I Wish My Eyes Were Cameras (Week 5: Sept. 28 - Oct. 4)

Good evening (well technically it is nighttime over here, at a whopping 10:52 p.m.) everyone! I am dreadfully sorry for being so tardy on this update, but for good reason! I had my first, yes, you heard right, FIRST assignment due yesterday so I was working diligently on that....psyche. But I still had to turn it in, so that deterred me from my weekly update. Plus, I had to fill out some forms and stuff for Richmond, so that took a while as well. I don't know about y'all, but I think this Irish time is throwing me off like whoa. I'll try to get back on some semblance of a schedule next week, but here we go again:

Sept. 28

Kind of a waste of a day, not going to lie. It was a lazy day by Irish standards, so by American standards, it was probably nonexistent. I just spent the day being lazy and recovering from the immense lack of sleep (not to mention that little festival in Germany, OKTOBERFEST). And during that pathetic little festival, I somehow lost my mobile (cell phone for Amurricans, see I'm picking up the slang already), so I reluctantly had to purchase a new one. Luckily though, I could keep my same number and the credit transferred over too, so it wasn't nearly as big of an ordeal as I expected. I did manage to make it to my weekly psychology class, which proved to be entertaining and informative as we had guest speakers in our "Human Sexuality" class. It was....interesting....to say the least. Then I came back and updated blog, like it says on the previous post, ha.

Sept. 29

I mistakenly thought I had an early class today....FAIL. Turns out that it's next week that it starts up. Grr. Then....D-Day. My computer started acting funny, and not in a fun way. My poor, precious MacBook Pro was dying because the hard drive was full? How could that be?! Must be all of those pictures I seem to take...

I came home from classes and got ready for basketball training. It's been really fun and I enjoy getting a different form of exercise every once in a while. Unfortunately, the coach said that since I'm only here for one semester, I can't be on the "A" Squad. Boooooooooo. And not to sound cocky or anything, but like I've mentioned before, these Irish girls play like they are Legos or something--very stiff and rigid, not like the fluidity of American ballas. So I decided I'll give the varsities another shot next week (ha. a pun. so clever), and then decide if I still want to play ball over here.

When I got back, I got persuaded to go out to the Cellar bar, sister bar to the Cellar on the Richmond campus (HA. KIDDING), for 5 Euro pitchers with the Fairfield kids. How could you not pass up that golden opportunity, especially when just a pint of Bulmer's Irish Cider (which is quite possibly the most delicious drink I've had over here), is close to 5 Euros?! It turned out to be a nice, fun and relaxing night to take a baby step back into the party zone after that German festival, OKTOBERFEST.

Sept. 30

Got up for class and went to "Gender, Work and Family in Ireland, 1815 - 1922" and then went and bought stamps for some of the postcards I stole/pilfered from OKTOBERFEST. Who knows? MAYBE YOU COULD BE A LUCKY WINNER! CHECK YOUR MAILBOXES FOLKS! But seriously, don't fret if you haven't received a postcard yet...they are expensive! And postage is not cheap either. So, SETTLE DOWN.

After that adventure, I returned home and reluctantly decided that I had to take Ol Reliable to the GalMac Apple retail store. Fortunately, it was close to my apartment, in about the same area as the Garda Immigration station. UNFORTUNATELY, it is cost me 400 Euros! That's like enough 5 Euro pitchers to last me the rest of my time here in Galway! Frustrating Irish Moment of the Day! Ugh, oh well, it was probably worth it in the long run, plus it was about time to upgrade to Snow Leopard (purr, purr) and get a HUUUUUGE external hard drive.

That night, we went over to Gort na Coiribe and hung out with some Irish kids. Then we went to Hole in the Wall, our fave, and tried out Club Cuba. Nice mixture of a pub/club night.

Oct. 1

Rabbit, rabbit! To start October off right, the Irish way, I had my yummy brunch of potato waffles with cheese (mmmmmm cheesy goodness), eggs and peppers. I feel like all I do is eat huge meals over here to eat all of the (expen$ive) groceries since everything has such a short shelf-life.

Then, a beacon of light on a cloudy day: a call from GalMac! Was my computer really fixed in this lightning speed? Nope. Turns out they thought it would be ready, but it wasn't. Waaaaaaah. I realized that it is much more frustrating to know that you can't have your computer when you are bored and know that you should have it back rather than not being able to have one (ie, when you're traveling, it's Not a Big Deal to not have computer access. But when you're in your apartment and the only thing on TV is "Brooke Knows Best" and "MTV Teen Cribs", you want that computer real bad).

Went to my first "tutorial" for one of my history classes today. It was pretty painless, and it made the class more interesting since it was a smaller environment, more similar to what I'm used to at school. It also seemed to be helpful for the midterm...my only real work for any class except for the final. After this semester, I definitely know I would not have liked going to a big state school with 200+ people lectures...I would never go! After that, I worked out and came home to get ready and go out. Turns out the Cellar bar here is much, MUCH better than the one in Richmond, ha ha. 5 Euro cocktails tonight! We met some Holy Cross girls there, and found out that they are here for the entire year! As much as I am loving being abroad right now, it would be so strange to be removed from your home for a whole year. I want to see everyone and go back to campus (notice how I didn't say go back to "school"...I wouldn't mind not having to go to class upon my return. Like THAT will ever happen), but I also want to stay here and travel and experience Ireland. After the Cellar, we went to the Front Door/Sonny's...apparently it has two different names depending on which entrance you use? Only in Ireland...

Oct. 2

I love Fridays. Not only because is it the end of the week, but also because I don't have class! Not that I really go to class all that much anyway, but it just frees up your day so much more. I went over to Ward's Corner Store for lunch with a Fairfield friend, then I got a call from GalMac...MY COMPUTER WAS READY TO BE PICKED UP! O GLORIOUS DAY! After lunch, I trekked over to the store and picked up my precious (not said in a Gollum/Smeagle accent) lil baby computer and immediately began fiddling with it, checking out the new features. Seems nerdy, right? Well, perhaps it is, but it's just soooo nice and beautiful! Never fear, I still have the "No Hovering" sticker and some Keystone stickers. It's a brand new car on the inside with the same paint job on the outside.

Since our apartment was so empty because people were out of town (and partly because we were feeling lazy/wanting alone time), Bryeanna and I decided not to go out in preparation for an early morning traveling with the Fairfield kids to the Burren and the Cliffs of Moher.

Oct. 3

Woke up early to book it over to the Fairfield kids apartments since we were tagging along with their program. They live all the way on the other side of campus by the canal, so it was quite the hike. And of course, right as we're about to embark on an adventure, it starts to be misty and windy. Great. Aran Islands trip, part deux. FAIL. Luckily though, once we started traveling southwest, it was clearing up. Woot woot. The Fairfield kids are lucky: they have all of these trips paid for through their program, plus they have a precious older Irish lady, Anne, who is their guide/go-to gal. She was so sweet to Bryeanna, Kelly (from Wisconsin- Madison) and I for tagging along.

We passed a lot of ruins of castles, though some castles are still used for themed dinners, teas, etc. We made our way through the Burren, a limestone-landscape region south of Galway, in County Clare. It was very hilly and rocky, but still gorgeous scenery. Our first stop was the Aillwee Cave, one of Ireland's most famous caves in the Burren. It was really fascinating to go inside of the cave, especially because ancient European Brown Bear fossil bones have been excavated inside of the cave. The European Brown Bear, extinct for many years now, was possibly larger than grizzly bears. Not your cuddly teddy bear. There were a lot of interesting rock formations, like stalagmites, stalactites, etc. One of the highlights was the "Frozen Waterfall", a series of stalagmites and stalactites connected from growing together, looking like a frozen waterfall. Then, there was a real waterfall! That was really cool as well, seeing an underground river/waterfall, since the cave was at one time a much larger underground river, with fossils of sea creatures imprinted on the ceiling of the cave. Another cool part about the cave trip was when the guide turned off the lights. You really couldn't seen anything, not even your own hand in front of you.

After the cave trip, we made our way over to the Cliffs of Moher, seeing more beautiful countryside, ancient ruins and dolmens, ancient stone tombs from the Neolithic period. One of the most famous, the Poulnabrone dolmen, was built before the Egyptian pyramids! Clearly that just shows how the Irish have been leading the way in heavy-stone lifting architecture since the dawn of time...

Then we finally reached the Cliffs of Moher! But we were starving (it was nearly 2 p.m. and no snacks!), so we hit up the cafe first to nourish our cold, wind-blown bodies. Little did we know about how much more windy and blustery it could get out on the cliffs! We made our way over to the edge of County Clare, Ireland. It was absolutely breathtaking. I find it hard articulating and describing the beauty of the cliffs. So much green land falls away to limestone rock which gets swallowed in the sea, the sea being the Atlantic Ocean. Here are a few pictures, though I still think that if my eyes were cameras, then and only then would they do this description justice. As one can see, it is gorgeous. And very windy, clearly by my windswept gingery locks and disheveled appearance. No matter, this was definitely one of the best trips I have ever and probably will ever take. We spent quite a lot of time at the cliffs, exploring the right side (which was more touristy and more safe with big guard rails) which had O'Brien's Tower on that side. It cost 2 Euro to go up to the top, so we decided it was too windy to pay that price. Then we went over to the left side. On the left side of the cliffs, there is a sign saying the typical: "DO NOT GO PAST THIS SIGN"....we went past it. It was so cool to walk along such an ancient path, weather beaten and worn from many rebels taking the road less traveled.

After spending about two hours there, it was time to come back home to Galway. We rested up for a little bit then headed back over to the Fairfield kids apartments to pregame before we went out. And did we go out. We definitely "stamped it up", where the club and pub promoters walk around Eyre Square and Shop Street stamping people and stickering them for free drinks, free admission, etc. I think we hit up every free promotion...and why not? We're poor American college students, we need all the help we can get.

Oct. 4

To add to a full weekend of Irish culture and travels, I went to the Ballinasloe Horse Fair Sunday with a few other Richmond girls. The Ballinasloe Horse Fair is the oldest horse fair in Europe, and it was really interesting to go to one. There were horses....EVERYWHERE. People were riding them on the street alongside cars, and of course, there was poop everywhere. Ew. What was worse though, was what some of the local girls were wearing (or rather, what they weren't wearing). They were very scantily clad, looking like they were ready for their next shift at Paper Moon or some other "exotic dancing" club, or maybe they were trying out for Pretty Woman, working the streets. I don't think either of these were the case, but it didn't make much sense to wear super high-heeled stilettos, booty shorts, and tube tops to a HORSE fair.

From a high vantage point in Ballinasloe, we were able to see the entire green space which was COVERED by horses and their owners, trying to sell them. It was a horsey girl's dream come true. Every kind of horse in all shapes, sizes, colors, etc. was there to be sold. I think I saw the entire cast of Black Beauty: Merry Legs, Ginger and of course, Black Beauty. This whole day reminded me of the horse fairs depicted in Black Beauty, and I was immediately transported back into a little 10-year-old girl, wanting THAT pony and THIS pony...ah wishful thinking.

I'm really glad I braved the crowded, smelly streets of Ballinasloe for the Horse Fair (hey, it was listed as one of the festivals to go to in my Irish tour guide book). And no one got kicked/trampled by a horse (though we did see several stallions rear up and try to escape/kick someone). SUCCESS!

So here ends another eventful week in Ireland, full of adventures. I shall try to get back on my "schedule" of blogging on Sunday, Sunday, SUNDAY(said in a crescendoing, booming, resounding way, similar to a sports announcer or a furniture salesman from Haynes saying that "This is the biggest sale of all time and it only happens once" type of thing). Hope all is well, wherever in the world you may be!