Local Market

On Saturday, my American friends and I went to the open market that happens in town on the weekends. Here, locals sell their food, jewelry, and assorted cool things.

It all felt very fun and authentic, there was dirt on the carrots and potatoes and we bought a whole bunch for less than 6 euro.

There were really interesting stands for bread, meat, and fish, including one where you can buy fresh oysters and eat them right then and there.

I gave it a whirl. Cassandra and Hannah were pretty much experts, but I struggled a little bit. Don't get me wrong, it was great. But also took me two tries to get it down.

After the market I went over to Cassandra and Zach's house, where we used all our new veggies to make super delicious potato soup, an altogether great experience.

What a day!

Check out this post, Mom!

I'm fairly certain that my mom will be the first to see this, she tells me that she checks the blog nearly every day. I'm hoping she will have a glance at it at work or something and it will brighten the day for her. And perhaps Dad will have a second, as well?

Basically, this post is just sending a quick bit of love to my parents, because I miss them and I know they miss me to.

You are both amazing. The best parents I could ask for.

And I just wanted to tell you that.

Have a wonderful day (:

 

Sorry, some sly little guy seems to have hacked into my blog! I guess I'll let his message to you stay as well.

How my night got weird and awesome (Part 2)

Wow, that was pretty rad seeing Tyler. What an evening!
Now, it's really time for bed. I have a 10 AM class tomorrow!
I take the bus home, and notice I have a message saying that it is time to celebrate Michael's birthday, one of my closest Irish friends, who happens to live in my apartment complex. I can't miss that! I have a gift ready and everything!
So, I head to his house, where there is cake, balloons, popcorn, and Doritos all waiting, along with the Birthday Boy himself.

Michael is in the center, not the balloon face, the guy. On his left is Niall and in the lovely striped shirt is Michelle.

 

Yes. I did have a kazoo with me. Why? Because sometimes it is relevant. It actually has come out now 3 times in Ireland. (Shout out to Jasen for getting them for the Glee Club at North Central!)

What an eventful day! Volleyball, pub, meet with friend from home, birthday celebration, bed. If you are wondering, I did make it to class in the morning. No problem.

 

How my night got weird and awesome (Part 1)

So, the volleyball game ends yesterday, I'm wiped out and ready for bed, and the person that drove us to the pub had a few drinks and could not drive home. Fine for her and my other teammate, who live nearby, and fine for me too. But, it does mean I have to walk to the City Centre and take the bus. No problem, it's a beautiful night, there's no rain, we won the match, why not take a random stroll through town?

As I walk down Shop Street I suddenly hear a voice that seems vaguely familiar. You know who that sounds like...?
Could it be...?
I turn around and lock eyes with none other than Tyler, Keian's older brother (and brother to the other siblings. I have no idea if they read this. Shout out to Luke, Ana, Kal and Sari if they do stumble upon this post) It really is a small world after all!
We had a (not so brief for me) moment of shock and agreed to chat over a pint and some music.
It was a really and awesome and crazy coincidence, he was leaving town the next morning.
Pretty darn cool.

NUIG Volleyball Alliance

I joined a volleyball team. There is one at GMIT, but they invited me to the alliance at NUIG, the nearby university, which is a bit more advanced. The Alliance is for people who have been playing for a while instead of just learning. It was very exciting to be back on a real court with real players! We have uniforms and everything.

Yesterday was our first match. Here's the team, there are girls from everywhere! Poland, England, America... ;)

The game went really well, it was 3 out of 5 and we won, lost, won again, and then won more time. In short, we totally rocked it and were victorious.

I played right side, and for those who did not know me when I played volleyball this is not my regular position. I was always an outside hitter. This was totally fine by me, but there was a little confusion now and then because it's not only a position I never practiced, but also a different rotation than the one I did in America. After this match I think I have it down though!

After the match some of the girls and I went to Monroe's, a local pub, to watch the rugby match. Ireland won that, too! I would be lying if I said I fully understood what was going on, but it was fun anyway.

Fun with Water Sampling

Today I went on an educational adventure for funzies. Zach and Cassandra are in the biology program at their school in Minnesota, and one of their professors, Paul, is in Ireland on sabbatical for part of this year. 



Pika-boo!



(Also, it certainly was not a bad day to spend outside adventuring.)



Oh, hello jaw-droppingly beautiful day.



That's a grotto full of water!



 They are working on a project with him taking samples of water at different Holy Wells around Ireland. It is a custom to come to these sites and drink or wash in the holy water to cleanse yourself. However, most of these wells are near horse and cow pastures, which led Paul to believe that perhaps people should not be openly drinking and washing from them.

When the water samples get back to the lab they are going to observe what sort of bacteria is present and conclude the safety of the water.


The whole trip was a lot of fun. Paul was wonderful, and even stopped by the beach because we HAD to try fresh "winkles." Do you know what winkles are?

Get it, girl.

Cassandra and I fearlessly scooped the cold, slimy buggers out of the shells and ate them up.


It's snails. Winkles are snails.

Zach was not keen. We almost got him to try but he just couldn't do it, so he opted for the "dillisk" instead, because apparently he's ok with seaweed.

Cliffs of Moher (Part 2 of trip!)

My roommate Nerea

The suspense must have been killing you! Here it is... Part 2 of my trip last weekend!

 The second half of the trip was to the Cliffs of Moher. Which, in one word, was breathtaking. They were massive, and there is not nearly as much fencing as you would think. In fact, the stone fence on top of the cliffs are what one could call "optional," as there was almost not even a single person on the "correct" side of it.



Me, Zach, Cassandra

Shout out to Nettie and Con if you are reading! The tower on one end of the cliffs was called O'Brien's Tower, built in 1835 by Cornelius O'Brien, a descendant of the first High King of Ireland (Info credit to the free pamphlet I got when I talked to the security inside the tower) 

The cliffs may have been my favorite experience in Ireland so far. Truly b-e-a-utiful.

Don't mind the nervous picture earlier. Eventually I just embraced the Cliffs and their awesomeness.