31 Days and Counting...

So with a month left to go, the mixed feelings are beginning to start again. It is almost like I'm getting ready to leave home, except returning to Ireland may never happen again.

Most days I forget I'm here. It has become home; I'm often not conscious that it actually isn't. We live here, we have some friends here, we know our way around. We still hear from home frequently, and it all has just become normal for us.

I'm glad school is about over, but I'm not certain that I'm ready to come home yet. Part of it is just the fact that it is a change. I'm going to back to a familiar place, but life has gone on there. Things have changed at Thomas More. My family and friends have continued living, some making big decisions about next year and many graduating college. Not only have their lives moved on, but mine has too.

It makes me wonder how difficult it will be to get back into things once home. They always say that Study Abroad changes you and often, your relationships with others, but for some reason, I thought I'd be the exception. The thing is to remember though is that change isn't a bad thing.

I'm sure I've changed while here, and its probably not even over. With only three-fourths of the trip is complete at this point, it still leaves plenty of time. What is odd about it though is that I'm not entirely sure how I've changed yet. I'm not sure I'll ever be able to pinpoint it completely until I get home and others note it for me.

All of this isn't to say that I won't be thrilled to be home once it comes. Leaving Ireland in a month will certainly be bittersweet, but there is a whole list of things I'm looking forward to returning to. For the time being though, I intend on living out this last month in Ireland fully, spending a week with my family, finishing off school, and certainly travelling.

There are 31 days left and counting...


Phillip and I atop the Cliffs of Moher during our Spring Break.

No Luck of the Irish

Limerick Racecourse is no Keeneland, and being in Ireland certainly didn't bring me any luck.

Phillip and I decided to venture out to the racecourse for Student Raceday. Clearly, we weren't going to be able to make it to Keeneland this season, and we just felt like we were missing something. Although we didn't expect it to be exactly the same, we expected it to be more similar than it was.

For starters, there are about 20 bookie tents where you can make bets, not just one betting desk with the same odds and payouts. From the start, we had to not only attempt to read the program - which was a fail in itself- but then find where we could get the best payout if we bet correctly.

Then when it came to betting, no one bookie was the same as another. Some only took 5 euro bets, some refused to give change, some didn't mind giving change. Also, you can only make two types of bets - either to win or both ways. To Win is the same as home; Both Ways gives you two bets, one to win and one to place. You can't just bet to place. You certainly couldn't bet to show, and don't even try to bet trifecta, superfecta, or anything fancy. Phillip tried with no avail and probably made a few bookies upset asking because he held up the betting lines.

Beyond that, the track was different too. It wasn't flat and it was only grass. There was a significant hill in the track and the grass wasn't even nicely trimmed or even. Also, there was no score board, video screen or the like in the field, or anywhere for the matter. When watching the race, if you didn't have binoculars, you weren't going to see what was happening until the finish. At the end of the race, you had to walk around the stands and to the show ring to see what the top three finishing horses were if it wasn't obvious from the finish.

Some things were the same though. My luck certainly hasn't changed since I've been in Ireland. I'm still terrible at betting on horses and didn't win a single race. College kids are still the same. We had a streaker jump the fence and run part of the track. The track is still the same length and race lengths are no longer either.

Either way though, we still had a great time there. It made me miss Keeneland, Turfway, and just Kentucky Horse Racing in general. We're going to go to one of the local bookie offices and see if we can put money down on the Kentucky Derby over here. Maybe I'll get some more luck of the Irish before then!
Phillip and I along the track at Student Raceday.

A Mother's Wisdom

'Things have a way of working themselves out, don't they?'

My mom texted me that last week when, after much difficulty with our Spring Break plans, things finally seemed to be working out for the better. Our original plan of spending three days at the Aran Islands were swamped when we arrived to 12 foot waves which were certain to keep us on the mainland. Great. With 80 euro reservations at a hostel on one of the islands, a bus trip that was a headache to make up to Doolin, and few options, we turned right back around and returned to Limerick. The weather outlook for Doolin was not good for a few days and staying there would have only put more money into a trip that was failing already. We got back to the apartment, soaked up our woes in a dish of Chili Dip and were unmotivated to make new plans, bummed that we weren't biking on the beach at that time.

But as the week progressed, and I came down with a not-so-nice cold, we became rather thankful our plans changed. Instead of being miserable with a headcold on the Aran Islands, we took is slow for a few days. For the first part of the week, we did the plans we originally had for the second half of the week. We saw 'Alice in Wonderland' in Ennis, we went out to dinner in Limerick, and eventually became more motivated to make new plans.

Halfway through the week, the weather turned beautiful. We went to Tralee in a (failed) attempt to go to the beach. Tralee tourism is either very deceitful or geared toward tourist with cars. Either way, we saw the muddy mouth of the Dingle Bay and Ireland's largest working windmill, which ironically wasn't working the day we visited. Regardless, the weather was warm and sunny, and the views were scenic, even if they weren't the beach.

For our big excursion of the week, we found a bus tour of Bunratty Castle, the Cliffs of Moher, the Burren, and Doolin. Not only did we have beautiful weather for the trip, but we had the most quality tour guide we've encountered here in Europe. From him we learned that drinking from bottles is fashionable, you should buy the book 'Angela's Ashes', today's youth will not have pension when we get older, there should still be a window tax, and many other quality life lessons. We returned to Doolin, the place where our Aran Islands excursion failed, and went to our new favorite coffee shop. We trekked along the Cliffs of Moher [and I scared Phillip to death by screaming bloody murder about a bee that landed on me on top of the unstable part of the Cliffs]. We walked around the Burren, a rocky land that you can't grow anything on and we drove one of the most scenic drives in all of Europe.

After that, the weekend brought us our normal Limerick life. Market on Saturday. Mass and skyping on Sunday. Homemade dinners. Munster Rugby Games. Our Favorite Pub.

Although I didn't get to spend three days on the beaches of Ireland, our Spring Break was extremely successful. In fact, I am glad things didn't work out the way they were supposed to. Now we can return to the Islands in better weather. We got to see the Cliffs of Moher. Everything worked itself out.

That, though, seems to be the theme of this trip. Often things don't go the way we panned, but somehow everything always works out better than planned. As for future plans, the Easter Bunny brought us Munster Rugby tickets and the day after the game, my family comes to visit! We just have to get through these next two (and last two) weeks of classes, then its smooth sailing until we come home.
Phillip and I on the West Coast of Ireland during our Friday Bus Tour.

A Tale of Two Cities (Plus A Handful More)

This past month certainly has flown by.

Its hard to believe in the past 28 days I've travelled to four different cities, three different countries, and spent practically just as much time outside of Limerick as I have in the city.

What has struck me the most about travelling is how different cities can be and most certainly are. Besides travelling in Ireland, I have been blessed enough in the past year to go to several big cities in America as well: NYC for Spring Break last year, Orlando for a family vacation, Washington DC for a conference in the fall, and Atlanta for Fall Break.

At home, although those four cities are very different, it never struck me as so until this trip. Due to the compactness of our travels, we've seen city after city, being able to more accurately see the vast differences. I shouldn't be so surprised by it. Each city just reflects the culture of thrives in.

Our first city of this entire trip was Limerick, the city we live in. Not a pretty city, it doesn't need to be. It is known as the Sports Capital of Ireland. If you've ever seen any Irish sport, they're rough, tough, dirty, and entertaining all in one. That pretty much sums up Limerick. [No worries on the rough and tough part, we're still completely safe here!]

The next few cities we've visited during our trip thus far were Dublin and Cork. Interesting because Dublin is the official capital and Cork is the unofficial capital. Again the cities reflect this with the higher end shops, cleaner streets, and plentiful tourist attractions in surrounding areas. If I had to pick my favorite place we've been to in Ireland so far, I'd definitely be torn between these two.

Then March rolled around, and London came as well. I'm not really sure what I expected of London anymore, but it superceeded any I had piror to visiting it. London was by far the nicest city we've been to. No part seemed unsafe (although I'm sure there are some). I've never seen so many Rolls-Royce's, Lamborghini's, and other high end cars as I did in London. The least expensive car that we caw rolling around the city was a Mini Cooper! The city was old, historic, and absolutely beautiful. London has turned out to be my favorite city thus far and the one I hope to have the chance to return to again someday (for hopefully longer than 36 hours).

Next was Paris. Still as gorgeous as the time before, it is still a slightly dirty city. The building style is different than London's and rather than the city seeming to emphasize history, it emphasizes the arts and culture. You simply cannot get away from it in Paris, try as you might. Even when we went to go to the historical things like Napoleon's Tomb or Versailles, the beauty outweighed the history for me. Paris was the city I had my heart set on for this trip, and I was very pleased with everything we did and saw there! [Especially considering we weren't sure if we were going to make it there for awhile]

Brussels though was the complete opposite. The Capital of Europe was not pretty, historic, or clean in the least. It was a completely different kind of city. Although all prior ones have differed in their emphasis, they all were still sightseeing cities. The best sight we saw in Brussels was the Mannekan Pis. It was, however, the capital of food for us. All of it was delicious (minus the street escargots) and we had a wonderful time doing different things than we were focused on doing in all of the other cities. Brussels was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of city for me. I don't plan on returning, but it was still a fabulous weekend trip.

Liverpool, though, topped them all for me in a surprising way. I won't go into all the details again, as I just wrote on the trip, but I will say it again, it was wonderful! I'm not ruling out going back to it again (like we have for Brussels). I would absolutely return, go into the Beatles' former homes, and go out on the town again! It was the best time we've had yet.

That's not to say the best has already come. Just because we're finished with our travelling outside of Ireland certainly doesn't mean we're finished travelling. Our Spring Break begins Friday, and the day after Easter, we will be heading to the Aran Islands for a few days. Although it may be too cold to actually get into the water, you better believe I will be going to the beach! We also have a week of travelling with my entire family, which I'm really looking forward to as well. [Especially because we're renting a car for one of the trips. Hey Mom and Dad, think I can drive on the left side of the road for a little??].

Beyond those planned things, we have lots of other free time and a few other day trips we intend on taking. The best is yet to come, I'm sure, and by then end, it will probably be impossible to pick a favorite city, a favorite trip, a favorite memory.
Phillip and I have taken on a good portion of Europe. We're ready for the second half of our travels now!

Twist & Shout-ing In The Beatles Home

Liverpool was absolutely wonderful. We honestly only went because we found super cheap flights and thought it would be fun to go on a Beatles tour. Our planning stopped at that, and I thought the fun would too.

Boy, was I in for a surprise!

For starters, we began the trip well. It was the only trip we've taken where we landed and left at normal hours. When you're flying cheap, you don't get to be choosy on your times. Though it wouldn't be a big deal for a trip or two, after a month of travelling, you become thankful for those small things. We could be on a normal eating schedule and sleeping schedule. It was great.

Beyond just that though, the city was great as well. Most of their museums are free, so during the morning, we went to the Tate Museum of Modern Art and a few other national museums. Then we grabbed lunch, the best fish and chips we've eaten here, and ate it under an awning of a store because it was pouring rain. Then we made our way to the Magical Mystery Beatles Bus Tour.

This was a big yellow and blue painted bus, which we had to call a coach, that was owned by two guys in their thirties. They knew lots about the city, but were also characters in their own right. Our bus driver had road rage I've never experienced before in a tour bus. There were a few times that he got mad at other cars and would curse at them, but what's better is he actually got out of the bus at one point to chase down a taxi driver. Even better yet, we sat directly behind the bus driver, having a front row seat to all the action.

He wasn't the only character though. The actual tour guide enjoyed bantering with the fifty year old ladies in the front of the bus, as well as making fun of every visitor not from Liverpool (all in good fun of course). He told us slightly inappropriate things and had a few choice curse words he liked to throw in occasionally. It was great and entertaining, plus we got to see tons of Beatles spots, our favorite of which became the Cavern Club.

The Cavern Club is where the Beatles played some of their first shows, and they played over 250 there. Not only have the Beatles played there though; lots of other well-known artists including Queen, Jimi Hendrix, The Who, and many more, have played there as well. [For all you 'Across the Universe' fans, its the club in the beginning on the movie Jude and his girlfriend go to.]

It was the spot we chose for our evening amusement in Liverpool, and it was a blast! They have live music at all times and we stayed for two of the performers, both cover artists. They played some Beatles, requests, and more. I had 'Sweet Caroline' dedicated to me, followed by a song about Kentucky. [He asked where we were from... not just a lucky guess.] I danced with a forty-something drunk man to 'Imagine' and made best friends (supposedly) with two women from Liverpool who wanted to hang out again and have me go stay with their niece in London. We got the whole club on their feet to do the 'Twist & Shout' and got recorded singing and dancing by another tourist. Really, what more could you ask for from a night out?

It just goes to show you, don't judge a book by its cover (or rather, its description in a movie). It was clean; it was interesting; most of all, it was fun! [Although we were right on assuming it was rainy. Maybe we just caught the city on an off day for weather though.]

For now, our travels outside of Ireland are complete and Liverpool was a great end to it all. With a month and a half left, we've just got to finish up school and see the rest of Ireland!
Phillip and I at the Cavern Club, enjoying our only evening in Liverpool.

American Politics Abroad

Before we left for Europe, Phillip's cousin gave us a word of advice - 'Don't talk religion or politics abroad'.

Although great advice, I'm finding it hard to live by that completely. The religion part has been relatively easy, especially here in the Republic of Ireland. We're Catholic; they're Catholic. It works. But in the heat of this Health Care mess, for lack of a better phrase, I find that I want to know what Europe's view on it all is.

Since we've been in Ireland, I cannot remember hearing anything about the Irish government. If we hear anything about a European government, it is the British government and how they all steal money from it. Otherwise, issues aren't really raised.

When it comes to health care, it seems to vary by country across Europe. France is a socialized system; Ireland is not completely. Moreover though, I'm interested in what Europeans think of the United States and our government.

At home, we're hit over the head with politics, scandals, and media. Here, that just isn't the story. If anything, they hear about our problems, laws, scandals, and victories. Honestly, I haven't really asked about what my roommates or other Irish think of American politics, but I have a feeling that they don't really care a whole lot.

That's not to say a few don't have their opinions though. My Irish professor bluntly asked who supported Obama in one of our very first classes. All the Americans were shocked and unsure what to say. Do we say we love/hate him and chance that our professor is the opposite? All of us stayed quiet. Our teacher was slightly shocked we didn't all jump on the opportunity to talk about our home politics, our new president, and what we thought of him.

For now though, I have to rely on others to keep me updated and try to read up on what is going on. It is hard to believe everything you read on the Internet, but that is about all I've got at this point. Hopefully when I get home, the health care problems have settled and are being dealt with properly. I'd rather not return home to a civil war over something like health care.

I'm not trying to make this political, say what I think is right/wrong, or begin any kind of debate. I just think the European approach is interesting and very diverse as a whole. They don't hear about their own politics as much as they've heard about ours and it seems they have quite a warped view when it comes to what Americans think about their own politics. We're all extreme, fired up to either rally behind or revolt against each new law, new politician, new idea. I guess that is how any media is though, regardless of the country, only showing the extremes- and even then, usually the bad extremes.

Phillip and I with our most recent visitor, Flat Stanley. He didn't bring us any news of politics though.

The Capital of Europe: Brussels

Brussels is either confused about their identity or completely comfortable with it. Either way, it threw us off for our weekend visit to the capital of Europe.

First, it is important to note that Belgium has two official languages, French and Dutch. This means that all signs in the city are in both languages. The languages certainly don't stop there though. When we went to a flea market Saturday morning, conversations between two people could be in three or more languages! I don't even know how anyone could keep that straight. I can barely speak English sometimes. :)

Furthermore, the French is different from France French, so even if you think you know it, chances are you don't and they will probably not understand you if you try. From the get go, we were in a pickle. I knew enough French to get us by in France, but if it is not even the same French and could possibly even be Dutch, how were we supposed to communicate? Most of the time we gave up and just spoke English. Maybe that's terrible, but when there are two official languages and you can't even speak their proper form of one of them, you have to find some common ground somewhere.

Beyond the languages, the people of Brussels are proud of their ugly city. Seriously, Brussels is not a pretty place and certainly isn't the capital of sightseeing. It surprised me that the capital of Europe is such a drab town.

So needless to say, in the beginning of our trip, we already felt like it was a lost cause. We spent Saturday morning doing the little sightseeing there was, all while being confused about the language. When noon rolled around and we were already finished with the plans we made, we were unsure what to do next.

Have no fear though, the trip made a move for the better when we found the tourist part of town, and tourist in Brussels means food.

We snacked on food the entire weekend. Fries, waffles, escargots, mussels, chocolate, and beer made up our nutrition. It was (mostly) delicious and gave us the experience we were looking for. The city wasn't much to write home about, our hostel was clean and acceptable for what we wanted, the people weren't the nicest, but when it came to the food.... that was their selling point for us.

Belgium certainly was a different kind of trip for us. It was wonderful and quite the experience. I'll probably never go back there again, but it is what it is and overall, I'm very glad we went.
Phillip and I with our street escargots - probably our least favorite food we ate there.