I got there pretty early Friday morning, and since LeeAnn had class until 11, I had a few hours to do whatever. I actually had a lot of work to do, so I went to the Elephant House Cafe where J.K. Rowling wrote Harry Potter!!!!!! I originally didn't want to go there because I thought it would be really touristy but it wasn't at all. I was actually the only person there for a while. Granted, it was 8:30AM, but still. Sitting in a cafe seems like a pretty ordinary thing to do, but it was actually a pretty amazing experience. I was able to find the cafe all by myself, and since I had to walk from where the airport shuttle dropped us off, I was obviously able to see some of the city. It's absolutely amazing. ALL of the buildings are so OLD (and so pretty!) - it's awe-inspiring. And then to sit in the same cafe as J.K. Rowling and be writing a fabulous piece of literature (well, not really, it was just an essay), it was just a really cool feeling. And to top it all off, Edinburgh just exudes Harry Potterness. It's like the modern-day, city version of Hogwarts and definitely forever cemented in my 10 Favorite Places list. LeeAnn and I went to a museum, a cafe that had beautiful peach tea, did more homework, went to a pub for dinner, and then went to another pub and had yummy mulled wine. We went to the town of St. Andrews on Saturday and saw the cathedral ruins, went to a couple of cute craft fairs, had famous ice cream (Carmel Coffee flavored - YUM!), and ended the day at a used bookstore. Absolutely wonderful.
I'm glad I went to Scotland and saw LeeAnn, but I'm also glad I don't have any more international trips planned. I didn't realize how exhausting these weekend trips would be! I do have a fieldtrip with my archaeology class (we're going to County Roscommon to look at ditches and mounds that were once moats and walls with maybe a few castles and churches thrown in) this Saturday, and then a trip to Northern Ireland with Butler next weekend. And that will be the end of my You-went-where?! trips. I guess my stay in Galway would count as one of those trips too.
It's funny - after next week (my last week of classes), I have Study Week, then two weeks of finals, and then I come home! It's almost unbelievable. I can't believe how fast my time here has gone by. Though I will admit that ever since the beginning of November I've been pretty ready to come home. To be fair, I think that it has a lot to do with my impending finals. As Timon says to Simba, "When the going gets tough, the tough get going!". But even without finals, a semester abroad is just the right amount of time. I can't even imagine how I would be feeling right now if I had decided to stay for a whole year. I can't wait to just be with my family and friends. There's something to be said about physical proximity and knowing that my mom or sisters or friends are in the next room or right down the hall. Ahhhh, I'm so excited to come home!
I haven't posted pictures in a while so here are a few snapshots of my trips!
 |
Me being silly next to a statue of Nicolas de Condorcet in Paris (only Scrippsies would understand) |
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| Blarney Castle, Cork |
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| ME IN THE FAIRY GLADE! Blarney Estate |
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| This was literally the only place in the Elephant House Cafe that was Harry Potter themed. |
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| For Ms. Stenberg |
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| Me and LeeAnn at the St. Andrews Town Hall (the old one - they obviously built a new one) |
love always!
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Through the wind and the rain
Before I left for Galway, I heard a lot of "You're going to Ireland? You must like the rain." And even when I got here, when the friendly Irish learned I was from the Northwest, they would say, "So you're used to the rain!". Rain, rain, rain! That's all anyone talked about. Naturally, I expected Galway to have frequent and massive rainstorms all semester. You can imagine my surprise/delight/exasperation when I woke up (not just on Monday but on every single morning since then) to the greyest and darkest skies all semester and the accompanying rain drops. As the Irish would say, "It's absolutely lashing outside". One thing you should know about me: I am a solid fan of the romantic cliches about rain - listening to the rain hit the roof, splashing in puddles, dancing in the rain, all that jazz. However, even when it's just raining and I'm not in the mood to reenact the scene from Singin' In the Rain, the rain is totally tolerable. Yes, I hate it when my jacket or bag gets damp and the water is slowly travelling up my always-too-long jeans, but those are usually the worst of my problems and are fairly quick fixes.
What really confuses me is the wind. That's the real reason why students come to class soaked. (Ok, so maybe the rain has something to do with it too. But it really is all of the wind's fault.) You know that part in Mary Poppins at the very beginning where she literally blows all of the other potential nannies away with a huge gust of wind and several umbrellas get turned inside out in the process? If you bring an umbrella to school, it is almost guaranteed that the wind will think you are a nanny. The way to school is becoming an umbrella graveyard. The roads are just littered with their corpses. In addition to rendering one level of protection completely useless, the wind blows the rain straight into you. You become a water magnet! The water will either slide off of your rain jacket onto your pants or the rain will hit you from all directions. That is what really gets you. Or gets me, I should say. I seem to be the only person on the entire campus who walks into the main concourse looking like a wet cat. My hair is plastered to my head, there's water running down my face, and I'm dripping water like a leaky faucet, whereas the Irish girls are walking around with their perfect hair, make-up on their face and not liquified on their shirt, and most importantly, dry pants. It's absolutely mind-blowing, especially when they don't ever wear anything heavier than a cardigan. I don't understand. It's like their European sense of fashion makes them impervious to rain.
It sounds like I'm complaining, but I'm really just trying to colorfully describe the wonder that is Irish weather. The real sentiment behind this post is one of pure joy. Tuesday was THE BEST DAY! Of the entire semester. Probably of my entire life. Ever. I woke up to rain blowing everywhere and immediately decided to wear my rain trousers. What are these magical rain trousers you ask? They're basically like a rain jacket but obviously you put them over your pants and then your pants don't get wet. I walk out the door wearing my rain boots, rain trousers, and rain jacket, and I will admit, I was feeling a little self-conscious with all of my rain gear on. Problem? Nope! Just ask Robyn! Thank goodness for her to-hell-with-them attitude! I looked like I had been swallowed by a plastic blue and black circus tent, BUT IT WAS SO WORTH IT!!!! It was so satisfying to be able to see the rain rolling off me instead of being absorbed by my clothes. It was also incredibly satisfying to see people on the way to school or in the hallway with wet clothes while I was as dry as an Oregon summer (as mean as that sounds). Thank you, Mr. Dennehy, for the suggestion to buy the rain trousers!! I am pretty sure I will owe you several dry pairs of jeans and dozens of comfortable class hours by the end of the semester.
In addition to coming back to the apartment completely dry despite walking through a monsoon, I FOUND A CARE PACKAGE FROM MY MOMMY!!! There it was, sitting on the coffee table, just waiting for me to open it. It consisted of nothing but food from Harry & David and a love note from Mom. SOUP AND CHOCOLATE PANCAKE MIX AND MOOSE MUNCH!!!!! Can you say best care package ever?! I am currently bouncing up and down on my bed from sheer happiness even after two days of opening this gift from heaven. (I'm pretty sure my roommate is thinking There she goes again!) I am so excited to eat everything.
Isn't it funny how a few posts ago I was discussing my miserable, rainy day, and this time it's about my fabulous, perfect, exciting, rainy day? All I can say is I love Ireland.
Wish you were here!
What really confuses me is the wind. That's the real reason why students come to class soaked. (Ok, so maybe the rain has something to do with it too. But it really is all of the wind's fault.) You know that part in Mary Poppins at the very beginning where she literally blows all of the other potential nannies away with a huge gust of wind and several umbrellas get turned inside out in the process? If you bring an umbrella to school, it is almost guaranteed that the wind will think you are a nanny. The way to school is becoming an umbrella graveyard. The roads are just littered with their corpses. In addition to rendering one level of protection completely useless, the wind blows the rain straight into you. You become a water magnet! The water will either slide off of your rain jacket onto your pants or the rain will hit you from all directions. That is what really gets you. Or gets me, I should say. I seem to be the only person on the entire campus who walks into the main concourse looking like a wet cat. My hair is plastered to my head, there's water running down my face, and I'm dripping water like a leaky faucet, whereas the Irish girls are walking around with their perfect hair, make-up on their face and not liquified on their shirt, and most importantly, dry pants. It's absolutely mind-blowing, especially when they don't ever wear anything heavier than a cardigan. I don't understand. It's like their European sense of fashion makes them impervious to rain.
It sounds like I'm complaining, but I'm really just trying to colorfully describe the wonder that is Irish weather. The real sentiment behind this post is one of pure joy. Tuesday was THE BEST DAY! Of the entire semester. Probably of my entire life. Ever. I woke up to rain blowing everywhere and immediately decided to wear my rain trousers. What are these magical rain trousers you ask? They're basically like a rain jacket but obviously you put them over your pants and then your pants don't get wet. I walk out the door wearing my rain boots, rain trousers, and rain jacket, and I will admit, I was feeling a little self-conscious with all of my rain gear on. Problem? Nope! Just ask Robyn! Thank goodness for her to-hell-with-them attitude! I looked like I had been swallowed by a plastic blue and black circus tent, BUT IT WAS SO WORTH IT!!!! It was so satisfying to be able to see the rain rolling off me instead of being absorbed by my clothes. It was also incredibly satisfying to see people on the way to school or in the hallway with wet clothes while I was as dry as an Oregon summer (as mean as that sounds). Thank you, Mr. Dennehy, for the suggestion to buy the rain trousers!! I am pretty sure I will owe you several dry pairs of jeans and dozens of comfortable class hours by the end of the semester.
In addition to coming back to the apartment completely dry despite walking through a monsoon, I FOUND A CARE PACKAGE FROM MY MOMMY!!! There it was, sitting on the coffee table, just waiting for me to open it. It consisted of nothing but food from Harry & David and a love note from Mom. SOUP AND CHOCOLATE PANCAKE MIX AND MOOSE MUNCH!!!!! Can you say best care package ever?! I am currently bouncing up and down on my bed from sheer happiness even after two days of opening this gift from heaven. (I'm pretty sure my roommate is thinking There she goes again!) I am so excited to eat everything.
Isn't it funny how a few posts ago I was discussing my miserable, rainy day, and this time it's about my fabulous, perfect, exciting, rainy day? All I can say is I love Ireland.
Wish you were here!
Monday, October 25, 2010
It's a jolly holiday!
Happy Bank Holiday everyone! Isn't it a wonderful Monday? Here is my update of the past couple of weeks like I promised!
I had my very first paper due last Monday. It was a 1000 word (about 3 1/2-4 pages) summary review of an article handed out in class. Oh, I'm sorry Mr. Lecturer, did I not tell you I'm a third-year college student? I guess I just have the good luck of still looking like I'm in high school. Well, since you're making this assignment so easy, I will just have to complicate things a little to make it more stressful. Let's see ... oh, I know! I'll go away to Paris the weekend before which leaves me less time to write my paper. So much to do, so little time is every college student's life motto in addition to being a Mary-Kate and Ashley TV show theme song. Unfortunately, I am a Time Management Master so that's not going to cut it. This is my first paper since May? Rustiness factor - I'll take that. I still need something else though ... how about showing up to the empty office of the department's secretary during the only free time I had before the deadline? Oooo, that might make things a little too exciting, Maria. You might want to tone it down. Ok, well, what if I add an unexpected window of free time with an open office? Perfect! Finally, a level of difficulty befitting a college student.
I'm still going to the Irish dance lessons. They are starting to get a little harder, but I am still enjoying myself. The class is a lot smaller now than it was at the very beginning. I think a lot of the girls were scared off by how fast the teacher goes through the steps which is a shame because she's a really nice person. I decided not to go to the salsa lessons hosted by the Dance Society although I finally convinced a few of my friends to go to salsa lessons in town. They really enjoyed themselves, which I am so happy about, and I think we have plans to go again this week. I also found out about a salsa/bachata/tango lesson on Thursdays which sounds amazing.
So I guess you've realized by now that I did not go to Cork this weekend. Alyssa and I decided to push it back a week. Cork had a jazz festival this weekend and while it would have been amazing to go, it probably would have been more expensive. I also heard that most, if not all, of the hostels were full. I wasn't that disappointed. We're still going, we'll be back in time to go out on Halloween night (I'm going to be Pocahontas!), and I had (still have, I guess, since it's not over yet) a three-day weekend to work on homework. Since I was here in Galway on a Saturday for once, I went into town with Jenn to the weekend market. It was really cute! I saw some great potential Christmas presents. The weather was perfect - sunny and not that chilly. I think that was the first time all semester that I was in town on a Saturday afternoon. I loved it. The streets were busy, and Shop Street was packed. It was a great day to be out and people-watch.
I'm looking at my calendar right now to jog my memory about what else happened these past couple of weeks, and I only have five more weeks of classes! This semester has gone by soooooo quickly! I can't believe it. I am still so excited about being here in Galway, as much as I can't wait to see everyone back home. You'd think I'd be tired of living here by now (I know I was expecting it when the halfway mark came around), but nope! Still having a great time. I wish you all were here with me.
love always!
I had my very first paper due last Monday. It was a 1000 word (about 3 1/2-4 pages) summary review of an article handed out in class. Oh, I'm sorry Mr. Lecturer, did I not tell you I'm a third-year college student? I guess I just have the good luck of still looking like I'm in high school. Well, since you're making this assignment so easy, I will just have to complicate things a little to make it more stressful. Let's see ... oh, I know! I'll go away to Paris the weekend before which leaves me less time to write my paper. So much to do, so little time is every college student's life motto in addition to being a Mary-Kate and Ashley TV show theme song. Unfortunately, I am a Time Management Master so that's not going to cut it. This is my first paper since May? Rustiness factor - I'll take that. I still need something else though ... how about showing up to the empty office of the department's secretary during the only free time I had before the deadline? Oooo, that might make things a little too exciting, Maria. You might want to tone it down. Ok, well, what if I add an unexpected window of free time with an open office? Perfect! Finally, a level of difficulty befitting a college student.
I'm still going to the Irish dance lessons. They are starting to get a little harder, but I am still enjoying myself. The class is a lot smaller now than it was at the very beginning. I think a lot of the girls were scared off by how fast the teacher goes through the steps which is a shame because she's a really nice person. I decided not to go to the salsa lessons hosted by the Dance Society although I finally convinced a few of my friends to go to salsa lessons in town. They really enjoyed themselves, which I am so happy about, and I think we have plans to go again this week. I also found out about a salsa/bachata/tango lesson on Thursdays which sounds amazing.
So I guess you've realized by now that I did not go to Cork this weekend. Alyssa and I decided to push it back a week. Cork had a jazz festival this weekend and while it would have been amazing to go, it probably would have been more expensive. I also heard that most, if not all, of the hostels were full. I wasn't that disappointed. We're still going, we'll be back in time to go out on Halloween night (I'm going to be Pocahontas!), and I had (still have, I guess, since it's not over yet) a three-day weekend to work on homework. Since I was here in Galway on a Saturday for once, I went into town with Jenn to the weekend market. It was really cute! I saw some great potential Christmas presents. The weather was perfect - sunny and not that chilly. I think that was the first time all semester that I was in town on a Saturday afternoon. I loved it. The streets were busy, and Shop Street was packed. It was a great day to be out and people-watch.
I'm looking at my calendar right now to jog my memory about what else happened these past couple of weeks, and I only have five more weeks of classes! This semester has gone by soooooo quickly! I can't believe it. I am still so excited about being here in Galway, as much as I can't wait to see everyone back home. You'd think I'd be tired of living here by now (I know I was expecting it when the halfway mark came around), but nope! Still having a great time. I wish you all were here with me.
love always!
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Back from Adventureland!
Hello hello hello! It has been a while since we last talked, and man, do I have a lot to tell you!
Two weekends ago, Butler (my study abroad program) took all of the students studying in Ireland to the Killery Adventure Center. We stayed at an on-site hostel for the entire weekend and were able to do all sorts of cool, adventure/outdoor stuff. And by cool, adventure/outdoor stuff, I mean there was a high ropes course, a zipline, a huuuuuuuuuuuuge swing, a climbing tower, kayaking, gorge-walking, clay pigeon shooting, archery, all sorts of good stuff. We even had the opportunity to jump in a bog! I didn't, but a couple of my friends did, which was probably even more hilarious than if I had gone in myself. I will admit I was a little wary about the weekend since outdoorsy activities just aren't my thing, but I was able to keep myself busy and mostly entertained during the sessions. It really was a great weekend. Everybody was excited to be there (and not just because we were given free meals!), and it was fun to meet people from the other universities. My one big accomplishment during the weekend was climbing all the way to the top of the rock tower. It was actually pretty scary; not because I was afraid of falling (my belayers were great!) but because the tower was so tall! It was actually kind of weird because it wasn't like I was looking out over something. I didn't even have to look down to successfully freak myself out. I was just thinking about how high I was and bam! I was stuck. My friends down at the bottom were absolutely wonderful though. I had my own little cheering squad - I really wouldn't have been able to make it to the top if they hadn't been so supportive and great.
So that was my first amazing adventure weekend. This past weekend I adventured myself all the way over to France for what turned out to be less than 24 hours in Paris to see, as it turned out, two beautiful Scrippsies. It was a pretty crazy weekend. I started my journey at 1:15AM Saturday morning and got back to my apartment around 2PM Sunday afternoon. I didn't get very much sleep that weekend. I was really worried about travelling by myself to a country where I didn't speak the language, but I made it there (and back!) in one piece. My visit was fantastic. Julia met me at the bus stop with two croissants for me (one even had chocolate!) which melted my heart and made my stomach very happy. We went to her foyer (it seemed like a cross between an apartment/college dorm and a hostel) to drop off my stuff. Mirabelle, another Scrippsie who is studying in Paris, showed up and we all went out and had a three hour lunch where we caught up, ate quiche and pasta, and drank the most amazing hot chocolate. It was wonderful. Afterwards, we took the obligatory touristy, Scripps reunion pictures by the Seine River, and then we parted ways. Julia and I ambled along the river for a while on the way to the Musee d'Orsay. Unfortunately, the museum was closed by the time we got there. But not to worry! We simply headed over to the Eiffel Tower. (Good subsitute, don't you think?) By that time it was getting dark, so we were able to take pictures of the tower once all of its lights had been lit. It was so beautiful! We also walked to the Arc de Triomphe then had crepes for dinner off of the Champs-Elysees. We ended the day/night with blues dancing! That's right. I blues danced in Paris. How fantastic is it to be able to say that sentence? It was so great to dance again! We both had a really great time.
That trip was absolutely perfect. Julia was the perfect hostess even though she had to deal with my extremely sleep-deprived self. I couldn't have asked for a better tour guide. It was great to be able to talk to people from my own school, although I will admit talking to Julia and Mirabelle about Scripps made me the most homesick I have been this semester. I am already so excited for Spring semester.
My next trip is (hopefully!) this weekend to Cork, a city in southern Ireland. I'm going with a few other girls, and I don't think we've done any planning whatsoever, but if we are going, we're going this weekend. I'm 85% sure we're going though. I am super stoked.
Now that I've told you all about my past and future weekends, I should probably tell you about my past, present, and future weeks. However, this post is long enough, so we will just have to wait until next time (next week at the latest!). Thanks for reading (and bearing with all of my empty promises about when I will post next)!
hugs and kisses!
Two weekends ago, Butler (my study abroad program) took all of the students studying in Ireland to the Killery Adventure Center. We stayed at an on-site hostel for the entire weekend and were able to do all sorts of cool, adventure/outdoor stuff. And by cool, adventure/outdoor stuff, I mean there was a high ropes course, a zipline, a huuuuuuuuuuuuge swing, a climbing tower, kayaking, gorge-walking, clay pigeon shooting, archery, all sorts of good stuff. We even had the opportunity to jump in a bog! I didn't, but a couple of my friends did, which was probably even more hilarious than if I had gone in myself. I will admit I was a little wary about the weekend since outdoorsy activities just aren't my thing, but I was able to keep myself busy and mostly entertained during the sessions. It really was a great weekend. Everybody was excited to be there (and not just because we were given free meals!), and it was fun to meet people from the other universities. My one big accomplishment during the weekend was climbing all the way to the top of the rock tower. It was actually pretty scary; not because I was afraid of falling (my belayers were great!) but because the tower was so tall! It was actually kind of weird because it wasn't like I was looking out over something. I didn't even have to look down to successfully freak myself out. I was just thinking about how high I was and bam! I was stuck. My friends down at the bottom were absolutely wonderful though. I had my own little cheering squad - I really wouldn't have been able to make it to the top if they hadn't been so supportive and great.
So that was my first amazing adventure weekend. This past weekend I adventured myself all the way over to France for what turned out to be less than 24 hours in Paris to see, as it turned out, two beautiful Scrippsies. It was a pretty crazy weekend. I started my journey at 1:15AM Saturday morning and got back to my apartment around 2PM Sunday afternoon. I didn't get very much sleep that weekend. I was really worried about travelling by myself to a country where I didn't speak the language, but I made it there (and back!) in one piece. My visit was fantastic. Julia met me at the bus stop with two croissants for me (one even had chocolate!) which melted my heart and made my stomach very happy. We went to her foyer (it seemed like a cross between an apartment/college dorm and a hostel) to drop off my stuff. Mirabelle, another Scrippsie who is studying in Paris, showed up and we all went out and had a three hour lunch where we caught up, ate quiche and pasta, and drank the most amazing hot chocolate. It was wonderful. Afterwards, we took the obligatory touristy, Scripps reunion pictures by the Seine River, and then we parted ways. Julia and I ambled along the river for a while on the way to the Musee d'Orsay. Unfortunately, the museum was closed by the time we got there. But not to worry! We simply headed over to the Eiffel Tower. (Good subsitute, don't you think?) By that time it was getting dark, so we were able to take pictures of the tower once all of its lights had been lit. It was so beautiful! We also walked to the Arc de Triomphe then had crepes for dinner off of the Champs-Elysees. We ended the day/night with blues dancing! That's right. I blues danced in Paris. How fantastic is it to be able to say that sentence? It was so great to dance again! We both had a really great time.
That trip was absolutely perfect. Julia was the perfect hostess even though she had to deal with my extremely sleep-deprived self. I couldn't have asked for a better tour guide. It was great to be able to talk to people from my own school, although I will admit talking to Julia and Mirabelle about Scripps made me the most homesick I have been this semester. I am already so excited for Spring semester.
My next trip is (hopefully!) this weekend to Cork, a city in southern Ireland. I'm going with a few other girls, and I don't think we've done any planning whatsoever, but if we are going, we're going this weekend. I'm 85% sure we're going though. I am super stoked.
Now that I've told you all about my past and future weekends, I should probably tell you about my past, present, and future weeks. However, this post is long enough, so we will just have to wait until next time (next week at the latest!). Thanks for reading (and bearing with all of my empty promises about when I will post next)!
hugs and kisses!
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