Doing Dublin

BEWARE: Tons of picture ahead!

This past weekend me and 5 other fellow abroad-ers decided to do Dublin! It was quite an experience to say the least! We woke up Friday morning at 6 am to catch the 8:00 bus which was a ride that lasted 4.5 hours! When finally getting to Dublin we searched to find our hostel. Honestly, I was pretty nervous about the conditions of the hostel since I had never been in one before and had no idea what to expect! Thankfully it was pretty nice and clean and the beds were comfortable.
After settling in we grabbed some lunch and explored the town starting with the Guinness storehouse which is a common attraction in Dublin.
The tour explained the process of making Guinness and told you about its history and once you got to the top floor called the "Gravity Bar"you received a complimentary pint of Guinness. Thanks to my "big sis" I knew to ask for them to put a shamrock in the head of the beer! So cool!We weren't really fans of the taste of the pint so we decided to play a round of Kings and made history in the Guinness storehouse as being the first group to do so.We grabbed some dinner at a restaurant recommended to us called Bull and Castle where Brittany and I decided to share and try Beef and Guinness pie. It was absolutely delicious! After that we decided to go to a pub to watch some more of the world cup, experienced The Temple Bar, and then made our way home. Overall a great first day in Ireland's capital! On Saturday we started off the day at Christ Church Cathedral and learned about its history and saw the amazing architecture inside. We then headed over to a big shopping strip on Grafton Street where there was amazing shopping and an awesome people watching spot.We then headed to Steven's Green which is a huge park next to Grafton Street and sat and basked in the sun for a little. Jill and I also made a new friend, Gussy!
That night we decided to visit the bar that P.S. I Love You was filmed in called Whelan's. There was a fun band that played the song "Galway Girl" which, coincidentally, was played in the movie!Afterward we went to another pub/ club where we decided to... DANCE! For those of you who know me well, this is a very rare, if not nonexistent occasion for me. But, I actually had a lot of fun, especially when requesting Miley Cyrus' Party in the USA! (Morgan). Don't laugh too hard at the pictures below...Overall we had a GREAT time in Dublin! Sorry for the picture overload but there was just so much to show. Stay updated for posts on our upcoming trip to Galway this weekend!

a PC is okay with me

I have never loved my laptop as much as I do right now. After 5 days being without my wonderful computer, out of the country none-the-less we FINALLY have wireless! Apparently this was the first time in a while this campus had a wireless connection hence the long wait. So, here are finally some long awaited pictures! Enjoy!

These are the apartments that we are staying in, and Dr. Gast's head.

The group of us our first night out

In front of Blarney Castle entrance

Me kissing the Blarney Stone and receiving the "gift of gab"!

At the city of Ballycotton's "beach" and lighthouse

Inside the Barryscourt castle

Naked Blog

I cannot stand my poor little blog being naked anymore so I have stolen pictures from a fellow abroader, James. (Thank you!)

The whole group out at Costigans for the US vs. UK World Cup game.

At Ballycotton taking the annual group picture by Irelands "beach"!

The gorgeous view looking out at the city of Youghal.

Sorry there isn't really any more but once the internet is up I'll be sure to upload tons! Hope this holds everyone over for now :)

Céad míle fáilte romhat!

Being a tourist is exhausting. Yesterday a group of about 12 or 14 of us got an early morning and hopped a train to Blarney to visit the castle and of course kiss the stone! If you don't know what this tradition/ tourist attraction/ myth consists of, basically it is said that if you lay on your back, throw your head over a wall and have a creepy man hold onto you while you kiss a stone a foot away from you that many others before you have kissed as well, it is said that you will be given the "gift of gab". Even though it might very well be a ridiculous tradition, it still was fun to experience. I do have a picture and will be sure to upload later :) After looking around the castle a little bit more we decided to grab some lunch, coffee, look around some shops and then head back to town. Once in town we wandered over to the English Market where you can find a variety of local cheese's, breads, meats, and fish. It was a very interesting experience to say the least. The meats looked incredibly fresh, the bread and cheese smelt amazing, and the fish was quite fishy, eyes and all. There also was animal tongue, intestines, and and a variety of organs for sale. Yum! After an exhausting but fun morning we headed back to the apartment for some R&R and dinner (spaghetti O's and pizza). That night the huge US vs. UK world cup game was on so downtown was crazy. We decided to experience the madness of it all and go out for a little bit. After the game we explored the town a little bit more and ended the night off with McDonalds, which is open 24/7 here, and a very overpriced taxi ride home.



That night consisted of memories that were by far my favorite to date. I am getting so close to the girls here and love every one of them! We have already had several heart to hearts, which are my favorite, and are learning so much about each other as well as where everyone is from. My one room mate, Jill, is the from South Dakota and the farthest from us all. Us Florida and Georgia girls sure have learned a lot about life in SD! I am also learning a lot about Georgia and life in the real south. I think I have enjoyed getting to know everyone as much as I have enjoyed this beautiful country.



Today we went on a tour of East County Cork. First we went to the cost in a town called Ballycotton which was beautiful. We took some pictures by the water and then went to a near by hotel where we had tea and scones. Delicious! After that we headed over to another town called Youghal (pronounced Ya'll) where we had lunch and then went to the "wall" where we saw and church and climbed a hill to see a gorgeous view of the city. Barryscourt castle was the last stop on our tour where we had a tour of the castle and learned a little bit more about some Irish history.



That was the end of our day, and overall first weekend here! It was most definitely amazing as well as exahusting. Tomorrow we are looking around all the COPE foundation settings and then Tuesday starts the first day of work! The wireless is still not up but tons have pictures have been taken and I will be sure to upload them soon! Love and miss everyone!

Greetings from Ireland!

So after a day of sleepless and stressful travel, I am finally in Ireland! Surpringly, it has surpassed all of my expectations thus far. It is more beautiful than I could have ever imagined as well as colder than I thought or prepared for. Looking back, packing 10 sun dresses and 2 sweaters probably wasn't the best of ideas.



I have had such a great time so far and it has only been two days! Yesterday after arriving at the airport I met the rest of the group of girls and we went to Blarney to have lunch and look around the shops. Unfortunatley we were unable to go to the castle or kiss the stone that day but we are looking to go back tomorrow. After spending a couple hours there we went back to Cork to get settled in our apartments. The apartment is beautiful and a lot more spacious than I was imagining. I have a double sized bed, a desk, and my own bathroom all in my room. I am rooming with Jill, Brittany, and Margaret, all of whom I love! After unpacking, finally showering, and getting settled in we had Subway for dinner which is conviently right around the corner and had a meeting about our next couple days here. After that, we hit the pubs! The main strip of pubs, shops, restaurants is about a 15-25 minute walk from our apartments so it's not that far. The first one we went to was an older pub that was family owned for three generations. The owner must have been almost 70 and was the cutest thing ever. I had a local drink called Beamish that a man suggested and was not the best to say the least. After that we went to another pub that seemed to have more of a scene, or so we thought. 20 minutes into being there we discovered that it was actually a PhD Chemistry BBQ that we had walked in on. Basically, a bunch of Irish nerds all in one place. It was fun to talk to some of the locals though and get advice on where the best places were to go and eat. After that it was time to pass out! I was so exhausted and felt like I had done Dance Marathon all over again.

Today we went on a tour of downtown Cork where unfortunately my camera broke. I was so disappointed because it was gorgeous there. Luckily I brought a second one so I will still be able to take some pictures the rest of the trip. After the tour we had some time to explore the town for a little bit. We went to lunch in a local place where we were blessed with having an American waitress! She was very helpful in telling us the do's and dont's in Ireland such as no tipping or taxing and what places to say away from. Also, all drinks are sold lukewarm so you have to ask for ice if you want your drink cold, not a big thing but weird. After lunch we went to a couple of stores around town and basically just wandered and people watched. Overall, a very pleasant day so far.



Unfortunatley, the wireless in our apartments is not up yet hence the long awaited post. They say that it will hopefully be up by tonight, however, so I will keep everyone updated. I am glad to say I am already having the time of my life and already know that 6 weeks will not be enough time. I am savoring every moment though! I love my group and am already making some life long friends. Because I dont have wireless connection, I can't upload pictures from my computer but once I do I'll upload them ASAP. I love and miss everyone and will hopefully be up on Skype soon. My address is mary_lantz so add me and hopefully I'll catch some people despite the +5 hour time difference! Tomorrow we are planning on going to Blarney, as mentioned above, and then going out with the locals to cheer on the US vs. UK in the world cup!



I'll try and keep this updated as much as possible for my sake and for all my "lovely" (popular Irish adjective) friends and family. Love you all!

Photoshoot

So I know this really has nothing to do with my upcoming trip but, it is a little preview of what is to come. I took these pictures with the camera I am borrowing for Ireland thanks to the wonderful man in my life! Photography has always been a big interest of mine and it's a lot more fun with a good camera! I played around with it a little bit today with the two cutest models I could find... next photo shoot: Ireland!

Thirteen Days

It was almost 7 months ago I found out about the opportunity of a lifetime and here I am, thirteen days away from beginning my adventure. It is in these days that I will travel overseas, for the first time, to the city of Cork, Ireland. I have to admit, I am a little nervous. Not so much about being there but I get anxious about packing, travel, room assignments, and other silly, uncontrollable things. I am excited, however, that I am about to begin a small part of a larger dream of mine: traveling Europe. Ever since I can remember I have always wanted to go overseas and experience and see parts of the world unexposed to me yet. This trip, however, is not just for pleasure but also for work, even though I anticipate the work to be very rewarding and pleasurable. I along with 15 other students from schools around the country will be working with developmentally disabled children, adolescents, and adults in a variety of settings and locations in areas such as Special Education, OT, Speech, and other types of therapies. My placement is the John Bermingham Day Center for adults. It is here that I will be helping in development programs including cooking, computers, art, personal development, leisure recreation, motor and sensory programs, physical activities and contract work. I am so excited to say the least since my placement (being uncontrollable) was something I was nervous about as well. The Bermingham center seems to fit in perfectly with what I want to in my future career as an Occupational Therapist and I am giddy at the thought of having this awesome opportunity to touch others lives fully knowing they will touch mine as well.

Welcome to my adventure, my passion, my journey.

"Go everywhere in the world, and tell the Good News to everyone" Mark 16:15