here, there, and everywhere!

Perhaps you’ve been wondering where I’ve been, since I was MIA from this blog for so long.

There isn’t just one answer. Actually, there are three: Belfast, Berlin, and London!!
In the interest of bringing all of us up to speed, I’ll hit ya quick with a highlight from each place. And some pictures to boot. Sound good? Good!

Ready. Set.

BELFAST! Far and away the best part of the Belfast weekend was the Giant’s Causeway. Here’s a snippet from my journal: “We finished off with a visit to the Giant’s Causeway, aka my favorite stop of the day. It didn’t look like anything special until we got close…and then, WONDER! I still don’t know how those stones formed – what kind of geology could arrange the rocks into such perfect hexagonal slates? It was a God-sized mosaic – a natural puzzle, with no piece out of place. It kind of a had the look of Superman’s crystal palace in some places because of how the hexagons formed in long stalk-like cylinders. The ocean waves swelled to reach my height and perform great splashes, sending mist into the air and onto our faces! It was refreshing and powerful, alive and majestic. It was enduring, in a word.”


BERLIN! Let’s see here….highlights include scoping the East Side Gallery, munching my first ever Bratwurst, crashing a world premier at a film festival, chatting with Katie in a café before our movie started, surfing 24 hour public transit, and jamming out karaoke with Katie (“Surfin’ USA” was a big hit…really, it was). There’s probably a lot I could say, but the trouble is…where could I start? Tell you what: I’ll just give you MORE pictures!

LONDON! Late night pizza feast with the girls: after two long walks, two long bus rides, a flight, and Tube navigation, we arrived in London at 11:30pm – hungry. Not much was open, but there was (conveniently enough) a Pizza Hut. The guy who was working either thought we were cute or was trying to get rid of leftover food, because we got two pizzas, a liter Pepsi, cheesy bread, and chicken strips all for the price of one extra large. We walked our feast back to the hostel and ate it on the landing of the top floor by the curved banister with velvet carpet. A classy midnight snack, that’s for sure! Next highlight? Early morning coffee before the mad-map-dash began: I got up before the others and had some quiet/alone time at a nice café before the busy day started. It felt good to get an orientation on the map, to explore, to have distance, and to wake up properly (with a caramel macchiato) before the day even kicked off. Notting Hill and Westminster Abbey both top the chart, as well. By the end of the weekend, I felt as if I’d lived for 2 weeks instead of 2 days in that vibrant, catchy city. I definitely want to make it back there some day :)

So there you have it! Three cities in 500 words. But that’s not including the pictures…which are each worth 1000 words. So really this post makes for an epic narrative, all things considered. Thanks for checking in, by the way! I’ll try to keep these posts coming a little bit more regularly :)

Cheers!

Random Thoughts/Reflections

Titles are hard to come up with!!

Let's begin with an observation concerning the late-teen/early-twenty wardrobe existing here in Galway. Galwegian girls (yes, that's what you call 'em) wear dresses and tights to school in rain/wind/sunshine/but probably rain. However, the "lads" generally wear some sort of sports apparel, or a good 'ol fashioned Hollister hoodie. That's right folks! Hollister almost seems more popular here than in Hollister itself. Somehow, I always get a private laugh when they think they're being all 'surfer west,' when the town of Hollister is actually 40 minutes away from any ocean. Bahaahha! (That's me having a not-so private laugh).

Honestly? I'm feeling a bit nutty today, and I figured I'd try writing this blog "stream of conscious-style," as per homeboy James Joyce. Holla!

But you're probably not super interested in my strange tangents, so let's get down to business, shall we?

To count I've played in three rugby games. We won the first two but lost Wednesday against our fierce rival, University of Limerick. The girls are pretty sure we can beat them in the finals though, so we'll see. Mom will be glad to know that I've sustained no major injuries. Save a few bruises, a jammed finger, and a bloody lip I remain completely whole. But really, the injuries just makes me feel kinda cool. :)

I went on a bus tour to Connemara this past Saturday. Four of my roomies and I romped around the countryside and explored Kylemore Abbey, a beautiful castle nestled away into a fold of mountainside adjacent to the calmest of calm lakes. I've included a few pictures below for your viewing pleasure. My favorite photo-op-stop (yeah rhyme!) on the tour was at a place dubbed "The Oldest Place in the World" by the Normans. Apparently, when the Normans stumbled upon the silent valley they decided that only a place so very old could maintain such a tangible peace. Interestingly enough, they were geologically correct: it is the oldest vista in all of Ireland. I also saw many woolly sheep, glass-topped lakes, and moss-bound trees throughout the day.

This weekend I'm busing out to the Cliffs of Moher, one Ireland's more iconic beauties. The next weekend is full of Belfast, and the weekend after that will take place in Berlin...at the International Film Festival! I'm so excited! I'll letcha know how all of that goes.

My roomies and I have been playing lots of cards lately (SO fun). We've built up quite the game set-list so that we can comfortably rotate between the games to keep the fun "fresh." Our latest addition is "Nerts", a Fletch fam fave - cough Christin cough :) - this addition has actually become an addiction, and the enthusiasm is spreading fast.

One final update item: for my English Service Learning course I get to tutor at a homework club for elementary age students. On Mondays I walk over to Scoil Bhride (pronounced "Skowl - Breegsh") and help with spelling and maths and...usually we end up coloring. :) I've gotten to be in the same classroom for two weeks in a row, and the kids are starting to warm up to me. They get a kick out of my accent and ask charming questions. One little girl asked my friend Katie if she knew Barack Obama. Cute, right?

Alright, ladies and gents. That's all I got for now. Have a good week! Thanks for sticking through to the end of this slightly manic blog post!!!

Some pics and some highlights --

--sorry about those pics that fell over, I can't seem to make them rotate appropriately--


Hello all!
Here are some pictures just to give you a sense of what things look like over here. The first one is of one of Dublin's quaint little streets, and then the rest are of exploratory escapades in Galway. The one by the sign that says "De Burgo" is relatively interesting in terms of heritage. I hail from the Burke clan (removed, of course, by a few generations). BUT, the Burkes were originally called the Burgo's, and it just so happens that the Burgo clan is one of the 14 original tribes that founded Galway city. Go figure.

Okie Dokie...there's so much I could tell you about my time here so far. But perhaps I can save most of that for later, and share a coupla highlights?
My roomies are great - I can already tell that we're going to be friends and get along well. There's five of us total, and we live in the corner apartment of the building - which means my room as TWO windows (holla!).
I've discovered Revive - a quaint cafe and crepery overlooking Shop St, the main cobblestone thoroughfare of the old city centre. I've already claimed three stamps on my frequent visit card. I'm mere steps away from a free mocha. Need I say more?
And I've signed up for more clubs and societies than should be allowed. Just gotta dive head first into the social sphere, is what they say (or should say, I'll wager). I have signed up for the women's rugby team, which I'm sure will be a BLAST if my body survives. At least I know that I can live through a black eye - ask Wendy for that story, it's a good one :) - so I know I'll be able to persevere!
Cheers, everyone!

Hello Again!

Hello friends and family!

Welcome back to the blog...I'm reopening this site so that I might keep you all updated as I explore Ireland, and as I endear myself to Galway - a small city on the west coast of the country where I'll be studying for this spring semester.

Feel free to check back as often as you like - I'll do my best to keep this thing updated, but I can't (in all honesty) promise prompt posts :) Even still, you all mean a lot to me, so I want to keep you in the loop of my thoughts and experiences as best I can...from across the pond!

Okie dokie...that'll do for an intro, I suppose. I'll post something up soon to get the momentum rollin'. But for now, cheers!!!