A stressful Monday/Week

Monday, October 10th: Today I went to class which was fine but I decided I really needed to email the Head of the English department at UR about getting my English credit approved. Background: I am taking a class on Shakespeare where we are reading 8 of his plays with in depth discussions. However, in Ireland visiting students are only tested with one grade. Meaning one final or one paper is 100% of your grade. That being said when I asked to get the English credit approved Head of English at UR said it wasn't enough essay writing. For the time being I left it at that but the home students have to do a midterm essay as well as the final essay. So I emailed Richmond Lady asking if I did the midterm essay and had my professor grade it would she accept the credit. I also explained that I am taking two business, a psychology, and history class, and I was planning on taking a fine arts class but there was literally no options unless I was a drama major (haha). So English was my only option here. She finally emailed me back saying that was fine. (She also sends very intense emails...) Then I emailed my Professor at NUI Galway and explained the situation stating that I didn't want it to be put into my final grade I just wanted him to read over it and give it a grade, like a practice essay or rough draft. He then emailed me back explaining that I needed to contact the Head of the English Department at NUI Galway because he didn't know what he could do in this situation. Ugh. So I emailed this lady explaining what was happening. Thankfully she said that it wouldn't be in my final grade but that if he had time he could look over the essay. So I forwarded this to him and he said ok. Thank God! He also said instead of needing it to be done on the 19th it could be given to him by the end of the month.

Tuesday, October 11th: Some of the above emailing happened on Tuesday but whatever. Also on Tuesday we had a guest speaker in my Marketing class which was really cool! The class I'm taking is called Marketing Media Communications and we had the VP Marketing and VP Communications from Medecins sans Frontieres/ Doctors without Boarders (Ireland) come and speak to our class. We were put in groups by our professor (fundraising, volunteering, and guerrilla/viral) of about 6 people per group and our semester long assignment is to create a marketing campaign for Medecins sans Frontieres. At the end of the semester we will present our marketing campaign to the two VPs and if they like one of our ideas they have a budget of 15,000 euros and a two week span in which one of our ads will most likely run during Easter of this year. My group was assigned Guerrilla/Viral marketing and I am really excited. 


Wednesday, October 12th: I didn't have class till 6pm today so I went to the library to read Hamlet, Macbeth, and Othello for my essay...fun times!


Thursday, October 13th: Class and library for this essay, woo! Then we decided to go see The Three Musketeers in 3D. It was pretty good, the dialogue was really, really lacking. But the special effects were neat. 


Friday, October 14th: Ummmm I can't remember but I'm gonna go with some more procrastinating and Shakespeare writing? :) 

The Aran Islands

The Lighthouse

Sunday, October 9th: Today we woke up very early and met up with a group that the International Student Society put together in order to go to the Aran Islands. We met the group at 8:30, even though the bus did not arrive until 9:10 (as per usual in Ireland). Once on the bus (which was a giant, double decker charter bus) we had a long, rainy ride to the docks (about 45minutes). Once at the docks they told us we weren't allowed to board the ferry until 10:30, however it was freezing so luckily they let us on a little early. Then, I passed out and totally fell asleep until about half way through the ferry ride when the boat was tossing and turning. The waves were crazy!!! Now I never ever get sea sick, or any motion sickness for that matter. (I could read a size 9 novel in the back on an off roading bus going 70mph... and probably be just fine :P) however, that was not how everyone else felt. Siel and Elizabeth were dying (I'm talking hood over there eyes, trying not to move their heads, deep breath type shit. Emily and I were fine haha. And the rest of the boat...well they were all kind of dying too (a few people puked...yuck!) I'm not really sure why if you knew you were taking a ferry an 1 and a half to an island and you know you get see sick why a) you would go in the first place or b) why you wouldn't bring meds...whatever! Not my probably as long as no one pukes on or around me (thank God they didn't!).

The walk to the lighthouse (this doesn't do it justice)

Once on the island, most people rent bikes for the day because the island is only 9 miles long at 3-5 miles wide. However, the wind and rain was insane so Siel, Emily, Elizabeth, and I decided biking probably wasn't a good idea. We decided to get lunch first. We went into the ONLY grocery store on the island and bought sandwiches and chips (crisps) and waters and had a nice little picnic until it started to rain again. We also met some lovely kitties (I gave them some of my chicken and I immediately and two new BFFS). After lunch we went into the sweater shop (which I'm now learning is literally the exact same as every other sweater shop in Ireland). After Emily bought a hat we went outside and realized we really needed to figure out what we were going to do for the next 5-6 hours!

Hanging off the cliffs

I forgot to mention that when you get off the ferry there are about 20 vans waiting that will drive you around the island and let you see everything you need to see while telling you all about the history and whatnot. (They are vans...but they aren't that sketchy :P) One of these van men came up to us and said that he could should us everything we wanted, let us stop at each stop for as long as we wanted, and get us back with plenty of time to make the ferry, all for 10 euros each. We decided that was much better than walking (and the same price as a bike rental so...we got in the van).

It was great! He narrated the entire tour, told us how you may only live on the island is your family is from there or if you marry into a family that is from there (he was the latter), the island also only has one doctor with 3 nurses and if there is an emergency you must take the ferry, speedboat, or life flight helicopter, and there is only one grocery store for the 800 residents on the island.

Cliffs

During all this we stopped at the light house (which was the most entertaining hike ever! He told us it was right up the hill and that he'd wait till we got back and it would probably only take us like 20 minutes. Well it didn't take us long to get to the lighthouse, however the path to get there was literally straight uphill and muddy! We all were extremely out of breath and almost fell on our faces multiple times haha). Once at the top we couldn't see much since it was not a clear day but you could climb to the top of the tower which was very high and pretty sketchy. And behind the tower was an old circle fort which was really cool!

Then we went to another circle fort right on the edge on the cliffs and after we looked for seals (but they weren't there) and then he just drove us around talking about the town until it was time to go back.

Cemetery 

Once back on the ferry I fell asleep, but apparently it wasn't as turbulent. Then we took the bus back, walked back to the apartment and basically passed out. Overall, a great day :)

Lazy two days and The Lion King in 3D!

Friday, October 7th: Today, I literally did nothing. I had an extremely relaxing day consisting of catching up on sleep and TV shows.

Saturday, October 8th: We are going to the Aran Islands tomorrow so Elizabeth and I decided to go find a cafe where we could do some reading and school work since we would have no time on Sunday. We walked into town and just as we got there it started to rain. So, everyone did what you do in Galway when it starts to rain, then cleared the streets and went into the cafes and pubs. Most of the cafes we tried were already quite packed and outdoor seating was not an option. So, we did what we always do...we went to The King's Head. There we were able to find a quieter table upstairs, order coffee, and do some work. I read a chapter of my Psychology textbook only to realize it was totally pointless and about the history of Biological Psychology which is something we will never be tests on...oops. Later, we went back to the apartment so Elizabeth could change before Catholic Mass and we could eat dinner before we went and saw The Lion King in 3D! The Lion King was amazing!!! So many childhood memories. Everyone was bouncing along and mouthing all the songs! And the end fight scene between Scar and Simba was crazy in 3D! I hope they re release all the classic Disney movies in theaters. So amazing!! 

Aaaaamazing!!

Lazy, lazy, lazy days!

Tuesday, October 4th: The day started off with my Finance test. We walked into the classroom and all the tests were laid out on all the desks and it looked very official and intimidating! Then as we were taking the test, our professor and another professor were circling the room, looking down the rows and like glaring at all of us. It was a very stressful situation. Despite this, the test was actually not bad at all and when it was over we only had to turn in our answers and we were allowed to keep our actual test with all our work. So Elizabeth and I compared answers and turns out we only differed on 4 problems which means even if I got all 4 wrong I would have still gotten an 85% and at NUI Galway you only need a 70% to get an A.

After the test I was completely useless the rest of the day. I went to my two other classes but my brain was totally shut off. Oh well! That night I just relaxed and did nothing.

Wednesday, October 5th: Literally, I did nothing all day. I watched TV and relaxed and caught up on sleep. Then the only class of the day from 6-7pm was cancelled. Best day ever haha!

Thursday, October 6th: Today, I woke up went to Finance and then learned that my Psychology class as a tutorial (NUI Galway's version of a lab) associated with it. So from 12-1pm I went to my first tutorial. The tutorial consisted of us doing absolutely nothing related to the class. In class we are learning about cells and their functions and in the tutorial she talked about right brain vs left brain and then we took our resting heart rate...did jumping jacks for 3 minutes and took our heart rate again...pointless class. Then I went to the actual Psychology class, then my history class and then back to the apartment to relax and do nothing for the rest of the night!

HAPPY 21st BIRTHDAY TYLER SCHMAUCH!

Monday, October 3rd: No I didn't actually get to see Tyler on his birthday however I did start the day off by waking up at 7am so I could be the first to write on his Facebook wall at midnight his time :) Then I got back in bed and woke up an hour later to get ready, have breakfast with my parents and then drive with them to the airport. Everything was going smoothly until we got in the car to drive to the airport and the GPS wouldn't turn on. Scotty ran back in the hotel and asked them to print out directions to the airport however Ireland doesn't really do street signs or addresses...instead the directions we got printed out said things like "at the third intersection turn right" and "at the 5th stop sign turn left". However! I am the smartest person ever and realized that the GPS was plugged into the car charger through a USB port so I got out my netbook from my purse and plugged the GPS into that so it had just enough charge to give us directions to the airport! Yay me! Once there it was hard to find the rental car return because they call it "Car Hire". Once we figured that out everything was fine and we got to the airport with plenty of time! Then mom and Scotty checked in and we said our goodbyes. The goodbyes were really hard because I realized I won't see them for over two months but we made it through and I went to buy my ticket for my bus ride back to Galway.

Once on the bus, after it left Dublin Airport and stopped in Dublin City to pick up other people for the direct trip to Galway, I gave people the death glare so they wouldn't sit next to me (I really wanted my own row since last time this lady was literally falling asleep on me haha). Luckily, it worked and I was one of two rows with only on person! YAY! During the ride I studied my Finance flashcards (I had a test the next day that I hadn't studied for at all!). Then I arrived back in Galway just in time to drop off my bag and go to class. After my two classes I came back and studied for Finance and then went to sleep :)

Mom and Scotty's last full day in Ireland

Sunday, October 3rd: We woke up bright and early this morning because there were two churches we wanted to see but because it was Sunday they were only open for a few hours out of the day. We started off the day jumping on the double decker bus and heading to St. Patrick's church. It was so beautiful! The church was HUGE! Much longer than I thought it was going to be. And there were cool graves and memorial statues all along the sides of the church and the stain glass windows were beautiful. Also, since the church service was starting within the hour the choir (made up of all men ages 6 or 7 to 80ish) was practicing and they were amazing!!

St. Patrick's Church

St. Patrick

The 5th Ingredient

After we went to the Guinness Factory which was expensive but actually really fun. The entire factory is created to look like an enormous pint class. It was at least 7 floors each dedicated to a different aspect of the drink; ingredients  marketing, tasting, Guinness global, etc... Then at the very top of the factory is a giant sky bar that is one of the tallest points in the city and you can see the entire city from the all glass bar. It was so cool!! 

After the sky bar mom was feeling a little sick so she decided to go back to the hotel and nap for an hour or so while Scotty and I went to have lunch. We went to this really cute pub and I had Irish Stew which was so good! It was basically a lot of lamb with a little broth :) And some giant carrots and potatoes, yum! Then Scotty and I shopped around a little and went into some really cool, expensive stores. Then we went back to the hotel to get mom and Mom and I decided we wanted to go to a church called St. Mitchen's that has catacombs.

Guinness

We took a taxi over to the church but the gates were closed. We walked around the entire outside of the church only to conclude the the guide book lied and that it wasn't open on Sundays. So we got into another taxi so we could meet Scotty at the National Art Museum. Our taxi ride was hilarious to say the least. The driver was a big Irish guy who was extremely opinionated (in a kind of good way) but the best part was everything was "f**ing" and "a**hole" and all of this profanity that would not have been ok in the states, too funny!

Then we met Scotty at the art museum which is about a 7 story building and we had one hour before it closed. We went in the first exhibit called something along the lines of "the highlights". There were beautiful paintings by really famous artists like Monet, it was really cool! Then we left the exhibit to go upstairs and the stairs were blocked. Finally we asked the receptionist and she said the building was getting a new roof and that's why they had the highlight exhibit...so it was perfect! We managed to see everything they had to offer in under an hour haha. 

Guinness Ads

Sharing one between the 3 of us haha

Sky Bar

After, we went back to the hotel and got ready for dinner. We went to dinner downtown and a little restaurant with an open kitchen. It was really, really good! Then we headed back to the hotel so they could sleep before they're flight in the morning.

Late Start and a Rainy Day

Saturday, October 1st: We got a bit of a late start today and it was pouring rain. We had wonderful weather in Galway but apparently Dublin was not going to be as nice. So we decided to hop on the double decker bus tour (they take you to all the major stops around the city while giving you awesome information at the same time). The tour non stop was about an hour and a half long so because it was so rainy we decided to stay on it all the way around before getting off. Once we got off we went to lunch at a really, really old pub. When we got there mom and I found a booth right by the front door and sat down while we waited for Scotty. Once Scotty got there he made some friends with the other men watch football (soccer) in the pub and mom and I had lunch. While we were eating the bartender came over to tell us a little history about the pub. Turns out the "booth" my mom and I were sitting was really the booth that way back in the day (aka up until the 60s or 70s) the women sat there because they weren't allowed in the pub. It even had its own private door and doorbell for the women so they could get there drunken husbands attention. So funny!

After lunch we went to the natural history museum (aka the dead zoo) with all the taxidermy animals. There were 100s! It was really cool. Then mom confessed she once wanted to be a taxidermist when she was little...haha she is an odd duck! Next we went to the Medieval history museum which was really neat because a lot of things there I had learned about in my history class in Ireland. Very cool!

Finally, we headed back to the hotel and had dinner at the restaurant bar again before getting a good nights sleep for mom and Scotty's last full day in Ireland!

Dublin for the Weekend!

Friday, September 30th: Today we woke up and drove to Dublin! With a few stops on the way. First we stopped in a little town for lunch and just to look around.


Then we stopped in a town where Mel Gibson chose the castle he filmed Braveheart in (even though its in Ireland not Scotland).

Scotty and Me in front of the Castle 

Newgrange

The opening of the Tomb

 Finally, even though it was extremely rainy but we decided to go ahead with our plans and go to an ancient tomb called Newgrange. "Newgrange was constructed over 5,000 years ago (about 3,200 B.C.), making it older than Stonehenge in England and the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt. Newgrange was built during the Neolithic or New Stone Age by a farming community that prospered on the rich lands of the Boyne Valley." - www.newgrange.com :) 

Anyway, so we got there and all over the parking lot were signs that said "thieves steal from this lot, park at your own risk." But that was silly because where else were we going to park! The signs got Scotty all nervous but it was a really rainy day and during off season so mom and I convinced him that it would be fine! Then we went inside to the visitors center and they told us a tour was just about to leave to we walked out and got on the shuttle that would take us to the actual tomb. Once at the tomb it was raining really hard so instead of standing outside the tomb for the beginning of the tour they took us inside. to get inside you had to walk down a really, really narrow passage way (basically the width of my body) (good thing there weren't any large people on the tour haha). And then we had to stand in a very small room in the middle of the tomb. The ceiling was really high and there were three small "rooms" on the three sides of the main room where most likely remains were placed. All the walls and ceilings were made by placing very large stones tightly together so it held up the structure. It was so cool!! And kind of eerie! Then we were told that the reason Newgrange is so amazing is because one day a year (the winter solstice) just after sunrise sunlight comes through a 12 inch "window" just above the door to the tomb and it hits the crooked rising entry way just right so the room in the tomb is flooded with light...it stays like that for a few hours until the sun moves and the room become dark again just like every other day of the year. Crazy that people could figure out how to do something like that!!

Me in the rain!

After the tour we wandered around the museum and read all about the tombs and the other ones like it. It was really interesting! Then we got back into the car (don't worry it didn't get broken into!) before we headed the rest of the way to Dublin!

Wine Cellar

Once in Dublin we went to our hotel (Scotty was so nice and got me my own queen room! Best weekend of sleep ever!!!) and we relaxed for a while before going downstairs to the hotel bar restaurant for dinner. The restaurant was so cool! The walls were all rock and a lot of the tables were in little rooms by themselves and the food just like everywhere in Ireland was amazing!!! Later we went back to our rooms to get a good nights sleep before I big day the next day!

Hallway down the 

restaurant

Mom's Birthday!!!

Thursday, September 29th: Happy Birthday Mom!!! I was completely planning on going to my 9am Fiance class today but unfortunately...I didn't make it haha. At 10:30am Mom and Scotty picked me up and we planned on spending the day in Galway seeing the town. First we found a little pub that was serving breakfast. There is only one kind of breakfast you are able to get in Ireland; two fried eggs, a ton of toast, sausage, bacon, and "pudding" which are these weird patty thing. So we sat down for our Irish breakfast which was really good but I definitely miss American breakfast since I am not the best at cooking eggs. Afterwards, we shopped around Galway looking at sweaters, scarves, souvenirs, etc...

Then, we decided to go on a boat tour of the major river that goes through Galway. We literally made the boat just in time (while parking in an illegal parking spot...oh well haha). The tour was really cool! I walk on a bridge over the river everyday to get to class...little did I know there was an ancient castle right down the river as well as the fact that the rive leads into a giant lake! It was awesome! Then we had a relaxing ride back and a nap at the hotel before a late dinner.

Castle

Castle

Boat Tour

Dinner was in an area 10 or so minutes from Galway called Salthill. The restaurant was the sister restaurant of the one we went on the 26th when the restaurant we wanted went out of business. This restaurant, O'Grady's on the Pier, was very small but had some of the nicest people ever working there! And the food was amazing!!! Mom's fish as some of the best fish I had ever had. So good! After dinner we went back to the hotel to get some sleep before driving to Dublin the next day. 

Hotel Tea Room

Hotel Lounge

Hotel Lobby haha Hello UTAH!

MY BIRTHDAY!!!! 21 YEARS OLD!!!

21st Birthday!!! 

Wednesday, September 28th: IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!!!! Last night I spent the night at my parents hotel so today we could wake up and have to whole day to spend celebrating my birthday! We got up, got ready, and started driving to Kylemore Abbey. Along the way we stopped in a really cute town and found an awesome place for lunch. Mom and I shared fish and chips and muscles and it was delicious! Then we wandered the town for a little while before getting back in the car and heading for the Abbey.

Kylemore Abbey was absolutely beautiful. It was first built as a castle like structure as a gift for someone's wife. Then it was later bought and the inside was redecorated (which is why the inside doesn't look nearly as cool as the outside) and then it became an Abbey for nuns and a boarding school for children. Also, there is an enormous garden and a really cool church! The abbey was exactly what I wanted to see for my birthday! It was so beautiful!

The Abbey

Abbey (very windy)

Kitty in the Garden

Not really a fan of the Donkey

The Garden

Mom and me

Scotty and me

Awe!

Me!

Our lunch spot

After we drove back to Galway so we could all get ready for my birthday night!! When I got back to my apartment I started getting ready when my apartment mates came in and surprised me with presents! It was so sweet!! Elizabeth got a button for my shirt that said "It's my Birthday!" and it was blue and pink which was so perfect! Emily got me a shot glass that said "I <3 Ireland", a wand (the base of which was a glow stick), and a butterfly that went over my key so I didn't lose it :) Also, Siel and Tonya got me 6 really fancy cupcakes! It was so sweet! They also got everyone in the apartment to sign a card for me (which was amazing because I NEVER see one of my roommates but they tracked him down to sign the card haha).


After I was all ready to go Scotty picked me up and brought me back to their hotel where we had dinner. First we started in the bar where we toasted with Champagne and they gave me my birthday present which was a beautiful David Yurman cuff bracelet with two pearls on the end and really little diamonds. I absolutely love it!!! Then we went into the restaurant for dinner. The food was amazing!!! And when I ordered desert it had a candle and in chocolate it said "Happy 21st Birthday!" So fun!!

Then I texted Elizabeth and Emily and they met us at the King Head to start celebrating my birthday! At the King's Head there was live music and two of the waiters got up on stage and did traditional Irish clog dancing which was amazing! Next we went to a bar called Coyote (named after the movie Coyote Ugly) It is Galway's version of an American Bar with USA license plates all over the walls and on weekends a mechanical bull. We only stayed there for a little while before leaving but when we left there was a boy yelling that is was his birthday and so I told him it was mine too and that I was 21...and so was he!!! So fun! Then we ended the night at a bar called Skeffs where there were two guys playing guitars and singing. They were signing songs like "Sweet Home Alabama" to which of course I sang "Sweet Home Delta Gamma". Upon hearing that song I told them it was my birthday and asked if they would see my all time favorite song "American Pie". (All the bar close in Galway at 2am) So as the last song of the night they played American Pie for me! I was so excited!!! BEST BIRTHDAY!!! :)

My last day being 20!

Tuesday, September 27th: 

Mom's dream Cottage: She is moving to Ireland

Little bench over looking the ocean
But its so windy no one would ever sit there!

Mom hiding from the wind!

Today, was the only day I actually had to go to class while my parents were here. I had two hours of Fiance in the morning which I actually needed to go to because I had a test in one week. After that I wasn't planning on going to English but decided to anyway, and then I actually had to go to my two hour Marketing class because we have quizzes each week and she takes attendance.





However, while I was doing this Mom and Scotty went for a drive and ended up finding a cottage that Mom fell in love with and driving along a "Sky Road" that over looked the ocean!

Nimmo's at Ard Bia

Nimmo's at Ard Bia

Our cute little table

Then we met up for dinner where we went to the really cute tiny little restaurant right by the ocean called Nimmos at Ard Bia. The restaurant looked like it was in an old house. We showed up at 7:30 but they told us we wouldn't be seated till 9 and to come back then. But they recommended a great bar that we went to before we could be seated for dinner. The bar had old posters for film festivals and music festivals covering the walls and it had live Irish music which was really fun! Then we went back to the restaurant and the food was wonderful! They also had handmade and hand painted bowls, plates, pitchers, and cups for sale. Mom ended up buying a really pretty bowl with unicorns (its cool I promise) and a pitcher with this little child dressed as a queen (some French thing) on it. They are awesome!

Cliffs of Moher Round 2 and Getting Lost in The Burren

Monday, September 26th: My parents came and picked me at 8:30am thinking we had to drive to Dublin to pick up their bags. Luckily, Delta said they would deliver the bag from the airport to their hotel so instead out day was completely free and open! I took my parents to a very cute cafe that my friends and I go to a lot and we had breakfast and coffee while we decided what to do with our day. We decided since it was a nice day out and we had the entire day free we would go to the Cliffs of Moher.

First, we went to a really cool Abbey/Cemetery along the way.

Abbey

Me :)

Cemetery

Mom and me

Next we decided to go straight to the Cliffs before lunch (getting there around 11am) because that way we could probably get there while it was still good weather and we would miss all the tour buses. When we got there it wasn't raining and it wasn't nearly as windy as when I went the first time! It was so much fun to see the cliffs again! After, we went to the town near by called Doolin where we had lunch at the same pub I had had lunch on my tour. It was just as great as before! Then we went into a few little shops and looked at sweaters and hats before going into a fudge shop and buying really delicious fudge!

Scotty and me

The Cliffs of Moher

:(

"Don't go past this sign"

Next, mom wanted to go to The Burren, which is a giant national park near the cliffs. So she typed into the GPS "The Burren". We drove for about 2 hours in total on little tiny "one way" roads because basically the GPS was just taking us to the center of the national park...not to any landmarks or really anything we wanted to see haha. But, we ended up finding a Perfumery/Tea Room where we stopped and looked at teas and soaps.

Making a wish

"Green Lady" in a bath

Greenery

Mom and me

Yum!

Tea Area

Then we stopped in a really cute port town with fun colored shops and boats. Finally, we decided to head back to Galway to get ready before dinner.

The Match Maker Bar

The Fairy Queen

Castle in the distance

Fun Colors!

Pretty!

We found a restaurant in our guide book that specialized on sea food (just like everywhere else in Galway...haha) and decided to go there for dinner.Once we parked, we walked around trying to find the restaurant but after 10 or so minutes of walking on the street is was supposed to be on we finally asked someone and they said the restaurant had gone out of business. But, he recommended somewhere else and we decided to go there. It was a really cute little fancy restaurant that had amazing seafood! It was so good!