Week One

I had my first class on Monday, the Food and Wine Pairing class. I'm really looking forward to learning about wine and my professor is relaxed and knowledgeable. He has travelled the world as a wine tourist! That's his job! Can you believe that actually exists? Talk about dream job...

A few nights ago a lot of the second semester kids got together. There's a picture of us all above. There are about 60 students this semester, and last semester there were 150! This semester more than half of them are American, and last semester there were only approx. 15. I was a little disappointed to learn that they're all American because I didn't study abroad in Ireland to hang out with other boring Americans haha :) They seem like nice people though.

Emily and I are planning our trip to Poland in March. We are hoping to stay with Adrienne's friends who live there which would be really amazing if that worked out. Also Mom, Adrienne has friends in Paris, Christy and Bill, so maybe when you come we could take a trip to Paris and stay with them! We might even be able to fly out of Paris. We can figure it out later.

So those of you who don't know, Easter is really late in April this year which means my university has no breaks in between this semester. We go for 12 weeks straight, and then we have 2 weeks of spring break. After the spring break we have one week of no class for "revision" week before exams start, and then the next two weeks are exams in May. That's FIVE consecutive weeks of no class that I could potentially be here with nothing to do :( Don't get me wrong, I would love to travel the world during this time, but my finances are a little low...or a lot of low :) So what I'm trying to do is instead of stay in Ireland for my exams, I'm asking my professors for an alternative exam that I can turn in either before the end of class or via email once I'm home. This way I'll come home end of April, save a bunch of money, and get to celebrate my 21st birthday at home! I'll update ya'll when I know what the end results are.

On Sunday I had a DELICIOUS dinner with my Irish host family, Pearl and Mervyn. They are really great people, both teachers who enjoy music and travelling. They have 3 kids who are all out of the house, their youngest is 23. We had a nice time visiting and eating and Pearl made a melt-in-your-mouth pie that was similar to a giant malt ball. Wow, it was amazing. It had layers of chocolate with homemade whipped cream and maltballs on top. I'm going to ask her for the recipe and make it when I'm home. Dad, they gave some great insight about how we should travel together when you come visit. They suggested renting a car in Ireland for a few days, and then leaving the car and going to Scotland without one. We'll talk more later, there's a LOT to plan! Very exciting :) They also said they want to take me to their beach trailor in Donegal! They showed me pictures of the sandy beach and huge caves that they are right next to. We'll probably go in April because that's when the weather is better. Less rain and more SUN!

I hope everyone is well and has been enjoying their January. More later!

Welcome New Students!

Last week was filled with travelling and touring cities. Meagan and I went to Derry, Belfast, Giant's Causeway, and to many Irish pubs. We managed to fit both of us in my tiny room; one on the floor, and one on the bed. It was good craic :) Above are some pictures from Giant's Causeway and Belfast adventures. The one of the mural on the wall is painted on a Protestant apartment building. We took a picture in front of it smiling, but I don't like it because I feel like nobody should feel happy looking at such seriously intimidating murals like this one.

This week Emily and I were relying on each other for company since all our first semester friends left to go home for good. It was just the two of us for a few days, and then new students started to come! We actually gave them the tour of campus and met a few of them. There are many from America and France, a few from Germany, one from Canada, Nigeria, Poland, and Mexico. All in all there were probably 60 new students that arrived yesterday, and we have many more to meet. It feels good knowing that there are other people around campus now. It's not so lonely and dead quiet. After the tour, I met with my Irish mom, Pearl, and chatted for a bit. We are going to have dinner on Sunday at their house. Tonight I have orchestra, and I get to play my own viola thank goodness. The one they provided was in poor condition.

Yesterday I met with my advisor and figured out my schedule. If all the classes are approved by my home university in Washington then I will be taking a Food and Wine Tourism class, a Business class called Organizations and People, and a Humanities class called Urban Europe. I'm VERY excited about the wine class! I talked to the professor and he is enthusiastic and helpful. Cross your fingers that it all works out!!

Home Sweet Home Away From Home

Happy new year! I am back in Ireland now. The flight back was so long, but I had my friend Meagan with me because she is visiting for 10 days! In Newark we met some guys in a band that were touring Ireland and Scotland. They had banjos and fiddles with them, and when they saw my viola they started chatting with us. I am going to try to go see them perform in Derry sometime in the next 2 weeks!

I had a wonderful 3 and a half weeks home in Seattle. Alex picked me up at the airport and we spent as much time together as possible. Christmas was wonderful as always. At home we had homemade eggs benedict for brunch and at Dad's we had orange cinnomon rolls and bacon. We eat well in this family :) New years was uneventful for me, I was sick so I watched the fireworks display at the Space Needle on tv.

I went to see Alex's house at Snoqualmie where he works and we went tubing and walked around in the snow. I also got stiches because I cut my hand! He had to take me to the Urgent Care Center and they sewed me up. It's healing really well now. Dad, BB, and I went out for a few dinners and caught up on stuff. It was hard to say goodbye to everyone, but I keep telling myself I will see them soon and hopefully once classes start it will keep my mind busy and make time go by fast. The homesickness is already kicking in. :(

Granny, Kim, Brad, and Greg it was great skyping with you over Christmas! You look great Granny, your new Irish scarf is perfect for you.

Now all thats left to do is figure out what classes I'll be taking this semester. This week I will be a tour guide for Meagan. I think we are going to visit Belfast, Derry, and the beach! Hope she enjoys herself. Last night we took a 4 hour nap, then went bowling with some fellow study abroad students who are still here for exams. More later! These are some pictures from my time at home.