I'm glad to be half way done with my second week of class and I'm looking forward to a weekend trip to Galway, Ireland. It is a bit risky to take this trip so early in the semester, but people were planning a trip there and I decided it would be great to get out of the city this weekend and experience western Ireland. My tentative plan for Galway is to the see the Aran Islands, the cliffs of Moor, and see the city of Galway- which I heard is great! Weather is looking good for this weekend (well, as good as it gets here in January...). They are expecting a low chance of rain, 20 mph winds, 50's, and some sun- and if that is the case I'll be more than thrilled. We found a cheap, but decent hostel, in Galway and I'm really looking forward to the train ride across Ireland, which should be beautiful. Although Ireland is very small it takes a LONG time to get around the island. Roads are not good in the country and are usually narrow which makes bus and car rides not efficient. The train is by far the best way to get around and luckily you can get to most destinations in Ireland from Heuston Station in Dublin.
This week started out shitily, with my registration with the Garda National Immigration Bureau in Dublin's City Center. When I went through customs I was unlucky enough to be randomly chosen for a 100 Euro fine that any student can incur. So, I had one month to pay this fine and register for my student card. My roommates, Tessa and Maura, also had the pleasure of going to the Garda with me and we waited for over 3 hours in a stuffy building. Luckily, I got it all worked out and won't have to return to that building for the rest of my time in Ireland. I recommend if anyone comes through Irish customs as a student avoid this at all cost- it was a waste of time and money:-( After this fun day of waiting…classes were pretty great which made this week better for me. We’re really delving deep into the Northern Irish Conflict and I can’t believe how complicated it is. The more I learn the more confused I get, but I hear that’s the way it goes. Nothing is logical about Northern Ireland and I’m getting so excited to go there in February. The murals in Belfast and the black cab tours seem absolutely amazing! That’s enough on that tangent…
Tonight, the Temple Bar area Music Festival starts and we are going to head down there to listen to some traditional Irish music in the pubs. I'm really excited to go to the Temple Bar area for the first time even though it is a huge tourist trap. I hear that everyone needs to go at least once and why not go when they are playing some sweet music. I'm probably going to get soaked on my way there, but I hope it'll be worth it. The festival continues through the weekend and I'm sure we'll be going out there more than one night- I'll let you know how it is! Sorry for the boring post with no actual facts only plans...I'll get the details of my weekend trip and pub crawl later this week!
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Hump Day
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3 comments:
Johanna! Sounds like you are going to be going on quite an amazing trip! Sorry the weather is crappy there. It was -20 yesterday!!! CRAZY cold! I can't believe you had to pay a random fine of 100 dollars? pounds? euros? Either way that sucks!! I miss you like crazy, but I shall be so close to you very soon! MUCH LOVE
i also think the northern ireland conflict is facenating. while i was visiting mom when she was living in england i met some people who had grown up during the conflict. very interesting. i have a poem about it that one of mom's friends wrote. i thought i had it on my computer, but i don't. perhaps i'll remember to give to you this fall. anyway, it's a great poem and has been published all over the world.
anyway, i am SO jelous that you are taking such interesting classes.
the more I read about the conflict the more confusing it becomes. there are so many sides, splits, pointless violence and death, and so on. Sometimes we all get so depressed when we leave class. Last week we watched a movie about bloody sunday and there were tears- nothing compared to sobfest '07, but still. I'll have to fill you in on my new knowledge when we get back, because this topic is so interesting
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