So it's been about 2.5 weeks since I've returned from Ireland, and I must say life is quite different. When my dad asked me what I did today, I was able to perfectly recite my mundane schedule, right down to what time I woke up and my special trip to buy stamps for a few postcards I'm mailing. This is when I realized it; I'm becoming an old woman.
Since returning from Ireland, it seems I've adopted the lifestyle of an 80 year-old woman without even realizing it. Here's how I know:
My days start at the same time everyday, 9:13 am when my internal clock wakes me up. After washing my face and returning to bed for a few more minutes, our cat, Jack, walks in and I pet him for about 7-9 minutes. Sometimes I talk to him, and yesterday I'm pretty sure I heard him snoring. Clearly, I've become the neighborhood cat lady.
Then, I'll eat a banana and go for a walk around the neighborhood. We have nice trails here in Crowfield so I like to take full advantage.
After, I'll usually come home and eat some cereal while I check my e-mail and pretend to be productive.
Then I'll ususally go to the gym (get there about 11:00 or so, peak time for retired folk) and pretend I know all the regulars. I've been going at the same time for the past two weeks so I'm hoping the retirees will soon begin to accept me.
After an excellent session with my ipod and nike sneakers, I'll get back in my car and crank up the radio. Usually either rap or "easily listening". Depends on the day.
Then I'll run silly errands to keep myself occupied. For example, I purchased stampes today (felt good to be productive) and tomorrow I plan to get gas after the gym. I hope I have time for it all.
Once I return home I'll eat some fruit and wait patiently for my dad and sister to arrive home. In this time I'll usually blog, check my facebook, or think about all the productive things I plan to do later in the day. I also like to update my facebook status to say interesting things like "I think I'm turning into a cat lady" or "Sarah MacDonald likes a nice tax refund check". Gotta keep my loyal followers on their toes.
Lately, this is also about the time when I eat some tuna fish from a can, which I kindly share with the cats. Apparently this makes them stick their nose up at their dry-food dinners, though, so I've been instructed to cut back on the tuna-sharing in the afternoons. Whoops.
When Kelly comes home I'll talk to her about her day and what she learned in English class, then I'll either go for another walk or go to my room and check email until dinnertime.
Dinner is always at 5:00 pm and Dad, Kelly and I will have a salad with either fish, tofu or veggie burgers while we watch Gilmore Girls. During commercials, we discuss the best parts of our day and what Kelly learned at school. At this time, I also pet the cats again, for about 6-8 minutes.
This is probably the best part of all of our days, and I look forward to 5:00 pm more than anything else.
After dinner I'll go for a walk around the neighborhood (I bring my sweet ipod to keep me company) and come home and make tea for Kelly and I.
Then it's time to check my facebook (I'm a pretty dedicated facebooker, I never miss an evening) and watch a movie in my bed. I think it's important to establish a strict bedtime regimen.
The next day I'll wake up at 9:13 and do it all over again. This is, of course, until I start working at Chick-fil-A, which I'm sure will open up a whole new portal of blog-worthy happenings.
Stay tuned for those, folks, but in the mean time keep checking my blog. I hope to post some looong overdue blogs about some traveling I did while in Ireland. Should be interesting :)
Until then, Cheers!
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Galway; the West of Ireland
So I recently realized I never got the chance to blog about two trips my school took me on (Northern and Western Ireland) as part of the study abroad program.
This blog is about our second trip; Galway.
Galway is in the West of Ireland, and is easily one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. We’ll get to that later.
Galway is also a college town, which means almost everyone is under the age of 30. Quite a contrast to the city-slicking, career-focused inhabitants of Dublin (aka-“Little Manhattan”).
Our first hour in Galway was spent in Eyre Square, a common meeting spot among the college kids. Students were strewn out on the lawn, basking in the sun (another rarity in Dublin), and a guy was playing his guitar and singing loud enough for everyone to hear. Students tossed their Frisbees and ate their sandwiches, while we took pictures and raved about how much we had missed the sun.
Then, our friend Kellie Herson (from Wisconsin) who attends the university in Galway, picked us up and took us on a walk to her residence at the college. She lived in what can only be described as a colorful, private living community, with each house painted a crazy different color (peach, teal, canary yellow, etc.) and a guard standing outside the gate ready to check our I.D.’s. Oh, and of course the ground was littered with beer cans galore, since the week prior had been “Rag Week”, a week full of partying and crazy outfits. That’s really all I know about the celebration, haha, but it seems like they had a good time!
After, we made our way back to the bus and checked into our hotel.
The hotel was NICE (we were lucky with our program-they always put us up in a swanky hotel), complete with a swimming pool, Jacuzzi, workout facility and two restaurants! Our second night was spent in the Jacuzzi/swimming pool area. Naturally.
That evening we all went to dinner at the hotel, provided by our program (again) where we had three courses and got to choose our appetizer, entrée and dessert. I had salad, fish, and chocolate cake for dessert. Can’t complain! :)
That night we went to a bar we’d been to for lunch earlier in the day with Kellie. I think it was called the Cellar or the Attic, or something like that?
Anyway, they had mixed drink specials that night, so I tried my first “Sex on the Beach” and a sip of my friend’s Cosmopolitan. Both delicious! And both very affordable.
A bunch of us went to the Cellar/Attic (including Julie’s parents) so we sat at one long table and shared sips of one another’s mixed drinks. It was fabulous!
Then, we went to a place called Quay’s, where they had balconies where one could wave like a queen. You better believe we did it. haha.
After such a fun night, we were all incredibly tired so we returned to our hotel for a long, glorious night of slumber.
The next day we ventured to Kylemore Abbey, an old monastery in Connemara. The ride to the Abbey was glorious, full of Irish countryside, amazing hills, valleys, and lakes. We were all asleep on the bus (the ride was rather windy so we didn’t want to get sick) and when we woke up it felt like we were in another world! SO beautiful! See pictures below.
After exploring the Abbey and taking a ton of pictures, we ventured to the old church on the grounds, then to the Kylemore Abbey “gardens”. I use quotations because the gardens looked like they hadn’t grown anything in over a century. But we pretended to smell the nonexistent flowers and had a good time traipsing around the grounds.
After, we boarded the bus and made our way back to the hotel for yet another night of banter (Irish slang for “fun”).
That night was spent in the Jacuzzi/steam room, where we sweat every toxin out of our bodies until we almost passed out from heat stroke. Hahaha.
Then we jumped back in the Jacuzzi and chatted for a while, before retiring to our rooms. I went to Lara and Jacque’s room for a middle school sleepover type of party, where we ate digestives (try them! they are delicious cookies!) and painted our nails. We also watched television, something we’d been without for far too long.
The next day we ate breakfast and boarded the bus to meet our ferry, which was to take us to the Aran Islands.
The ferry ride wasn’t too bad. Smelled of fish (surprised?) and I foolishly decided to get a coffee and attempt to drink it outside on the boat. Bad idea, but luckily the coffee didn’t spill and I was rewarded with a burst of energy for our bus tour of the Aran Isle.
Our buses were actually large minivans that took us to Dun Aengus, an old fort (actually it’s an archaeological gold mine) at the top of a very, very steep and rocky hill.
The view was spectacular, though (pictures below) and the trek up the hill in my Penney’s boots was well worth the walk. We (Ashley, Deven, and I) also got to talk a lot about our futures, where we’re headed and what we’ve enjoyed about college so far. It was a nice walk :)
Once we got to the top, I couldn’t believe how steep and dangerous it was! There are literally cliffs over the water, with no fences, allowing silly tourists (like ourselves) to sit and dangle our feet over the edge while taking pictures to show our friends. (If my mom were there she would have had a heart attack.)
After, we went to the gift shop and I got some yarn for Kelly so she can knit me a sweater, like the ones sold on the Aran Islands, haha. They’re famous for their wool sweaters, which are beautiful.
Then, our bus took us back to “town” and we walked around and enjoyed the island a little bit. Of course, we went to lunch (I got soup!) and had to visit the Centra to get candy and top-up our cell phones, but mostly we walked around and took pictures. There wasn’t much time for anything else.
Our ferry then took us back to the real world, where we went to our hotels and freshened up for the night.
That evening, we went out dancing to a night club called Cuba, where the handstamp they give you says “Castro” and pictures of the man line the walls as you enter. I’m not even joking. I wasn’t sure what to think.
But, the music was bumpin’ and they had different musical themes on each floor. Not too shabby and I’m pretty sure the entrance was free.
After a long, long night of dancing, we headed back to our hotel in a taxi cab and fell asleep for our journey home the next day.
After four days away from Dublin, it was sure nice to be home, but nothing can compare to the beautiful countryside of Galway. The West of Ireland is absolutely beautiful and hopefully the pictures can do it justice…
This blog is about our second trip; Galway.
Galway is in the West of Ireland, and is easily one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. We’ll get to that later.
Galway is also a college town, which means almost everyone is under the age of 30. Quite a contrast to the city-slicking, career-focused inhabitants of Dublin (aka-“Little Manhattan”).
Our first hour in Galway was spent in Eyre Square, a common meeting spot among the college kids. Students were strewn out on the lawn, basking in the sun (another rarity in Dublin), and a guy was playing his guitar and singing loud enough for everyone to hear. Students tossed their Frisbees and ate their sandwiches, while we took pictures and raved about how much we had missed the sun.
Then, our friend Kellie Herson (from Wisconsin) who attends the university in Galway, picked us up and took us on a walk to her residence at the college. She lived in what can only be described as a colorful, private living community, with each house painted a crazy different color (peach, teal, canary yellow, etc.) and a guard standing outside the gate ready to check our I.D.’s. Oh, and of course the ground was littered with beer cans galore, since the week prior had been “Rag Week”, a week full of partying and crazy outfits. That’s really all I know about the celebration, haha, but it seems like they had a good time!
After, we made our way back to the bus and checked into our hotel.
The hotel was NICE (we were lucky with our program-they always put us up in a swanky hotel), complete with a swimming pool, Jacuzzi, workout facility and two restaurants! Our second night was spent in the Jacuzzi/swimming pool area. Naturally.
That evening we all went to dinner at the hotel, provided by our program (again) where we had three courses and got to choose our appetizer, entrée and dessert. I had salad, fish, and chocolate cake for dessert. Can’t complain! :)
That night we went to a bar we’d been to for lunch earlier in the day with Kellie. I think it was called the Cellar or the Attic, or something like that?
Anyway, they had mixed drink specials that night, so I tried my first “Sex on the Beach” and a sip of my friend’s Cosmopolitan. Both delicious! And both very affordable.
A bunch of us went to the Cellar/Attic (including Julie’s parents) so we sat at one long table and shared sips of one another’s mixed drinks. It was fabulous!
Then, we went to a place called Quay’s, where they had balconies where one could wave like a queen. You better believe we did it. haha.
After such a fun night, we were all incredibly tired so we returned to our hotel for a long, glorious night of slumber.
The next day we ventured to Kylemore Abbey, an old monastery in Connemara. The ride to the Abbey was glorious, full of Irish countryside, amazing hills, valleys, and lakes. We were all asleep on the bus (the ride was rather windy so we didn’t want to get sick) and when we woke up it felt like we were in another world! SO beautiful! See pictures below.
After exploring the Abbey and taking a ton of pictures, we ventured to the old church on the grounds, then to the Kylemore Abbey “gardens”. I use quotations because the gardens looked like they hadn’t grown anything in over a century. But we pretended to smell the nonexistent flowers and had a good time traipsing around the grounds.
After, we boarded the bus and made our way back to the hotel for yet another night of banter (Irish slang for “fun”).
That night was spent in the Jacuzzi/steam room, where we sweat every toxin out of our bodies until we almost passed out from heat stroke. Hahaha.
Then we jumped back in the Jacuzzi and chatted for a while, before retiring to our rooms. I went to Lara and Jacque’s room for a middle school sleepover type of party, where we ate digestives (try them! they are delicious cookies!) and painted our nails. We also watched television, something we’d been without for far too long.
The next day we ate breakfast and boarded the bus to meet our ferry, which was to take us to the Aran Islands.
The ferry ride wasn’t too bad. Smelled of fish (surprised?) and I foolishly decided to get a coffee and attempt to drink it outside on the boat. Bad idea, but luckily the coffee didn’t spill and I was rewarded with a burst of energy for our bus tour of the Aran Isle.
Our buses were actually large minivans that took us to Dun Aengus, an old fort (actually it’s an archaeological gold mine) at the top of a very, very steep and rocky hill.
The view was spectacular, though (pictures below) and the trek up the hill in my Penney’s boots was well worth the walk. We (Ashley, Deven, and I) also got to talk a lot about our futures, where we’re headed and what we’ve enjoyed about college so far. It was a nice walk :)
Once we got to the top, I couldn’t believe how steep and dangerous it was! There are literally cliffs over the water, with no fences, allowing silly tourists (like ourselves) to sit and dangle our feet over the edge while taking pictures to show our friends. (If my mom were there she would have had a heart attack.)
After, we went to the gift shop and I got some yarn for Kelly so she can knit me a sweater, like the ones sold on the Aran Islands, haha. They’re famous for their wool sweaters, which are beautiful.
Then, our bus took us back to “town” and we walked around and enjoyed the island a little bit. Of course, we went to lunch (I got soup!) and had to visit the Centra to get candy and top-up our cell phones, but mostly we walked around and took pictures. There wasn’t much time for anything else.
Our ferry then took us back to the real world, where we went to our hotels and freshened up for the night.
That evening, we went out dancing to a night club called Cuba, where the handstamp they give you says “Castro” and pictures of the man line the walls as you enter. I’m not even joking. I wasn’t sure what to think.
But, the music was bumpin’ and they had different musical themes on each floor. Not too shabby and I’m pretty sure the entrance was free.
After a long, long night of dancing, we headed back to our hotel in a taxi cab and fell asleep for our journey home the next day.
After four days away from Dublin, it was sure nice to be home, but nothing can compare to the beautiful countryside of Galway. The West of Ireland is absolutely beautiful and hopefully the pictures can do it justice…
Saturday, May 1, 2010
What I'll miss...
Over the past few days I've compiled a list of all the things I’ll miss about my time in Ireland...
1) Ease of traveling (the DART, the Luas, Ryanair, etc.)
2) The historic parts of Dublin, mixed with the newer, more modern parts, like Temple Bar next to the Parliament building.
3) The lady’s voice on the Luas. So musical! hahaha
4) Howth.
5) The Howth market on Sundays!
6) Fresh fruits and vegetables from Moore street (10 bananas for one euro!)
7)DICEY’S on a Wednesday :)
8)Strawberry beer at The Porterhouse. Also, mixing strawberry beer with chocolate beer. It’s quite the delicacy :)
9)The Smithfield hooligans!
10) Lord Chauncy’s marketing class
11) All the wonderful French, German, and Spanish friends I made.
12) Crunchie bars (luckily, Kelly said they sell them at World Market, so I won’t be totally out of luck!)
13) Walking everywhere in the city. Especially with my ipod!
14) BULMERS.
15) Living in one apartment building with our gigantic study abroad family
16) Writing and receiving letters/postcards. I think I’ll continue this in the States, and probably for the rest of my life.
17)Running through Phoenix Park on a nice, sunny Dublin day. Those sunny days were rare toward the beginning, but the last couple weeks were absolutely beautiful.
18) The pub culture.
19) The Dublin girls/Dublin fashion
20) Seeing signs in Gaelic
21) The insane amount of café’s. It’s so easy to find a place to sit and talk, or just read a book.
22) Lack of homework, leaving more time to get to know people, travel, and focus on the other things.
23) Seeing everything for the first time. I’ve lived in Charleston for a while, so I have to make myself take a step back and really look at how beautiful something is.
24) The excellent dance music in all the dance clubs (specifically, “Bulletproof” “Rude Boy”, “Ego” and anything by Cheryl Cole.)
25) Hearing people say curse words on the street like it’s no big deal.
26) The sound of the traffic lights telling pedestrians to walk.
27) My Dublin family :)
1) Ease of traveling (the DART, the Luas, Ryanair, etc.)
2) The historic parts of Dublin, mixed with the newer, more modern parts, like Temple Bar next to the Parliament building.
3) The lady’s voice on the Luas. So musical! hahaha
4) Howth.
5) The Howth market on Sundays!
6) Fresh fruits and vegetables from Moore street (10 bananas for one euro!)
7)DICEY’S on a Wednesday :)
8)Strawberry beer at The Porterhouse. Also, mixing strawberry beer with chocolate beer. It’s quite the delicacy :)
9)The Smithfield hooligans!
10) Lord Chauncy’s marketing class
11) All the wonderful French, German, and Spanish friends I made.
12) Crunchie bars (luckily, Kelly said they sell them at World Market, so I won’t be totally out of luck!)
13) Walking everywhere in the city. Especially with my ipod!
14) BULMERS.
15) Living in one apartment building with our gigantic study abroad family
16) Writing and receiving letters/postcards. I think I’ll continue this in the States, and probably for the rest of my life.
17)Running through Phoenix Park on a nice, sunny Dublin day. Those sunny days were rare toward the beginning, but the last couple weeks were absolutely beautiful.
18) The pub culture.
19) The Dublin girls/Dublin fashion
20) Seeing signs in Gaelic
21) The insane amount of café’s. It’s so easy to find a place to sit and talk, or just read a book.
22) Lack of homework, leaving more time to get to know people, travel, and focus on the other things.
23) Seeing everything for the first time. I’ve lived in Charleston for a while, so I have to make myself take a step back and really look at how beautiful something is.
24) The excellent dance music in all the dance clubs (specifically, “Bulletproof” “Rude Boy”, “Ego” and anything by Cheryl Cole.)
25) Hearing people say curse words on the street like it’s no big deal.
26) The sound of the traffic lights telling pedestrians to walk.
27) My Dublin family :)
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Chinese takeout.
So we went for Chinese takeout the other night and before catching myself, I tried to convert the dollar amount into euro. I've been doing this alot lately, haha, and am always pleasantly surprised when I realize a coffee is actually $1.99 and not 2 euro. Life's cheap!
Also Kelly and I illegally loaded up on Sushi (sushi is NOT part of the takeout menu) but Kelly is pretty stealthy and I was rather determined, so we made it work. Not going to lie, it was pretty thrilling!
I forgot how much I missed sushi...and my sister :)
Also Kelly and I illegally loaded up on Sushi (sushi is NOT part of the takeout menu) but Kelly is pretty stealthy and I was rather determined, so we made it work. Not going to lie, it was pretty thrilling!
I forgot how much I missed sushi...and my sister :)
4 months later and the "check engine" light is still on-driving again.
While in Dublin, I forgot all about driving. I forgot what it felt like to drive, how my car operated, and most importantly, that it’s okay to turn right on a red light. hahaha...
When I returned, I was actually quite concerned I would not remember how to function behind the wheel of a car, but after a slow exit from my cul-de-sac, and a cautious look both ways before pulling out, it was like I had never stopped driving. Hands on the wheel (ten and two, of course) and radio turned slightly lower than usual (for fear of crashing after four months of not driving), I cautiously rolled down my windows and the confidence slowly started to return. It was really nice to drive through the streets of Goose Creek and say hello to my original stomping grounds.
I said hello to my local Bi-Lo, Publix, and Blockbuster, all the while feeling like I was looking at everything with a fresh pair of eyes. I’d been gone so long I was just trying to take everything in and see what had changed! Turns out, for example, a local church near my house has been completed after 5 months of renovation, and the thing looks amazing!
Also, I forgot how distracing a good billboard can be. Darn advertisers ;)
On my journey home, a particular song came on that really reminded me of my friends in Dublin. It was Rihanna’s “Rude Boy, one of our favorite songs to dance to in Ireland, and I actually started to tear up while listening to it. Not safe while driving, I know, but I just couldn’t help myself! I made such great friends in Ireland, and we had such a great time together, that it makes me so upset to have to leave that behind. After I composed myself, Jay-Z’s “Empire State of Mind” came on and I lost it all over again, haha. It’s probably not best to drive when one is so emotional :)
Despite my wildly emotional state and the lack of recent driving experience, I made it safely home and immediately began to write down all the details of my driving adventure. It was a wonderful trip, and can only be compared to flexing a weak muscle after months of not working out. Kind of crazy, I know, but it really did take a few minutes for everything to come flooding back.
I will say, though, I am going to miss the 30-minute walk to and from school everyday. When the weather was nice and my ipod was charged, that walk to and from school could sometimes be the best part of my day! I plan to do much more walking now that I’m back, especially when it’s just a quick trip to the store to buy cookie mix for Kelly and I, haha :)
Keep reading for more about my re-introduction back into American life!
When I returned, I was actually quite concerned I would not remember how to function behind the wheel of a car, but after a slow exit from my cul-de-sac, and a cautious look both ways before pulling out, it was like I had never stopped driving. Hands on the wheel (ten and two, of course) and radio turned slightly lower than usual (for fear of crashing after four months of not driving), I cautiously rolled down my windows and the confidence slowly started to return. It was really nice to drive through the streets of Goose Creek and say hello to my original stomping grounds.
I said hello to my local Bi-Lo, Publix, and Blockbuster, all the while feeling like I was looking at everything with a fresh pair of eyes. I’d been gone so long I was just trying to take everything in and see what had changed! Turns out, for example, a local church near my house has been completed after 5 months of renovation, and the thing looks amazing!
Also, I forgot how distracing a good billboard can be. Darn advertisers ;)
On my journey home, a particular song came on that really reminded me of my friends in Dublin. It was Rihanna’s “Rude Boy, one of our favorite songs to dance to in Ireland, and I actually started to tear up while listening to it. Not safe while driving, I know, but I just couldn’t help myself! I made such great friends in Ireland, and we had such a great time together, that it makes me so upset to have to leave that behind. After I composed myself, Jay-Z’s “Empire State of Mind” came on and I lost it all over again, haha. It’s probably not best to drive when one is so emotional :)
Despite my wildly emotional state and the lack of recent driving experience, I made it safely home and immediately began to write down all the details of my driving adventure. It was a wonderful trip, and can only be compared to flexing a weak muscle after months of not working out. Kind of crazy, I know, but it really did take a few minutes for everything to come flooding back.
I will say, though, I am going to miss the 30-minute walk to and from school everyday. When the weather was nice and my ipod was charged, that walk to and from school could sometimes be the best part of my day! I plan to do much more walking now that I’m back, especially when it’s just a quick trip to the store to buy cookie mix for Kelly and I, haha :)
Keep reading for more about my re-introduction back into American life!
I'm baaaack!
So I’ve been back in the States for almost three days now, and a few things are really starting to make me aware how far away I’ve been. And realize that I actually lived in another country, on my own, for a solid four months.
This blog covers the first 24 hours of my assimilation back into my previous, American life…
When I first got here, I was greeted at the airport by just my dad, standing at the security gate with his khaki pants and bright yellow shirt. I seriously wanted to drop all my luggage and race up to hug him, but I contained myself for the awkwardly long walk down the ramp and picked up my pace to a fast-paced gallop. Mall walker style. haha.
I then gave my dad the biggest, most epic hug of my life. I was overcome with emotion. I had missed him so much! I hadn’t had a dad hug in a whole semester and even a skype chat is nothing compared to a good dad hug.
I then turned around to find my mother and sister sitting in the terminal, staring out the window waiting for me to arrive. They hadn’t realized my plane had come in yet :)
So, I snuck up behind them and we shared a three-way hug incomparable to any other. It’s like being reunited with my best friends. Perhaps because they are, haha.
We hugged about four more times, then I wasn’t quite sure what to say/do. Mostly because mom was crying like a crazy fool (in the best way) and my sister and I could do nothing except for exchange glances that read “oh mom, typical”. I could have told you that would happen, though :)
After collecting my baggage and leaving the airport, I was overwhelmed and confused and felt a little out of place. Where do I begin? Do I tell them about the crazy friends I’d made in the airport that day? Do I talk in more detail of my travels through Europe? Do I start with Day 1 and tell them everything?
We had been facebooking/skyping throughout my entire journey, but it felt so different to tell them everything in person.
Then again, it felt sort of like I’d never left. It was much easier to slip into my family role, even easier than coming back to visit after my first month in college.
Perhaps it was because I had left and returned so many times before. Or because I’m much more sure of myself now, and I have a firmer grasp on who I am in and out of my family, that I’m able to stay constant whether I am with my family or not. I don’t know if that makes sense, but this whole experience is rather difficult to describe.
Kelly and Dad and I chatted on the way home about all the things I hadn’t had the chance to catch them up on yet. We went into detail about the friends I’d made, my trip to Scotland, and all the “everyday” sorts of things about Ireland that I really didn’t notice until I was talking to people who had never been there before.
We came home and I just couldn’t stop talking. I was so excited to be back (it canceled out the jet-lag until about 8:00 pm when I wanted to DIE) and it was so nice to be in our own home. We ordered pizza and made salads and I got to ride in Kelly’s car with her. Gaah I missed that girl! She’s grown up so much since I left, it seems, and she’s got so much more of her life figured out. It’s crazy! I’m so proud and excited for her!
We spent the rest of the evening talking about Ireland and all the funny things that happened with my friends and I. It’s so different to be back and not have anyone know the full details of all the happenings of our Dublin spring semester. So bizarre.
We then baked cookies (a favorite sisterly bonding activity between Kelly and I) and drank tea and chatted some more about Ireland.
By about 10:00 pm I was beyond tired (the kind of tired where you slur your words and say things that don’t make sense) so I retired to my bed for a long, epic night of sleep.
I forgot how comfortable my bed was! And I had cleaned and re-arranged my room before I left so it was a nice little treat to conk out and go to bed.
Oh, and did I mention? Kelly left me a number of Charleston travel brochures on my bed, along with a praline from downtown, as a welcome home present! She’s so cute!
I hope she and I will get to do some traveling together! We live in such a beautiful, historic city, and we’ve never been tourists in our own hometown.
That’s something I’ll really miss about Europe is the ease of traveling and the unlimited sights to see! I plan to do much more traveling now that I’m home, even if that means a day trip to Charlotte, or a weekend in Myrtle Beach. Something to keep it interesting, and to make me realize how beautiful any place can be!
That sort of leads in to another blog post: all the things I’m going to miss about Ireland.
Stay tuned for that one, it'll be up soon :)
That's all for now!
Cheers!
This blog covers the first 24 hours of my assimilation back into my previous, American life…
When I first got here, I was greeted at the airport by just my dad, standing at the security gate with his khaki pants and bright yellow shirt. I seriously wanted to drop all my luggage and race up to hug him, but I contained myself for the awkwardly long walk down the ramp and picked up my pace to a fast-paced gallop. Mall walker style. haha.
I then gave my dad the biggest, most epic hug of my life. I was overcome with emotion. I had missed him so much! I hadn’t had a dad hug in a whole semester and even a skype chat is nothing compared to a good dad hug.
I then turned around to find my mother and sister sitting in the terminal, staring out the window waiting for me to arrive. They hadn’t realized my plane had come in yet :)
So, I snuck up behind them and we shared a three-way hug incomparable to any other. It’s like being reunited with my best friends. Perhaps because they are, haha.
We hugged about four more times, then I wasn’t quite sure what to say/do. Mostly because mom was crying like a crazy fool (in the best way) and my sister and I could do nothing except for exchange glances that read “oh mom, typical”. I could have told you that would happen, though :)
After collecting my baggage and leaving the airport, I was overwhelmed and confused and felt a little out of place. Where do I begin? Do I tell them about the crazy friends I’d made in the airport that day? Do I talk in more detail of my travels through Europe? Do I start with Day 1 and tell them everything?
We had been facebooking/skyping throughout my entire journey, but it felt so different to tell them everything in person.
Then again, it felt sort of like I’d never left. It was much easier to slip into my family role, even easier than coming back to visit after my first month in college.
Perhaps it was because I had left and returned so many times before. Or because I’m much more sure of myself now, and I have a firmer grasp on who I am in and out of my family, that I’m able to stay constant whether I am with my family or not. I don’t know if that makes sense, but this whole experience is rather difficult to describe.
Kelly and Dad and I chatted on the way home about all the things I hadn’t had the chance to catch them up on yet. We went into detail about the friends I’d made, my trip to Scotland, and all the “everyday” sorts of things about Ireland that I really didn’t notice until I was talking to people who had never been there before.
We came home and I just couldn’t stop talking. I was so excited to be back (it canceled out the jet-lag until about 8:00 pm when I wanted to DIE) and it was so nice to be in our own home. We ordered pizza and made salads and I got to ride in Kelly’s car with her. Gaah I missed that girl! She’s grown up so much since I left, it seems, and she’s got so much more of her life figured out. It’s crazy! I’m so proud and excited for her!
We spent the rest of the evening talking about Ireland and all the funny things that happened with my friends and I. It’s so different to be back and not have anyone know the full details of all the happenings of our Dublin spring semester. So bizarre.
We then baked cookies (a favorite sisterly bonding activity between Kelly and I) and drank tea and chatted some more about Ireland.
By about 10:00 pm I was beyond tired (the kind of tired where you slur your words and say things that don’t make sense) so I retired to my bed for a long, epic night of sleep.
I forgot how comfortable my bed was! And I had cleaned and re-arranged my room before I left so it was a nice little treat to conk out and go to bed.
Oh, and did I mention? Kelly left me a number of Charleston travel brochures on my bed, along with a praline from downtown, as a welcome home present! She’s so cute!
I hope she and I will get to do some traveling together! We live in such a beautiful, historic city, and we’ve never been tourists in our own hometown.
That’s something I’ll really miss about Europe is the ease of traveling and the unlimited sights to see! I plan to do much more traveling now that I’m home, even if that means a day trip to Charlotte, or a weekend in Myrtle Beach. Something to keep it interesting, and to make me realize how beautiful any place can be!
That sort of leads in to another blog post: all the things I’m going to miss about Ireland.
Stay tuned for that one, it'll be up soon :)
That's all for now!
Cheers!
The Smithfield Hooligans.
So here it is, the long-awaited blog about the “13 and unders” romping around Smithfield with no parental supervision, and empty bottles of Lucozade, just ready to chuck at an unaware American.
These, my friends, are the Smithfield Hooligans, and this is their story…
The hooligans’ age range is from about 8-13 years of age, just old enough to be let out of the house without parental supervision, and just young enough to look harmless. The majority of them also have freckles, which helps them look even more innocent.
They run around Smithfield wearing “trackie bottoms” (sweat pants), Adidas shoes, hoodies, and occasionally their favorite rugby jersey. They also like to gel their hair in spikes atop their hoodlum heads. It’s a mystery as to how it stays spiked during all their hooligan antics, but they manage to keep their hair perfectly stiff the entire day.
Their favorite activities include: hanging outside of SPAR and Centra (Irish convenience stores) for no apparent reason, drinking Lucozade (Orange Powerade mixed with caffeine), consuming Tayto Chips and Crunchie Bars (Google it), running into Americans with their scooters, and chasing people down the street.
My friend, Julie, was actually attacked by some Hooligans in Phoenix park. They hit her with sticks and threw rocks at her, all the while calling her names and yelling she was a “stupid American.” These are the most extreme hooligans of all, since most of them seem to be rather harmless. From a distance, anyway, haha.
The Hooligans also like to play a game I call “Throw an empty soda bottle in the road and watch cars run over it for enjoyment.” It'd take hours to explain, so I won't do that here.
Many of the Hooligans have to find games like this to play, since they do not have access to a local playground. These city-slicking kids live in a strictly residential area (Smithfield) and Phoenix Park is the closest semblance to a kid’s playground. However, the park is a solid 15-20 minute walk away and contains nothing more than bronze statues and jogging trails.
Once, I saw a gang of hooligans running around Smithfield with a horse they (or their parents) must have purchased at the Smithfield horse market. They were literally romping up and down the streets, with no real purpose other than to show off their new horse to the entire community. Now that, my friends, is an epic Smithfield moment.
(For more info, go here: http://hubpages.com/hub/Smithfield-Horse-Market-Dublin)
And let's not forget the ladies...
There is also the less-recognized female Hooligan, who likes to wear pajamas or an entire matching trackie suit. She also likes to straighten her hair, dye it one solid color (see “Dublin Women” blog) and walk around causing trouble with the hooligan boys. She’s typically the more innocent of the group, but no hooligan pack is complete without one of these hooligan girls. Typically, though, they grow up quicker than the boys and move onto shopping and, eventually, clubbing (again, see “Dublin Women” blog).
So, there you go. An in-depth look at the lifestyles and habits of the infamous Smithfield Hooligans. Luckily, I was never personally attacked by any of them, but I exercised great caution and was sure to never make eye contact. They are pretty harmless, really, unless you’re hanging outside SPAR after 9:00 pm. Then I wish you the best of luck.
To paint a clearer picture, I’ve added a few pictures of the Hooligans in their natural habitat:
These, my friends, are the Smithfield Hooligans, and this is their story…
The hooligans’ age range is from about 8-13 years of age, just old enough to be let out of the house without parental supervision, and just young enough to look harmless. The majority of them also have freckles, which helps them look even more innocent.
They run around Smithfield wearing “trackie bottoms” (sweat pants), Adidas shoes, hoodies, and occasionally their favorite rugby jersey. They also like to gel their hair in spikes atop their hoodlum heads. It’s a mystery as to how it stays spiked during all their hooligan antics, but they manage to keep their hair perfectly stiff the entire day.
Their favorite activities include: hanging outside of SPAR and Centra (Irish convenience stores) for no apparent reason, drinking Lucozade (Orange Powerade mixed with caffeine), consuming Tayto Chips and Crunchie Bars (Google it), running into Americans with their scooters, and chasing people down the street.
My friend, Julie, was actually attacked by some Hooligans in Phoenix park. They hit her with sticks and threw rocks at her, all the while calling her names and yelling she was a “stupid American.” These are the most extreme hooligans of all, since most of them seem to be rather harmless. From a distance, anyway, haha.
The Hooligans also like to play a game I call “Throw an empty soda bottle in the road and watch cars run over it for enjoyment.” It'd take hours to explain, so I won't do that here.
Many of the Hooligans have to find games like this to play, since they do not have access to a local playground. These city-slicking kids live in a strictly residential area (Smithfield) and Phoenix Park is the closest semblance to a kid’s playground. However, the park is a solid 15-20 minute walk away and contains nothing more than bronze statues and jogging trails.
Once, I saw a gang of hooligans running around Smithfield with a horse they (or their parents) must have purchased at the Smithfield horse market. They were literally romping up and down the streets, with no real purpose other than to show off their new horse to the entire community. Now that, my friends, is an epic Smithfield moment.
(For more info, go here: http://hubpages.com/hub/Smithfield-Horse-Market-Dublin)
And let's not forget the ladies...
There is also the less-recognized female Hooligan, who likes to wear pajamas or an entire matching trackie suit. She also likes to straighten her hair, dye it one solid color (see “Dublin Women” blog) and walk around causing trouble with the hooligan boys. She’s typically the more innocent of the group, but no hooligan pack is complete without one of these hooligan girls. Typically, though, they grow up quicker than the boys and move onto shopping and, eventually, clubbing (again, see “Dublin Women” blog).
So, there you go. An in-depth look at the lifestyles and habits of the infamous Smithfield Hooligans. Luckily, I was never personally attacked by any of them, but I exercised great caution and was sure to never make eye contact. They are pretty harmless, really, unless you’re hanging outside SPAR after 9:00 pm. Then I wish you the best of luck.
To paint a clearer picture, I’ve added a few pictures of the Hooligans in their natural habitat:
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