Galway, how I miss you..

Here you go Johnny,

I kinda meshed the rest of my written entries together..

Friday, April 29th.. The Royal Wedding!
I  brought my computer into the living room, and Bridget, Meghan and I watched it. I was mad that there was no kiss in the church, but it was magical watching such a beautiful fairytale. Kate looked absolutely incredible, and William's face was priceless when he turned around.  So was Harrys. The celebrations that night were great. We went to the Salt haus then to the Quays and other shop street bars. We ended at the Rosin Dubh, which isn't my favorite.. but it is growing on me. Everyone was talking about the wedding. And a number of people even said that I looked like her. I think they all had wayyy too much to drink though.

On May 2nd I found out Osama Bin Ladin was killed. I had a little celebration, and watched all of the celebrations around the world.  "I've never wished a man dead, but I have read some obituaries with great pleasure.” - Mark Twain. The Presidents speech was really good. Definitely proud to be an American today.

On May 3rd, my friend Jacki 'Neill came to visit.  I picked her up at Shannon airport.  It was nice seeing her.  I also had a Forensics exam, that I think I did well on (I passed with flying colors).  Backstage elections were today too. I ran for Vice President via skype, and won! I'm so excited for next semester!! We went out that night, and went easy on Wednesday because on Thursday, I had Imagining Modern Ireland exam, and I'm pretty sure I killed it. (Again, passed with flying colors.)  That was my last day of school, so of course that called for a celebration. It was a good time.
On May 6th it was Hanson day. Yes, Hanson day. We of course had to party on that day too! (See the trend?) :0)
On May7th, it was Shaun's las party night in Galway. That was an epic night.  We started at my house, went to the bars, and ended at my neighbors house.  We hung out with them until the wee hours in the morning. Such great times.
On May9th, Shaun left Galway.  We went out on that night for a few goodbye drinks. He left really late that night.
Jacki left on May 10th.
On May 20th Ashley got to Ireland!!!! I met her at Shannon airport. I missed her SO MUCH! We also met my cousin Brian Campbell there.  We stayed in Limerick for the weekend, and Auntie Mae's birthday party was May 21st.  Grandma and Grandpa Campbell were also there. It was great seeing them as well.  It was a fun party, and it was great hanging out with Vincent;s kids, Maeve and Louise.  They are great girls.
On May 22nd Ash and I went to King John's castle. It was great going there again after so  many years.  After that, we hopped on a bus back home to Galway.  Iwas was nice finally having Ashley there to see the gorgeous town.
On May 23th, Vinny left, so naturally the night before we went out.  The night we got back from Limerick, we went to a house party with people from Centerpoint.  That was a lot of fun.
On the 24th, We just explored during the day, and went out at night.  We went to the salthill prom with a bottle of wine, and just hung out. 
Ash and I went to a carnival by the docks. It was kinda lame, but it passed time.
The next day we took a bus down to Ennis, and met Vincent. He took us to Liscannar and showed us around the Ciffs of Moher. I got some wonderful pictures. We got so close to the edge! We would have gotten closer. but the wind was so strong,  it could definitely pull you off the cliff! That night, Ashley staed in and I found out a little too late that this was the last party night for Alison, and the last epic night for Alyssa. I wen to Alyssa's, and waited with her for Alison. She got miserably lost trying to walk there, and arrived by taxi about an hour late.  We went to a house party and then the Front door.  That was a fantastic night.
On Thursday, May 26th, Eric left. Ash, Alyssa and I went out for his last night, but not for long.
On the 27th, it was alyssa's last night, but unfortunately she wasn't feeling well, so she went home. Ash and I stayed out, and had a good night.
The 28th was such a horrible day. Alyssa left for NJ. She is now one of my best friends, and I don't know how I ever lived without her. I know we'll continue to be friends in the future.
After alyssa left, Ash and I went to the Aran Islands.  It was fun, but we were both so tired. We rented bikes for a bit, I'm glad I got there. 
On the 29th, ashley left. :0(
Basically the rest of my trip consisted of fighting with Bridget over the water bill, and hanging out with a few Irish friends.
The last weekend I had there, I visited Aunt Bella. I am SO glad I did.It was great knowing that I saw her again before she died.  I'm really happy I went. She, thank God, made it to Declan's wedding and passed away about 2 weeks later in her sleep.  She fought cancer for a long time, and died peacefully.

My experience in Ireland was the best thing I have ever been through. I met the most fantastic people that I know I will keep in contact with forever. I don't know how I lived without them! I have grown, and changed so much over the past 6 months, and I know I owe it to the experience and the people I met in Ireland.

I can't even say how much I miss Galway. I wish I could rewind the clocks and go back to January so I could do it over again. I can't wait to get back there. I definietly want to live there for about 2 years when I get out of school.

Ok, the truth is, I have been writing everything down, but I haven't been able to transfer everything over to computer yet! I get home in 10 days, and that will be my project. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone!!

Ok, so I have been putting this off, because there is so much to write.. I'll start from the beginning of April.. That is when I went to Cork. Aunt Bella is doing good, and looks good.  Actually mom and dad were pleasently surprised when they saw her, saying that she looks great for all that she has been through.  She's a incredibly strong person, and is no where near giving up the fight.  After I went to Cork, I went to Leitrum to see Aunt Margaret.  It was great seeing her and everyone else.  I mainly hung out with Oonaugh.  We went to the caves up north. I don't remeber what they are called right now, but I'll figure it out soon.  We also went up to the bog, and explored a bit.  It was such a beautiful day. 
The day after I got home from Leitrum I had my Irish exam.  I studied like crazy for that.   I feel like I did well.  It wasn't too bad.  Then two days after that, I had my Celtic Myth exam.  And again I feel like I studied wayyyy too much for that.  I definitely aced that test. 
The next day, Thursday April 14th, Jenny, from Wisconsin went home. :0( It was very sad, but we definitely gave her a proper goodbye the night before. We all definitely miss her, but this summer will definitely be fun.  Road trip??
On Friday, April 15th, I met mom dad and Brian in Dublin.  It was great seeing them, and boy, did Brian get tall! I feel like Ashley now!  Oh well.. I guess my time had to come sometime.. 
With mom dad, and Bri, I stayed in Dublin for 3 days, and I realized just how much dad snores.  (I have sympathy for my mother.) We met up with David one night for a few drinks, and had fun. We also did the wax museum, Dublin Castle, and they did the Guinness Store house when I took a nap.  We also met up with mom's cousin Myra from Jersey Isles.  Next we headed to Cork and had lunch with Auntie Mae.. It was great seeing her, and she looks fantastic!  Then we went to see Aunt Bella and family.  It was great seeing them, and we had a great time wth Yvonne and Deidre.    We stayed a night in Cork, then went to Limerick to see Auntie Vera.  We had a great meal with her, then headed home to Galway.  It was a lot of fun showing them my apartment, and the city.  Dad has never been here, and mom stayed breifly, so it was cool being sort of a tourguide.. (especially of the pubs!) They stayed 3 nights in Galway, and I headed to Sligo for a friends birthday beach party, and they went up to Liscanner (Vincent has a house on the Cliffs of Moher.)  The beach party was a lot of fun. Great Craic.  I then met the folks in Liscanner for Easter.  We spent Easter with the Campbells. It was great seeing everyone again.  On Monday, April 25th, we went to Leitrum to say hi to everyone.  Then on Tuesday I caught a bus home to Galway and they went home to America.  It was really great seeing them.  Can't wait till Ashley comes!!!
The future plans are one of my best friends, Jacki is coming on Monday May 2nd, I have an exam on the 3rd and the 5th, then Ashley comes on  May 20th.. The Campbell party on the 21st,and  then I leave on June 9th.   This is all coming at me wayyyy too fast!!! It should just slowww down!!!
Till next time!
Slainte

Do you know 'Arry Pottah??

Alright.. So again, I haven’t written in a while.. But I wrote a few notes about things during London, so I think I got everything exciting that happened..  Here it goes….

Leaving Galway:
Apparently I don’t know how to book tickets, and I booked for the exact opposite times that I wanted to.  I wanted to leave just after my Irish class, and get home just before it.  Instead I booked Alyssa and my tickets for just before my Irish class (6:25 AM) and get home after my Irish class the next week (flight landed at 6:45PM). Wonderful.

So, in order for us to make the flight from Dublin, we got on a bus at 1:15AM.  Needless to say, we didn’t really sleep that night. 

London:
Day 1:
Arrivied at around 8:30AM. We were SO tired from being up all day, and night.. So we were a bit delirious.  We were very excited about being in London.  We hopped on the bus to the city centre, and when we got off we were absolutely starving.  We spent about 3 hours trying to find a place to eat/ our hostel, but nothing was open for food that early in the morning. We ran into the first place that was open about 2 hours later.  Unfortunately we didn’t look at the prices.  We got a hamburger each for 17 pounds.  It wasn’t even that amazing!  We finally got to the hostel, and took a nap. In the end, Alyssa was up for 30 hours straight, and I was up for 34.  The reason I was up for the extra 4 hours was because of this woman that was sharing our room.  This woman I learned later was a gypsy that a new person who just started working there accidently rented a bed to.  The gypsy came to the door 15 minutes after we got there, and her card wasn’t working so she started knocking.  Alyssa was already asleep, so being a nice person, I let her in.  I knew it was a mistake the second I let her in.  She smelled reallllllyy bad. And her bunk had so much random trinkets on it, such as a scary mask and a lot of bags.  And guess who unfortunately picked the bed next to hers’? So I basically tried to wait it out, but then eventually changed beds to the top bunk next to Alyssa. I then couldn’t really fall asleep because she was noisy and smelly. I eventually did fall asleep though, and was woken up when the gypsy was getting kicked out.  A little while after that Shaun got to the hostel (he took the right plane) and we went out for a drink down the block.  Headed back to the hostel early because we were all beat.

Day 2:
We woke up around 9:30ish.  Took the bus into town, and hopped on the Big Bus tour.  It was pretty cool.  We went to Buckingham Palace, and walked around the park a bit.  We also did the Tower of London, and got a tour from the Beefeaters.  It was pretty cool.  We took the riverboat tour as well.  After the Tower of London, we were going to take the big bus back, but we found out that it ended.  So we had to walk a while to get back to the place we could grab a bus to the hostel.  We tried to go to the Hard Rock Café, but after standing on line for a half hour, we were told the wait would be another hour and a half.  Needless to say, we went somewhere else.  After that, we went back to the hostel, again really tired. 

Day 3:
Woke up again at 9:30.  We were going to do the Harry Potter tour, but backwards.  We went to Kings Cross Station to see Platform 9 ¾.  We then went to a bar to map (Called O’Neill’s) out the confusing path of the Harry Potter tour.  Alyssa opted that we would stay on the tour, but Shaun went to the war museum.  We planned to meet up in Trafalgar Square at 2:00 for the Beatles tour.   Seeing that it was 12:45 and the Harry Potter tour would take at least 2 hours to complete, we decided to save it for another day, and get food instead.  After eating we headed to Trafalgar Square a bit early.  There we found ourselves in the middle of a HUGE protest.  We hung out by the musicians for a while until 2.  Then we went to look for Shaun and the tour.  We found out later that it was cancelled.  We couldn’t find Shaun either..  So, we too joined the protest! We didn’t know what we were protesting at the time, but they were very enthusiastic! We stayed next to our drummers most of the time, and had a bottle of wine, so it was a good time. We later learned that we protested the government cutting a lot of funds.   We met up with Shaun later and went to the Hard Rock Café. Had some of the best Mac n Cheese I’ve ever had.  And then we went to a few pubs, and back to the hostel.

Day 4:
Shaun and I went to Accomplice: London. For those of you who don’t know what that is: The easiest way of putting it is that it is basically an improve scavenger hunt throughout the city. It was pretty cool, and a lot of fun.  After Accomplice, we met up with Alyssa for lunch.  Then I got a call from Amy Bitterman saying that she was in town for the night.  This started the saga of finding Amy.  It took 3 hours to find her.  We took 3 wrong busses, and eventually walked there.  It would have taken less time and energy to walk from our hostel to her hotel.  But we made it there. During the walk to Amy, Shaun bailed because he had a bus to Scotland in a few hours.  It took a long time to find her, but it was great seeing family.  Very glad we were able to meet up.  We had dinner and a few drinks with her, then walked back to our hostel.  Alyssa attempted to conquer her fear of parks at night, and we walked through only to find out that they lock all of the gates at night.  So, we climbed the fence.  Something to cross off my to do list. Then we headed back to the hostel.

Day 5:
We got breakfast at a waffle place.  Then we sat in Hyde Park for a bit.  We then went to One Logan Place, the place where Freddie Mercury lived most of his life and died in.  We wrote on the brick wall outside of the house.  I expected a bit more to be written there, but it looks like a lot has been worn down/ washed off by rain, and whatnot. When we kneeled down to write on the wall, a cat came up to us, and climbed on my lap.  Since he was so friendly, we hung out with him for a bit.  We of course named him Freddie.  He was sooo cute.  I’m SO glad I got to Freddie’s house. After that, Alyssa went home, and I went to see ‘We Will Rock You.’  It was really good, and a lot of fun.  I really liked it a lot.  After that Alyssa met up with me, and we got a few drinks. 

Day 6:
 We basically hung out  most of the day.  We went to the British museum, but I felt really sick and went home for a nap.  Then I went to see ‘Thriller’ the Michael Jackson play.  I was pretty disappointed, because it was basically just a few people that were singing his songs.  There was no story line, and I could dance better than most of the girls.  The guys were fantastic though.  I am also a firm believer that if there is a dance already made up to a song (such as Thriller, or beat it) you can not make up your own crappy dance.  It just didn’t feel right.  After that, Alyssa was supposed to meet up withme, but she ate an entire nutella pizza for dessert, and wasn’t quite feeling well.  So I enjoyed a lovely (far) walk home. It was really gorgeous out. 

Day 7:
This day we went back to lovely Galway. We had fun, but it was good to get home.

Last weekend I went to Cork to see Aunt Bella.  She is doing o.k.  The first day I saw her, she looked really good.  She was really happy to see me.  The next day, we went to Mothers day lunch (she was allowed to go out of the hospital from 12-5, and then had to go back). She was very tired from not getting much sleep the night before.  The next day when I was leaving,she apparently was looking better after a good nights sleep.  She is supposed to be getting out today.  I’ll check up with Dec, then post it in a bit.  I’ll also post pics from London soon, so look back for them..

Till next time, Slainte.    

The car park is closed!

This weekend Alyssa, Shaun and I went to Dublin.  We caught a bus from Galway at 1:15, and got to Dubs around 3:45ish. Right away, we hopped on a bus to the Guinness Storehouse. This was a lot of fun, and interesting.  Here you can pour your own pint.  I had an awkward time with it, but it was a good pint nonetheless. Bartending is not in my future. 

After the storehouse, we got food, and my cousin Declan met us there.  He is one of the nicest people you ever want to meet. He went above and beyond Irish hospitality.  I really can’t wait to head back to Dublin and see him again. 

The next day, we went to the Leprechaun Museum.  This was basically a mythology museum.  They brought into the tour how Walt Disney ruins images of everything as in with Darby O’Gill and the Little People.  Apparently, before Disney ruined their image, leprechauns were looked at as fierce tricky little people, and you don’t want to get on their bad side.  I was the only one who had even heard of the movie. 

After the Leprechaun Museum, we went to watch the Ireland v Wales rugby game.  Ireland unfortunately lost, but it was a good match nonetheless. We then went to The National Wax Museum.  This was pretty cool, and mostly focused on Irish history and mythology.  There was a really cool “horror” exhibit, and in one of the rooms was a Buffalo Bill/ Hannibal scene.  That was a really impressive room. Well done.  Michael Jackson was also there, and I got very excited.

Next we went on the Traditional Music Pub Crawl.  This was one of my favorite parts.  I loved listening to the musicians with a pint in my hand. I could do that every night.  It was great to hear their insight on how they play the songs, and the feel they give them. I enjoyed talking to one of them for a bit as well.  It was pretty cool.

On Sunday, Declan took us out for a drive around town, then he took us for a bit of a tour. We drove through the biggest park in Ireland, and there was one place with hundreds of deer.  It was pretty cool.  After that we went into town, and did the National Museum of Ireland, National Gallery, Trinity College, and then went out to eat.  After that, we got the bus back to Galway.

So, other than losing my wallet there, It was a great weekend.  Yes, I lost my wallet. It was bound to happen.. I haven’t been having the best of luck with my possessions lately, as I lost my phone last night (I got it back, no worries). I’m thinking that I need a Velcro belt that I can attach everything to me.  If anyone wants to fashion one for me, I’d love ya forever. 

St. Paddy’s day was on Thursday, and I went to the parade in Galway.  We were supposed to head to Dublin for Paddy’s but I couldn’t because I thought I had a tutorial the day after.  I didn’t but Galway was a great craic anyway.  The parade was pretty cool.  After that I met up with my cousin Alison and her friends.  We hung out for a while then went to a few pubs.  It was a lot of fun.  There have been a lot of tourists around lately.  Galway is usually really lively, but it has been especially busy this week.

On Friday, Shaun and I saw Rango, the newest Johnny Depp movie.  It was pretty cute and funny. I enjoyed it a lot.  Then Saturday, we went to the Galway National Museum, and Galway Aquarium.  After that we watched the Rugby game, Ireland v England (we won 24-8) Great game, and great energy in the pub.  I really enjoy watching Rugby.  I will definitely continue that practice in the states.  It’s an intense game, and I like it so much better than football.  I know most of the basic rules, but I just have to read up on the rest of them. Its an intense game though. And it is so much fun to watch here. 

On Thursday Alyssa, Shaun and I are heading to London.  I am SO excited for this.  We are going on a Harry Potter walking tour, and I CANNOT wait.  I’ll hopefully blog before that. I’m really trying to get better at this thing.  I know I’ll be upset with myself when I get home that I didn’t blog enough.

So that’s it for now, I miss everyone, and hope all is well!

Till next time, Slainte.  

That's all she wrote!

Wow. I stink at this thing! My goal was to write in this at least 2 times a week!  I haven’t written in about a month!  Time is absolutely flying!!!!

I left off where I was heading to Limerick.. It was pretty fun.  I rode down with Norma, and took a bus back the next day in order to make it to my Irish class.  While in Limerick I saw Brian, Nikki, their 2 girls, Maria and Anna, Vincent, Mave and Lousie, Auntie Vera, and Uncle Harry.  Uncle Harry is doing well.  We had a whole conversation with him, and he can walk up 2 steps as a part of his exercises.  A great improvement.  It was nice to see everyone in Limerick. 

On Feb. 18^th-20^th, I went on a trip with my Irish class.  This was a lot of fun, because we stayed in a house with a family that speaks Irish.  It was pretty cool.  We had a lot of class that weekend, but some of it was fun stuff.  I really liked the teacher.  We actually saw her in a bar about 2 weeks later, and she recognized me and started speaking in Irish to us. During the classes we learned a few songs.  I still remember one of them, and it gets stuck in my head sometimes.  It’s pretty cool having a song in a different language getting stuck in your head.   At night we had the option to go to a dance class or learn some more songs.  I picked dance, and I’m so glad I did.  There was about 60 people in this class.  So much fun.  We learned a few dances.  At the bar later that night, the band started playing the song we danced to. So all of us did the dance! It was so much fun! We got made fun of by the Irish people there, but it was worth it!

On Feb 25^th-27^th Jenny, Alyssa, Shaun and I went to Belfast, Carriack Rope Bridge, Giant’s Causeway, and Derry. It was awesome.  I liked Belfast and all of the history there. Carriack Rope Bridge was pretty cool too.  It was beautiful there.   The Giant’s Causeway was my favorite part though.  We saw a double rainbow and everything! It was a beautiful day, and the view was amazing.  Derry was also fun.  A lot of history there too.. We saw the spot that the massacre ‘Bloody Sunday’ happened.  What I really liked in Derry was the paintings on the sides of the buildings. 

February 28^th-March 6^th was RAG week, aka college week.  It was basically a week where all of the Irish kids go absolutely crazy, and start drinking on Monday morning and don’t stop until Sunday.  Us Americans participated a little, but not crazy like that.  It was a great craic, especially because on Monday, it was Shaun’s birthday.  He turned 21! We made him princess cupcakes, which was pretty funny.  He also made sure to tell everyone that it was his birthday. A lot of fun.

This weekend I’m going to Dublin, and staying with Declan.  We’re going to the Guinness factory, and definitely the Leprechaun museum.  So excited for that!!! On March 24^th Alyssa, Shaun and I are heading to London.  I’m excited to see Aunt Margaret and Mickey.  It should be really fun.

Well, I think that’s it for right now.  Hope all is well at home.

Till next time (hopefully before another month passes)

Slainte

Dia Duit!

So, I left off just before I headed to the Cliffs of Moher.  That was such a fun trip.  I went with the International Students Society, and mostly hung out with my friend Shaun.  So, we got on the bus at the grueling hour of 9:00am.  We had the wonderful idea of going out the night before.  Thinking that this would just be a straight through, quiet bus ride, we were pretty sure we could make up for lost sleep on the bus.  How wrong we were.  Just as I fell asleep, the bus driver comes on the loud speaker.  He was also our tour guide.  To tell you the truth, it was actually a pleasant surprise.  We got to see and stop at places and take pictures.  The first stop of the tour was a farm.  Here we went up to the top of the mountain, passing a cow that gave birth to a baby calf just an hour before hand.  The calf was so cute!  We also passed a cow that was pregnant with twins!  She was one of the biggest cows I’ve ever seen! This farm was a great place to take pictures, and it was a wonderful view.  After our hike, we went down to the mini café for tea, and cake.  It was a wonderful treat.

We then stopped at a few places to take pictures and then the last stop before the Cliffs, was a bar.  How smart..   We then arrived at the Cliffs in one piece. It was raining a bit, but the view was still amazing.  Shaun lives in a complex with priests, and one of them said that there is a sign that says something like “Danger: Do not enter.” The priest said, that we should disregard that sign, and continue on the path- just make sure that we don’t fall off.  So, we took the path less travelled, and I don’t regret it at all.  It was really amazing. Great pictures. 

After we disobeyed and wandered far, we decided to turn back in order to not miss the bus.  We get back basically halfway, when Shaun realized that he dropped his camera.  I waited for him while he ran back to try to get it.  About 5 minutes later he shows up, unfortunately without the camera. But in order to not miss the bus, we had to start running.  As we come to the clearing, we see the bus driver pull away.  We start running after it, and I manage to do a face-plant into a nice muddy patch of grass.  Unfortunately, the bus driver was just playing a trick on us late-comers, and called all the attention to us.  So I managed to do a face-plant in front of about 60 people.  After we got on the bus, the driver comes on the loud speaker and says, “I’ve had women fall in love with me, but none have actually fallen!”  Needless to say, I was a celebrity for the rest of the trip.  I think that people still recognize me around campus.  Still, face-plant and all, it was a great day.

I was supposed to head to Glenfarne this weekend, but Anna’s son Luke had Scarlet Fever, and Anna didn’t want to bring him out just yet.  I will most defiantly be going when Anna goes.

So, since we had Sunday free, Alyssa, Jenny, Mike and I went on a bus tour to Connemara.  This was a wonderful day.  I don’t think I have seen anything as pretty as this place.. It is really amazing. I can't wait to take my parents and Ashley here. 

This is Kylemore Abbey... It's my new house..

I’m heading to Limerick tomorrow with Norma.  This weekend I’m going to Chertu Rua. It’s an Irish speaking town in Connemara.  I’ve very excited.  Next weekend we are heading up to Belfast with the International Students Society.  Alyssa, Jenny, Shaun and I are going on this one, so it should be reallyyy exciting.

That’s it for now. I’m gonna head to sleep! I’ll pass on everyone love to Limerick!
Until next time, Slainte!