final craic and goodbyes

Up early to vacuum, mop, pack and enjoy my last day in Dublin. My, has the time flown.

i hate this part

Tomorrow is my last day in Dublin.

The bitter sweetness is just feeling bitter now.

I miss my family so much its crazy... if I could go to bed tonight and wake up tomorrow in FW it would save a lot of tears. I hate goodbyes.

sweet god... bedlam

My phone mysteriously disappeared from my bedside table.

...?

Luckily I woke up with out the assistance of my alarm... an hour later than I planned.
Time to finish my essays...

My blogs are getting shorter and shorter.

Kegan is on my flight to Chicago... oh the bedlam. :)

redundancy.

Tristan (my Irish friend from the top of the mountain) is teaching me Irish.

"Mo briste ar thine"

Translation:
My pants are on fire.

Pronunciation:
Mo brish-ta air chin-a

I will miss it here.

shunnin' the worms

First December Update

I keep sporadically leaving my computer with my essay up hoping that the leprechauns/fairy folk will come finish my paper for me. I even check the word count, just in case. No luck so far.

Taking a(nother) break to chat with my FW people.

Watched The Office "engagement" about 5 times in a row. Kegan doesn't judge me for that.
Which is why I love him.

spent 9 euro on groceries. I am playing this game to see how long I can go without spending money.
My life is so interesting.

Except... it really is. :)

10 days

scranton, pa

Yesterday Kegan, Amanda, Erika, Clara and I went to Phoenix Park. We walked around for a bit, goofing off. We stopped by a little teashop and sat and chatted. It was a freezing but I had a great time.

FUN FACT: Doubling up on layers will keep you warm when outside in cold weather.

FUN FACT: If you forget to double up on socks it doesn't matter what else you are wearing... you will be cold.

My obsession with The Office has reached an all time high. It is taking Jim and Pam FOREVER to get together. Good grief.

I have two papers I need to finished before this weekend is done... and I can not seem to find the mental capacity to do so.

GAH! I am going to buckle down now and try again.

I'd rather be watching The Office.

theworldspinsmadlyon

So I am sitting here, taking a break from the many papers I am writing and it hits me.

I am going to miss it here. So much.

Listening to The Weepies, baking cookies, dreaming of the future... thankful for the past.

ennnndless looooove

WATCH THIS

Now...how have I never heard this before... and how come Blakey and I don't dramatic sing this to each other on Milkshake Sunday? This is going to be remedied in 22 days.

Get ready Blakey... start memorizing... I'll even let you be the girl this time if you want.

To all others reading this... I know we are weird. But ignore that and just remember how awesome we are.

PLUS... you all want to see this duet and you know it.

the irish equalivant...

Writing a paper on the Celtic Tiger and its affects on Irish theatre. I have an odd feeling of deja vu.

Made brunch with Lauren... french toast with powdered sugar... watched 'Michael Collins' (the Irish equivalent of 'Braveheart') and LOVED it... naturally.

On a side note... why is 'Braveheart' CALLED 'Braveheart'? Is it because he had a brave heart? If so... why not call it 'Courage' or 'A Brave Heart' or 'Scotland'?

True... 'Braveheart' has a distinct ring to it. But why not called it 'William Wallace'? I guess I shouldn't ever name movies.

I watched a movie called 'The Edge of Love' and it was fantastic... but I was unsure why the name was chosen. I mean... I couldn't even remember the name.... until I looked it up for the purpose of writing this post.

Now the name 'Michael Collins'... kinda tells you what you need to know. I am just saying...

Anyway...I need to get back to work. Bah.

Had a lovely Skype date with Mutant last night. I miss her.

I am going to see 'Terminus' tonight at The Abbey Theatre.

FUN FACT: Dracula is Irish for "bad blood". Well played Bram Stoker... well played indeed.

Now I have to write. BAH.

28 days later...

I don't remember my American cell phone number. Good grief.

Donal has been teaching me Irish... I am rubbish at it. But I have been teaching him fun American phrases... like "douche-bag" and "shit-show". Those are two of his favorites.

I am feeling a bit under the weather. :( Third times the charm? I have a huge paper to write before Thursday and crap loads of plays to read and articles to peruse before I can even start writing it.

The lads are coming over this morning so we can all hang out before I have to put my nose back to the grindstone.

Also, its inevitable, but sometime today I am going to need to purchase groceries... and shower.

28 days...

the world brings fools together...

So last night I saw 'Johnny Patterson, The Singing Irish Clown' at the Project Arts Center.
AWESOME.
Just AWESOME.

It was a visually stunning show. Three actors told the life story of Johnny Patterson. One was the narrator/ Johnny/ other various characters, one was a live musician who also played a few characters and one was a completely silent 'traditional' clown who play characters and re-enacted moments...

its hard to explain but it was amazing. It was very 'Warhorse'-esque in the physicality. We stay for a talk-back after the show which was with the main clown (who played Johnny) and was the writer.

Then we headed back to the apartment, made No-Bake cookies and a fort (which was called 'The Big Top' in the living room.
It was most excellent.

I want to run away with the circus.

ministry of silly walks

I am bad at updating.

Claire, Audrey and Nicole come to visit for Halloween.
Bram Stoker's Dracula Experience.
Enough said.


I met Michael Palin today. Went to his book signing in Grafton St., bought his book 'Halfway to Hollywood', and stood in line for about an hour. When it was my turn, Michael Palin and I had a lovely little chat. He asked where I was from, I said Texas. He said that he has just talked to someone who had taken a train through Texas and said that there was nothing to see. I said "There is tons to see in Texas!" He said, "Maybe he just meant by train. But that is what travel is all about." I said, "Yes, that is very true." Then HE said "Maybe I will have to go and see for myself." It was a lovely tete a tete.

I finished off the afternoon with the Scrubs finale. Teared up a bit... had some hot chocolate. :)

Moral of the story? DUBLIN is AWWWWESOME!

london calling...

London!

Up at the crack of dawn we walked to the bus stop, caught the bus to the airport. As we stood waiting for flight to board I went into a bookstore thinking about buying a magazine when I saw 'The Alchemist' on the 'Staff Picks' shelf so I decided it was a sign... since Blakey loves that book... so I bought it. Our flight got into London right around 11... we took the Tube into the city, got settled in our hostel and I took off on my own. I took a walking tour based on the DaVinci Code, which was really interesting. Mainly just because I got see old churches and parts of the city that I hadn't seen before.
I headed back to the hostel around 4pm, wandered around Bloomsbury(where my hostel was) for a bit then met up with everyone else for dinner.
We got to the restaurant and while we were waiting for our table a couple of the lads and I went into Oxfam (Salvation Army type) and I found... wait for it... pink Converse for 3 pounds... in my size. I about lost my mind and naturally I purchased them.
We ate at a FANTASTIC Indian restaurant... I ate so much food it was crazy. We then went to see 'Warhorse'.

O.M.G.

Phenomenal. I can't even... so good. The puppeteers who worked the horses were so incredible... I kept forgetting that the horses were, in fact, not real horses.

After that, we walked back to the hostel... I hit the hay early.

The next morning, after a hearty hostel breakfast of cereal and uncooked bread ( toast), I gave Lauren a tour of the city (since it was her first time there). It was loads of fun. We grabbed a light lunch and headed to the Globe for our group tour. After that Lauren and I walked over Tower Bridge, contemplated going to The Tower of London, decided against it and wandered and saw some more sights instead. That night we went and saw 'Endgame'. I was so tired I almost fell asleep, though I was actually enjoying myself. After the show, I hit the hay early again.
I awoke early again and Lauren and I head to the British Museum. We attempted to form a strategy so that we could see everything... but our strategy crashed and burned and, instead, we walked through the whole place playing a game of "When I take over the world I get that".

We then saw a matinee of "If there is, I haven't found it yet." which is a new play. I actually enjoyed it for the most part and bought the script. Amanda, Erika, Lauren and I then rushed to King's Cross Station, found Platform 9 3/4, did what we went to do, then headed to the next theatre for the next show. We ate a quick dinner then saw "Many Roads to Paradise" which was bad. Just bad.
Went back to the hostel, I decided to NOT be lame and went out to the Pub with the lads. Then Amanda, Erika and I met up with a friend of theirs. We went to Tesco and bought a chocolate cake for a pound. We ate the whole thing... with our hands... it was epic.

Sunday, I went to Camden Market with Lauren and then walked through Hyde Park and Kennsington Gardens. We found the Peter Pan statue and sat for about an hour and a half. Then I met up with Claire, Audrey and Nicole and we had a lovely reunion on the grass. It was wonderful. :) Amanda and Erika brought my backpack to the park and we rushed to the train station to catch the train to the airport for our flight. We got lost and Amanda and Erika's friend Nikko and I sang 'Oliver' while wandering through London. A-MAZING.

Found the train, caught the plane... back in Dublin, did lots of nothin'.

There. I updated. Tedious recap of my trip... I hope you enjoyed it.

Switzerland, or how I decided to become a Swiss banker.

OK...

Where to start...

Switzerland was awesome.

I got to Zurich around 4pm and Mike met me at the airport. We then proceeded to wandered around the city for a few hours. I was still feeling kind of sick but much better. We ate a light dinner then took the train to St. Gallen and decided to stay in because we planned on getting up early to go hiking. So we hung out, caught up and watched Role Models (amazing movie) then went to bed. It was rainy the next day so hiking was out... instead we did a light hike in the hills around St. Gallen.

Fun Fact: There are LOTS of sheep in Switzerland.

Fun Fact: I hate sheep.

About 30 minutes into it it started snowing. SNOWING. I know. It was awesome... but quite cold.We went down to the city after that and bought some groceries, made dinner... and yet again, stayed in and watched a movie. Sensing a theme?

The next morning we got up early and head to the train to go to Santis for our hike. After about 2 hours we got there, only to find out there was 4-6 feet of snow on the ground so all the paths were covered. We were kind of bummed but took the Sky Tram up to the top to look around. Normally you can see 6 countries and all of the Alps from the top... but it was very foggy so we saw about 10 feet in front of our faces. We had a snowball fight, which was legendary.
Headed back to St. Gallen, did some sight seeing... saw the Abbey( beaaaautiful!) and then when to Olma Fest, which was a huge carnival with food and rides. :)

Mike had class the next day so I was on my own. I got up and saw some more of St. Gallen, then took the train to Rorschach, Switzerland and spend some time by Lake Constance (a huge lake that borders 3 countries). Then I head back to St. Gallen and saw Theatre St. Gallen's production of Romeo and Juliet... in German. I think some of it was lost in translation, literally. My German is pretty bad but I am almost positive Mercutio said "This isn't 'Trolius and Cressida'".

Tuesday I got up and headed back to Zurich and wandered taking pictures for a few hours before I headed to the airport.

What I Learned in Switzerland.
No one is Switzerland is poor. No one.
The Swiss are a jovial people for whom life is a musical. Example:

I have no hard evidence but I am pretty sure this is the home of a Swizz banker.
I want to be a Swiss Banker.
Mercedes Benz are common cars in Switzerland. Everyone has them... which is why I learning German and moving to Switzerland as soon as possible.



I'll post about London next.

nausea

i spent all of yesterday incredibly sick to my stomach.

i just put the first solid food in my body in over 36 hours. we shall see how that goes over.

its 6:48am here. i have yet to pack for switzerland... class in two hours then a mad rush to the airport.

time to get cracking...

rain, rain, is here to stay

Another rainy day in Dublin.

Voice class was awesome today. I normally just do the meditation/breathing/vocal excersizes and hope for them to be over quickly but today I really clicked with them, which was awesome. Maybe I am actually improving... perish the thought. We worked on Beckett text today. I have now worked on Beckett in EVERY class.
Those of you who were in Script Anal with me know my opinion of Beckett.
Dry, boring, pretenious... etc.
HOWEVER, this semester has really opened my mind to Beckett. He is only boring when people suck at doing Beckett.

WOW.

I openly laughed today at Beckett. Seriously. As in, I found the humor in it. I actually got up and did a scene from Endgame... and enjoyed myself.

I have an interview at the Ark Theatre in... 1 hour. I need to make myself presentable and walk over there and wow them with my personality so I can volunteer there, which I really want to do.

Today I am going to see my friend Annie's Irish manfriend (boyfriend) play at a pub downtown. Toooootally excited. I went Sunday night and saw him play. Good craic.

Monologue presentations tomorrow.

"Don't be afraid to take a risk, and fall on your face." says Donal, my acting tutor.

Dear merciful God in heaven.

connemara

Before you say anything... I know, I know. Its been like a week. I am a horrible blogger. I couldn't get myself to sit down and write about my weekend adventure (which was awesome). But now, I will.

The bus ride to Galway was ridiculous. Just plan ridiculous. Long. The guy next to me kept yelling on his phone. When he finally got off an Italian couple made out next to me for the remainder of the trip. It was raining when I got to Galway and I got lost going to my hostel. I know what you are thinking. I thought you said it "was awesome", Jule. I did. Hold your horses.

I finally found it. It was really cool. I met a girl with in a few minutes who had graduated from UF and we chatted and had some tea. Then I met Joey, Josh and Lauren for dinner at the King's Head pub. I finally got those Irish tapas I had been dreaming about. Yumm. Then we met up with the other people who happened to be in Galway that weekend and got drinks. Desi had a friend (from Dallas) named Preston who was studying in Galway who we met up with. He was cool and funny and we got along. He went to high school with Nelson, I later found out. Weirdness.

After a bit I headed back to my hostel as I had an early morning. I got sick during the night. Probably those Irish tapas I had been dreaming off. Not Yumm. I got up eaaaaaaarly to catch the bus to Leenane. It was basically deserted. The bus ride was about an hour and a half... when I finally got there I de-bused and walked down one of two roads in town to my B&B. The people who owned my B&B were.... strange. The young lady who greeted me (I say young... she was probably late 30's) I have decided is actually a character in 'Beauty Queen of Leenane', as is her mother. The Dad was very friendly, though slightly deaf, and made me a fire to sit by and read.

I wandered the town, taking pictures. Got lunch,went to the cultural center and the wool museum (hahah.) and interviewed a lady there. Found out there is actually a woman who called herself the 'beauty queen of Connemara' who lived in Leenane, who everyone believes the play was probably based on. I had dinner at the hotel after over hearing 4 conversations between the mother and daughter that convinced me that my theory was correct. I treated myself to cheese cake (which is NOT the same over here) and then returned to my B&B, read and then called it an early night.

I awoke the next morning to a full Irish breakfast. YUMMMMMMMMMY. Seriously. So good. Then checked out and walked to the Killary Cruises dock so I could take a lovely boat ride around Ireland's only Fjord. HOWEVER. I learned, after my 3 mile walk to the place that was 'just down the road', that in October the 10:30 cruises no longer run. SOOOOO... I walked back to town, wandered around, then headed to Letterfrack which is about 1o miles away, where I was to catch my bus. I met a lady who I talked to more about the 'beauty queen'. She told me she had met her and though everyone thought she was crazy that she had found her to be quite nice.

In Letterfrack, I decided, since I had 6 hours to burn before my bus to Galway, that I would go to the Connemara National Park. I wasn't planning on hiking but one thing led to another and before I knew it (actually it took a while) I was at the top of Diamondhill (not a fitting name for the BEAST I climbed) with torn up, leaky boots, my backpack and an apple. Lucky, I made some Irish friends on the climb, Tristan and Ciarian. They were kind enough to keep me company and offered me some of their food. We all walked down together and they bought me a pint at the bottom and chatted with me till my bus came. The bus ride back to Galway was fine but the bus to Dublin was delayed, then took forever. I got into Dublin around 12:30am, grabbed a taxi and fell asleep the minute my head touched the pillow.

Nothing to exciting has happened since then. I leave for Switzerland on Friday to met Michael and hike the Alps!!! Then I have a day turn around before I go to London for 4 days. Its going to be a wicked sweet and exhausting break. :)

Irish phrase of the day:

Tá mo chroí istigh ionat

My heart is within you.

to be straight with you

So I need to pack. Bah. I leave tomorrow at 1pm for my great solo adventure. I am slightly nervous actually. I am not sure what to pack. I forgot to get some of the books from the library before I left today... I am dumb. That means I have to do it tomorrow before I leave.... bah. That makes my day tomorrow.... stressful to say the least. I need to buy a camera too...

ANYWAY.
I saw an amazing show tonight called "To Be Straight With You". Its a movement based piece about hate crimes surrounding the gay community around the world. It was incredibly moving... there were some awesome projections and light effects that really pulled the piece together. The actors moved (or "danced") to recorded testimonies by real people but also "became" those people finishing the sentences, speeches, etc. It is kind of hard to describe it but when it ended they got a standing ovation and 3 encores.

For me, well, I was really moved by it. Some of the stories just hurt to hear. The fact that people use the name of God as a weapon to hurt and kill, hurts me deeply. I was reminded of an article I read some time ago in Vanity Fair.

"I could not for any part of me be able to keep quiet, because people were being penalized, ostracized, treated as if they were less than human because of something they could do nothing to change- their sexual orientation. For me, the Lord that I worship, this Jesus Christ, actually concurring with the persecuation of a minority that is already being persecuted. The Jesus who I worship is a Jesus who was forever on the side of those who were being clobbered, and he got in trouble precisely because of that, Our Church, the Anglican Church, is experiencing a very, very serious crisis. It's all to do with human sexuality. I think God is weeping. He is weeping that we should be spending so much energy, time, resources on this subject at a time when the world is aching."

-Archbishop Desmond Tutu

I have always felt an incredible connection to that quote and this piece of theatre just touched that part of my heart again.

1 Peter 4:8

people watching

Today for Devising class we went to the National Art Gallery to see the Edvard Munch(you know..."The Scream"? Ya. That guy) prints. Really cool stuff. We were instructed to people watch... so we wandered around the museum... I saw the 20th Century Irish Art exhibit I had missed on my last visit along with the Yeats Exhibit. I left earlier than most people, though I did stop in to see my favorite "Connemara Girl" ( by Augustus Nicholas Burke), before I left.

I walked across the street to Merrion Square Park and walked around for a bit taking in the beautiful scenery before I settled down on a bench and finished the play I was reading. It was a lovely relaxing afternoon. I wandered a bit more around the park and went to hang out with my good pal Oscar Wilde (his statue is in the park) then headed back to the apartment which is literally 2 minutes away.

I spent the next 2 hours calling and searching and finalizing my trip to Leenane this weekend. I must be out of my mind, but I am going alone. Yup. My first solo trip. I haven't even been to a movie by myself, for goodness sake. But as all of my tutors seem to say, I "didn't travel 3,000 miles to be comfortable." I got all the details figured out so I am extremely excited. It is actually quite complicated to get out there... that whole area is basically cut off... not a big touristy place.

Well, I still have more plays to read before tomorrow and I need to make myself some dinner or something. More later.

working my way through the alphabet... glendalough, howth

I am getting really bad at doing this... I have even slacked on my private journaling.

Hokay so...

On Friday I got up at around 7am in order to make sure I wasn't going to be late to Voice class again. Cathal will seriously end me if I am again. Yikes. So I was there early. That class is ridiculously relaxing. So after we all rushed to the Center to make the bus to Glendalough. After about an hour we got there and started our trek to the top of the mountain.
This is just a taste. It was awesome face.
Me and some of the lads being epic on the top.

We took a really long time walking up and then back down so we couldn't make it to Johnny Fox's (Ireland's highest pub) so instead we went and saw some beautiful monastic ruins, which in my opinion, was much more awesome than drinking... again.

We got back on the bus after that and headed back. It was Culture Night in Dublin so we changed and got ready to go out. Culture Night is a night when most of the museums and other cultural type things are open late into the night and are free. A few of the lads and I went over to Trinty College and went to the international student reception and joined the International Student Club. I met a some French guys who were baffled by my name and some cool German girls.

After that we headed to the Science Museum because there was a Bubble exhibit. I stood inside a bubble. Literally. The bubble was formed around me. I also got put my hand through a bubble. It was flippin' sweet. Then we kind of wandered around for a bit trying to find more stuff to do. Half the group went to The Stag's Head and the other half went to Temple Bar area. I went with the Temple Bar group but after a while I walked my friend back to the train so she could go home. Then I tried to find The Stag's Head and got horribly turned around. I ended up walking around Dublin for about 2 hours on my lonesome. Finally I went to meet up with some people at Doyle's and danced for a bit. Discussed the Lisbon Treaty with a man named Andy at the bar. It was quite funny yet informative.
After a while I decided I needed to sleep so I headed home. So walking done the streets of Dublin around 1am I ran into my friend Ethan on the street. We both agreed it was a completely bizarre happenstance but he walked me part of the way home since it was 1am.

Saturday I went to the Temple Bar market for breakfast and got a Blueberry Scone. YUM. :) Spent the day catching up on some work then got Indian food with some folks for dinner. They all went out dancing and I stayed home (like a lame-o) and read an awesome play by Marina Carr.

This morning I woke up and the roommates and I headed to Howth, a seaside town just outside Dublin. There was a lovely market, which was unexpected, which we bought some delicious baked goods at. We walked by the seaside for a while then ate the lunches we packed, enjoying the view. Headed back on the train after a few hours.

I bought Carrot Cake at the market which is currently sitting in my fridge and it is taking most of my will power not to devour it.

Carrot Cake is amazing. Ah.

galway,inishmor,burren,cliffs of moher and more... haha.

So Galway.

Got off to a bad start. We miscalculated how long it would take us to get to the train station so we ran the last 6 minutes of the journey. I went to pick up the tickets I had purchased online but they couldn't find my reservation. We went to the kiosk to try to buy more but our student cards weren't working. Finally, as we were about to miss our train, Nina bought adult tickets and we RAN to catch our train. Since we got there just in time we lost our seats so we stood in the luggage section for about an hour and a half. We found seats and played 'MASH' and 'Soulmate' for the remainder the trip. Awesome.

We got to Galway about 5:15pm and went to figure out the ticket situation. Turns out we only bought one ticket on accident. But we got it all sorted and headed to the hostel. We got there around 6pm. Met some French Canadian guys only to find out that the website I had booked through didn't communicate with the actual hostel so they didn't have beds for us. They apologized a bunch and got us beds at another hostel one block over. It was okay though because we all adored the guys who worked at the new hostel's reception who were awesome and Australian.

We got to our room that we were suppose to be sharing with another girl. We changed and head out for dinner. We walked around trying to find some place to eat and decided on The King's Head pub. We all shared a bottle of wine and I tried my first mussel! Bah! Not half bad. Then I ate potato and leech soup with brown bread. YUM. We chatted with some English guys who were at the table next to us who recommend pubs for when we go to London.

We walked around after dinner for a while and went to a pub called Tuffes and Nina and I had James and Ginger and listened to some Irish music. Best ever. Then head to Supermac's ( an Irish fast food chain) and got Italian icecream. Weird? Then headed to another pub we had heard about that had a live band. Jenni and I ordered a Cider and Black (Cider with Blackcurrent... so gooooood). Nina then decided I need to talk to the group of guys that were eyeing us. To all of you who know me well, you must realize how completely against this I was. Jenni and I went to listen to the band, Molly and Nina talked to them. Finally, I sucked it up and went over.

We spent the rest of the evening talking. They were very interesting guys actually. Their names were, wait for it... Andy, Andrew and Jaime. Sadly, not an Eamonn or Seamus or Patrick in sight.

*giant frowny face*

Jaime and I hit it off, as he was a complete bro. I don't think he realized that that was the only reason I talked to him for so long. That, and he was attractive. But I digress.
He was impressed with my knowledge of Hurling and Irish things. He said I was smart for an American. He was from County Kerry and completely offensive.

Andy was from Kilkenny and was really nice so we talked for a while. He wants to visit America... I recommended Texas; he agreed. He asked how I had liked his town and we had a lovely chat about how its not REALLY 'Medieval'.

We were exhausted so finally around 11 we head back to the hostel. We ended up talking for a while about random things which was really nice.

The next day we all woke up, enjoyed free hostel breakfast and headed to catch the bus, then the ferry to the Aran Islands. We got to Inis Mór around 11am, rented bikes and set off on a fantastic adventure.

It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been in my entire life. I can't really describe how peaceful and wonderful it was to take a leisurely bike ride. It is the only way to see the Island in my opinion. Little tour buses kept passing us and I felt bad for them actually... they were really missing out.





Just an example. Pictures can not do the scenery justice.

We rode for about 2 hours and stopped for lunch at Dun Aonghasa, a Celtic ruin that dates back to 2000 B.C. We debated taking the hike up to see it as we were having such a fantastic time biking. The lady at the visitors center basically told us not going would be like going to the Grand Canyon and then not going to see it. She was a little intense about it, but we paid our euro and went up.

IT. WAS. INCREDIBLE. I was completely and utterly dumbfounded by how spectacular the view was. You could see for hundreds of miles. The view of the Atlantic will be ingrained in my mind forever. At least I hope so.

We stayed for more than an hour, talking and looking, relaxing and being generally flabbergasted. We reluctantly started our decent as we needed to bike back to port to make the last ferry back to the mainland. Unfortunately about half way through that trip my camera broke so I don't have pictures from the second half of the journey which is really, really sad because it was amazing as well. We got back just in time to make the ferry.

We got back to Galway around 8pm and were exhausted and starving. We had delicious dinner and coffee and discussed our amazing day. We all agreed it was out favorite thing we have done so far. We got some dessert crepes at a local crepery. Greeeeeat stuff. Headed back to the hostel and played cards since no one wanted to spend more money. Spent the night talking, which again, was great.

The next morning we parted ways. Jenni and Molly stayed in Galway to see the sights and Nina and I head out on our bus tour of the Burren and the Cliffs of Moher. The tour was nice, though we were spoiled by the day before and the bus was not as awesome (especially for pictures). We had a large Irish lunch followed by coffee and cheesecake at a pub called Fitzpatricks then went to the cliffs.

The cliffs were incredible, obviously. We went out past the "Don't go past this point" sign... as everyone does. That was totally worth it because the pictures were so much better.


We spent about and hour there then got back on the bus and saw a Celtic burial site then toured a cave (in which they found bear skeletons). That is a big deal here as bears haven't inhabited Ireland in 1000 years. The cave itself was kind of lame but Nina and I made the best of it.

We got back to Galway around 5:30 then went to the train station to catch the train back to Dublin. However, our train had a technical malfunction and we ended up spending 2 hours on the platform before FINALLY leaving. That got us in to Dublin around 10: 45 and we didn't get home until 11- something. Needless to say I was exhausted.

All in all, it was a completely fantastic weekend.

Jeez, that was a lot to write. If you got to the end of this and read it all, you really are a true friend. ; )

paaaaacking part deuce

Favorite sandwich:
Turkey, Swiss and Blackcurrent Jam.

:D

Leaving for Galway... and missing everyone from home.

packing

Saw some crazy theatre tonight... a show called PowerPoint. The jury is still out.

Packing my backpack for Galway. I have more food than clothes right now. Ah... the life of a student traveler.

Friday- Train to Galway...

Saturday- Aran Island tour... Galway for some night life.

Sunday- Cliffs of Moher... train home.

Its gonna be INTENSE. Like camping, or the circus.

That was for you, Claire.

Ok. Back to paaaaacking.

annnnnd...

My evening entertainment.





























Random goofiness.

AWESOME.

I got up today and ate LOTS of Nutella.

Then Jenni and I went to the National Gallery of Art which is about a 2 minutes walk from my apartment. It was so much fun... the art was beautiful. I saw a collection of miniatures illustrations done for a Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales as well as loads of Irish painters from the 18th and 18th century.

After about 2 hours we head back home and made lunch (which included me eating more nutella). Then headed to Devising class. Then rushed from Devising to the show, 'La Clique' which was a 20 minutes run-walk from Gaiety.

The show... was INCREDIBLE. Oh my goodness. Let me just take a moment.

Fun Fact: I have been wasting my time dating actors and singers. I should pursue circus performers.

The show began with a large wonderful black man in drag singing Nessun Dorma.

The first act was two (extremely attractive) 'English' men (The English Gents... look them up.) in pinstripe suits who performed so FANTASTIC feats of acrobatics. I mean, this guy stood on his partner's head. Literally. Then switched and was on one had. Balanced on his partners head. Oh right... then they preceded to strip down to their Irish flag underwear... and do more crazy stuff. I have never seen muscles like that in my life.

Fun Fact: It was awesome.

The second act was a fabulous man named Mario, Queen of the Circus. The fun thing was... he performed juggling to a Queen song. Hence the name.

Then the was a man dressed as Betty Doll doing a hilarious Silks routine.

Then there was the beautiful awesome girl who performed hula hoop tricks.

Captain Frodo, the clutzy, hilarious contortionist who threw confetti for emphasis. He was a crowd favorite.

Then, was Bathtub guy. At least that is how we describe him. He was basically was in the bathtub... then he did this intense rope routine thingy. I can't really describe it but it was sweet.

Fun fact: Its called being an 'aerialist'. Good to know.

Intermission. And yes... I am going to describe ever act and YOU WILL ENJOY EVERY MINUTE OF IT.

Ok.

Nessun Dorma came back and sang "Circle of Life/Umbrella" wearing a zebra print jump suit, a giant hot pink fro and matching leg warmers.

My old pal, Mario road a unicycle to Queen's "Bicycle Race" and juggled a bit more. I love him and his fake (painted) mustache.

Then this BEAUTIFUL (not using that word lightly) young woman performed the most haunting trapeze routine. Her feet were bleeding by the end... my friend Joey( who had worked with Circus people) told me that trapeze is all about the pain and that it never stops hurting. Made the whole thing more haunting and sad. Ah!

Then my adorable zebra man came back and sang some Radiohead. Made me think fondly of Rockband.

Then. Oh.My.Goodness. Came the The Skating Aratas. A moment of silence please. They are 7th generation circus performers. Yah. They... well basically I am not sure I can explain what the heck they did on that stage... there was some crazy stuff happening. It was like being ON the skating rink during an ice skating routine but 10 times more intense. I was literally about 8 feet from a woman being spun around at HIGH speeds holding on with her ankles around her partners neck. Then they did this thing wear she had the rope thing around her neck and was like spinning herself ... wait for it... BY HER FLIPPIN' NECK. Youtube that stuff, NOW. OH.MY.GOSH. It was act was extremely sexy actually which was a little weird when I found out they were brother and sister. But I digress.

Then we crowd surfed Mario to "We are the Champions". A whole new meaning to crowd interaction.

Captain Frodo came back and did some more double jointed awesomeness...

They all came back and the crowd was on their feet screaming and yelling and clapping like mad. It was insane. I haven't been that excited by a show is FOREVER. I mean I was literally beside myself. BLAH!

I came home feeling quite un-extraordinary and decided to eat more Nutella. I bought the jar Saturday... its basically gone. Yep.

The show was... AWESOME. Today was AWESOME. Dublin is AWESOME.

luaaaaaas

I basically did nothing today. Except eat. I did a lot of that.

Saw Dorian Gray with some folks. Very entertaining film actually.

Got out and got distracted talking to people and missed the last train home. :(
Hung out with some people for a bit then Nina and I caught a taxi home. Our taxi driver was so cool though and chatted with us. He was a native Dubliner and told us that he works the night shift so he often gets people to give him directions via Pubs not streets. Brilliant. He didn't over charge us either which was refreshing.

I am exhausted but hopefully I will get my butt out of bed tomorrow and go to the Museum of Art.
I have class in the afternoon then going to see 'La Clique' afterwards. First piece of Dublin Fringe Theatre... I'm intrigued.

the wild rover...

Had Pub time with the roommates and Joey and Josh last night then went to the Eddie Rockets for Cheese and Garlic Chips. Not as 'yum' as I had desired.

This morning we all got up to go see a Fringe show... which was sold out. We did stumble upon a open air market. Bought a fruit scone. :) Wandered a bit more. Found another market and bought some fresh fruit. Decided that we were going to have Irish Breakfast for dinner.

Headed home for a bit then I took off on my own to find a closer grocery store because I was positive their had to be one. I wandered for about and hour with no success but it was so beautiful and nice out I didn't really care. I finally found a shop and bought groceries then began my trug home. Stop in the park since it was so wonderful out... I read " Protrait of Dorian Gray" in the park for a while before walking the rest of the way home.

I get lost in the city every time I go about myself. I don't care though. I love walking through this city so much it doesn't bother me.

Currently everyone is crowed around my apartment making Breakfast. Its loud... and smelly. I am listening to Irish music loud to drown out the arguing.

Dropkick Murphys are awesome.

thirsty thursday...

Started the day out right with some yoga followed by Acting with Donal, where, within a period of 2 and a half hours I was a blind, a bumper car, a child, and a prostitute. I learned a very valuable life lesson too... the answer is always Mel Gibson. Always.

Then we had Movement/Dance. This class kicks my butt. Bikrama yoga warm up to start. We continued learning this strange right brain/left brain dance/ movement combo-thing... I seriously don't know how to describe what the heck it is.
Then we spent forever walking around the room emphasizing different traits we have followed by a lot of very Movement-y things.

Then, ladies and gents, came Contemporary Irish Drama. By this time I am so tired its a bit ridiculous. Its also 6:30 at night with no dinner break in sight. So the combination of low blood sugared tired sickness... but I digress. I titled my notes "Contempary Irish Drama." Yes. Re-read that. Off to a bad start, Jule. Bad form indeed. My professor, however, is... how do you say... a fox. Yes. I said fox. He could be described with the term foxy without any qualms from anyone. And not a "Oh he is an artist and a doctor and Irish" foxy. Just plain foxy-foxy. I am going to stop using the word foxy now.

Anyway. He also will more than likely eat my children. He is a scary quiet angry Irish man. With a PhD. Who has written a book. Who could not possibly be older than early 30s, and I mean EARLY.

Fun Fact: His name is Dr. Walsh. I know... mind blown.

No one came to the class having read the required first day reading... because we never got the syllabus. But before he knew that... he was very very angry. I coward in my seat. I got slightly more relaxed as the class progressed but not comfortable. No, that is not a feeling I believe I will feel during that class.

8:45 Voice tomorrow then WEEKEND time. :)

the irish name game

OK. Quick update. Classes are good. Great, in fact. I had Voice class this morning ( Movement/Dance, Acting and Devising yesterday). Went grocery shopping because I had run out of food because I eat way too much here.

Dublin is legit. I live literally a block away from where Oscar Wilde lived. A block. I walked by it not an hour ago. Now it houses the Irish American University, but still. I feel like every literature major HAS to come here. Its like a literature mecca. James Joyce, Oscar Wilde, George Bernard Shaw, W.B. Yeats...

Oh, and guess what?
Conor McPherson is giving a talk in two weeks at the Gate Theatre. Conor Freakin' McPherson, ladies and gents. I have been re-familiarizing myself with his plays since I found out and its ridiculous because he talks about these pubs and streets and places... that I go to every day.

We aren't allowed to wear makeup to class, at all. Also, we wear all black to class every day. My individuality is waning... but getting ready in the morning is so much easier.

Today in Voice class we did individual hands on work with Cathal (our 'tutor' as he is called here). My 'tutors' are named Antoinette, Diane, Cathal, and Donal. Sweetest names ever, right? I think next month when my Voice and Devising classes become integrated with Irish students who are studying at the Gaiety we are going to meet Padreig, the head of the Gaiety School of Acting. The man who kicked Collin Farrell out of his school. Good lookin' out, Padreig. He is a large, very intimidating man I am told.

A large, very scary pigeon just landed loudly on my windowsill. People here have the weirdest obsession with pigeons. I have never seen people feed pigeons (and not old ladies in the park, we are talking young business men too) as much as they do here. Its the oddest thing.

More later!

Oi, TIPP!

Today was an very Irish day. I woke up late (not an Irish thing really) and had Nutella on brown toast and Earl Gray tea with milk and sugar (a VERY Irish thing). Then I proceeded to tidy up around the apartment, had a tea time snack and then got ready to go out. The roommates and I went down to Ryan's Pub to watch the Hurling Final on the telly.

This is Hurling:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmzivRetelE

It is legit. Probably the most intense and impressive game I have ever watched. All the players are amateurs who aren't paid or sponsored who have jobs and families and stuff and only play for their hometowns as a matter of pride. This match was Kilkenny( the reigning champions) vs. Tipperary. We decided that we would go for Tipperary... as the pub had Tipperary flags hanging from every surface imaginable. It was exceedingly fun. Screaming "Get 'um Tipp!!" and what not. Matches are 7o minutes with only one break (a half time 35 minutes in). That in itself is impressive considered this game is considered the fast game on grass and is very brutal (no pads and most of the players were not even wearing helmets). During half time my roommate Erin and I went to get Abrakebabra (Ireland premier fast food restaurant).

Fun Fact: Irish fast food is nothing like American fast food.

It was soooo freakin' good. We ate then headed back to the Pub and finished the game. Tipperary ended up losing but the match was really close.

We walked home through St. Stephen's Green which is a beautiful park that I am gonna start running in.

Fun day all in all. Classes start tomorrow. OH my gooooooodnesss!

curiouser and curiouser

Today started off with a bang. I woke up to a cold shower (crazy European heating systems) and started my laundry (which takes 2 hours... not including dryer.) OH and no one actually uses a dryer here... yah. I have to hang dry my clothes so my apartment looks ridiculous right now.

Took a horrifically touristy bus tour around Dublin which was actually quite fun. Learned LOTS of fun facts.

Fun Fact: You can smell the Guinness Brewery from miles away.

2nd Fun Fact: It smells AWESOME!!!

It was a get on/get off kinda deal so after we road it one full time through I got off at St. Patrick's Cathedral. It was absolutely stunning inside.



Just an example.

We then headed to the Kilmainham Gaol, the legendary jail in Dublin where the leaders from the Irish Rebellion for Independence were held and executed. It considered a national landmark and one of the most famous and historic building in Dublin.


Its been used in tons of films and TV shows. It was a little ridiculous however because people were literally taking pictures in the cells smiling and goofing off which would have royally pissed me off if I was Irish. The tour guide took us in too a courtyard with no windows and everyone crowded in and were snapping pictures of stone walls (which I did not understand... but I digress) and then the tour guide informed us that we were standing in the execution arena where the revolutionaries died by firing squad at dawn, one of which was 3 hours newly wed, whose wife was standing on the other side of the wall listening. Yes, well, that cheered me right up and I quickly departed the courtyard. My friend Owen pointed out later that that kinda thing always makes you grateful you are not the kid of the 6th Sense. I could not have put it better myself.

We jumped on the bus and headed back to our stop because we were all exhausted by then. I met up with some of the Wyckams ( people who live in a different apartments... its like the Sharks and the Jets... except there is no dance fighting and we basically all get along swimmingly) for dinner at the Barge, which is a lovely (very crowded and expensive) pub for dinner. We watched an World Cup qualifying match on the telly and we all cheered very loudly when Ireland scored(which I only knew occurred because everyone was cheering.) George informed me that my wide eyes, animated expressions and dry, sarcastic sense of humor makes him think of combination of an Alice in Wonderland character and Chelsey Handler . Hmm...

After dinner I walked back to my apartment alone since they all lived in the opposite direction. I had a lovely 20 minute walk but the good news was I DIDN'T GET LOST! HUZZAH!!!
That is actually a HUGE feat for me so I was very excited.

Tomorrow looks to be a fun filled day indeed as the plan in to watch the Hurling Match on the telly down at the local pub. What will that have in store for me? You shall bloody well have to wait and see.

never have I ever...

Never have I ever sung Karaoke- Build Me Up Buttercup in an Irish Pub...

*Jule puts a finger down*

Legendary.

Grand. :)

Today was the last day of orientation and now we are freeeee for the weekend!!! I got my Irish phone number so I am feeling snazzy. I bought groceries ( I am such a local) and then proceeded to get lost getting back to my apartment (I am such a tourist). My roommate and I made pizza (I know, we are so American) for dinner which was lovely. Last night we had a lovely group dinner then every one headed back to our apartment to hang out. These 8 year old boys followed us back saying quite un-8 year old things to us. They then proceeded to break into our building and run around. Finally one of the guys kicked them out so they stood of the streets and took their clothing off.

...

I am going to give you a second to read then re-read that. Yes. They stood outside my window and proceeded to STRIP and say very very grotesque things. Kegan then said "Well, this evening just took a bizarre and unexpected turn." At that moment I decided I loved him. Finally, the kids cleared of and the lads and I went down to the pub at the corner which is called...wait for it, wait for it... The Ginger Man. I know. I was so happy. After enjoying a pint we returned to the apartment and I attempted to set up my phone. This was a very bad idea. I was complete rubbish at it and basically incapacitated my phone with in 12 hours of purchasing it. Lucky, Joey, from across the hall, fixed it for me. Joey is a stage combat person too. We bonded.

Tomorrow, I'm doing a touristy bus tour of Dublin. And Sunday I am watching the Irish Hurling Final in the Pub. It will be grand.

I have developed Irish speaking patterns. My roommates make fun of me. A lot.

puuuuub.

Just got back from the Pub. 3 mile walk in the rain... I am sensing a pattern.

dublin' or nothin

So, I moved in to my apartment today in Dublin. Saints preserve us!

Yesterday was AWESOME though... despite the fact we got horribly, terribly lost again. (Sensing a pattern?) We walked from the hotel through Green Park, right past Buckingham Palace,down Parliament, across the Westminster Bridge, then got turned around and wandered. Once we lost sight of the London Eye, we were basically screwed. After about an hour walk we finally found the Globe Theatre. The tour was enjoyable, but the freakin' SWEETEST thing was that when we walked in to the theatre they were running fight rehearsal. I know. Legend... dary timing.

By far, though, the coolest thing was the tour of the Rose Theatre excavation site. I literally got to stand in the space where some of Shakespeare's first works were performed and where Shakespeare performed as an actor. I was basically awe struck. We kept walking but wandered away from the tour group to go back and stand there for a bit longer. The tour guide came looking for me... when he finally found me he just looked at me and asked me if I was an actor. I told him yes and he basically said "Yah, I was that way when I first came." So us actors bonded over that. Mom and I then did a quick walk through of the Tate Modern before heading back to the hotel.

This morning I woke up at 5:30, showered and caught the Tube to Heathrow. When I got to Dublin, I caught a cab to a corner of a street where I had been instructed to wait for someone to meet me. Sketchy, I know. Finally, Eammon, my "RA" came bounding across the street dramatically proclaiming "So, there I was, stranded in Dublin...". He is basically wonderful and hilarious. He informed me that "RA" was not a good term for him because he was NOT going to tell me not to drink. Quite the opposite in fact. I met my flippin' sweet new roomies and after a get to know you chat we went grocery shopping and then walked 2 miles back to our apartment carrying heavy grocery bags.

FUN FACT:
You have to pay for grocery bags here. wtf.

It began to rain. A lot. We arrived back to our apartment soaking wet and, after drying off, made dinner. We are leaving for the pub for a "get to know you" drink with the other students in the program in about 30 minutes. I need to got and get ready/finished unpacking.

I promise my next entry will not be lame.

defending the baracade... and what not.

Spent the day walking around Camden Town. I went a LITTLE crazy with the buying/shopping bit. A foreign man walked up to me as I was browsing at a little shop and started chatting me up.
(I am picking up loads of fun British phrases. That means 'flirting'. I feel so cool right now.)
I was being polite but trying to ignore him. He asked me where I was from and I considered saying Russia (yet again) but I realized that out of the loud, abrasive club my accented sounded a lot like a bad French one. So, in light of my inability to think on my feet, I decided to go with the truth (SHOCKER). He was very interested in the fact that I was American and he liked my name a great deal. He then informed me that he was from, wait for it... wait for it... IRAQ. He then asked me if I had heard of Iraq. Yah... I am serious. I replied that "Yes, I had." when what I REALLY wanted to say was... well, it doesn't really matter what I wanted to say because I was just basically dumbfounded that he asked me that.

After shopping a bit more we headed to Leicester Square for dinner. We had Mexican food and margaritas. Made me miss Fuzzy's. We then walked around for a bit. I saw the infamous TigerTiger and thought of all you London folks. We finally headed to the Queen's Theatre to see Les Miserables.

Seeing as it is quite late here, please excuse the fact that I can not describe in detail how FLIPPIN' AMAZING the show was. It was just... BAH! So good. I almost leapt to my feet in a fit of joy at the curtain call. I laughed, I cried, I mumbled 'Vive la France' under my breath and punched my mother in the arm quite hard when they started waving the flag during 'One Day More'.

Jean Valjean was twice my age and I would have attacked him and kissed his face if I had be allowed to stand by the stage door. I think my extremely observant mother realized this so, to avoid the humiliation, she skillfully guided to the the bus stop before I could make a complete fool of myself.

I could seriously gush about how wonderful it was forever and since I am getting very vicious looks from my mother I believe it is time to bide you adieu and go to sleep.

Tomorrow I am going to my own personal Mecca; The Globe Theatre.

Oh yah. Get excited, readers. Its gonna be a good one.

sunrise in london

I watched the sun rise in London this morning. Yes folks. And not in the "got up early to do so" way. I had, in fact, not yet felt the warmth of my lovely hotel bed as the sun peaked its face over the horizon. I can not party like Londoners. It is too hard.

BUT backing up... Yesterday was spent walking around Temple Bar(the historic/ hopping district of Dublin.) As we walked along to Liffey (the river that runs through the heart of Dublin) I distinctly smelled beef jerky. This was not because there was beef jerky anywhere in the general vicinity. Oh no. My deductive reasoning skills concluded after a few moments that the smell was coming from the river. The smell was comforting, in a homey-makes-you-want-to-gag kind of way.

We got horrifically lost on the way back to the car... it was a race against time and the Dublin police force as our car was likely to be towed or booted if we did not make it back before the clock struck 3. Very dramatic.

But as I said, horrifically lost. We asked directions... a few times. The first time a lovely man on a bicycle told us to go to the 'op o' da s'reet n 'urn lef'. Got that? Yah, neither did we. Luckily,I finally figured out what he said. Unluckily, it was about a mile after where we were supposed to turn. Luckily, we had a map. Unluckily, my sister confused St. Patrick's for Christ Cathedral and we started walking towards the wrong giant stone structure. To be fair though, who would have thought that the biggest cathedral in town would be St. Patrick's (The Patron Saint of Ireland) when you were in the capital city... oh wait.

Anyway we finally made it back to Parliament Street where we had parked in the nick of time.

Note to Self: Look up the Prime Minister of Ireland so not to embarrass yourself even more by talking about "their queen". Stupid, stupid Jule.

Googling.... googling... googling.

And...

OK. There is a President and a Taoiseach (Prime Minister) of Ireland. Oh... and the President is a lady. HUZZAH! Now I will no longer embarrass myself whilst in Ireland. Thanks Google!!!

So finally, after all that excitement, got on the plane to London, checked into the hotel, then was manhandled into going out to a club with my sister.

Fun Fact: Men from London do not understand what " No" means, in a way that puts American men to shame. Also, if you say "No, Thank you." you might as well of said "Yes!"

So through out the night I was subsequently Russian, married and got really good at sneaking away. I don't think I can count how many times I said "Sorry, do not speak English" and quickly walked away and how many times that did not stop these men from their incessant need to tell me ALL about themselves.

Finally, the club closed, I enjoyed Chips & Cheese (YUM!) and next thing I knew...

I got up 4 short hours later and we spent the day touring Hampton Court. I got separated from the family and spent most of that time alone. Watched a joust with some horrible acting, contemplated demanding they let me play Anne Boleyn since the woman they had got knew NOTHING about her, and watched some reasonably decent sword fighting. After walking through the castle twice I just sat down and people watched until, by a stroke of luck, my family walked right by me. Lost them again while wandering through the rose garden, wondered how people survived before cell phones and realized that the last 4 day (of me being totally cell phone less) have been incredible drama free and relaxing... coincidence?

I am tired. I wish I was more clever today. I apologize.

and...

Crisis averted.

Extremely long entry to come but right now my mom is giving me the death glare because I am not packing. Nipping over to London tonight for a few days. I'm going to hang with King Henry and Queen Anne at Hampton Court tomorrow. I thought they were dead... shows what I know about English history.

yikes.

so... I MIGHT have left my visa papers in Texas.

Houston, we have a problem.

nun-sense!

Slept off my jet lagg after discussing the merits of the plays of Tennessee Williams with the concerguie, Patrick.
Started the day off right with a mug of Irish breakfast tea and a scone.
Oh yah, I ate a scone... none of those nancy "muffins" here.
Well, I am sure they have them but that is not as Irish as a scone.
Also, 'cupcakes' are called 'ice cakes'. Now you know.
They have big ones too.

Took our sweet time getting out today... which drove my sister crazy. We went to Clonmacnoise,
which for you non-ancient Catholicism fans is the site of the famous 11-century monastic ruins,
situated right smack in the middle of Ireland... on a prominent 'esker'. For you non-geology fans that is a giant continuous hill left by the last ice age. Ireland is making me really smart.
The ruins were abosolutely breath taking, if you like ancient Christian ruins. ( I do.)

Took a little hike down a country lane to the site of the 'Nun's Church'. The ruins were deserted because lazy American tourists don't want to walk down a country lane. They probably have never seen 'P.S. I Love You'. The lane did not have any attractive Irish men so maybe they were the smart ones... because it was cold.

But my sister and I took advantage of its deserted state and had a dance party then re-enacted a scene from 'The Karate Kid'. My mother was appauled and kept using words like "sacreligious'. I kindly informed her that God was going to see it anyway and it probably wasn't any worse than what the nun's did there. I mean, I know how nuns are, I have seen Sister Act (1 and 2).

It began to rain, so we made our way back to the main ruins.

Fun Fact: It rains in Ireland... a lot.

2nd Fun Fact: That is not true.

3rd Fun Fact: Ok, I lied, it is true.

Inside the warm Tourism Center I found a beautiful man. (I KNOW! I was pretty stoked.) I was JUST about to consider making polite, reserved flirtatous eye contact when my mom came in and RUINED EVERYTHING. I have discovered my worst embrassassing stories including males (foriegn or otherwise) ALL include my mother... coincidence... I no longer think so.

Drove around... a lot. Rained three or four more times. Saw a bakery in one of the towns. My mom and sister convinced me to jump out and go buy bread while they circled around.
I naively agreed, then stood on the street corner for the next 20 minutes waiting. It rained again. I was not a happy lady. At least 5 men spoke to me though so apparently 'pissed off drowned rat' is a good look for me.

Stopped by 'the shop' (Irish people have cute terms that make normal, boring things like 'grocery store' and 'gas station' sound awesome) and bought some cheese and Nutella for the bread (which I call Deserted Jule Bread). I had lots of Nutella. Deserted Jule Bread tastes best with nutella.

Took the back country roads back to Dublin. My favorite thing was to spot a ancient ruin then count how many seconds till I saw a petrol station. Its like the lighting/thunder game but SO much better.

I am slightly disappointed with Ireland though. I have been here TWO days and not ONE person has said 'Top of the 'morning'. They also don't sell Lucky Charms here. My family also seems dead set against me drinking whiskey. My mom said 'You drink whiskey better than any woman I know' like it was a bad thing.

Tomorrow we go to Kilkenny. I made a South Park joke. I could hear the crickets.

Also, I have learned that my 'Legendary' schtick isn't going to be funny here.
They say is 'le-gen-dre". So unfair. How am I going to make friends?!

Dublin's Fair City

So... I made it. I am safely in the hotel despite my mothers numerous attempts to kill me (which she cleverly described as "sight seeing" and "driving").

Note to readers: driving a stick shift when you haven't driven one in years does not become easier when concentrating on driving on a different side of the road and navigating in a strange city. Quite the opposite in fact.

I developed a case of car sickness heighten by a severe paranoia of on coming traffic.
Example A:
The Dubliners I have met so far were extremely kind and helpful, especially since one had to say to us " You know you are driving on the train tracks there, don't ya?". We, in fact, did not know this, as my mom was just trying to find something ( I wasn't quite sure what since every person she asked she seemed to be looking for something else) and I kept closing my eyes and praying that today would not be the day I died. But I digress...

Dublin is extremely overwhelming... but that could be the driving bit which I NEVER want to do again and my mom seems to think we will be doing tomorrow... negative ghost rider...the pattern is full.

I enjoyed some AWESOME Irish Soda Bread and a doughnut (Note to Taylor: SO much flippin' better here) and now am enjoying some Irish Breakfast tea (served with two sugars and milk... crazy Irish people). Mom is resting... I guess a 6 hour plane ride followed by at least 5 counts of attempted homicide can really take it out of you.

Amanda gets in in about 2 hours... I am hoping we just eat dinner and go to sleep because I am a zombie... but knowing Amanda she is going to want to go to a Pub.

Fun Fact: There are no pubs in Dublin.



2nd Fun Fact: The above fact is a lie.

My wit is slowly failing me. OH! When I got off the plane, not even having been in the country 5 minutes, I got yelled at for walking somewhere I wasn't supposed too. It was all " Welcome to Ireland... STAY IN THE BLOODY WHITE LINED AREA!" Also, I saw a leprechaun. Seriously. He was disguised as a normal person but he was a leprechaun. His human disguise was quite clever though. He was at least 6 foot and didn't really look like a leprechaun at all BUT he had some mad pointy ears, so I knew. I should have grabbed him by his beard and gotten his gold but since I had already gotten yelled at I figured adding "assault" to my indiscretions would not be a good start. On a completely unrelated note... the people outside my hotel room right now are speaking Gaelic. Just as normal as you please. Wicked.
Oh and this is my jet lag face:
And this made me think of home:

OK... that's all for now!

Dublin or Bust

My bags are over weight. I leave in 15 minutes. Stress does not begin to describe this feeling.
I have nothing else to write for now. Wish me luck!

obligatory "packing" entry

I have put off beginning this blog for a while. However, I leave bright and early tomorrow so it is probably time. I have been packing like a crazy person today and running around trying to tie up all the loose ends I have been ignoring for the last couple weeks.

Today is the first day of my senior year and the last Theatre Rally and I am missing it. It kind of makes me sad.

Anyway, my list is long so I will keep this entry relatively short. Tomorrow my mom and I are flying to Chicago then after a (hopefully) short lay over we are getting on the plane and arriving in Dublin around 8:30am on Wednesday morning. I can't sleep on planes so Wednesday will more than likely see an extremely grouchy Jule. BUT, I get to see my sister (who is meeting us there) who I haven't seen since April. :D

I hope to be good about blogging regularly about stuff people might actually care about. Feel free to comment, etc. and if you want me to send you a postcard Facebook or email me your address and I will do my best to send one.

That is all for now! Back to packing...