Day Trips and Days

Another two weeks have passed by! It is so crazy (and scary) how fast time is flying. Since I have no class today and the weather is not to inviting I will update my blog again even though I really wanted to bike to the Dublin Bay! Frankly I am pretty impressed with myself for keeping up with it so far even though I think all of my readers have dropped off. I will try and sum up a few highlights in this blog post.

During these past two weeks I haven't had any school work that I had to do besides a group project. Having a project due in the third week of class was pretty surprising to me. I would describe the project as murderous due to the lack of participation from my group members I ended up doing basically the whole thing. Luckily we got it completed in time and it is over with (until our next project at the end of the semester). Anyway clearly people from other countries (China and Canada) do not have the same idea of what a GROUP presentation is (okay sorry about that rant). We are now approaching the 5th week of classes though (AHHH) which means that I am going to have some essays due so I think I better get started on that.

Throughout the weeks I went into the city a few times, did my weekly grocery shopping (which is actually pretty annoying having to do this weekly) and planned some trips. My most recently booked trip is to Munich and Prague during our reading week before finals. I decided to skip my last days of class to go on this trip with everyone because YOLIDO. I also hope to squeeze in a day or two in Austria while I will be in the area.

Anyway so last weekend came along and on Saturday I took a trip to Newgrange and Causey Farm that was put on by the international office. This was an awesome trip because Newgrange is a place I had never heard of but it is older than the pyramids AND Stonehenge. It is an ancient tomb that was built from rocks and is held together only by small rocks with big ones! It was a little scary being inside since I was afraid the rocks would collapse on me but I had to remind myself that this thing has been standing for 3200 years so it was most likely safe. It was really awesome to see something so historic. We also got to go to Causey farm where we got to bake Irish Bread, learn to Irish dance, play the Badrum (?), an Irish drum and hold lambs! It was great to participate in these Irish activities and see more about the Irish culture. I love going on day trips and seeing new places and I even like the car rides and getting to see the countryside. Ireland is so beautiful and green and it is so cool how there is so much of it that is untouched. There are many small towns with a few stores and pubs but they are all so authentic.

NewGrange Tomb

The Front of the tomb

Adorable Lamb

Sunday was also a beautiful day so me and my roommate decided to hit up the Dublin Zoo. It was a pretty classic zoo I would say. I think I am spoiled since Brookfield Zoo is pretty amazing but seeing the zoo was interesting. There were so many monkeys and it was fun to see how excited my roommate (from Korea) was at seeing all these things. That night there was a comedy show at a pub near Temple bar that we hit up and they gave out free ice cream at intermission which was pretty sweet (a pun). I love the atmosphere in Dublin on Sunday nights. It is much more relaxed than on the weekends and just has a calming feeling.

This weekend I took a paddywagon tour to Wicklow and Kilkenny. I really liked the tour because our bus driver was really interactive and sang us songs which was really entertaining. Going to the Wicklow mountains was my favorite part of the tour. The weather was great while we were there and the mountains were so beautiful! I liked driving through them because it was a small scenic road which is what exactly what I picture when I think of Ireland. One of the towns we passed through was called Hollywood and they had a sign that mimicked the real one. I couldn't get a good picture since we were on the bus but I will find one on Google because I thought it was pretty hilarious. I would have liked more time to hike around in the mountains but we had to depart for Kilkenny which is a small city. It was really adorable but unfortunately it was Sunday so a lot of things were closed and it was also raining. But it was still fun to look around and we got to eat lunch in a cute little pub. Overall a good tour I would definitely recommend. I will hopefully be able to make it back to Wicklow for a real hike before I leave.

The Wicklow Mountains

Kilkenny Castle

Overall I am liking Ireland and Dublin more and more everyday. I love all the cute pubs and how most of the stores are so unique. I love that lights that are hung in random streets in the city and I love how all the people have been so friendly and helpful. Someone even told me that they love my accent (LOL). I think I am leaving probably a lot out but my brain is pretty scrambly right now. The worst thing though is the rain. I didn't think the rain would be so horrible but it really is that bad. One day I was making a short walk back from class and I felt like I was dying because it was haling and so windy I thought my face was going to fall off. Apparently February is the worst month though so I am hoping it will come around.

Scenic Photo of Ireland

Okay until Later!
-A