Galway Girl

Just got back from the International Society's weekend excursion to some of the most beautiful places in Ireland, including the Cliff's of Moher, Kylemore Abbey and the city of Galway.
I left UL early Saturday morning with two bus-fulls of fellow students on our way to Galway, a western city situated right along the coast of Galway Bay. After a few hours of gorgeous scenery we stopped at the coastal town of Lahinch, where we walked up to the Atlantic and watched surfers brave the chilly water to catch a few waves. I learned that for about six weeks out of the year, western Ireland has some of the best surfing in the world, and surfers from all over the globe come to ride. The stop made for some great pictures and gave us a chance to see the ocean, a first for many of the students on the trip. After boarding the bus for a another few hours we arrived at the Cliffs of Moher, one of the most beautiful and peaceful places I've ever seen. The view was breath taking and the refreshing breeze blew the smell of the ocean right into your face. It's absolutely a must see if you ever visit Ireland.
We arrived in Galway around dinner time Saturday, and after grabbing ourselves a quick bite to eat, about eight of us settled down in the corner of a popular pub, Taafee's for some traditional Irish music and a few pints of "black gold." The locals, especially the men, were super friendly and chatty. It seems the the men get better and better looking the longer I'm here...which leads me to the highlight of the night. A Munster rugby player walked in the door trying to be low key in a sweater in jeans. But the Irish love their rugby players and he was immediately recognized and the entire pub started singing the Munster fight song.
It wasn't just the great pub scene that made Galway so lovely, it was the tiny artisan shops and the many stores offering Claddagh jewelry that made the university town see more quaint and enjoyable than the louder, more urbanized Limerick. All I purchased there were postcards, but if I had bucks to spend, I would have gotten one of the plentiful handmade sweaters or rings.
Our whole group stayed at a hostel called Sleep Zone. I was a little nervous when I found out we were staying at one, since I've never slept at a hostel before. But this place was top shelf, clean bedding, rooms, bathrooms, and locks for everything. I felt completely secure and I think the hostel may be cleaner and quieter than my accommodations at UL haha! After a decent night's rest we got up, had breakfast at a small cafe and boarded the bus to Kylemore Abbey.
The Abbey, which is situated and the foot of a mountain and in front of a sapphire-blue lake, looks like a medieval castle but was in fact built in the 1860s by the Henry family. The Catholic church somehow got their hands on the property, as the church usually finds a way to do, after World War One, and the building has served as the mother ship for the nuns ever since. The Abbey is also an international boarding school, with a neo-gothic cathedral and a beautiful garden on the property.
All in all, the trip was a great way to start my country-wide travels. Some of the classic sights mixed in with some that many people don't get to see. Check out my Facebook page for pictures!

Oh, Sleep, How I Miss You

A full-night's rest is a rare and elusive sleep here at UL. Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday nights are always a party, so students are out in full force having a good time, singing and rabble rousing outside my window. Unfortunately for me, I'm a light sleeper and my walls are about as thick as a fashion model's pinky finger.
The first week was good, and after two straight days of traveling and walking around campus not even a nuclear explosion could have woken me, but that all changed when the Irish students moved back. That, in combination with excitement about upcoming trips and late nights at the pub dancing and drinking, my sleep schedule has been knocked off it's axis.
What I don't get during the night, I try to make up for during the day in between classes. It's more quiet in the housing complexes during class hours than at night, so while other people are off learning, I'm getting my much needed beauty sleep. I'm not sure how long I'll be able to indulge in these glorious treats because our class tutorials start in two weeks, adding another five hours throughout the week that I won't be able to nap.
Maybe this is a good thing, the time I could spend sleeping will allow me to have more time to get out and explore the campus and city. On the other hand, I hope I don't burn myself from a lack of sleep.

Already Booked

I've only been in Ireland for 9 days and I already have six trips booked for the rest of my stay! I've already got plans to visit Galway, the Dingle Peninsula, County Cork, Dublin, London and a unknown destination for spring break (hopefully somewhere warm.) I'm starting to realize my trip is going to fly by, and although the days in class may feel long, my time in Ireland isn't going to be enough to see all that I want to see.
I joined the International Student Society, a club that offers trips around Ireland and Northern Ireland for student-friendly prices, and through my study abroad office at the University, we get two trips included in our tuition, which will help stretch my spending Euro as far as it will go.
My friends and I are boarding a bus Saturday morning for the smaller, more traditional town of Galway. A friend of mine from PSU studied there last year and said it was definitely a must-see while in Ireland. Lucky for me, one of my Irish roommates hales from the town and has been telling me all of the best pubs to visit and places to go. It should make for some good photos as well, give me a chance to see how talented I am with the scenery shots.
It should be good craic! (pronounced "crack" ... the Irish word for fun, not the illegal substance)

Sporting Hub of Ireland

A note about the Irish and their sport...they absolutely love it, especially around Limerick. From my discussions with students and other people around the school it seems that Limerick is the sporting capital of Ireland.
The University's gym/pool/workout facility is by far the newest and nicest building on campus, and is home the the countries first 50 meter swimming pool. The turf field by my housing village is never empty, whether it's students practicing soccer or local helmet-clad children playing a hurling match. I even saw a soccer match between two teams of mentally challenged players, which was neat to see. Boy, girl, young, old, able or disabled, everyone seems to talk their sports seriously.
Rugby is the sport of choice around campus, with a very talented University of Limerick team, and an even more popular Munster team playing within the city walls. The pubs get packed when matches are on, and just like Sundays in America, everyone walks around with their favorite team's jersey on, and flaunting their colors. It's fun to watch and even more interesting to learn the rules of a sport that is just taking off in America. Although Penn State is home to both women and men's rugby national champions, I have yet to see a game. When I get back to the States I'm going to take by re-ignited passion for watching new sports to the Penn State rugby matches.

Fashion Fopaux

Ireland has made me realize how unfashionable I am, not matter what country I'm in. The girls here are the definition of trendy complete with edgy haircuts, healed boots, tight leggings and mini-skirts. Here, my favorite sweatpants are not only unfashionable, but disrespectful to wear to class. Here when I go to a bar, my jeans are frowned upon even if they are really cute. American girls are easily spotted in their North Face jackets and jeans with rain boots, not leather boots the the Irish like to wear.
So I'm taking a step out of my comfort zone and heading to town soon with a few of my American companions to give ourselves and Irish makeover, leggings, skirts and all. We are heading to the clothing stores with a drive to become equals in the eyes of the Irish woman. I'm leaving my hoodies behind for cute accessories and a new outlook on fashion.
When I return to the States, I will be so stylish they'll ask me to pose for Vogue. Well, that's a stretch, but I can always hope ;)

Scheduling Sucks In Ireland Too

Well I guess no matter what school you go to, scheduling is a pain in the ass no matter what. I just spent three hours attempting to put together a schedule that fits and that will help achieve my goal of finishing at least one of my minors up while I'm over here.
The system is very different from the one we use in the states. Here they offer two hours a week for each class taken, with a possibility of a tutorial or lab, or both as well. Luckily most of the English and history classes I signed up to take don't require a lab and only one hour of tutorial, as opposed to my friend Jess, who has two lectures, two labs and two tutorials for some of her health science classes. Unfortunately, many of the lectures are split into two different hours, on different days on different buildings, making it hard to juggle five classes and the tutorials that go along with them.
After a lot of tweaking and switching, I think I've finally found a combination that works, but if not the University gives us two weeks to change our schedules around before we finalize anything. They seems to give the international students a lot of freedom in choosing classes and are very accommodating, so hopefully if I have any trouble they can help me out!!

Peace out Erie, Hello Eire

Well it's the end of my first week in Limerick, Ireland and so far I've loved almost every minute of it! I flew out of Pittsburgh with two other girls from Penn State, our nerves and butterflies eased with a few drinks from the airport bar. Good thing we stopped drinking though, because after our hour-long flight from Pittsburgh to Boston, we had to literally sprint across the Boston Airport to catch our flight with Aer Lingus to Shannon, Ireland. Although we just made it on the plane, our luggage didn't. Our first few days in a new country were accompanied by the scent of three ripe travelers who'd left their shampoo and towels in their luggage.
Aside from my lost luggage, which I finally got back Wednesday night, the trip has gone smoothly. I'm meeting tons of new people from all over the United States as well as Europe. We've befriended some very cool French students who are eager to share a laugh and a pint. Everyone is very friendly and willing to make an effort to talk with you, just like freshman year of college all over again, everyone in the same boat. There have been multiple outings with other students to the pub to either just hang out or even watch a rugby match. No matter where you're from or if you like beer or not, almost everyone seems to enjoy sipping on dark and creamy Guinness straight from the tap.
When students aren't at the pub, they seems to be spending a lot of time in town. The city of Limerick is a bustling place filled modern shops and old stone churches, bordering the river Shannon. Tomorrow we are taking a bus tour of the entire city, hopefully finding out some of the most enticing destinations and pubs, of which there are plenty to choose from! On my "Sites to See" so far are: St. John's Castle, the rugby stadium and a pub with traditional Irish music...let's see how many I can check off tomorrow!