Aran Islands

Today started early, 7.30 to be exact, in order to catch the 9.25 bus to Doolin, the connection point to the Aran Islands. We caught the first bus out of Limerick, and had to rush to catch the last one back, and we only spent 3-4hours on the island. The Aran Islands are a little group of islands outside of Doolin, the smallest consisting of 250 people, only 25 children, and 7 school teachers. The largest of the islands is about 900-1000 people, so you get the idea of how small it is. When we got to Doolin, we had to get a little boat to the bay, then transfer boats to a bigger boat, to finally go to the island. When we got to the island, it was obvious we were in a place like no other I have ever seen, instead of the normal cab line that greets you, it was a buggy line. There was a mob of horse and buggies, with people almost begging for you to get on their buggy. We were starving so we got something to eat, and one guy was so pushy that he offered a free ride to the restaurant if we paid for a tour after, so we agreed.
I dare you to find a more rural place than this place. It was great food, and a great time, and not too pricy. There is an airport there, about the size of a baseball infield, and can only handle single engine private planes. The "towne center" consisted of three shops that supply EVERYTHING the town needs, which was different. There were more horse and buggies than cars, from what I saw. This was cool, but there is one problem, the poop. The whole island smelled like a farm/bathroom. When we asked the guide if everyone knew everyone, he said, "this is the kind of place that everyone knows what you had for breakfast." And it looked that way.
The attractions on the island were castle remains, a church, and a cemetery, and a shipwreck from the 1960's. The shipwreck was cool because the boat had washed ashore, and was still there, and the guide said that it was an English ship that got in trouble, so the natives picked them out of the water, and in return go to keep the ship's contents...whiskey. After the tour, the guide let us off to walk and explore, before we had to run to the ferry.
The ferry ride was a cool experience in itself, as it provided a sea view of the Cliffs of Moher, which was great, but would have been perfect had it not been cloudy all day.

Rest of Dublin

Saturday morning, we hit the ground running, at 7.00. We were welcomed to a free breakfast from the hostel, and then saw a flyer for a free tour that started at 11.00, so we had to occupy a little under 3 hours in Dublin. We went and saw some sights that we weren't sure if the tour covered, but the tour covered everything. Oh well, that just means we got to see a lot of cool things, twice. The tour was from 11.00 to 3.00, and it was a walking tour, so after these awesome four hours we were very tired. We got to see about 95% of the historical/tourist things to see in Dublin, and it being free was a huge help. The guy said they don't get paid, and a tip is a good way to show we were happy, and this guy was well worth it. I don't know more about one topic than this guy knew about his Dublin history, but I guess giving six, 4-hour tours a week will help you learn, real fast. I got to find the true meaning of the cartoon Tom and Jerry, it was a cant and a mouse form Dublin, that were caught in an Organ, and because the pipes are organized like a triangle, when the mouse ran up, he got stuck near the top, but then the cat got stuck a little behind him because he couldn't fit any higher up the pipe. I was blown away by that. And it has become such a big deal, they took the cat and mouse out of the pipes, and they are preserved and now on display, drawing more of a crowd than the historical figure next to them. There were four hours of sight-seeing, so I can't remember, nor will I have the ability to cover everything, but they are covered thru pictures on Facebook.

After the tour we all got a discounted lunch, (bringing 50 people to a pub that had 5 in it before us will get you discounts). This was my first time having fish and chips in Ireland, and it lived up to its hype. After lunch, we got a taxi to St. James Gate, the Guinness factory. We did a tour of that, and even though I don't like the beer, it was an awesome time. Tom and I got the certificate that said we can pour a pint, and then we went up to the 7th floor bar, where it is all glass, and gives you a panoramic view of the city. 

After Guinness we went to the hostel to take a much needed nap. After our nap we were all still beat, and decided to take it easy that night, and just stay in. When we got up we walked around the city until about 11.15, then Tom and I got a bud to watch our softball teammates play in a tournament that, the winner gets to represent Ireland in the European tournament. And by the way, they won, and it wasn't even close so that was cool to get to experience. Getting there was not a good experience at all. There was an All-Ireland Gaelic Football Championship at a stadium that seats about 85,000 people, and that doesn't even count the hundreds of thousands outside the stadium. It was the biggest mob of sports jerseys I have ever seen, and blew the Super Bowl out of the water. The bus driver didn't understand where we asked to get let off, so he told us "our stop" was up, our actual stop was another 15minute bus ride, so it took about 50minutes to walk there, lost, in the rain, and asking plenty of people on the way. But, we finally made it, and got to see them play. It was cool, and the field was situated next to the runway for the Dublin airport, so the planes could have been hit by the balls, on a good enough shot. 

We finally got the last bus back to Limerick, out of Dublin, and the bus driver got lost... What bus driver gets lost? But we made it back to campus a little after midnight, and it was a great weekend, just very tiring. 

Dublin arrival

I made it to Dublin, after a four hour bus ride, and a short taxi, at 9:30 PM. I went out to a bunch of local/famous pubs, then went to bed, as today will be a long day. I have to hurry to write this message, as I am only given 30minutes of free internet per day. The only thing I can say so far is that the Temple Bar, the most famous (arguably) bar in Dublin is not all it is cracked up to be, it was so packed you literally couldn't move. Just imagine putting two college frat parties, in one little pub. This place called Porter House brewed all of its own beer, and was a pretty awesome place to go.
This is my first time in a hostel, and it is very different, and not all in good ways, but I am enjoying it as best I can. It was 18€ per night, and I am sharing a room with 15 other people. The people don#t talk to you, they just sleep, get up and leave. It is one bathroom to about 60 people, and I haven't seen a shower, yet. But other than that, it is worth the money because all you need it for is the bed to rest for a few hours. All of the people here are young kids, like myself, traveling, and looking for a cheap place to lay their head.
I am headed off to St. James Gate (Guiness Factory), the Jameson distillery, Trinity College, and the Post Office today. It should be very busy, but exciting!!

Cliffs of Moher

Today was my favorite day here, so far. After getting no sleep last night, we were being picked up for a tour of the Cliffs of Moher, at 9.20am. The tour cost 25E, and was worth every penny of it, and if you ever make it to Ireland, it is Barratt Tours, and it is a tour company that is run by Christine Barratt, and he husband, they are the only two people in the company, because they want you to feel that you are being taken care of. Christine was our guide, and she was awesome. The 25E included being picked up right out front of my house, and set off on the first of four destinations, an O'Brien stronghold.
We were told that there were two main families in this part of Ireland, and they fought often, and the O'Briens were stronger, and that is why their forts and castles were still standing. From the O'Brien stronghold, we went to a stone village, and in the most respectful way ever, it was terrible. It was 3.50E to get in, and we were there for 5 minutes, and it was like a pile of bricks, and a sign that said, "this was a house"...thats it. But other than that, everything else was amazing.
From there we went past the Galway bay, where there were tons and tons of photo-ops, but because of the narrow roads, and lack of parking, we couldn't stop. Where we eventually did stop, it was still beautiful, but there were other places I would have liked to stop as well, but beggars can't be choosers, right? We were able to climb the hills, and take pictures, it was awesome.
From there, we went to lunch, in a little village called Doolin, which is what you picture as traditional Ireland, so I loved it there. We had lunch at a traditional pub, and one weird thing about it was they had American dollars on the walls, signed, and they had a bunch of American license plates, not sure why.
Finally, we made our way to the Cliffs of Moher, on the way passing old churches, cemeteries, surfing spots, gypsy camps, and beaches.
I can not express how amazing the Cliffs were. It is hard to take in when you are there, let alone put into words. Pictures do it more justice than words, and even that fails in comparison to being there in person, sorry guys. We had an hour an a half, and just made it back to the bus, it was huge, and very scary walking on a cliff's edge, where it is about 10 stories down, and a certain death. There was a normal rain storm when we arrived, it lasted 5 minutes, and then left us with some cool things that happen after the rain leaves. The Cliff's are finalists in becoming one of the seven wonders of the world, and not that I have been to the others, but this has to make it, and if not, I want to get to all seven others. The tour started at 9.20, and I got back to my house at 19.30(7.30, just getting used to the military time).

Friday 10th

I didn't already forget about this, but things are becoming more normal now, so there is less to talk about. The partying hasn't stopped, just slowed down. I have just joined the skydiving and softball clubs. A lot of people have been asking about the skydiving club, so I'll explain, it is 150E for the first dive, then 40E after that (the E is euro, the currency). The softball club is awesome, but to my surprise, baseball is a hard concept to pick up outside of the States. Tonight, I'm going to the movie, then a day trip tomorrow to the Cliffs of Moher, if you don't know what that is, you should google it, or wait till tomorrow when I put up the pictures. Life is getting to normal now, and understanding this place is getting easier... not easy, but easier.

First Day of Class

So, I have a class Monday and Friday, at 9AM. Yeah, it sucks. I got to my class on-time, even though finding room KGB13A is not any easier than it sounds. Even people that go here weren't sure. So when I finally got there, it was a 300 level course, called Risk and Insurance Analysis. Either I am in a slow class, or the business program here is terrible, because the class didn't understand the concept behind selling insurance, charging a premium, and making money. Classes here are so confusing, there is only one or two time slots for each lecture, and then you have to go to a tutorial every other week, which is like a smaller class that you get involved and ask questions based on the lecture, because you can not ask questions in lecture. We use turnitin.com for the three assignments we have, all semester... and people don't know what that is here. I couldn't imagine writing papers without turnitin.com, you could cheat your way through school. After the class, I had time for a small meal, before my next class.
The meal consisted of a heavily buttered roll, sausage, and bacon. You can't go wrong with sausage and bacon, right? WRONG. The bacon was more like uncooked ham fat, and the sausage mysteriously melted in your mouth. All in all, bad experience. On my way to my next class, I have the room number written down as KBG14, so I show up to that room, and find a lecture in progress. It is 10:57, and the class starts at 11, so I was in the wrong place, so I just went home. When I got home, I realized it was KGB15, the next room over.
Finally went food shopping, and you have to carry all of your groceries home, which with 6, 2-litre water bottles, and 60$ worth of other things, it was a mess. I was able to buy a cell phone, but it is .13 per text, so I can't afford it, and will be switching carriers, to the same price, but unlimited texts and calls to any network. Stupid, right?

Day 4

Today was our first tourist day, we woke up and went to King John's Castle, which is 850 years old, which is weird seeing as the oldest buildings in America are about 200 years old. The views from the four towers left everyone there speechless, there was about a five minute span where everyone was silent, and staring. However, even in Europe they make sure that every exit conveniently leads to the gift shop, go figure.

Then we went to a little Irish restaurant, where we were the only one's there, and its weird not to have one waiter, you have everyone that works there waiting on you, seeing as there are no tips, it doesn't matter who takes your order. Everyone we were with got the seafood chowder, and unlike in America, there was more seafood than chowder, so it was worth the 7Euro for a huge bowl. I got a well done burger, because well done is the only way it is done here, and that is horrible.
Then, for the next hour we couldn't find a bus, because it just stops at random places, there are no big signs that alert us to the stop. They said, go to Brown Thomas, like we had any idea what that is. Finally when we did find the bus, the bus driver said, "give me five minutes," and locked the bus and went in to the pub. Who does that?
Then we had to take naps, because when you walk about 10miles before 5:00, you get really tired.
The night was very interesting, as we just went exploring, and got lost, we stumbled across a rich, up-scale bar, and got death stares from everyone in there, so we just left, and continued searching. Thats about it, but still a very interesting night.

Day 3

Today was my tour of the city, it was a bus tour, and let me tell you it is nothing like any big city in the States. The tallest building here is like a 15 story hotel. The tour guide saw me take a picture of something and asked what I thought was picture-worthy. It was two half cows hanging from meat hooks, off the back of a truck, and that was normal to him. Still no cell phone, and its surprisingly cool. After the tour, we went to lunch, and then back to the house for the Irish soccer game, they won a qualifier, so everyone said tonight will be... interesting. And apparently its totally cool to drive horses on the road, which is also new to me.
Dinner was an adventure, it was a half hour walk to a pub that has been closed for some time now, but oh well it was still an adventure, then on to the off license (liquor store), and onto Spar (Wawa) for dinner, because it was that or BK, and I am avoiding American food while I am here.
Tonight we are headed to a city pub to check out a traditional Irish band, yeah I'm pumped.

Day 2-

The day started like any other, with a shower. But this shower is unlike any other, and it was the biggest difference I have experienced in the sixteenish hour span I have been here, the drain had a cork thing in it, so it overflowed all over the bathroom. The shower is a stand-up, with no chance of a bath, why even have a drain cover? Then there are three pipes that lead to one knob with two gauges on it, one gauge is for pressure, the other for temperature. The trick is to find the right temperature to enjoy the shower, while not adding too much pressure to overflow the shower, and be standing in dirty water.
Being the only one up at 7am, I decided to walk to find food. There are no things that I was used to, as in store names, not even the bigger names, everything I have seen is like a mom and pop shop, but I think I found the closest thing to wawa they have here, and I got a ham and cheese baguette, chips, and huge bottle of water, for 5euro, and one difference is that they didn't bag my things...they really care about the environment here. So there was a long awkward pause of me looking at the guy, and him looking at me, waiting for me to leave
Orientation, my first experience with interacting, and having energy after the long flight(s).
Things I learned: the irish drinking stereotype is not a lie, and if anything is played down, the tour guide said they have to go home on weekends to recover, because as much as they try, they can not go through life with a hangover.
I saw an Irish kid with dreads, and another one with a mullet. I met brown Thomas, which is not a derogatory term for a black guy. That is a landmark statue that serves as the source of directions around campus.
I had very interesting lectures from very interesting people, and one guy told us, "The purpose of a pub is not to get polluted" I thought that was an amazing way of putting it. Classes are "mandatory" but there is never attendance taken, and I have 4, 2 hour classes, once a week, and then an hour tutoring for each class, every other week.
So, if possible, I have fallen even more in love with this place, and I haven't done anything but walk around campus, and eat at the pub.

Day 1- Arrival

I was aware, and expecting change from the norm when I landed in Ireland, but I wasn't expecting it right away, at the airport. The first thing I noticed that was different was we were landing at Dublin, the capital, and main city in Ireland, with a population of nearly 2 million. That is half the population of Ireland, in one city. The thing that was weird, as we were landing, there was nothing, no sky scrapers, no offices, no arenas, nothing. When you fly out of JFK, you see all of New York, the lights, buildings, and things we have come to expect out of a city. Then we jumped over to Shannon airport, which was very small compared to what I was used to, but when I found the leader of the group that was leading us to Limerick, we went out of the main door, and when I turned around, it looked like a garage. There was no fancy sign, doorways, revolving/automatic door, nothing.
The bus finally gets there, and we enter from the driver's side, its not really the driver's side, but to me, and most of you, it will always be the driver's side, the left. That was really weird, then as we drove we went on one street from seeing castles, livestock, barns, and office buildings, all connected by a numerous amount of traffic circles. In my brief experience, there is no division between city, and rural, except for Dublin, I am told.
I got to the house, which is an 8 bedroom house, and was disappointed to find out all of my house mates are American. They are great, interesting people, but I wanted to be surrounded by different people.
After I unpacked I went to sleep because it had been a long day, it is now 7pm local time, and this whole journey started at 3pm, local time, the previous day.
My first trip to a pub was nothing special, yet all I had hoped. I was slightly afraid to branch out this early, so I ordered fried chicken, french fries, and a pint of Budweiser. So I came almost 2500 miles to order an American beer, as an import.
All in all, a great day, and very excited for the next four months.