Homeward bound

Well exams are over. All went accordingly. Though there is still plenty more of Ireland for me to see, my time has run out. I will be taking in some last pints, saying farewell to new friends, and will be heading home on Tuesday morning.

Third times a charm

Cookies = Success!

Cookie update

Not horrible. I'm not completely satisfied with them, but all of my roommates seem to be impressed and they are a huge improvement from the last time. I've got one more box of cake mix, so I've got one more crack at it.

On the downhill

Well I've got just under a month left in the wonderfully green country that is Ireland. On Friday classes commenced and now all that's left are the dreaded exams. This coming up week is called "Reading Week" or study week. Pick your favorite. Truman only has a "Reading Day" so this is a real treat. I've got exams on the 5th, 14th, 15th, and 16th. I plan on using study week to its full potential so that during the week I have off during exams I can travel some more. Time really has flown, but I am looking forward to a St. Louis summer full of baseball, 100+ degree weather, Ted Drews, and family :)

This past week I was lucky enough to have another visitor. My friend from high school Katie came last Wednesday. On the weekend we went to Cork to visit a friend that is doing volunteer work there for a year and on Saturday went to Blarney. It was great doing a second time because the flowers were in bloom this time so it was even more colorful than the first time. Also, I must have missed this last time, but at the top of the castle, there is a plaque that says "Beware of Imitation" and explains how during the 1904 Worlds Fair in St. Louis a replica of the Blarney Castle was built for people to climb and kiss the stone. So that was cool that St. Louis Missouri is gets a shout out at the Blarney Castle. Katie and I had planned on doing more traveling but for one reason or another didn't work out. So, Katie spent some time getting well acquainted with the Limerick nightlife. On her last night, she got the pleasure of seeing my Irish Traditional Music and Dance recital. And lucky for all of you it was recorded. So for your viewing pleasure....There are a few places that I was little off, but hey we can't call be the lord of the dance. I still have time to perfect my talent before I come home.

Today I am spending my Sunday straitening up my room and baking. My wonderful parents sent me all of the necessary ingredients that Ireland is lacking in order to make gooey butter cookies. So, hopefully these turn out better than the first batch. Let's keep our fingers crossed.

I hope everyone is enjoying a wonderful weekend! Peace.

Spring-Break the Bank

We got back to Ireland last night around 10:00p.m. and boy were we glad to be back! I was surprised how much I missed Ireland. We all had a great time and really enjoyed our experience. I have so much to share but too much for one post. Lots will have to wait to be told when I get back. Here are a few things that I learned in the past 12 days. Some of which I already new but were reaffirmed....

1. I love Italy. I would live there...Once I learn the language. (Minor detail.)
2. Having said that, traveling to a foreign country not knowing the language makes for interesting experiences.
3. Spain is bigger than Ireland. You can not make it down the Spanish coast line as easily as in Ireland. This could result in 14+ hour bus rides.
4. There are a bunch of crazies out there.
5. I was unaware how much I could miss rain and sheep.
6. First Community does not allow PIN numbers to be used in Spain. This results in not having access to cash.
7. .59 cent wine exists. It is not good, but it exists.

Also, we were not affected by the earthquake. We were just waking up when it happened and 200 miles away. We did not feel it and were were not even aware it happened. We were watching the news footage but had no idea what was going on because it was in Italian. It could have been from 2 weeks ago and happened in Japan for all we knew. We didn't know the severity until I came back to the room and had eight missed calls and two missed texts. Thank you everyone for your concern. Sorry to worry you. I'll have pictures posted soon. Adios.

So long papa and Ty

What a wonderful last two weeks I have had :) Dad, Tyler, and I left for Dublin on Wednesday around 2:30 and arrived around 6:30 or 7 and headed right for the hotel and then to dinner. Now my dad should really be writing this entry because he keep a VERY detailed journal of everything we did, but I will do my best to remember all I can. The next day we got day passes for a tour bus and were able to see the entire city! We first went to the Guinness Storehouse where we got to see how Guinness is made and then enjoy a pint at the end of the tour. It was a self guided tour, and while it was informative, I must rather enjoyed the Anheuser Busch guided tour. However, the tour concluded at the 7th floor of Guinness at their Gravity Bar. This is the highest point of the city and we got a 360 degree view of all of Dublin. It was magnificent! My dad and I finished our complementary pints, but Tyler was unable to. I guess we hadn't really thought it out right, because by the time the tour finished we were at the bar around 11:30 on empty stomachs, and Guinness is strong enough that you begin to feel its affects quickly. This lead us to spending much more money then we should have collecting Guinness souvenirs from the gift shop ;) From there we got on and off and various places. The next few days were full of walking around the city, visiting a pub here and there and trying to take in all Dublin had to offer. On Monday we did a day tour of the East coast of Dublin. There we got to see cliffs, a harbour, and the battle site of the Battle of the Boyne. The largest battle ever fought in Ireland or England. We called it an early night then to get ready for all of the St. Patricks Day Festivities! We had gotten word the THE TODAY show was going to be broadcasting from Dublin at Dublin Castle on St. Patrick's day and thought it would be fun to go to the set and see if we could get on. Coincidentally , my dad had a layover on in New York on his way here, and was on the show the Monday before. What are the chances right? I just thought it was crazy that I was on the set, without being in New York! Anyway, we arrived at Dublin Castle around 9:45 in the morning, with sign in hand of course, and were let in around 10:30, about a half hour before they went on the air. There were probably about 60 people or so, and I think 90% of them were Americans and the only people that weren't there stumbled upon the set by accident and had no idea what it was, they were just intrigued by the cameras. Al and Meredith were the broadcasters and we got to see them and were extremely close. Both of them were really nice and great posing for pictures with people and such. After about an hour we decided to head out to the parade. Well, when we first started walking at 9:30 in the morning, there was absolutely no one on the streets, but the time we left the castle, there were approximately half a million people lining the parade route! We knew it would be crowed and hard to find a spot, but we did the best we could. When we did find a spot we were still about 7 people back and getting closer and closer to the people around us with every passing moment. The parade finally made its way to us, and who was leading the parade? The Simpson's. Dublin's St. Patrick's Day parade was lead by an American pop-culture TV family! We got a kick out of that. They were followed by numerous bands, and what seemed random, very colorful, odd, floats. I call them floats only because I am unsure what else to refer to them as, but everyone in the parade walked or was operating something. I really don't know what to say about them. It was one of those things were we found ourselves say, "Look at that! What it is?" And while it was very enjoyable, we only stayed for about 45 minutes before we went back to the hotel. It was getting too crowed for out liking and too the point where we were unable to fold our arms in front of ourselves. So we headed out for a quick bite and back to the hotel to take a quick cat nap and prepare for the night. When we were looking for somewhere to eat for lunch, the streets were so crowded that we just looked for an open table somewhere not paying attention to the establishment itself. We found ample seating at a restaurant named the Alamo and upon looking around realized we were in a Mexican restaurant. So, we found it kind of funny that while we were in Dublin for St. Patrick's day, we would be eating the farthest thing from a traditional Irish meal. (It was also the first Mexican restaurant that I have seen while I've been in Ireland, and go figure we choose to eat there on St. Patrick's Day.) Upon heading out for the night we found that many of the bar were only allowing 21 year olds and up in. While the drinking age is 18, this was their form of crowd control, so in an effort to start our "Pub Crawl" we found the Hard Rock Cafe. Again, another Irish Tradition (not!, and probably the closest thing to American culture here). Either way, the pints were cheap and Tyler could get in. We were only going to have one drink there, but then heard that as the night goes on, the pubs continue to increase the age limit, so we decided to stay at there. We still had a great time. Anywhere in Dublin is good for people watching and the Hard Rock was no exception. Plenty of Irish and people from all over the world were there as well. Overall, we had a great St. Patricks Day! One of the main differences I found between the Irish celebration and the St. Louis crowd is that there was no drinking during the parade. No one was even selling it. If people were drinking, they had it concealed, which is vastly different than at home. The next day we got back on the bus so that I could make it in time for dance class. Thursday would be Tyler's last day in Ireland because he was leaving on Friday to be home to go to his DECA competition, so I met up with them in the evening and we went out for a nice dinner and he concluded his legal drinking at the hotel bar with a few of his new favorite pints, Carlsberg. The next morning he was off to the airport.

For dads last two days, we wanted to take a day trip somewhere. We decided that we would get a bus to Galway and go to the Aran Islands. However, we arrived to late for that tour and then ended up taking a 1/2 day tour to the Cliff of Moher. I had already been there, but knew that he would enjoy seeing the water and the cliffs themselves. We had a perfectly sunny day and could see for miles once we made it too the cliffs. I enjoyed my second trip just as much as the first! Upon heading back to Galway city, we planted ourselves in a pub for the final game of the Six Nations Rugby Tournament. This is, as the name suggests, a rugby tournament between six nations; Ireland, France, Italy, England, Scotland, and Wales consisting of five games. Ireland up until this point was undefeated and if they beat the reigning champion Wales, this would only be their 2nd Grand Slam title in 61 years, so it was a pretty big deal, and as I have come to find out, Ireland has great national pride in anything their country excels at. The game was exactly how you want a championship to go. It was a nail bitter right down to the last minute when Ireland won! The pub went nuts and celebrated for hours. Dad, after a few pints, was trying to join in singing the national anthem, but didn't know the words, and it ended up sounding more like a whale call (love you dad). Sunday we slept in and then spent the day walking around Limerick. On Monday dad left and after a few hiccups arrived safe and sound at home.

I truly enjoyed my time with Tyler and dad and am so glad they got the chance to visit, and just as my dads luck would have it, it only rain two times the entire two weeks they were here! Not two full days even, just two times! It was the best weather we have had the entire time I was here and really worked out great for them. I think they were both worried about the food, but Tyler always found a burger and dad is easy to please so they were fine. I did find it comical that anytime my dad could not understand something he would just say 'Oh I guess it's the opposite here.' And not give it a second thought. When in reality it was exactly the same as home, he just was confused.

I can't believe it, I am all ready half way through my trip! I have lots to look forward to in the next coming weeks. Next week is whats called RAG Week, its Raise and Give week, and from what I hear, it is a week of drinking and mayhem all in the name of charity. Teachers have been giving the impression that they don't expect many people to show up to class, or that half of the class will be drunk. So, I am interested to see what that is all about, and a week from today, Becky, Anne Marie and I will be leaving for Milan, Italy. We are going for Spring Break and will spend 5 days traveling around the top of Italy and then on the 7th go to Spain where we will travel the coast for a week. I am looking so forward to it! Great food, sunshine, warm weather, and beaches? Yes please! We arrive back on Easter Monday and then that Wednesday, my friend Katie will be arriving for a week! And then the week after that is our study week for exams, and then two weeks of exams, and I'll be home. It blows my mind!

Im not sure what kind of computer access Ill have while on Spring Break, so I dont know that Ill be able to make updates on here, but I will certainly try. I love and miss you all!

Visitors :)

Dad and Tyler arrived yesterday around 6:00 am and I met up with them after class at 12:30. Needless to say they were a little tired still so they took a nap while I went to my afternoon classes. Afterwords we headed into town for dinner. Tyler was served his first legal drink and was ready to pull out his id, but wasn't carded. He was so excited to be able to watch a soccer match in a pub! After a couple hours were headed back to the hotel for a solid nights rest. Today we walked around the City Center for a while until I had class. Later tonight were are headed to a pub so Tyler can watch another soccer game and probably a few pints. Tomorrow afternoon we are headed to Dublin till next Wednesday!!

No internet...

So the internet keeps going in and out so I am typing at lightening speed right now. I'm sure I don't have much time so I will tell you the gist of what we did. We went to a beach! That's right, a beach...in Ireland; with sand and water and surfers. It was a trip with the university so a field trip of sorts but it was tons of fun! I imagine thats all I have time for. When I get my solid connection back I will share everything :)

Galway

At the beginning of the week, Becky and I went into town for a traditional Irish breakfast! I was a little skeptical at what we would be getting and how it would taste, but it turned out to be a good experience. We were not sure which restaurant to choose so we just picked one and it worked out quite nicely. I'm not sure of the name of it, but it was a quiet bistro type of place. At first we were worried it would be too fancy and expensive, but it was actually cheaper than we expected. Only 5.95 euros for the whole breakfast. This included toast, rashers (basically bacon) and sausages, a fried egg, black and white pudding (odd textured and looking pork patties), a half tomato, and coffee. Needless to say it was a very meaty meal. The tomato was a cooked tomato with seasonings on top of it, and for someone that usually doesn't care for tomatoes it was delicious! After we finished our meals we walked around and did some shopping :)

When Friday rolled around, we got a bus to Galway. It took about two and a half hours or so and once we got off the bus, Craig, Becky and I found our hostel. Once we got settled there it was still fairly early to check out the pubs, so we walked around the city for a while. After a little, we walked into a pub that was playing music and wouldn't you know it, we walked into (probably) the only pub in Ireland with a Fenway Park sign. Craig was wearing a Cardinals baseball hat and the Irish bartender commented, "Oh, are you wearing that here thinking no one will notice cause you're too ashamed to wear it at home." My first thought was, "Them is fightin' words!" He must not have thought we were that bad though cause he still served us our drinks. We later found out that for whatever reason he is a Yankees fan. As more and more people started to come out, we made our way to Shop Street which is one of the main streets with lots of night life, and went into a pub called The Kings Head. There was a great band playing there that was fun to listen too. They played a variety of songs. Nothing Irish, more pop style and a few oldies here and there. The three of us headed back to the hostel around 1, as we knew we had a full day ahead of us.

Saturday we did an all day bus tour of the Cliffs of Moher and the Burren. The cliffs over look the Atlantic Ocean and are truly a spectacular sight. Yet again, the weather was amazing and cooperated beautifully for us. The tour started at 10 am and we returned to Galway around 5:30pm. Quite the long day but well worth it. We got to see Dunguaire Castle, Doolin (a village along the coast that is known for its traditional Irish Music), Poulnabrone Dolmen ( a 5000 year old rock 'alter'), the cliffs, and lastly Aillwee Caves, which coincidentally I will be going back to this weekend with a school trip. We were able to see all of this while driving through the Burren which is a rock filled landscape. Our tour guide was great and a lot of fun. The kind you want at your dinner parties. He was an older gentlemen, and the type that was just a wealth of knowledge off all sorts. When we got back to Limerick later that night the three of us were completely wiped and looking forward to doing nothing the rest of the night.

Sunday I made an attempt at baking. I figured this would be interesting and I was right. I planned on making gooey butter cookies and possibly something else. Turns out the store I went to did not have yellow cake mix or powdered sugar. So I settled for what looked like a yellow cake mix and figured I'd just use granulated sugar. The next problem I was faced with, was the lack of measuring equipment. Becky and I tried to get creative and found out how much a pint glass was and go from there because there were plenty of those around. However, I was so not good at guesstimating and my chocolate chip cookies were edible but nothing Betty Crocker would be proud of and my gooey butter cookies ended up tasting similar to powdered donuts minus the powder. Well, better luck next time. Yes, there will be a next time. I am confident that I have learned from my mistakes.

-Peace Out-

Blarney & Killarney

I apologize for not updating for this past week. I could say I've been too busy and that school is grueling, but then I would just be another person that lies on the internet. So, for that I am sorry. I have had two amazing weekends! Last weekend Anne Marie and her visiting boyfriend Jason, Becky, Craig and I took the bus to Cork on Saturday morning. It took about an hour and a half and was a beautiful scenic drive. Upon arrival in Cork we planned on getting another bus to Blarney. Doing just that, within the hour we were at the Blarney Castle. We have had fantastic weather lately and has made these trips that much more enjoyable. Exploring the castle grounds, we stumbled upon many charming sites. There were many gardens and buildings to explore, generally just a lot to see. Once we toured the grounds we made our way to the top of the castle and the Blarney Stone! Going to the top required climbing a very narrow and winding staircase. There were numerous rooms off of the stairway to break up the journey full of historic information about the castle and the individual rooms themselves. One made mention to the fact the Winston Churchill is one of the many people to have kissed the stone and I figured if he was a rather large man and made it up, then surely I would have no problem. Well, either he was just lifted to the top or he squeezed his way through, it was nonetheless a tight fit. The story of the stone is that anyone that kisses it will be blessed with the "gift of eloquence" or gab, and days after Churchill kissed it, he was named on the best speakers. Coincidence? I think not. Anyway, we made it to the top and all got a change to kiss the stone. It much different then I thought it would be. I had heard that you bend back to kiss it, but did not know that you were laying on the ground over a hole 100ft in the air. So I laid down, held the bars behind me, while a castle employee helped lower me down to the stone and planted a big one right on it. Consider me eloquent. After walking around the castle a bit more we headed back into the town where I discovered Christys Pub. It's always exciting to see your name somewhere and even more so in Ireland. Following the discovery of what I'm sure is the best pub in Ireland, we caught the bus back to Cork where we watched the first of the Six Nations Rugby game. The match was Ireland v France and the poeple of Ireland were very anxious as it was sure to be an exciting game. Going into it, I knew absolutely nothing about rugby, but after watching a little and people around me explaining what he knew about it to me, it got more interesting. It was cool being in the pub with the locals and them getting excited and all rialed up. Luckly Ireland won otherwise mayhem would have ensued I'm sure.

Our Sunday plans got cancelled because the weather said it was supposed to snow, which it did not, so Craig and I went to the Hunt Measume. It's basically a collection of old things. Interesting but not too much to explain. However, my favorite part was a black and white photography exhibit by Hugh Doran in the basement. Just beautiful inspiring pictures. I really enjoyed them.

(Insert an uneventful week of school)

This past weekend, my roommate Erin and I went back to Killarney. Our Irish dance teacher told us about an Irish dance competition taking place over the weekend, and we thought we would check it out . We left on Saturday morning and stayed till Sunday afternoon. When we arrived, after checking into our hostel (dorm type hotel) we went to explore the town, and made our way to the hotel the competiton was taking place. Our teacher told us that it would be comparable to American beauty pagents with the hair and costumes and she certainly was right. The make-up was caked on, the curls were tight, and the costumes elaborate. Teams were from all over the world, and the competitiors that won here, got to go to the world competition. The boy that took 1st for solo under 19 was actually from the states. We stayed about three hours and then went to a pub for a lovely Valentines dinner. Afterwards we went to see Role Models the movie and ate our weight in bulk candy. All in all, a perfect Valentines Day. Who needs boys? The next morning we rented bikes from our hostel and went to the Killarney National Park (the park I went hill walking at). We rode about a half hour to get to the park where we saw the Muckross Abby, House, and Gardens, and then the Torc Waterfalls. It was full of by far the prettiest sites I have seen so far. Then entire day, Erin and I just kept saying to each other how in awe of what we were seeing we were and wondering how somewhere can be so green in the midst of winter?
Again, we were fortunate enough to have a perfect day! It hasn't rained nearly as often as it had at the beginning of the trip which is nice. A sprinkle here and there but not much more than that. After this trip as well as my first time in Killarney, I have started to associate the town with a workout. This time we spent about a little over an hour on the bikes walked the other 3 hours we were at the park. I'm telling ya though, it was well worth it! Once back in town we were exhausted and headed back to little ol' Limerick. Who knows what this weekend holds instore, but I look forward to finding out. Peace out dudes.

A weeks end

Just as we were warned, the weekends in Limerick, believe it or not, are pretty dead. The Irish students all go home to work on Friday and return Sunday, so campus is a ghost town on Friday and Saturday nights. However, come Sunday, the students return to reek havoc on the town and go out in full force! Having been told this, Anne Marie, Becky, Craig, Robert and I decided that we should spend our Saturday exploring the town we would be living the next four months in. Though the third largest city in Ireland, Limerick does not have a whole lot to see, so we were able to hit the major cites in one afternoon. We took the bus to King's Island were we explored King John's Castle. Not to sound like a snob, though it was lovely and the history interesting, I've seen better castles in my day. That is only because I was spoiled on my first European trip with tours of some of the most beautiful castles in the world! However, I did thoroughly the view of Limerick City atop the castle towers. After the castle we walked around the island to see St. Mary's Church and St. Mary's Cathedral. The church was beautiful inside and out and the cathedral was just as beautiful from the outside, but it was not open for us to go inside so we will have to go back. The five of us then proceeded into town and did some walking around there and then went to a pub called Dolan's for dinner where I had fish and chips :) It was a great but exhausting we were all ready for an early night to bed especially because we were going hill walking the next day!

My group of friends and I all decided to join the Outdoor Pursuits Club and were excited for our first outing! We would be hill walking in Kerry County at Killarney National Park (the second highest peak in Ireland). Now, there must have been a translation problem or something because what they called beginners hill climbing, we in the states call advance mountaineering. Now, it wasn't that bad at all, but much more intense then we expected. We had a perfect day for it. There wasn't much sun, but there was no rain which made for an enjoyable hike. Along the way we ran into a variety of elements... two are three mud pits, streams, and about 60mph winds to name a few oh, and numerous "hills". One of the coolest things to do was hike for a while and then turn around and see what was behind you. the land just went on for miles and miles and all you could see was varying shaded of green. As we got higher we could see lakes and sun just past the hills behind them. It really was beautiful. (The video is probalbly only about 1/4 of the way up or so). We stopped for lunch about halfway up and that is where it got really windy and cold. The area was referred to as "The Devils Punchbowl." There was a very large body of water running though the mountain that was said to have been created by the devil after he threw a boulder at someone that had punched him? Perhaps there is a more creative story than the one I was told, but that's all I know. After we ate we continued up and were met by thick fog and even faster winds. At one point I was literally blown over and caught myself on a rock. Seeing the winds were not going to die down, after getting 3/4 up the mountain, about half of us decided to head back. I was happy with what I had seen and proud of myself for getting as far as I did and after talking to people that did venture all the way to the top, the fog 3/4 of the way up, was the same as the fog at the top. I must mention that as we were making our trek back down the mountain, my friends and I were talking and someone mentioned the slips they had been making. Anne Marie commented she was surprised that she had not fallen down yet. JUST as I had finished repeating the Howie Day lyric "Even the best fall down sometimes," I found myself loosing my footing and sliding a good five feet on my butt in mud. I was then considered myself "one of the best" that fall. By the end of the day, I was knee deep in mud from the front, and well, completely covered on the back, I was definitely better off then the girl that wore Uggs! All together we did 4 hours of walking. It seemed as though it was colder at the bottom at the end of the day than when we had started so when we were in town and stopped at a pub for food, I warmed up just as I imagine any good Irishwoman would... with a little Bailey's Coffee :) The ride home was quite entertaining to say the least. We sang almost the entire time. Everything from Donna Summer to Simon and Garfunkle and then the leaders singing traditional Irish bar songs. It is definitely something I am glad I did. Next week they are going rock climbing and caving. Though I enjoy a challenge I don't think I'm ready for that. To top off the day, it was Superbowl Sunday. Though here, kick off was not until 11:30 pm. I was not sure I was going to be able to watch any of it, but I wanted to attempt it. I made it though the first half but then headed to bed and ended up watching the highlights this morning on the internet. Just as I expected, the broadcast was not like home. It was NBC's coverage, but broadcasted by the BBC and there were no commercials and one of the commentators was British. I sure did miss fun commercials, loud cheers and overeating that I'm used to.

One last note. I have found that just as entertaining as the Irish accent, is the Irish text. I thought I would share some. This is one I received when we were going to see Slumdog Millionaire. "We will giv a spin down 2 d cinema in a while 2 see wots on and ill let u know den. Wot time-ish wud suit u?" And then when I told someone I went hill walking they replied, "Savage! I went on dat trip a few years ago. Its a good 1. So u got 2 c d devils punchbowl? Wot did u make of d countryside!?" I just found them humorous and wanted to share. Ta ta!

Hello again

I wanted to put up a new post, but really don't have much to say. Nothing too exciting has been going on, other than the beautiful weather we have had the last couple of days! It has been quite sunny and a very comfortable temperature for this time of year. Becky and I went to the city center yesterday to pick up a few things and take advantage of the beautiful day, and then later that night we went to the 'cinema' to see Slumdog Millionaire. It was a very good film, and I found myself taking particular interest in it with having a friend living there doing a similar program as myself. Today is cloudy and windy and though I haven't yet, I would expect to run into some rain today.

I have signed up to join the Outdoor Pursuits Club along with a group of friends and we are going hillwalking on Sunday! I can just hear the chuckles and various comments I would be receiving from my family if I were telling them face to face but yes, I know I'll be outside and I'm sure I'll be able to handle it, so keep your comments to yourselves :) Joke amongst yourselves all you want. In orientation they said this club was a great way to see Ireland because they travel to various places in the country, and decided to take advantage of the opportunity. It's an all day excursion and I am very anxious.

As I said, not much has been going on, just class and other routine activities. I believe tonight my housemates and I are planning on going out and becoming better acquainted and I am looking forward to that as well. I'm sure in the next couple of days I will have more to share. Ta ta and enjoy your snow ;)

The real thing

Ok, so here it is. The official start to my blog. From the top...

All three flights went as planned. St. Louis to Chicago was about an hour flight, Chicago to Dublin was right around seven hours and then from Dublin to Shannon was a mere 25 minutes. We (A group of International Students) were picked up Tuesday afternoon at the airport and taken to the university. We were greeted by what I have come to expect everyday...rain. Not just a light sprinkle, but a decent pour. The bus drove us to the top of Kilmurry Village and Ruth, one of the ladies from the international office said "See ya Thursday!" We were left in the cold and rain to decipher for ourselves the next step. We stood under the balcony of the main reception building for about five minutes until someone came to unlock the door and give us our keys. By this time, though I was exhausted because of the traveling and lack of sleep, I was still able to smile the entire was to my house (#67) through the rain. Upon entering the doors, I met housemate #1, Allaster, a second year student from Ireland. We exchanged quick hellos and I headed to my room. I had every intention of getting settled right then and there, but once I saw the bed I knew it was calling my name. I took a short nap and then headed to The Stables (the campus pub) to watch the inaguration with Craig, a Truman student. Once the speeches had commenced, we joined another table with a girl named Anne Marie, a student from Wisconsin, and her friend Alison. We talked over a pint getting aquainted with one another. A little later in the night, we were introduced to two Irishmen named Will and Dunken. These two were very nice gentlemen and had just as many questions for them as they did us. We asked questions such as, "What is the University like", and "where are the good pubs in town", "what are you studying", so on and so forth, and they asked us "Do you really have fraternities like in Old School," and "Have you seen the movie Anchorman?" While proceeding to quote both movies for about five minutes. Both movies have comical quotes, but hearing them in an Irish accent makes them even better. We left Stables around 11:30 and headed home where I meet Anika, housemate #2, who is a study abroad student as well, but has already been here a semester.

The next day, a group of us had decided to go into Limerick City to get various things we all needed. There I met a whole group of new friends. Matti, Katarina, and Anu, all from Finland, and then Lisa and Mecky are German. All five are studying to be English teachers and speak wonderful English especially for it being their second language! It's really amazing. That day I also met Robert from Alabama who is a roommate of Anne Marie. Though he is currently living in Alabama, he has lived in Latvia and Finland, as well as various other places I'm sure. We took a bus into the city which was about a 15 minute ride. We decided that we were all pretty hungry and wanted to eat. The Finish kids had been here since Sunday and had already scoped the place out a little. They said they knew a great burger place that they wanted to take us to. My first thought was "Oh great, I didn't come to Ireland to eat the burgers," but rolled with it anyway. We walked into the resturant, and what was it? None other than Eddie Rockets, a '50's' themed resturant. The American kids found it quite amausing the others got such a kick out of it. We told them that the states were crawling with places like this, and they explained to us that they had nothing like this in Finland or Germany and thought it was 'just like the movie' and 'so stylish.' Nonetheless I was amused. Upon heading back to campus we decided to meet up later at Stables. This time, we met three more Irishmen,Rob, Mark, and Owen. I'm not sure how to describe....they were very nice boys, everyone here has been nothing but nice, but interesting to say the least. I intorducted myself to them and told them I was from the midwest. Rob then shot out questions like rapid fire, trying to deciede if I was a red neck or not....first off, "Are you a red neck?" No. "Have you ever shot a gun?" No. "Have you ever killed an animal?" No. "Have you ever shot your brother?" No. "Do you live in a tralier?" No. "Do you wear vests?" No. "Do you own a catapolt?" No. I'm sure he had more for me, but stopped there and just decided for himself that yes indeed I was a red neck!

Going forward from that night, nothing too grand has happened. Along the way I meet housemate #3-6. Erin is from New Jersey and this is her first semester her as well. She and I have been spending a lot of time together, going out and meeting people and the final two housemates are Liam and Emma, both from Ireland. The three girls are upstairs and myself and the two boys are downstairs on the main floor. We each have our own rooms and share two bathrooms. We have a living room and kitchen that we all share as well. Our rooms are what I would consider 'jail cell' size :) But perfectly livable for one person.

Everything has been going great so far. Today was the first day of class, and I only had one, my econ class, and tomorrow I have an Irish Folklore class as well as Government and Politics of Ireland. I'm looking foward to both of them. I apologize for such a long first post. I promise to be more timely and less wordy on my next one.

Oh before I end, a few random things...
1) The Irish LOVE Obama! There has not been a day were I have not heard his name multiple times from people, not the TV or some other form of media. They are very excited for his term(s?). Adults and students a like. Living in the U.S. I often forget what an influence our government can have, but here I am reminded everyday!

2) While I was sitting at my desk today, two horses(?) came galloping by my window. I put a question mark at the end because I am not sure if they are actually horses. They had the face of a horse, but were somewhat shorter than an average horse and had much longer hair. I will find out what kind of animal these are and get back to you.

3) No, I have not had Guinness yet. I am not ready for my own. I've tried other peoples, but I know I could not finish one. I have so far had Carlsburg and Fosters beer as well as Bulmers Cider. Fosters tends to be one of the cheaper ones out at the pubs and the cider is just tasty.

Any who...now that I have the internet I will stay on top of my bloggin and picture posting! I don't have a lot of pictures yet because I like to take them on the sunny days, and well we've only have two of those. I do that mostly for my benefit because I am sure I'm going to remember the rain, but I think it will be nice to remind myslef that there were sunny days too :)

I've made it!

I know this is coming a week late, but I'm here! I arrived safely on Tuesday...as scheduled but have not had an internet connection until today. I am about to leave for class, but upon arrival will have stories to share :)