So...I'm in Ireland. They have a little chart thing about the "rollercoaster" of studying abroad. It seems more day by day than an overall trend in any direction emotionally. The way I look at it though, it's the same way at home. Some days you're having great days, some days you're not in the best of moods. Today has been a good, relaxing day of nothing. I caught up on some American television shows online, did laundry (which is outrageously expensive to do on campus - 4.50 euros), and Dan and I cooked some beef and tortellini for dinner. It's probably the first entire meal I've eaten that hasn't been out at a restaurant since I've gotten here.
This week was definitely the most interesting week I've had since I got here, but I'm not really sure how to describe it fully. Or even what to tell.
Last weekend I went to a cooking demonstration at an awesome restaurant called Gallagher's Boxty House in Temple Bar. The owner and head chef taught us how to make potato dumplings, loaf, and a cream sauce to put over the dumplings. The dumplings were incredible...and I'll definitely be going back to that place again to have some. After the demonstration a group of us went to a pub to watch the GAA All-Ireland Final for Gaelic Football. Dublin was playing Kerry, and it came down to extra time for Dublin to win it. It was the first time in 16 years they had won. The town went nuts. Banners, flags, and jerseys were everywhere. Pubs had tv's set up in their windows so that the crowds that couldn't fit inside could still watch.
Guinness Brewery was another place I went to this week (twice)...and it was every bit of amazing I thought it would be. The place is massive
This week also contained Arthur's Day, which is the celebration of when Arthur Guinness signed the lease on St. James' Gate Brewery in 1759. I went out that night, but wasn't really feeling up to it so I'm sure I didn't get the full experience. It was definitely still fun though to be out with so many other people. A guy that works for Guinness bought me a pint which always makes things even better. "It's good to be lucky," he said to me, "and a little bit handsome."
This part should probably be a totally separate post because it is almost a week after I wrote the things before. I've gotten all my classes sorted out for good now. I'm no longer in French here, which is a big disappointment but I'm taking Irish Politics in its place, so at least it is still interesting. Things have gone well for the most part. I'm not sure where to start with things that aren't going so well, or whether they're really not going well in the first place. They sure seem to be sometimes. It's great here in Dublin though. My weekend has begun, and I have a busy one this time around. Friday I'm hoping to get some minor things done such as getting my student travel card and city bus pass and doing laundry. Also, I want to go back to city centre on my own and actually take some pictures. It seems that I always have somewhere to go whenever I'm in the city and haven't been able to take any. Saturday I've got a hurling and GAA football lesson at one of the big clubs in Dublin, and Sunday I have my first field trip with my archaeology class to Carlow/Wicklow.
Anyway, I feel like I've rambled on...and really didn't have much to say. It's difficult to describe feelings, or share them in the first place, but I'll keep doing my best when I can.
Edwords
