Week 4: Jazz, Arthur's Day, and Museums

So we're coming up on the end of my fourth week here in Dublin (third week of class). A great deal has happened so far. It's been a pretty good week. Got to play some jazz, have some Guinness, and explore some museums.

Monday was pretty normal with just going to class and coming back. Tuesday, on the other hand, was great. With no classes on Tuesday, I had a lot of time. My German roommate told me about a grocery store that was closer than the one to which I was going. So now I don't have to walk 3 miles round trip to get groceries! Then that night, I had a jazz society meeting. It was really just an introductory meeting/workshop, so everyone brought their instruments and one of the guys who has been with the society for a few years led a workshop. It was pretty introductory stuff, so learning to play the blues...which I learned to play in middle school/high school. So, while it was good to finally play some jazz in a group setting, the quality and musicianship was not quite up to my expectations. After the workshop, we went to the student bar where the music society was hosting an open mic night. There I performed Herbie Hancock's "Chameleon" and "Watermelon Man" with the jazz society.

Wednesday was pretty similar to Monday, except for a few small things. First, near the end of my sociology lecture, a guy in a gorilla costume and mask came into the lecture theatre handing out flyers for a club, then proceeded to sit in the front row as the professor just kept lecturing and eventually chastised him for being 45 minutes late to lecture. It was pretty funny. I think if that happened at UIC the professor would throw the guy out. Then that night, I made myself a veggie burger, which was nice, since I hadn't had one in a while.

Yesterday is when things got really interesting. Thursday of this week, was Arthur's Day in Ireland. Basically it's a day where the entire country pays tribute to Arthur Guinness, the founder and creator of the Irish lifeblood. It's essentially a day where the entire country goes out and drinks Guinness. The main thing you're supposed to do is toast "To Arthur" at 5:59, because he started brewing in 1759, which is 5:59 on the 24 hour clock system. I unfortunately missed this because of a jazz society meeting, which while being the "advanced workshop" was still not quite advanced. But I digress...So because of my late classes and jazz society meeting, I missed the toast. But I still had a great time. We got a big group together at a friend's apartment. Then we went to a nightclub called D2 (it stands for the area of Dublin it is in, known as Dublin 2). There I had my obligatory pint of Guinness, and then we had good craic dancing. It was grand, as the Irish say. After the club we stopped at a Burger King for some late night food, and I had myself two veggie burgers.

I don't have class on Friday either, so after all the walking and dancing of last night, I stayed in today...NOT! Instead, I got a group of people together, a friend from Syracuse, along with my friend from high school and her friends from Notre Dame, and we went back into the city centre. We went to the National Museum of Ireland's Archeology building. There we explored exhibits of Prehistoric Ireland, Ireland's Gold, Viking Ireland, Medieval Ireland, etc. It was pretty cool. Saw some cool jewelry from ancient Ireland, as well as a really long canoe used in prehistoric Ireland. There were also some really cool metal works of art. On top of that, most of the artifacts were from before 1000 A.D. It amazed me that these early humans had the desire and time to make such beautiful pieces. It seems to me that their time would be better spent surviving, but it was very impressive. The craftsmanship was incredible. Then after the museum we went to a restaurant called KC Peaches for some lunch. They had this cool deal where you get a small box and stuff it with whatever food you want, then get a drink and a cookie for 6 euro. Needless to say, I overstuffed the box to get my money's worth, and it was grand. Then I saw the cookie, and it was enormous. Basically that place is my new favorite. We then took our lunch to Trinity College and ate on the grass playing fields.

Now, this is where today got really cool. My friend from high school is here in Dublin with about 40 other Notre Dame students, some of whom go to Trinity. Now, Trinity is well known as the home of the Book of Kells, an ancient Irish illuminated manuscript. Normally you have to pay about 8 or 9 euro to go see it, but if a Trinity student brings you in, it's...FREE! So we had my friend's friends bring us in for free! It was quite simply, the greatest thing for someone as cheap as me. So we got to see the Book of Kells, and the Trinity Library's Long Room. Personally for me, while the book was interesting, it was the Long Room that got me. It was simply magnificent...actually no...words cannot properly describe it. But maybe these pictures can...(note: keep an eye out for some links in the captions)

The Idea Commons has nothing on the Long Room!

 I mean...wow!

Kind of hard to see, but it's the Proclamation of the Irish Republic

 My picture with my main man William Rowan Hamilton, known for the Cayley-Hamilton Theorem of linear algebra

Two stories of bookshelves that are CRAZY tall

So then after the Long Room, my Syracuse friend and I split from the Notre Dame kids and went to Trinity's Science Gallery. There they had an exhibit on illusions. It was a little bit smaller than I expected, but most of the illusions were still pretty cool. There was a really cool one where you put on headphones and experienced an appointment in a barbershop (I know that doesn't sound like much, but it was one of those "you had to be there" things). The only problem I had with the exhibit was that my friend and I, being of scientific disciplines (math and biomedical engineering) could pretty easily figure out the illusions. It was still really fun though. 

After the science gallery, we just wandered around the city centre for a bit until we found the bus stop to take us back to UCD. We even just happened to bump back into the Notre Dame friends on the bus. So all in all, it was a pretty eventful week. Now my feet are killing me after all the dancing and walking. I think it's time for dinner, figuring out what else to do with the weekend, and then some much needed sleeping. 

Weekend Out West (Part 3): Limerick and Moneygall

Day 3 in western Ireland...

So on day 3 we had a quick breakfast at the hostel, then left for Bunratty Castle. Honestly, it was a pretty stupid stop. We didn't even go inside, and it was a pretty boring, square-shaped castle. I'm honestly not sure why we stopped there, but I did get a photo behind the castle of some nice countryside. Also, right beside the castle was the original Durty Nellie's pub. Knowing there's one in Palatine back home, it was kind of cool to learn that the original dating back to 1620 was right in front of me.

After this stop, we drove to Limerick, which is another city near the center of Ireland. Surprisingly, it reminded me of Chicago. It had a river that curved around similar to the Chicago River, and there were also bridges every so often, just like back home. Also the buildings were taller than the ones in Galway and Dublin. Obviously they weren't as tall as the ones in Chicago, but they were about 4 or 5 stories tall, which is pretty tall considering most buildings here are maybe 3 stories tall. I also found a little bit more of home in Limerick on a few street signs:

In Limerick, we had a nice lunch at O'Connor's Bar and Restaurant. We then walked around the city and eventually got to King John's Castle, but we didn't want to pay to get in, so we just took pictures outside. We did the same at a cathedral.

A pretty nice view of the castle from across the river

Another view of the castle

So then after Limerick, we hopped on the bus and headed for Moneygall, which is a small village. Now, the significance of this place is that it is the village of President Obama's Irish ancestors. Now, we don't really think of Obama having Irish heritage, but apparently he does, and they came from Moneygall. He actually visited the village a few years ago, and was poured a pint at the town pub, Ollie Hayes. Now, before he came, no one knew about the town, so when he arrived, they didn't hesitate to make the place fit for tourism. There were American flags everywhere alongside Irish flags. President Obama's face was everywhere, lining the pub walls, on tourist gifts (hurling sticks, key chains, magnets, etc). We spent some time there, checking out the town and seeing Obama's "ancestral home". We also caught a bit of the gaelic football championship match between Dublin and Mayo. It's a pretty cool sport, but very odd for us Americans.

Overall, it was a pretty great trip, apart from the crummy weather at the cliffs and Aran Islands. I got the chance to spend some time with friends, and develop stronger friendships with international students. I also got to make some new friends from Italy, Spain, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, and the States.

This week will probably be pretty chill. Open pick up soccer, jazz society workshop, and open mic night tomorrow. Also this Thursday is Arthur's Day, which is Ireland's day of tribute to the original creator of their lifeblood. Basically the entire country goes out and drinks a lot of Guinness to celebrate the work of Arthur Guinness. Should be good craic (Irish phrase for fun/good times pronounced "crack"). Maybe this weekend I'll go up to Howth, a small fishing village just north of Dublin. Ireland is pretty great!

Side note: To see more pictures, click on the Pictures tab above for links to Picasa web albums.

Weekend Out West (Part 2): Cliffs of Moher, Aran Islands, and Pub Crawl

Day 2 of my weekend out to western Ireland...(WARNING: Really long post)

The day was unfortunately hampered by traditional Irish weather, so we had a lot of mist, fog, clouds, drizzling, etc. It kind of killed our time at the cliffs.

So we started with a quick breakfast at the hostel, then a bus to the Cliffs of Moher. Little info on the cliffs: They are the second highest cliffs in Europe, but the highest vertical cliffs in Europe. I'm not sure why the distinction of vertical cliffs is made...seems redundant. So anyway when we got the cliffs, it was still very foggy, so we couldn't get any good pictures. We walked along the paved path on the cliffs, trying to get a view, but we were unsuccessful. However, we did find another path that led out of the visitor area that was right along the edge of the cliffs. While we weren't able to see the other cliffs, it was cool to look down off the edge and hear, but not see the ocean below. Seeing the cliffs made me think of something. As you can't see any other land on the horizon, it's possible that the cliffs propagated the idea that the world was flat. I guess not being able to see the cliffs only gives me more reason to come back, so maybe I'll try again.

If you look really carefully you can see the next cliff...the weather sucked

And there you can barely see the sea hitting the cliffs

Sitting on the edge of the world

After the disappointment at the Cliffs of Moher, we took the bus to Doolin Harbor for a boat ride to Inis Oirr, one of the Aran Islands off the western coast of Ireland. Now, I'm not exactly a sea-faring person. I had some trouble handling the motion sickness. On top of that, while I was at the bow of the ship, I got drenched. Luckily I was wearing my rain jacket and nylon pants so I dried off pretty fast. We finally got to the island after the terrible boat ride, and my friends and I decided to take a stroll along the beach and coast line. It was pretty cool seeing some of the greenest moss I've ever seen, some cool rock formations, and the general coast environment.

At low tide it was cool to see how green the moss was

Our group on the beach

Some rock formations

It's kind of hard to tell in this picture, but it's an old engine that must have been brought in by the tide

 This kind of freaked us out...not sure what it's about

After the coast line we climbed up the mountain to the ruins of a castle. Along the way we met this little guy, who was baaing similar to the goat in the Taylor Swift parody video.

So we then got to the castle. It was okay, but after a while, looking at old ruins bores me a bit. Also, my camera died while we were there. After the castle, we stopped at a bed and breakfast for some tea and coffee. After that we didn't have anymore time so we headed back to the pier for a less bumpy boat ride back. We didn't have as much time as we wanted, so I didn't get a chance to see a shipwreck or visit a shop for an authentic Aran Island sweater.

Not all that impressive of a castle, but still kinda cool

 Some walls behind the castle - apparently there are thousands of miles of them across Ireland

Here's the B&B we had tea/coffee at

After getting back to the mainland, we went to a restaurant for some dinner. I had some vegetable soup, with mash, carrots, squash, cabbage, and potatoes. We then drove back to Galway for a pub crawl. We started at the King's Head Pub, then to a pub called the Bentley, where we played some flip cup. Lastly we ended at a nightclub called Karma's for some dancing. Didn't get back to the hostel until 3 a.m. but it was still a great time.

Weekend Out West (Part 1): Galway City

Hello everyone! It has been a pretty busy weekend, and I've finally organized everything so I can tell you all about it. There was so much going on though, so I've split it into three separate posts. So here's part one of my trip to Galway/Western Ireland...

On Friday morning, we boarded buses of the popular Irish tour service Paddywagon at UCD. From school we made our way west towards Galway. Along the way, we stopped at a really fancy rest stop that had a coffee place, convenience store, Burger King, and a small cafe. It was a really nice place, kind of like those rest stops that have a bunch of restaurants and tourist info in the U.S. We then continued onward and arrived at Kinlay hostel in Galway City. We had a quick lunch there and checked into our rooms. I was rooming with some of the Italians I met earlier on my Wicklow trip, as well as one of their Italian friends, a Spanish guy from Madrid, and an American guy from Syracuse University.

After lunch at the hostel, we went for a walking tour of the city. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera back at the hostel so I didn't have any pictures during the tour. But, it was still a good tour. We started at the main square, called Eyre Square (although officially it's the John F. Kennedy Memorial Square), then saw the main river and a magnificent cathedral. We then walked along the river/canal which was a beautiful little stroll. We ended up at the main street of Galway, and saw what used to be the port used by the Irish and Spanish. The tour ended with a walk up the main street where most of the shops, cafes, pubs, and clubs are. After the tour, we decided to continue walking around the city. We went back down the main street of shops to look around, and I ended up going in with friend on a CD deal, so we got two CD's (Irish drinking songs and traditional music) for just 10 euro. We then met up with our Italian and Spanish friends for exploring the parts of the city not included in the tour. Surprisingly, we covered the entire city within about an hour and a half to two hours. It's pretty small, despite being the third largest city in Ireland.

After all that walking, we were pretty tired, so we came back to the hostel for some cards, relaxation, and music. We then had dinner as a group at a restaurant called An Pucan. There was some traditional Irish music being played which was cool. Unfortunately, we had really really long wait for the food, and the only vegetarian option they had, stir fry, was very unsatisfactory (in both quality and quantity). So after a disappointing meal, we decided to go back to the main street and get some gelato. It was soooo good! Lastly, we ended up at a two story bar/club. The first floor was called Coyotes, and they had a live band in there playing some classic hits which was great. The second floor was called the Stock Exchange. I didn't quite understand the purpose of this bar, but they had a bunch of screens showing the price of different drinks and how they were changing by the minute. I'm not sure why, but people seemed interested in it. I just thought it was weird. So after all that, we were pretty worn out, so we called it a night and went to sleep.

Here are some pictures:

The trip was done through this tourist company "Paddywagon"

The hostel we stayed at

The main square, with 15 flags for the 15 original clans/families that lived in Galway

The main street in Galway

The music store

Another view of Eyre Square

My friend Elliot and I at Coyotes...getting photo-bombed

I'll post Parts 2 and 3 a little later. It's 10:15 here and I haven't had dinner yet, so I'm going to go eat and then go to sleep. 

Test Scores and Ambassadors

Earlier this week, I finally received my scores for the MCAT. Well...to put it simply, I'm going to medical school! One of my friends here who goes to Syracuse also took the MCAT on the same day as me, so we got our scores together. He also did very well, so to celebrate, we decided to go to the student clubhouse and have a pint. We wanted to get our other friends to go, but they all were busy with school stuff, so we went by ourselves. Hopefully sometime soon we'll get all our friends together and have a complete celebration. Needless to say, it was a great day!

Then today after class, I went to the welcome reception for international students. It was basically like a mixer for international students, so we got a chance to meet and mingle with other students. I met some more Americans, some Canadians, and some Malaysians. Overall, it was pretty cool. We also got a chance to meet and talk with the new Chargé d'Affairs of the American embassy in Ireland. Basically he's the American ambassador to Ireland. He was a pretty chill guy, and he has only been in Ireland for two and a half weeks, just like the rest of us! The one thing I couldn't get over was that he was about a foot taller than me, putting him around 6'10"...crazy tall. So, overall, a good night.

This weekend is going to be pretty cool. Tomorrow morning, I'm leaving with the International Student Society for Galway, Ireland. We'll be traveling around that area of Western Ireland, visiting some cool sights (Cliffs of Moher, Aran Islands, etc). Should be a good time. I think this will be a good time for me to get an authentic Aran Island sweater. We'll also be going to some pubs and maybe a night club. I also was told that the hostel in which we are staying has a guitar and piano for guests to play...Score!

I Miss My Guitar and Piano!

Lately I've been listening to a lot of Jack Johnson, John Mayer, and Coldplay. All I can say is that I miss having at least my guitar here to play. A piano would be good too. I guess I could jam on my trumpet, but that's not exactly practical here. Speaking of trumpet, I found out today that I didn't get into the orchestra...not really surprising. My audition was one of the worst I have ever had. It also looks like they had a number of trumpet players audition, and in an orchestra there aren't that many spots, maybe 3 at most. Oh well...

On a happier note, today marked the start of Fresher's Week here at UCD. Basically it's the week of the semester when all the clubs and societies and sports teams advertise to new students. There are a bunch of events going on and a tent for all the societies. So today I went to the tent with my Serbian friend who goes to school in Canada to check out the societies. We met up there with one of her friends from Quebec and we looked around. I signed up for the music, math, and jazz societies. Should be fun! We then went to the sports center to take a look at the teams. Now, I wasn't planning on getting super involved in sports here at UCD, but they have a cricket club...so naturally I had to find out more. Didn't become a full member, but put my name down. Maybe if they have small pick up games for fun I'll go.

The weekend was pretty good. Watched part of the A&M vs. Alabama football game and part of a Real Madrid soccer match at a bar called Woolshed Baa and Grill on the north side of Dublin. That was a pretty fun time. Then I spent Sunday doing research on all the places around Ireland I need to visit, so hopefully I can get some plans going so I have a place to go every weekend. I'm a little afraid I may do some of these trips by myself, as many of my friends here want to do international travel over the weekends, and I want to do it after the semester is over. What I really need is for UCD to release the final exam schedule so I can plan my travel.

On an unrelated note, I noticed over the past few days that Ireland is trying to make me less homesick by bringing Chicago to Dublin. How is this possible? Well over the past few days, it has been extremely windy...like Chicago windy. I admit it's nice to have a bit of home here. Actually, the Irish have a saying about the wind here. They call it "lazy" because instead of going around you, it goes through you.

Here's what's coming up: No class tomorrow, so grocery shopping, laundry, other necessities, and possibly my MCAT score. International Student Reception on Thursday. Then trip to Galway for the Friday through Sunday with the International Student Society. Should be a blast at Galway, the Aran Islands, Cliffs of Moher, etc. (I'll take plenty of pictures) Then I think there's an open mic night sponsored by the music and jazz societies at the student bar next Tuesday which should be fun. Ireland is pretty awesome!


Side note: You may have noticed a new link in the blue bar above called Pictures. Check it out for links to Picasa albums of all my Ireland pictures!

First Week of Class

Friday morning, and I have now completed my first week of class here in Dublin at UCD. Overall, I'd say things are going well. I think I'm getting used to going to class, reading academic writing, and the overall school experience once again. I confess myself a little bit nervous, as my MCAT scores will be coming in sometime within the next week or so. Hopefully I did well enough on it that I don't need to retake it.

So what's been going on this week at UCD? Well, I had my first few sociology, irish, irish studies, and history lectures. Sociology will probably be one of my easier classes since it's an intro class. The professor is really enthusiastic and funny, so I think I'll enjoy it a lot. Irish is a different matter. The language so far has proven to be challenging. It isn't like any other language I've ever heard. It also doesn't help that I haven't studied foreign language in two years. I think it will just take a lot of practice, particularly the speaking aspect. So far, though, I've learned a few phrases to say "hello", "what is your name", and "where are you from". I'll definitely have to practice with my Irish roommate. Irish studies is a little bit hard to gauge. The thing I don't like about it is that it is every Wednesday night from 6 to 8 p.m. We have a two hour lecture on the odd weeks, and a lecture followed by seminar on the even weeks. The first half of the lecture was awfully boring, but the second lecturer was far more engaging and interesting. I think it will take a lot of outside reading and work. As for history, I think it proves to be one of the more interesting subjects for me this semester. The professor is really interesting, and he lectures well. I am concerned, though, because I haven't taken history in four years. This much reading of the academic writing of egocentric professors is going to fry my brain. Hopefully my interest in the class will keep me going. Archeology hasn't started yet. We have two field trips this semester, but I'm not going to worry about that class for maybe another week or so.

Apart from classes, I haven't been up to much. I had my orchestra audition on Tuesday. It definitely could have gone better. With almost no warm up, I did not accurately portray my skills as a musician to the director. However, I was told they need trumpet players, so hopefully it works out for me. I think this scene from The Big Bang Theory accurately depicts how it went:

I have also noticed a lot of things while here. First, grocery shopping is terribly inconvenient. It takes me about 20 minutes to walk to the grocery store, it costs 1 euro to rent a cart (you get the euro back), and a cab back would cost about 10 euro, so you're better off walking back with a backpack and side bag packed with groceries because bags at the grocery store cost money.

Second, the public bathrooms in Ireland smell particularly awful. I mean, all public bathrooms smell bad, but there's something about the ones here. They just smell worse. They smell like a bathroom in India, and that's pretty bad. Third, along a similar line, I found out that many residents of housing here at UCD experience problems with birds. I noticed some stuff on the floor of our kitchen, and learned last night that birds are flying into our apartment through open kitchen windows, pooping on the floor, then leaving (WTF?!).

Fourth, I have found it to be difficult to make Irish friends. They all come to the university knowing people, or having their own previous groups of friends. Now, I did hang out with some Irish first years on Black Monday, but when I saw them this week on campus and said hello, I could tell that they had forgotten who I was. Also, I seem to make a lot of American friends, which is ok, but I'd like to make more international friends. Actually, this week, I met some more Germans, another French guy, and a girl from Australia. So hopefully I can keep that going.

Lastly, and perhaps of my greatest concern, is food. I have realized that in general I am always hungry. I know I was always hungry back in the States, but this is different. I'm just dying for food. For breakfast, I just ate a three egg omelet with broccoli, spinach, corn, and peas; an orange; a banana; and a glass of milk. Yet within 30 minutes, I'm hungry again. I know I should eat until I'm satisfied, but food is so expensive here, and I feel like I'm running through my groceries so fast. On top of that, I've spent soooo much money here, and it has only been about two weeks. It's crazy.

Now despite some of these setbacks, I'm still having a wonderful time. It's good to be back in the college lifestyle, and hanging out with/meeting new people.

Getting Back Into the Swing of Things

Having not had school-like activities for four months over the summer, adjusting to taking classes proves to be somewhat challenging. So far, I've only had Sociology and Irish classes, although later today I have my Irish Studies class from 6 to 8 (yuck!). Overall, it has been a pretty chill week. Not a lot going on.

There are a lot of events for international students, so I have to keep track and decide which ones are worth the money. For example, there is this I Love Dublin festival that goes on throughout the semester, with themed parties every few weeks. I could buy a wristband to get into all of them for 25 euro, or I can pay 7 euro at the door. I'm not really the partying type, so I figured I'm better off going to two or three that I'm interested in, rather than pay for the wristband and not go to all of them. Also there are trips with the International Student Society that require payment, but tickets get sold super fast. I also want to see if I can get to the UK at least once this semester before break, London in particular. But, I don't want to go alone, so hopefully I can convince some friends to go with me.

Also another thing I need to get used to here is not having class 5 days a week. I'll only have classes on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. I honestly don't know what I'll do with so much free time on Tuesdays and Fridays. And I know that when I come back to UIC, and classes 5 days a week, I'll have a hard time adjusting back to class everyday.

Overall, having a good time in Ireland. Just trying to have a good time, but also be smart about where I spend my time and money.

Black Monday

Yesterday was the first day of class for me. I had my Intro to Sociology and Irish for beginners classes. Sociology was pretty cool. The professor is really cool, chill, and funny. Should prove to be a relatively easy and straightforward class. Irish, on the other hand, might be difficult. We only learned to ask someone what there name is, and how to reply, and I already thought the language was confusing. Each consonant has either broad or short pronunciation, depending on the vowels surrounding it, and the pronunciation of the words is different than expected. This will take some getting used to.

On a slightly more positive note, I was able to change the time of my history seminar so that I no longer have class on Fridays. I also don't have class on Tuesday except for a field trip one week. It's going to be a good semester.

So here at UCD, they have a tradition called Black Monday (there is also a Black Friday). On the first day of class, all the students basically go out drinking and get plastered. Most students go to the student bar on campus then into the city center to pubs or night clubs. In order to go along with the traditions, my friends and I went to the liquor store. We then went to another person's apartment and played Kings Cup. It was pretty fun, but nerve-wracking for me, as it was my first time playing, and drinking all together is a new experience for me. But it was cool since I got to meet a lot of Irish freshman. I also tried cider for the first time, and it was pretty good.

After Kings Cup, we took a cab into the city center to go to a club. We had a really cool cab driver who gave us some tips about the club and getting to and from the city center without being ripped off. When we got the club, it looked empty, but after about 10 minutes we learned that the entrance was in an alleyway behind it, so we ended up really far back in line. Before we got in though, our group realized that we weren't really in the mood for a club. Also everyone but me had class the next day, so they didn't want to go crazy. So then we went across the street to Eddie Rockets (the Irish version of Johhny Rockets diner) to have dinner. We then got a cab back to UCD.

Now, as today was the day that everyone else basically got drunk, I got to see what some of the Irish were like when they were drunk. First, on our way back from the liquor store, three drunk students tried to force wine on my friends and I, and even went so far as to chase one my friends until they tripped over themselves. Then while playing Kings Cup, one of the freshman was very stupid and kept downing his hard alcohol, so by the end he was trashed. Since there were a number of Americans, he wouldn't stop asking us about our opinions of the situation in Syria. Despite numerous attempts to shut him up, he was belligerently sticking to his guns, that is until he got sick and was in the bathroom for the rest of the night. Lastly, while we were waiting for a cab home, a drunk Irish guy in a rickshaw was talking to a friend on his phone, looked at me, and told his friend he was on a corner near a Pakistani guy. When I told him I wasn't, he yelled at me for lying, then asked my friend next to me where I was from. Then when she said we were American, he gave us both high fives and rode off. So yeah, drunk Irish people are quite the characters. Overall, a good Black Monday. Maybe Black Friday will be a little more crazy though.

Today I don't have class, so I'm going to do some grocery shopping. Then I have my orchestra audition later tonight...definitely should have practiced more over the summer. Oh well, I'll at least be able to join the jazz society here if I don't get in, but I'm not too worried. The music is pretty easy I think.

It Finally Rained!

Quick note: Please feel free to comment on any of my posts. It helps me keep in touch with everyone back home, so please do!

Warning: This is a long blog post with a lot of pictures

Now, let's get down to business (to defeat the Huns)...

It finally rained today/last night! After almost 5 days of nearly perfect weather, it was actually nice to have the reality of where I'm living this semester set in. Monday through Thursday were all at around 70-80 degrees and sunny. Friday got a little cooler, and then it rained last night. This morning it was comparatively cold, at about 50 degrees. Of course, being from Chicago, 50 degrees is still good weather, so I'm not complaining.

So today was a pretty cool day. Earlier in the week I signed up for a day trip into County Wicklow to go to the national park area. The bus left UCD at 9 am, so I was up pretty early. The international office bussed us to Glendalough and the Wicklow National Park. When we arrived, we were taken to a monastic city by our tour guide. It was pretty cool to see the old buildings and headstones. It made me wonder how these structures were built of stone so long ago. Also the artistry involved in each piece was extraordinary.

 The craftsmanship on this cross is pretty astounding

After the monastic city, we proceeded into the national park. It was very similar to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park in Tennessee. I learned from our tour guide that Glendalough means "Valley between the lakes". So naturally, we passed between two lakes surrounded by mountains. Also at the time we were passing the second lake, there was some event going on where people were swimming from one end of the lake to the other, and back. It was a total distance of 4km in frigid water. Those people are crazy if you ask me. We then circled back to the bus for lunch in Wicklow Town.

View of the first lake "Lower Lake"

 

 Pretty weird looking tree if you ask me

 It's hard to see, but there are swimmers in the lake

 And I was just getting ready to take the plunge...yeah right

 Saw some cows chilling on the way

Last view of the monastic city

So after the park, we went to Wicklow Town for lunch at The Bridge Tavern. There I had a vegetable soup, a cucumber/onion/cheese sandwich, and fries. I also met another American, a Canadian, and some Italians. Now, I have to say, when the Italians spoke Italian, it sounded normal. But when they spoke English, they sounded so funny! They didn't use as many hand motions as Russell Peters says they do, but they were still really fun.

After lunch we drove to the Powerscourt Home and Gardens. I'm not really sure what the function of this place was, but basically it's this enormous estate, with a big mansion and sprawling gardens. The place is so big that they have different types of gardens. First we saw the Japanese gardens, then we went to see this tower, and lastly we passed through the Rhododendron garden coming back. We didn't have time to check out the entire place, but it was still pretty cool. It's the kind of place in which my mom could spend 2 days walking around admiring the gardens.  Now these pictures don't quite do it justice, so once I have them uploaded to Picasa, I'll provide a link.

                                                           This just seemed like a really cool place for a picture

                                                                       The Japanese Gardens

                                                      The mansion behind the pond/fountain
 

            The rhododendron garden - there were a lot more pictures but not all that exciting unless you're my mom

We finally came back at about 4:30 and now I'm just relaxing after a long day of walking. I think I'll make some stir fry tonight for dinner. Tomorrow is more of a relaxation and preparation day, as on Monday I start classes. I confess I want them to start, because I need a regiment and schedule. Since school starts soon, and the basic orientation/initial fun things are over, I may not be posting as often, but I'll be sure to update as frequently as possible.