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

Little Lion Man

It's hard to believe that this time one week ago I was on a plane to Ireland. For those of you that don't know, this semester I am studying abroad in Limerick, Ireland at the University of Limerick. I decided to just continue with this blog, which I started this past summer when I was in Washington, D.C. studying at Georgetown University and working at The Weekly Standard Magazine (feel free to read the older posts for those of you that are just tunning in).

So, shall we start from the beginning? This may be a rather lengthy post, so I apologize in advance if I bore you...a lot can happen in a week! I departed from Newark, NJ on Tuesday the 18th and flew into Shannon, Ireland. My flight got in at about 6:40 a.m. Ireland time and a bus from the university picked us up at the airport and brought us to UL (University of Limerick). I am living in Dromroe Village, but a lot of other people are living across campus in Kilmurry Village. I got to my room at about 8:45 a.m. on Wednesday morning and I was the only one from the study abroad program to get off at my village, so it was a little nerve racking. I checked in and got my luggage from reception and pretty much just relaxed all day. I am in a 6 bedroom apartment that has a common area with a kitchen and a living room. It's so cute; oh, and I have a balcony, too! I slept for a few hours when I got here then unpacked and watched a movie. Jet lag didn't really hit me too bad which was nice. Here is a picture of me in front of my "new home" for the next 4 months!


Thursday started orientation and we had sessions about adjusting to life at UL, how to pick our classes, culture shock and places to visit. It made for a long day but it was a lot of fun and I met lots of people! I met two great girls in particular...Morgan Dean (Ironic for those of you who know my family) and Vanessa Dion. Morgan is from Virgina and goes to Hollins University and Vanessa is from Mass. and goes to Westfield State College. We were in the same tour group and our tour guide was so funny. We went and got our student IDs and then we went to dinner at the Stables Club which is one of my favorite spots on campus! I know that my dad and my "Favorite Uncles" will appreciate this picture of me and first Guinness :-)


Friday morning we had more orientation activities and we went on a bus tour of the beautiful city of Limerick. It was a lot of fun and we saw some great sites.



We stayed in town for a while and got our cell phones, bed sheets and did some grocery shopping too. Friday night we went back to Stables and had a few drinks with some students from the study abroad program. There was a party for the international club so we all stayed and hung out for a while.





On Saturday Morgan, Vanessa and I went on a tour of the campus and took about a billion pictures! It is a huge campus compared to Etown...I have about 2,500 students at my college and UL has over 12,000 students. Needless to say I was a little bit overwhelmed.








On Sunday we all made brunch at Morgan and Vaness'a house. They live about 20 minutes away from me, which I actually like because I have been getting great exercise! Now, I don't cook. I can't even make break-and-bake cookies without burning them (really, ask my family). But Morgan made potatoes and then we had English muffins, jam and fruit for brunch. It was really good! Not having a meal plan will force me to cook and hopefully I'll come home with some skills to use in the future!




We went into town again on Sunday afternoon to pick up a few groceries and school supplies. It was the first time taking the bus into town, and it reminded me a lot of taking the bus to work everyday in D.C. It was a cold and foggy day but the city of Limerick really is nice. There are some great pubs and places to shop!







Sunday night all of the Irish students came back, which means I got to meet my roommates! Four of my roommates are Irish: Liam, Brian, Kevin and Allison, and then my fifth roommate is here for the year on an exchange program from Japan and her name is Chirio. They are all really, really nice. I've gotten to talk and hang out with all of them and it's so neat learning about their lives. So different than mine, that's for sure. On Sunday night Morgan, Vanessa and I attempted to go to a nightclub called "The Lodge," and I have never felt so close to death in my life. The study abroad instructors warned us that it would be mayhem, but we wanted to explore it for ourselves! There was probably close to 1,000 people there and I honestly saw my life flash before my eyes. We didn't even make it inside! We finally broke out of the line, not unscathed, and decided to walk back to campus and just go to Stables, our favorite place. Much safer idea! The Irish are crazy...

Monday started classes, and I tried out 4 different modules, as they call them. I went to macroeconomics, accounting, geoscience and ecology. I really liked econ and geoscience, but didn't really like accounting or ecology. I have 2 weeks to figure out my schedule here which is nice so there is not much pressure to figure out my classes. For those that know me well you know that I am extremely organized and always have to have a plan. I bet that when I come back from this semester here you will see a whole new side to me! I think I am going to wind up taking: Macroeconomics, Geoscience, Argriculture, Irish Folklore and Irish Writing. The only bad thing about the classes here is that 100% of the course grade is composed of one final exam, which is extremely nerve racking. I hate tests (hence why I am a communications major...) It's A LOT different than what I am used too but hopefully it will work out okay! Monday night we all ordered in a pizza and hung out and watched Glee. It was great to catch up with everyone and hear about their classes and such.

Tuesday I didn't have any classes! wahoooo. Vanessa, Morgan and I went to an Irish music concert at lunchtime which was amazing. I love Irish music! It was so great to just sit back and listen to the "jigs" as they call them. Afterward we wandered around campus some more and attempted to buy UL sweatshirts which we failed at haha. The office was closed so we'll have to try back later. When we were out on Saturday night Morgan and I met a few Irish students who play on the Ultimate Frisby team, so she decided to go to the practice and try out. Meanwhile Vanessa and I went to a meeting for a trip to the Ring of Kerry which sounds amazing! We all met up at Stables later because apparently Tuesday night is a huge "going out" night here. We had a great time just hanging out and meeting more people!





Well, now it is 12:40 a.m. my time and I have a 9 a.m. class. So time for bed! Thanks for reading my blog and stayed tuned for my next update :-) But before I leave you, here are the top 5 things I have learned while in Ireland so far:

1. People say that the Irish do nothing but drink, and this is really what I have experienced so far. Even in between classes the students go to the pub and have a pint...I better not get used to this haha
2. Irish boys really are cuter, hands down.
3. Having some craic ("crack") does not mean smoking an illegal substance...it means having fun!
4. An Irish song is called a jig.
5. They are about 5 months behind American television...

I miss you all so much!
<3 hunt