Day 29: I Think A Lot About Potatoes

We finished our project today!!! I am very excited about this. We were the first group finished so we could really enjoy going out tonight. We had our farewell dinner and then went to the Abbey Theatre for a play. The play we saw was very interesting but overall I liked it. My favorite line was by the housekeeper saying she tuned out her boss while he was talking and someone asked her "where she goes" when he's talking and she responded "I think a lot about potatoes." After the theater we went out for one last night in the pubs. It was a lot of fun and I am really going to miss the atmosphere -- it's so much better than 6th Street.

Day 28: Work, work, work...

No exciting news today. We are down to our last few days here so we are all pretty much working on our projects all the time. We did take our group picture in front of the UCD sign this evening then a few of us went out to dinner for a break. It's weird that we have already been here a month and are leaving in 2 days!

Day 27: Walking vs. Cadbury -- Who Won?

Today I went and saw the Book of Kells (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Kells) -- sorry no pictures allowed. The book was really cool but what was more impressive was the Long Room above the book. It is what you think of when you think of an old library. Books from ceiling to floor. The displays change and right now there is a Napoleon one which is pretty neat. They also have a replica of the Rosetta Stone and it has the oldest Irish harp which is where the symbol came from. It's actually funny because when Guinness went to make the harp their symbol the Irish government told them they couldn't because it was the country's symbol. However, Guinness pointed the government toward the copyright laws -- Guinness had actually copyrighted it before Ireland so Ireland had to make their harp face the other direction!

After that trip I came home and worked on my part of the project. I have been really tired lately. I think it's all catching up to me! Also, as my time here is ending I am trying to figure out who won the battle between walking and Cadbury. I've done enough walking to lose weight but I think I've also eaten enough Cadbury chocolate to have gained 100 pounds. If anything I am coming out even.

Day 26: Down To Work

Today we had our last class day for the trip! But that means that the rest of the week is to be spent finishing up our project. Not too bad, just have to do it. It was another one of the girls' birthdays tonight so we all went out to dinner. Her parents had just flown in too so that was fun. We didn't stay out too late but we all had a good time.

Day 25: I'm Not A Celtic King

Today we went on a Celtic Ruins tour courtesy of UT. We were supposed to go to a hurling match but for some unexplained reason all sporting events this weekend were canceled. If you cancel an NFL game in the U.S. you at least explain why, but not here in Ireland!! Anyway so the tour was pretty good. For some reason we did a shortened version of the real tour and were pretty rushed through the 3 sites we did go to but hey it was free.

This is the oldest known Irish High Cross. It was really impressive in person.


This is where the Celtic Kings came to be "crowned." Legend says that if you touch and and it screams you are the next King. It didn't scream for me :(

Day 24: IRA? No Biggie..

Today I went on a day trip up to Northern Ireland. We left Dublin at 6 am and headed up to Belfast where we went a tour of Carrick-a-rede Bridge, The Giants Causeway, and Derry/Londonderry.

The first stop was the bridge which is a really old rope and wood bridge. I was really scared and unsure if I would cross it until I actually got down to the bridge. It really is more stable than you would imagine. The only scary parts were 1) the height--I just looked up the whole time, and 2) when I got to the middle of the bridge a huge gust of wind came and I kinda froze up for a minute. Other than that it was fun. There are pictures of me actually crossing it but Aviva has them.


So on our way between the bridge and the Giants Causeway we actually got into a traffic jam with sheep!!! This was probably my favorite experience of the trip because it is what you think of when you think of Ireland. I actually sent one of my friends a post card with this exact scene on the front!


The next stop was the Giants Causeway which is a World Heritage Site. Now the story behind it is that a long time ago there was this giant of a man in Ireland named Fionn who would thought he was the strongest man in the world. He would always yell across the ocean to the giant in Scotland named Benandonner and tell him to come over to Ireland so they could fight. Benandonner would say that he didn't want to get his feet wet coming over there so Fionn built a Causeway between the two islands so that Benandonner could come over and fight without getting his feet wet. However, when Benandonner finally did come over Fionn was so frightened by his size as he was way larger than Fionn that Fionn's wife dressed him as a baby and when Benandonner came she told him that Fionn would be back soon. Benandonner saw Fionn dressed as the baby and decided that any man who had a baby that big must be enormous so he fled back to Scotland ripping up the Causeway as he went. The only remains of it are on the Irish coast and on the other side in Scotland. OR there is a lame story about lava melting a long time ago. In any case it was amazing and indescribable. The pictures do not capture what it is like and how awesome it is there.


The last stop on the tour was Derry/Londonderry where we did a walking tour of the city. It was crazy to be able to physically see the divisions within the community between the Protestants, who support England, and the Catholic Nationalists. All over you can see the different flags being flown and the huge fences and signs of past turmoil. Went went over to a part of the city called Free Derry where the Republican Nationalists proclaimied themselves free from English rule. There are a bunch of political murals and graffiti expressing their views. The craziest part was that our walking tour guide (different from our bus tour guide) was a nationalist and when he spoke about the IRA he tried to tell us that it was no different from any other army in the world. I decided it was probably smart not to argue with him. In any case, it was something I have never experienced before and it makes you think about how much we take for granted in the U.S.

Day 23: I'm A Poet And Didn't Know It

Today I went to the Dublin Writers Museum and the Hugh Lane Museum of Modern Art. Both were really cool and had some interesting stuff in them. Nothing really exciting happened so I don't have too much to say...

Day 22: I Didn't Find the Pot of Gold

So today I didn't really do much. The weather was off and on good so I took the opportunity to play with my blog (notice the new look) and clean up my dorm. I also did my first bit of real cooking (only took 3 weeks) and it turned out pretty well. The best (and prettiest) part of the day was seeing the double rainbow outside our apartment!

Day 21: Sporting the DayGlo

Today was one of the girls' 21st Birthday! I don't know how it was decided but it was that it should be a DayGlo (very bright/neon 80s style clothes) themed party since DayGlo is for some reason very popular here! It was interesting to say the least. The scariest part is that we were still being checked out by the guys in the pubs!!! Well, that is the second scariest, the first is that none of this stuff was hard to find at all. We went to the mall and nearly every store carried this type of clothing. So now I have all this DayGlo so expect to see it worn regularly when I get home!

Day 20: Mingling with the Poles

Today we really started working on our project. I can't remember if I mentioned before that our group was assigned the Polish community within Ireland. So today we headed on down to the Polish area of Dublin and just went into shops, barbers, bakeries, etc. and spoke with a few Polish people. It is amazing how little the people know about the HSE (Health Services Executive) which runs the health care system in Ireland. The people who did know about the HSE had very low opinions of them. I love Ireland but I am beginning to appreciate the infrastructure I have in the USA.

Day 19: Shopping for DayGlo

So we had class today blah blah blah. All that exciting stuff that happens on weekday mornings. But this afternoon we headed to the mall to purchase our DayGlo outfits for one of the girls' birthdays this week. It's a big fad here so we decided to run with it. Stay tuned for amazing pictures!

Also did some laundry today.. kind of. Let's just say I miss having my own washer and dryer that work! But amazing thing is while my laundry was going I watched P.S. I Love You on my laptop and then when I got back to my room there was a guy in the field outside my dorm window playing one of the songs from the movie on his guitar. AMAZING!

Day 18: Uh Oh, I Went To Gaol!

Today I had another day by myself so I headed out to the old Kilmainham Gaol which is full of Irish history so of course, as a history lover, I had an amazing time! I went on the tour which takes you through the jail and gives you a bunch of Irish history. The jail is over 200 years old and has held most of the leaders of all the Irish rebellions (there have been a lot). I added captions to the pictures below.

The front of the jail where they used to hang people.

Cell door from the oldest part of the jail.

The walls were covered with graffiti.

Newer part of the jail and where most the cells are. Quite a few films have actually been filmed here.

The cells are tiny and didn't always hold just one person.

The stone breakers yard where the leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising Rebellion were executed by firing squad.

Day 17: I Saw a Leprechaun!

Today I didn't do too much. A couple of the girls went to the zoo but I didn't really want to spend money on that so I headed down to the shopping district by myself and just walked around a bit. This is where I saw a leprechaun. It was pretty relaxing and I got a few postcards to send back home. After dinner I headed to the theater with my cool Irish friends Noel and Liam and saw The Hangover which was really funny!! Good day altogether.

Day 16: Just Our Luck

So today we got up early and headed back to Dublin from Galway. We got back to UCD early afternoon and just rested up for our evening. The whole class went out to dinner courtesy of UT then headed over to Irish dancing which was a lot of fun. For one dance I had a strapping young partner named Daniel who was about 80 years old. He was a lot of fun and helped me get through the dance.

So as a prelude to what happened next please remind yourself of the gorgeous Senator we met earlier in the week. So this Senator called Brad (our professor) last night and said that he and his roommates would like to show us around the good pubs around town. So all day today Brad was texting with him making arrangements and such. So after Irish dancing most of the girls went home and all who remained were me, Torey, Sally, and Maia. So Brad lets John Paul (the Senator) know that we are headed that way and gave us his number so we could call him when we got down there. Anyway so we get to the bar he told us he was in and started to look for him but he is nowhere to be seen. So we give him a call and finally find the group but alas John Paul is not even there! The whole time we had, and Brad had, been talking to his roommate. It was all very sketchy. When we confronted them they made up very bad stories that involved John Paul being there but left to go work (it was 2 am) and that he had had his roommates phone earlier so we really had been talking to him. Lies!! So yes we spent almost 45 Euro (split among us) for nothing.

Day 15: We Laugh in the Face of Danger!

Today was a long and eventful day. We had to meet the taxi downstairs at 5:30 so I woke up at 4:15 am. We got on the bus to Galway around 6:30 and arrived there about 9:30. Our tour bus left at 10 am to do our Cliffs of Moher and Burren tour. It was so cool! The burren is just this rocky landscape that is natural to the area (seen in picture 1 below). It's actually quite beautiful and out there in the countryside you see all these ancient ruins just out there in random fields. You also got to see "famine walls" which are dry stone walls -- which amaze me still -- that were built during the famine years. People would come to these camps thinking they would get food but would usually die working on these walls that don't really have a purpose. Anyway, so then we stopped in Doolin for lunch and I bought myself a really pretty ring that has the Celtic Trinity knots on it. Anyhoo, after lunch it was off to the Cliffs of Moher. This has to be the single most breathtaking place I have ever been too. We were really lucky and had amazing, clear, warm weather while we were there. Now of course as you are riding up there the bus driver is telling you not to go off the official path and once you get out you see a billion warning signs saying not to go off the official path. They have a memorial for people who have lost their lives because they went off the official path. So what do we do? We go off the official path. I mean really though, they have a very well worn unofficial path behind this very short wall that just invites you to do this and it's not like we are the only ones who did it. They even tell you there are rangers patrolling, but we did not see such rangers. And it really wasn't even very scary because the wind wasn't blowing. The girls from the group who went last weekend said they went behind the wall but they were scared a couple time because the wind gusts were so strong. Anyway so we successfully lived through that then got an ice cream then got back on the bus.

Now here is where the fun part begins. So when we booked our tickets we knew we also wanted to stay on the Aran Islands that night. The company we did the Moher day trip with also does a ferry ride over to the islands. Now, the Irish aren't really big on specific times. For example, you look up times for a restaruant and it will say "open 5 pm to late." One might ask, "well, what is late" and the answer is pretty much whatever time the guy in the restaurant feels like that night. Anyway so the Moher day trip said we would be back in Galway at "approximately 5:30" and the Aran Islands bus to the ferry left at "approximately 5:30." So we call and they tell us many have tried to make the connection but most fail and that it really depends on the bus drivers. So we think, well lets go for it! When we get on the Moher bus we talk to the driver and he is really nice and tells us he'll try to get us back in time. And he really did try. He told everyone on the bus to be back from the cliffs in an hour an a half (its supposed to be a 2 hour stop) and everyone but 1 guy from Maryland is back in time. This guy is 20 minutes late and gets on the bus laughing and smirking like he's sooo funny. So anyway the bus driver is really trying to get us back so he rushes the rest of the stops and skips a couple things on the way back to Galway as well. As we are getting closer we hit some traffic that slows us down so he calls the other bus driver and is asking him to wait for a few minutes for us. I mean there are 5 of us who have already paid for the other ticket and really want to go out there! The other bus driver really doesn't want to wait but our bus driver is telling him we are crying and such and such and is holding him off a bit. So we finally get back and our bus driver tells us to run and the bus should still be there. He even has a guy up the road come out onto the street to point us in the right direction. So we take off like we are on Amazing Race and sprint (yes, sprint, and those who know me know that I DO NOT RUN!! but I was running for this!) up the road to catch the other bus. Chris, who was in front, gets right up to the bus and is waving his arms as it pulls away! Yes, seriously it pulls away with us RIGHT THERE! To say we were pissed is an understatement. So we go talk to the guy who was on the street pointing us in the right direction and he is amazed that the bus took off. He says that the driver was getting yelled at by the passengers and by the ferry people for waiting and I mean he did all the work he could have at least been like "well here are the people we were waiting for" but no, he did all the waiting for nothing.

So we stayed in Galway that night. We luckily had had foresight to book a hostel both on the islands and in Galway so we did have a place to stay. We went out and had a really yummy dinner and then just hung out at a pub near our hostel. We discovered a delicious shot called a Baby Guinness which is coffee liqueur topped with Bailey's to make it look like a Guinness. So all and all it ended up being a good day!

Day 14: I'm Obsessed with the "Across the Universe" Soundtrack

So not too much for today. Just spent the day planning a trip to the West coast and finishing up homework so we could go to the West coast! However, all this time on the computer has allowed me to listen to the "Across the Universe" soundtrack over and over and over!!!

Next entry will be fun-filled I promise!

Day 13: I Support the Fine Gael Party

So today we had class.. blah blah blah.. usually morning stuff. This afternoon we visited Carr Communications which was a really cool site visit. They did a case study for us on their road safety project and they showed us a crazy commercial that would never ever be shown on TV in the US. It was pretty shocking. After they showed it to us the guy said "Oops, I probably should have warned you..."
After that we made our way over to the Leinster House, which is home to the Irish Parliament. It was actually pretty cool because they are about to do a Vote of No Confidence to kick the current leadership out so we got to hear some of the debates. We got a tour of the house and got to listen in on both the Dáil (House of Reps.) and the Seanad (Senate). After the tour is where I found my true love: Senator John Paul Phelan... sigh... I am going to move here and be the First Lady!

Day 12: Day of Rest

Once again, nothing too exciting for today. Just class really. After class I decided I needed a day to rest up so I took a nap, did some laundry, and worked on some class work. My group got assigned the Polish community in Ireland so let the work begin!

Day 11: My Feet Hurt

So silly me went on a 4-hour walking tour today. Ouchie! But today was the only day I was going to be able to do it because they start at 11 a.m. every day and I am usually in class. It is this company that offers free tours in most major European cities and I did the Edinburgh and London ones this past Christmas and loved them. Today was just as good. You really learn a whole lot and this tour is aimed at younger people so you get to learn the funny stories too. And what I learned is that the Irish are funny people and half of what they do and their history just doesn't make any sense! But I had a really good time!

Day 10: The Irish Love Their Round-Abouts

Today I went to Cork and it was the first day of real Irish weather.. aka cold and rainy! I miss the sunshine already. Anyway, we took the bus (its cheaper!) which took about 4 hours with all the stops. One thing I learned is that the Irish love their round-abouts which are soo annoying! I really want to introduce overpass exchanges! So once we got to Cork we just walked around a bit and stumbled upon the most AMAZING donut shop ever. We were drawn in by the smell and the guy made us our donuts fresh in front of us! We then went out to Blarney Castle which was soo pretty. Because of our time crunch to catch the bus back to Dublin I didn't get to kiss the stone but I figure I already have the gift of gab so I'm okay!

Day 9: Movie Road

Today we went on a day trip to County Wicklow and Glendalough as a class. It was so much fun. This was the first time I saw how I've always pictured Ireland in my head. We were split into two vans and our van was definitely the party van thanks to our driver Tony. He played us some good ole Irish music! It was also really cool because the road we drove down drove right by where Braveheart was filmed and where Saving Private Ryan and P.S. I Love You had scenes shot. I sat on the bridge from P.S. I Love You!! (see below) All in all it was a beautiful day!

the bridge from P.S. I Love You

Day 8

Sorry, no cool title today. We didn't really do anything. We had class then went to a meeting with the Irish Health Services Executive who we are working with for our class project. After that we just came home and hung out at the dorm until bed. I know, so exciting! I guess not every day can be overly amazing.

Day 7: Boston College Boys

So today we got our group assignment for our class and yay I'm with Torey, Sally, Maia, and Lindsay. We are all in 378 so our project is going to rock! After class we had a site visit to Edelman PR which was kinda cool. We learned that nobody here trusts the government or media or businesses so that sucks just a bit.

After Edelman we popped into "our" pub, The Wellington and had a pint. When we got home we headed down to Chris' room to meet the BC guys who were super cool. We all played cards and just hung out. I am now reconsidering my parents' requests for me to go to Boston College for grad school. :)

Day 6: Tree, Catolic, Potato

So today was the first day of classes which was pretty uneventful. We were only there for about an hour then I spent the rest of the day at the beach in Bray. It was so beautiful down there! The water was so blue and there were green rolling hills surrounding us. There has not been a drop of rain since I got here..... and now tomorrow it will start pouring!

Anyway so to explain my title for today the 4 of us went into this tiny shop on a back road in Bray and each got a shirt with something written in Gaelic! Mine has the lyrics to "Jump Around" which the shop keeper played for me -- Léim Thart! Anyway so we were discussing the lack of pronounciation of the "heches" in the Irish accent.. like "three" is "tree" and "Catholic" is "Catolic" and then as he is thinking about it saying the words out loud he goes "Tree, Catolic, Potato." We just look at him and are all like there is no "H" in potato! You probably had to be there but it was hilarious!

After we got back from Bray, I worked on my homework and did my laundry. Big oops was that I accidentally washed my bus pass so we'll have to see tomorrow if it still works since you have to scan the bar code.

I'll let you know how that goes.

Day 5: Sports Bras Have Not Made It To Ireland Yet

Today we moved into the dorms. It's good because now I feel more settled and I have my own space to unpack and everything but it also means we are now outside the city. We didn't really do much, it is a Bank Holiday here so everything is closed so we all just stayed on campus and hung out in the dorms. We did go check out the Women's Mini-Marathon (really a 10k) that ran by campus which was kinda funny. It's the largest women's even in the world and men sometimes dress up like women and run in it. We also figured out that sports bras haven't made it here yet. I mean just watching them hurt sometimes! The few women that were wearing them we figured they were foreign. Some women weren't wearing any sort of bra at all!! Ouch!

Well that's about it for today. We have our first day of class tomorrow so we'll see how that goes...

Day 4: Maps? What Maps?

THE IRISH DON'T BELIEVE IN MAPS! Seriously, they don't. Torey and I slept in this morning after our late night in Temple Bar and decided to go explore Phoenix Park. We look in our tour books and decide "oo that'll be easy".. yeah no. It took us about 3 hours or so to get out there and we did A LOT of walking but it was really fun. We accidentally found the American Ambassador's house so that was cool. And in case you were wondering - he has a moat! YES, a moat!

Anyway, tomorrow we move into the dorms so it'll be nice to get settled in but that also means I have to repack all my stuff tonight. :(

Write more tomorrow!


the moat

Day 3: I Accidently Went to a Gay Bar and Got Licked....

Today was a very fun-filled day! I went on a 2 1/2 hour walking tour of Dublin which was pretty. After that we had lunch on a boat on the Liffey River and the food was really, really good! Then Torey and I came back to the room and napped for the afternoon. We woke up and went and got some sandwiches for dinner then went down to Temple Bar for the night. Temple Bar is like the 6th Street of Dublin. This is where the fun stuff happened.

So the first bar we went to we did not realize was a gay bar but looking back we should have! Looking back it was 90% guys (one was dressed like Susan Boyle) and they were all singing along with REM, Cher, and Grease. And there was the 2 guys who swapped ice using only their mouths... yeah I know, we were oblivious! We were also being bothered a lot there by all the guys who found it so much fun that we were American. Though none of them were Irish - they were mainly Dutch and Swiss. Anyway so right as we were finishing up our beers and thinking it was time to move on this guy came up and kissed Maia, Torey, and Sally's hands but when he took mine he full on licked the top of my hand! With that it was time to go.

After that we met up with Noel (the IT guy from UCD) and he said the area of Temple Bar we were in was all tourists and no locals so he took us to The Porter House. This place was really fun and we met a few Irish guys that Sally and I became friends with for the night. They were a lot of fun and taught us some tricks to sounding Irish but not "leprechaun" as they said I sounded when I tried to do an Irish accent. It was also fun because they bought us our drinks as well. I love being American here!


Fun Irish guys

Day 2: The First Pint

Sleep felt SOOOOOO good last night. I went to bed around 9 o'clock (which was much later than most of the others) and we woke up at around 8:30. Today after breakfast (super yummy at our hotel!) we went out to UCD and had our orientation and campus tour. They gave us Charm Alarms to protect against attack -- they are SUPER stylish :P Anyhoo after that we had some lunch and then the afternoon was free so a group of us walked to Dublin Bay and it was very pretty and a lot of fun. The water was surprisingly warm! I can tell already that I am going to lose so much weight with all the walking I'm going to be doing. I had my first beer in Ireland after dinner tonight! The length of day is freaking me out a little. It is after 10 and it is just now getting darker. This is the first time since I've arrived I've seen it this dark!