"Do they sell sunshine in Ireland?"

Today was the first official day of classes for all students at GMIT. As exciting as that sounds, it was pretty uneventful. However, it was another great day in Galway, Ireland. I walked out of my front door, only to run into Darin, my neighbor and classmate. He said he didn't have class at nine like I did, but he had to go in anyway to talk to a professor. So on we went. We got outside, and lo and behold, the SUN WAS SHINING! "Quick, take a picture!" "Do they sell sunshine in Ireland?" "And package it for tourists?" "Can we keep it?" As silly as our exclamations were as they rang out over the parking lot, we were surprised to see solar rays. It's been raining so much here, it's depressing. But the natural light set the mood for a pleasant day.

As it turns out, my professor for both my 9 and 11 o'clock classes was out today (incidentally, we didn't find this out until 9:45). So even though I had technically gone to class, I didn't exactly have class. I did find out my schedule for my other classes, so the trip wasn't a total bust. As promised, I have nothing on Wednesday (as it is reserved for "field" trips). My other classes are a little spread out, but that will give me a chance to do some studying and get coffee or lunch in between lectures. I have two two-hour classes; the rest are one hour. Four classes total, three hours each per week = 12 hours of classtime total. Not too shabby. This semester will have the fewest number of hours I've ever taken in a semester. I'm a little nervous about keeping busy, but I also realize that I don't have to be busy. This is vacation, after all.

I came home and ate a little something before heading out for another run. I went farther this time, confident of my route. Turns out that my path heads straight out into the country- sheep, pastures, and all. It was very different from running in Clemmons, or even in Cullowhee. But I liked it. Except that I ran about a quarter mile too far; towards the end, I did something to my knee that forced me to stop running and to walk back. It's pretty sore, but I don't know what I did. I didn't twist it or anything. Oh well, it'll be fine. I'll just take an anti-inflammatory- that's what my mom would tell me to do. :) Two classes tomorrow, playing cards tonight with the WCU guys.