If there's one thing I can say about international students, it's that we fall in love with each other real fast. I'm not exactly sure which student was responsible for organizing the affair, but last night all the Erasmus students gathered together for a goodbye party. At first, I wasn't really looking forward to it. I'm not sure why, maybe it was the location, maybe it was the fact that I'm not great friends with some of the international kids, maybe because I thought no one would show up. But I talked to about 20 people over the course of the day yesterday, and everyone said they were going, so I figured I would too. Attendance took a little while to pick up, but eventually, almost every foreign kid in Galway was there. Turns out that I am actually the first student PERIOD to be going home, so there was an unspoken "say goodbye to Katie" agenda. It was completely endearing. I know I've mentioned that I'll miss these people, but last night while I was watching everyone hugging and the girls crying and groups toasting to how we've changed each other's lives, I was struck with this sudden emotion of pre emptive nostalgia. Not only will I never be able to do this with these people ever again, but I'll never really be able to do it again at all. I'm leaving college, and for someone who loves being a student, this is really unsettling. But! I know that I'm moving on to "bigger and better things," haha, and I have to trust that with that will come people like these. Maybe I'll keep up with these people; there have already been talks about a reunion, and some of the Europeans are already planning trips over to see us, like Ruben and Stephan.
After the party last night, I walked home with Darin, my across-the-hall neighbor. We chatted for a while, and that chat ended up with us sitting on the floor in the hallway between our doors at 6 am, talking about memories and life and school and how he had changed this whole experience for me, and how we were going to miss each other. For as long as I live, I will never ever forget that conversation. Along with the foreigners planning trips, I've also made rough plans to go up to UW-Platteville and see all these guys again (if you remember, there are 8 Platteville men that I'm friends with). But who knows if they'll carry through. It's a possibility that we're just saying it to make each other feel better, when it's really like signing yearbooks "Keep in touch!" or saying "We should hang out sometime" to people you secretly know you'll never contact again. But the friends I've made here- Darin, Mike, all three Nicks, Carolin, Stephan, Stephanie, Ruben, Anso, Garrett, Derek, Charlie, James, Fabien, Trevor, Brett, Brandon... I've fallen in love with them, and for the girl who doesn't easily give her heart away to strangers, I don't know how I'll ever repay them for that gift.
Showing posts with label friends. Show all posts
Showing posts with label friends. Show all posts
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Birthdays, birthdays everywhere!
I meant to mention yesterday that both birthday celebrations went well! We took Stephen to La Salsa and then to the Quay's. "We" included about 15 people, and "we" took up almost all the seating on the upstairs floor. The French girls made him a little cake, and we were gifted with cinnammon churros by the ladies working at the restaurant. After we had hung out long enough, to the Quay's we went for Steve's official birthday drink. Since everyone is absolutely swamped with work, no one stayed out too long. We all attempted to hang out in the birthday boy's apartment, but I had to get home to do some work.
Yesterday was Stephanie's birthday celebration. She actually won't turn 21 until Sunday, but she's flying back to Hamburg this weekend, so the party had to come early. Stephen and Stephan ended up having to work or something, so it was just Stephanie, Caro, and me who went to the aquarium in Salthill. It wasn't the best aquarium I've ever been to, but we had fun anyway. I love aquariums, and Stephanie is studying marine biology here at GMIT, so we all bugged out like little kids seeing fish for the first time. Hilariously, I ordered salmon and Caro ordered monktail at dinner later. Hahahaha. Speaking of, we had reservations at The Huntsman Inn, a swank little restaurant that Stephanie first tried when her mom was visiting last month. The guys joined us for a night of laughter, reminiscing, and great food. If you're interested in looking at pictures (not like I haven't posted enough recently), here's the Facebook link!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2070361&l=c0b29&id=44104357
Yesterday was Stephanie's birthday celebration. She actually won't turn 21 until Sunday, but she's flying back to Hamburg this weekend, so the party had to come early. Stephen and Stephan ended up having to work or something, so it was just Stephanie, Caro, and me who went to the aquarium in Salthill. It wasn't the best aquarium I've ever been to, but we had fun anyway. I love aquariums, and Stephanie is studying marine biology here at GMIT, so we all bugged out like little kids seeing fish for the first time. Hilariously, I ordered salmon and Caro ordered monktail at dinner later. Hahahaha. Speaking of, we had reservations at The Huntsman Inn, a swank little restaurant that Stephanie first tried when her mom was visiting last month. The guys joined us for a night of laughter, reminiscing, and great food. If you're interested in looking at pictures (not like I haven't posted enough recently), here's the Facebook link!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2070361&l=c0b29&id=44104357
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
An international Thanksgiving and learning German in 3 days
It's been a week, I know, but I've been so incredibly busy. Last week was our Thanksgiving celebration. Because I had to catch a plane to Germany on the actual Thanksgiving day, we decided to celebrate the Wednesday before. I was in charge of making one turkey, the gravy and the pies, and my friends Stephan, Carolin, and Derek all masterminded the other turkey. My roommate Ruben and Garrett made a honey-glazed ham, and then everyone else chipped in the mashed potatoes, stuffing, vegetables, cranberry sauce, rolls, and beer and wine. We ended up having about 20 people at our celebration, both Americans and internationals kids. Everything turned out sooooo delicious. It was the first time I'd ever made a turkey on my own, and I decided to sort of wing the basting liquids, and I really wanted to brown-bag it (my mom has done it this way in prior years). I ended up laying it on a bed of carrots and onions and using lemon juice, butter, garlic salt, rosemary to rub it down, and then stuffing it. At the suggestion of one of my Irish friends, I roasted the bird upside down so the drippings would make the breast really moist. It worked, let me tell ya! I spent the majority of Wednesday cooking, with the aide of my neighbor Darin; neither of us had class. When it came time for dinner, the food disappeared in front of our eyes! Haha. We all had so much fun. I can't believe we pulled it off. Like one of my friends said, "If we can't have Thanksgiving with our families, we might as well have it with our friends that have become our family." Check out the "family photo":
I was up way late with everyone on Wednesday, but I got a few hours of sleep before having to catch the bus to Dublin so we could fly to Germany. My German friend Stephan was taking me, Stephen, and Derek back to his home in southern Germany. Thursday, however, was as mildly depressing as Wednesday was wonderful. For whatever reason, our Bus Eireann bus was almost an hour and a half late to Dublin. When we finally did get there, we had to take another shuttle bus to the airport (we didn't know we would have to do that). Realizing we had the potential of missing our flight, we got off the shuttle and hailed a taxi. No luck, we still missed the flight by ten minutes. Everyone was so upset, not to mention mentally blaming any and everyone and thing we could to excuse our tardiness. We spent the next three hours at Dublin airport researching our options. At the end of the day, we got a hostel in Dublin and decided to take the next Ryanair flight on Friday morning. So, we lost some money and a day in Germany, but the trip was worth it.
We arrive in Karlsruhe airport, which is really outside Baden-Baden. From there, Stephan's girlfriend Anika picked us up in her brother's car and we drove to the Black Forest. Major picture oppotunities! Piles of snow covered all surfaces, and as we advanced to higher and higher altitudes, we were astouded by the beauty that surrounded us. We hung out in the Black Forest until it got dark, and then drove to Stephan's parents' home. Mrs. Hezel made us the best meal I've had in, oh I don't know, about four months, barring Thanksgiving. I really need to find out those recipes... Anyway, Friday night we went out with Stephan and Anika and two of their childhood friends to this tiny little bar in the next town. No one spoke English (and we don't speak German), except the bartender, who was SO excited to have Americans in his bar that he kept coming over with shots and suggesting drinks. We even did a German beer tasting! Haha. When we left, we stood in the freezing cold and had a snowball fight. How great it was to feel snow!!! But Derek and I agreed that it was a little different, it had a different texture or something.
Saturday was jam-packed and fast-paced. After a delicious German breakfast of bread, meats, cheeses, and coffee, we hit the icy road and headed to Stuttgart, home of Mercedes-Benz. We hung out in town for a little bit, did some shopping and walked around their Christmas market (where I tried roasted chesnuts for the first time! yumm), before getting back in the car to go to the TV tower. From Stuttgart's TV tower, you can see almost all of southern Germany. Stephan oriented us by showing us where we had flown in, where we were going, where our other German friends live, and the country's borders. After the tower, we ate a great lunch and then went to the Mercedes-Benz museum. I'm not much of a car person, but the musuem was really interesting. German and world histories were intermingled with the history of the cars. Did you know that the tri-star symbol for Mercedes-Benz was developed as a reflection of their incentive to build air, land, and water vehicles? Yeah, I didn't either. The museum was our last stop in Stuttgart, so we rushed to drive to Ludwigsburg a few miles away. There we caught the last English tour of the Ludwigsburg castle. It was dark by the time we finished, so we headed to Anika's parents' house. As I listened to Stephan recount our missed flight experience, I realized I basically knew what he was saying. I can't explain it, I don't know how to speak German, but I guess being immersed in it for two days gave me a better understanding of the language. Weird. We put down our stuff in our room and had a little break before going to the Ludwigsburg Christmas Market. Their market is well-known, and is famed for being one of the largest, I think. The rest of our night was spent sipping mulled wine and hot chocolate, bartering in German for crafts, and enjoying the pleasant holiday air. I was so beat that night that I decided to stay in and go to sleep early instead of going out with Stephan and Anika and their friends.
Sunday morning we enjoyed another great German breakfast (and coffee) before embarking on our Autobahn journey back to Karlsruhe airport. It didn't take as long as we had alotted time for (it WAS the Autobahn after all), so we all sat down for another coffee before going through security. We were very pleased to be early this time, though. If we had missed our flight, I'm not sure what I would have done. Be even more exasperated, I guess. We all said goodbye to Anika, who is the sweetest girl ever and was so gracious to us the entire weekend. Stephan will head back to Germany in about three weeks, but Stephen, Derek, and I don't know when we'll see her again. Stephan mentioned coming to NC this next summer to visit us; we'll see! If you're interested in pictures, here's the link: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2070213&l=df21e&id=44104357
A cold and icy Germany bled into a cold and icy Ireland. Apparently the dawn of December and Advent brought with it December and Advent weather. I almost wiped out a few times yesterday on patches of black ice. My professor was late to class because he crashed his van into a wall. Yikes! But I braved it all to do my Christmas shopping yesterday. I've been putting it off for so long hoping the dollar would regain some strength. But I'm running out of time, so I bit the bullet and spend a few hours after class in the city center. Fortunately, I knew what I was getting, and I sped around like a little worker bee. I will finish off my shopping this weekend at Saturday market. I bought another piece of luggage, too, to get everything home. It's not that I have so much, it's just that I'm pretty sure I'd go over the weight restriction if I put everything in my one suitcase. I'm trying desperately to wind everything up here as far as classes and schoolwork, but I am thrilled to get home as soon as possible. And then it's graduation! I'm not sure I've honestly thought about what that means. I will no longer be a student. That makes me sad. I'm feeling pretty confident that I'll head to grad school at some point. Hmm...
This post is getting pretty long, so I'll wrap it up with this. Today is Stephen's 22nd birthday, so we're taking him to a burrito place tonight, and then I'm celebrating Stephanie's birthday tomorrow night at the aquarium in Salthill, then dinner afterwards. This week is going to fly!
I was up way late with everyone on Wednesday, but I got a few hours of sleep before having to catch the bus to Dublin so we could fly to Germany. My German friend Stephan was taking me, Stephen, and Derek back to his home in southern Germany. Thursday, however, was as mildly depressing as Wednesday was wonderful. For whatever reason, our Bus Eireann bus was almost an hour and a half late to Dublin. When we finally did get there, we had to take another shuttle bus to the airport (we didn't know we would have to do that). Realizing we had the potential of missing our flight, we got off the shuttle and hailed a taxi. No luck, we still missed the flight by ten minutes. Everyone was so upset, not to mention mentally blaming any and everyone and thing we could to excuse our tardiness. We spent the next three hours at Dublin airport researching our options. At the end of the day, we got a hostel in Dublin and decided to take the next Ryanair flight on Friday morning. So, we lost some money and a day in Germany, but the trip was worth it.
We arrive in Karlsruhe airport, which is really outside Baden-Baden. From there, Stephan's girlfriend Anika picked us up in her brother's car and we drove to the Black Forest. Major picture oppotunities! Piles of snow covered all surfaces, and as we advanced to higher and higher altitudes, we were astouded by the beauty that surrounded us. We hung out in the Black Forest until it got dark, and then drove to Stephan's parents' home. Mrs. Hezel made us the best meal I've had in, oh I don't know, about four months, barring Thanksgiving. I really need to find out those recipes... Anyway, Friday night we went out with Stephan and Anika and two of their childhood friends to this tiny little bar in the next town. No one spoke English (and we don't speak German), except the bartender, who was SO excited to have Americans in his bar that he kept coming over with shots and suggesting drinks. We even did a German beer tasting! Haha. When we left, we stood in the freezing cold and had a snowball fight. How great it was to feel snow!!! But Derek and I agreed that it was a little different, it had a different texture or something.
Saturday was jam-packed and fast-paced. After a delicious German breakfast of bread, meats, cheeses, and coffee, we hit the icy road and headed to Stuttgart, home of Mercedes-Benz. We hung out in town for a little bit, did some shopping and walked around their Christmas market (where I tried roasted chesnuts for the first time! yumm), before getting back in the car to go to the TV tower. From Stuttgart's TV tower, you can see almost all of southern Germany. Stephan oriented us by showing us where we had flown in, where we were going, where our other German friends live, and the country's borders. After the tower, we ate a great lunch and then went to the Mercedes-Benz museum. I'm not much of a car person, but the musuem was really interesting. German and world histories were intermingled with the history of the cars. Did you know that the tri-star symbol for Mercedes-Benz was developed as a reflection of their incentive to build air, land, and water vehicles? Yeah, I didn't either. The museum was our last stop in Stuttgart, so we rushed to drive to Ludwigsburg a few miles away. There we caught the last English tour of the Ludwigsburg castle. It was dark by the time we finished, so we headed to Anika's parents' house. As I listened to Stephan recount our missed flight experience, I realized I basically knew what he was saying. I can't explain it, I don't know how to speak German, but I guess being immersed in it for two days gave me a better understanding of the language. Weird. We put down our stuff in our room and had a little break before going to the Ludwigsburg Christmas Market. Their market is well-known, and is famed for being one of the largest, I think. The rest of our night was spent sipping mulled wine and hot chocolate, bartering in German for crafts, and enjoying the pleasant holiday air. I was so beat that night that I decided to stay in and go to sleep early instead of going out with Stephan and Anika and their friends.
Sunday morning we enjoyed another great German breakfast (and coffee) before embarking on our Autobahn journey back to Karlsruhe airport. It didn't take as long as we had alotted time for (it WAS the Autobahn after all), so we all sat down for another coffee before going through security. We were very pleased to be early this time, though. If we had missed our flight, I'm not sure what I would have done. Be even more exasperated, I guess. We all said goodbye to Anika, who is the sweetest girl ever and was so gracious to us the entire weekend. Stephan will head back to Germany in about three weeks, but Stephen, Derek, and I don't know when we'll see her again. Stephan mentioned coming to NC this next summer to visit us; we'll see! If you're interested in pictures, here's the link: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2070213&l=df21e&id=44104357
A cold and icy Germany bled into a cold and icy Ireland. Apparently the dawn of December and Advent brought with it December and Advent weather. I almost wiped out a few times yesterday on patches of black ice. My professor was late to class because he crashed his van into a wall. Yikes! But I braved it all to do my Christmas shopping yesterday. I've been putting it off for so long hoping the dollar would regain some strength. But I'm running out of time, so I bit the bullet and spend a few hours after class in the city center. Fortunately, I knew what I was getting, and I sped around like a little worker bee. I will finish off my shopping this weekend at Saturday market. I bought another piece of luggage, too, to get everything home. It's not that I have so much, it's just that I'm pretty sure I'd go over the weight restriction if I put everything in my one suitcase. I'm trying desperately to wind everything up here as far as classes and schoolwork, but I am thrilled to get home as soon as possible. And then it's graduation! I'm not sure I've honestly thought about what that means. I will no longer be a student. That makes me sad. I'm feeling pretty confident that I'll head to grad school at some point. Hmm...
This post is getting pretty long, so I'll wrap it up with this. Today is Stephen's 22nd birthday, so we're taking him to a burrito place tonight, and then I'm celebrating Stephanie's birthday tomorrow night at the aquarium in Salthill, then dinner afterwards. This week is going to fly!
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Belfast Bonanza!
Hello all! About two hours ago, I got off Bus Eireann bus #261 across from GMIT, finally back in the Republic of Ireland after spending the weekend in Belfast, Co. Antrim, N. Ireland. There was a lot of uncertainty surrounding the trip and the unrest in that part of Ireland, and no one was really sure what to expect. I went with seven guys, Stephen and the rest UW-Platteville men. We got there in the evening on Friday, immediately greeted by rain that the forecast didn't predict. Sweet. We walked around and saw all the lights and City Hall, which was all decked out in Christmas decorations, and got our bearings. The town is really quite lovely. One of the Erasmus students went a few weeks ago and didn't bring back a good report of Belfast, but I instantly loved it and knew I would probably like it better than any other big city I had been to here. Our walking around got us a little lost, but we eventually found the hostel.
Hostels are always a huge question mark until you get there. Even though you can get details online and stuff, you're always blind-booking. It could be a nice place, it could have rats crawling around, but you won't know until you get there. I wasn't immediately impressed when we walked in to the Linen House Hostel, but the guy at the counter quickly proved apt, exceeding my expectations. Over the course of the weekend, all the staff were helpful. We paid up, got the key, and made our way upstairs. We got a private room for the 8 of us, so we had a big room with bunk beds and a sink, and we were right next to the bathroom- good move, especially since we stole the showers both mornings.
Anyway, after unloading our stuff, we started walking again, and eventually walked into what I think is the coolest mall ever. It was an indoor/outdoor one. Basically, you came into the complex, and could walk around, but all of the stores were connected by crosslinks that were, for the most part, exposed to the elements. I guess if you took a regular mall and removed all of the entrances, it'd be like that. There's even an observation deck on the top floor, where you can see all of Belfast. I went up twice, once that night and once today. After climbing back down, we immediately spotted our dinner outing- Chili's. Hah! It's been such a long time since I've had Chili's, and we were all so excited. After a few hours, we cleared out and went back to the hostel to sleep.
Saturday, we had booked a tour to the Giant's Causeway and Derry. Giant's Causeway is a World Heritage Site in N. Ireland. It's a huge collection of basalt deposits on the coast, and they create these magnificent shapes and cliffs that are breath-taking and awesome. (I'll let you know when I get pictures posted.) We spent hours climbing up these cliffs and then back down and then walking out onto these deposits. It was absolutely freezing, and crazy windy. In fact, there were advisories to not go up on the cliff paths because of the wind, but did you really expect 8 crazy American college kids to listen?? Of course not. I can't adequately describe how gorgeous this place was, hopefully pictures will help.
Our last stop was in Derry, Co. Ulster-aka the Walled City. All of a sudden, the scary stories we heard about Northern Ireland became true. This place wasn't the friendliest-looking, and some of us were a little creeped out. We didn't stay for long, just enough time to walk around, get a bagel, visit the market, and get back on our bus. When we got back in Belfast, six guys wanted to eat and hang out, and Darin and I went to watch a hockey game. The Coors Belfast Giants played the Edinburgh Capitals. We were a little late, but our tickets were in the second row, and the fun we had that night dissolved any regret for missing the first few minutes. The Giants KILLED the Capitals, 5-2. We had so much fun. We walked back to the hostel and arrived just minutes after the rest of the gang. We attempted to go out to see some live music, but we couldn't find the bar, so 5 of us came back to sleep, while the other three tried again.
This morning we slept in, checked out at 10:30, and then tried to find some breakfast. Being Sunday, it was not the easiest task. We grudgingly settled on McDonald's. Last night we had discussed getting a Black Cab tour, and our guy was picking us up at 12:30. The tour was supposed to take us to some of the places in Belfast you really shouldn't go to on foot. And boy, did it. This was the most somber experience I might have ever had. Our driver took us through the divided Protestant and Catholic communities in Belfast. We saw the murals and peace gardens commemorating those who had died in the struggles since the '20s, some as recent as the past few years. We saw the graffitied "peace wall"- the gated, barb-wired wall that runs in between the two communities to reduce violence. It's called the Berlin Wall of Belfast. And it really is. Our cabbie told us vicious stories of bombs, shootings, terror and the attempts of peace in the past ten years. All of the stories we'd heard about the Republic of Ireland v. Northern Ireland/ Catholics vs. Protestants/ Nationalists vs. Loyalists, materialized in those moments. I was stuck in a period of complete silence. This conflict was something I could loosely identify with, considering my family's history (Armenian genocide). We all hear so much about civil conflicts in other countries and we feel removed and safe, but there I was, I was in it. I fought back fear even though I knew I had nothing to be scared of. I'm still shaking my head now, trying to sober up from the monstrosity of it all. On the other hand, I'm not sure I would have ever been able to "get it" without having been to Belfast; I walked down Bombay street where bombs put 7,000 Nationalists out of their houses, I read pleas of peace painted on the dividing wall, I stood underneath a mural of a gunman who pointed his rifle at my face, meaning to inspire terror in the onlooker. It was unreal.
We were dropped off in City Center, and the only way we could all get out of our collective slump was to get some food and burn off energy before getting back on the bus to go home. The Christmas Market just started in Belfast this week, but it was in full swing today. We bought cups of mulled wine and hot chocolate and browsed stall after stall of candies, meats, crafts, and gifts. I bought some black licorice from Holland and shortbread cookies to share on the road. OH! And a kangaroo burger, which is.. exactly what you think it is. A burger made from kangaroo meat. It was impressively good. :)
We boarded the bus around 4, not expecting to get back in Galway until 10:30 tonight. But no one expected the events of the trip home. Leg #1, from Belfast to Eniskillen, was sleep time for everyone. Leg #2, Eniskillen to Sligo, was short and was perfect for reading and light conversation. But Leg #3, from Sligo to Galway, was... well... I can't think of an adjective. Brett came to the back of the bus to talk to me about philosophy. All of a sudden, half of our group came to listen to me talk about the basics of good, truth, and beauty, three of the most debated concepts in philosophy. Then, of course, it got into God talk. I was a little uncomfortable, because I knew something potentially crazy could happen with our varied backgrounds. But the problem wasn't with anyone I knew, but with the older man who jumped in! Haha, he was sitting nearby, and I could see him shifting in his seat a little before he turned around to contribute to our discussion. His intention was to get me riled up, I think, but I kept a level head and tossed ideas back and forth like I did everyday in my philosophy classes. (I was later congratulated by my friends, I guess they were impressed with what I had to say.) It was a regular hot-potato debate for a while, before he trailed off into something I couldn't hear. Then Brett finished off the conversation by changing the topic. I never mind when people hop in, but his input (and rebuke of our "Christian American" beliefs) sparked way more talk after he got off the bus. The next couple of hours contained nonstop discussion of religion, philosophy, psychology, evolution, theology, time travel and everything in between. I, the philosophy major, was considered to be the answer box for most of the posed questions, and I did my best to field what I could. It didn't take long before all the guys moved from their seats in the middle of the bus to where I was in the back. We all deep-thought together and expressed opinions and saw sides of each other we didn't know existed. They posed some of the hardest theological questions possible, and the discourse that followed was intelligent and well-spoken. Before we got off the bus, I thanked all of these guys for taking part. Seeing their confusion, I added that I had been feeling so lost without someone to TALK to, and I had been lamenting to God about it. Well, he heard my heart murmurs, and used these guys- all of them tough athletes who talk mainly about drinking and women, studying to be businessmen, engineers, and contractors, rarely showing any passionate emotion for anything other than sports or the political race- to directly answer my prayer. What was even better was the satisfaction all of them got out of it, as well. I got off that bus, the happiest I'd been since I got here. And seeing how well we all talk together, there is suddenly interest in having "Philosophy Night" where we can all just hang out and 'philosophize'. Ha. I am surprised and so honored to be a part of all of this, but I was also struck tonight with a deep sadness of having to leave them all so soon.
This was my last trip with that group of guys. Stephen and I are going to Germany next weekend, but I won't be traveling anymore with the WI guys. Not in Ireland at least. However sad I will be to part ways with them, I will forever be grateful for how these friends have enriched my life. I really hope I can figure out how to see them again. I might call my uncle and see if I can get a beach house for their Spring Break- they said they would come down. Hmm. Anyway, the whole point is that Belfast was great, and I loved it all. This may have been my favorite trip so far, but there's always Germany next weekend!
Hostels are always a huge question mark until you get there. Even though you can get details online and stuff, you're always blind-booking. It could be a nice place, it could have rats crawling around, but you won't know until you get there. I wasn't immediately impressed when we walked in to the Linen House Hostel, but the guy at the counter quickly proved apt, exceeding my expectations. Over the course of the weekend, all the staff were helpful. We paid up, got the key, and made our way upstairs. We got a private room for the 8 of us, so we had a big room with bunk beds and a sink, and we were right next to the bathroom- good move, especially since we stole the showers both mornings.
Anyway, after unloading our stuff, we started walking again, and eventually walked into what I think is the coolest mall ever. It was an indoor/outdoor one. Basically, you came into the complex, and could walk around, but all of the stores were connected by crosslinks that were, for the most part, exposed to the elements. I guess if you took a regular mall and removed all of the entrances, it'd be like that. There's even an observation deck on the top floor, where you can see all of Belfast. I went up twice, once that night and once today. After climbing back down, we immediately spotted our dinner outing- Chili's. Hah! It's been such a long time since I've had Chili's, and we were all so excited. After a few hours, we cleared out and went back to the hostel to sleep.
Saturday, we had booked a tour to the Giant's Causeway and Derry. Giant's Causeway is a World Heritage Site in N. Ireland. It's a huge collection of basalt deposits on the coast, and they create these magnificent shapes and cliffs that are breath-taking and awesome. (I'll let you know when I get pictures posted.) We spent hours climbing up these cliffs and then back down and then walking out onto these deposits. It was absolutely freezing, and crazy windy. In fact, there were advisories to not go up on the cliff paths because of the wind, but did you really expect 8 crazy American college kids to listen?? Of course not. I can't adequately describe how gorgeous this place was, hopefully pictures will help.
Our last stop was in Derry, Co. Ulster-aka the Walled City. All of a sudden, the scary stories we heard about Northern Ireland became true. This place wasn't the friendliest-looking, and some of us were a little creeped out. We didn't stay for long, just enough time to walk around, get a bagel, visit the market, and get back on our bus. When we got back in Belfast, six guys wanted to eat and hang out, and Darin and I went to watch a hockey game. The Coors Belfast Giants played the Edinburgh Capitals. We were a little late, but our tickets were in the second row, and the fun we had that night dissolved any regret for missing the first few minutes. The Giants KILLED the Capitals, 5-2. We had so much fun. We walked back to the hostel and arrived just minutes after the rest of the gang. We attempted to go out to see some live music, but we couldn't find the bar, so 5 of us came back to sleep, while the other three tried again.
This morning we slept in, checked out at 10:30, and then tried to find some breakfast. Being Sunday, it was not the easiest task. We grudgingly settled on McDonald's. Last night we had discussed getting a Black Cab tour, and our guy was picking us up at 12:30. The tour was supposed to take us to some of the places in Belfast you really shouldn't go to on foot. And boy, did it. This was the most somber experience I might have ever had. Our driver took us through the divided Protestant and Catholic communities in Belfast. We saw the murals and peace gardens commemorating those who had died in the struggles since the '20s, some as recent as the past few years. We saw the graffitied "peace wall"- the gated, barb-wired wall that runs in between the two communities to reduce violence. It's called the Berlin Wall of Belfast. And it really is. Our cabbie told us vicious stories of bombs, shootings, terror and the attempts of peace in the past ten years. All of the stories we'd heard about the Republic of Ireland v. Northern Ireland/ Catholics vs. Protestants/ Nationalists vs. Loyalists, materialized in those moments. I was stuck in a period of complete silence. This conflict was something I could loosely identify with, considering my family's history (Armenian genocide). We all hear so much about civil conflicts in other countries and we feel removed and safe, but there I was, I was in it. I fought back fear even though I knew I had nothing to be scared of. I'm still shaking my head now, trying to sober up from the monstrosity of it all. On the other hand, I'm not sure I would have ever been able to "get it" without having been to Belfast; I walked down Bombay street where bombs put 7,000 Nationalists out of their houses, I read pleas of peace painted on the dividing wall, I stood underneath a mural of a gunman who pointed his rifle at my face, meaning to inspire terror in the onlooker. It was unreal.
We were dropped off in City Center, and the only way we could all get out of our collective slump was to get some food and burn off energy before getting back on the bus to go home. The Christmas Market just started in Belfast this week, but it was in full swing today. We bought cups of mulled wine and hot chocolate and browsed stall after stall of candies, meats, crafts, and gifts. I bought some black licorice from Holland and shortbread cookies to share on the road. OH! And a kangaroo burger, which is.. exactly what you think it is. A burger made from kangaroo meat. It was impressively good. :)
We boarded the bus around 4, not expecting to get back in Galway until 10:30 tonight. But no one expected the events of the trip home. Leg #1, from Belfast to Eniskillen, was sleep time for everyone. Leg #2, Eniskillen to Sligo, was short and was perfect for reading and light conversation. But Leg #3, from Sligo to Galway, was... well... I can't think of an adjective. Brett came to the back of the bus to talk to me about philosophy. All of a sudden, half of our group came to listen to me talk about the basics of good, truth, and beauty, three of the most debated concepts in philosophy. Then, of course, it got into God talk. I was a little uncomfortable, because I knew something potentially crazy could happen with our varied backgrounds. But the problem wasn't with anyone I knew, but with the older man who jumped in! Haha, he was sitting nearby, and I could see him shifting in his seat a little before he turned around to contribute to our discussion. His intention was to get me riled up, I think, but I kept a level head and tossed ideas back and forth like I did everyday in my philosophy classes. (I was later congratulated by my friends, I guess they were impressed with what I had to say.) It was a regular hot-potato debate for a while, before he trailed off into something I couldn't hear. Then Brett finished off the conversation by changing the topic. I never mind when people hop in, but his input (and rebuke of our "Christian American" beliefs) sparked way more talk after he got off the bus. The next couple of hours contained nonstop discussion of religion, philosophy, psychology, evolution, theology, time travel and everything in between. I, the philosophy major, was considered to be the answer box for most of the posed questions, and I did my best to field what I could. It didn't take long before all the guys moved from their seats in the middle of the bus to where I was in the back. We all deep-thought together and expressed opinions and saw sides of each other we didn't know existed. They posed some of the hardest theological questions possible, and the discourse that followed was intelligent and well-spoken. Before we got off the bus, I thanked all of these guys for taking part. Seeing their confusion, I added that I had been feeling so lost without someone to TALK to, and I had been lamenting to God about it. Well, he heard my heart murmurs, and used these guys- all of them tough athletes who talk mainly about drinking and women, studying to be businessmen, engineers, and contractors, rarely showing any passionate emotion for anything other than sports or the political race- to directly answer my prayer. What was even better was the satisfaction all of them got out of it, as well. I got off that bus, the happiest I'd been since I got here. And seeing how well we all talk together, there is suddenly interest in having "Philosophy Night" where we can all just hang out and 'philosophize'. Ha. I am surprised and so honored to be a part of all of this, but I was also struck tonight with a deep sadness of having to leave them all so soon.
This was my last trip with that group of guys. Stephen and I are going to Germany next weekend, but I won't be traveling anymore with the WI guys. Not in Ireland at least. However sad I will be to part ways with them, I will forever be grateful for how these friends have enriched my life. I really hope I can figure out how to see them again. I might call my uncle and see if I can get a beach house for their Spring Break- they said they would come down. Hmm. Anyway, the whole point is that Belfast was great, and I loved it all. This may have been my favorite trip so far, but there's always Germany next weekend!
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
I'm back from London!
Hello all! It's a beautiful sun-shiny day here in Galway, Ireland. Which is appropriate because the sun was nonexistent in London. Let me tell you about it.
I was supposed to have a morning class on Friday, and then I was going to catch my bus to Shannon after that. I showed up for class, but no one else was there. My assumption is cancellation due to graduation ceremonies. I guess I missed the memo about not having class; you would understand my confusion if you too saw the posted sign all week that read "Heritage students will have classes as normal on Thursday and Friday". Whatever. So I caught a bus downtown to kill some time before my bus left at noon. When I finally got to Shannon airport, I was antsy. I so badly just wanted to already be in London. My flight arrived around 5:30. It took me a slightly stressful shuttle ride and 40-minute train to the appointed meeting spot, but it was all worth it when I finally found Elyse. We were both absolutely thrilled to see each other. Friday night was chill, we walked around for a while before stopping to get dinner and then heading back to our hotel. We caught up and exchanged traveling stories. I heard fireworks outside, and Elyse told me it was Prince Charles' 60th birthday.
We ate breakfast on Saturday and then got ready for the day. There were no set plans, but we eventually decided to go to the Tower of London and London Bridge. We knew it wasn't far from us, a few miles. The underground was helplessly crowded, so Elyse suggested we walk, and I was fine with that. Well, I was fine with it until it started to pour rain. Already wet, we just kept at it, finally reaching our destination an hour and a half and about 4 or 5 miles later. On the way we saw St. Paul's Cathedral, a circus, a Remembrance Day parade, and lots of fun buildings and statues. Once at the Tower, it stopped raining for a little while, and we happily spent the rest of the afternoon in that part of London. When the sun went down, though, we quickly became cold and miserable, two deterrents to staying out much longer. We caught the underground back to our hotel, took hot showers, and I went out to find dinner and bring it back. We were exhausted, and neither of us felt like going 'out on the town', so we stayed in again, talking and goofing off and loading pictures on her computer.
Sunday was our only planned excursion. We got up early, grabbed food from the breakfast buffet, and walked to the pick-up spot for our guided tour to Windsor, Stonehenge and Oxford. Windsor castle was huge, and gorgeous, and slightly grotesque in its opulence. We grabbed sandwiches before getting back on the bus for the long ride to the middle of nowhere and Stonehenge. I had been there before, but it was cool to be there while Elyse experienced it for the first time. It was literally cool, or should I say cold, due to the whipping winds and the clouds rolling in. The rain didn't hold off much longer, and our tour group walked around Oxford with umbrellas and rainjackets. But what an experience! Oxford! THE Oxford! I bought a shirt-I'm wearing it right now- haha. I was totally thrilled. I know that makes me a nerd, but I don't care. Like I told Elyse, I appreciate everything academic. What I mean by appreciate is 'drool over'. Yeah, oh well. The day had been so long, and so once again, we got back to the hotel late that night and just sat. Eventually, we ate fish and chips for a late dinner, but then more hanging out. There was no pressure to go out and do anything; Elyse and I used to entertaining ourselves, just the two of us; we've been doing it for years.
Monday morning we took our time, getting breakfast, taking showers, repacking all of our madness, checking the train times, searching for a sticker to bring to my friend Mike. (By the way, stickers don't exist in London. In such a touristy town, you would THINK that you could easily find a sticker. Not true- not even at the airport!) To avoid more rain, we sat in Starbucks for a while, sipping coffee and talking about college, our future plans, our travels, and the lessons we'd learned from it all. More than London itself, the whole weekend was such a comfort to me just because I was with one of my best friends. She knows me, she gets me, and she loves me anyway. She knows how stubborn I can be (she is too, after all), she knows my habits, and how I view life. We can laugh together and be stupid and evaluate the world around us. It would have been hard to leave her at the airport yesterday, but I'll see her again very soon when she comes here to Galway!
I haven't unpacked yet, and I'm pretty sure I need groceries and to do homework. There are a few London pictures on the slideshow to the left, but check out all of them at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2068884&l=49955&id=44104357
I was supposed to have a morning class on Friday, and then I was going to catch my bus to Shannon after that. I showed up for class, but no one else was there. My assumption is cancellation due to graduation ceremonies. I guess I missed the memo about not having class; you would understand my confusion if you too saw the posted sign all week that read "Heritage students will have classes as normal on Thursday and Friday". Whatever. So I caught a bus downtown to kill some time before my bus left at noon. When I finally got to Shannon airport, I was antsy. I so badly just wanted to already be in London. My flight arrived around 5:30. It took me a slightly stressful shuttle ride and 40-minute train to the appointed meeting spot, but it was all worth it when I finally found Elyse. We were both absolutely thrilled to see each other. Friday night was chill, we walked around for a while before stopping to get dinner and then heading back to our hotel. We caught up and exchanged traveling stories. I heard fireworks outside, and Elyse told me it was Prince Charles' 60th birthday.
We ate breakfast on Saturday and then got ready for the day. There were no set plans, but we eventually decided to go to the Tower of London and London Bridge. We knew it wasn't far from us, a few miles. The underground was helplessly crowded, so Elyse suggested we walk, and I was fine with that. Well, I was fine with it until it started to pour rain. Already wet, we just kept at it, finally reaching our destination an hour and a half and about 4 or 5 miles later. On the way we saw St. Paul's Cathedral, a circus, a Remembrance Day parade, and lots of fun buildings and statues. Once at the Tower, it stopped raining for a little while, and we happily spent the rest of the afternoon in that part of London. When the sun went down, though, we quickly became cold and miserable, two deterrents to staying out much longer. We caught the underground back to our hotel, took hot showers, and I went out to find dinner and bring it back. We were exhausted, and neither of us felt like going 'out on the town', so we stayed in again, talking and goofing off and loading pictures on her computer.
Sunday was our only planned excursion. We got up early, grabbed food from the breakfast buffet, and walked to the pick-up spot for our guided tour to Windsor, Stonehenge and Oxford. Windsor castle was huge, and gorgeous, and slightly grotesque in its opulence. We grabbed sandwiches before getting back on the bus for the long ride to the middle of nowhere and Stonehenge. I had been there before, but it was cool to be there while Elyse experienced it for the first time. It was literally cool, or should I say cold, due to the whipping winds and the clouds rolling in. The rain didn't hold off much longer, and our tour group walked around Oxford with umbrellas and rainjackets. But what an experience! Oxford! THE Oxford! I bought a shirt-I'm wearing it right now- haha. I was totally thrilled. I know that makes me a nerd, but I don't care. Like I told Elyse, I appreciate everything academic. What I mean by appreciate is 'drool over'. Yeah, oh well. The day had been so long, and so once again, we got back to the hotel late that night and just sat. Eventually, we ate fish and chips for a late dinner, but then more hanging out. There was no pressure to go out and do anything; Elyse and I used to entertaining ourselves, just the two of us; we've been doing it for years.
Monday morning we took our time, getting breakfast, taking showers, repacking all of our madness, checking the train times, searching for a sticker to bring to my friend Mike. (By the way, stickers don't exist in London. In such a touristy town, you would THINK that you could easily find a sticker. Not true- not even at the airport!) To avoid more rain, we sat in Starbucks for a while, sipping coffee and talking about college, our future plans, our travels, and the lessons we'd learned from it all. More than London itself, the whole weekend was such a comfort to me just because I was with one of my best friends. She knows me, she gets me, and she loves me anyway. She knows how stubborn I can be (she is too, after all), she knows my habits, and how I view life. We can laugh together and be stupid and evaluate the world around us. It would have been hard to leave her at the airport yesterday, but I'll see her again very soon when she comes here to Galway!
I haven't unpacked yet, and I'm pretty sure I need groceries and to do homework. There are a few London pictures on the slideshow to the left, but check out all of them at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2068884&l=49955&id=44104357
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Party time!
Last night was insane!! I mean, out of my realm of anticipation insane. I'm not sure if all of the Erasmus students work on the same brainwaves or if we just have a complex communication system that I'm not aware of, but it seemed like every foreign student I know went to The King's Head pub last night for Halloween. After hanging out with my neighbors for a bit, we traveled to the city center to see if we could throw our own Halloween celebration. I knew that a few of my friends were at The King's Head, so I suggested stopping there first to see if they were still there. (I don't have a cell phone, and while I LOVE that, it can be challenging to find people without one.) They ended up being there, and like I said, tons of our other friends were too. The pub was buzzing with activity. There was a costume contest, a very accomplished Lance Armstrong-lookalike DJ was spinning tunes, and lots and lots of dancing! Even the guys danced! We definitely 'cut a rug' (as my WI friend Mike put it). I think we boogied from 11 pm until 3 am. Whew! Oh, and I got a free hat. Ha. Minor detail. Afterwards, we continued tradition with none other than a crepe stop. Most of us agree that last night was one of the best nights we've had here in Galway, and I think a fair amount of that is due to these fantastic people.
Today Mike, Carolin, Nick Bower and I headed down to the Saturday market to buy veggies and hang out. We explored gift shops and I gave an extended tour of the little-known areas of Galway that I have discovered in my wanderings. After watching a movie with Stephanie, I hunkered down and finished a project that's due on Thursday. I have a few papers I need to write too, but I have at least two weeks before I need to turn them in. (They're due whenever my professor returns from leave; he had surgery last week.) I need to finish a book for one of them.
Going down to church in the morning, then I think we're going to try and go on the "Haunted Galway" Ghost Bus Tour, which will be perfect for my nightmares. :)
Oh! I'm so excited! I'm heading to see Elyse this coming weekend! She's making a stop in London on her European adventure, and I'm flying there to meet her for a few days. She will then continue to Edinburgh before heading to Ireland to see me again! She and I have been keeping up quite a bit since we've been gone (both of us since September), and I am stoked to see her smiling face! Hopefully we can provide a sense of normalcy for each other. I fly out after my class on Friday and will be there until Monday night. Yay!!!
Today Mike, Carolin, Nick Bower and I headed down to the Saturday market to buy veggies and hang out. We explored gift shops and I gave an extended tour of the little-known areas of Galway that I have discovered in my wanderings. After watching a movie with Stephanie, I hunkered down and finished a project that's due on Thursday. I have a few papers I need to write too, but I have at least two weeks before I need to turn them in. (They're due whenever my professor returns from leave; he had surgery last week.) I need to finish a book for one of them.
Going down to church in the morning, then I think we're going to try and go on the "Haunted Galway" Ghost Bus Tour, which will be perfect for my nightmares. :)
Oh! I'm so excited! I'm heading to see Elyse this coming weekend! She's making a stop in London on her European adventure, and I'm flying there to meet her for a few days. She will then continue to Edinburgh before heading to Ireland to see me again! She and I have been keeping up quite a bit since we've been gone (both of us since September), and I am stoked to see her smiling face! Hopefully we can provide a sense of normalcy for each other. I fly out after my class on Friday and will be there until Monday night. Yay!!!
Saturday, October 25, 2008
"Como ça va?"
I meant to publish this post yesterday, but time got away from me, and I find myself writing it now because I'm sure I'll want to look back on it someday and remember it! Anyway, it needs to be said: I. Love. My. Flatmates.
Afternoons at the Frendutchamerican House is one of my most favorite times, especially when all of the residents come out of our rooms. Yesterday happened to be one such afternoon. By some stroke of luck, Ruben, Anne-Sophie, her friend, and I all ended up in the kitchen at the same time, all of us attempting to make lunch at the same time.
Afternoons at the Frendutchamerican House is one of my most favorite times, especially when all of the residents come out of our rooms. Yesterday happened to be one such afternoon. By some stroke of luck, Ruben, Anne-Sophie, her friend, and I all ended up in the kitchen at the same time, all of us attempting to make lunch at the same time.
That's our kitchen. Imagine trying to fit more than one person in there at a time, let alone four. Well, Ruben and I chilled at the table, telling funny stories about a drunk Anso from the night before while the French mademoiselles made food. It's a little difficult to explain unless you had been there, but from those stories came lessons in basic French and basic/advanced English, so we were all bouncing around the kitchen trying new phrases on for size. And before you know it, we are all tickled and laughing at ourselves and each other.
There's a movie I watched a few weeks ago called "Pot Luck," and it's the incredible adventure of a French grad student who travels to Spain to study under the Erasmus program. When I watched it, I thought, how true is that movie; I imagine any exchange student who has seen it would agree that almost everyone's journey has been similar to that film. In the movie, the guy moves in with a motley crew of international students, and they had intercultural experiences that mirror the experiences Ruben, Anso and I have shared... attempting to carry on a conversation with a parent that doesn't speak your language, silent fights over space in the fridge, sharing the peculiarities of our different cultures. I think I may make my family watch this film when I get home, no doubt I'll stop it every thirty seconds to tell a story.
In the past 24 hours, I've had conversation upon conversation with different friends about Ireland and home and what will happen when people leave and how sad it will be and who will come visit when and scheduling vacations together. It's October! Surprising because I've only been here 7 weeks, and I won't be leaving for another 6.
I may miss home, but how will I ever be able to leave these people?
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Some Americans, some Germans, and one French guy
I did manage to get to sleep Friday night, but only for about 4 hours. Then it was up and off to Dublin! At first intake, I wasn't so sure I would like it. Truth be told, I'm not a city girl. I really don't like the congestion of people and cars and pollution and big business. So I guess it makes sense that I feel so at home in the mountains of Cullowhee, and also that a big city like Dublin would make me nervous. I headed off to Dub-vegas with Carolin, Stephan, Charlie, and Fabien. (Stephen, Nick, and Derek were already there.) The weather was great both yesterday and today, so we took full advantage of it by staying outside as much as we could bear. At first we just walked around the city, stopping at various monuments and cathedrals. There was an open-air market that hosted some of the most beautiful fresh fruits I've ever seen, and we couldn't resist. We even popped into Dublin City Art Museum, which was nice and quiet. The night before, Carolin had convinced me to get my hair cut, so after the museum she and I split off to see what we could find as far as available hairdressers, which was nothing, by the way. Sad times. So we wandered, walking in and immediately out of stores because we found that even our sheer determination to shop wasn't getting us anywhere. We simply couldn't handle it. Eventually, we met the guys back by the river and wandered over to the hostel. We stayed at the Avalon House in Dublin 2; it actually wasn't bad at all. Our room was clean and tucked away in the corner. Except for the two guitar-playing hippie chicks next door, it was quiet. Once we checked in, we took advantage of our down time by getting coffee, checking email on the computers downstairs, or getting horizontal. It was nice just to hang out. Later, we met up with the other guys to go to Dublin's 1st Annual Oktoberfest. Haha. Unfortunately, we didn't get very far. In fact, we didn't even get in. There were too many people already inside, so we had to queue, which we patiently did for about 20 minutes before hunger ravaged our stomachs and we got German sausages and decided to pub hop.
Now, what you read next may surprise you. I'm giving you a fair warning. Since we couldn't get into the fest, we started to walk around Dublin, sure that we'd find a pub or bar or restaurant where we could chill. We ended up in the famous (or infamous) Temple Bar district. So, where did we go? That's right, Temple Bar. So that's where we started, but it turns out that you have to be 21 or older to get in. This is very strange, since the Irish drinking age is 18. Anyway, Fabien (who is only 20) couldn't get it, so a few of us had a beer and then we left to find a more suitable location. We ended up in another bar that at first glance seemed pretty sketch. But actually, we had a lot of fun. Then we moseyed to another bar, where they were playing incredible music, so we danced the night away, everyone feeling loose and happy to be among friends and strangers who act like they want to be your friends. Stephen and Derek ducked out after this bar, but the rest of us decided to do just one more. Right after midnight, we struggled to find a place where the party was still hoppin' but wasn't getting too sloppy. We sent Nick on the mission to find a place, and did he ever! The next bar wasn't as chokingly crowded, so we celebrated by taking shots and dancing some more. I am proud to say that was my first ever bar-hop. I've only been 21 for a few months, and I'm not much of a drinker. However, the music, the atmosphere, and the energy of my friends played into a great night in Dublin. Don't worry, we were all very safe about getting around and getting home; no one got sloshed or sick (I only had three drinks over the course of 4 hours); the guys made sure Carolin and I were protected (and we made sure they were good, too); no one's clothes came off. We were all very smart about it. Trust me, I am not magically and suddenly transforming into a party girl. But.. it was fun. That's all.
The only reprieve from my dreams last night was that they were presented like short stories. The upside: they were very short dreams. The downsides: there were a lot of them, and all the normal-length drama was compacted into those short episodes. I can't remember the content, but I do remember waking up often and feeling either scared or anxious. So I have to conclude they were more nightmares. All in all, I figure I slept about 4 or 5 hours. Four hours the night before, and 2.5 before that. At least I'm able to sleep longer? Hmm... At any rate, if I can't rest for longer periods of time, I'm going to get sick. I already have a bit of a cough going.
Because I couldn't sleep last night, I got up earlier than I had planned on doing. I walked around the hostel, sat on the floor in the room, and eventually got dressed and woke Carolin to eat breakfast with me. Stephan and I went to Mass and then met everyone else at the coffee shop to begin our day plans. We went to Stephen's Green, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Christchurch Cathedral, Dublin Castle, and walked around some more in search of entertainment and food. Then, we came back to Galway. On the screen, it doesn't appear that we were too busy, but we saw a lot while keeping a steady pace so that no one would be stressed out. And now I'm home, having cleaned the apartment for inspection tomorrow, unsuccessfully attempting to watch Grey's Anatomy online, and unpacking from the weekend. My two classes are cancelled tomorrow because my professor won't be in Galway, so I have a free day to relax. Who knows what kind of trouble I'll find?
Now, what you read next may surprise you. I'm giving you a fair warning. Since we couldn't get into the fest, we started to walk around Dublin, sure that we'd find a pub or bar or restaurant where we could chill. We ended up in the famous (or infamous) Temple Bar district. So, where did we go? That's right, Temple Bar. So that's where we started, but it turns out that you have to be 21 or older to get in. This is very strange, since the Irish drinking age is 18. Anyway, Fabien (who is only 20) couldn't get it, so a few of us had a beer and then we left to find a more suitable location. We ended up in another bar that at first glance seemed pretty sketch. But actually, we had a lot of fun. Then we moseyed to another bar, where they were playing incredible music, so we danced the night away, everyone feeling loose and happy to be among friends and strangers who act like they want to be your friends. Stephen and Derek ducked out after this bar, but the rest of us decided to do just one more. Right after midnight, we struggled to find a place where the party was still hoppin' but wasn't getting too sloppy. We sent Nick on the mission to find a place, and did he ever! The next bar wasn't as chokingly crowded, so we celebrated by taking shots and dancing some more. I am proud to say that was my first ever bar-hop. I've only been 21 for a few months, and I'm not much of a drinker. However, the music, the atmosphere, and the energy of my friends played into a great night in Dublin. Don't worry, we were all very safe about getting around and getting home; no one got sloshed or sick (I only had three drinks over the course of 4 hours); the guys made sure Carolin and I were protected (and we made sure they were good, too); no one's clothes came off. We were all very smart about it. Trust me, I am not magically and suddenly transforming into a party girl. But.. it was fun. That's all.
The only reprieve from my dreams last night was that they were presented like short stories. The upside: they were very short dreams. The downsides: there were a lot of them, and all the normal-length drama was compacted into those short episodes. I can't remember the content, but I do remember waking up often and feeling either scared or anxious. So I have to conclude they were more nightmares. All in all, I figure I slept about 4 or 5 hours. Four hours the night before, and 2.5 before that. At least I'm able to sleep longer? Hmm... At any rate, if I can't rest for longer periods of time, I'm going to get sick. I already have a bit of a cough going.
Because I couldn't sleep last night, I got up earlier than I had planned on doing. I walked around the hostel, sat on the floor in the room, and eventually got dressed and woke Carolin to eat breakfast with me. Stephan and I went to Mass and then met everyone else at the coffee shop to begin our day plans. We went to Stephen's Green, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Christchurch Cathedral, Dublin Castle, and walked around some more in search of entertainment and food. Then, we came back to Galway. On the screen, it doesn't appear that we were too busy, but we saw a lot while keeping a steady pace so that no one would be stressed out. And now I'm home, having cleaned the apartment for inspection tomorrow, unsuccessfully attempting to watch Grey's Anatomy online, and unpacking from the weekend. My two classes are cancelled tomorrow because my professor won't be in Galway, so I have a free day to relax. Who knows what kind of trouble I'll find?
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Best day ever...
So today was probably the best day I've had so far in this great Emerald Isle. I'm going to lump last night into it, too, because it really started around 9 pm last night. I was a little tired of going out on the town so often, so I decided to stay in. Immediately, I was contacted by four people on Skype- Chelsea, my friend Andrew from home, Tiffany, and my parents (okay, so that makes five people). It was SOOO good to talk to all of them. I hadn't talked to my mom at all since I got here, and it was good to hear her voice. Dad even got the dog to bark into the microphone! Haha.
So I went to bed really happy that I had heard from those folks. I woke up today and decided to go downtown in order to buy everything I need. I've been putting off getting things, but I had to make a trip to get my school books anyway, so I figured it was then or never. So I spent four hours running around a town that I only semi-know, searching for things like a rain jacket and a hair straightener. I got "lost" a few times- lost only in the sense that I went down streets with which I wasn't familiar. But I got to where I needed to go, AND I found a lot of cool shops in the meantime. For example, the ritzy boutique where I found the perfect rain jacket, or the freetrade coffee shop where I bought incense and was given a brochure for this really cool arts festival in October. Or how about stumbling across the open air market outside of the boys' school? Or turning the corner and bumping into an outdoor store that made my heart leap with the familiarity of the mountains and home? I found everything I needed, including an obscure book for class about Irish slang and the hair straightener I've been searching for since I got here. Plus, taking time to myself, with no agenda, was brilliant. I needed to settle back into my own skin for a little while, especially because of all of the cultural pressure I'm facing to be someone I'm not.
After catching the bus back to my apartment, I spent some time with my roommates and took a shower. Then I went to a get-together at another French girl's place. At first, there weren't many people there, but after about an hour, the place was packed with international students. My WCU friend Garrett and I taught people how to play the card game Bullsh*t, and we played an international version of Uno (international meaning we made up new rules because everyone plays it differently). Apparently, the security guard wasn't happy with all the noise, so eventually the party got shut down, but we just moved to another place and kept hanging out. I met so many new people and had a lot of great conversations. Plus, we weren't at a bar or club spending tons of money on booze. It was a lot of fun, and now I have 20 more friends than I had before tonight. So really, it was probably the best day I've had yet. Tomorrow I think we are all going down to a pub where they play traditional Irish music. I also want to see if I can download a podcast of the sermons back at Pinedale. The general Irish population is Catholic, and nondenominational Christian churches aren't really around. And I don't think I can go three and a half months without church. So we'll see.
I want to thank everyone again for reading this blog. I have a mailing address too, if you wanted to mail something. I'm not going to publically post it, but if you email me at rathkatie@gmail.com, then I'll send you the info! Thanks!
So I went to bed really happy that I had heard from those folks. I woke up today and decided to go downtown in order to buy everything I need. I've been putting off getting things, but I had to make a trip to get my school books anyway, so I figured it was then or never. So I spent four hours running around a town that I only semi-know, searching for things like a rain jacket and a hair straightener. I got "lost" a few times- lost only in the sense that I went down streets with which I wasn't familiar. But I got to where I needed to go, AND I found a lot of cool shops in the meantime. For example, the ritzy boutique where I found the perfect rain jacket, or the freetrade coffee shop where I bought incense and was given a brochure for this really cool arts festival in October. Or how about stumbling across the open air market outside of the boys' school? Or turning the corner and bumping into an outdoor store that made my heart leap with the familiarity of the mountains and home? I found everything I needed, including an obscure book for class about Irish slang and the hair straightener I've been searching for since I got here. Plus, taking time to myself, with no agenda, was brilliant. I needed to settle back into my own skin for a little while, especially because of all of the cultural pressure I'm facing to be someone I'm not.
After catching the bus back to my apartment, I spent some time with my roommates and took a shower. Then I went to a get-together at another French girl's place. At first, there weren't many people there, but after about an hour, the place was packed with international students. My WCU friend Garrett and I taught people how to play the card game Bullsh*t, and we played an international version of Uno (international meaning we made up new rules because everyone plays it differently). Apparently, the security guard wasn't happy with all the noise, so eventually the party got shut down, but we just moved to another place and kept hanging out. I met so many new people and had a lot of great conversations. Plus, we weren't at a bar or club spending tons of money on booze. It was a lot of fun, and now I have 20 more friends than I had before tonight. So really, it was probably the best day I've had yet. Tomorrow I think we are all going down to a pub where they play traditional Irish music. I also want to see if I can download a podcast of the sermons back at Pinedale. The general Irish population is Catholic, and nondenominational Christian churches aren't really around. And I don't think I can go three and a half months without church. So we'll see.
I want to thank everyone again for reading this blog. I have a mailing address too, if you wanted to mail something. I'm not going to publically post it, but if you email me at rathkatie@gmail.com, then I'll send you the info! Thanks!
Saturday, September 6, 2008
My saving grace
As I'm sure you could imagine, I was ridiculously tired after getting settled in to my apartment two days ago. I ended up sleeping until 1 pm yesterday, something I'm not sure I've ever done. Well, it helped, a little.
Not long after I woke up to a grey, dreary, rainy afternoon, I got a phone call on my apartment phone. At first I had no idea what that strange ringing was. You'd think I'd forgotten what a phone sounded like. I followed my ears to the kitchen and gently lifted the receiver. Maybe I thought a bomb would go off, who knows. "Hello?" On the other end I recognized two voices, one of the receptionist at GMIT who so kindly gave me directions the other day, and the other of my American friend Tiffany. The receptionist handed the phone to Tiffany, who was calling to make sure I was at my apartment. She was here! In Galway! To see me!! Oh, the heavens rejoiced and the rain immediately stopped and I could hear birds singing for miles! OK, not really, but it sure felt like it. My friend was alive and well, and taking a taxi to my apartment right now!
When she stepped foot in my door, soaking wet and smiling from cute ear to cute ear, I felt my spirits lift. She pulled in two monstrous bags behind her... they were wet too, but not smiling so much. I had her pull her stuff in the living room and I turned on the heaters so we could dry everything. After catching up on what happened (we thought we were getting there on the same day, but she got in the day after; she doesn't have an apartment yet in Castlebar, so she came to Galway), we hit the town for dinner and grocery shopping. The grocery stores here charge a fee for using plastic bags; I, fortunately, had read about this in the news a few years ago when it started, so I advised Tiffany to bring her pack and I had mine, so we filled them with food and headed back later. Side note: Mom, I saw zero bananas at the grocery store! Mhmm... But they did have these amazing mangos for 49c. Bought me one of those.
After an evening of watching both American TV ("America's Got Talent" and "Sex and the City") and Irish TV (the news mainly, but we were also introduced to the sport of hurling), we goofed off, taking pictures and chit chatting.
This morning, I'll be taking Tiffany up to Castlebar, a campus about an hour and a half busride north. She's supposed to meet her landlord at the apartment at 4 o'clock. Both of us are praying she likes the apartment and she decides to live there because we'll be carting her bags around with us until she finds a place to permanently keep them. Since she will be staying in Ireland for a year, she brought double what I did. I'll crash at her place tonight- late bus transportation on the weekend are a little shady, from what we can tell. So I'll ride the bus back here tomorrow and ready myself for school to begin! For now, I need to go make sure she's awake...
Not long after I woke up to a grey, dreary, rainy afternoon, I got a phone call on my apartment phone. At first I had no idea what that strange ringing was. You'd think I'd forgotten what a phone sounded like. I followed my ears to the kitchen and gently lifted the receiver. Maybe I thought a bomb would go off, who knows. "Hello?" On the other end I recognized two voices, one of the receptionist at GMIT who so kindly gave me directions the other day, and the other of my American friend Tiffany. The receptionist handed the phone to Tiffany, who was calling to make sure I was at my apartment. She was here! In Galway! To see me!! Oh, the heavens rejoiced and the rain immediately stopped and I could hear birds singing for miles! OK, not really, but it sure felt like it. My friend was alive and well, and taking a taxi to my apartment right now!
When she stepped foot in my door, soaking wet and smiling from cute ear to cute ear, I felt my spirits lift. She pulled in two monstrous bags behind her... they were wet too, but not smiling so much. I had her pull her stuff in the living room and I turned on the heaters so we could dry everything. After catching up on what happened (we thought we were getting there on the same day, but she got in the day after; she doesn't have an apartment yet in Castlebar, so she came to Galway), we hit the town for dinner and grocery shopping. The grocery stores here charge a fee for using plastic bags; I, fortunately, had read about this in the news a few years ago when it started, so I advised Tiffany to bring her pack and I had mine, so we filled them with food and headed back later. Side note: Mom, I saw zero bananas at the grocery store! Mhmm... But they did have these amazing mangos for 49c. Bought me one of those.
After an evening of watching both American TV ("America's Got Talent" and "Sex and the City") and Irish TV (the news mainly, but we were also introduced to the sport of hurling), we goofed off, taking pictures and chit chatting.
Another side note: Dad- On the news, all of a sudden they were intereviewing an Irish Elvis impersonator? Haha it was pretty goofy. Naturally, I thought of you.
This morning, I'll be taking Tiffany up to Castlebar, a campus about an hour and a half busride north. She's supposed to meet her landlord at the apartment at 4 o'clock. Both of us are praying she likes the apartment and she decides to live there because we'll be carting her bags around with us until she finds a place to permanently keep them. Since she will be staying in Ireland for a year, she brought double what I did. I'll crash at her place tonight- late bus transportation on the weekend are a little shady, from what we can tell. So I'll ride the bus back here tomorrow and ready myself for school to begin! For now, I need to go make sure she's awake...
Thursday, September 4, 2008
31 hours later...
Man, have things happened since my first post. To start things off the right way, thanks to everyone who prayed or wished me well on the trip over here- I got in safely and I am currently typing from the comfort of my apartment in Galway. But I don't wan't to jump the gun, I'd rather tell you about my trip over here!
In case the nerves didn't shine through in the last post, I'll just outright tell you that I was very anxious about coming to Ireland. Those nerves ate me alive during my 5-hour layover at JFK airport in New York. I bounced around the airport trying to dispel the nervous energy that clouded my mind, but no success. I tried to eat, I tried to watch a movie, I tried talking on the phone, I tried just being still. No matter what I did, I wasn't feeling better. I couldn't even get online and write it out! Oh well. We'll skip forward a bit, to the actual departure from JFK. I was seated with a very nice young many named Henry, a student at SUNY-Buffalo who was traveling to study business in Dublin for a few months. Henry started up a conversation, and before I knew it, his excitement rubbed off and I stopped freaking out so much. Among many fun things on that 7-hour plane ride, I woke up just in time to join Henry in eating breakfast while watching the sun rise over Ireland. It was amazing. I know I've seen the sun set while on a plane, but I've never seen a sunrise from the air. Truly beautiful. And before we knew it, we were in Dublin! Not a lot of sleep on the plane, but I was ready to go!
After being held up momentarily at the passport station (I had to be registered as a student), I grabbed my bag from baggage claim and began to inspect my surroundings. I said bye to Henry, promised to keep in touch, and settled down to wait for my friend Tiffany. Over two hours later, she hadn't shown up yet. Sadly, I had to leave if I wanted to get to the college before the offices closed for the day. I pulled my bags into the cool morning Irish air, took a deep breath, and continued on to the bus parking lot, the coach park. I found my bus, paid my fare, and spent the next four hours alternating staring at the beautiful landscape and staring at the inside of my eyelids. If there's one thing to be said about Ireland, it's so beautiful. Gorgeous green pastures, charming farm manors and homemade stone fences. The fierce gray cumulous clouds rounded out the picturesque scene and touched the painted land with a sense of foreboding; I should have known then...
When I arrived at GMIT and eventually found Helen O'Reilly, she informed me that I really don't have much to do for the next week except to meet my advisors and the other exchange students. Whoo hoo. So here I am, a little depressed, pulling my heavier-than-I-remember bags (I swear someone put rocks in there) up to my apartment complex, where I'm praying that someone will hand me a key to the hotel suite of my dreams. No such luck. I got a key, yeah, but not exactly the mansion of my dreams. For what I'm paying, I wasn't sure what to expect. It's not bad by any stretch, just... different. Don't you love when people use that word? Normally it's a euphemism for something bad, but I really mean that this apartment is just different. For instance, no AC, but that's not necessary for Galway in September. There are no carpets, but beautiful hardwoods. The TV is small, but at least we have one, and it has full Irish cable. There's minimal furniture but a sizeable bathroom. So far, no neighbors. And it was in desperate need of supplies. With the help of about five Irish men and women, I got into Eyre Square in town and did some shopping. Towels, sheets, shampoo, trash bags, toilet paper, cereal. Eyre Square is probably one of the most important places to figure out as far as any type of shopping goes. I'll head back in tomorrow to get a student bus pass and to go grocery shopping. But for tonight, I'm fine. I grabbed a burger from the food joint in our apartment complex and jammed to my iTunes shuffle as I unpacked and arranged the apartment. It's going to be a challenge to entertain myself for the next three days until more students arrive, but I'll figure something out. I always have this blog!
As always, thanks for keeping up with me! I look forward to sharing more of my Irish adventure with you!
In case the nerves didn't shine through in the last post, I'll just outright tell you that I was very anxious about coming to Ireland. Those nerves ate me alive during my 5-hour layover at JFK airport in New York. I bounced around the airport trying to dispel the nervous energy that clouded my mind, but no success. I tried to eat, I tried to watch a movie, I tried talking on the phone, I tried just being still. No matter what I did, I wasn't feeling better. I couldn't even get online and write it out! Oh well. We'll skip forward a bit, to the actual departure from JFK. I was seated with a very nice young many named Henry, a student at SUNY-Buffalo who was traveling to study business in Dublin for a few months. Henry started up a conversation, and before I knew it, his excitement rubbed off and I stopped freaking out so much. Among many fun things on that 7-hour plane ride, I woke up just in time to join Henry in eating breakfast while watching the sun rise over Ireland. It was amazing. I know I've seen the sun set while on a plane, but I've never seen a sunrise from the air. Truly beautiful. And before we knew it, we were in Dublin! Not a lot of sleep on the plane, but I was ready to go!
After being held up momentarily at the passport station (I had to be registered as a student), I grabbed my bag from baggage claim and began to inspect my surroundings. I said bye to Henry, promised to keep in touch, and settled down to wait for my friend Tiffany. Over two hours later, she hadn't shown up yet. Sadly, I had to leave if I wanted to get to the college before the offices closed for the day. I pulled my bags into the cool morning Irish air, took a deep breath, and continued on to the bus parking lot, the coach park. I found my bus, paid my fare, and spent the next four hours alternating staring at the beautiful landscape and staring at the inside of my eyelids. If there's one thing to be said about Ireland, it's so beautiful. Gorgeous green pastures, charming farm manors and homemade stone fences. The fierce gray cumulous clouds rounded out the picturesque scene and touched the painted land with a sense of foreboding; I should have known then...
When I arrived at GMIT and eventually found Helen O'Reilly, she informed me that I really don't have much to do for the next week except to meet my advisors and the other exchange students. Whoo hoo. So here I am, a little depressed, pulling my heavier-than-I-remember bags (I swear someone put rocks in there) up to my apartment complex, where I'm praying that someone will hand me a key to the hotel suite of my dreams. No such luck. I got a key, yeah, but not exactly the mansion of my dreams. For what I'm paying, I wasn't sure what to expect. It's not bad by any stretch, just... different. Don't you love when people use that word? Normally it's a euphemism for something bad, but I really mean that this apartment is just different. For instance, no AC, but that's not necessary for Galway in September. There are no carpets, but beautiful hardwoods. The TV is small, but at least we have one, and it has full Irish cable. There's minimal furniture but a sizeable bathroom. So far, no neighbors. And it was in desperate need of supplies. With the help of about five Irish men and women, I got into Eyre Square in town and did some shopping. Towels, sheets, shampoo, trash bags, toilet paper, cereal. Eyre Square is probably one of the most important places to figure out as far as any type of shopping goes. I'll head back in tomorrow to get a student bus pass and to go grocery shopping. But for tonight, I'm fine. I grabbed a burger from the food joint in our apartment complex and jammed to my iTunes shuffle as I unpacked and arranged the apartment. It's going to be a challenge to entertain myself for the next three days until more students arrive, but I'll figure something out. I always have this blog!
As always, thanks for keeping up with me! I look forward to sharing more of my Irish adventure with you!
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Here...we...go!
So, here I go. I leave today for Ireland. Just to fill everyone in, I am studying at Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology in Galway, Ireland for the three and a half months before I graduate from Western Carolina University. I am not taking any classes necessary for either of my degrees (B.S. in Communication/Public Relations and a B.A. in Philosophy and Religion), but I will be taking classes. Two Irish lit classes and two archaeology classes. Ha, yeah, I know. Not even CLOSE to what I'm studying, but oh well. Gotta get your kicks somehow. I know a few people that will be coming too. In fact, allow me to introduce them, my "cast of characters," if you will.
Stephen: my long-time friend, one of my best friends, from WCU. He's a construction management major and will be attending the same campus and living in the same apartment complex as I am.
Tiffany- another good friend from WCU. She is arriving at Dublin one hour after I am and we will be traveling together today. She will be at a different campus, about 45 minutes away.
Helen O'Reilly- the international student officer at GMIT. She is basically the liason between Ireland and WCU, and will be a huge resource, I'm sure.
Katie- my old roomie from WCU. She is living and working as a nanny in Spain. I think she and I will be meeting up more than once.
Elyse- a close friend from WCU. She is working with Habitat for Humanity in Romania for a few weeks, and then will be traveling Europe, ending in Ireland in November. Read her blog:
http://europeplusme.blogspot.com/
Actually, that may be it for now. Hopefully it will expand.
So anyway, you're reading this blog, hopefully, because you want to share my adventure! For that, I am thankful. Knowing I have a network of friends behind me comforts my heart and somehow motivates me to explore and learn and grow and have as much fun as possible. Again, I say thank you. I'm sure my parents would be thankful too. My little sister Chelsea just left for college a week and a half ago, and I know that my leaving is like removing all traces of intelligent life from the house. (Let's face it, our dog Jack doesn't exactly fit the bill.) And I'm sad to go, to leave Mom and Dad alone, without any kids, for the first time in 23 years. Whew, that's a long time. they'll be fine, and I will be too. Speaking of being fine...
Though I'm not sure Charlotte-Douglas International deserves my tears, that won't make me feel any better about soaking my collar at the checkpoint, not thirty seconds after leaving my mom. I tried to make myself feel better by recalling one of my fave movies, Love Actually; Hugh Grant starts the film with a very beautiful point about the hope that can found at an airport when one realizes the amount of love that departs and arrives with passengers. It's one of the best moments of the movie, in my opinion. And thinking about it this morning didn't help me one bit. As fervently as I tried to suppress them, I couldn't keep the tears from welling up. I will be fine, of that I am sure. But I think the anxiety has finally caught up with me.
For now, I am desperately trying to distract myself. In fact, I'm on sensory overload at this point. I'm obviously typing this post, and I am also chewing a very tasty piece of gum, listening to my mp3 player in one ear and listening to airport traffic with the other. Not to mention the random text messages and the phone calls from Mom and Luann wanting to pray with me. And also my inability to focus on any one thing... I've always enjoyed watching people in airports, and right now I find myself making up stories about these people and where they're going and where they've been, whom they just left and those they'll greet at their destinations. I think it's working. Again, I repeat, I'll be fine.
I apologize for beginning this blog with such a stressful post. Well, it seems stressful to me. One day, we'll all look back on this and laugh. Hopefully that day will be sometime next week. For now, I'll be boarding my fligh to JFK soon, and then it's on to Dublin. Stay tuned!
Stephen: my long-time friend, one of my best friends, from WCU. He's a construction management major and will be attending the same campus and living in the same apartment complex as I am.
Tiffany- another good friend from WCU. She is arriving at Dublin one hour after I am and we will be traveling together today. She will be at a different campus, about 45 minutes away.
Helen O'Reilly- the international student officer at GMIT. She is basically the liason between Ireland and WCU, and will be a huge resource, I'm sure.
Katie- my old roomie from WCU. She is living and working as a nanny in Spain. I think she and I will be meeting up more than once.
Elyse- a close friend from WCU. She is working with Habitat for Humanity in Romania for a few weeks, and then will be traveling Europe, ending in Ireland in November. Read her blog:
http://europeplusme.blogspot.com/
Actually, that may be it for now. Hopefully it will expand.
So anyway, you're reading this blog, hopefully, because you want to share my adventure! For that, I am thankful. Knowing I have a network of friends behind me comforts my heart and somehow motivates me to explore and learn and grow and have as much fun as possible. Again, I say thank you. I'm sure my parents would be thankful too. My little sister Chelsea just left for college a week and a half ago, and I know that my leaving is like removing all traces of intelligent life from the house. (Let's face it, our dog Jack doesn't exactly fit the bill.) And I'm sad to go, to leave Mom and Dad alone, without any kids, for the first time in 23 years. Whew, that's a long time. they'll be fine, and I will be too. Speaking of being fine...
Though I'm not sure Charlotte-Douglas International deserves my tears, that won't make me feel any better about soaking my collar at the checkpoint, not thirty seconds after leaving my mom. I tried to make myself feel better by recalling one of my fave movies, Love Actually; Hugh Grant starts the film with a very beautiful point about the hope that can found at an airport when one realizes the amount of love that departs and arrives with passengers. It's one of the best moments of the movie, in my opinion. And thinking about it this morning didn't help me one bit. As fervently as I tried to suppress them, I couldn't keep the tears from welling up. I will be fine, of that I am sure. But I think the anxiety has finally caught up with me.
For now, I am desperately trying to distract myself. In fact, I'm on sensory overload at this point. I'm obviously typing this post, and I am also chewing a very tasty piece of gum, listening to my mp3 player in one ear and listening to airport traffic with the other. Not to mention the random text messages and the phone calls from Mom and Luann wanting to pray with me. And also my inability to focus on any one thing... I've always enjoyed watching people in airports, and right now I find myself making up stories about these people and where they're going and where they've been, whom they just left and those they'll greet at their destinations. I think it's working. Again, I repeat, I'll be fine.
I apologize for beginning this blog with such a stressful post. Well, it seems stressful to me. One day, we'll all look back on this and laugh. Hopefully that day will be sometime next week. For now, I'll be boarding my fligh to JFK soon, and then it's on to Dublin. Stay tuned!
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