I Just Got Slapped in the Face By My Planner

Yesterday I sat down and looked at my planner, my syllabi and my travel goals and realized I had a hell of a lot of organizing to do. Between mid-terms, internship deadlines, flight bookings and spring break searches, I think the rest of my week before a trip to Amsterdam will be spent huddled around my computer writing, checking times, prices and information about everything.
With my tutorial sessions underway, I've received all of the dates for my mid-terms, presentations and papers that are due before final exams. This stresses me out, because up to this point there has been absolutely no school work to do. It's all lumped up in the next three weeks. With the majority of my grades based on these assignments, I have to be sure and put in all my effort to do well and impress the professors. A lot of them should be pretty straight forward and a little shorter papers than I'm used to which is a good thing, but the amount of weight they carry are just important, so I need to dig in my heels and focus.
Another thing I'm starting to worry about is internships. Out of the five I've applied for so far I've only had one offer and haven't heard back from a few. So I'm searching frantically through Penn State to see if I can find more options. There are a few more deadlines for internships in Pittsburgh and Philly that I need to make sure I finish and send in by the deadline. I'd like to have more options to choose from, and that means applying for more positions. This could be a problem simply because of how much I'm going to have to pay in postage!
The final thing on my mind is what to do about spring break. My friends and I would love to go to Greece, bask in the sunshine and hopefully gaze upon gorgeous men with sexy accents. Unfortunately, this is going to involve a lot of planning on our part, and it's going to be tough to get six different girls to agree on anything. The good thing is, I already have money set aside for this excursion, so I feel like it will be my chance to splurge and not worry about how this will effect my monetary situation for the rest of my stay in Ireland.
Thanks for listening to my gripes about life...I guess I'm lucky to be stressed over school and traveling Europe rather than my health or a family matter. This little complaining fest has put things into perspective for me. I love when I write things down and they make more sense. Now, off to my To Do List!

Pip Pip Cheerio!

It's Friday and that means I'm off to the land of tea and crumpets, ancient queens and stuffy men in tall black hats. But what I'm looking for in London is more that just the stereotypical tourist experience, I want to see the real thing, the place that at one time was the of the world. After the London Eye, fish and chips and a look at Big Ben, I want to delve into the history and intrigue that makes up one of the most interesting cities I plan to visit.
A city as old as London has lot's to offer and the historic site are the ones I'm most pumped to see. After hearing some of the hot-spots from a few friends that have been there before this is my top three to-see list: The Tower of London, where King Henry and multiple wives beheaded; the Globe Theatre, where Shakespeare's plays were brought to life for royalty and peasants; Trafalgar Square, a memorial to the English defeating the French in some battle.
I also want to know the current relationship between the Irish and the British. In Ireland, it seems as if people still have some pent up bitterness against the British. I don't know how long feelings like this last, but I guess we had the same situation in America after our own revolution, with tense relations until well after the Civil War. I'd like to see the dynamic in England, what they think about the Irish and if there are any wise-cracks about the country or the people.
Most of all I'm just excited to have an adventure and meet up with a few of my good friends from PENN STATE!!! Plus I think I'm finally staring to shake the cold that's been plaguing me all week :)
If you have any good travel tips for London, leave a comment!

The 814 Comes to Dublin

Nothing beats exploring a new country with some of your best friends. This weekend I hit the largest city in Ireland with two girls that I've been friends with for a long time, which made the experience that more meaningful and fun. Katie, Susannah and I went out dancing, shopping, site seeing and of course eating our way through the streets of Dublin. We got to see some amazing and beautiful parks and architecture, sample the best pub food I've had in Ireland so far and get our free pint of Guinness at the end of touring the way-cool Guinness Factory.
I had so much fun with my girls, but for the first time since I've been to Ireland I felt a little twinge of homesickness. Don't get me wrong, I miss my family, friends and boyfriend a lot, but I haven't felt that need to go home. Walking through the streets up Dublin was like walking through a small town and it made me want to walk through the streets of my hometown. That combined with seeing my old friends and not having my other half on Valentine's Day made me realize how much everyone and everything back in the States means to me. That, along with having a cold and wishing my mom and dad were there to make me soup and make sure I felt okay, was a good reminder of all that I have to come home to after this amazing experience comes to an end.
Much love to everyone back home :)

UL-62, DCU-0

Yesterday was my first rugby match and it was AWESOME! The day involved team bonding, kicking Dublin City University's ass and of course celebrating and drinking on the bus ride home afterward...my kind of day!
I boarded the bus with the team and chatted with the girls on the way up, trying to get some last minute advice and praying to God I didn't get absolutely obliterated on the field. We stepped off the bus, into the locker room and suited up in our school colors, maroon and navy blue. After a quick warm up I found out I'd be the first girl subbed in, which ended up being sooner than I expected — one of the girls injured her hand 25 minutes into the game. Coach called out, "American Katie, you're in!" So I stripped off my Nittany Lion hoodie and ran out onto the pitch.
There were no major plays on my part, but I did get a few good tackles and hits on the DCU girls, and more importantly I didn't "fuck the ball away" (my new favorite Irish term for turnover.) The best part was finally seeing all the parts of the game come together out on the playing field. Everything I've been learning for the past two weeks finally clicked and I saw all the parts of the team working as one unit...it was so cool! Along with battle comes battle scars, and my legs are living proof. I'm covering in bruises, cut on both legs and I'm pretty sure even after a shower there's still enough mud on me to plant a garden.
Since we were celebrating and sore, we decided to stop and get a few drinks for the bus ride home. Drinking on a bus allows two things to happen: people, with the help of alcohol and tight quarters, open up more easily, and you learn of traditional Irish songs because everybody, once again with the help of alcohol, sings at the top of their lungs. I learned that one of my teammates can open beer bottles with her teeth and that Jesus Can't Play Rugby.
It's official, rugby is my kind of sport.

Limerick, You're A Lady

Today was a day of exploration in the foggy and chilly, yet still intriguing, city of Limerick. My roommate Michelle and I ventured out after a late breakfast with two of my friends from Penn State to check out the sites and sounds of the former "Stab City."
Not very long ago Limerick had a pretty nasty reputation as being one of the more violent and shady places to go in Ireland, but in the past decade has cleaned up its act and has a lot of really cool stuff to see. Although some parts of town are covered in graffiti and look a little sketchy, there are a lot of things about the city that make it just as beautiful as any other in Ireland.
First there's the Medieval District, which is home to King John's Castle, St. John's Cathedral and St. Mary's Cathedral, all of which were somber and breath-taking. I'm not one to go in churches unless forced or stabbed in the side with a feeling of catholic guilt, but I willingly went in to check out St. John's. It was dim and silent, but the combination of architecture, stain glass and high ceilings gave me chills and made me wonder quietly in awe. The altar was a carefully carved depiction of Abraham preparing to sacrifice his son and the arching supports in the ceiling looked like perfectly fitting ribs of a boat's haul. Maybe I'll go to a mass here to see if I can rekindle my love for Catholicism...haha.
We did get a good look at King John's Castle from the outside, but a tour of the castle and museum was eight euro, so we decided to wait for a discount day. Instead we went to the Limerick Museum which was located right next door. The place was full of cool historical documents and artifacts from the past four centuries. I got to see some old school jewelry, flags and paintings that tell the story of Limerick's evolution. It was a pretty cool place. We walked past St. Mary's Cathedral, but it was starting to get dark so we didn't have time to go inside, we'll have to save that for another day.
But I think my favorite part of the day was wondering through the Milk Market, a small flea/farmers market with all kinds things, from fresh fruit and veggies to old books and Guinness signs. I got some groceries for cheap, and sipped hot chocolate while sorting through old editions of Lord of the Rings and French Literature books. There were award-winning jam makers and people selling plants and flowers. Really really cool stuff.
As much as people saw to avoid "Stab City" I've found a lot of Limerick that makes it delve a little deeper in my heart and make me not want to leave. But my adventure for tomorrow is out of town, a hiking trip with the Outdoor Pursuits Club! Wish me and my new hiking boots luck :)

Hurt So Good

I woke up this morning with a kink in my neck and my legs quaking with fatigue, my arms dead at my side, and my back feeling like a thousand horses had trampled me the previous day.
I love that feeling.
Yesterday was my first rugby practice, and I as I expected, my body is in revolt after a long-missed physical beating. Although I'm in pain and every muscle in my body aches, I can't help but smile and go back for more, which I did today...twice. The feeling of sprints, drills and muscle memory reflex exercises in a team setting had me grinning from ear to ear and brought back the old high-school feeling of being in shape. Not to mention how fun running around in the mud and hitting people is with a bunch of really friendly and helpful teammates.
Coach had me tryout at forward, a line of eight stronger, more built players that clear the way for the backs, a group of seven smaller and faster players. I wasn't really sure of the theory behind what was going on in the drills, but I started to get a physical grasp on what the position entails; a lot of tackling, lifting and some ball carrying. I also tried to soak up the calls, what all the code words are and their meaning, although there are so many I think it will take me more than a few weeks to get everything straight. A few rugby terms so you can impress Americans who don't know to much about the sport:

Ruck - the area and players surrounding a tackled player, all trying to get the ball

Scrum - happens after a stoppage in play i.e. a penalty. This is when the players line up, interlock and try and push the opposition back while trying to get possession of the ball

Lift- hoisting a player into the air to try and gain possession off a throw-in.

The team is one of the best college teams in Ireland, and have won the inter-college tournament for the past two years, so I'm really excited to get a chance to play with them. Hopefully I play well enough in practice over the next week to make it to the next match in dublin. Even if I don't get to play I think playing rugby (one of the most popular sports in Ireland) will be a great opportunity to interact with more Irish people and also learn more about the culture and ways of the Irish. I may just need to airlift my chiropractor and massage therapist here to do it.