So we went on a ghostbus the other day, which I may or may not have previously mentioned, but I've uploaded all my newer pictures, so those ones will be up there today as well.

Last night we went to this great show called Celtic Storm. It was pretty freaking hysterical, actually. It was a bunch of people dancing riverdance style, one old guy who I really, really wanted to sing Beauty School Drop Out, a fiddler, a really short funny guy (shorter then me!) who had an incredibly good voice, and the daughter of the old guy who danced and sang as well. It was totally entertaining and definitely one of the more fun things we have done here in Dublin.

Kelly is leaving on Sunday to go back home. She was supposed to stay the six weeks, but her family is going to Daytona (her sister is really into racing, works on a pit crew and whatnot) so she's leaving early. Susan of the big, beautiful manor, has invited Charlotte and I back to her house if we want sometime before the 29th. So hopefully we can make it over there again. Maybe this weekend...Saturday to Sunday? It's just...that place was like heaven. Next weekend, we're planning to go to Gallway. Kathleen (the program head here) said she'd tell us where to stay and whatnot, so we're very excited. Thanks to daddy for the list of things to see, by the way, a bunch were right over there so now we'll know where in Gallway to check out. It's all extremely exciting.

Oh, and if you want to know something really cool, Charlotte's mom, on top of being a well known designer, has written a book about raising Charlotte (she has some learning disabilities that she most successfully deals with). Anyway, Charlotte's on the cover and she wrote the last chapter of the book, I think. Here's the link for it on Amazon if you want to take a look.

http://www.amazon.com/Special-Education-Familys-Learning-Disabilities/dp/B000M8MGSE/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-5055810-7165558?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1182422246&sr=8-1

( Now, on to lots of pictures!> <a href= )

Later!
L

It's been a few days. Have another paper due Friday and an exam tomorrow, so it will be a short post. I'm in the library (the WiFi here is fantastic and significantly faster then the one in our rooms) and doing research. We went to Glendylock (I actually have no idea how to spell that) the other day, but I haven't uploaded them yet to my computer, so here's some more from the manor.
( Lots of Pictures Under the Cut )

These last two days have easily been the best experience that I have had in Ireland so far. I can't really see how anything I do from here on out could top it. We spent the last two days at Charlotte's family friend's manor over near Bray. It was the most beautiful place I've ever been, without question.

We got there around 3 something on Friday and Susan (the family friend) picked us up from the Dart station. It was only about a 30 minute train ride out there, but the difference was just unbelievable. We started driving through this gorgeous green land and Susan was telling us where we were and some of the history and then I realized that she actually owned all the land. Susan is a professor, she teaches philosophy at the college nearby. We got to their manor, which was just gorgeous (and also huge) and immediately after putting our stuff down we went and helped her feed the horses she has on the property. They use this kind of pickled hay and really, I've forgotten how much I love the smell of horses. Then we went down to feed the geese.

Susan has this little dog whose name is, would you believe, Bella! She followed us everywhere. There was a German Shepherd called Whisper as well. After we fed the geese, we drove a mile or two away to where Susan's daughter's house is as well as a bunch of horseback riding tracks. We had to help get the riders in order and make sure this one girl got all her stuff in order with this white, cranky little pony. There was this South African man there who was just huge, we found out later he was a rugby player, and Susan kept referring to him as the big, huge, enormous man. He knew absolutely nothing about horses and was there with his daughter. It was really adorable.

Then we went and stopped at the church nearby where there were a whole bunch of kids in something called the Friday club, which is their version of Sunday school. Susan is in charge every other week and this wasn't her week, but she wanted to stop by because it was the last meeting before they let out for summer. So after all that we went back to the manor and she fixed us dinner, quiche and potatoes and salad. It was all pretty excellent. We watched a little tv and read for the rest of the night.

We slept in until about 11, had breakfast, and chased the chickens out of the yard. Then, we went to see another of Charlotte's family friends. They also had a stable, so we hung out there a bit. Then we drove over to Killegar, a little area that apparently is where Kelly's ancestors are from. Susan dropped us off at the train station after that. All in all, it was just a great time.

( Read more... )

More pictures in the following post...
TBC

So we went to the prison today. And got kicked out, actually. I suppose if you're going to get kicked out of someplace, a prison is a great way to go. Our group was walking around, and at the end everyone was talking rather loudly and the guy threw a bit of a fit. He started saying how people like our group were the reason people hated Americans...now, I'm not saying he wasn't right in being annoyed that people were talking. But if he was really bothered by it, he could have simply said, at any point during the tour, please be quiet while we walk around, or something to that effect. But of course, he said nothing except at the end when he decided to generalize about all Americans being rude...which was, well, rude.

Also, we made tacos and watched Grease when we came back. I adore Stockard Channing. She is awesome.
( And prison pictures... )

L

Today was the last day of the first class. Yay. Next week we have I have the class on the Irish famine, the one with the professor who took us on field trips the first three days. I liked him, so it should be a good class.

Charlotte's back from Italy, so we have another roomate again, yay! It's nice...we all get along really well. Virginia is back, too, and Derek. I'm sleeping on the couch because it's comfy and I don't feel like figuring out the futon. Plus, I sleep here all the time anyhow. I think it might actually be more comfortable than my bed at home:)

We had Japanese food today. It wasn't too expensive and it was actually pretty good. Oh, and we went to this store today that had the funniest hats ever! There are pictures, I'll put them up. We're going to go back, Kelley and I were having way too much fun with it. Anyhow, love to all!
( Pictures! )

L

We have some internet in our room now. Don't know how much or how long it will last. Hopefully the internet guy who came is going to come back like we asked to fix it again. LOVE!

Internet cafe again. Expensive. They still haven't fixed the goddamned internet. Getting annoyed about it. More pictures I can't post. Got a paper to write, which I need to decide a theme on. Am farther into Atlas Shrugged then I had originally thought I would be by this point. Will probably finish it in a week or two. Reading is cheaper then drinking:)

Also, getting more and more excited about the HP convention and London. We're going to maybe take another weekend there if we can. Doubt it's more money than here.

Also forgot to mention that yesterday at that maritime thing I got run over by a pram...a baby carriage. This guy just literally ran into me with the carriage...I had to leap up and jump out of the way...I'm still not sure whether or not that baby got away unscathed. He totally rammed my hand in my attempt to not fall on his child. It was ridiculous, and hurt like a bitch...but at least now I can say I've got run over by a man with a pram.

Not much to say now, I don't want to stay on too long, it adds up!
Hugs and Kisses
L

Back in the internet cafe. We went back to the maritime festival today because the weather was a bit nicer, still gray but the drizzle stopped. Unfortunatly we discovered that the Ghost Bus isn't running tonight, so it seems to be another night spent watching the teli and reading. At this rate I'll be finished with Atlas Shrugged long before I thought I would be. I should probably decide on a theme for the paper on Friday since I've finished all the reading. It's only a 4-5 pager, so it won't take long once I decide what to write.

We had yummy falafel again today. We're really very original. Derek and Charlotte are back from Rome on Thursday, I believe. The sleeping situation will be a little out of sorts for a while, because I'm actually sleeping on a futon in the living room for the next two weeks until Kelley leaves. At least our bathroom is finally fixed. Hopefully the internet will work by tomorrow and we'll have a fully (or at least mostly) functional room.

Tomorrow is our trip to the zoo, I think. That should be fun...I'm most excited because at some point (I think maybe Saturday?) we're visiting the prison! Gaul or something, it's called. I'll take lots of pictures when the time comes.

I'm keeping my eyes out for souveniers for everyone. They have this great store called Carolls that sells all this Ireland themed stuff. I'm definetly going to get t-shirts. Also, lots of funky jewelery places for Jenna:) Anyone have any requests? Jake? Well, no doubt I'll find something for everyone.

I've been listening to a ton of Martin Sexton. The man's a musical genius. If you haven't heard him, you absolutely should. I'm hoping he'll give a concert somewhere I can actually go. He can do just about anything with his voice. It's really impressive.

So, because class is early and beer is about 7$ a pop, we haven't been going out all too often. As a result, S and I have been taking naps at horribly awkward times. We sleep from like, 6-9 or something. I don't even know what schedule I'm running off of anymore. We read, we watch the teli (they are absolutely obsessed with this big brother show), we sleep, we walk all over the place, which hopefully counteracts all the eating, and then we do it all over again. Can't say it isn't fun, though. I think all the walking we do everyday wipes us out a bit. It's like a fifteen minute walk to class, and we walk everywhere else we go. It isn't all that bad, just a bit exhausting.

Also, we've figured out where to get the seventh HP while we're in England, so we won't miss out on the fun midnight openings. I'm betting it will be absolutely outrageous and I can't wait.

Alright, off I go. More sleeping and reading and whatnot:)

L

So, yet again, we have no internet. They keep telling us they're going to fix it, but I now have something like 60 pictures that haven't been uploaded and I'm rather distressed about the whole thing. Also, I still have not figured out how to make international calls or if I even can at all. As a result, I'm limited to the occasional text message.

Class is all well and good. We'll have an exam and a paper due this coming Friday and then it will be on to the next class. Wonderful.

We went to another little market thing today...it was a maritime festival with boats and a ton of food from all over the place. We ended up with falafel, of all things, but it was really quite good.

Night before last Kelley, Steph, Jess and I went to a pub, had some really excellent Guiness stew and S and I had about four rounds of beer. Then we didn't end up paying for any of it because all the waiters switched and they forgot all about our bill. Quite lucky, really, that I'm not a terribly moral person:) We met some funny Norwegian guys that were sitting next to us.

Also, we went to St. Stephen's Green, which was gorgeous and sunny and not at all like the gray and gloomy weather we're having today.

Tomorrow's a bank holiday, so no class. Tomorrow night we are planning on going on a Ghost Bus tour around Dublin. It's about 2 hours long and will take us to all the creepy places and cemeteries around the area. As you can imagine, I'm extraordinarily excited. It will be fun.

So I've finished all the reading for the class we're in that we've been assigned. It was Picture of Dorian Gray, The Importance of Being Earnest, and The Dubliners. I don't think we'll have time for Playboy of the Western World so I haven't gotten it.

Hopefully our internet will be set up by Tuesday and I can start uploading the ridiculous amount of pictures I've collected. Everything closes outrageously early here.

Also, they have horrible coffee! You would think they would have good coffee somewhere, but it's become something of a quest for S and I to find a decent cuppa. All right, I'm off to brave that lovely stormy weather outside. Much love!
L

P.S. Heard the funniest song on the radio at a store the other day. If you get a chance, find the youtube video for Chacarron by el chombo. Then imagine you are searching for a notebook in a student store when it comes on the radio. We were all in stitches. Particularly Kelley and Jake. It was really too funny!

We had no internet the last few days, so no updates:) As it is, I have to sit on the balcony to get any reception at all and it's damned cold out here. Lots of pictures today though.

Two days ago we went to the Joyce Writers Museum and also the Dublin writers museum. Yesterday we took the train to another Joyce museum somewhere else as well as Dalkey Castle, which was just a little too much fun. It was a bit like one of those medieval banquet places where they had actors dress up and pretend like they're from the 1600's. Basically, a whole lot of walking and lots of cold rain, but it was quite a bit of fun regardless.

Today was spent in the classroom with our real teacher, whose name I can't recall except that it's Polish. We're meant to read Picture of Dorian Gray. Of course I've already read it twice, but I'm going through it again so I'll be able to discuss details. For some reason, I don't foresee my class being to incredibly interested in literary discussion. :)

I'm having a bit of trouble uploading my pictures, so you'll have to wait on those. Don't know why it isn't working. Probably because of this whole weird censorship thing they've been doing the last couple of days. Anyhow, I'll try to update soon with pictures when I can.
L

Whew. Keep falling asleep for naps at like, 8 or 9 and then waking up at midnight. Gotta stop that:)

First day of classes today. We had a sub, who we'll be having for the next 2 days as well. Tomorrow we're visiting the Joyce Writers place (forget the official name) and some other places, and again on Wednesday. I had to buy Portrait of Dorian Gray again, even though I have like 4 copies at home. It was only 3E but still, it was annoying. Although actually it's a nice little copy so I'm going to keep it anyways.

Charlotte and Derek left for the Rome tour thing today and they'll be back in about 10 days. Kelley and I found this excellent shopping center. Carly, Jenna, Kristen, you'd all be having an absolute ball. They have all these stores...and most of them are something like but not necessarily Forever 21 and H&M. It's crazy...if I liked to shop, this would turn into an incredibly expensive trip.

So I took some filler pics today because we didn't really do anything too spectacular. ( So some city shots and whatnot of Dublin. )

Alright, I'll check in again at some point tomorrow!

L

Today we went on a little trip to a fishing village with a farmer's market. It was exactly what I had pictured Ireland to actually be like. When I'd pictured it, it was always the countryside and the little cities. It's absolutely gorgeous out there. The grass is really that green...I can see why they call it the Emerald Isle. They really mean it.

We also went to Malahide Castle today, which was quite beautiful. It was the kind of castle you dream about living in. Not really huge and forbidding, but more like almost a huge cottage. There was all this land all around it. Acres, I imagine.

We're making pasta for dinner with red sauce and some veggies. Then perhaps we're gonna watch Ghostbusters, which I've just gotten. I can't wait to plan some more weekend trips to the country. I'm in love:)

I've discovered two pretty attractive French guys live across the hall. They opened all the doors for us on the way up to our room today after the grocery store. Was quite nice. Perhaps we'll see them again.

All the people on this trip have been quite nice. Everyone's really friendly and wants to have fun. Guys are all pretty attractive in the program as well.

( All right, picture time! )

Hugs and Kisses:)

L

Today was an orientation day. We headed down to the American College Dublin, which is just a bit of a walk from where we're staying. Classes don't start till Monday, so we just found out a little about it all.

After that we took a walk around the city...there's some nice shopping centers and some pretty cool places, but it's still quite expensive. Thankfully, breakfast and lunch are taken care of every day. May not be great food, but it's prepaid, which is good.

Charlotte and Kelley, my roomates, are both pretty excellent and we get along really well. Meghan's been out partying pretty much since we got here but she's a pretty cool girl, too.

We went to the Guiness Factory earlier today. It was pretty fun. Took a few pictures, which I've put below the cut. Also, we went to some place called Eddie Rockets, which is basically the more expensive Irish version of Jonny Rockets for lunch. Yay for burgers. Ate too much so I didn't eat dinner (Had like, 3 digestive biscuits and I'm not hungry at all). Got caught in the rain on the way back. Note to self: Bring umbrella everywhere.

Tomorrow we're going to some castle by coach bus. Am quite excited about it and will take lots of pics.
( Today's pics here )

Hugs and Kisses

L

What a ridiculous couple of days!

I can't believe how crazy this has been so far. So the flight to PA went smoothly. I was very brave and popped my eardrums after it because dad made me. It did feel tons better after, though. So D, S, and I arrive at PA and after wandering a little go to the terminal. It turns out our flight has been delayed another 4 HOURS! So we ended up waiting in the airport for a total of about 7 hours, the same amount of time it ended up taking to get from PA to Dublin. Thankfully, though, we made it, and the flight was pretty pleasant.

A woman named Kathy picked us up and we went back to the hostel place we're staying at. It's an apartment style room. Not great, but not awful, and I've certainly lived in worse. I've got three roomates (two in each room), a small kitchen, and a bathroom. Over all, I like all of it. The roomates names are Meghan, Kelley, and Charlotte. Also met a girl named Michelle, her roomate Laura, and a guy named Jordan. So right after we got in (after much confusion over who's room was where), D, J, S, Michelle, Jordan, Laura, and I all went to lunch at a pub. Beer is ridiculously expensive, as is food. It doesn't seem to awful until you realize it's all in Euros, not dollars. Lunch was something like 20 euros a piece. Kelley and I have since decided that at around 7 dollars a beer, we'd best be limiting our eating out to one or two nights a week and stick to the grocery store for the rest of it. I need some money for the rest of Europe, after all! Plus, I'd rather not get a beer gut. Also, they don't give you take-home containers for food, but their portions are massive!

Orientation is tomorrow at 11:45. I'm going to call it an early night tonight after I unpack my stuff. I'm still a little under the weather and no amount of alchohol is worth the morning I'd have tomorrow!

Here's some pics of today and yesterday.
( Pics Behind the Cut! )

So there we are...first day, minus one shower and a change of clothes!
L

Right.

So...because I am a misunderstood and eccentric genius (or possibly because I am insane) I somehow got the date of our departure wrong. I am, in fact, leaving TOMORROW. Which is fine. Except I thought I had an extra day that I do not have. So today was spent on a mad shopping spree as I tried to get all the stuff I needed before tomorrow. Have I started to pack, you ask? Why, no! I answer.

However, all things considered, I'm actually relatively prepared for this trip. I had finished most of what I needed to do before Carly's graduation, so I'm okay. Money, clothes, and the Id's are all in order. Computer stuff is good, as well as camera stuff. All in all? I think I'm pretty set. One more trip to Walgreens, and off I go! Next time I check in, I'll be...well, somewhere else:) Either drinking a Guinness in Dublin...or hallucinating in a gutter, I forget which. Basically the same thing.
Later!
L

So today was spent shopping a bit with Kris for some necessities, including a world adaptor so I can use my beloved computer anywhere in the world! Also, I got a pretty cool jacket from Old Navy and a couple of t-shirts. Nothing special, and I've still got some stuff to do before I go, but it's a start. I've gotten a bit of a cold from Carly's graduation travels and I'm hoping I'll get rid of it before we leave in two days. I think I'll be alright either way. D and I are booking the rest of our hostels later today so we'll be guranteed a place to stay for the European part of the journey. Carly comes home tonight at 8:30 and we'll probably be running around the next two days shopping for clothing. My favorite...not really. Yeah, so yay! Travel! Shopping! Computers! Ireland, w00t!
Hugs and Kisses
L