Au Revoir, Montpellier

For the past three days I have been the equivalent of a French bum. I honestly don't know what I'm going to do when I have to go home, work and wake up at a normal hour. I've been lounging on the beaches of the Mediterranean, munching on baguettes with brie and drinking fancy French wine with my Penn State friends in the gorgeous city of Montpellier.
The weather here has made me never want to leave Southern France. Hot, sunny with a warm breeze — weather that gives even my pale self a nice glow. That combined with familiar faces and new places to explore have made for a very chill and relaxing three days, and a very enjoyable end to a savage semester. Thanks to Aubrey, Janelle and Kate for the good times!
Now, off to Paris, where I'm going to meet up with Nick for three days before I fly home to the States :)

A Little Taste of Home

Wexford, Ireland...typically not a very touristy destination when one visits, but all the same filled with interesting things to see, extra friendly people and great places to relax with your buds. Kate and I went home with my friend from the rugby team, Leah, to stay with her family for the week at their home in Wexford, an area famous for their strawberries and home of the former capital of Ireland centuries ago.
There were ruins, castles and cemeteries to explore. There were homemade desserts and steaks to be eaten. There were parents, friends and family to chat with. Not to mention there was a comfortable bed, clean floors and comfortable couches to lounge on. Everything about the weekend was relaxing and we spent most of it in our comfortable sweats sipping tea and chatting around Leah's kitchen island. It seemed like a real taste of Irish life, but it also made me remember my life back home, my family and friends.
With only one week left of my European study abroad experience, this weekend really made me appreciate what's important and what I'm looking forward to the most about coming home. Many thanks to Leah and her mom and dad (Robby and Hazel), for letting us share a lovely weekend at their home!

Should I Stay or Should I Go

Today I talked to Emily, one of my best friends from home for the first time in a long time, and as much I've been dreading leaving Ireland, all my new friends (especially Michelle Claffey and the UL LR ladies (: ), and my bum-like lifestyle, our catch up session made me realize how much I have to look forward too when I return to the States. Between job prospects, visiting with old friends, playing rugby, sitting down for home-cooked family dinners, and getting back to the Pennsylvania region, I've got a lot to be excited about.
Although I plan on returning to my mediocre jobs as a professional ice maker and dish bitch, I'm making other plans for bigger and better things for the upcoming semesters. With loads of jobs in the writing field being advertised and encouraged through Penn State's College of Communications, I think I will have many opportunities to pick up writing gigs next semester. I'm also excited and a little nervous about my new position at the Daily Collegian this summer. As the new Copy Desk Chief, I'm in charge of the headlines and cutlines that make the paper, and looking over the final edit before the paper is printed. It's a lot more responsibility than my former reporting jobs, but I'm thrilled with the challenge. It should make for great experience, not to mention it will look amazing on my real job resume. Also I'm excited to hang out with my friends for the summer!
When I return I know I'm going to miss Ireland like crazy, but the one thing that is going to make my transition to the States a little easier is rugby. I hope to play at PSU, and although I haven't heard back from the coach yet, I want to take part in summer training session and hopefully a touch team. Not only will it remind me of Ireland, it will hopefully whip my fat ass back into shape. The guinness and hot chicken rolls have not been kind to me this semester!
But most importantly, I'm excited to see my family, boyfriend and friends again. My experiences abroad have been amazing and it was one the best things I've ever done, but I can't wait to get home and share it with everyone! I'm already planning a date with my boy, a meal with my parents, a bar crawl with my buddies and a girls night when I get back to the 814 I call home.
I'm sad that my time in Ireland is coming to an end, but really it's the beginning — the beginning of a new chapter, a new start and a new attitude to take back to my old life.

The Final Countdown

Three weeks left until I leave Europe and only two until I leave Ireland. Finals begin tomorrow and people are starting to leave. The end is near and I do not like it one bit.
I'm excited to see my family and friends back in the States and I'm pumped to get back to Penn State, but I don't want to leave Ireland at all. Lucky for me I'm living up my last few weeks of the most amazing semester away I could have possibly imagined. Spain and Portugal were a nice vacation from vacation, getting back to my friends in Limerick was awesome, and the parties we are throwing to celebrate the end of this amazing experience are record breaking.
I ventured to Spain with three of my friends, soaking up the sun and a lot of sangria along the way. We laid on the beach, we napped in parks and chilled at bars. The relaxation was brilliant, but the cultural experience was even better. I learned how to cook and serve tapas, a Spanish tradition much like appetizers, eight or nine dishes are served and shared among a group of friends. I also got to participate in a Spanish cooking class, making the best seafood paella I've ever had. I can't wait to cook the dish for my friends and family back home.

After our many meals we watched some of the coolest and sexiest dancing I've ever seen — flamenco. The band and the couple that danced on stage drew me in completely with their rhythmic beat, sultry stares and smokey voices. I found myself crushing hard core on the dark, scruffy man in tight pants and admiring the strong steps and smooth movements of the dark-eyed woman moving with him to the music. It made me wish my rhythm extended past shimmying my hips awkwardly whenever a bumping song comes on. Yes, Spanish culture and weather was nice vacation from the much chillier, much less musically sexy Ireland.
Next was Portugal, a country was more impoverished, yet equally as beautiful as any other country in Europe. The ancient walls of the streets were covered in graffiti and the people of Porto were old and jaded looking. The architecture was amazing and the seaside and riverside were gorgeous, but all the while there was a sad sense of better days, days long gone. We took a boat cruise along the water and sampled the famous Port wine of the region. It was a little to sweet for my taste, but I can understand what all the hype was about, the wine itself was lavish in color and flavor, tickling my tongue with fruity and flowery flavors. Two friends from Limerick flew in for a tour of Croft wine cellars, where we sampled wine and chocolate and snapped some beautiful photos. Although I enjoyed our time there, I was definitely ready to come back to Ireland.

So I made sure my return was just an extension of my study week vacation. I watched a few rugby matches and had our first going away gathering for a few of the Canadians I've grown to love! It was a good night out downtown in Limerick and although it's going to suck saying goodbye, I know that the goodbyes will only be good memories of the last few weeks we all have together!

P.S. On a rugby note, I won the best newcomer award! Hopefully the Penn State team will have me in the fall :)