Second week of classes start today (well of actual semester classes). I like this only having class 2 days a week, but it is kinda hard to get up for a 1pm class (I know really strange right?) after having 5 days of relaxation. I know I shouldn't complain, but I've got myself on this interesting sleep schedule. I used to try to do the same sleep schedule I have at home, bed around midnight and up between 9 and 10am. However, I've found that going to bed between 1 and 2am here and gettting up between 12 and 1 pm is actually pretty good. Amanda explained her reasoning for it yesterday, which was that when we get back, it will be easier to adjust back to US time since we're going to bed at 6pm or 7pm US time and getting up at 8am or 9am, much closer to my normal time as compared to the sleep schedule I was trying.
One thing I do really miss, besides all of my friends and family, is good coffee. You all will be happy to know that I have only had 4 cups of coffee since I've been here. So that averages out to 1 cup a week. I've substituted hot tea for coffee and drink at least 2 cups of it a day. Or at least I used to. Slowing down just a bit, but I still drink a lot of it. But that doesn't mean I don't miss a good cup of coffee every now and then. I would love to go down to Third Place, get a latte, and sit for like 2 hours reading the paper and generally just doing nothing. But alas, I can't. Though I have found a good coffee shop, Butlers Chocolate Shop, well they have amazing hot chocolate and their coffee is superb.
Lets see, current trips I have planned are as follows: this weekend I'm going to Northern Ireland with the program, which I think will be a lot of fun, and then next weekend it's off to Scotland with Amanda and Sam. That trip I'm really excited for!!!! Scotland looks really pretty and I can't wait to go do some traveling out of the country. It looks like the only trips out of the country I'll be taking at the moment are to Scotland, England, and France, though I still have 2 weekends in February open to do something in. But I might just stay in the country and travel during those times.
Anyways, I guess I should get dressed and get out of bed, since I've been ridiculously lazy these past 3 days :) Class is beginning to call.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Pictures!!!!
I promised to upload some pictures in my last post, so here are some pictures from my weekend trip to Cork City, Kinsale, and Blarney Castle.
These are from Kinsale, a small coastal town. I love the first one because the name of the restaurant is "Fishy Fishy Shop" :)
Here's one from the Chinese dinner the girls had when we got back to Cork that evening. Anna is on the left and Amanda is on the right.
And finally......drum roll please.....BLARNEY CASTLE! Proof that I actually was there and it is beautiful. There are more pictures, but it will take way too long to put them up here so they are on facebook.
These are from Kinsale, a small coastal town. I love the first one because the name of the restaurant is "Fishy Fishy Shop" :)
Here's one from the Chinese dinner the girls had when we got back to Cork that evening. Anna is on the left and Amanda is on the right.
And finally......drum roll please.....BLARNEY CASTLE! Proof that I actually was there and it is beautiful. There are more pictures, but it will take way too long to put them up here so they are on facebook.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Second Week of fun
Hi everyone! I'm now in my third week in Dublin, so let me fill you in on what happened this past week. The foundation course if officially over, and the last day was kind of sad because my favorite lecturer cancelled his class because he was sick. However, he did give me many suggestions about places to visit while in Ireland so that should come in handy.
This past weekend a group of us went to Cork City, Kinsale, and Blarney Castle. This was my first trip really far away from the city (4 hour bus ride to be exact). It was also my first time using a bus and staying in a hostel. The buses were pretty nice, I guess, as far as buses go, though towards the end of the ride I started to feel a little sick because of the many winding roads. But that aside it was a pretty uneventful ride. We got to Cork City and I was in charge of getting us to the hostel since I had brought my travel book (which has a map in it). After making a slight circle, I got us to the hostel. We stayed at Sheilas Hostel, which is pretty nice apparently (according to a few girls who had stayed in other hostels in Ireland). Linens were included and it was really clean. My group had actually booked an entire room to ourselves since there were 8 of us staying in that room. The room was really small though, slightly bigger than my room here in Dublin, but there were 4 bunk beds along the walls, which made for a tight squeeze with all 8 of us in the room. But it was still fun. That first night we went to Mulligans pub (a pub that we just wandered into). There was a big rugby game going on so 95% of the people there were male and they were all drinking a pint and glued to the televisions (kinda reminded me of home lol). Once the game was over, most of the guys left and my group was able to grab a table. The Laughing Shamrocks (a band) played a bunch of songs, but they were all cover songs. Still good though. I got to hear many a song that reminded me of someone in my life, like The Eagles, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Tom Petty, etc. It was a lot of fun.
Saturday we took the bus to Kinsale, a small town on the coast. The weather kinda sucked when we arrived--very rainy and windy. However, we were able to find a cute cafe and had brunch there. It was warm inside so we were all pretty happy. Once we left the cafe though, the weather cleared up a bit and we broke up into two smaller groups and wandered around the city. My group went up this hill that said cliff walk and we got a great surprise when we got towards the top--the sun came out and we had a great view of the water! Oh there were so many pictures taken. We wandered back down and then went by the docks for awhile. Once we met up with the rest of the group, we all trudged up this MASSIVE hill to find a fort that was supposed to be there, but we turned the wrong way at the top. However, by this time the weather was turning bad again so we made for the bus and were able to catch the 4:30 bus back to Cork City. A few girls, myself included, went out for food and found a chinese restaurant that had an early bird special--3 course meal for 15 Euro. I had some pretty decent chicken curry and a banana fritter. Soooo good. We then met up with some people from our study abroad group that were also in Cork City at Bru Bar and hung out for a few hours. Then myself and like 3 girls turned in for the night because we were beat.
Sunday morning we got up, got breakfast at the hostel, and then caught the bus to Blarney Castle. OMG the castle is sooooo beautiful. When you think of Ireland, the landscapes there are what you think of. Jackie and I climbed to the top, and she kissed the Blarney stone. I chickened out because I had heard from two sources that some of the locals pee on the stone and I also made the mistake of looking down (it was really high up and you bend over the edge backwards to kiss the stone). But the view from the top was breathtaking. Jackie, Anna, Nora, Mike, and myself had lunch at a cute cafe (one of the few places open for lunch on a Sunday) and then caught the next bus back to Cork City so we could make the 4pm bus back to Dublin. It was a great weekend trip I must say.
Yesterday was a very lazy day. I slept in and watched The Tudors online for a bit before meeting up with Amanda to go grocery shopping. Once we got back, I made dinner and relaxed for a bit before Amanda and Sam came over to plan this weekend's trip. However, we did not make much headway because many of the tours we wanted to go on aren't open until March. But I was productive in that I bought my plane ticket to England for the last weekend in February. I'm so excited to see Lauren Mottle and Lauren Taylor. I miss seeing my roommates everyday. But I know they are having fun and I'm able to talk to them via Skype so it's not quite as hard as it could be.
I also got my class schedule. On Tuesdays I'm taking Formations of the Psyche from 1-3pm and on Wednesdays I'm taking Culture and Religion from 11-1pm and Abnormal Psychology from 3-5pm. Those are my only classes!!!!!! I'm so excited for an easy semester. I need it considering what I put myself through last semester. However, I will be doing research while I'm here, but I don't think that will be too stressful. I'm hoping that I can get people from my classes who aren't American to fill out my surveys and that get me closer to my goal of 50 participants. Anywhos, I'll post more later, like pictures, but I should start getting ready for class :)
This past weekend a group of us went to Cork City, Kinsale, and Blarney Castle. This was my first trip really far away from the city (4 hour bus ride to be exact). It was also my first time using a bus and staying in a hostel. The buses were pretty nice, I guess, as far as buses go, though towards the end of the ride I started to feel a little sick because of the many winding roads. But that aside it was a pretty uneventful ride. We got to Cork City and I was in charge of getting us to the hostel since I had brought my travel book (which has a map in it). After making a slight circle, I got us to the hostel. We stayed at Sheilas Hostel, which is pretty nice apparently (according to a few girls who had stayed in other hostels in Ireland). Linens were included and it was really clean. My group had actually booked an entire room to ourselves since there were 8 of us staying in that room. The room was really small though, slightly bigger than my room here in Dublin, but there were 4 bunk beds along the walls, which made for a tight squeeze with all 8 of us in the room. But it was still fun. That first night we went to Mulligans pub (a pub that we just wandered into). There was a big rugby game going on so 95% of the people there were male and they were all drinking a pint and glued to the televisions (kinda reminded me of home lol). Once the game was over, most of the guys left and my group was able to grab a table. The Laughing Shamrocks (a band) played a bunch of songs, but they were all cover songs. Still good though. I got to hear many a song that reminded me of someone in my life, like The Eagles, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Tom Petty, etc. It was a lot of fun.
Saturday we took the bus to Kinsale, a small town on the coast. The weather kinda sucked when we arrived--very rainy and windy. However, we were able to find a cute cafe and had brunch there. It was warm inside so we were all pretty happy. Once we left the cafe though, the weather cleared up a bit and we broke up into two smaller groups and wandered around the city. My group went up this hill that said cliff walk and we got a great surprise when we got towards the top--the sun came out and we had a great view of the water! Oh there were so many pictures taken. We wandered back down and then went by the docks for awhile. Once we met up with the rest of the group, we all trudged up this MASSIVE hill to find a fort that was supposed to be there, but we turned the wrong way at the top. However, by this time the weather was turning bad again so we made for the bus and were able to catch the 4:30 bus back to Cork City. A few girls, myself included, went out for food and found a chinese restaurant that had an early bird special--3 course meal for 15 Euro. I had some pretty decent chicken curry and a banana fritter. Soooo good. We then met up with some people from our study abroad group that were also in Cork City at Bru Bar and hung out for a few hours. Then myself and like 3 girls turned in for the night because we were beat.
Sunday morning we got up, got breakfast at the hostel, and then caught the bus to Blarney Castle. OMG the castle is sooooo beautiful. When you think of Ireland, the landscapes there are what you think of. Jackie and I climbed to the top, and she kissed the Blarney stone. I chickened out because I had heard from two sources that some of the locals pee on the stone and I also made the mistake of looking down (it was really high up and you bend over the edge backwards to kiss the stone). But the view from the top was breathtaking. Jackie, Anna, Nora, Mike, and myself had lunch at a cute cafe (one of the few places open for lunch on a Sunday) and then caught the next bus back to Cork City so we could make the 4pm bus back to Dublin. It was a great weekend trip I must say.
Yesterday was a very lazy day. I slept in and watched The Tudors online for a bit before meeting up with Amanda to go grocery shopping. Once we got back, I made dinner and relaxed for a bit before Amanda and Sam came over to plan this weekend's trip. However, we did not make much headway because many of the tours we wanted to go on aren't open until March. But I was productive in that I bought my plane ticket to England for the last weekend in February. I'm so excited to see Lauren Mottle and Lauren Taylor. I miss seeing my roommates everyday. But I know they are having fun and I'm able to talk to them via Skype so it's not quite as hard as it could be.
I also got my class schedule. On Tuesdays I'm taking Formations of the Psyche from 1-3pm and on Wednesdays I'm taking Culture and Religion from 11-1pm and Abnormal Psychology from 3-5pm. Those are my only classes!!!!!! I'm so excited for an easy semester. I need it considering what I put myself through last semester. However, I will be doing research while I'm here, but I don't think that will be too stressful. I'm hoping that I can get people from my classes who aren't American to fill out my surveys and that get me closer to my goal of 50 participants. Anywhos, I'll post more later, like pictures, but I should start getting ready for class :)
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Cliff Walk
I went with three other people on a walk along the cliffs from Bray to Greystones today (both of which are a DART ride outside of Dublin, meaning they are located on Dublin Bay). It was gorgeous! However, my camera died part way through the hike so I stole some pictures from my friend Amanda. The walk, I found out later, was 8km long, which is basically 5 miles. Totally worth it though. Here are some pictures from our walk.
It was really amazing. Thankfully the weather held up until we got to Greystones and were inside a little cafe for lunch. Then the rain came. But it wasn't too bad seeing as it let up when we left the cafe. All in all a very good day trip. I highly recommend it to anyone who goes to Ireland!
It was really amazing. Thankfully the weather held up until we got to Greystones and were inside a little cafe for lunch. Then the rain came. But it wasn't too bad seeing as it let up when we left the cafe. All in all a very good day trip. I highly recommend it to anyone who goes to Ireland!
Saturday, January 10, 2009
First Week
I've almost been in Dublin a week...well it will be a week tomorrow. I am totally in love with this city. It's amazing! The professors I have for my foundation course through FIE are great. They are all funny, witty, knowledgeable, and seem to be passionate about their topics. Out of all of them I think Marc is my favorite. I mean I like them all, but during his lectures, I'm laughing so much and learning so much at the same time. He knows a lot.
The FIE group of students is really nice. While a lot of people clicked up really fast, they seem to be pretty accepting of everyone. I'm getting better at names and have been out a few times with different people. The first night we were here, I went out with a group of about 8 to The Brazen Head, which is the oldest pub in Dublin. It was really cool. A little expensive, but nothing like Temple Bar. Tried Harp for the first time while at the Brazen head...it was okay, but reminded me of Bud Light (though not quite as bad). A few days ago...Wednesday I think, a small group went out to The Glimmer Man, a pub right down the street from our apartment. I really liked that pub. It's very laid back. A nice place to sit and chat with people, even though the regular crowd is more middle aged. Last night a group of us went down to the Temple bar area (about a 20 minute walk from the apartment). That was quite an experience. Since it was our first proper weekend in Dublin, I did not know what to expect. It was crazy. First we went to THE Temple Bar. It is very much a tourist trap. Loud, expensive, crowded. But still fun. I had what I have now found to be my favorite drink here, cider. We then left in search of a club because a lot of us girls wanted to dance. The first place we stopped at was the Viperoom, but it was kinda lame in that no one was really there yet. So we moved on to the Turks Head (which is a bar with a club in it). That was a lot of fun!!!! No cover charge, and they played pretty good music. We stayed there for about 2.5 hours dancing and just having fun. I got hit on once by this guy from Bagdad, but I wasn't interested so he left me alone after a few minutes. I just wanted to dance and have fun :)
Today at some point a group of us is going to see the Book of Kells I believe. Need to get more details on that though, such as when we are leaving. Tomorrow, Amanda, Matt, me, and another girl are going to take the DART to Bray and do a scenic walk along the cliffs to Greystone (hopefully it won't be raining). That's going to be a day trip so that we can take our time and just wander around a bit. I think it shall be really fun.
I am putting off doing laundry right now, mainly since I don't want to walk to the laundry place. There is one here at the apartments, but apparently the machines are really small and its expensive to do one load. Angie, a girl in the group, found a laundrymat a few blocks away that doesn't seem too bad, but that is one thing I miss about the States. I got kinda spoiled not having to pay per load to do laundry. Oh well. Such is life.
Okay well the plans look like grocery shopping then the Book of Kells depending on the hours it's open because the grocery store (the cheap one) is in a slightly dodgy part North of the Liffey (at least at night). Amanda and I went at night one time, not late, but it gets dark here early, and were fine, but I'd prefer to go there during the day when possible. It just makes things easier. Anywhos. Off to go get ready. I'll post more tomorrow when I get back from our trip :)
The FIE group of students is really nice. While a lot of people clicked up really fast, they seem to be pretty accepting of everyone. I'm getting better at names and have been out a few times with different people. The first night we were here, I went out with a group of about 8 to The Brazen Head, which is the oldest pub in Dublin. It was really cool. A little expensive, but nothing like Temple Bar. Tried Harp for the first time while at the Brazen head...it was okay, but reminded me of Bud Light (though not quite as bad). A few days ago...Wednesday I think, a small group went out to The Glimmer Man, a pub right down the street from our apartment. I really liked that pub. It's very laid back. A nice place to sit and chat with people, even though the regular crowd is more middle aged. Last night a group of us went down to the Temple bar area (about a 20 minute walk from the apartment). That was quite an experience. Since it was our first proper weekend in Dublin, I did not know what to expect. It was crazy. First we went to THE Temple Bar. It is very much a tourist trap. Loud, expensive, crowded. But still fun. I had what I have now found to be my favorite drink here, cider. We then left in search of a club because a lot of us girls wanted to dance. The first place we stopped at was the Viperoom, but it was kinda lame in that no one was really there yet. So we moved on to the Turks Head (which is a bar with a club in it). That was a lot of fun!!!! No cover charge, and they played pretty good music. We stayed there for about 2.5 hours dancing and just having fun. I got hit on once by this guy from Bagdad, but I wasn't interested so he left me alone after a few minutes. I just wanted to dance and have fun :)
Today at some point a group of us is going to see the Book of Kells I believe. Need to get more details on that though, such as when we are leaving. Tomorrow, Amanda, Matt, me, and another girl are going to take the DART to Bray and do a scenic walk along the cliffs to Greystone (hopefully it won't be raining). That's going to be a day trip so that we can take our time and just wander around a bit. I think it shall be really fun.
I am putting off doing laundry right now, mainly since I don't want to walk to the laundry place. There is one here at the apartments, but apparently the machines are really small and its expensive to do one load. Angie, a girl in the group, found a laundrymat a few blocks away that doesn't seem too bad, but that is one thing I miss about the States. I got kinda spoiled not having to pay per load to do laundry. Oh well. Such is life.
Okay well the plans look like grocery shopping then the Book of Kells depending on the hours it's open because the grocery store (the cheap one) is in a slightly dodgy part North of the Liffey (at least at night). Amanda and I went at night one time, not late, but it gets dark here early, and were fine, but I'd prefer to go there during the day when possible. It just makes things easier. Anywhos. Off to go get ready. I'll post more tomorrow when I get back from our trip :)
Sunday, January 4, 2009
I've officially made it to Ireland! I've been here since around 11:30 AM Ireland time, which is around 5am US time. Took a nap for a bit after meeting my roommates, who seem nice. I think we would normally run in different circles, but that's okay. Anywhos. We're going out to dinner with some people at a pub later and I'm going to do some shopping I think on the way back, or at least go withdraw some money and then go do some shopping tomorrow. Thank goodness for hot chocolate (thanks Aunt Kay and Uncle Don!) That will come in handy tomorrow morning when I have to get up at forever in the morning and get to campus for induction and orientation. But I don't think that will be too bad. I'm hoping we don't have to do too much because I need to do some grocery shopping, register with the embassy here or something like that, and find a cell phone. But things are starting to look up since I got my internet to work and the heater is finally beginning to work a bit (it's so freaking cold in here!!). But yeah. Okay, well I guess I better go get ready. I'll add some more things later!
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