After this trip, my legs will be looking fine!

I just spent the last six days in the beautiful west side of Ireland. We traveled through Cork, Dingle, and Galway. The weather was perfect, and I totally have a sweet farmers tan!

The first day out we went to the Dunbrody Famine Ship. This is a replica of a ship that would have been used to migrate to America, Australia, and other parts of Europe.  Families would leave Ireland because of the famine and sought out better life in America. In the time of the famine there were over a million people that left Ireland. The ship, during this time, would hold up to 300 people and almost half of them wouldn't make the six week journey. After the ship we traveled to Blarney Castle. There is a rumor that if you kiss the Blarney Stone you will receive the gift of gab. So I kissed it. It wan't anything special and a lot of us were confused why it is so famous. We stayed the night in Killarney and went out to the pubs for live music that night.

Day two: We were not able to get out to Skellig Michel, but instead we drove around the Ring of Kerry and part of Dunloe. In the Afternoon we took a fishing boat, a 1.5 hours trip, out to Dunloe Gap. We then hiked 5 miles through the gap to get to the bus. It rained on us while hiking, but the sight was worth it!

Day three: Best day ever! We drove to Inch beach and just had a fun afternoon there. We played rugby out on the beach, and got bruised up! But with almost everyone playing, it was a lot of fun! We then all lined up and took a dip in the ocean, so cold. But there was going to be a dare to whoever broke the chain first. When the first wave hit us, I fell right into the water, but Dan and Kathryn did not yet go of me, thank goodness! After that we have a great lunch cook out on the beach. The bus drove out onto the beach for the set up of lunch, but then it got stuck in the sand. We have a grand time pushing the bus off the beach. Then, we traveled along the Dingle Peninsula and saw amazing sights! I loved all the cliffs, the ocean, and the farm lands all in one place. So beautiful!

Day four: Off to Galway! Today we went to the Cliffs of Moher (Cliffs of Insanity). It was so beautiful, but very touristy. I met someone from Indianapolis, actually. We spent some time there and then drove through Burren. This is a national park where the land is filled with limestone. We made our way to Galway to the hotel and we all went out to dinner together at Da Roberta's. It was the best dinner I've have had in a while. It totally makes up for all the packed lunches we have eaten.

Day Five: The Aran Islands! We spent the whole day out in the Aran Islands. We rented bikes when we arrived and traveled the 9 mile Island. We stopped off by the Dun Angus Cliffs and I was able to lean off the cliff and look down at the wave. It was so cool to see the waves from above. I could have stayed there all day. But the boys wanted to keep biking. We found this road that looked liked it went off roading. Well, it did. Once we got to the top of the hill or they call mountain, the road to the bottom was all gravel. I thought I was going to die riding my bike down this road going at the speeds that I was going. I did almost fall off the bike but lucky I didn't. Sorry mom :) The weather was beautiful, God was so great to us! It was another perfect and long tiring day!

Day six: Well today was just a bunch of driving. We had a 5 hour bus ride back home to Greystones. We had lunch on sky road, where you could look down on the sea and farm lands.

This trip by far has been the best so far! It was a very long trip and we did a  lot of outdoors activities. The joke was that our legs would be looking really good after this trip. It is crazy to think that I have two and a half weeks left in Ireland. I know I will miss it. But I still have a lot of time to soak it all in!

The Blarney Stone 

Cliffs of Moher 

St. Patrick's Day in Ireland (I know a little late..)

 Well, lets just say it is quite the experience to celebrate St. Patrick's Day in Ireland. It is one of those things you say you will only do once in  your life, like going to New York for New Years. 


The day before March 17th, we spent the evening as if we live in a monastery. We had shorten hours, but we worked, prayed, and ate for the evening. It was nice to do and have some reflecting time on what St. Patrick's Day really is about.  Did you know.... 
St. Patrick was born in Roman Britain in the 4th century, into a wealthy Romano-British family. His father and grandfather were deacons in the Church. At the age of sixteen, he was kidnapped by Irish raiders and taken captive to Ireland as a slave. According to his Confession, he was told by God in a dream to flee from captivity to the coast, where he would board a ship and return to Britain. Upon returning, he quickly joined the Church in Auxerre in Gaul and studied to be a priest. In 432,  he was called back to Ireland, though as a bishop, to Christianize the Irish from their native polytheism. Irish folklore tells that one of his teaching methods included using the shamrock to explain the Christian doctrine of the Trinity to the Irish people. After nearly thirty years of evangelism, he died on March 17th 461, and was buried at Downpatrick. Patrick endured as the principal champion of Irish Christianity and is held in esteem in the Irish Church. This is really why we celebrate. 

But for most of the people in Ireland, it's a day to wear green and get drunk. We went to Dublin for the day. We saw the parade, which was kinda creepy if you didn't know the story (I didn't know the story and was very confused). But we were on a roof top so that just made it all better! After the parade we went to see some Gaelic games. It was crazy in Dublin, packed with people and the smell of alcohol. We went to a pub for dinner and heard some live music. But by the end of the night, things were getting out of control and it was time to leave. 

This week has been crazy with Irish Literature and I'm glad it is almost over! I only have 6 more weeks here, which is crazy to think about. Time just flies by, but once it hits time to go home I know for sure I will be ready! 

Spring is Here :)

The flowers are blooming, birds are chirping, and the sun is out!!! Spring in Ireland is beautiful :) The grass is so green and people already are mowing. The days are getting longer and it has been perfect weather. I'm enjoying this a lot more than cold snowy days!!

Our Spring Break was March 10th through the 14th. I was able to travel to Brussels, Belgium to visit a long lost family friend from when we lived in China. I had some troubles getting to the airport and thinking that I was going to miss my flight. But I made it! It was my first time doing all the airport stuff by myself.  When I got there I felt like I was at home. The Hollows were awesome as well. It was great catching up with them. One day we went to a University town, which is a typical town is Belgium. We had lunch there and just walked around. Another day we went to PARIS!!!

Paris is awesome! Just what I thought it would be like. We had a very busy day. We pretty much saw all the huge tourist attractions in one day. The weather was nice in the morning, so I didn't bring a jacket...huge mistake! It got pretty cold, windy, and rainy. But I still had a blast. We went to the Notre Dame, The Louvre, Arc De Triomphe, we walked and shopped on the Champs-Elysees, took a boat tour of Paris, and last but not least went to the Eiffel Tower. We were able to go up to the second level, it was so amazing but cold! This is a very short version of this day :)

On Sunday I went to church and then we toured around Brussels. I had a Belgium waffle :) so good! I love the towns over here. So many old building and they have little squares in the middle of the major streets. I loved my break and it was much needed.

On the way back I had to go through immigration again to get back into Ireland. I got stopped and questioned for 30 minutes. Long story short, I had to tell them I was visiting when I came in January to get my 90 stamp. But when coming back in they had a problem that I was "visiting" again. I couldn't tell them that I was a student because of my story before. So after a lot of questions and being scared that they were going to send me back that day, I got 1 month stay. Which means I had to go the the immigration office and see if I would be able to stay longer. At first they said they could do nothing for me, but then they came back saying that I could register and be able to stay till May 7th. Thank the LORD! Many prayers were answered.

This week we have our Irish Lit prof here to teach us. We are traveling to Donegal and some other day trips. It will be a long week.

I would just ask for prayers as I need them with this week and some decisions I have to make. 

Northern Ireland!

We took a three day trip up to Northern Ireland. So far this have been my favorite trip :) We spent our time there learning about the troubles, hearing from those who lived in them and were willing to share their stories and experiences. We got to see the two streets that all the troubles were about. We heard about the perspective of the troubles from a republican Catholic, as well as a former para-military member who is a protestant unionist. We heard the perspectives of those who want a United Ireland, and those who want to stay connected with the U.K. We saw the murals and learned the history or the troubles and the IRA. We heard testimonies of former drug addicts who are now serving the Lord at a church in Belfast. We saw the peace wall, and also spent time visiting the memorials of those lost during the Troubles, and of course we spent time seeing the city of Belfast. We had a tour of Stormont, the parliament building. We didn't stay long because there was a meeting in session. There was so much information, and not much time to digest all of what we were hearing, but thankfully we were able to talk through all of the emotions and understand what this country has been struggling with for so long. We have had many talks about the issues and learned more with dates and the Good Friday agreement (Peace Treaty).  

We took a day to be outside! Our hostel was right on the beach and it was beautiful in the morning. We traveled to Giant's Causeway, and hiked around there. We had out lunch right on top of Giant's Causeway. It's so amazing how those rocks can be formed like that. We then went to Carrick-A-Rede, a rope bridge and hung out on the island there. We spent the nights hanging out in the hostel and having a grand o time!

This was the last week before spring break, we again, where very busy with homework and reading for Irish Lit. The professor for that class is coming March 18th and then the time will be packed with lectures...so not looking forward to it. It's crazy to think that I only have 7weeks left, but still thats a long time. I had spring break this weekend and will write more about that later :) 

The beach! 

Giant's Causeway 

Carrick-A-Rede

The group at Giant's Causeway 

It's been a while...

Well, after a full week of busy work and class my parents came!!! They arrived Saturday Feb. 12th, and surprised me by coming early and just walking into the house. I was so excited to see them, and so was my mom. She was crying! That day we went to Dublin and walked around. I was able to show them places that I knew of. We did some shopping and then ate at a pub. They were pretty much pooped from jet lag, so I let them go back to their room and sleep. The next morning we drove to Kilkenny. I was weird having my dad drive, but he did pretty well. There was only a couple of times that I had to tell him he was getting close to cars or the grass. When we got to Kilkenny, we went to the Kilkenny Castle. That was fun, a lot of history! We ate lunch in a pub and i got my first Fish N Chip! So good, and  I don't like fish! We drove back to Greystones and ate at a very fancy restaurant in  town call The Hungry Monk. My parents loved the Irish food. On Monday they traveled with the group and I to Glendalough. 

Glendalough means a valley of two lakes. It was founded in the  6^th century by St. Kevin. It is a monastery nestled among mountains and lakes. Glendalough was also a beaming community. When we got there, we had a tour and then hiked a mile to the upper lake. We had lunch and then I had to say goodbye to my parents. The group then did the 4 mile hike around the upper lake up on top of the mountain. It was a killer climbing 1057 steps. And the steps were not all at the same time, and it was still all up hill. I wasn't sure if I was going to make it. But once we got to the top it was all worth it! It was GORGEOUS! It really made me thank God for his beautiful creation. It started snowing when we were at the top and it was just so fantastic! Then it was all down hill from there. The hike got easier, and it was a well spent time with God. 


We came back from that trip with another full week of classes and homework! But once it was the weekend we traveled again. This time to Kilkenny. Lucky for me we went to different places. 


On our drive to Kilkenny we stopped at Jerpoint Abbey and St. Canice Cathedral. It was a pretty cool day and spitting rain. At St. Canice Cathedral we climbed one of the oldest round towers. We were able to see all of Kikenny and the Castle at the opposite end of town. We ended that day all going out to a pub for dinner and just enjoying telling each other our first kiss stories. Just imagine 20 people crammed in a hotel room! 


The next day we traveled to to the Castle of Cahir. We learned about defense methods that they would use. Then it was time for us to be kids and go explore! We were able to go pretty much all over that castle, it was pretty sweet! For lunch we had a cute little picnic out side the castle. Next was the Rock of Cashel. This is where one of St. Patrick rock is located. It is said that if you jump on one foot around the rock seven time, then you will get married. I should of done it, but I didn't. We went and explored Hore Abbey and Holy Cross Abbey.  It was a long trip and a good end to the week! 


This past week we have had class and a ton of work to do. We also went to a play called "The Cripple of an Inishmaan." I have been getting a head start on reading and so that has been taking up my time. But its nice to just relax. We have had BEAUTIFUL weather this past couple of days. It's been so sunny and warm! We had a free weekend to do whatever and just have time off. The group has been playing lots of card games and watching movies. It's been great to just hang out with everyone and all be friends, haha. 


So far living in Ireland has been great. I am learning a lot about a different culture, and picking up on new sayings. It's grand! I learned that you have to be careful about certain words because the meaning here could be totally different. I have been growing in myself and been able to just have "me" time. I have been spending more time in the word of God, and being able to find him in my everyday life. This week we travel to the North! It should be grand. 

My parents in front of Kilkenny Castle 

 At Glendalough, the upper lake

 Sunrise over the Irish Sea

 Cahir Castle..this doorway was used in Braveheart! 

St. Patrick's stone 

nflknfklnfknfeg...idk!

In the last couple of days we have done a ton! It's crazy to think that we have only been here for a little bit over a week. We have had a coffee trek, where we were able to take the dart to different towns and look for cute little coffee shops. We split up into groups to get to know people better. I thought it was fun to just go and explore all the little towns around Greystones. We also had a Dublin scavenger hunt on Saturday. It was raining, but still a lot of fun. I'm pretty sure my team won. We were they only ones that went around and found the places. We were able to ask around for help. Apparently, we looked lost most of the time and people would come and ask us if we wanted help. I learned that the Irish people are very kind! It was awesome to get around Dublin and learn where things are and what all the government building are and their names. On Sunday  we had a Superbowl party and watched the game. It started at 11:30pm here and lasted till 3:30am. Yes, I stayed up for the whole game to see the Steelers lose. It was sad not watching the game with my dad. Everyone here was cheering on the Packers, and I was being joked on for cheering for the Steelers. But hey, it's all alright! We went  to Newgrange yesterday. That was pretty sweet. It's crazy that it is 5000 years old. But I wasn't too impressed. I think to get the full effect you would need to be one of the lucky people to go see it when the winter solstice shines its light into the chamber. We also visited Old Mellofont Abbey, Mainstir Bhuithe Monastorboice, Hill of Slane and Hill of Tara. It was a full day of traveling and at the end of the day we were all exhausted. Especially for me since I had 3 hours of sleep! We have all bonded much more and everyone feels like friends now. I'm starting to feel like I'm at home and not on a trip for school. Its been helping living all together for the home sickness not to be there. But my parents come this weekend! I'm so excited to see them and I'm glad that it all worked out for them to come, especially since its my birthday today!

This week is full of classes. It's going to be a busy week and I just pray for rest through out the week.

NewGrange

Rainbow! 

Heres an update!

So it is day 5 in Ireland, well for me its been a week. The rest of the group came Saturday and I feel like we have all bonded well. We have had many long meetings about life here in Ireland and we had our first class on Tuesday. Nothing too exciting has happened, just exploring and getting to know each other. I'm really excited for what I will be doing here in Ireland and everything that I will be learning! I'm really excited to see how I will be growing in my personal growth and in the Lord.