Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Erin go Braugh

So I really need to start updating this more than once a week because these posts are going to be way too long/take up too much space. But oh well, here goes :-)

On Wednesday I had my Irish Folklore class and my agriculture class. I really like folklore a lot, it's really neat and a lot of fun. I think I will learn a lot from that class actually. So much history and culture to Ireland and I am ready to learn all about it! I had my agriculture class in the morning which was ummmm...interesting? Our lab consisted of mixing composts and conducting seed viability tests. Fun, huh? Thank goodness it is only 4 weeks long and I'll be done with my sciences when I go back to Etown in the fall! I'll make it through :-)On Wednesday night we all went to karaoke at Stables. It is really hilarious to watch people make complete fools of themselves! Like this guy for instance:


But regardless we all had a really great time. The atmosphere here is just so much fun.

Agriculture was canceled on Thursday because the professor was lecturing at a seminar somewhere else in Ireland, so I got to sleep in which was fantastic. I had geoscience in the afternoon and then we all went to a great bar in town and got dinner and drinks. I love the laid back, fun culture that is Ireland. Everyone is so sweet and helpful. We met this hilarious lady named Monica on the bus ride back to campus. She was so funny and basically talked to us the entire ride home. She'll always remember my name because of how unique it is...or so she told me.

Friday morning I had macroeconomics, and I am honestly surprised how much I really like this class. The professor is awesome and very intelligent-aside from the fact that he is from Cork and I can't understand him at all. I really have to pay attention and work hard to understand him! Friday afternoon we all hung out and went to an international party at the Stables. It was of course a fun time meeting new international students! The international club does a really good job putting these events on! I am so glad I joined the club. Afterwards we went back and watched a movie with everyone and hung out. I hate that everyone lives so far away from me though!

Saturday morning Vanessa and I set off on a journey to find a castle. We took the bus into town and then caught a bus to Bunratty Castle, which was only about 25 minutes outside of Limerick. It was a gorgeous ride. I am glad I was finally able to experience some countryside. We wound up at Bunratty Castle in the town of Bunratty at around 3:30 after some poking around town. It was incredible! We were there for almost 3 hours just walking around and exploring the grounds. It made for a really long but awesome day. The castle was beautiful and took a long time to get around. I of course got tons of pictures for you all :-)










Saturday night we came back and I went out with my roommate Chihiro and her friend Kelsey. It was such a blast getting to know her better and meeting her friend too...I love listening to Irish music as well, it is so pleasant to the ear :-)



Sunday was SUCH a busy day. In the morning I set off to go to church in town, which was an adventure in itself. Luckily I had a map, but as my family will attest, I have no sense of direction whatsoever. I found St. John's Cathedral about 10 minutes before the service started, and it was so so beautiful. It has the tallest steeple in all of Ireland and the service was very traditional, which is the complete opposite of the church I go to back at school. It's a nice change of pace, but I really miss my church back at school a lot.



Afterward I met up with some friends from the program for lunch at Flanney's Pub. They have great drinks and cheap food so it's a great combination. Then we went on a tour of the Hunt Museum (hehe, HUNT) since it is free for students on Sundays. It was a long tour but it was filled with great artifacts and beautiful jewelry and portraits. No pictures were allowed though...sorry!


We stayed in town and did a bit of shopping...okay, a lot. I didn't get much, just a cute pair of black boots that were only 5 euro! There is a great store here called Penny's, which is like the equivalent to a Khol's or TJ MAXX at home. There is a James Bond themed party on Thursday night so we all got tie's and sunglasses for 1 euro which was great. We did some grocery shopping at Tesco and then finally caught the bus back at around 6 p.m. We all met up at around 9 p.m. because we went to a nightclub right off campus called "The Lodge." This was an experience and a half to say the least. We all checked our coats together but then as the night went on we lost our coat check ticket and we had to wait until the club closed, which was 2:30 a.m., in order to grab our jackets. And I wasn't about to leave considering I had a 25 minute walk (at least) back home. We finally got our coats thanks to the nice security guard. I hate living on the other side of campus because we had SUCH a long walk back, it felt like absolutely forever. My feet were even bleeding by the time I got back home! Granted I wore new flats that I hadn't broken in yet...yes, I know, I am so smart haha. An adventurous night is putting it mildly...







Monday morning I had class at 11 a.m. which stunk after being out until 3:30 a.m. But such is the Irish way I suppose! There was the club and society fair and I signed up for the International Club, the Kayaking Club and the Christian Union Society. I am SO excited for kayaking...we are going to Sligo in a few weekends! It should be incredible. Then Morgan, Vanessa and I went to watch the movie Agnes Browne that the International Club was showing. It was great and I recommend that everyone watches it. It takes place in Dublin and really shows what true Irish culture is all about.

Tuesday morning we had Folklore which was awesome! We made a St. Brigid Cross. My attempt was not too great, but it turned out okay I suppose. Judge for yourself!



There was a farmer's market that came to campus today and I got fresh peppers, tomatoes and onions. Now what did I make with these veggies, do you ask? A kick butt omelet which turned into scrambled eggs haha. But let's take a poll. If you would eat my DELICIOUS concoction, comment and tell me how good it looks!!


Yes? No? Okay well now I am off to kayaking practice and then the Stables for a pint before bed! I have agriculture class in the morning and then I am trying out a journalism class. We are also planning some great trips for the semester tomorrow over dinner so I can't wait!

Miss you all SO MUCH!
<3 huntley

1 comment:

  1. i like your castle. and you can make me breakfast anytime <3

    ReplyDelete