A little bit of everything

Today has been absolutely beautiful! Having the sun shining and the birds singing, plus the warmer temperatures, made walking to church this morning quite enjoyable. It was the perfect way to start my day. It is always a struggle to make myself get up, but when I do I am always so blessed by going to church and getting to fellowship with such amazing people. I've also been realizing more and more recently how much going to church isn't simply about what I can get out of it, but also about what I have to offer to others and to the Lord. That reminder makes it a delight and a privilege to gather together with other believers.

God has such a heart for this city and for this country, I am so excited to be apart of what He is doing here and I hope to be a part of the even big things that are to come. This week is Rag Week for NUIG and while eveyone else is partying and staying up till all hours of the night, I will be joining together with other Christians on campus to pray for our city and our campus. We will be doing some outreach in the city and hosting alternative events for students to come to. I'm excited for this week because it means I will get to see everyone every night this week!!! That's always good.

Tonight for dinner I made Chicken Tetrazzini with my roommates and we had a little family dinner. It was so nice to share a meal together just the four of us. It was also nice to stay in and not have to worry about going anywhere tonight. And while I should probably try to get stuff done tonight, I'm not even going to worry about it. I'm going to finish off this almost perfect day with my cup of tea and a movie all cozy in my bed. Yep, it's the perfect day.

Crazy side notes:
Tomorrow will mark two whole months of me being in Ireland. Crazy!

The Irish are so superstitious and it makes me laugh. They think I'm crazy, but that's ok.
They celebrate and remember the date of someone's death the way we would remember a birthday. They call them anniversaries (and no they don't also call wedding dates this, those hardly get mentioned). So the way we remember Martin Luther King Jr. on his birthday or Washington and Lincoln on theirs, the Irish would remember them on the date of their death. It's sort of a celebration though, nothing sad or solemn about it.


A few pictures from our weekend out at An Cheathru Rua:

                                                      The view from where we were staying

                                                                 Pretty country road

                              Group of students who sang, danced, and played their instruments for us!!!
                                                                 Highlight of the weekend!

Can I come home now?

How sad is it that all this traveling around Europe only makes me want to see the US all that much more? I love it here and am glad that I get to see all these amazing places, but I really can't wait to get back home and explore the States more thoroughly. I've seen a decent amount of the East Coast, but there is still so much I want to see of America. I have been compiling my list and hope to get started on it this summer. They make traveling so easy here, I wonder how we have gone so long without doing the same. High speed trains (and at good prices), hostels and round the clock bus service make all the difference for us students. I wish seeing America was this easy.

Some things I have to see in the States (in no particular order):
Maine
Philadelphia, PA
Niagara Falls
Savannah, GA
Memphis and Nashville, TN
Smokey Mountains
Kentucky
Kansas
Texas
Chicago
Rocky Mountains
Montana
Grand Canyon
Napa Valley, CA
LA

Ideally I would love to be able to say I've been to all 50 states, but that's not as important.

So, what do you think? Are there any other things I should add to my States bucket list? Let me know what your favorite parts of the US are and what you think are the top places to see.

Beautiful day

Today was simply lovely outside. The sky was clear, the grass was green, the water was a magical shade of blue, it was grand. I wish I could take a picture and save it for a rainy day, but honestly pictures can't do it justice. It was a nice reminder today, as I hurried back and forth between campus and home, that He still delights in the small stuff and that there is beauty all around us. We just have to be willing to look. Amidst homework assignments and my crazy schedule it was nice to pause and soak in His creation.

Another highlight from today, I learned how to say things about the weather in Irish!

Bhi se go halainn inniu, buiochas le Dia!

One month, already?!?!

I have been here for one whole month as of nine this morning. How did that happen? I can't believe a whole month has gone by. It has been a good month, though it certainly has had it's challenges and unexpected troubles. Some things that are different than I thought they would be are the weather! This has been different in a good way. I was expecting it to rain everyday. But it has only seriously rained 4 or 5 times since I arrived. (Although when it does rain, as it did today, it falls sideways. Much like it does at home).

The city and the people are different than I expected. Not in a bad or a good way, just different. And I haven't entirely decided how I feel about it yet, so I'll get back to you on that one.

I was told about how "easy" classes were here and they are in comparison to what I'm used to, but I think that it will all balance out when exams arrive. I have had a lot of days where I feel that I should be doing homework or studying of some kind and just not knowing what to do since nothing was assigned. Many classes don't have textbooks and the professors don't include class participation as part of the grade. I love having the free time but it is starting to drive me crazy. I'm not used to having so much freedom with my schedule.

I haven't met as many Irish people as I was hoping for. There are so many international students and people in general that I've met more Americans and other nationalities than I have Irish people. I hope to be able to search them out a bit more in the coming weeks and when I travel to different towns where there are less internationals. Part of the problem with this I think is the fact that all of the Irish students go home on the weekend. "It's the Irish way" someone told me. They go home on Friday after their last class and don't come back till late Sunday. They go home for their Mum's cooking and free laundry. That leaves us 'internationals' to entertain ourselves on the weekends, which is harder than it sounds when all we want to be doing is meeting Irish people.

I was surprised by how much they love American music and tv here. I was hoping to find new TV and music (Irish culture tv) to see and hear, but there isn't much of it readily available. There is traditional Irish music being played in several pubs in town almost every night. It is nice to be able to go hear that a few times a week. I haven't seen any Irish dancing yet. I'm guessing that will change with the week long festival they have planned for St. Patrick's Day.

I have a few new pictures that I will post soon. My roommates and I will be traveling to Brussels and Amsterdam with a possible side trip to Brugge this coming weekend (Thursday till Tuesday) so I will update you all with those pictures when we get back.

Taking an Irish Language class!!!

This semester I get to take an Irish for Beginners class and I am so excited!!! We had our first class yesterday and learned how to say hello and introduce ourselves. It is such a cool language to be learning and I can't wait to learn to read and write it. Our class only meets once a week but we have so much material (including audio) that I hope to at least have a basic working knowledge of it by the time I leave in June. As a part of the class we will be taking a trip to An Cheathru Rua, which is a Gaeltacht (Irish speaking area). We will go for a weekend in February and get to immerse ourselves in the language and the culture for a few days. This is my first time taking a formal foreign language class so I am a little nervous. I am praying that God will help me through this one and that I would be able to learn the language and connect with the people better through their native tongue. (pictured is a scene from An Cheathru Rua)

Just Another Monday

I only had one class today. So despite still not feeling the greatest I dragged myself out of bed and got ready to head to campus. I was rather pleased to find that it was gloriously sunny outside and quite warm. After checking my schedule I realized that this one and only class that I had to walk to campus for was actually the one that I had liked. Last week I only made it to some of my classes because I was sick, but this class was one I had gone to and had really liked. I particularly liked the teacher. She was everything a fun and inspiring teacher should be. She was confident and pretty and had beautiful red hair ;) So now as I'm remembering all this I am now excited to go to this one single class all the way on the other side of campus. So I set off and joyfully walk to class. I am a bit early so I find some classmates and get my choice of a seat (right in the very middle by the way, if you wanted to know). I start to tell a friend how awesome this teacher is and how I think this class is going to be tons of fun and now we're both excited. The classroom fills up and the teacher comes in and gets set up. Before she begins the lecture she gives some announcements, "For any visiting or non BComm students there has been a special section set up which will meet downstairs, please excuse yourselves now to go find that class." Darn it. Segregation was supposed to be history here people. They split the Irish BComm students into one group and visiting students into another. With another teacher, in another room. Might as well have made it a different class. All hopes and dreams dashed to pieces in the first 5 minutes of class. Great, now what did I come to campus for today? I thought of Anne Shirley and felt that I too was now in the depths of despair. Like I had lost a kindred spirit. In the teacher, but also in everything I was hoping for that class to be. So my classmates and I picked up our things and brokenheartedly made our way downstairs. Way to point out the Americans. Now we are stuck in a class with all the other visiting students. This was so not the point of studying abroad.

But I still have a few things to look forward to. Glee is on tonight :) Happy Monday!

The Sun Comes Shining Through

The sun was out today which was a lovely surprise. I got caught in a torrential downpour the other night, completely caught off guard without my umbrella. I got completely soaked and it was so windy and cold out that it took me hours to fully dry off. Needless to say I won't be caught without my umbrella and proper footwear anymore. Which means that I end of carrying more than I need to. Like today with the weather being so lovely I probably didn't need my umbrella and raincoat, but nonetheless both got brought.

It is simply lovely here when the sun is shining. Everything takes on a cheerful welcoming air and the city comes alive with music and excitement. I attended orientation this morning on the campus and then had time to walk around some unexplored parts of the city. It was a great day. Orientation was tons of fun and very helpful. I explored the library

and walked around the Quad.

The river crosses through campus several times so there are some beautiful little bridges. I also got to walk around Galway cathedral. I stopped into Kelly's for a cup of tea and a scone (simply delicious if I do say so).

It is the quintessential cafe and there weren't any other foreigners in there at the time. You can here the Irish language being spoken in most places in this city and there were a few gentlemen talking about the economy today with drinking their tea. Things here are just as bad, if not worse, than in the States and it is very hard to find a job for most. There have been continuous layoffs and lots of stores closing. While I was drinking my tea I was reading the Galway Advertiser, a local newspaper. There was an article about  Chris Dodd and his cottage in Connemara. Many think that he was given the estate as a reward for helping a friend to evade tax violation penalties. The Irish view Washington as being corrupt and typically have distrust for most politicians. (can you blame them?)

As I walked back along the street the sun was shining brilliantly and there was music being played in the street. It was a lovely afternoon. Tonight I go visit a new church, hoping to find some like-minded students there. Things here are different than I expected, but it's still good in it's own little way. I can't wait to get out to the countryside.