Galway Girl

Hello once again! It is a beautiful day in Ireland today. The sun is shining bright and the temperature isn't bad. It's a little windy, but I can't complain. Sorry to everyone who is enduring the miserable WI cold! I just got back from shopping with Amanda. I got a shirt with the Eiffel Tower made of sequins on it that I thought was super cute. Might be dorky to wear in Paris, but I'm so excited! and I got a dress on clearance and some new black tights because the other ones I bought were too big. ha oh and I also bought a Frenchlooking hat to go with my shirt. I gotta admit, I do look rather European in it. It also goes with my dress.

Well, I can't believe that I've been in Ireland for almost two weeks. It has been pretty much a whirlwind...meeting new people, getting used to the campus, going out (but not as often as it might sound to be honest) and traveling!

For my classes, I think I have decided on Social Exclusion and Inequality, Irish Traditional Music, Irish Folklore, and now for my last class I have decided to do Irish Contemporary Issues, another sociology class. (Limerick doesn't have Social Work, but that didn't stop me from coming!) I was going to take Geoscience to get a science credit at EC, but it sounds kind of boring, and also, meets at 4 PM on Fridays. No thanks.

Well, let's see. Notable events from last week: We actually were unable to sign up for the Galway trip through the International Society because they capped it at 45 people because they couldnt get enough buses, and the room was packed with people. I was majorly disappointed at first, but later that night we just booked our own bus tickets to Galway. it was only €15.80 round trip! Wednesday, Katie and I booked our spring break trip to Paris! We are going to fly out of Dublin. We're leaving for Dublin by train on Friday March 26, spend the weekend there, and then fly out to Paris Sunday afternoon. We'll be in Paris for almost the whole week! I'm sooo excited. I think a lot of other people are going to Italy for spring break, which would be nice because it will be warm, but I really want to see Paris and the Eiffel tower and eat delicious croissant and other various pastries.
On Wednesday, we went out to the Stables for karaoke night. Some of the people were so bad. The thing I hate about karaoke is great songs being ruined, and not just when it's obviously bad-- when the people hardly even sing and you can't hear them. I managed to get drunk somehow after only having 2 ciders. After a giggly walk home, Katie, Erin, and I went to Ryan ( a guy from EC's) house and he made us spaghetti.
Friday, we had some errands to run. Amanda and Liz wanted to find the post office and got directions from a lady..i forget who it was. Well, we took the wrong turn at some point and ended up taking a very long walk around Limerick. However, we were able to enjoy some more beautiful scenery in the distance. We finally found it, and when we left and came out at the end of the street, we realized we were almost right back to Plassey!!! If we had just gone the other way, it could have taken like 20 minutes total instead of like 2 hours. Haha. lesson learned. then we went to Dunnes, which is like Walmart, and got groceries. I bought some Bulmers cider and they didn't even check to see if I was 18. I actually felt pretty bad ass. Ha. That night i had pizza and a diet coke for dinner and I don't know, but there must be like 10 times as much caffeine because I was super awake and only got 2 hours of sleep before I had to get up at 6 AM to get ready for Galway.

We took the 7:30 bus. The other girls dozed off, but I was still wide awake, and I'm so glad I was because the drive to Galway was amazing. The Irish countryside is pretty much like you can picture it: green, with stone walls everywhere, but it's just so awesome to actually see. I kept saying to myself. "I'M ACTUALLY IN IRELAND." I loved the stonewalls. We also passed a lot of sheep too! We got to Galway at probably around 10. We first looking for Eyre Square. I asked a lady at the bus staton if it was within walking distance, and it was seriously just down the street. We then found a city map, and headed towards Shop Street, where believe it or not is right in the shopping district. We went to a bookstore and I got a book of poems by William Butler Yeats, an Irish poet my teacher Mr. Winchester from high school recommended. I also got a present for my sister, but she reads my blog so I can't say. Then we went to St. Nicholas' church, one of the oldest, if not the oldest churches in Ireland. It was beautiful. I didn't grow up going to church for the most part, but I still think the really old ones are just amazing. Then we went to the cathedral, but there was Mass going on, so we went and got a quick snack at a cafe in a clothing store nearby. Katie and I got chocolate tart, Liz had a caramel/banana muffin and Amanda had a latte. After that we went back to the cathedral and looked around. Again, absolutely amazing. I hate using the word amazing so much, and I apologize. The Irish like to say brilliant, and I have started to describe things that way sometimes :) After the cathedral we found the Spanish arch, which one of Katie's Irish roommates had described as "just an arch." but we were like "ooooh." it was built in 1584. Right near the arch was the Galway museum, which conveniently had free admission. They had a big exhibit on JFK's visit to Ireland in 1963, the year he was assassinated. After the museum, we tried looking for these famous people's houses that were apparently museums now, but we couldn't find them or they weren't open. At around 5, we found a restaurant to eat at called the Front Door. It was so delicious. Probably one of the best meals I've ever eaten. I got a traditional Irish meal called Bangers and Mash: mashed potatoes with sausage. The sausage was insanely delicious. Words do not do it justice. I'm not kidding. It, like, kind of melted in my mouth, like I didn't have to chew it at all, which may actually sound weird and gross, but it tasted incredible. After that, we stopped at a few more shops on the way back to the bus station. I got my dad a present and a worry stone for my friend Ashlee who asked me to get her one. We made it to the bus station right on time. I slept through most of the ride back. My legs were so stiff and sore. I got back and Kathleen and some other EC girls were hanging out and we watched a movie with Val and our other housemate Gearoid. All of our other housemates went home for the weekend, which is typical among the Irish students. My other roommates besides Val are are Gearoid, Sean, Leona, Jimmy, and Owen. They are all pretty cool, although I don't see much of Jimmy and Owen during the week.

Well, that is all for now! No weekend trips planned right now. The big trip right now this month is Into the West, which the International Office is putting on. It only cost 5 Euro and it takes us to The Cliffs of Moher, the Burren, and the Ailwee Caves. I'm so excited!! March is going to be a crazy, exciting month. Ellen is coming to visit, my mom is coming on St. Patty's day and spending a couple days, and then Dublin and Paris!

Oh, and one last thing. I would just like to thank my parents for giving me this opportunity. It has been amazing so far, and I am so incredibly lucky to be here. I feel like it has already changed me.

That's all for now!