Ring of Kerry

I only have one more night in Ireland after tonight! It felt like my time was creeping by at the beginning but now it feels like it flew by. Yesterday we spent the day at the University College of Cork which was interesting but took forever. We sat through seven lectures about public health which we've been doing the whole trip but not all in a row. They forgot about us needing lunch so it wasn't until everyone's stomachs were growling around 3 that they fed us. It was really nice though because the university paid for our lunches and I had green soup, again. Every soup here is green, it doesn't matter what kind you order; potato, vegetable, it's all going to be green! I'm an expert on green soups now because I've had it every day since I've been here and even though it looks a little gross, it's so good! We went to a pub across from our hotel last night for a girls birthday (we've had 2 birthdays on this trip so far) and it was super fun. There was a musician singing and playing the guitar there and he was really good! He sang a ton of American songs including Bye Bye Miss American Pie at our request. We had a singing competition with the locals and we definitely beat them because we were WAY louder :) Most people in Ireland really like Americans and are extremely friendly so it's been a lot of fun to go out and mingle with them. My new favorite beer is Smithwick's! We even went to the town that makes it, Tipperary, and had some there which was even better. Today we went to the Ring of Kerry which was beautiful and then we went to a sheep herding and sheering demonstration. The road to get there were on the edges of cliffs and our driver already scares me so I was definitely holding my breath! The sheep herding was amazing. The farm was on the side of a mountain and there were tons of jagged rocks that the dogs had to run over while herding the sheep. I didn't think that it was such a difficult thing but apparently they've had about four dogs die this year (which is normal) while herding because they've fallen off of the cliffs or broken legs chasing sheep over the rocks. They also said that the wool business is really suffering, the owner gets 20 euro cents for every sheep coat and it costs him 25 cents to pay someone to sheer the animal so they are relying on tourists like us to visit. He only made about 500 US dollars last year from his entire wool supply. It as fascinating though and he said that most wool farmers will not survive this recession but because they've been planning ahead with tourism, he hopes they will. We got to Killarney just a little bit ago and it's such a cute town. I got a genuine Irish-made wool scarf, which I've been wanting but couldn't find if you can believe it, so I'm happy with my shopping now for the whole trip! Tomorrow we're getting up at 6:30 to leave for Shannon because we have to catch a ferry boat to ride it there and we can't be late. Tonight's going to be a calm and early night for me and so will tomorrow night because I'll have to get up at five in the morning to make it to the airport on Thursday. I've had a blast in Ireland but I can't wait to get back!!!

Oh Blarney!

I didn't get a chance to post yesterday, but we went to see the Rock of Cashel on our way to Kilkenny. It was amazing, soooo historical. It's weird to hear about all of the dates that things were built or events happened here because the dates are in the 1100's which is way before any historical things we have in America. The Rock of Cashel is a castle that many different groups of people inhabited over the years. It's really famous for the original cross of St. Patrick, or the remains of it, which was amazing to see. The cross is hollow and it's believed that people hid valuables in the cross during times of invasion and war. The landscape was beautiful and so picturesque, as you can see from my facebook page haha. After touring Cashel we ate at a small pub in the town responsible for making Bulmer's cider, my new favorite non-beer drink! After we got to our hotel in Kilkenny, we went to see the Kilkenny castle but we didn't take a tour of it because it cost six euros and you werent allowed to take pictures so we just walked around outside and took pictures which was just as good if not better. One of the girls on the trip turned 21 yesterday so after dinner we went to the underground club at our hotel. It was like a real American club, with rap music and all! We had so much fun and it was the first time that I really drank here, but not too much ;), and I'm glad I did! Everyone had a great time dancing and even our professors were dancing at the club with us! Dr. B knew all the words to "California knows how to party" so she was rapping for us all haha. Today we started off with a trip to the Cobh Heritage Center which was the port that most immigrants left from to go to America and was also the last port of call for the Titanic. They had a great exhibit with wonderful pictures and information that I put on facebook. It was really interesting and gave me a new appreciation for their history. Our next stop was Blarney Castle! The spiral stairway going up to the top of the castle was terrifying because it was insanely narrow and you couldn't fit your whole foot on the steps. I made it though and I got to kiss the stone twice! I had to lay on my back and hang off of the top of the castle to kiss the stone. They had recently installed bars so you couldn't fall because someone had died so that was lucky for us because I don't think I would have done it otherwise. There was a garden behind the castle called the "poisonous garden" with a sign saying not to touch, smell, of eat anything in it! That was enough for me so I didn't go but apparently it had marijuana among other things in it. I got to Cork late this afternoon and had dinner at the hotel restaurant which was really nice! Tomorrow I have an early day because we are getting up to go to the University College of Cork to meet with professors in global health which should be interesting and is my last site visit for the trip, yay! I'll update when I can :)

Tourist

Today I was a true tourist! This morning we went to see the Book of Kells which was amazing, but we weren't allowed to take pictures :( We also walked through the 'Long Room' in Trinity college where part of Harry Potter was filmed, it was amazing! Next we visited St. Patrick's Cathedral which was so beautiful and historic! There were so many people buried in the building and the architecture was awesome! Then we went to the Guinness Factory, finally. It was way more modern and cool than I thought it would be and we got to sample fresh Guinness and have a free pint in their 360 sky bar that overlooks the city. The tour walks you through the entire process of making Guinness and it was really educational. The lease for the building that Mr. Guinness signed was for a ridiculously cheap amount of money per month and it lasts 9000 years, best deal ever! After resting a little while we went to Steven's Green which had a beautiful lake that we took tons of pictures at. Then I ate at a place called Daffodils that was voted best bar and nightclub in Dublin for 2010. The food was alright but I think we may go back later for drinks because it's close, cheap, and really modern inside. They were also playing a lot of american music like Beyonce which made me feel at home haha. Tomorrow we leave for Kilkenny and I hope I have internet there so I can keep posting but if I don't I'll only be there for one night anyway so I should be able to get on in Cork the day after. Love and miss everyone!

Last Shopping Day!

This morning me and three other worksite health promotion majors got to tour Siemens medical supply company. It was really secretive and we had to wear lab coats and couldn't use our cameras. It was fun and we got to see the machine that hotpitals use to diagnose cancers by analyzing your blood. The machine was taken apart so we could see the blood run through a thousand little tubes and be separated into three parts- one part was actually red, one part was clear, and one part was blue! It was really neat. I got all of my souvenir shopping done for the cheap stuff and so far I've only spent $200/150 euro which isn't too bad... A lot of girls here are buying expensive jewelry and stuff but I just bought costume jewelry for me and my mom and sister because we don't need the real stuff! haha :) My roommate is really nice and we've been shopping together a lot since we've been here. I think tomorrow we are going to see the Book of Kells, Trinity College, and the Guinness Factory. After that we are planning on eating dinner somewhere and then walking through Steven's Green which is a really picturesque park a few blocks away. I never got to do my river boat tour because the start point was way too far away from my hotel to go but that's ok because Nigel has been driving us all over the city so I feel like I've seen everything I want to anyway :) Well I have to go to dinner now so I'll have more later!

Baby got back

So what songs do ECU students sing on the bus to pass the time? Row row row your boat? 99 bottles of beer on the wall? No. We sing Gin and Juice, Baby got back, and No Scrubs. Our tour guide/bus driver Nigel thinks we're all crazy haha :) Dr. Burke and Ms. Vail-Smith were singing along and even started some of the songs! Last night we went to the oldest pub in Dublin that dates back to 1198 called the Brazen Head. Any movie you've ever seen that depicts Irish pubs and how drunk, friendly, singing, dancing, instrument playing locals act in them is totally true and accurate! It wasn't as much of a tourist attraction as I thought it would be, it was mainly filled with locals. It was a true Irish pub experience and I had my first pint of Guinness that tasted a lot better than any I've ever had in the states. The people here are so friendly and willing to strike up a conversation about anything. We had someone come speak to us this morning from the Asthma Society and it was really interesting, but I was so tired that I had a hard time paying attention. I went back to my room after for a nap and then had fish and chips for lunch! We then went to a teaching hospital for a few lectures. We left there and went straight to the Abbey Tavern for dinner in Howth. I had salmon and potatoes of course with Bailey's Irish Coffee for dessert. There was a live Irish folk band playing and river dancers which was amazing! I'll never make fun of it again because it was so awesome and they really were talented! Today I'm less homesick than I was but I still can't wait to get back. Bojangles is calling my name and the McDonald's over here just isn't the same, their ketchup is brown. Tomorrow I'm going to Siemens with three other girls, one of which works at a Siemens branch in Greenville, for a private tour because we're all worksite health majors so that will be cool. Then we have the rest of the day free until dinner. I hope I'm going to get more shopping done because I haven't bought anything for myself yet! I love and miss everybody and I can't wait to get back! This trip is a great experience but it's creeping by and I miss being around people I know!!! I'll try to post pics tomorrow :)

First Days

Yesterday was ROUGH! I was emotional, extremely tired, and homesick. I had a roommate swap before we even checked into our rooms that was unexpected and I had been up for a total of 30 hours. After some advil om and about 9 hours of sleep though today is better. We've been to so many 'site visits' today which are basically the educational part of this trip. We spent hours with the Irish Heart Foundation, Irish Family Planning Association, Irish Cancer Society, and finally at Trinity College with a professor in global health. It's raining and cold but I got a lot of shopping done yesterday so I don't feel bad about not going shopping today. The stores are amazing and there is sooooo much to choose from! It's insanely busy everywhere you go and there's always something cool happening. I am about to go eat again at the hotel across the street that we ate at yesterday. Since our dinners are prepaid there we only had two things to choose from for all three courses. Yesterday I got what I thought was potato soup but turned out to be green and super salty, I also got chicken with mashed potatoes and stuffing which was good and dessert was great so hopefully they will have good food again tonight. I went to the National Museum of Art in Ireland earlier today and it was nice but not a lot of the stuff was interesting so we left. I'm excited to get done with our site visits in a couple of days so that we can start the fun stuff! Friday is my last day in Dublin before we start traveling and we are going to spend it at Trinity College, shopping, and at the Guinness Factory and Bar! Tonight most of the group is going to the oldest pub in Dublin, the Brazen Head, which I'm super excited about because I haven't had my first Irish beer yet! Tomorrow we have more site visits and then some free time in the afternoon that I think I'm going to use for a boat tour of Dublin on the Liffy River that cuts it in half. I'll try to keep posting tomorrow! Love and miss you all!

Preparation

My first post! I'm not a blogger, I don't even keep a diary, I just talk to my friends about things that are on my mind so this will be written exactly that way, very informal.

Prep for Ireland has been more of a headache than I thought. Waiting anxiously for my financial aid refund, finding an outlet converter, buying a net book, doing coursework, etc. For some reason I still don't feel like I'm really going yet though, I guess when I get on the plane it will be real. I've only been out of the country to Canada, which doesn't count, so this will be a great experience! I'm only sad that I won't be able to see more or Europe while I'm there, but I plan on going back someday so it will be ok :)

Well I only wrote this so that there would be something up here and it wouldn't look bad so that's all I have to say for now, talk to you in 14 days!