Sláinte!: Week One

It's been awhile since I've posted and I apologize (mom and dad) but I had quite the busy week. I started my class on Monday and it seems like its going to be interesting. We've been talking about all of the customs of Ireland--courtship, arranged marriage, marriage ceremonies, dancing, death ceremonies etc. It's pretty crazy how different things are in America--even today. For instance divorce in Ireland wasn't legalized until 12 years ago which seems pretty odd. I also spent my evenings of the week exploring the various pubs around the city and getting my fair share of traditional music and even a little Lady GaGa and the like here and there. : ) I've been hanging out with mostly Americans so far as the Irish students still don't arrive for quite some time. I also booked my flights to Glasgow to visit my cousin Caralyn who will be starting her Vet school studies in a few weeks. I'm exited to be able to travel and am always thinking about which places I should visit--so many choices!

On Sunday I did another coach tour with three of my classmates from DU. It was amazing. We went up the coast of Ireland stopping at a beach called Inch Strand which was so pretty. Getting out to the West of the country was so great as it is more of what I had pictured Ireland to be like--rolling green fields, sheep(!), cows, stone walls and all the like. Plus the ocean was so neat. The color of the ocean was so blue and it just seemed different than parts of our side of the Atlantic that I have seen. The tour guide was also very informative and gave a great lesson in Irish History as we drove. I've certainly picked up on some towns I will need to visit again! From the beach we continued around the coast to the Blasket Centre, a sort of museum about the Blasket Islands which are off the Western coast of Ireland. No one inhabits the islands anymore and they are protected ecological sites now but at a time they held a very diverse culture of Irish people. We had a chance to look around at the exhibit and just sit around on the shore of the ocean looking at the islands from afar. One of the girls I was with had never seen the ocean in person before so that was kind of neat! We then continued on into the town of Dingle which is a very small, Irish speaking harbor town. It is right on the ocean and is certainly one of the places I want to return to. We walked around and perused the shops and even stopped for some classic Fish and Chips. The 3 hour bus ride each way that was part of the tour was just as exciting and really helped to give me a better view of the Irish countryside. I'm very glad that I was finally able to see that part of Ireland that I had been envisioning!

Well I'll try to write more often this week and we'll see what adventures I end up on!