Wednesday, September 28, 2011

It's start to be a beautiful day

My days here are starting to look up I'm starting to feel more comfortable being here and less homesick then the first couple weeks here. I don't if is because I actually started to make an effort with other people or I started feeling more I'm doing this for me and I'm going to have a grand time doing it or what I really don't know which option to tell you; except this I'm starting to get to know my roommates for who they are now and not drag up the whole life long history that will come in time. I'm starting to get to know the neighbors that come over for dinner almost every day now, all because I made the effort to leave the bedroom and go out into the living room and making myself available to them to talk to me. Aisling and Lisa totally understood that I was trying to wrap my head around what did I just get myself into and what, they were more than welcoming me to hang out cook dinner for me and so forth. I can honestly say that I am starting to make friends with them which make me really happy. It is really nice that the other American girls are here to support me and starting become a little more like family each day. I know this is a ramble blog but I just need to get all my feelings down on something and this is probably one of the best places for it and also expressing to the people around you.

Until next,
Andie 

P.S. wexford and saving private ryan beach is this weeks field trip I'm pretty excited since I love that movie!

Monday, September 26, 2011

All Great weekends must come to end

These past few days have been grand.  Friday morning came around and my very first field around Ireland was beginning at 9 o’clock sharp.  We as in all the American students piled into the bus for the first stop which was The Browneshill Dolmen and killeshin Romanesque doorway. 

(whats left of the church and the doorway)

The door was amazingly designed and it had for different layers to it and also on each layer was different designs in the stone itself. The church that the door led into was built in the 5th century and was still around until about 1703 when it was destroyed. 

After we spent time exploring and looking through the window out into the country our next stop on the magical journey back into time was The Dancing Boards where the miners met to come together for picnics and to just dance enjoy themselves and have a grand time with one another. A little fact about the miners, they befriended the rats because when the mine was going to flood the rats would start running to safety which the miners used as their alarm system so they also could get to a safer place. Since the mine was most famous for flooding. This place had one of the most amazing views I saw since I have been in Ireland.  
(the view from the dancing boards)

Then it was off to the Milford lock which was interesting because they would use the river to transport goods to different places. Also, over the years the water has been so strong that it has actually pushed the ground down under the bridge that when it floods, the water goes up and over the road and no one can drive through the water.

Last spot until lunch time seemed to take forever because one of the priests was explaining everything. When you actually looked at the time and thought about all the places we had been so far it wasn’t really explained in depth as much as the priest did, we had more time to look around at the other spots. But anyways it was a church that had a lot of history to it and many different styles that were built on it over the centuries. Also, we got to walk up the tower which had really small steps even though I was scared that I was going to fall I thought that was pretty cool. 


(the tower we went up in)

The next stop on this journey I don’t even remember what it was called but it was a graveyard where catholic and christens were buried side by side. Also, there was a penal alter where they would met in secret and they would have a look out to signal when one of the kings enforcers were coming and when they were coming the priest and everyone else just flee to get away so they wouldn’t get caught. I got to see where some of the monks slept and just different levels of buildings also. 
(the view from the penal alter)

The very last spot was to Ducketts Grove which has a really interesting story behind it. It was featured on of the shows where they are trying to find ghost and what not I can’t remember the name of it.  But some believe that there is a banshee that followed the Duckett family and if you heard the scream someone in that family would die. But I’m not going to go into full detail of the family so here is a link that you can go to if you are more interested. http://www.duckettsgrove.eu/

(the one side of the Ducketts Grove)
The rest of my weekend was amazing because I ended up going to Galway but I’m just going to keep that experience to myself. All I’m going to say about it is that there is also a different tone it different cities that you go to just like in the states. 









Thursday, September 22, 2011

End of the week

I survived my first week of classes all in all it was a good week the beginning of the week started off  rocky but the end of the week was much better especially since it ends with traditional Irish music at Teach Dolmain tonight and a field trip around Carlow County tomorrow.  All my classes seem fun except one because I really don't think he has ever had American students in his class before however, once the weeks go on it may turn out to be a fun class.

Until tomorrow,
Andie

Monday, September 19, 2011

First day of Class

Today was my first day of class at St. Pat’s college, all morning long I literally was saying the scene from Finding Nemo where Nemo is ready for school and he is waking his dad up. Anyway, Alicia (my roomie) and I arrived to school early to find our classroom Barry Hall; we found it after asking for directions from one of the professors. It was an okay start until it got to be about 11 o’clock and people just started pouring in; it was like wow what’s going on there was about 70 students in the classroom or lecture hall. It was a complete different feeling that I didn’t like at all because of the small classroom sizes and that is one of the reasons I went to carlow because I didn’t want to feel like i was a nobody or a number and I feel like it is going to be exactly like that. But when I got the reading list I looked down at it and I was like I already took this class, I felt so dumb that I didn’t notice it before I approved with my advisor good thing we have a week to window shop. So, after class I had to go off and find a new class at a different time the only good thing is that now I still have a three day weekend. 

Saturday, September 17, 2011

The fourth Day!

Okay so this is my fourth day in Ireland, I was able to go grocery shopping without getting homesick terribly. We went to the convent a couple days ago and it was a grand old time, the sister we so nice and the were willingly to tell us everything about the convent and how Carlow University sisters convent was even founded and what actually happened in Ireland as they were leaving. It kind of felt like just stories passed down from sister to sister instead of reading it in the history books or something.

                                                 (the convent, where the sisters live)

They showed us almost the whole convent. they even let us try on a couple stuff from sister mary's trip to Pakistan. After all the touring around we even got served tea and food. I drank some of my tea and just set it aside and the sisters where all over me asking why i wasn't drinking it, and then i told them I'm not a big tea drinker. So, they made me a cup of hot coco with a hint of mint and the sister felt bad because she thought she made it wrong because I sat there and just got the extra clumps. But it was diffently a grand time to go and see where are founder of the convent came from.

That night we also went out to a Irish pub and listen to traditional music it was really coool. They have it every Thrusday night so I'm pretty sure we will all be going back there. This dude that played a buhgaga thingy said he gives lessons out too and he pointed to me and was like your a drummer which I thought was really weird.

Well, today we are off to see the Carlow Castle... Will write soon.

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

First day.

Okay so I'm not going to lie I cried all night yesterday because i felt home sick and actually wanted to go home the very next day and even decided to change my flight and i told about 3 people that i wanted to leave. My roommate ashley talked to me and was able to calm down and said pretty much the same thing as my mom would say to me. I can see why some of the people from upstairs call her mommy.
  But after today and hanging around with some of the other girls from carlow and some from st. anbrus, I feel a lot better and I'm glad i didn't go home. I can say one thing they call things differently then us and it gets really confusing at times. like they call the trash can a bin. fries are called chips and chips are are called crisp. there is a different accents of the Irish people that are from carlow are really easy to understand. But my roommate Lisa accents is really heavy and hard to understand she said bath last night and i thought she said bat. It will be a couple weeks of getting use too.
I know its going to get better from here and there are a lot of people behind me and I am very thankful for all of them.

Monday, September 12, 2011

Layover in Toronto

I successfully made it to Toronto, now I just got to wait until about 820 or 2020 here to start boarding my plane to Ireland. The flight here was my very first time I have ever flown ever, reaction I made it seem a lot worst in my head that it was, the plane was very small and didn't seem that bad and I passed over my hometown. But what really help is this dude Ryan that I met in the Pittsburgh airport in the kid zone because they had the only good view of the airplanes. But he was really good about just keep me talking that I wouldn't think about the flight and think about it as a long roller coaster ride and he even made sure I knew where my gate was here in Toronto. But before we even got on our plane we where sitting there watching a plane pull up and we were like that is totally our plane because it was big and seemed like a really great plane to travel 223 miles in however that was not the case at all. The very next plane was really small that we had to go down the stairs out on to the runway because it was so small that the terminal thing to walk out on to the plane was way to big for it. and we got pretzels and pop on the plane i thought it was kind of funny that they were serving canda dry only pop.
Hopefully my flight to ireland will at least have leg room. can't wait for others to get here so im not alone.

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

A week left in the States

Well there is less then a week left until my departure date to Ireland. All I know is that my suitcase is mainly packed just need to add a few things and pack my carrier on bag. I am excited but mainly nervous because of the fact I have never flown in an airplane before let alone out of the country. Today I also got my euros from the bank my first thought was they looked funny and small compared to the U.S. dollar bills.

5 1/2 day until I leave as of right now, I guess since I'm counting.. I'm quietly being excited =)