"Goodbye"

So here I am. It's my last full day in Ireland and I really don't know what to think. I have so many things I want to say...seeing as its almost been a month since my last post...and I really don't know where to begin.

Let me backtrack and tell you the happenings of the past month...then I'll get to the philosophizing and reflecting on my trip as a whole :)

I studied intensely for 4 weeks for my physics exam...with little day trips here and there to break the brain freeze...and also found that I have a new favorite comedian - John Pinette!! (thanks to my wonderful roommie for introducing me to him via YouTube!) Had to take a taxi to my exam in the city. It was a huge basketball court with over 500 desks arranged in rows and felt like a sort of SAT or ACT setting. It was crazy!! The exam was the day after my birthday...so of course I had to celebrate being done with Physics AND my new age hehe. We went to a couple places that night in the city before ending up at my favorite pub - The Old Oak - and had a great time listening to music, hanging out and having a great time :)

After celebrating I had exactly one week until my Anatomy final and I studied every minute of those remaining 7 days. (well not every minute...because I slept and ate and took small breaks to watch TV shows online...but 80% of my time was spent studying lol)

After taking that exam in the very same basketball court, I officially became a Junior in College!! It was great to be done studying and I simply collapsed from exhaustion that night...I had no energy to celebrate or party haha. The following weekend I went on a 48 hour trip to Dublin and the Wicklow Mountains (places where parts of Braveheart and P.S. I Love You were filmed!) I had bad experiences with the tour buses there, and the hostel we stayed in was right next to a train bridge and busy city streets. Thus, all night I heard the sound of the pedestrian walk signal and the loud trains rumbling by my window. I was not a pretty sight in the morning...little sleep and not very good breakfast. But! All the same, it was a grand to be in Dublin for the last time and see the Wicklow country!

I came back later on Sunday night and packed. I packed, packed, packed, packed, and saw sights in Cork City on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and today. (Tuesday I was sick with a bug...otherwise I would have been out and about then too! haha). My roommates had a goodbye party last night and my friends and I skipped out early and went into the city to The Old Oak. It was one of the best nights I've had here...getting dressed up, live bands in the pub, playing Rummy card games there, and enjoying the Irish culture with wonderful friends!!! Certainly a great finish to my 5 months here :) Today I went back to the pub with a friend for lunch and one last look around the city...and last opportunity to take pictures of my life here.

Which brings me to my philosophizing part of this blog! haha. I have begun to wonder about the word "goodbye". Currently I have my iTunes up and am playing all the songs with the word "goodbye" in the title. There are many different contexts in which this word is used. For example, many songs have a sad/heart-wrenching meaning attached to the word: "Here Comes Goodbye" by Rascal Flatts, "Goodbye" by Audio Adrenaline, "Say Goodbye" by Skillet and the same title by Sanctus Real, "Starts with Goodbye" by Carrie Underwood, and of course the classic Beatles (and re-sung version by Glee) "Hello Goodbye".

Other songs have a mean and almost hurtful purpose in using "goodbye": "Goodbye" by Kristina DeBarge (Na Na Na Naaa Hey Hey Hey Goodbye), "Goodnight and Goodbye" by Jonas Brothers, and yes, "Bye Bye Bye" by NSync.

My Goodbye to Ireland is most definitely using the sad/bittersweet context. I have had such a wonderful time here, even with the sad times! There were definitely difficult times with school and other situations, and also times when I wanted to go home. But overall, my time spent here was amazing and so enjoyable! I am so overwhelmed with this blessing I have been given by God to experience a whole new and unique culture here in Ireland. I am sad to leave the people I met here and the memories I have made while being here. (I am especially going to miss the peace and quiet of my own room!!! For the first time in 16 years I didn't need share a room with anyone! :D) It was most definitely a treat to be here. I have a feeling it will be many months (and maybe years) before I can fully realize what I have been able to learn and how much I have grown and matured during these past 5 months.

I have heard that the word "goodbye" has been derived from "God Bless." This is my farewell to Ireland, and my prayer for blessings upon this country and all the wonderful people who have shown hospitality to me and welcomed me with open arms. I do hope to visit again, but sadly I think it will be many years before I can return.

With all this sadness saying "goodbye" to Ireland, I am more importantly saying "HELLO!!!" to my wonderful family and friends back home!!! How I have missed you all so much, and I can't wait to give you all big hugs and tell you about my adventures in person!!! Guaranteed the stories will be long winded and mixed with my "ADD moments" but that will be the fun of it all :)

Thank you for coming with me on my journey "across the pond!" It has been a lovely time.

Hope to see you all soon, and I thank you for your prayers for a safe and uninterrupted flight back to US soil!! (Be sure that I will be kissing the ground when we land lol) Take care!

God Bless :)

May Day! May Day!

May 1st is the official first day of summer here in Ireland, and it reminded me of a little bit of Memorial Day back at home. It was a 4 day weekend, but there was little to no sign of human activity in the city! Hardly any cars were on the roads, and the buses were nearly all shut down for the holiday. There weren't any patriot displays or thanksgiving for the service of men and women in our military, but it had the same quiet celebratory feeling. Shops, stores, banks, and offices were closed until this Tuesday which made getting laundry coins very tricky. Of course I had forgotten to buy them earlier last week...waiting until the last minute when I had only 1 pair of clean socks in my drawer. Go figure! ha ha

In my history class, I had learned that there is some folklore attached to May 1st. It was a day of new beginnings, and it was a superstition that if one milked a cow, churned butter, or did anything with the milk, their crops for the year would be cursed by the bad fairies. Hence, no one lifted a finger to do any sort of farm work on May day for fear of the curse.The tradition has carried on today as a bank holiday, and the official beginning of summer. I know what I would be doing on a summer holiday...BBQ and campfires!! But it was not so this time around . . .

I spent this summery weekend in a very uneventful way - studying!! As well as breaks to watch movies and make myself a cup of tea :) Even though my 2 final exams are over a week and a half away, I need to review a whole semester's worth of information. That's one thing I really don't care for in the schooling here...there were no quarterly or midterm tests in my Anatomy & Physiology class and the classes were huge lecture halls of at least 350 students. Much different than my 40-50 students/classroom in my "medium sized" university back home! I also don't care for the month of prolonged studying. I would much rather have a week to review old tests, cram it all in, have library parties and hunker down in my room, then take the test, be done and go home! I have yet to see if this month enhances my studying and absorption of material...we will see with my exam grades I suppose ha ha.

On the other hand, I should not be complaining. I am very lucky that I only have 2 finals for the end of the year. My Irish roommates have 8 finals, covering material from both this semester and last semester. If I was in their shoes, I would be praising the high heavens for this month long opportunity to study! I can see why this month long Easter break was necessary for them.

It's 10:45 pm here, and just about 2 hrs after the sun finally set. It's beautiful having my window open, seeing the green leafy trees (finally!), and listening to the breeze. I think this late sun set is affecting my sleep cycle, because I have only been able to get to sleep around 2 am and I wake up at 8:30 with the sun beaming through my window. 8:30...that's earlier than what I'm used to, but I shouldn't be complaining about that either I suppose ;) I have yet to hear any crickets or peepers; this is very odd for me and I'm sure I will be quite spooked when I hear them back at home.

Less than 4 weeks and I will be back in my beloved country! I'm trying to enjoy the rest of my time here in Ireland, but this studying is really nagging me. I have 10 days after my last final before I go home, so I am hoping to take one last trip around Ireland, or maybe stay here and bond with my roommates. I won't see them ever again, so I want to make the best of the remaining time with them!

Alrighty, I'm off to catch up on some Glee episodes online. I shall return with more updates of my experiences and travels here . . . Even if my travels mean that I walked to and from the library in one day :)

Talk to you soon! Take care, mariss

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

Daily Life in Cork

Up until now, I've been telling you all about my adventures on the weekends and my world travels, but I haven't told you much about my daily life...or how it's like living in Ireland :)

For starters, I used to have merely 10 hours a week of classes, and with the occasional physics or anatomy lab...that would bring the grand total to 15 hours a week. Back home, the norm was 19 hrs of class, 20 hrs of my job, and the 20+ hours of studying, club meetings, etc.

Needless to say, here in Ireland there has been much time to enjoy the day, walk slowly home after class, breathe in the fresh air, and stop and smell the flowers :) Just the other day after my Irish step dancing exam, I was walking back to the main campus and got caught in a rain storm. It was the kind of rain that normally happens in the summer: the sun was shining, the air was humid, and the rain came down in warm, big drops. It was a wonderful walk and I didn't care that my sweatshirt, jeans, sneakers, and backpack were soaking wet. I had to keep myself from dancing in the rain...people might have thought I was crazy haha. I often passed by a church on the hilltop, and to satisfy my curiosity (and seeing as I was in no rush to get to my next class) I stopped into the beloved place. Our Lady of the Rosary Church was absolutely beautiful and I felt extremely welcome. By the time I returned outside, the rain slowed, then picked up again to my delight.

As I walked over the old, rickety, suspension foot bridge back to the main campus, I met a couple unleashed dogs. They are always unleashed here, and it's such an odd sight to see!! They don't run away, but simply trot ahead of their master and on occasion look back and stop mid-jaunt as if to say, "Well, are ya comin? I can't wait to sniff more of this sidewalk! Hurry up!"

Another common event in my day is walking to the reception office of my dorm to either buy laundry coins, check my mail, or to get a temporary room key...because I locked myself out of my room. It always seems to happen at the most inconvenient times...right before class, just after I wake up from a nap, just before I take a shower, when my phone is ringing, when I'm wearing summer wear and flip flops & it's raining outside...all wonderful instances :)

There are also the convenient stores "Centra" and "Tesco Express" about 5 mins walking distance from my dorm which have great deals on snacks, milk, and bread! I usually make a trip for these essentials once a week, and of course for the occasional chocolate/popcorn/Doritos/soda run on our girl-y movie nights :)

After classes during lunch time, I usually flip on "the telly" and watch some Irish & British soap operas, or Australian drama series...Home and Away is such a great series and is the perfect amount of time to eat a sandwich and keep up with the latest developments!! haha. Then I head into my room to enjoy the silence and get to the little amount of homework I have.

Well, now that classes are over I have even more time to enjoy the fresh air, listen to the birds outside my window, and take in every moment that I am here. Just the other night I was watching the movie Leap Year!! It truly is such a good representation of what I have experienced and seen here in Ireland so far. There were so many occasions when I was laughing or crying, both out of happiness and sorrow: I realized I am most likely never coming back here again, so I need to hold onto everything I can while I am here. It would be nice to come back to visit, but I don't want to get my hopes up and I need to think that this is my only opportunity to do things I would like to do, or see things I will never be able to see again. I want to make the most of my time left, and not have any regrets :) I know when I get back home, that movie is going to make me cry so much because it will remind me of every good thing I had here in this beloved place.

Of course, this little entry wouldn't be complete without telling you about my travels! I am heading to Lourdes on a pilgrimage with the campus ministry, and I am so excited to be there for the first half of Holy Week! It is certainly a blessing to be able to go, and I'm honored to bring many intentions of my family and friends to the feet of Our Lady. I trust she will bring them to Jesus, and He will answer them in His perfect time!

Hope you have enjoyed this, I will be updating you all again soon!

talk to you later,

mariss :)

Oh! The Places I've Been!

Oh! The Places You'll Go!

Congratulations!

Today is your day.
You’re off to Great Places!
You’re off and away!

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself any direction you choose.

- Dr. Suess :)

Well, hello! It has been a wonderful couple weeks, and I have been so many places since my last post! Weekends in The Ring of Kerry, Galway, and Dublin, and day trips in Cahir, Cashel, and Blarney! I have certainly been scoping out the landscapes of Ireland, but at the same time I have been hard at work with school. My Dad created a "half-way" point for my stay here in Ireland, and I believe the exact date is March 24th. I cannot believe that already 2 and a half months have flown by, and I only have 2 weeks of school remaining. I have an entire month off in April for Easter and "studying" (aka travelling), then two exams during the month of May. There are many places to see, things to experience, and lessons to learn. I often pinch myself to make sure I really am here. It's an incredible blessing to be here! Let me share with you where I have been this past month :)

...My apologies on the length...it is quite a lot to read. Next time i will be updating more frequently and with a smaller word count! ;)

In February I went with my school to the Ring of Kerry. The Ring of Kerry is a heritage trail that takes you through the little towns and coastal cities in County Kerry. It is known to be one of the most beautiful areas of Ireland, and it certainly lived up to its reputation! We stayed at a hotel, had wonderful food (that I didn't have to cook myself!), and took a bus tour and walked all around the countryside. I met lots of American students, went to a Ceili!! (it's like Irish line dancing with partners and in a huge group) and enjoyed the nice weather. Our hotel was in Cahersiveen, County Kerry, then we traveled on the bus to many places: Killarney, Killorglin, Valentia Island, saw the Skelligs in Ballinskelligs from the coast (they are two historical rock islands off the coast...monasteries have been found there dating to very early Christian times), Portmagee, Caherdaniel, Derrynane (the home of Daniel O'Connell, the famous "Irish Catholic liberator"), and many other small towns! Some of my favorite parts of the trip were when we got to explore the stone forts we stumbled upon! I also loved seeing ruins of castles on the beach, hearing the Atlantic ocean waves, and feeling the misty wind on my face. It occurred to me that this same ocean touched my homeland!! Truly amazing :)

After the Ring of Kerry weekend trip, I went on a day trip to Cahir Castle and The Rock of Cashel. I went with the campus ministry here at UCC, and it was a very nice day! The castle was fun to explore, and there were many historical facts about it. It was originally built in the 1100's, and the recent design is from the 1840's. So cool!! The Rock of Cashel is also known as "St. Patrick's Rock" and is believed to be the place where the King of Munster was converted to Catholicism and baptized by St. Patrick in 400 A.D. The fortress is absolutely magnificent and is quite large! The view of the land surrounding the rock is truly incredible, and no matter how many pictures I took I could never capture the fullness of its beauty!! The structures we saw were partially in ruins; what remains is from the 12th & 13th centuries. That day, I met a family from Maine! We thought they were American, and they kept looking at us like they thought we were Americans too. So, to meet them, my friend and I asked if they could take our picture in front of the Rock. It was a great plan! :) Plus, they had very nice looking sons and they were going to school in the Northeast too! It was a wonderful plane.

I also went to Galway City at the end of February! It is such a small city, and much different than Cork. I really like the atmosphere! I went on this trip with the campus ministry from UCC again, and I met and made great friends here!! Since then, I got together with some of the girls and we had a girls' night with brownies and Disney movies :) We took a day trip to Connemara, (in the northern/coastal part of County Galway) and toured Kylemore Abbey and the Connemara National Park. Both were beautiful! While we were walking through the national park, it started to sleet and rain and hail and snow! Quite an adventure! We just kept singing and walking and laughing as the wind and rain wrapped all around us. Of course, once we got back to the bottom of the mountain and climbed into the bus, the precipitation stopped. :) That night after a nap and dry clothes we went out to a lovely pub and enjoyed each other's company and singing abilities, and we found a place called Coyote! It had the American flag plastered on the ceilings, country music playing, 80's music and a mechanical bull!!!! It was such a cool place!! I absolutely HAD to try the bull riding, because I had heard so much about it from my friends. It was quite a sight to see, and only after trying it did I discover the trick to holding on. I lasted 2.3 seconds ... not even one full rotation! I didn't care that I was bad at it, I just knew that if I hadn't tried it, I would have regretted it :) This just means that I will have to attempt riding it again back home! hehe

The next day we walked around the city, and I bought a Claddagh ring, since this was the site of the original Claddagh jewelers! Unfortunately the shop was closed and we couldn't go in to see the museum, but there were many vendors selling this type of ring. The bus ride home was very relaxing, and I was quite happy to be back in my little "home", Cork.

Last week, in between classes, I took a day trip to Blarney Castle, and kissed the Blarney Stone!! I heard that the locals pee on the stone during the night, but then again I knew I would have been sad if I hadn't bent backwards over the castle wall to participate in the classic Irish tradition. The stairs up to the top of the castle were winding, narrow, and seemed to be growing smaller as I climbed higher. The grounds around the Castle were very nice as well, and I saw signs of springtime! Flowers of all kinds were sprouting from the ground; it looked like Easter!

Dublin was my trip last weekend, and I went with two other friends for our return debut. We met up with one of our friends from back home! She is the athletic trainer for the Yale rugby team and they were on tour in the UK. It was nice to see her and give her a big hug!! We briefly met the team, and we had planned on going to a game but because we got lost and delayed on our way to the city, we missed it. :( It worked out for the better, because we were able to spend an entire day with her on Saturday and enjoyed watching an Ireland rugby match from one of the local pubs in Dublin! The official website for the rugby games: http://www.rbs6nations.com/en/home.php and the highlights of the weekend!!!: http://www.rbssixnations.premiumtv.co.uk/page/RBSSixNations/0,,12785~1946803,00.html The Ireland team beat the Wales team by 27 to 12, and being in the pub to watch the game was quite an experience!! It felt something akin to a series with the Red Sox versus Yankees! Such an exciting game and it was truly nice to spend time with friends in that atmosphere. Not to mention that the food was amazing!!! (Rev. Uncle Andre you were right! The pub food is really tasty!) During the weekend, I bought an Ireland rugby shirt...not the official jersey because it was really expensive, but still a rugby shirt :)

I have loved travelling these past month, and I am looking forward to this next weekend for studying for my finals before I head out again into the big, wide world. I'll be sure to tell you about my St. Patrick's Day experience in Ireland!

Talk to you soon, mariss

These are a few of my favorite things...

Today, I was realizing that in these few weeks I have been here, I already have favorite Irish things!

1. The electric kettles (Don't know how I ever lived without them!)

2. Turning the "cooker" (oven) on/off with a switch on the wall

3. Looking Right, then left, then right again before I cross the street

4. Coins for 1 & 2 Euros!

5. The "Lift" = elevator

6. Lollies! (Popsicles)

7. Tayto Chips!! (Potato chips)

8. All the tea & tea cookies

9. The Irish drama series RAW (so cool!)

10. The Temple Bar in Dublin

11. Rugby Rugby Rugby!!!

12. Hurling (kinda like field hockey)

13. Bulmers! (Irish cider) :)

14. TradSessions (Live Irish Traditional music in pubs!)

15. Step dancing

16. The green countryside & rolling hills

17. Accents :)

...and so much more! I'll be sure to add them when they come to mind :)

Cheers!

London!!

Last weekend I took a weekend trip to London with one other friend, and we had a really great time! Since it was the two of us, it was really nice to pick and choose the sights to see, and the things we wanted to skip.

We started out on Thursday morning with our hiking backpacks, took a 2 hrs bus to Shannon Airport, checked in, went through security and waited the two hours for our flight. While we were in Shannon airport we saw U.S. Army Men!! My friend and I were so touched to see them there, in their uniforms, and proudly wearing the Stars and Stripes. We went up to them (I was quite teary eyed at this point...typical) and thanked them for their service to our country and all they do to protect us. He was very moved, and so happy we had said that to him. We chatted for a bit. Come to find out, he was from CT and had gone to Yale as a grad student!! A little bit of home :) I know it definitely made my day, and I'm sure it made his too.

We boarded the plane, flew 55 mins to Heathrow and landed quite safely and in good weather.

By the time we got off the plane, it was around 7, and we made our way down to the Tube. (London's underground subway!) I was sooo confused and had absolutely NO idea where we were trying to get to, or what would be the fastest and/or cheapest option. I didn't think I could EVER master the system or be able to confidently find my way around. (I had never really taken any trains/subways back home...that was too much city for this little country bumpkin) ;) Nevertheless, at the end of the weekend, I almost knew the Tube like it was the back of my hand and I was very sad to leave it behind.

After the hour Tube ride from the airport to the stop for our hostel, we found ourselves outside the city, still slightly discombobulated as to where our hostel was located, after sunset and also raining. Thank you Tante Lise for the waterproof backpack cover!! It definitely came in handy this trip :) We walked up the road still trying to find out hostel, and after asking for directions from a business company, we finally found our way. Come to find out we had walked past it several times haha.

The hostel itself was an old mansion that had been converted into a lovely place. We were in the basement in a 12 person all-female room, but that was fine with me because we were next to the hostel owned restaurant and pub! :) It made for a very short walk to breakfast in the morning! The whole atmosphere of the place was so welcoming and there were lots of great gathering rooms, TV rooms and couches, and also computers right when you walked into the lobby. It was very easy to meet people and be friendly. We met two very nice Canadian girls who were traveling all around Europe, and it was so nice to share stories and get to know them! I also met a couple guys from France when I was waiting in line for the computers, and they were very nice too!

Every morning at breakfast we would snag a couple extra pieces of toast, peanut butter, and jelly, and pack our lunches for the day! I forgot to bring a purse/bag with me so that meant I stuffed my pockets with my sandwiches, orange, and other snacks. Hehe it was quite a sight. But then again, I didn't need to carry any bags, so that worked out well. Day 1 (Friday) we set out bright and early to see the city. We took the Tube, got off and walked around to the Tower of the London, Tower Bridge (I thought that was London Bridge so I skipped across it and sang "London Bridge is Falling Down"...only to find out that it was the wrong bridge), walked along the Thames River, and went to Shakespeare's Globe Theatre!! The Globe was one of my favorite parts of this trip! We spent almost half a day inside! We had a tour guide who lead us into the theatre and told us the history of the place & about Shakespeare's time period. Unfortunately this wasn't the original Globe Theatre, but it was an almost exact replica and was placed about a block away from the original site. After the tour we took our time walking around the exhibit, pretending to be actresses & practicing play lines, looking at the costumes and scenery, and my friend got to be dressed up in Shakespearian clothing!! There was a balcony too, so I pretended to be Juliet calling out and waiting for my Romeo. Haha It was so much fun, and I left the place feeling inspired to read more of Shakespeare's works!

We also took a little detour to a store called "House of Fraser" because we saw "On Sale Now" signs out front!! So we window shopped, and we both decided to buy something...after all it's London! So I bought a fun shirt/dress....and it was only 9 pounds! It was initially 45 pounds, so it was an awesome deal... plus it was from London :) Gotta love bargains!!

We got back on the Tube to head home for the night, when we saw that there was a stop all the way at the end of "Piccadilly Line" and the stop was called Cockfosters. My friend wanted to take a picture of her next to the sign at the stop, so we rode the tube all the way to the end, then realized it wasn't a great section of town to be in. It was dark out, after suppertime, and the Tube was practically deserted so we quickly took a picture, then hopped on the tube heading back into Central London. We made it back to our hostel, ate dinner, then took a much needed nap. That night, we went to the hostel's pub with our 2 Canadian friends, and then out to a cute little club down the street. I can now officially say that I have been to a club/pub in two countries...but none in my own. Haha.

Day 2 was a great day as well. Seeing as it was Saturday, there were many more tourists in the city, and this made getting from one place to another rather tricky. We started off the morning with our packed lunches&snacks at Buckingham Palace for the changing of the guards, and while we were standing in the crowd, we met 10 or 12 University of Delaware students!! I noticed them (the guys anyway lol) because they were wearing black North Face jackets, and had yellow Timberland Construction boots. So I definitely knew these were not European men...they were Americans hehe. Then I heard their accents (or lack of) and we asked where they were from, and made small talk, etc. I guess I realize how much I miss Americans...the guys talk all the time, and it's about nothing...but at least its talking about something! It really made my day to hear them talking about familiar things...like how one guy thought the symbol on the horse blanket looked like the Green Bay Packers emblem. It was really funny. So after about 2 hours of waiting & standing for the ceremony, my friend and I left the Palace because it was freezing that day, and standing in one place for so long had left our feet frozen. We walked down the Mall, through St. James' Park, and ended up behind Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. We took candid shots in the little red phone booths, and stopped to have lunch in a cute park. As we were eating, we saw a church to our right, and wondered what famous place that could be. (Keep in mind it was one of those days where my head was in the clouds...and I really wasn't all there...) So we ate our lunch, then walked across the bridge to go to our River Tour. Little did we know, that we had sat in front of Westminster Abbey....and didn't go inside. That is probably my only regret about this trip :( Our river cruise was very nice, and it was a very sunny day out on the River Thames. They took us down the Thames underneath the bridges, and we went from Westminster to London, and back. It was absolutely freezing after our cruise, and we were shaking from the cold, so we decided to go back for the day to our hostel. We ate supper, then went on an adventure to go to Mass that night! (So we could have more time in the morning to check out & get to our flight.) The place where we wanted to go was about a 40 min walk, and I didn't know exactly where it was. I asked the hostel manager where this place was, he gave us directions and told us that it was a perfectly safe walk, even at this time of night. To save time, we took a bus, then walked through a city that looked and felt like New Haven, CT. Aka not a good place to be just two girls walking. However, we made it safely to Mass, and it was a lovely little church! Afterwards, we took our first and only London taxi home to our hostel because we did not want to go through the hassle of the bus and the unsafe city.

I spent that night packing for our trip home and went to bed nice and early. The next day, I had hoped to find Drury Lane ... where the Muffin Man lives! Unfortunately we didn't get to go there. Instead we went to Abbey Road!! Of course we had to take pictures next to the street sign, and a picture as we were walking across the street....like the famous Beatles album cover :) Let me tell you, it was quite treacherous!! Those Beatles must have had the street blocked off for their photo shoot because there were so many cars that were driving down that road. My friend and I literally had to sprint across, pause long enough for someone to take our picture, then run the rest of the way to safety. It was a great end to our sight seeing. We boarded the Tube, arrived at the airport with 3 hours to kill before our flight, and made a pit-stop at a restaurant called "Giraffe." Here we decided to spend the rest of our British pounds on Nachos, Melon-Lime Daiquiris, and a Rocky Road Sundae!!! Salty, sweet, and chocolaty. Mhmm it was very yummy and exactly what we needed :)

After we had finished we went to our boarding gate, then took a little coach bus to our average sized plane in the middle of the runway. I had never done that before...boarding the plane by walking up the steps, so I felt like the President or important person lol.

The flight home was great too, and our bus back to Cork was pleasant. I am soooo happy to be back in Ireland! London was certainly a fun time, but not my favorite place in the world. It had a different atmosphere, and definitely less "homey" and welcoming than Ireland. I think I can officially say that I am now able to call my dorm & Ireland home :) It's a great feeling! Once I develop my disposable camera, I will be able to show you all the pictures from the weekend!

Kinsale Day Trip

I am going to be stepping back a couple weekends, to tell you about my day trip to Kinsale! It was the weekend after Dublin, and my friend and I really wanted to go somewhere quiet, inexpensive, yet adventurous!

We picked Kinsale as our destination: a cute little harbor town not too far from our beloved Cork City. We woke up early, walked (really sprinted the last mile) about 40 mins to the bus station, and got on the 8:15am bus and arrived in the little town just after 9am. To our surprise, almost everything in town was still closed on this Saturday morning until 10 or 11 am ... including the tourist center.

So, we started walking along the coast of the town and marveling at the sailboats, the beautiful ocean, the pesky seagulls, and the smell of fish and lobsters :) Within 15 mins of setting foot in Kinsale, I decided to pull out my camera for some beautiful sunrise shots. As I put my camera around my wrist, the strap snapped and my camera instantly crashed to the ground. All I could see were dollar signs when I picked up my broken and bent camera! Ah! I have only been here a month and I am already having to resort to disposable cameras! (which have no zoom button, or the ability to review pictures!! How did I survive before digital??) To makes things a little better on my conscience, I kept telling myself that the deceased camera was almost 3 years old...so it wasn't as if I had just damaged a brand new camera. I think that softened the blow...

After I got over the initial speechless shock of having absolutely no means of recording the trip, I completely forgot all about the accident and enjoying all the sights. There was less pressure to be a "tourist" and I felt as if I could just take everything all in.

Once the tourist center opened, we took a map and decided to visit the two historic forts on the outskirts of the town. We trekked over to St. James Fort, over 3 km away, through the fog and mist, over bridges, and along the rocky ocean coast, ran past killer birds, and finally up snowy and grassy rolling hill. This fort was less impressive than the next one we visited, but it had a great view of the rocky cliffs, the rolling green hills, and the tiny ocean waves crashing on a small beach below us. Ahh! It was the kind of place where one wishes to be a bird so she can fly down and feel the salty wind and warm sun. (At least that's what I was thinking hehe). The fog was finally clearing - which improved our view of the town - and we made our way back to the center of Kinsale. From the town we began our 2 km walk up gravel and paved hills, through the woods, along natural waterfalls created by the rock on the side of the path and the fresh spring water dripping down, and the ocean remained beside us as well. We finally got to Charles Fort and it was absolutely huge! There was a great deal of history attached to it. I believe the fort was initially inhabited by the British, so they used the same cannons there that they used in the U.S. Revolutionary War! Also there were many walls with lookout spots, and also many of the rock walls were overgrown with grass and clovers. There were so many little rooms to explore, and many "sally ports"! These were little tunnels on the ground floor going from the inside of the fort to the outside and the soldiers used these as a means of attacking the enemy by surprise. They were really damp and drippy, but really cool!

I probably spent 2 hours exploring the fort and taking pictures with Kathleen, looking out to sea, envisioning the British ships in the harbor, and pretending to be a fair maiden who needed to be rescued from the stone tower. It was a blast!! :)

After our explorations were finished, we went across the street to watch a soccer game! We could hear everyone yelling and were quite interested. Earlier in the day there had been kid soccer games, but now ... there were young men playing soccer! It was so cool to watch! I couldn't decide which team I wanted to win, because both were evenly matched. I heard them yelling in Irish...with bits of English swears here and there lol. Needless to say, it was a great little break before our 2 km walk back to town!

We returned back to town quite tired from our miles of walking, grabbed a sandwich and hopped on the next bus back to Cork. All in all, it was the perfect day trip: Lots of exploring, the weather was wonderful, the day was filled with lots of adventures, and we were able to see more of the Irish countryside....and of course the ocean! It was only when I was on the bus home that I remembered the sad state of my camera. But not even that loss could ruin my grand day :)

To Dublin we will go!

Hello All!

It has been busy these past couple weeks with classes and the arrival of homework (finally!!), but I do want to tell you all about my trip to Dublin! I traveled with 3 of my very good friends and we had such an amazing time! :)

Seeing as my classes end early on Thursdays, and I had no Friday classes (except Physics lab which happens every other week) my friends and I decided to take a 4.5 hr bus ride to Dublin on Thursday afternoon! My bag filled with Peanut butter sandwiches, cheese sticks, cereal, "Let's Go Ireland" handbook, my trusty notebook, and camera, we set off on our first weekend trip! At first I was so nervous to leave our little Cork City that I had become so familiar with in the past 2 weeks, but once on the bus, my nerves left and instead I felt like jumping up and down in excitement!! We were going to explore! Yippee! I was so glad to see green Ireland during the bus ride through the countryside! The picture on the front of my blog is from that bus ride! At some points I could not tell I was in Ireland, because it looked so much like home! There would be rocky hills on either side of the highway, then it would become rolling green hills with brush and bushes as property dividers, then little farms would appear with sheep, horses, and cows! Then just as suddenly as the green hills appeared, they would disappear into the fog, and all I could see was the wooden fence just a couple meters from the side of the highway. What truly made me feel like I was home were the evergreen forests...on and on they stretched...then suddenly melted into the fog. Now I know why people fall in Love with Ireland - it is so delicate and peaceful, yet alive and strong. There is a sense of wildness to it all! I still can't believe I am here, experiencing these things...it is truly a once in a lifetime experience! During the bus ride I wanted to nap, but all I could think of was the Aerosmith song, "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" ... didn't sleep because I didn't want to miss anything of Ireland.

So, we continued driving along, passing through County Cork, County Tipperary, County Kilkenny, County Laois, County Kildare, and finally County Dublin! Throughout the trip we probably encountered 20 "roundabouts" or traffic circles/rotaries. I wish they had signs like we have in the states to caution large trucks as they go around the corners. (A yellow diamond sign and on it is a truck is tilted sideways going on the curve). My Mom always laughs at those signs (and now I do too) because all we can envision is the truck doing a wheelie and making this squeaky noise as they drive around the corner. Anyway, I kept thinking of those little signs and it made me laugh. There certainly were many opportunities for those signs during the bus ride Haha.

We finally entered Dublin city, found our hostel (which was right in the main area of the city) and checked in. Our hostel was very nice, clean, and everyone very friendly. We four girls stayed in a 12 female dorm room...and it was so cool! We did not experience the typical horror stories that everyone is used to hearing about hostels, and it was truly a great time! That Thursday night (night #1) we ate at "ThunderRoad Cafe" ... almost like a Hard Rock Cafe including a Bryan Adams Concert on huge TV screens, lots of lights, great food, and music memorabilia all around! After supper we went back to our hostel, and went out on the town in the Temple Bar area. Our first pub we walked into was THE Temple Bar, and it had a live guitar band playing!! So cool!! What was really surprising were the songs they were playing....we knew almost every single song! I had always envisioned the Traditional Music Sessions to be just that...Traditional Irish Music. But instead they had music we know and love (like OneRepublic...Apologize, Coldplay ... Yellow, and so many other songs!) At the pub I tried Smithwicks...and I definitely will not be having that again. It was great to try, but really preferred the Irish Cider...Bulmers! Me and my 3 friends met members of a local Dublin band, and unfortunately they knew how to flirt/sweet talk especially because they knew we were Americans. Two band members were really very nice, and quieter compared to the lead singer of the band. Oh man what an experience! He told us so many things about Dublin, and how he knew how to say hello, goodbye, flirt, and swear in so many different languages!! He said he learned these from girls he met...of course...and that was a clue to us of his character :) We tried to say goodbye, and I attempted to give them all high fives. Instead they looked at me weirdly, and grabbed my hand to kiss it...the "gentlemanly way" to say goodbye. They were also making fun of our different American accents, our slang, and especially the different southern accents. When we were finished talking with them and wanted to head out, they told us to go with them to another bar and hear more music because they absolutely LOVED being with us. Well, we decided that we four girls were heading out of the pub anyway, (and we still had our wits about us) so we walked down the main street with them and into another pub. This had a more eclectic crowd than Temple Bar, but still it was a great time. The band guys kept saying, "Ladies, enjoy yourselves...You're in Ireland!!!" We thought they were going to offer to buy us drinks (because that's what the U.S. guys do) but instead they asked us for money for THEIR drinks. We did not fall for their excuses of being "poor band members." It got to a point where they were getting really annoying, and it was not enjoyable to converse with them anymore. We finally left - to their dismay - and we prayed we would NEVER see them again. We walked back to our hostel laughing about the night, and happy that we had great stories to tell when we got back!

The next morning (Day #2) we got up for a free breakfast provided by the hostel. The reason I mention this is because the breakfast was in a little pizza place about 3 buildings down the street from the entrance of the hostel...and we used our hostel cards to unlock the pizza place. It was so random! After breakfast, we locked our backpacks under our beds, and explored for the whole day! We saw Dublin port, bronze statues of the Irish Famine, accidentally found a playground/park (which we initially thought was St. Stephen's Green) and took lots of silly pictures on the swing set and jungle gym. We walked through the shopping section of Dublin, went window shopping, and tried on sunglasses, picked out cute outfits, then laughed about the prices! (Mum always said I had great taste *wink*) We kept walking through the city, and found St. Stephen's Green, and it is absolutely beautiful!! I took so many pictures, but pictures do not even begin to show the beauty there! Throughout the weekend, we truly were the typical tourists with our cameras out at every opportunity...but we didn't care! We have great pictures to remember our Dublin experience :) We then kept exploring until we found Trinity College, looked into the Book of Kells bookshop (but did not get to see the actual Book of Kells), took a tour of Dublin Castle (a really cool fort that was inhabited by the British, had a throne room, ballrooms, beautiful artwork, and so much history and archaeology!!), and finally took a tour of the Guinness Factory at St. James' Gate!! Phew what a day that was! The Guinness factory was really a great experience, and of course we had a complimentary pint at the end of our tour. We enjoyed our foam mustaches at the "Gravity Bar" which is the top floor of the factory and had a great view of the entire city at dusk! That was probably one of my favorite parts of the weekend!! The pint o' Guinness was ok. It is of course it is the best at the factory, so knowing that, I probably wouldn't order it at a pub for 6 Euro (which = $9)...it just doesn't seem worth it. But I tried it!! And it was a great experience! After that, we were so hungry so we walked towards our hostel and got the "EuroMenu" at McDonalds!! That was probably the best choice for food that we had ever thought of that entire weekend...it fit our needs perfectly: cheap, quick, and enough to fill us for the night ahead.

That night (night #2) it was POURING with gale force winds, but we still went out to explore! We tried going to a different bar than the previous night (to try something new, but then also to avoid our 3 Irish band friends hehe). We ran into Sweeney's by the sheer necessity to get out of the rain, stayed to have a pint, then moved on to our favorite place in Dublin: THE Temple Bar. The previous night's bad experiences were totally wiped away because this night was so much better!! They had popular rock music playing over the stereos, and another live band. We danced and sang the night away there, and enjoyed the atmosphere. Hysterically enough, we saw our 3 Dublin band buddies there again...and at the same table as they had been the night before!! The band played for hours, and they played so many songs: U2, Sweet Caroline, country songs, Don't Stop Believing, I'm Yours, Empire State of Mind, Talk a Walk on the Wild Side, and so many others!! We had such a blast, and I would honestly go back to Dublin just for that pub :) I took a coaster as a souvenir, in hopes of adding it to my scrapbook of bus tickets and pub napkins.

Day #3, we explored only for a little bit to find St. Patrick's Cathedral. It was so beautiful! I only wish it wouldn't have cost anything to get in, but I suppose it is because it is a "historical place" - St. Patrick performed his first baptisms in the fountain just outside the Cathedral in the park. Amazing! Inside, I took lots of pictures and prayed at the "Lady's Chapel." This was my favorite place inside the Church because it was dedicated to Our Lady, and it also had the Magnificat prayer inscribed there. This prayer reminded me of the women's group back at school, and all that we do for each other during our struggles, and the amazing faithful support I can always count on :)

After the Cathedral, we took advantage of more window shopping on Grafton Street. We found all these beautiful wedding dresses, and dreamed about our futures hehe . . . Oh what fun we girls had! We then walked back into town and had Starbucks for lunch, then boarded our bus back to little Cork City!! On the ride home, I definitely needed a nap, and it was dark so I couldn't see the scenery anyway. The ride home went by so quickly, and before I knew it, I was back home in my little, clean, warm room, with over 200 pictures to show of my adventures and so many new memories.

This trip already has shown me that there are so many people, places, and things I have never seen in my entire life. I feel like I am just taking everything in, and I want to hold it in my memory and never forget any of this. To end, I'll leave you with David Cook's song, "Time of My Life." :) Here in Ireland, and during my college years, I feel that this is truly the "Time of my Life" and I am so blessed to be here! I'll be writing again soon!

Marissa

The Whirlwind Week

Hello family and friends!
So sorry this has taken me a while to update you on my travels thus far. Just in case you are wondering...I have arrived in Ireland, Safe and Sound!! :) This past week has been such a great experience already...can't imagine what 5 months will teach me!

So, to begin....

We got to the airport 3 hours ahead of the flight which gave time for checking in, security, etc. Saying goodbye to my siblings was tough, but goodbye to my Mum and Dad was really sad. Everyone was teary-eyed; it was with a mixture of happiness and excitement but also of nervousness and not knowing what lay ahead that I walked towards the airport gates. I kept saying to my friend Kathleen over and over and over again..."What the heck am I doing? Tell me why I'm going to Ireland again? What am I doing??" We both laughed nervously and kept our heads up as we walked in the airport security. Got food, settled down in the seating area, met 20 of my fellow Quinnipiac friends (all in the same study abroad in Ireland program) at the airport and we all boarded the plane...anxious to get to the "Emerald Isle!!"

We waited and waited and waited and waited on the plane before we took off, and once we took off there was a lot of turbulence. It didn't really matter to me, I just kept saying that I felt like a little lost child...going out of the country without my parents!! It just didn't seem right! The whole plane ride felt like a dream in the sense that I still had no real grasp on the fact that I would be living in Ireland for 5 months, 3,000 miles away, and would return to the US when there was no snow, no icy winds, no skiing slopes, but instead flowering trees, and chirping birds.

During the plane ride I attempted to sleep but I really only took a couple cat naps. This wasn't the best idea because we were going to land in Shannon, Ireland at approx 7:30 am (Ireland time). Ireland is 5 hours ahead of the US, so that meant we felt like it was 2:30 am. We had not adjusted yet and the first day in Ireland was really miserable. I had been told by my friends from QU that the first two days felt like H-E-double toothpicks, but I didn't really think the day would be too terrible. Well, needless to say....It was a really long day.

When I stepped off the plane onto the Blessed Irish land, I was startled that 1) it was still dark out at 8 am and the moon was out, 2) I was taken aback by the cold and the bone chilling air, and 3) was just simply overjoyed to go through customs (yeah right).
Once bags were collected, and we started to move out to the bus (to take us from Shannon to Cork) I tried to balance my backpack on my rolling duffel bag, with my hiking backpack on my back and around my waist. It really was not too much of a challenge...except for the fact that I was running on very little sleep, very little food, and hence was not walking very straight.

Our bus driver, Ellis, was so amazing!! He was the first real "Irishman" I had met on the trip thus far, and during our bus ride, he told us stories about his life, how he came to live in Ireland (because he was originally an "Essex boy") and little things about the countryside that we passed by. The bus itself was very odd, because 1) we boarded the bus on its left side, we drove on the left side of the road, and Ellis used the stick shifter with his left hand while sitting on the right side of the bus...a Bus using a stick shifter!! One thing I noticed is that there are so many rotaries on the road from Shannon to Cork! I don't know if this is true throughout Ireland, but we literally drove around/through 20 rotaries during the 2 hour time period. It was quite an interesting ride too for the fact that the bus overheated, and a loud beeping noise kept ringing. So, we had to pull over on the side of the frosted roads every 5 mins so the bus could cool down. Meanwhile, all 20 of us inside the bus were freezing...we wished the water heat from the bus could be transferred to the inside and we could get warm! Well, it was a wish that was to no avail...every 5 minutes of driving down the road, we would pull over, open up the door to the bus and Ellis would go outside to check the water. Huge clouds of smoke from the bus would flood the inside.

Oh what an adventure!! Let me say, that I have never been so happy in my life to have gone "exploring" with my Mum & Memere when I was younger. We would really be lost while driving, but instead we would just call it "exploring" and that we were going on an adventure. It certainly prepared me for the bus adventure. :) Eventually we had to be picked up on the side of the road by another bus, which was already full of 30 American students also studying abroad at UCC (University College Cork). We made friends with our fellow Americans, fell asleep on the bus, and eventually arrived at our dorm!

I got my room key, literally dropped my bags in the door of my room, and returned outside again for exploration of Cork! Luckily the bus dropped us off into town, because it is honestly a 40 minute walk from the city centre (with all the little shops, pubs, restaurants, and attractions) to our dorm. Walking around downtown was at first nerve racking because we were free to explore on our own in groups (without our fearless leader Mark)! It really was a great afternoon, until we had to walk back with our bags of bedding, pillows, and shoes. When our group finally got back to the dorm, we all headed out again to get food, at the grocery store (which was another 20 minutes away from our dorm). Tesco's is the name of the store and it truly feels like a Walmart! It was so good to get food (even though it was only a loaf of bread, peanut butter, and Multigrain Cheerios.) Luckily we went out again during the week to get more substantial food...but until then, it was good ole college food (aka PB sandwiches).

That first night in Cork, they told us to stay up as long as possible to adjust well to the time here. I think I tried to stay up until 10:30 pm and that is all I could handle.

The next morning (Sunday the 3rd) me and my friend Kathleen found this lovely church just 10 minutes up the street from our dorm! Its called the Church of the Holy Spirit and it is so beautiful! The one thing I absolutely love about my faith is that I can go anywhere in the world, and walk into a Catholic Church and feel absolutely at home. Because of this "home" feeling, I, of course, cried throughout the entire Mass (thanks Mum and Memere for passing that quality on *wink*). It felt so nice to be in a place where I knew I was loved and appreciated, by the One who matters the most in my life, Jesus. It is so encouraging and heart warming to know that wherever I go, even if I'm without my family, He will go with me too.

Walking back from Mass, I slipped on some black ice on the sidewalk. It had started to rain/sleet, but I hadn't even anticipated any sort of ice. It was quite a comical fall, I might add. Since the roads are so narrow in Ireland, there is very little room between the sidewalk and the street. When I slipped, I banged into Kathleen and she fell too. Luckily there were no cars going by, nor was there anyone to laugh at us for being "Stupid Americans" and not being more careful on the ice.

Initially on Sunday, our Quinnipiac group was going to tour Blarney Castle, however because of the rain/sleet/ice no buses were going out to Blarney, and the attraction was closing early in the day. As a result, our little caravan of 55 Americans trekked through the University Campus in the miserable rain, and explored some more of the city. That night we went out together as a group, and it was so wonderful to have substantial food for the first time in two days....it doesn't really sound that like long, but believe me, when in the cold and rain, sleep deprived, and having walked at least 7 miles during that time, two days seems like eternity!! ;)

After the delicious meal, me and my two friends took our first Irish taxi home! It was much needed after the large meal...plus we were all still recuperating after walking for so long in the days past. (In the few short days since then, the walk really doesn't seem that long at all, and if you walk with a friend, the talking makes it pass even faster!)

When I came back to my dorm that night, I met a couple of my roommates! I have one American girl roommate, and three Irish girl roommates! They are all so nice, and I really am looking forward to getting to know them better in these coming months! Shortly after I returned from dinner, the power for our entire building (of 500 people) went out. All I kept saying was, "THANK YOU DADDY FOR FLASHLIGHTS!" I'm so glad I have a Boy Scout for a father, because not only did I have one flashlight...I also had a spare one. "Just in case...You never know...Its always good to be prepared!"
Also, that night, my friend locked herself out of her room, so I went with her to the Warden's office to get a key to her room. The power kept going back on, then back off, and it finally came back on in the middle of the night. Praise God! With the power off, the heat had also been off...and everything was freezing cold!!!

Monday we had to wake up bright and early for Orientation. It was a great day, and there was less walking! We still explored the campus, and also went out for a little lunch (at Mango's...this really cute little restaurant/shop). The power went out again that night, but only for a little while. We were freaking out about finding the times for our classes online, because we started school the next day (Tuesday)...and the power being off didn't help one bit.

So far, this week has been great with classes!! My professors all seem really nice, and I already feel as if I know my way around the campus! I absolutely LOVE Cork, and it has already begun to feel like home to me.

I have so much free time in between classes, so I definitely will be posting again soon!!
Talk to you soon!
-Marissa- :)