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!