Galway Girl.

First weekend trip. A group of us headed to Galway for two days. While we had a little difficulty at first (the bus missed us, and yes, I do mean the bus missed us and not the other way around. It drove right past us.) But thanks to my calm Canadian friend, Meaghan, a bus came and took us to the bus station where we could catch another bus to Galway. So an hour and a half after our planned departure, we were finally on our way. When we arrived, we checked into our hostel, ditched our backpacks and headed out for a delicious dinner at a restaurant called Busker Browne's. Next stop was a bar called Coyote's, which was American themed. Above that was a bar called The Stock Exchange, which was absolutely fascinating. At The Stock Exchange they have a "stock market" that lists all the drinks. They each have a minimum and maximum price and their selling price will rise and fall throughout the evening. Sometimes the market will crash, and all of the drinks will be at their lowest price for only four minutes, after which they will skyrocket back up to their maximums. It was awesome, and there were one in the States. Maybe there is one, what do I know. If anyone knows of such an establishment, you MUST let me know. After a fun night of drinking, live music, and hanging out with an English bachelor party, we headed back to the hostel for a much needed sleep.
The next morning we headed out to fulfill our mission of the trip...Claddagh rings. Galway is the birthplace of the Claddagh and so a few of us wanted to get rings there. We all ended up falling in love with the same one and so now four of us girls have matching rings. If you don't know the rules behind the wearing of the Claddagh, I'll give you a brief explanation. If one is single and looking for love, the ring is worn on the right hand with the heart facing out. If in a relationship, it is worn on the right hand with the heart facing in. The ring can be used as an engagement ring if worn on the left hand with the heart facing our, and a marriage band if on the left hand with the heart facing in. In case anyone is curious, mine is currently on my right hand, heart out. Bring it on, boys.
Galway is a beautiful and charming city, full of interesting shops and colorful pubs, so we spent the next few hours wandering the city. With the help of a walking tour provided me by my mother, we walked along the River Corrib to Galway Cathedral, which was absolutely beautiful. We sort of crashed a wedding while there. Let me explain. We walked in and were looking around and realized that there was a large number of people sitting in the pews and they all looked rather fancy. The ladies were wearing hats. That actually happens. People wear hats to weddings. But anyways, they were just sitting around waiting, so we kept looking around and then figured we should probably leave. As we were leaving, we walked around outside the Cathedral, and we saw the bride walk in. It was wonderful. I lit a candle in honor of James while we were there. Even though I'm not Catholic, whatever.
Most of our friends headed home after that, but a few of us decided to stick around. We looked in some tourist shops and then decided to find the "postcard water" as Abby called it. We wanted to see the beautiful views that cover the postcards. And so we did. It was so beautiful that we ended up staying a few more hours just to explore. We figured we were already there so we should get all we could out of it.
When we finally caught the bus back we were so exhausted that we fell asleep almost instantly. Though we got home tired and sore from all the walking, it was most definitely worth it.
Next stop...The Ring of Kerry!

At the beginning.

On Saturday August 31, Abby Cliff and I stepped onto a plane at the Philadelphia Airport to embark on a journey that I had always dreamed of. About 7 hours later, on Sunday August 1, I got off the plane terrified about the next four months.

Spending a semester in Ireland had always been a dream of mine, but the reality of it, and the fact that I wouldn’t see home for four months was a little hard to deal with. Would I make friends? Would I go on the grand adventures I’d always hoped I would? Or would I spend the next four months sitting in my apartment, wishing for home? The answer was soon clear.

After taking a bus to from Dublin to my new home, Limerick, I met up with the Americans who were part of my program. I quickly realized that I would have no trouble finding people to spend time with. First there were my American friends, nine of us from all over the US, from San Diego to another Pennsylvanian. We soon adopted a Canadian girl with whom we became fast friends. And before long an International Students Night at the pub led to us having some real Irish friends!

The Irish, from what I can tell, are a very friendly people, always willing to help out a confused and lost looking foreigner, and swap stories over a pint or a coffee at a local pub. Although we have learned that they, especially the men, are frequent tellers of “Irish truths,” which one of our Irish friends, Tony, defined as being a bit like a lie, but always based in truth.

Being here only one week means I haven’t had much time for adventure. But I did take a trip into the city of Limerick to tour a castle and a beautiful old Cathedral. The Cathedral, St. Mary’s, is over 800 years old, or as Abby and I like to call it,” four Americas old”.

People talk about culture shock and I always felt that it would be a big thing that would hit me all at once. But in reality, it’s just the little differences in the way they do things that catch me off guard. For example, where we would go out on Friday and Saturday nights, Irish students party on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays because almost all of them leave university on the weekends to go back home. Which means campus is virtually empty on weekends, except for us internationals and few Irish who live too far to go home.

                I’ve only been here one week , but already I feel like I never want to leave this beautiful country and its people. Though it’s cold and rainy, it is full of something that I’m not sure how to describe.  It’s as if the whole country is full of charm. Its green hills, dotted with sheep and cows, its castles, its quaint Irish towns, and its interesting and colorful people. I have no right to call this place home, but I’m beginning to feel like I could.