January 20, 2010 8:56 pm
The past few days nothing too exciting has happened but I wanted to let everyone know that I am still alive so I figured I would blog!
Last night our French roomate Laetitia and Charlotte made our roomates supper and invited 6-8 of their friends over from France. It was so nice of them! We ate frozen pizza and for dessert they gave us bananas and nutella. I have never heard of nutella before but it is AMAZING!!! I might bring some home with me because I don't think Iowa has it! It was so interesting to sit and "talk" to these students. They all have been learning English since 7th grade but really had no way of practicing it until they came here. For thinking they are bad at it they are pretty good! They love American tv shows but it is so strange because it is in English but they do French voice overs, yet that is what they are used to. One Tree Hill, Gossip Girl, and many many more shows and movies are here like that. We talked about the movie the Hangover and to them they call it A Bad Bad Trip. That is how it translates for them in French. How crazy is that? Charlotte had her laptop out with itunes playing and it amazed me how many American songs she had such as Lady Gaga and many more. Kristen and I asked them about it and they said they love American music because it is so so good. I was mouthing the words to a song hoping no one saw me. One of the French guys, Steven, pointed me out and said, "I saw you on MTV the other night! Taylor Swift!" They all tried to teach us a little French but I am horrible at it so I think they gave up on me. They stayed until 9:30 or so and then we cleaned up. It was really nice to meet them when they are not being crazy. One French kid has already been fined 200 euro due to playing with the fire extinguisher. They are very loud but that is their culture, I am slowly getting used to it! They were extremely nice last night and were generally interested in getting to know us. One guy was fascinated with me being a farmer's daughter. I have no idea why.
Today we had class from 10-12, 2-4, and 4:15-6. It was a long long day! Kristen, Meghan D., and i went to look at Celtic rings during the first break. It is a souvenier that I have really wanted since arriving and I figured that will be the one souvenier I buy myself and will really cherish. I bought one. It i two hands holding a heart with a crown on it. The heart stands for love, the hands are for friendship, and the crown is for loyalty. If you point the heart towards you it means your heart is joined with anothers (that is how I have been wearing mine). If you point it outwards it means you are available!. The orgin of the Claddagh ring as they are called comes from Richard Joyce. I will type the explanation card out for everyone!:
The Joyces were one of the famous "Tribes of Galway" who settled in the Connemara region between the Twelve Bens and Lough Corrib. They were descendants of the Norman families who came from Wales with Richard de Burgo when he took Galway from the O'Connors in 1232. The Cromwellians during their conquest sent young children from Galway to work in slavery on the plantations of the West Indies. The boat on which young Richard Joyce found himself was captured by Moorish pirates. His new master, a Moorish Goldsmith, taught him his craft and when he returned to Galway in the late 1600's he set up a workshop in the Claddagh region. What the Claddagh motif signifies we cannot be sure, but by tradition it is believed to denote that Friendship and Love should regin supreme. Two hands cradling a crowned heart; the Heart for Love, the Hands for Friendship, the Crown for Loyalty. The popularity of the Claddah spread with the mass exodus from the West of Ireland during the Great Famine of 1847-1849. The Claddagh is worn by people all over the world including many famous.
How cool is that?!
Meghan M. has been having shooting pains in her leg for two days now, yesterday it was so bad she couldn't go to class. Today a rash broke out. She went to the doctor and he did nothing for her. He gave her medicine pretty much saying it may or may not help. I hope I do not get sick because that is ridiculous. I talked to my mom about the symptoms and she said it might be shingles. Kristen and I looked up the symptoms, talked to Meghan and decided that that is pretty much exactly what she has. The poor girl just got over tonsilitis and now that happens. We are leaving on a trip at 8:00 a.m. tomorrow for Northern Ireland but she cannot go. We all feel awful about it! I feel really bad but I don't know what to do for the poor girl! The trip should be really fun though...we will have to bring Meghan something back!
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Monday, January 18, 2010
Kilmainham Gaol
January 18, 2010 9:08 pm
Today was a beautiful day, with a whopping 50 degree temperature it felt like summertime! We headed out to class this morning and were sweating even due to the beautiful day..it was awesome! We got to class and it was culture class the one that is not interesting at all. It was the first time Meghan D. had been there and she just kept shaking her head at the teacher. He let us out 20 minutes early today though so that was a plus! We had a field trip to the Kilmainham Gaol at 3:00 and it was noon so we decided that since it was such a beautiful day my roomies and I were going to pack a lunch and take it to the War Memorial Gardens which is near Kilmainham to enjoy the weather. That plan was a crash and burn. We took a wrong turn and ended up in Kilmainham totally passing the Memorial Gardens. After the half hour walk to Kilmainham we were starving, so we sat on some steps in front of the Kilmainham Courthouse and ate our lunches. My PB & J was mighty delicious by that point.
Due to us getting lost we were very early to Kilmainham. Meghan M. wanted to go check out a pub near it called the Patriot Inn. Meghan D. led the way and when she entered she stopped. The rest of us were confused until we turned the corner and saw that the pub was filled in its entirety with 80 year old men. The second we entered all eyes turned on us and just stared. One particularly old man looked at us and in a gruff voice shouted, "Wheres ya from?" We answered him with the United States and he asked again so we each said each state which is what we thought he meant until he asked about ten more times. The bartender just told us not to mind him, so after looking at each other and laughing awkwardly we made our way to the far corner away from the old men. We looked at the wall and saw a painting of a two year old child carrying around a rifle. That is when we realized we may have accidently stumbled upon a terrible terrible ordeal. I brought up our trip to Northern Ireland and was immediately hushed...we were pretty sure the old men would try and kill us if they found out we were going there.
We made it out safely thank goodness and after taking a picture in front of the pub we made our way to the Gaol. It was amazing! It is a 200 year old jail. The \biggest not being used jail in Europe. Due to that fact it has been used in several movies and music videos of Irish artists. To begin the tour we were brought into the chapel, into the area and on the very benches where the imprisoned men used to sit for mass. It was kind of creepy to think that men who are long dead had sat in the very spot that I was just sitting in. While sitting there our guide told us of Mr. Joseph Plunkett and his wife. Mr. Plunkett was one of the main rebels in the 1916 Irish Uprising which helped get Ireland it's freedom. He was imprisoned but wanted to marry his girlfriend of two years. They let him in the very chapel that I was sitting in, on the day he was to be executed. After they were married the men who were to be shot were given 10 minutes with any loved one. Plunkett chose his wife and they had ten minutes together which was constantly interrupted by the guard every minute to tell them how much more time they had together. As Mrs. Plunkett was walking out the door she heard the shots that took her husband's life. It was a tragic story that set the mood for the rest of the tour. We entered into the basement after leaving the chapel, having to duck due to the doorways being so small. I even had to duck and I am 5'6! Those poor people who lived there. In the basement it was FREEZING, yet the sad thing is was that there were window covers now. When people were actually imprisoned there there was not glass, only bars in the windows. It had to have been awful. The jail was made to hold 200 people but in one year, during the potatoe famine it housesd 9,000 individuals. That means no sitting at all in the cell. People were imprisoned left and right for stealing food. Children even as young as 5 were imprisoned and beaten. Each prisoner was given a candle every two weeks for heat and light. If you did not use your candle wisely you were stuck in the dark and cold. No matter how awful it was in the jail though, it was better than starving on the streets. From the basement he took us through the hallway, into the second level of the jail. On the second level was where the majority of the 1916 uprising leaders were held before being executed. It was absolutely fascinating and horrible to see the names of the men who are so important to Ireland's history above cell stalls. To be walking in the very place that so many important people before me had was an experience I will never forget.
From the second level we were brought to the newer part of the jail in which the prisoners could be for the 2 hours they were not being held to clean their dishpan or to exercise. Women who were forced to do hard labor had to cook all the meals and send them up to the prisoners at meal times. Men who were forced to do hard labor had to break rocks into gravel for the roads. We got to look inside some of the cells. Mrs. Plunkett had a cell there. She was imprisoned a few years after her husband died due to being against the Irish treaty. I could go into so much detail on Ireland's history but ill let you do that yourself if you are interested...I do not want to bore anyone! In her room she had painted while imprisoned a mural of the Lord Jesus and Mary. Another cell had a huge twig ball in it. I asked the guide what it was and he said it was supposed to be modern art. In 1995 they had a art exhibit that prisoners from anywhere put together. That one was a ball of all the sticks that the prisoner had found at Kilmainham...I guess anything can be considered art these days! '
After looking around the cells for awhile we were taken to the outside part of Kilmainham. That is where men were shot. The important people of the 1916 uprising were shot in that very place in which I stood. There are two shots of crosses, one of them is where O'Connell died. He had been wounded in the uprising and taken to the Dublin Castle in which he was nursed but he was not getting better. Due to his condition in order to be executed they had to bring him through the front door, tie him to a chair because he could not stand/kneel like the others, was blindfolded, and had a piece of white paper placed over his heart as a place to aim for the guards. They couldn't carry him over to where the rest of the men were killed so he had his own corner. It was an amazing tour which brought to life what I learned in history. I will not have any more classes due to my teacher's mom passing away this weekend. It is a sad deal not only due to the circumstances, but due to not learning more as well. It was a great class. We returned to our apartment with Katy Hood, she had walked there and hadn't gotten lost so we thought it would be a great idea to follow her! On the way back she was telling me a story about one of her friends. Her friend Molly had been walking back from a pub with one of their friends when they heard a cry for help. They looked and saw a girl in the River Liffey. They called 999 (Ireland's 911) for help and they had to come rescue her. How crazy is that?! Oh Ireland, crazy place. Tonight a bunch of people went out but I want to do not want to be sick and I am scared that I might be if I do not get any more sleep. 7 hours total in one weekend isn't enough for this girl!
Today was a beautiful day, with a whopping 50 degree temperature it felt like summertime! We headed out to class this morning and were sweating even due to the beautiful day..it was awesome! We got to class and it was culture class the one that is not interesting at all. It was the first time Meghan D. had been there and she just kept shaking her head at the teacher. He let us out 20 minutes early today though so that was a plus! We had a field trip to the Kilmainham Gaol at 3:00 and it was noon so we decided that since it was such a beautiful day my roomies and I were going to pack a lunch and take it to the War Memorial Gardens which is near Kilmainham to enjoy the weather. That plan was a crash and burn. We took a wrong turn and ended up in Kilmainham totally passing the Memorial Gardens. After the half hour walk to Kilmainham we were starving, so we sat on some steps in front of the Kilmainham Courthouse and ate our lunches. My PB & J was mighty delicious by that point.
Due to us getting lost we were very early to Kilmainham. Meghan M. wanted to go check out a pub near it called the Patriot Inn. Meghan D. led the way and when she entered she stopped. The rest of us were confused until we turned the corner and saw that the pub was filled in its entirety with 80 year old men. The second we entered all eyes turned on us and just stared. One particularly old man looked at us and in a gruff voice shouted, "Wheres ya from?" We answered him with the United States and he asked again so we each said each state which is what we thought he meant until he asked about ten more times. The bartender just told us not to mind him, so after looking at each other and laughing awkwardly we made our way to the far corner away from the old men. We looked at the wall and saw a painting of a two year old child carrying around a rifle. That is when we realized we may have accidently stumbled upon a terrible terrible ordeal. I brought up our trip to Northern Ireland and was immediately hushed...we were pretty sure the old men would try and kill us if they found out we were going there.
We made it out safely thank goodness and after taking a picture in front of the pub we made our way to the Gaol. It was amazing! It is a 200 year old jail. The \biggest not being used jail in Europe. Due to that fact it has been used in several movies and music videos of Irish artists. To begin the tour we were brought into the chapel, into the area and on the very benches where the imprisoned men used to sit for mass. It was kind of creepy to think that men who are long dead had sat in the very spot that I was just sitting in. While sitting there our guide told us of Mr. Joseph Plunkett and his wife. Mr. Plunkett was one of the main rebels in the 1916 Irish Uprising which helped get Ireland it's freedom. He was imprisoned but wanted to marry his girlfriend of two years. They let him in the very chapel that I was sitting in, on the day he was to be executed. After they were married the men who were to be shot were given 10 minutes with any loved one. Plunkett chose his wife and they had ten minutes together which was constantly interrupted by the guard every minute to tell them how much more time they had together. As Mrs. Plunkett was walking out the door she heard the shots that took her husband's life. It was a tragic story that set the mood for the rest of the tour. We entered into the basement after leaving the chapel, having to duck due to the doorways being so small. I even had to duck and I am 5'6! Those poor people who lived there. In the basement it was FREEZING, yet the sad thing is was that there were window covers now. When people were actually imprisoned there there was not glass, only bars in the windows. It had to have been awful. The jail was made to hold 200 people but in one year, during the potatoe famine it housesd 9,000 individuals. That means no sitting at all in the cell. People were imprisoned left and right for stealing food. Children even as young as 5 were imprisoned and beaten. Each prisoner was given a candle every two weeks for heat and light. If you did not use your candle wisely you were stuck in the dark and cold. No matter how awful it was in the jail though, it was better than starving on the streets. From the basement he took us through the hallway, into the second level of the jail. On the second level was where the majority of the 1916 uprising leaders were held before being executed. It was absolutely fascinating and horrible to see the names of the men who are so important to Ireland's history above cell stalls. To be walking in the very place that so many important people before me had was an experience I will never forget.
From the second level we were brought to the newer part of the jail in which the prisoners could be for the 2 hours they were not being held to clean their dishpan or to exercise. Women who were forced to do hard labor had to cook all the meals and send them up to the prisoners at meal times. Men who were forced to do hard labor had to break rocks into gravel for the roads. We got to look inside some of the cells. Mrs. Plunkett had a cell there. She was imprisoned a few years after her husband died due to being against the Irish treaty. I could go into so much detail on Ireland's history but ill let you do that yourself if you are interested...I do not want to bore anyone! In her room she had painted while imprisoned a mural of the Lord Jesus and Mary. Another cell had a huge twig ball in it. I asked the guide what it was and he said it was supposed to be modern art. In 1995 they had a art exhibit that prisoners from anywhere put together. That one was a ball of all the sticks that the prisoner had found at Kilmainham...I guess anything can be considered art these days! '
After looking around the cells for awhile we were taken to the outside part of Kilmainham. That is where men were shot. The important people of the 1916 uprising were shot in that very place in which I stood. There are two shots of crosses, one of them is where O'Connell died. He had been wounded in the uprising and taken to the Dublin Castle in which he was nursed but he was not getting better. Due to his condition in order to be executed they had to bring him through the front door, tie him to a chair because he could not stand/kneel like the others, was blindfolded, and had a piece of white paper placed over his heart as a place to aim for the guards. They couldn't carry him over to where the rest of the men were killed so he had his own corner. It was an amazing tour which brought to life what I learned in history. I will not have any more classes due to my teacher's mom passing away this weekend. It is a sad deal not only due to the circumstances, but due to not learning more as well. It was a great class. We returned to our apartment with Katy Hood, she had walked there and hadn't gotten lost so we thought it would be a great idea to follow her! On the way back she was telling me a story about one of her friends. Her friend Molly had been walking back from a pub with one of their friends when they heard a cry for help. They looked and saw a girl in the River Liffey. They called 999 (Ireland's 911) for help and they had to come rescue her. How crazy is that?! Oh Ireland, crazy place. Tonight a bunch of people went out but I want to do not want to be sick and I am scared that I might be if I do not get any more sleep. 7 hours total in one weekend isn't enough for this girl!
Sunday, January 17, 2010
I'm going to be famous!!
January 17, 2010 12:19 pm
(I'll explain the title within the story).
I apologize in advance for this being extremely long. Ms. Kristen Granzow was here visiting so we were having a grand ol' time this weekend..doesn't leave much time for updating everyone :).
Thursday night was when Kristen arrived to begin our adventures. Kristen O and I went to pick her up from the Louis stop which is what she took from her bus stop. The louis is like an above ground subway that runs east to west across Dublin. After giving her a giant hug we walked back to our apartment. This is when we met our 2 French roomates for this first time, Laetitia and Charlotte. They are very nice and their English is improving! I'm hoping I can pick up some French while here. We got ready to go out with some friends of ours, Maral, Corinne, Kate, Kevin, Kevin, and Brian. Kevin brought his french roomate and he brought his friend Magalie. We all just went to the Glimmerman (a pub near us) for a low key night of talking and hanging out. I talked to Magalie a lot and got some advice on where to go in Europe. She is from Paris so of course that is very high on her recommendation list. It is very fascinating to hear her talk about other places and how they can just hop on a plane and be anywhere in a matter of minutes or hours. That is a huge advantage of living over here in Europe. She told me she believed that Americans just look in upon themselves because our country is so big, and do not know much about other countries. That sounded harsh but she said it in a kind way I promise! We discussed health care and our president and it was fascinating to hear a French girl's view on such matters. I have found that many people in Europe know SO much more about America than I do...it is quite sad really and I am determined to change that. She was telling me how awful our health care system is and was asking me many questions about our government and such...she just shook her head at a lot of things. It as a great insightful conversation!
Friday morning came too soon. Our first class of the day at 10:00 a.m. was literature which is an excellent class. I will probably come home with a suitcase full of Irish literature just because it is so wonderful. I have found I am quite fond of poetry. The professor is such a great guy too...he has been to many places and if you ask him about anywhere he will tell you the cheapest and best places to go there...a great resource! Kristen G. due to her love of literature, joined our class and really enjoyed it (or so she claimed). After that a few of us went to Goodness to Gracious, an amazing sandwich shop that has cheap and amazing paninis. On Fridays they have a sloppy joe special (Kelsey be jealous!). We did a little shopping after that before our next class. While Ms. Granzow was frolicking around Dublin, we had to hit the books. After class we met up with Kristen, shopped some more, then went back to the apartment where we got ready for a fun night out. It was a girl who goes to DBS birthday on Thursday so many people were celebrating by going to Fitzsimon's, part of Temple Bar, Friday night. It was a blast! It was pouring rain when we left and it is a good 15 minute walk. We took the Louis part of the way but my hair still looks awful...I really think I am going to give up on my hair while I am here.
A huge group of us (our friends and a lot of the french students) walked in and there was a live band playing great old American classics!! It was SO much fun! Another band came after that group was finished and played well into the night. We got home around 2:30 a.m. falling asleep around 3:15 a.m.
Saturday morning at 11:30 we were all ready for a day of doing the touristy things. It was SO much fun. Corrine, Kevin, Kate, the Kristens, and I started off at a cute little cafe in a hostel. It was SO good. We ordered a mocha coffee drink and it was the most amazing thing ever. It was chocolate coffee with a whipped topping and chocolate designs on the front! I also had a hot ham and cheese croissant and it was DELICIOUS. A few tourists were taking pictures of the building we were in and we started making faces at their pictures, I think we made their day. It will be a wonderful place to go inbetween classes to journal and do homework...I'm glad we found it.
After the cafe we headed to the Dublin castle where we took a tour at 2:00. It was SO interesting. I wish I could remember all the details. The rooms were fabulous and impressive. We actually got to go below the castle and see the wall that was originally built around the city when the Vikings were there (thousands of years old!) We learned Dublin got it's name from a Norsh term meaning Black Pool due to a lake of black water being behind the castle. We walked the courtyard where the water used to be but it now runs below the castle and empties into the River Liffey which runs through the center of Dublin. It was amazing to get to be standing in such a historical place where so many great people had walked before me. I really do not feel right standing in a room where they slept, danced, or even died!
After the wonder of the castle we entered into a whole new wonder which was the Chester Beatty Library. Chester Beatty was an American diamond miner who became the first honorary citizen of Ireland. He traveled Egypt for many years due to having bronchial issues from mining. In Egypt he was given many many many many many amazing priceless gifts which now are housed in his library. Actually, less than 1% of his collection is in the library the rest is scattered throughout museums..but the library took us close to 2 1/2 hours to go through but i could have spent 2 whole days in there! It started off with several rooms dedicated to the religion Mani. Mani was a lost religion that at one time was HUGE. An archeologist accidently discovered the manuscripts fairly recently, the 1920's maybe, in a dirt pile. It was a religion based off of the power struggle between good and evil. It was fascinating to me to see the thousand year old passages and read what they had to say. After browsing those rooms we moved onto the rooms where all the other religious priceless artifacts were held. I found myself wanting to read every single description next to the ancient words. I didn't have time but I think I will go back by myself sometime and read it all. It touched my heart to see the original manuscripts of John and the teachings of Paul..how amazing is that?! Those glassed in shelves hold so many treasures and secrets and wonders that scream to you from behind the glass. Many religions I do not understand how anyone follows them. I want to be someone to help people who do not understand..I want God to use me while I am here. I am SO excited to go to other museums and see the rest of his collection.
After returning from a long day of sightseeing, us tired tourists came home. We made pizza, ate it, got ready, then the Kristens and I headed out to do the Literary Pub Crawl. Do not be scared by that! It is not crazy! It is 2 actors who do skits and take tourists 4 of Dublin's Pubs that hold great literary significance. It was SO cool to be hearing monologues from pieces were are reading in our literature class. Upon arriving at The Duke which is the pub in which it begins. We walked upstairs and were asked if we were looking our best. We all looked at each other and he laughed and said well of course you are I can tell that! I really don't know if it was an insult or not BUT he asked us because NBC was there to film the beginning part of that specific pub crawl. It will air during the Saint Patty's Day Parade in the U.S.!!!!! I might be on TV!! I doubt it..but hey i can say that i was there!! Everyone with us was all older but it was still really fun. All but one person was American and the other person was a Canadian who was living in the United States. It was a lot of fun! We finished with that around 10:00 p.m. We walked back and Kristen G. and I were hungry..surprise surprise. We walked to Centra near my apartment and got an apple pie and a candy bar. The apple pie we devoured while watching mama mia! It was a great great time singing to Abba while eating some pie! We sat up and talked until 3 or so. Unfortunately around that time the pie caught up with Kristen. She has been a sick sick girl since then. She is laying sleeping currently in my bed. I feel so bad. She is worried she won't make it back in time for school tomorrow, but she needs to rest. I guess that teaches us not to eat a whole pie in one sitting.
While talking last night though we have many plans figured out for the coming up weekends. Hopefully we will be attending a 6 nations rugby tournament, going to London, going to County Wexford and Cork, going to Scotland, and next weekend going to Northern Ireland, all in the coming weekends. I am SUPER excited!!
(I'll explain the title within the story).
I apologize in advance for this being extremely long. Ms. Kristen Granzow was here visiting so we were having a grand ol' time this weekend..doesn't leave much time for updating everyone :).
Thursday night was when Kristen arrived to begin our adventures. Kristen O and I went to pick her up from the Louis stop which is what she took from her bus stop. The louis is like an above ground subway that runs east to west across Dublin. After giving her a giant hug we walked back to our apartment. This is when we met our 2 French roomates for this first time, Laetitia and Charlotte. They are very nice and their English is improving! I'm hoping I can pick up some French while here. We got ready to go out with some friends of ours, Maral, Corinne, Kate, Kevin, Kevin, and Brian. Kevin brought his french roomate and he brought his friend Magalie. We all just went to the Glimmerman (a pub near us) for a low key night of talking and hanging out. I talked to Magalie a lot and got some advice on where to go in Europe. She is from Paris so of course that is very high on her recommendation list. It is very fascinating to hear her talk about other places and how they can just hop on a plane and be anywhere in a matter of minutes or hours. That is a huge advantage of living over here in Europe. She told me she believed that Americans just look in upon themselves because our country is so big, and do not know much about other countries. That sounded harsh but she said it in a kind way I promise! We discussed health care and our president and it was fascinating to hear a French girl's view on such matters. I have found that many people in Europe know SO much more about America than I do...it is quite sad really and I am determined to change that. She was telling me how awful our health care system is and was asking me many questions about our government and such...she just shook her head at a lot of things. It as a great insightful conversation!
Friday morning came too soon. Our first class of the day at 10:00 a.m. was literature which is an excellent class. I will probably come home with a suitcase full of Irish literature just because it is so wonderful. I have found I am quite fond of poetry. The professor is such a great guy too...he has been to many places and if you ask him about anywhere he will tell you the cheapest and best places to go there...a great resource! Kristen G. due to her love of literature, joined our class and really enjoyed it (or so she claimed). After that a few of us went to Goodness to Gracious, an amazing sandwich shop that has cheap and amazing paninis. On Fridays they have a sloppy joe special (Kelsey be jealous!). We did a little shopping after that before our next class. While Ms. Granzow was frolicking around Dublin, we had to hit the books. After class we met up with Kristen, shopped some more, then went back to the apartment where we got ready for a fun night out. It was a girl who goes to DBS birthday on Thursday so many people were celebrating by going to Fitzsimon's, part of Temple Bar, Friday night. It was a blast! It was pouring rain when we left and it is a good 15 minute walk. We took the Louis part of the way but my hair still looks awful...I really think I am going to give up on my hair while I am here.
A huge group of us (our friends and a lot of the french students) walked in and there was a live band playing great old American classics!! It was SO much fun! Another band came after that group was finished and played well into the night. We got home around 2:30 a.m. falling asleep around 3:15 a.m.
Saturday morning at 11:30 we were all ready for a day of doing the touristy things. It was SO much fun. Corrine, Kevin, Kate, the Kristens, and I started off at a cute little cafe in a hostel. It was SO good. We ordered a mocha coffee drink and it was the most amazing thing ever. It was chocolate coffee with a whipped topping and chocolate designs on the front! I also had a hot ham and cheese croissant and it was DELICIOUS. A few tourists were taking pictures of the building we were in and we started making faces at their pictures, I think we made their day. It will be a wonderful place to go inbetween classes to journal and do homework...I'm glad we found it.
After the cafe we headed to the Dublin castle where we took a tour at 2:00. It was SO interesting. I wish I could remember all the details. The rooms were fabulous and impressive. We actually got to go below the castle and see the wall that was originally built around the city when the Vikings were there (thousands of years old!) We learned Dublin got it's name from a Norsh term meaning Black Pool due to a lake of black water being behind the castle. We walked the courtyard where the water used to be but it now runs below the castle and empties into the River Liffey which runs through the center of Dublin. It was amazing to get to be standing in such a historical place where so many great people had walked before me. I really do not feel right standing in a room where they slept, danced, or even died!
After the wonder of the castle we entered into a whole new wonder which was the Chester Beatty Library. Chester Beatty was an American diamond miner who became the first honorary citizen of Ireland. He traveled Egypt for many years due to having bronchial issues from mining. In Egypt he was given many many many many many amazing priceless gifts which now are housed in his library. Actually, less than 1% of his collection is in the library the rest is scattered throughout museums..but the library took us close to 2 1/2 hours to go through but i could have spent 2 whole days in there! It started off with several rooms dedicated to the religion Mani. Mani was a lost religion that at one time was HUGE. An archeologist accidently discovered the manuscripts fairly recently, the 1920's maybe, in a dirt pile. It was a religion based off of the power struggle between good and evil. It was fascinating to me to see the thousand year old passages and read what they had to say. After browsing those rooms we moved onto the rooms where all the other religious priceless artifacts were held. I found myself wanting to read every single description next to the ancient words. I didn't have time but I think I will go back by myself sometime and read it all. It touched my heart to see the original manuscripts of John and the teachings of Paul..how amazing is that?! Those glassed in shelves hold so many treasures and secrets and wonders that scream to you from behind the glass. Many religions I do not understand how anyone follows them. I want to be someone to help people who do not understand..I want God to use me while I am here. I am SO excited to go to other museums and see the rest of his collection.
After returning from a long day of sightseeing, us tired tourists came home. We made pizza, ate it, got ready, then the Kristens and I headed out to do the Literary Pub Crawl. Do not be scared by that! It is not crazy! It is 2 actors who do skits and take tourists 4 of Dublin's Pubs that hold great literary significance. It was SO cool to be hearing monologues from pieces were are reading in our literature class. Upon arriving at The Duke which is the pub in which it begins. We walked upstairs and were asked if we were looking our best. We all looked at each other and he laughed and said well of course you are I can tell that! I really don't know if it was an insult or not BUT he asked us because NBC was there to film the beginning part of that specific pub crawl. It will air during the Saint Patty's Day Parade in the U.S.!!!!! I might be on TV!! I doubt it..but hey i can say that i was there!! Everyone with us was all older but it was still really fun. All but one person was American and the other person was a Canadian who was living in the United States. It was a lot of fun! We finished with that around 10:00 p.m. We walked back and Kristen G. and I were hungry..surprise surprise. We walked to Centra near my apartment and got an apple pie and a candy bar. The apple pie we devoured while watching mama mia! It was a great great time singing to Abba while eating some pie! We sat up and talked until 3 or so. Unfortunately around that time the pie caught up with Kristen. She has been a sick sick girl since then. She is laying sleeping currently in my bed. I feel so bad. She is worried she won't make it back in time for school tomorrow, but she needs to rest. I guess that teaches us not to eat a whole pie in one sitting.
While talking last night though we have many plans figured out for the coming up weekends. Hopefully we will be attending a 6 nations rugby tournament, going to London, going to County Wexford and Cork, going to Scotland, and next weekend going to Northern Ireland, all in the coming weekends. I am SUPER excited!!
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
School Day Number 3
January 13, 2010 5:45 pm
Today was school day number 3. At ten this morning Kristen and I walked to classroom 2.1 in the building on St. Williams Street to partake in the joys of learning. The first class was history which we have had 3 days now, but it is very very interesting so that is ok! That class got over at noon so we sat in the classroom and ate the pb&j sandwiches I had made us that morning :). I felt so maternal and they were pretty darn good too (at least I thought so!) We went to the bank after that so I could order my bank statement so i can go register as an immigrant here in a few days. It is so strange to think of myself as that! After that Kristen and I went shopping at Dunnes which is like Target, except SO much better. The clothes are very very cheap! I got 2 sweaters and tights. That was fun :) . We returned to the classroom to go to our Culture class. Ugh it is awful! It would very extremely interesting if it weren't for the teacher. He walks up and down the aisles between us and pretty much talks to himself and jumps around in his sentences like a mad man. For example, today he said we were going to talk about religion and somehow we ended up talking about tv shows and people having affairs...it is everywhere and no one knows what is going on!! Finally, we were set free. Kristen and I went to pick up some milk and get her a notebook and returned home where we made supper. That is about all today has consisted of..its a shame there is actual studying in the studying abroad (just kidding mom). Kristen Granzow comes tomorrow so that will be awesome!!
Today was school day number 3. At ten this morning Kristen and I walked to classroom 2.1 in the building on St. Williams Street to partake in the joys of learning. The first class was history which we have had 3 days now, but it is very very interesting so that is ok! That class got over at noon so we sat in the classroom and ate the pb&j sandwiches I had made us that morning :). I felt so maternal and they were pretty darn good too (at least I thought so!) We went to the bank after that so I could order my bank statement so i can go register as an immigrant here in a few days. It is so strange to think of myself as that! After that Kristen and I went shopping at Dunnes which is like Target, except SO much better. The clothes are very very cheap! I got 2 sweaters and tights. That was fun :) . We returned to the classroom to go to our Culture class. Ugh it is awful! It would very extremely interesting if it weren't for the teacher. He walks up and down the aisles between us and pretty much talks to himself and jumps around in his sentences like a mad man. For example, today he said we were going to talk about religion and somehow we ended up talking about tv shows and people having affairs...it is everywhere and no one knows what is going on!! Finally, we were set free. Kristen and I went to pick up some milk and get her a notebook and returned home where we made supper. That is about all today has consisted of..its a shame there is actual studying in the studying abroad (just kidding mom). Kristen Granzow comes tomorrow so that will be awesome!!
Monday, January 11, 2010
First Day of School!
January 11, 2010 7:43 pm
Today was the first day of our foundation class. All this week and next week until Wednesday we will have class from 10:00-12:00 and 2:00-4:00. Rotating these times are 3 classes including Irish politics, Irish history, and Irish literature. Today I had Irish politics and Irish history. It is quite fascinating stuff and I can not wait to dig deeper into it! A big group of students from Blackhall met downstairs this morning at 9:15 and we ventured our way over to the building. I guess if we thought we had a lot of us we wouldn't get lost. There were probably about 35 students all walking together. It was fun to talk to people and get to know them. A lot of them consider UNI a huge school which is strange to me!
About 50 students (all american) were in a long room listening to two different professors teach. I found myself very much intrigued and engulfed into the material. We are studying the history of Ireland dating back all the way to 10,000 years ago. It is crazy that I have researched a lot of the places and have seen many places I am now learning about in a classroom. America does not have history like this place does...it is amazing! After school a few of us went to a bookstore to look at Irish books which a professor suggested we do. Afterwards we came back to our apartments and Kristen and I made pizza and corn. Our roomate laughed at us and said that we were typical Iowans (not that she even knows!) A guy that I know a couple nights ago told me that I was the first Iowan I have ever met and a lot of people agreed with it haha.
Last night we went to a sports bar to watch the patriots game. It was really neat! It was one of three places in Ireland that show American Football. It was a cool place. It had 3 levels and one level was a huge screen being projected on a wall with bleachers going up the side. That is where we sat. A lot of Irish guys were actually watching it too! After Kristen and I left one of our roomates asked the guys behind us if they liked the patriots and they said they don't have a favorite team they just like watching American Football. Kristen and I left early so we could get to bed and my throat has been hurting. On the way back a huge semi drove past us and hit a huge slush pile and threw it all over both of us. I got the worst of it since I was right next to the road. I thought that only happened in movies!! I did not know that happened in real life but of course it happened to me! All you can do it laugh about it haha. I got the mud out so all was well. After getting back I went to bed decently early due to me not feeling well..hopefully it goes away! I think it is the Irish air finally catching up with me. I hope all is well in Iowa..keep in touch!
Today was the first day of our foundation class. All this week and next week until Wednesday we will have class from 10:00-12:00 and 2:00-4:00. Rotating these times are 3 classes including Irish politics, Irish history, and Irish literature. Today I had Irish politics and Irish history. It is quite fascinating stuff and I can not wait to dig deeper into it! A big group of students from Blackhall met downstairs this morning at 9:15 and we ventured our way over to the building. I guess if we thought we had a lot of us we wouldn't get lost. There were probably about 35 students all walking together. It was fun to talk to people and get to know them. A lot of them consider UNI a huge school which is strange to me!
About 50 students (all american) were in a long room listening to two different professors teach. I found myself very much intrigued and engulfed into the material. We are studying the history of Ireland dating back all the way to 10,000 years ago. It is crazy that I have researched a lot of the places and have seen many places I am now learning about in a classroom. America does not have history like this place does...it is amazing! After school a few of us went to a bookstore to look at Irish books which a professor suggested we do. Afterwards we came back to our apartments and Kristen and I made pizza and corn. Our roomate laughed at us and said that we were typical Iowans (not that she even knows!) A guy that I know a couple nights ago told me that I was the first Iowan I have ever met and a lot of people agreed with it haha.
Last night we went to a sports bar to watch the patriots game. It was really neat! It was one of three places in Ireland that show American Football. It was a cool place. It had 3 levels and one level was a huge screen being projected on a wall with bleachers going up the side. That is where we sat. A lot of Irish guys were actually watching it too! After Kristen and I left one of our roomates asked the guys behind us if they liked the patriots and they said they don't have a favorite team they just like watching American Football. Kristen and I left early so we could get to bed and my throat has been hurting. On the way back a huge semi drove past us and hit a huge slush pile and threw it all over both of us. I got the worst of it since I was right next to the road. I thought that only happened in movies!! I did not know that happened in real life but of course it happened to me! All you can do it laugh about it haha. I got the mud out so all was well. After getting back I went to bed decently early due to me not feeling well..hopefully it goes away! I think it is the Irish air finally catching up with me. I hope all is well in Iowa..keep in touch!
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Thank the Lord and the Fairies!!!
January 9, 2010 7:04 pm
That phrase was used by our bus driver today after we arrived in Kilkenny safely. He had been explaining the Irish lore about fairies on the way down. In Ireland it is believed that fairies are of a magical realm and children up until the age of 8 can see them. The fairies are there to protect the people of Ireland, but if you make them angry, they will curse your family line for five generations. For example, there once was a family in which they had a fairy burial ground in their field (the Irish pagens believed in fairies but not God so these fairy burial grounds are legit!) During the potatoe famine they were having horrible times so they wanted to sell their property and move to America. They believed if they plowed over the fairy burial ground their land would sell better. After a few days grass began growing beautifully over the land that used to be a burial and a potential buyer came to the door. He offered the family twice of what they asked for. They thought that was strange because it was a time of hunger, but they took it so they would have enough to send their whole family over to America. Soon, they became one of the most influential families in America, but it was obvious they were cursed. It was the Kennedy's. Crazy isn't it?! The Irish blame the fairies for everything that has happened to the Kennedy's.
Anywho...this morning I got up at 6:10 a.m. to partake in my first real shower in this apartment. The water stayed warm for 3 minutes!! That was long enough...I was in and out of there pretty fast! My roomates, Katy Hood, and her roomate Meghan all journeyed over to the Paddywagon bus station to catch our bus to Kilkenny. The weather said it was supposed to be sunny with a few flurries. WRONG...it was if the sky bust open when we were walking over there. It was a beautiful snowfall however, big fluffy flakes that gracefully cling to everything making it beautiful. Dublin received 3 cm of snow, but you would have thought the world had stopped moving! People refused to drive and go to work, but our bus was still running! These Irish individuals aren't as tough as Iowans! Due to the weader (as Irish ppl say) we did not get to go to Glendough which is where Braveheart was filmed, and a beautiful part of Ireland..that was disappointing. But to attempt to make up for it, our busdriver brought us to Brownshill Dolmen which is a huge pile of rocks in the middle of a field that the King of Carlo from 5,000 years ago is buried under. They have found arrowheads and pottery around this but they haven't ever excavated it so they do not know exactly what it is. It was cool. In this 20 degree weather the walk was very very chilly but a lot of pretty photo ops presented themselves.
After the Brownshill Dolmen we got back on the bus and headed for Kilkenny. After an hour and a half ride (we all slept) we arrived to discover that the castle and cathedrals were shut down due to the 3 cm of snow. That was disappointing as well but I got some good pictures. We had two hour free time in which we went to a tea shop and ate. I had DELICIOUS seafood chowder there with bread. It warmed me up quite a bit and then the 6 of us went out to face the cold again! We took pictures of the Kilkenny castle which was once owned by the Butler family. They had been Butlers to the King and Queen...they bought a beautiful castle and took care of the people of Kilkenny, and the people took care of them. I wish we could have had a tour, it was breathtaking from the outside. After taking pictures of the castle we were mortified at what we saw next. Cannibal birds of Kilkenny!! The birds are confused as to the weather, therefore they have no food. We saw a crow attack and kill a poor robin. It was awful and brutal and we all stared in complete and utter shock for quite awhile..it was awful. It is burned into my memory and I will probably never forget it. After that excruciating experience we went and walked around St. Canice's Chathedral. It was neat from the outside. There was a graveyard surrounding it that had some of the grey stone tombs above ground (creepy). We then saw St. Mary's Cathedral which was neat on the inside. I love the architecture of old churches..the beams and the gothic look amazing and the history behind them is fascinating. I would tell you the history but I do not know it due to it not being open for tours...i'm not bitter I promise :) . It was great to get out of Dublin and see a smaller quainter town for awhile!
Tonight some of us are going to Temple Bar to meet Kelsey (my cousin!). I'm really excited about that!
That phrase was used by our bus driver today after we arrived in Kilkenny safely. He had been explaining the Irish lore about fairies on the way down. In Ireland it is believed that fairies are of a magical realm and children up until the age of 8 can see them. The fairies are there to protect the people of Ireland, but if you make them angry, they will curse your family line for five generations. For example, there once was a family in which they had a fairy burial ground in their field (the Irish pagens believed in fairies but not God so these fairy burial grounds are legit!) During the potatoe famine they were having horrible times so they wanted to sell their property and move to America. They believed if they plowed over the fairy burial ground their land would sell better. After a few days grass began growing beautifully over the land that used to be a burial and a potential buyer came to the door. He offered the family twice of what they asked for. They thought that was strange because it was a time of hunger, but they took it so they would have enough to send their whole family over to America. Soon, they became one of the most influential families in America, but it was obvious they were cursed. It was the Kennedy's. Crazy isn't it?! The Irish blame the fairies for everything that has happened to the Kennedy's.
Anywho...this morning I got up at 6:10 a.m. to partake in my first real shower in this apartment. The water stayed warm for 3 minutes!! That was long enough...I was in and out of there pretty fast! My roomates, Katy Hood, and her roomate Meghan all journeyed over to the Paddywagon bus station to catch our bus to Kilkenny. The weather said it was supposed to be sunny with a few flurries. WRONG...it was if the sky bust open when we were walking over there. It was a beautiful snowfall however, big fluffy flakes that gracefully cling to everything making it beautiful. Dublin received 3 cm of snow, but you would have thought the world had stopped moving! People refused to drive and go to work, but our bus was still running! These Irish individuals aren't as tough as Iowans! Due to the weader (as Irish ppl say) we did not get to go to Glendough which is where Braveheart was filmed, and a beautiful part of Ireland..that was disappointing. But to attempt to make up for it, our busdriver brought us to Brownshill Dolmen which is a huge pile of rocks in the middle of a field that the King of Carlo from 5,000 years ago is buried under. They have found arrowheads and pottery around this but they haven't ever excavated it so they do not know exactly what it is. It was cool. In this 20 degree weather the walk was very very chilly but a lot of pretty photo ops presented themselves.
After the Brownshill Dolmen we got back on the bus and headed for Kilkenny. After an hour and a half ride (we all slept) we arrived to discover that the castle and cathedrals were shut down due to the 3 cm of snow. That was disappointing as well but I got some good pictures. We had two hour free time in which we went to a tea shop and ate. I had DELICIOUS seafood chowder there with bread. It warmed me up quite a bit and then the 6 of us went out to face the cold again! We took pictures of the Kilkenny castle which was once owned by the Butler family. They had been Butlers to the King and Queen...they bought a beautiful castle and took care of the people of Kilkenny, and the people took care of them. I wish we could have had a tour, it was breathtaking from the outside. After taking pictures of the castle we were mortified at what we saw next. Cannibal birds of Kilkenny!! The birds are confused as to the weather, therefore they have no food. We saw a crow attack and kill a poor robin. It was awful and brutal and we all stared in complete and utter shock for quite awhile..it was awful. It is burned into my memory and I will probably never forget it. After that excruciating experience we went and walked around St. Canice's Chathedral. It was neat from the outside. There was a graveyard surrounding it that had some of the grey stone tombs above ground (creepy). We then saw St. Mary's Cathedral which was neat on the inside. I love the architecture of old churches..the beams and the gothic look amazing and the history behind them is fascinating. I would tell you the history but I do not know it due to it not being open for tours...i'm not bitter I promise :) . It was great to get out of Dublin and see a smaller quainter town for awhile!
Tonight some of us are going to Temple Bar to meet Kelsey (my cousin!). I'm really excited about that!
Thursday, January 7, 2010
And down I went
January 7, 2010 5:18 pm
I had my first fall today..hence the title of my blog. My roomates and I were walking to orientation and on the sidewalks is about a 1/2 inch layer of ice totally covering them. It is about a half hour walk to the buildings where classes are held but with the ice it makes it a 45 minute walk. I was leading because I knew the way (everyone is surprised i know, I was surprised too!) I was looking both ways to cross a street and all of a sudden my feet weren't on solid ground anymore. I caught air time as Jessica Fischer would say haha. It didn't help that there was a huge group of Dubliners right across from me and saw everything. It made me feel better because my roomate Meghan D. fell literally right behind me. A man crossing the street stopped in front of me and said, "Oh, I am sorry," with his Irish accent and kept walking haha it was pretty funny! After a couple more people fell, we made it to the class (twenty minutes late) but a bunch of people came in behind us!! The head lady said she was very impressed that all of us even made it because Ireland hasn't experienced any type of weather like this in over 30 years and they don't know what to do about it. I guess they dont believe in street and sidewalk salt?? The orientation was good, we learned a lot and met lots of people. My roomate who is sick currently went to the doctor right after it and discovered she has tonsilitis how awful is that?! Hope she feels better soon!
After the orientation Kristen and I went grocery shopping again because apparently we do not get two meals a day as we were told by our study abroad advisor. But, we bought a bag of pasta and pasta sauce that should last us twenty years so I think we will survive!!
Tonight we are going to go eat supper and hang out with some girls we met today that live below us and another girl named Katy from UNI. That should be fun!
I guess I probably should have explained yesterday before I started talking about today though. Yesterday morning I woke up to scary sounds coming from my window (my bed is pushed up against it). Upon investigating after putting my contacts in I discovered it was hailing and snowing like Iowa! It quit hailing long enough for us to make the 45 minute walk to the DBS building we were meeting in thank goodness! Upon arriving, we had our pictures taken and were given our student ID's. Afterwards we were put on a tour bus and sent off on our way to tour Dublin. The bus driver was a funny man and made jokes while we were riding along. It started hailing again and at one point we were sliding backwards down a hill because the breaks couldn't get any traction on the ice...that was scary!! We drove past many sights of Dublin in which I will be revisiting so I will take pictures then! But, he let us get off the bus and get back on to take pictures if we so desired or to just get off at a stop. By the end it was just me, my roomates, and a couple other girls left. We got off the bus at 2:00 and went shopping to get our nccessities such as a duvet cover, towels, blankets for our freezing apartment, toilet paper, groceries, and vice versa. After getting food we started attempting to make the about two mile track back towards our apartment. Due to us not having our reusable bags with us we had to put all our groceries into the bag we were carrying our blankets and things in. About halfway to the apartment i put down my stuff to look at a map to see where we had to turn. After figuring it out (or so we thought) I went to pick up my bag and heard a rip...the whole side of my bag had ripped open so I had to cradle my bag in my arms to walk back. I had an old Irishman look at me and laugh asking if I had bought enough stuff...I started laughing and pointed to my ripped bag in which he just started chuckling more. Meghan D's bag then proceeded to rip as well and by that point we were lost. We asked some people how to get to our road and when we walked away we could hear them laughing at us. If my arms hadn't been so sore from lugging everything around I probably would have laughed at us too. So here we were, four American girls trying to keep our balance on the thick ice, all the while balancing about seven-8 pounds in each arm. I thought we were going to die before we made it back, but we didn't! After unpacking our stuff (which took forever because for the first ten minutes no one could feel their arms!) we all attempted to take naps for a little while. After getting up we all just sat around in sweats and talked. We had the intention of going to a pub to listen to music but the first time we looked at the clock it was 10 and the pubs close at 11:30 and we didn't want to get ready. It was really awesome though getting to know the Meghans more, they seem really cool and we all get along pretty well. One of them thinks she has ghosts in her room and as she was explaining this to us our electricity card was used up so our apartment went black (scary!) Somehow we all ended up in a corner almost holding onto each other. Meghan M. was brave and ran to the end of the hall and opened the door so we had a little light and then we reinserted an electricity card.
Those cards are messed up! We have 50 units of energy on each one and each of us was given 20 cards. One card is supposed to last two days and the cards heat the water for us, heat the rooms for us, and give us electricity in general. We finally had warm water last night, but this morning when I got up our electricity card was out again! Which is so strange because no one used electricity last night because we were all sleeping, so we don't know what is going on. Therefore, I didn't get a warm shower. I took my louffe and washed my body down in the sink and washed my hair. I feel like a pioneer!!
I had my first fall today..hence the title of my blog. My roomates and I were walking to orientation and on the sidewalks is about a 1/2 inch layer of ice totally covering them. It is about a half hour walk to the buildings where classes are held but with the ice it makes it a 45 minute walk. I was leading because I knew the way (everyone is surprised i know, I was surprised too!) I was looking both ways to cross a street and all of a sudden my feet weren't on solid ground anymore. I caught air time as Jessica Fischer would say haha. It didn't help that there was a huge group of Dubliners right across from me and saw everything. It made me feel better because my roomate Meghan D. fell literally right behind me. A man crossing the street stopped in front of me and said, "Oh, I am sorry," with his Irish accent and kept walking haha it was pretty funny! After a couple more people fell, we made it to the class (twenty minutes late) but a bunch of people came in behind us!! The head lady said she was very impressed that all of us even made it because Ireland hasn't experienced any type of weather like this in over 30 years and they don't know what to do about it. I guess they dont believe in street and sidewalk salt?? The orientation was good, we learned a lot and met lots of people. My roomate who is sick currently went to the doctor right after it and discovered she has tonsilitis how awful is that?! Hope she feels better soon!
After the orientation Kristen and I went grocery shopping again because apparently we do not get two meals a day as we were told by our study abroad advisor. But, we bought a bag of pasta and pasta sauce that should last us twenty years so I think we will survive!!
Tonight we are going to go eat supper and hang out with some girls we met today that live below us and another girl named Katy from UNI. That should be fun!
I guess I probably should have explained yesterday before I started talking about today though. Yesterday morning I woke up to scary sounds coming from my window (my bed is pushed up against it). Upon investigating after putting my contacts in I discovered it was hailing and snowing like Iowa! It quit hailing long enough for us to make the 45 minute walk to the DBS building we were meeting in thank goodness! Upon arriving, we had our pictures taken and were given our student ID's. Afterwards we were put on a tour bus and sent off on our way to tour Dublin. The bus driver was a funny man and made jokes while we were riding along. It started hailing again and at one point we were sliding backwards down a hill because the breaks couldn't get any traction on the ice...that was scary!! We drove past many sights of Dublin in which I will be revisiting so I will take pictures then! But, he let us get off the bus and get back on to take pictures if we so desired or to just get off at a stop. By the end it was just me, my roomates, and a couple other girls left. We got off the bus at 2:00 and went shopping to get our nccessities such as a duvet cover, towels, blankets for our freezing apartment, toilet paper, groceries, and vice versa. After getting food we started attempting to make the about two mile track back towards our apartment. Due to us not having our reusable bags with us we had to put all our groceries into the bag we were carrying our blankets and things in. About halfway to the apartment i put down my stuff to look at a map to see where we had to turn. After figuring it out (or so we thought) I went to pick up my bag and heard a rip...the whole side of my bag had ripped open so I had to cradle my bag in my arms to walk back. I had an old Irishman look at me and laugh asking if I had bought enough stuff...I started laughing and pointed to my ripped bag in which he just started chuckling more. Meghan D's bag then proceeded to rip as well and by that point we were lost. We asked some people how to get to our road and when we walked away we could hear them laughing at us. If my arms hadn't been so sore from lugging everything around I probably would have laughed at us too. So here we were, four American girls trying to keep our balance on the thick ice, all the while balancing about seven-8 pounds in each arm. I thought we were going to die before we made it back, but we didn't! After unpacking our stuff (which took forever because for the first ten minutes no one could feel their arms!) we all attempted to take naps for a little while. After getting up we all just sat around in sweats and talked. We had the intention of going to a pub to listen to music but the first time we looked at the clock it was 10 and the pubs close at 11:30 and we didn't want to get ready. It was really awesome though getting to know the Meghans more, they seem really cool and we all get along pretty well. One of them thinks she has ghosts in her room and as she was explaining this to us our electricity card was used up so our apartment went black (scary!) Somehow we all ended up in a corner almost holding onto each other. Meghan M. was brave and ran to the end of the hall and opened the door so we had a little light and then we reinserted an electricity card.
Those cards are messed up! We have 50 units of energy on each one and each of us was given 20 cards. One card is supposed to last two days and the cards heat the water for us, heat the rooms for us, and give us electricity in general. We finally had warm water last night, but this morning when I got up our electricity card was out again! Which is so strange because no one used electricity last night because we were all sleeping, so we don't know what is going on. Therefore, I didn't get a warm shower. I took my louffe and washed my body down in the sink and washed my hair. I feel like a pioneer!!
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