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!!