Productive Day!

Today has been one of the more productive days that I've had for a while.  Not that I have been slacking, it just feels good to get stuff taken care of and off my shoulders. The things I accomplished today have been:

- Emailing the Registrar about getting Gen Ed credits transfered back to GAC

- Emailing the Philosophy Chair about getting Philosophy credits transfered for my major

 -Emailing my advisor about what English credits I still need

- Figuring out what classes I need to take next semester since my original plan had classes at the same time and thus wouldn't work

- Emailing a different person at the Registrar to get my classes registered for next Fall

- Emailing Three Rivers about coming back to work for the summer (they invited me back! Yay for having a job!)

- Filling out my Three Rivers application again to email back to Cory, the new supervisor

- Getting my confirmation paper for the Greens House downloaded even though my computer didn't like it because it was a .docx file (Thanks Ross!) and sent back in to GAC

- Investigating more into study abroad stuff, as they have more choices up

- GoogleMap'ed a bunch of things for funsies

So mostly emails and researching on the internet, but I feel a lot better now that I don' thave to worry about things. I just have to wait until they respond to do more I guess.

But as I said before I "registered" for classes today. Which actually means just emailing the Registrar with which courses I want and they will register me (and all other study abroad students) before everyone else. I was hoping to take advantage of this system and get into the Pilates and/or yoga classes that ALWAYS fill up before I can get to them, but unfortunately they interfered with the other classes that I needed to take. And believe me, I spent a good deal of time looking to see if I could fit them in if I switched some classes, but it still didn't work. But guess what classes I am taking instead?!?! Tai Chi and Camping! Not like together, two separate classes, though that sounds kinda fun.  I am also taking: Ancient Philosophy, Ethical Theory, Writing Poetry, and Meteorology w/ Lab.  Sounds like it will be an stimulating and rigorous schedule, but I am excited for it.  Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays will be long with class from 9am - 2:20pm (besides Chapel break and 11:20-12:30 for lunch), but then I am done. Tuesdays and Thursdays I just have Tai Chi and Writing Poetry. I much prefer waking up early and getting done with classes in the early afternoon as opposed to having late classes. THat way can get some homework done before dinner and then go to all my lovely activities. Which I also wrote out today as to keep a list of all the things I want to do, including:

-Greens (of course)

-Philharmonic Orchestra

-Lucia Singers or another choir (need to audition...)

-Admissions Phoning (i.e. work)

- My secret project (music related)

- Radio show (Maybe. Anna might be studying abroad in the Fall and I don't know if I want to do it alone!)

-Firethorne Literary Magazine

-Womyn's Awareness Center/ Heterodoxy Literary Mag (not too sure how to get into this...)

- Pound Pals (if I get accepted and they have enough animals)

- Some social justice group (ASAP, Democracy Matters, Net Impact, depends what's there)

- Some service group (Study Buddies, Amigos, etc.)

- The Band (I want to start a band with Rebecca and Liz, to play in the Courtyard Cafe and other places, more info TBA)

-The Gustavus Garden! We have one now! I want to help take care of it and grow cool things like herbs and flowers and veggies

-Earth Council (Environmental meeting of St. Peter, I need to start going!)

- I am sure I will find other things...

All the while maintaining a wonderful social life including frolicking in the Arb, late night walks around campus, exercising with friends, exploring nearby parks, themed party nights (I REALLY want to do a Mexican Night with tacos, homemade salsa, Spanish music, etc), oh the possibilities are endless! 

But now that I have settled all that mess I can focus on what's ahead of me: My final essays and exams.  I feel more comfortable going to to them now that I have figured out summer and Fall. It's like once you have your two secured points of reference (past and future) it is easy to work in the middle (present). (I wish I could draw a picture or use hand gestures here.)  Tomorrow might be a library day since it's supposed to be raining, but then definitely next week I will be there a lot, trying to get stuff done before Budapest. Because after that the parents arrive (Woop!) and then Exams start up and then possibly more travels to Europe (I still need to decide if I indeed want to go...all signs thus far point to yes...). Then DONE! AGH! Not going to think about that...

Oh! Ross (American boy from choir) and I made baked mac-n-cheese last night utilizing ingredients on hand: Two boxes of Kraft blue box, milk, garlic, Dubliner cheese, butter.  ANd oh my goodness it was wonderful.  All you need to do is make the mac as directed, add garlic and like a 4x4 inch block of the Dubline cheese (grated of course), more milk, then split it into two pans that can go in the oven, put more cheese on top, then bake it until it gets crusty on top.  It was so fatty and so delicious.   I say we did pretty well for ourselves.  

Well I should probably get back to working. I need to choose an essay topic for a 3000 word essay since we meet individually with the prof on Wednesday to talk about it and I don't want to make a fool of myself.  

I don't know if I mentioned this: Classes are over. GAC just got done with Spring Break. Wow.

Have a wonderful day!

Stuck in Boole Basement

Hello All! I am currently barricaded in the Boole Basement, the computer floor of the library on campus, as it is raining outside. I was supposed to have choir from 7-9pm, but after walking the 20 minutes there they say rehearsal isn't until 9 because there is some match on. It then starts to rain, and I refuse to walk home only to walk back again in little over an hour.

Only in Ireland does choir rehearsal get postponed due to a sports game.

AND I didn't bring anything to do, i.e. my journal that I desperately need to update, even though for a brief second before I left I thought "Hey, maybe I should bring something to do if I get there early?...Nah..."

So I am just doing some internet searching, checking emails, looking up study abroad stuff for next year, etc etc.

Oh! I got into the Greens House! Yay!

But I looked over the J-Term study abroad options again for next year, and I think I found one I like, or will at least look more into/think about. It's called "Education, Poverty, and Healthcare in Peru: A Service Learning Experience." Here is the description from the GAC website:

"This course provides students the opportunity to learn about the impact of poverty on a country and how education and healthcare support can alleviate some of these adverse conditions. Students will live in dorms and provide service to this poverty-stricken area by teaching English in the school program or by helping in the medical center. A cultural exploration to Machu Picchu will expand student understanding of the culture and history of Peru. Students will complete daily journals and participate in evening discussions based on readings about the country as well as issues of poverty. Final paper will be required."

Basically this is what I have always wanted to do (I remember talking to my parents about this): Teach English to little Hispanic children. Now I need to figure out how much Spanish I truly remember after not taking it for nearly 2 years (after taking it for 10). Pienso que recuerdo mucho, pero a veces no puedo hablar lo que yo quiero. Ah! Todo me regresa ahora! Me encanta hablar espanol (AY! No tilde mark available! That's the squiggly line over the "n").

I had an in-class exam today, at 9am EW!, but I think it went very well. I wasn't all that inspired by the prompts, but found one that I was at least able to ramble on about: If medieval Irish poetry idealizes the monastic experience. Sounds interesting right?! Then I had my two hour seminar where we talked about lesbian poetry of the Renaissance (I think?!) and jeez it was the longest class EVER. My tummy was making wierd noises the entire time.

I just realized I only have three more classes here at UCC. One tomorrow and two Thursday. Woah! *Tear* What the frick am I going to do with myself?! AH I DON'T WANT TO BE ALONE!

Well, I'm off to go waste 40 more minutes of my time. If it's not raining maybe I'll go to this kebab place on the corner of campus and get some chips (french fries for those who still haven't caught on!) I wonder if rehearsal will indeed go until 11 now....I get to walk some by myself...It may be raining again....yay for me......

Gustavus and More Mood Swings

Recently I have been questioning if I am really happy at Gustavus. Well, I shouldn't say "recently" because I thought about it Fall semester too.  And though I think it is natural for students to question their college at some point or another, I just don't know the extent to which I should allow my questioning to continue, or if I should do something about it.  ANd I am not talking about transferring to UCC, I don't know if I completely like their system here either.  Sometimes I wish I had put more thought into my college choice, but I can only say that in hindsight because at the time I was looking for colleges I didn't know what I wanted, where I wanted it, anything, so I really just applied to some schools and picked GAC. I can't say why I chose GAC other than I thought it had "everything I wanted" whatever that meant.  But I have changed so much since then that I don't know if GAC really fits my life anymore.  I hear people both in Minnesota and here at UCC talk about their home universities, and I wish I could hold Gustavus in the same light as they did theirs.

I know I shouldn't rush into things, but I also don't want to spend the next two years unhappy. And I also feel like why should I "make do" with GAC, or just "live with it," when both my parents and myself are investing so much money in my education, money that at times I question is worth that I am getting for it.  

I think I have a chronic aversion to staying in any one place too long that isn't my physical home in Tonka Bay.  I get too used to things. I see myself able to be happy anywhere (for a certain period of time I guess, before I get my next desire to move...) but if that's the case, why do I feel "unhappy" at GAC? or at least question my happiness?

Perhaps I am just worried that once I go back to campus I will feel that no one understands me anymore, that no one has experienced what I just experienced, and it's true: They won't have.  

I probably won't do anything about this. Maybe I am just tired.  I think too much when I am tired. Get emotional.  Plus, even if I DID want to transfer, I wouldn't be able to do so until next Spring, as deadlines have passed I think. Well, for some schools. And I don't even know where I'd transfer to. 

I guess I will just try to make the best of what I have: Get my money's worth, so to speak. And I actually have some big plans for next year too, even if they aren't in the "ideal" setting I was hoping for.  EPIPHANY!: Maybe it's just that GAC is in such a small town. I first enjoyed this, but after experiencing more of the Cities in the SUmmer/Fall (explorations with Brittany) and living in Cork, I realized I need a certain level of stimuli to keep me interested.  St. Peter is not the most stimulating town in Minnesota...But I don't want to be going home every weekend! 

Sigh....Looks like I will have to get more creative with things to do back at school.  And go through with my big plans.  I would write them here but I fear someone will take my ideas first. I will keep busy and that will take my mind off of missing Ireland and people.  

Jeez I am going to be a MESS when I get home...Watch out family! This is how I picture my first week upon returning to go: Me remaining in my pajamas the entire time and not showering, pinning my greasy hair back with more and more bobbypins since it can no longer fit into a ponytail nicely; gorging myself on any and all food cravings I have, even if that means paying a family member to run to the grocery store to get said food items; trying desperately to stay clear from the movie "PS: I Love You" but filing miserably, watching it on repeat whilst balling my eyes out, surrounded by Kleenex and all the random objects I brought back from Ireland; sleeping during the day and staying up all night; hugging Bobber for hours on end and having him give me the "What the frick is going on?" look; all the while using the entirety of emotional and physical strength I can muster up to NOT call/text/chat/think about the people I have met here and I much I miss them.  Yes, parents, I will be wonderful to deal with. You can look forward to that pretty picture.  

I read over all of what I just wrote and realize I sound like a complete nut-job. I am really not this emotional.  But sometimes Life gets at me in certain ways.

Off to dinner-making in my dirty-a** kitchen. Gah I am so sick of it.  Seriously.  Pisses me off that I have to live with it while other people have nice kitchens and clean dishes.  Mood swing!

Dinner should be good though: Chicken stir-fry.  Maybe I'll feel more positive once I eat. 

Sometimes I have difficulty spelling the word "difficult" when I am writing. Ironic? 

What a Wonderful World

Currently Listening To: "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" by Israel Kamakawiwole 

I am still debating whether or not I am going to purchase a ukulele when I get back home. Prior to leaving I was quite set on it.  Now I have to think about the likelihood of me needing to buy a new cello bow (not using it for a while causes it to go bad) and/or buying a bodhran while I am here. Honestly though, as much as I love the bodhran, I don't see many outlets for me to play, at least while I am at school. I am sure there are sessions in the Cities, but I can't be going home every weekend to then drive further to the Cities, so summers/breaks will the only time to play with other people. I am leaning to buying a new cello bow first, spending some long-awaited time with Homer, and then see about the ukulele thing.  

The organization of this blog post will proceed as follows:

- St. Patrick's Day festivities

- My funky Thursday

- My awful Friday

- Reflection on Friendships 

- Weekend plans

Let's begin!

St. Patrick's Day was wonderful! Then again, anything would have topped last year where I am pretty sure the only festive thing I did was get a shamrock Frost-your-own from the Caf (In case you don't know what a Frost-your-own is, it is a GAC tradition so to speak: For major events/holidays the have sugar cookies in the shapes applicable to the event/holiday and giant tubs of colored frosting. You frost your own. So simple. Yet so incredibly wonderful and we all get really into it.  If you're the first one of your friends to go to the Caf and you see them, you make sure to spread the word (haha spread...frosting...lame I know)  But I digress...).  So I met Ross and Andrew and some other friends in town off of Grand Parade (a street) where the parade was to be held around noonish.  The weather was quite possibly the nicest since I have been here. No wind, completely clear skies, warm but not hot, absolutely lovely.  We really lucked out, as the last few days have been foggy and cold.  We wandered around to the various food stands, I got a giant cookie, then tried to find a spot to watch the proceedings.  The parade was pretty tame by American parade standards, but there were some cute kids and funny float things so I enjoyed myself.  After that we went to a pub/beer garden called the Franciscan Well or something like that, I could be way off, and I had a pint of Blarney Blonde, a beer they brew on location there.  I liked it.  Morgan and Amelia met up with us there too. After THAT (it was a long day with much movement...), we went to a girl Laura's house who is in the choir, after stopping by an off license (liquor store) of course.  At her house we drank and played Rock Band (like Guitar Hero but with other instruments too). The drums where difficult, I did pretty decent on the guitar, but I didn't dare sing.  At some point around 10 or 11pm I think, someone came to the door and threatened to call the police because we where being "too noisy."  Rather than cause more trouble we left to go into town, picked up some donuts YUM!, and then went to a club.  At this point, I am not going to lie, I had had a significant amount to drink, but people (aka Ross- thanks dude!) took care of me, made sure I got home okay, etc etc. I had a GREAT time though. Picture time! 

Noting much happened Wednesday. I was tired. I slept a lot. Had choir rehearsal at night. We leave for Budapest in two weeks! Woop!

Thursday was another extremely long and tiring day. I had of course my three classes. But on top of that I just had additional pressures and foci that wore me out: 1) My bodhran exam is next Thursday. Colm had forgotten to mention to me that I could either use the accompanist provided by the Department to play along with, or bring in someone I know. He recommended the latter because it would allow me to know exactly what's going on in terms of switching tunes, tempo, etc.  SO I was freaking out trying to think of someone to play with. Luck for me, I saw Amelia in the building and told her about it. She plays flute and offered to play with me/I asked her, so we practiced for a but after my lesson. 2) I spilt yogurt in my backpack.  In the rush of getting out of the tiny food shop I shoved the tinfoil-covered container in my backpack, only to discover something had punctured it on the way to the ORB to eat, thus leaving portions of my books, folders, and notebooks covered in its grossness. All I wanted to do before the incident was eat- I was sooo hungry.  But then this happened and I had to try to clean it all up. It was Apple and Blackberry too, though not as pleasant sounding after you've seen it in the bottom of your bag. 3) I realize I have an in-class written exam on Tuesday for one of my classes. Kinda nervous since I only go to one of the classes per week because it's at 9am and I can't get up that early. 4) I was feeling really weird throughout the day, like someone had drugged me.  I was just in a haze.  Perhaps all the stimuli and active thinking was getting to me. 5) I studied for easily 5 hours for my Irish oral exam that was at 8:30 the next morning.  I was fairly confident, and then...

Friday morning comes and I completely suck at the oral exam.  I don't even want to write about it here, it was that bad.  THe only way I can get over it, since I am very self-critical, is to pretend it never happened. So I have erased it from my memory as of now.  I also only got 3 hours of sleep Thursday night because I drank a chai latte at 6pm while studying. I will never to that again, even though they are so good.  So I napped a lot during the day. I went to a club with Ross and friends at night, uber fun as always.  Slept like a rock for once, but only for 6 hours and then I couldn't get back to sleep.  I am SO looking forward to my bed at home with its down mattress cover thing, the heavy blankets, more pillows. I miss my pretty curtains too.  So Friday wasn't THAT awful, just the morning part...Ew.

So I have been doing a lot of thinking revolving around the friendships I have formed here.  I will do my best to put into words, but I find it very hard.  I just feel like with a few people here that I have known them for longer than I really have: That in almost being forced to make friends with people due to the fact that I am in a new place with out any pillar or stable grasp to anyone or anything, no previous connections,  that I kinda skip over the "getting to know" some one part and just "know" them. It's like I do the reverse of typing friendship/bond making- I find someone and I just know them.  Perhaps it is the pressure of time where we all know after Ireland is done we might not see each other (I personally don't believe this, but it is always a possibility...you know?) so we throw ourselves into our friendships because that is really all we have, our only source of NOT being completely lost in this new place that is becoming more and more like "home."  But the pressure of time doesn't make the bonds any less significant, if anything it is a freedom to be who we really are from the beginning, from as soon as we meet someone, and skip over all of the stuff we do to please others, to make them like us, to weed through the masses of potential friendships. And by being this way our bonds begin on a higher level that "ordinary" friendships because we already have a shared sense of need and self-awareness.  I could write more about this, and I will in my journal, but I am just very pleased with the friends I have made here. It amazes me how wonderful people can be.  

I need to go to the library today to do work.  I really don't want to, but I know if I stay here in my room I will not get ANYTHING done, despite telling myself I will.  I will feel a ton better about everything once I just get stuff done.  So my weekend will most likely be homeworking.  Yay..........not.  

Hope you all had a lovely St. Patrick's Day. Enjoy Spring Break all my GAC friends! 

PS- I love comments! Tell a joke, tell me about the weather, how your day was, something interesting you did or saw. I am not picky!

Dreams

So I had a weird dream last night (aren't they all, really?!) but this one for some reason really interested me.  I couldn't remember all of it until a couple hours ago, but it consisted of me finding Apple Cinnamon Cheerios in a freezer someplace here in Ireland, and being excited that I finally found some (since they don't have them here but I love them). Then I must have woke up for a bit, because in the next section of the dream I was in a hair salon just about to get my hair cut, but I never actually got it cut.  

I was interested in figuring out what this meant. So, using a dream dictionary online (which we all know is 100% correct!), I found out the following:

-A dream about cereal "denotes the start of a new project or new stage in your life. It may also indicate your need to restore yourself in some basic way. Alternatively, your mind may already be thinking ahead to breakfast. It is not uncommon for your fleeting thoughts to be incorporated into your dream."

- A dream about "cutting your hair, suggests that you are experiencing a loss in strength. You may feel that someone is trying to censor you. Alternatively, you may be reshaping your thinking or ambitions and eliminating unwanted thoughts/habits."

- A dream that someone is "giving you a haircut, suggests that you are experiencing a decreased sense of power. You may feel you were criticized unfairly. "

- A dream about a freezer "refers to cold feelings. You are being too frigid. Alternatively, it suggests that you are preserving your ideas and energy so that you can access them later."

But I never actually cut my hair, so I don't know how that affects things.  And I never actually ate the cereal, just found a box in a freezer.  Either way, I think this is interesting.  I have been freaking out lately because I only have two more weeks left of class, and I am very afraid of being alone again after that, as friends are going on their own adventures to Europe and whatnot.  I am also going on my own adventure, that I still have yet to really sort out despite telling myself I really need to get on that.  

Oh, dreams. Sometimes fun, sometimes helpful, sometimes just plain odd.

I will go distract myself with other tasks. Happy St. Patrick's Day if I don't post before then! It's an official national holiday here so college shuts down- no classes! I am excited but also a little scared...not sure what I am doing yet. I'll be safe though, don't worry!

Choir Concert

The choir that I am a part of here- the UCC Choral Society- had its concert last night. I think it went very well!  Personally I didn't mess a single thing up, which normally doesn't happen in either my choir or orchestra concerts.  It was in Millennium Hall, which is literally in the same building as Cork City Hall, so that was kinda cool. The audience wasn't THAT big, I'd say about 75 people and before the show they were worried that the choir would outnumber the audience.  It WAS 12 Euro for adults and 7 Euro for students, AND it was on a Friday night, so that probably made a difference. 

I'll post pictures later, I am too lazy right now...

THe concert also had a flute soloist, a string quartet, and then our director Thomas played three songs on the piano.  Not going to lie, the flute piece was INCREDIBLY long, and we were standing on stage the entire concert, so that did not make it better. After the first movement we all thought it was done, and then she turned the page and we were all groaning a little inside.  The quartet made me realize how much I miss Homer, my cello, and that I need to play more once I get back home.  Thomas always amazes me: He's 19 and is remarkably musically talented.   So his stuff went well.  OH! The a cappella group that this American guy Ross started literally this semester performed four songs and everyone was SO impressed, including myself.  Kelsey, the girl who goes to the UofM, is a member, so it was great to finally see her do her thing.  My only regret is that I didn't audition to be a part of it!! But after hearing them I am determined to start one up at Gustavus when I get back.  We don't have anything like that (the group doesn't sing like "traditional" a cappella stuff, but more "modern" or "pop" songs that have been arranged for a cappella) and I think we need one. So that's something to look forward to and to keep my mind off the fact that I will most likely be missing Ireland a ton!

After the concert everyone was invited to join the choir at The Newport Bar in town, as the second floor (what the US would call the 3rd floor, so we were a little confused at first) was rented out just for us. The place was really nice, and it was great to be able to talk with people that I normally wouldn't at rehearsals and things.  But I "officially" met Ross and talked a cappella stuff, and then also another American guy, Andrew, who I swore was Irish. Oh it was so nice to hang out with some boys!  They are seriously so cool. 

The bar closed at 2/2:30 I think, so we had to leave then.  Erin and Kristina had also come along had left earlier in the night, so I was afraid I would have no one to walk home with.  But Ross, Andrew, and an Irish boy Macalas all lived off Washington Street (which turns into Western Road, which turns into Wilton Road which is where Farranlea is!!) so I was able to walk halfway with them and then the rest by myself.  It was a wonderful evening.

Today I was supposed to go to Kinsale with Erin and Kristina, but when I woke up this morning I was not feeling well. I think it was a combo of drinking too much, walking in the cold (it was FREEZING yesterday, and City Hall is a far ways from both Farranlea and the bar), and using my voice so much.  So after debating a lot with myself and chatting with Erin I decided it would probably be best if I stayed in. WHich gets me SO frustrated because we had made plans  and I hate breaking plans.  Aghhhhh I hate when I do that.

So I literally slept the entire day.  I can't remember the last time I had a "personal day," so in a sense it was nice, but now I am kinda feeling restless and moody, which happens when I coop myself up too long. So despite really wanting to go out tonight, I will stay in (and even better- save my money!!! St. Patrick's Day is just around the corner!) and rest, relax, reboot.  

I  realized I used "so" a lot in the last two paragraphs.  I will not change it.  Too lazy.  Normally I would, I am all for word variation.

Now I am off to find something to eat, I am thinking baked potato and corn? (I like corn.)  

I had a dream last night where my parents sent me a picture of Bobber but I can't remember what it looked like. I mention this because prior to this dream I had been thinking how I need to request a new picture of him from my parents, so I guess my subconscious thoughts permeated my dreams, which I then take as a sign that I should make public my desire of a new picture of Bobber. So parents- TAKE NOTE!!!! Oh how I miss Bobber: His dog smell, his propeller-tail,  his long fingernails,  even his stinky breath.  I need to hug a dog ASAP.  

So I will leave you all this time with one of the pictures my Dad sent me of Bobber a few weeks ago, which is currently set as my desktop: 

My Birthday Weekend

The blogspot server has been down the last few days so I haven't been able to post anything. Guess it's working now. But here is how my weekend went!

Amelia and I met her friends Morgan and Caleigh at the Cork bus station around 5pm on Friday. The bus left at 5:30 abouts and then it was a 4 hour drive to Galway.  I had brought s

tuff to do like homework, my journal, paper to write letters, etc but I ended up talking with Amelia most of the time.  We made a few pick-up stops along the way, one in Mallow, another in a small town I wrote down in my journal because it was really cute and looked like a place I could stop at in my travels in April/May.  We made a pit stop at the Limerick bus station where we switched drivers and were able to go to the bathroom, get food, etc. Here's where things got interesting: We were a little confused as to how long the driver said we would be stopping in Limerick. We heard something about "25" but we all had different interpretations as to what that meant, like if we had until 25-after, or 25 minutes, or 25-t0. So when we went back out to get the bus after using ht bathroom and getting some chips, we were a little freaked out when our bus WASN'T THERE!!!! It had left without us! (It's not like the drivers count to see if "everyone" is there, they leave when they say they

 were going to leave. If you're not on the bus, too bad.)  Okay, I think I was the only one who was really freaking out about it, the others

 seemed reasonably calm. So we wandered around, me panicking, until we were directed to this control booth thing. Two nice older Irish men where in there, and once we told them what

 happened they helped us out. Of course, they made fun of us too, saying we had "just got back from the moon and missed the bus" or something like that.  My main worry was that our backpacks and other things were still on the bus to Galway: They were in the storage underneath the bus. So I didn't want to lose it!  The men though, one was named Eddie, not sure about the other's, said we were lucky in the that there was ONE more bus heading up to Galway, so we could take that one.  They radioed the bus we were supposed to be on, saying "some young ladies from America forgot to get back on the bus" and had them keep our backpacks and things for us once we got into Galway.  So everything worked out in the end, we made it to Galway, got our bags, and got to the hostel, but it was an adventure to say the least!

We got to the hostel around 10:30 I think.  It was called "Snoozles." Haha we all laughed when we saw it. It was what I had expected a hostel to be (since it was my first time in one) but the

 facility was very nice.  We were staying in a 10 bed room, but over the course of three nights it never actually got up to 10 people staying there, I'd say between 6-8 inlcuding ourselves.  Altough we were all quite pooped from the long drive, we went into town to some pubs.  Most

 of them were really crowded, since it was a Friday night. My favorite that we went to was called "The King's Head", and there was a cover band playing that was really good. I noticed that many of the pubs have interesting and cool "layouts," if that makes sense.  Like with

 different levels, "rooms," multiple bars,  stages. It's hard to explain.  We all just kept commenting on how cool they were, even if they were busy!

The first night of sleeping was awful! There was a man snoring the entire night. Not just normal snoring though. It was the loudest I have heard in my life, and, being a light sleeping, I have heard many a snorers.  It hurt ME just thinking about how that loud of a noise was coming out of someone's nose/mouth.  It sounded painful.  THe ohter two nights weren't that bad, but I still got a total of 10 hours of sleep the entire weekend I think. I was EXHAUSTED when we got back.  

On Saturday we went to this place that had advertised trips to the Cliffs of Moher and the Aran

 Islands. We got there originally planning to fo the Aran Islands, but we had missed the bus that took us to the ferry by a few minutes.  The bus tour to to

 Cliffs of Moher (the shoreline on the western edge of Ireland that is covered with 600ft+ tall cliffs) was leaving in the next half hour though, so we did that.  But the WEATHER! Oh it was awful! Literally windy the entire tim

e, no sun, raining often, very cold. Then entire weekend. The "dry south" of Cork was very nice when we got back.  But because it was so windy, going outside and looking at things was difficult. The bus tour dropped us of at many locations, castles, ruins, some smaller cliffs, the Cliffs

 themselves, a town to get some food, etc. By the end of the trip we all were soaking wet and freezing cold.  The Cliffs would have been beautiful had we been able to see htem better. It was foggy (see picture) and I kept on having to hold onto this stone fence thing to not get blown over by the wind.  Nice to expereince though, hopefully better luck with the weather when I go with the parents again in April, and "it was an adventure. " (We made this our motto for the trip...) Some mini-cliffs we stopped at:

Saturday night we went out again to a few pubs.  There were so many people in the street promoting their club or disco or karaoke- they just stand around the main streets were people are walking at then "ask" us if we're interested in the deal they have, cheap drinks, etc etc and we just say "no thank you" and move on until we have to say it again to another person 15 ft ahead.  It got really annoying after a while.  No on e does this in  Cork.  We had heard that Galway was really good for trad music, so Morgan and I were hoping to find some sessions to play in, or at least watch. But we didn't see a single bodhran the entire trip, so that was a bummer.  I wasn't all that impressed with the trad sessions we did see either.  It didn't seem like anyone was getting that into it, both on the audience and musician side.  Maybe we weren't in the right places...or didn't go to enough of them...huh.

Sunday we went to the Aran Islands, which are three islands of the western coast of Ireland, kinda across from the Cliffs of Moher.  We took an hour bus ride to the ferry, then a 35 minute ferry ride to the Inishmore, the biggest of the Islands. The ferry ride was scary, even though the boat was huge, not what we would consider a "Ferry," more like a giant yacht that can pummel though HUGE waves.  But we were rocking side-to-side, crashing trough waves, and it gave me the feeling of when you drive fast in a car down a dip in the road, and you get htat funny feeling in your stomach, except for a longer time and not as pleasant.  I think this has something to do with g-forces, like similar to roller-coasters and things, but I do not like roller-coasters, thus I did not like the boat ride.  The one back wasn't as bad.  I forgot my camera when we went to the Islands, but I am gonna ask the girls if I can "steal" some of their pictures, and I will hopefully get htem up soon.  

But once we got to Inishmore we were again bombarded with people trying to sell us stuff, this time it was old men in vans trying to sell us a tour around the Island. (

This sounds a lot creeper than it was, they were legit businesses, not just some creepsters picking up random people in their personal vehicle). We had decided beforehand that we didn't want to do this, and that we'd wander around on our own. So we passed easily 20 vans, saying "NO THANKS!" to EVERY one, as they all asked us.  So we wandered. Long story short we ended up walking to this old stone fort (name is escaping me, I'll look it up later when I post pictures) after climbing through what I am sure is private property.  But it was SO COOL! It was what I pictured wandering through Irish lands in search for ancient ruins to be! We found a portal tomb, which is an above-ground burial, made of two giant vertical slabs of rock, and then other large one resting horizontally on top of the two.  Like this:

This picture is actually from our Cliffs of Moher trip, but it gives you a feel for what we were looking at.  I want to say this one was about 6 ft tall.  The one we saw on the island was smaller and also closed up on one end with another slab of stone, which, from my All Things Irish class last J-Term, I remember to be a different type of tomb. I will need to look that up. Then we adventured to this ring fort, called Dun Eochaill, consisting of a 20ft tall circular wall (with an entry to inside of course), then inside was all grassy, with "steps" to get up to a rock ledge on the inside part of the wall. I am guessing this was used to be able to look out over the land and waters. About 200 yards from that was a "castle" ruin. Not too sure what exactly this was, since it wasn't on the map they gave us.  It was old and cool, so it was awesome.  Hopefully pictures to follow. All that took us about 3 hours, so we headed back to port, got some grub, warmed up, and stopped at this Aran sweater store. The actual Aran sweaters where quite expensive, nor did I see myself getting much use out of them, so I settles for a lovely pair of green woolen socks!

Oh! I forgot to mention Sunday was my birthday! Yay I'm 20 now! So once we got back to Galway we made it our mission to find cake. I REALLY wanted cake.  We found a place that had cake and other food too, a place called "The Front Door" I think, which was nice and warm and had the cozy feeling we wanted. (I really liked this place- maybe take the parents here?!)  We all split some pizzas, then got dessert. I got the chocolate fudge cake and it was DELICIOUS!!! Exactly what I wanted. Ohhh I wish I had some more now- YUM!  We stayed there for a good hour or two, mostly because we were all so worn out and didn't want to go back into the cold, since we had been exposed to the elements all day.  But we braced ourselves and went back to the hostel, where we gave ourselves a 30 minute nap/relaxation time before going out for my birthday.  

We went to a pub close by first because it was rainy and windy.  Morgan and I wanted to try and Irish coffee (coffee, whiskey, cream, sugar) but yet again the pub was out of cream. (This has happened to me twice now...) So I settled for a coffee and Bailey's (Irish Cream) and it was good and warmed me up.  For some reason though every single "bartender" (they call them something else here...pubmaster?) has given us odd looks when we ask for this. We though at first that we were calling it by the wrong name, saying "Coffee and Bailey's" instead of "a Bailey's Coffee" but we tried this out in other places and they still gave us crap.  We felt like they were judging us when they really should give us what we want since WE'RE the one's paying.  I also had some hot port since Amelia had tried it and didn't like it.  It was okay, just tasted like hot red wine.  We went to some other places too. One was a pub that we think used to be an old church, or at least something else, because it has archways, balconies, railings, different "rooms" again. Oh it was so cool. There was also a cover band there, and again they were really good. Played some good American hits, some Irish ones too.  Another was a karaoke place, very Americanized.  Complete with US license plates on the walls, American flag on the ceiling, kinda weird.  Don't worry, I didn't go crazy with drinking just because it was my birthday. I actually didn't have that much because I wasn't feeling too well after the boat ride.  Kinda dizzy. Tummy hurt.  

On Sunday night I actually slept well. I was so tired once we came back to the hostel that I literally slept in my jeans and shirt I was wearing before. I just crawled up into the top bunk and hit the hay. I think I woke up in the same position I fell asleep in too. Good sleep, but definitely not enough to make up for all that I had missed the nights before, so I was still tired when I woke up.  

We got the earlier bus back to Cork. We had planned the 10am one, but got the 9am.  Which was nice since we got back home earlier.  I slept more, talked with Amelia, and made sure we DIDN'T miss our bus back. All went well, and I took a city bus back to Farranlea.  

So that was the weekend!  I don't really remember all that I did MOnday afternoon and evening since I was so tired. I DO remember that I went to bed around 10:30, skipped my 9am and 11-1pm class on Tuesday, and slept in until 11.  Oh it was so wonderful to sleep!  But even still on Wednesday afternoon I am trying to catch up on email and homework. 

Yesterday I made homemade tortilla chips (cut up tortillas, spread with olive oil and salt, bake in oven) and salsa (tomato, red onion, cucumber) AND homemade pasta sauce for dinner. It was good, but I definitely spent the entire afternoon after class and before choir COOKING when I maybe should have been doing other things.  It just took longer than I had expected.  

Choir was again a lot of fun on Tuesday night.  It always brings my mood up. I can't wait for the Budapest trip!

I should go do some homework now though.  I have one more class today from 4-5. Then I'm coming back to Farranlea for dinner (still have yet to figure out what to eat, I am very low on food right now). Then I'm planning on going to this club in town that's real popular. It's their 15th anniversary opening, so everyone is going, it will most likely be packed. Should be fun though.  I must figure out what to wear!  

I will end this post with my favorite picture from the trip. I stole this from Caleigh. It is from when we were at the ring fort Don Eochaill. We looked at it on the ferry back, and we all agree Amelia looks like she's from one of those Sasquatch video footages. Just the way she's walking makes her look like she's Sasquatch.  I look like a cold fool: I didn't realize she was taking a picture. 

Enjoy!

Pre-Birthday Weekend

First of all- I GOT INTO THE CHOIR! I got an email Tuesday. So I'm going to Budapest, Hungry April 5-9th! Woohoo!

2nd- I only have 3 more weeks of classes and then two exams in May.  Wow.

3rd- I am going to Galway for the weekend with Amelia and her friends Morgan and Caleigh. I am SO excited, except that it is supposed to be raining the entire time. I hear Galway is just awesome though. We're leaving tonight at 5:25, to be there by 10pm I think. Then we have all of Saturday and Sunday, then we're leaving Monday morning.  I'll be sure to post more about the trip and pictures too once I get back. 

4= The number of students in my Irish class this morning. Yes, 4.

Amelia had a birthday party/outing on Tuesday and it was really fun. We started at An Spalpin, a pub, and then went to a club.  It was free to get in and we also got a voucher for a free drink if we had our student ID card, but the place we ended up going to was not actually the place we orignially planned. We wanted to go to "Gorby's," but instead we ended up in a club that is in the same building as Gorby's but on the floor below.  They played latin/spanish music all night. Which was totally cool! However, DO NOT wear tie-dye to a club in Europe. All the creepy guys will know you are American.  We'll just say I had some awkward moments that night...

My bodhran lesson on Thursday did not go as good as I had hoped. I just haven't practiced enough.  Morgan is also taking lessons for Colm, so we're hoping to find some sessions in Galway to at least listen to, if not participate in!

More good news: My tummy has deflated! This week I have up-ed my water intake, so I think I was just very saturated in the stomach region.  

I also did my first official load of laundry on Monday night in an actual washer (as opposed to handwashing).  I lasted two whole months. Good work, Susan.  Cost me 5 Euro though ($6.28) for a fairly small load.  

I just realized how random this entry is. Sorry about that.

I need to go do some more research about our weekend travels. And pack.  And get food.  I am looking forward to the 4-5 hour bus ride: I can write some letters to friends, update my journal, listen to music, sleep, do some word-puzzles, talk, think about my travels in April/May, daydream, homework.  I'd bring a book but I often feel nauseous when trying to read in a vehicle.  Shouldn't be too bad I think! 

I'll update about the trip when I get back- WHEN I'M 20!!! 

My two favorite pictures from Cobh last weekend: (1) Amelia, (2) Boats

 

Happy March Everyone!

No word back yet about the choir trip...I'd hope they'd tell us soon as the trip is in about a month. Maybe they'll say something about it at rehearsal tonight...

It went a good three weeks without raining much, but now it is back. I hate it.  I don't mind rain at all, it's just that it's often raining AND windy. I always feel like I am fighting against the weather when it is like this and I get really angry at it.  I shouldn't get angry at weather, but I do.  I just feel like it's pushing me around, and I am tiny, so when I walk by myself I feel like a fool.  

Although I am not sure how tiny I am any more. My "belly" is huge at the moment and I have been eating like crazy it seems like.   I haven't been drinking that much, so I know it's not that.  I eat when I am stressed or just to keep my mind off other things, and now that it is March and we only have 3-4 weeks of classes left I am beginning to think about my travels and how that's all going to work. Then I hear stories about all these people going to London, Rome, Hungry, even Sweden! on weekend trips and things and it makes me feel like I SHOULD be doing those things too, even though I have no real desire too.  Like, I don't just want to go to places just to say I've been there: I prefer quality over quantity. I just need to focus on what I want to do and not compare myself to other people.  So I eat, because when I eat I can just focus on eating and not worry about other stuff. I get easily worked-up about stuff, so I just need to relax.  But if I relax I feel like I will fall behind on classes and traveling etc etc, and I already feel "behind" in that I don't feel "on top" of things. I NEED CONTROL!!! Sometimes I am an contradiction: Laid-back but also having the need to control.  

Enough about that...

I went shopping Saturday and got another pair of nice jeans, a coat, and a cute forest green top (my favorite color).  I spent a lot of money, but I will not think about that. I stayed in that night, working on homework and the Green House application. Basically trying to get on top of things, but still not getting there.

Sunday I went to a town called Cobh with my friend Amelia. It was about a 20 minute train ride from Cork, cost 6.30 euro, and we stayed there for an hour of two. There wasn't much to "do" there, as it was a Sunday, but we wandered around by the water (port? river? sea? not sure, will look on a map...) and in the town, and it was real cute. Oh! We saw a seal in some shallow-ish water, following this poor fish and then "eating" it. It wasn't so much "eating" it as it was playing with it: The seal would bite its tail, pull it underwater, then let it go, follow behind it, attack it again, do some somersaults, let it go again, etc.  We never actually saw the seal CONSUME the fish: We figured it could go on for hours, so we moved on. I love seals though, they have faces like dogs.  I stayed in Sunday night too, again working on stuff, but still didn't get everything I wanted to done.  I realized I stayed in Monday (yesterday) night as well, and again still didn't get all that I ideally wanted to get done truly DONE. Aghh frustrating.  

Monday after class I went into town and got ingredients to make this pasta dish, which long story short, did not end up being that enjoyable. Don't really feel like writing about it. I'll make do with the leftovers though...

I am really looking forward to next weekend though when I go to Galway/Aran Islands/Cliffs of Moher with Amelia and her friends Morgan and Calleigh. I originally was "planning" a trip with Erin and Kristina, but (again) long story short, this worked out "better" in terms of planning, so Erin and Kristina and I are going to do a trip the following weekend! For that one I think we wanted to go to Killarney. I will chat with Erin and Kristina more about that though. 

But Sunday is my 20th birthday.  Holy crap.  I feel like I am 25. Probably look like I am 30...We'll be in Galway city then, so I'm sure it will be a memorable birthday.  

I can't wait to start my travels in April and May. I have no idea where I am going or who I am going with (that's the "problem" right now, not too sure what I want to do by myself. I know I would be fine, like I wold be comfortable with that, but I just don't want OTHER people taking advantage of that fact, like robbing me, abducting me, killing me, etc. ).  I just worry that I will never see people when i come back for my two exams.  I really don't picture spending that much time in Cork over those two months (besides when the parents come and when I have my exams) so it will be weird not knowing if I will see like Erin, Kristina, Amelia, or the people in choir or my classes during those times I am indeed back.  My last exam is on May 22nd, a Friday, and I don't leave for home until the 1st of June, so I will probably stay in Cork for that last week or so, soaking up everything I can before I leave forever. I just don't want to be alone for my last few weeks here....

I don't like thinking about leaving. I will not think about it anymore.  

Well I am going to go see what I can do with those leftovers.  Then I'm leaving for choir at 6:30, and going to Amelia's birthday celebration thing right after, so I should maybe try to get some work done before then I guess! 

Writing this has caused me to think too much about things. Bah! Mood swings....!