It's been ages...

... 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.