The Beautiful Letdown

"It was a beautiful letdown, when you found me here..." -Switchfoot

So here I am, still in Ireland, and this is where I will stay until the end of the semester. Like I said yesterday, my flight to Paris was cancelled...and the airspace isn't open until later tomorrow. I tried to see if there were flights sometime soon, but out of Ireland to anywhere is completely booked until Sunday, so that would mean less than 3 days in Switzerland before our flight back to Ireland. :( It's been a very odd couple days being in the dark about flights and whether things will be open or closed, so I am finally relieved with the present news and my final decision.

I decided to not chance a "test flight" and ferries were all booked, so I will stay here in Ireland. What a horrible thing it is to be here!! (<-- Major Sarcasm!)I am sad that our plans for Switzerland will not be possible, but this was something no one anticipated, so I am not sorry for spending the money to book places, and then not be able to go. I am very proud of my decision. There were too many "if's" involved...once in Paris would we be able to get a train to Switzerland? (because they are on strike lol) and once in Switzerland and wanting to get back to Ireland, would we be able to? Who knows! I was not willing to take that sort of a risk...and I'm an adventurous girl! Heck, I just planned a spur of the moment week long trip around Ireland, and I was prepared to go by myself if I couldn't find anyone to travel with! Adventure definitely does not frighten me. This sort of expedition to go out of the safe zone into a chaotic arena of flight disruptions - just for a vacation (rather than to get home or to an important meeting or event) - seemed neither wise nor appealing to me.

It's funny to look back: A week ago today I was in Doolin at the Cliffs of Moher, and I thought I was shortly going to Paris and Switzerland for 12 days. It's funny how a couple days can change a lot :) I'm very thankful that I am not stranded by the volcano in a foreign country with finances being a worry just to provide for a place to stay and food to eat. God certainly knows best, and I am happy to go with the flow! :)

This is good news, because now I can study more, calm my nerves for my exams, and possibly explore more of Ireland!

Thanks for bearing with me through these chaotic times! I apologize if this has been a rambling sort of entry.

I pray that all of you reading this will have a blessed day :)

I'll be in touch soon, Mariss

Life, how I love thee!

It is 11:30 on Monday morning, and I have no idea what is going on with my trip! haha definitely not going to Paris...not even for 24 hours :( All flights in/out of Ireland have been cancelled until 1pm Wednesday, and there is talk that the flights may not be cleared for take off until friday?? Given that the second volcano doesn't erupt! Trying to see what we should do about Switzerland!

Even though this flying business (and the feeling of being in Limbo) is rather a disappointment, I have been blessed to be stuck in my "home" and not some really random and sketchy place! My prayers go out to all those stranded in different countries or those who are away from their home. I also pray that with the attempted flights out of the now open airports, all may remain safe!

Archangel St. Raphael, patron saint of all those travelling on land, air, or sea, Pray for us. :)

In the mean time, I'm going to try and devote myself to my essay due for my Music class. Irish harps and harpers are a very interesting subject. Lots of history and great music!!

Hope all is well with you! talk to you soon, mariss

And I thought volcanoes were mostly extinct...

Well, here I am on this lovely Friday night...sitting in my dorm room typing this blog :) They say if you want to make God laugh, show Him your plans. God must be having a great laugh now, because I have come across a different plan than I had arranged. Ha ha ha. See? A laugh!

I was supposed to fly out of Ireland to Paris this afternoon, but because of the volcano eruptions in Iceland, my flight was cancelled. I have no idea why I am so relieved to not be going, but I am!! I was going to make the most of our trip and I was going to enjoy seeing Paris for sure, but deep down I felt that there was something not quite right about me going. Last night, I broke down and wondered if I really should go....pre-travelling jitters I guess you could call it. Nevertheless, I overcame my nerves and got confirmation that I was meant to go. I woke up this morning bright and early all packed and ready to go on my last adventure of these last 6 weeks in Ireland. The funny part is that my friend and I only found out that our flight was cancelled after our 3 hour bus ride to the airport :) Luckily the wonderful airport people were able to book us a flight for free. They booked it at the earliest possible...Tuesday afternoon. So, as it is right now, I am going to Paris...but for less than 24 hours! hehe. After a quick blitz tour around the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, and Saint-Germain Boulevard, we are then heading into Switzerland for the remainder of our planned trip.

I am eager to see what other surprises God has in store for me...it keeps my life interesting!!

Well, I should get to unpacking and attempting to study for finals (might as well use these couple extras days for good use...I really need to stop facebook creeping in my spare time lol)

If I have any other news, I will be sure to update you all! :)

Much love, mariss

Updates! Updates!

So sorry it's been a while since my last post. Time has been flying by, and along with it many more adventures and memories!

At the end of March (actually on Palm Sunday) I went to Lourdes on a pilgrimage with the college campus ministry!! It was such an incredible experience! While in Lourdes, I met up with a friend from back home who was also studying abroad, and had a great time with his group of friends he was travelling with. Later that week, he came to visit with some buddies and we had such an awesome time! The rest of Holy Week was certainly blessed, as was Easter. It wasn't the same being away from home, and I really missed my family & church family; nevertheless, I made lots of new memories and cooked my first Easter dinner with a friend!! Ham and mashed potatoes of course ;) There are many more things I want to tell you about that week, so I will leave this as the brief synopsis, then I promise I will give more details in the upcoming weeks! (Gee, this is starting to become some sort of thriller/suspense series haha

Easter Monday, I decided to plan a week long, spur-of-the-moment trip of the Western part of Ireland, and on Wednesday I set off with a friend for the adventure!!

I spent a day and night in Killarney, a day and night in Dingle (my brother loves that name...he thinks its hilarious lol), 3 days and 3 nights in Galway, a day trip to Our Lady of Knock, a day of biking on the Aran Islands, 2 days and nights in Doolin (the Irish Traditional Music Capitol of Ireland), and a visit to the Cliffs of Moher! It has been such a whirlwind of a week, but I finally got to experience part of the countryside and the "real" Ireland: homey and welcoming families & farmers, good pub food, "a one stop light town" quaintness, quietness, and peacefulness, and the fresh air of the country! Not to mention sunsets on the Atlantic ocean, my first ferry ride, watching the clouds in a farmer's field, getting caught in a rain storm 3 miles away from our hostel, being accompanied by friendly dogs during our walks through the country, and enjoying the warmth of a turf fire in the farmhouse hostel.

Like my other trips, I will give more details very soon! I have less than 48 hours to unpack, do my laundry, and re-pack for 12 days in Europe: Paris and a couple towns in Switzerland! I wanted to update you all on what had been happening these past few weeks! I am so thankful for all these gifts God is giving me. I hope I can show Him my gratefulness by making the most out of these great times, and enjoying every minute!

I can't wait to see you all and tell you these stories in person!

Until then, I will update soon. . .I promise!

Take care, Mariss

<3