Galway girl

It's been ages...

2010-11-16T10:31:00.000-08:00

... I'm really sorry :( But, here I am! I guess now that I've gotten used to daily life here, there haven't been many things that I deemed blog worthy. They just seem normal. But, there have definitely been a few things that have happened since my last update that are worth filling you all in on :)

Let's see... since my last update I had a friend from home, David Turner, visit. He goes to UMD and is studying in Sheffield and came to stay with me for 4 days. It was really fun, and we went to see the Cliffs of Moher again. Although it was my second time seeing the cliffs, this time it was more adventurous. We explored more and saw more of the cliffs, which was exciting and extremely beautiful. Then we spent a night in Dublin and saw the famous prison... I can't remember the name, but it was extremely cool. They had still preserved some of the graffiti that the inmates had carved on the walls, and part of the grounds is used in the filming of The Tudors, a show that I love.

I've been to Dublin a number of times now, and I just love it there. Lots of things to see, but still charming areas to go to a quaint pub for a bite or a drink. The Trinity Bar area is my favorite... there's a market with lots of books and things in the center of it, and then lots of nice restaurants and pubs. I just love the atmosphere. Kind of like a mini Galway within Dublin, but with more variety.

Two weekends ago, I went to Barcelona. This has been a highlight of my time abroad, for sure. I stayed at Sant Jordi Alberg hostel, which I recommend to ANYONE traveling to Barcelona and in need of a place to stay. They take you out every single night, and it's the most relaxed and friendly environment I've ever encountered in a hostel. I can't wait to travel back there and stay there again.

I went to Barcelona to visit my friend from GWU, Laura Scuderi. She's in the Sirens with me, and it was so refreshing and amazing to hang out with someone from GWU. It made me feel closer to home and just made me really happy. I love the friends that I've made here, but nothing beats spending time with people who know you really well, and understand you.

My week in Barcelona went far too quickly, and was extremely fun. We went to see LCD Soundsystem, an amazing band, which was my favorite night of my trip. The hostel took us to a bar that had 500 different shots, all only 2 euro. They had harry potter shots, so I was sold.

Speaking of Harry Potter, Thursday morning I will be taking a bus to the Dublin Airport to go to Edinburgh to see ZUZU JURISOVA. I've missed this girl so much it's unreal, so I am beyond excited to see her and then see Harry Potter 7 with her and her flat mates!!! It's been a bit of a tradition that I see it with her for the past few years, so it's so amazing that we can continue it. I've been to Edinburgh before and I love it, so I can't wait to spend a weekend there.

It's getting close to exam time, so I'm starting to get stressed out... but I can't complain, because this is how I feel at GWU all year, let alone in mid november. My papers are all due at the end of november, beginning of december... and I have finals on Dec 10 and 15. I can't believe the semester is almost over... it's gone by so fast, and I'm definitely glad I will be spending next semester here too. I can't wait to see how the musical turns out, and I would be devastated leaving my amazing house mates after only one semester of spending time with them.

I will really try to update more... but clearly I'm not very good at it. I love you all so very much, and can't wait to be home. Not going to lie, I miss my friends and family more than I can say... and I could also definitely go for noodles, bubble tea, froyo, sweet green, panda express, and chipotle. I'll try and not tackle all of those in one day though.

Last weekend Dublin, this weekend...

2010-09-30T04:27:00.000-07:00

... Limerick. Since my birthday I've been continuing on the path of figuring out my lifestyle here. I've joined choir, and I'm in the musical, The Wedding Singer. Both are enjoyable so far, but it's very early days. One thing that is noticably different is the speed at which things happen here. Back home, if we were in a rehearsal for a musical, the music director would be on the ball, and if people were talking they would get yelled at or eventually thrown out. But here, everytime there's a lull - everyone starts talking, and it makes things move so, so very slowly. Anyone who knows me well knows that I get very frustrated by things like that, especially if it means having to go over one, one measure harmony about 5 times before everyone gets it. BUT, hopefully as time goes on, things will pick up and people will get more serious. Anyway, I doubt any of you really care about any of that, so I'll stop rambling.

Last weekend, I went to Dublin with my two American friends Elizabeth and Maryrose. It's been one of my favorite weekends so far. We stayed in the same hostel I stayed in during orientation, The Abbey Court Hostel. However, this time we stayed in a 12 person room. There were 6 bunk beds, and we were the only girls.Suffice it to say it was a bizarre experience. The guys were all very friendly... but, still. Anyway, we went to the Guinness factory and I had about 6 sips of a pint of Guinness! Which is a big deal, because I hate anything and everything that has to do with beer. We went on the hop on hop off bus and saw some sights, and then we went back to the hostel to get ready and went on a pub crawl! It was called the Leprechaun Pub Crawl, and you paid 10 euro and then got a free shot at every pub and a reduced price drink. We ended up meeting up with my friend Jen from GW who's studying at Trinity, my friend Catie from Arcadia doing a program in Dublin, and my friend Paul, the garda that we also met during orientation.

I went home the next day to deal with immigration stuff. To make a long story short, I got to immigration at 630 in the morning, and I was out of there at 1230 in the afternoon. I was not a happy camper. Since then, this week has gone pretty smoothly. A bunch of rehearsals, and then last night we went to Cuba for a foam party which was way more enjoyable than it would sound. I've been to foam parties where you're just in a pit of foam and that's disgusting, but they would sporadically make foam fly out at you for a few minutes and then it would stop, so it wasn't as gross. I went with my 2 of my roomies and their friend Colin, and then I ended up seeing my friend Kim there and hung out with her for a while, and then ran into Elizabeth and Maryrose and their friends... so it was a really great night with most of my favorite people in Galway :)

Today I've got 4 classes, and I'm done at 3 pm. Then I'm going home to pack and have some food and then I'm off to Limerick until Sunday! I'm going to stay with my friends from the Arcadia program who came to Galway for my birthday. I can't wait to see them and to see what Limerick has to offer!

I'll try and get better at this updating thing... I promise! Miss and love everyone to peices!

Thank you Galway...

2010-09-18T20:17:00.000-07:00

... for an incredible birthday. I'm twenty years old! I celebrated last night and tonight by going to the Quays, my favorite pub, and then tonight we also went to Cuba and Coyote. Last night was incredible, and tonight was very fun too... but a little weirder. The irish get very drunk and very bizarre, but nonetheless it was a very enjoyable experience. I plan on celebrating tomorrow night... I think I'm entitled to a birthday weekend! It's been rainy, but the vibrant city more than makes up for it. Tomorrow I plan on going into the city for the market with the limerick ladies for lunch, and then showing them some cute shops. More later!

Sorry for the delayed updating...

2010-09-12T09:05:00.000-07:00

I just got back from a homestay in Tuam, and it's been a crazy week. I've been spending the past week getting accustomed to my life in Galway, and then this weekend was spent in a small city about 25 minutes outside of Galway.

The homestay was very enjoyable... I spent it with another girl from Arcadia and we were placed with a family who had 3 kids and a dog. They were all sweet and we spent the time sleeping, eating, watching tv and movies, and hanging out with the family. We walked around the city with other people from Arcadia, as well. Tuam was charming, but far smaller than Galway, and I'm very happy to be back here.

We're going out tonight to celebrate being back, but for now I'm going to relax and enjoy being back in my room here. My roommates seem to have moved in, but none of them are here now... hopefully I'll get to talk to them at some point tonight.

I definitely miss my friends and family, but I'm still having a great time here. I'm just waiting to meet those people that I instantly click with... I really hope it happens soon. Till then, I'll be enjoying the city and the life I have here at the moment.

I've discovered my new favorite thing about Galway...

2010-09-05T05:20:00.000-07:00

... is the Saturday and Sunday market. It literally has everything! It's off shop street and has fruits, vegetables, indian food, vegetarian food, bread, clothes, jewelry, etc... It's amazing. Yesterday I walked into town with Emily and we went through the market and then sat and looked at the river. It was beautiful and sunny and pretty breathtaking. Then I came home and cleaned up a bit and then I went out with Chrissy and Emily to The Quay pub which is my favorite pub so far. It has three floors, and the floor we were on played amazing music and was just a really great time. We met up with a bunch of Arcadia people there and it was one girls 21st birthday, so that was quite enjoyable. Then we ate at supermacs and then walked home!

I really, really love it here, and we haven't had one day of rain yet! I know our luck will soon run out, but I'm definitely enjoying it while it lasts.

Finally done with orientation...

2010-09-03T06:48:00.000-07:00

... and I'm absolutely exhausted. We've had to listen to so many speakers, and now that we're done I think we're all excited to get to relax. Let's see... two nights ago we went out in the city center and it was lots of fun. It's not as crowded as it will be because the semester hasn't started, but there were still a good amount of people out and about. We went to King's Head pub first, and then ended up wandering around and club promoters would tell us about deals. We went to a club called dignity, and then another place called cuba... and then we went back home.

We had to be up at 9am the next day, so it was a struggle but we made it... since then though I've been feeling very under the weather. Headache, cough, nausea, no appetite... so yesterday I slept from 1pm-7pm and then 8pm-3am and then 3am-830am when I had to get up. I feel better now, but I still have a bit of a sore throat and a headache... and every once and a while I get really bad stomach pains. I'm hoping it's just my body being angry at me for doing too much after already being jet lagged and tired. I'm going to take a nap now and then see how I feel when I wake up to determine whether or not I'll be going out tonight. I feel like its important for me to be social so I get to know people... I don't want a repeat of my freshman year at GW.

All in all, it's been a great few days... Now I'm just anxious for the semester to start and for everything to fall into place with my courses.

All moved in to my house in Galway...

2010-09-01T13:44:00.000-07:00

... despite my key card not working. It's so aggravating and the people at gort don't know how to fix it... whatever. Just means security will have to let me in early this morning when I get back from being out! haHA if I'm annoyed, you'll be annoyed, gort na coiribe! Anyway, I'm exhausted and about to get ready to go out tonight, so I'll do a better update later. I love my house and my room, and just had a lovely home cooked meal at megan and jillian's.

More later!

Late night out...

2010-08-30T21:27:00.000-07:00

... became best night yet. Today was basically comprised of lots of orientation, followed by a hop on hop off bus tour. It was really informative and fun. We mainly spent our time lounging on the green playing fields at trinity college. Then, I took a nap in the hostel and went out to "coppers" a well known night club in dublin. Just got back, it was extremely fun. We befriended the "garda" or police officer who instructed us on safety through arcadia and hung out with him, which was lots of fun. Now I'm going to sleep, and tomorrow we have lots more meetings and then we're seeing a play, and then most likely going out again. I love Dublin, but am really looking forward to finally getting to Galway wednesday morning.

It's 6:25 pm and I've already been to 3 pubs...

2010-08-29T10:36:00.000-07:00

... but don't worry mom, I've only had two drinks! I got judged for getting a rum and coke while everyone else got beer and guinness, so then I went for a baileys with ice at the next pub. I guess the beer drinker in me is yet to come out... but I'm still patiently waiting!!

Today started with me waking up and lugging my two huge suitcases downstairs for Arcadia to take to Galway. Then two of my roommates got in around 9ish so I chatted with them... both are extremely sweet. Around noon we went to lunch with everyone in the Arcadia program, and I just happened to end up sitting at a large table with people going to Galway. I've met a bunch of really cool girls, which makes me happy because I was, and still am, nervous about meeting people.

Afterwards we were set free for the rest of the day, so we decided to watch the soccer-esque sport that was happening (apparently it's a big deal in Ireland... some rivalry... I don't know, I'm not a sports person). We went to a pub that seemed relatively empty so we could chat, and then of course ended up next to these extremely boisterous irish men and one Portuguese woman who were all out drinking together. They had been there for two hours, and they were absolutely hilarious. After some fun chats with them, they went home to sober up, and we went to another pub down the road. The next pub called The Quay, I think, was so much fun. There was a woman playing a violin or a fiddle, I wasn't sure, and a man playing a guitar, and they played Irish and American songs. They played break even by the script!! I filmed it. I couldn't stop smiling, and throughout their whole set everyone was singing along and bursting out into dances. Then we went to Temple Bar, a famous bar in Dublin, which has a beer garden where we sat and drank and chatted with some more people we ran into from the program.

I've decided that I'm not a huge fan of the modern aspects of Dublin - the parts where there are busy streets, crosswalks, etc... but the side streets are absolutely charming. Full of pubs, shops, colorful storefronts, and street performers. From what I've been told, Galway seems to fit that description exactly, more of a college smaller city as opposed to the mix of side streets and city aspects that Dublin has.

Regardless, I am extremely happy here and I will definitely be visiting Dublin again after we leave on Wednesday. Tonight I will be getting dinner with the same girls I've been wandering around Dublin with, and then meeting up with Jen, a friend from GW who is studying at Trinity this semester.

After many hours of traveling..

2010-08-28T14:14:00.000-07:00

... I've arrived in Dublin! The man at immigration was very grouchy and then the airline broke one of my suitcases... so not the best start. BUT, I finally dragged my two huge suitcases to the bus and then down the streets of Dublin to my hostel and got settled. It's a pretty nice hostel... I'm in a room with 2 bunk beds and I'm the only one here so far, so it's nice to have some alone time before everyone gets here.

So far I've explored the streets near my hostel and grabbed dinner at a cute little cafe. It was a bit lonely eating by myself, but I had a book and I people watched. I'm going to sleep early so that I can get up early to bring my suitcases downstairs for Arcadia to bring to my housing in Galway.

Safe and sound...

2010-08-28T00:40:00.001-07:00

...in my yotel in heathrow airport,London. Writing from my iPod because my mac charger doesn't work with these plugs. The room is small but surprisingly nice. Nap time!

After many hours of online research...

2010-08-27T09:10:00.000-07:00

... I've decided that going into London is probably too risky with my time limit, and far too stressful. So, I looked around for other options and now I'm getting a room in the "Yotel" at Heathrow. It's a place where, if you have a long layover, you go and you can sleep, shower, watch tv, go online, etc. Essentially, just a mini version of a hotel for Heathrow. It's gotten great reviews, so I think I'll be fine.

I'll be seeing London soon enough, but not on a time limit and not half asleep after a 6 hour flight. Now, when I get to dublin I'll be refreshed and ready to wander the streets!

I'm leavin' on a jetplane...

2010-08-26T13:59:00.000-07:00

... tomorrow at 6:30 pm out of dulles. I've been pretty anxious for the past week or so, but today it has evolved into more of a pure excitement and a need to get outta here.

I've said the majority of my goodbyes, the only ones left are my gw sirens (the all girls acapella group I'm in at GWU) and my parents. Both will be difficult, but I know that it will be worth it once I'm abroad and having all of these new experiences.

I'm arriving in Heathrow on saturday around 7 am, so I will be taking the tube into the city to do some walking around and to see some sights. I leave Heathrow at 4:15 pm, and will be getting into Dublin at 5:40 pm. Then I'll be going to the abbey court hostel, which is apparently extremely well located. Then Arcadia's orientation begins!! I've already started talking to people going through arcadia from different schools, so I look forward to meeting them in person.

Tonight I will be going to the Vapiano's in chinatown, one of my favorite dinner and drinks spots, to have a final hurrah with my GW best friends. This summer has definitely become a contender for best summer of my life, and I'm leaving Maryland feeling very happy, very lucky, and very optimistic about this year.