Happy Thanksgiving... And Christmas

Remember how I said all of my coursework was looming in the shadows? Well it came onto me like a ton of bricks.

No entry last week- obviously- due to the sheer amount of pressure this one assignment was causing me. However, that’s over and I can take a breather until the next one.

Christmas.

Christmas lights at the GPO.
http://bewleyshotels.blogspot.ie/2014/09/the-magic-of-christmas-in-dublin.html

It’s starting to be an acceptable time for me to start singing Christmas carols and start my Christmas shopping. Thanksgiving is tomorrow, and though I haven’t celebrated with a real turkey for over 8 years, it’s that fact that I won’t be able to spend time with my friends and family that I am missing.

Also, pie. I love pumpkin pie.

Festivities are just around the corner and all the beautiful lights are up in Dublin and the Christmas markets are about to open and I’m actually getting a little bit excited for the holidays.

The reason why there aren’t going to be many of my photos in this- or next week’s blog- is that I lost my phone and it will take a while to replace it. Yes, I have a camera and I will try and bring that around more but it’s just not the same.

Amazing picture featured in the Irish Times
http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2000023.1415906311!/image/image.jpg

And to anyone that is wondering, I lost it in a taxi.

And, yes, it was an excellent night.

…….

In other news here’s a shout out to my favorite non-Uncles Paul and Al who got married after 3 decades together! I wish I could be there to give you a big hug!

Gallivanting Around Galway

Here we are yet again. So much to talk about, so little time.

During this past week, I’ve had some of my best Irish experiences and some of my worst. I somehow triumphed over sleep deprivation, registration frustrations, and the always present fear of university assignments.

The first week of November was reading week, meaning a week in which students are supposed to study and start final assignments. For me it consisted of registering for the long awaited GNIB, taking a trip to Galway, and eventually doing some work for university. The GNIB is a visa process unique to Ireland. Unlike most countries where you get a visa before arrival, in Ireland you have a three month grace period to study and then go through the process of getting a GNIB card. My friend and I went to the offices at 5, however we did not leave until nearly 9.

I still do not understand this.

There were other people who came in after us, yet received their cards long before we did. I guess it was worth it though; I can now leave Ireland and come back again without any issues.

One of the many rainbows spotted over the two days.

On Wednesday night my friends Jana, Maxi, and I decided to go to Galway on a two-day tour with the Galway Tour Company. For Thursday morning I woke up at 5 to catch a bus into city centre, and then from O’Connell the three of us began our journey to Galway.

The first day was packed with stops from Galway to the world famous Cliffs of Moher. Honestly one of the most spectacular sites I have ever witnessed- completely worth a visit if you’re ever in Ireland.

Cliffs of Moher.

Back in Glaway city, the three of us were delirious from lack of sleep but decided to go out and explore the nightlife. We tried some good beer, and I met a few new friends while on our mini pubcrawl. At 1:30 I was practically dead on my feet and collapsed into bed as soon as we got into our hostel.

I wish that we had better roommates, but we definitely got the short end of the stick.

At 2 am, a person decided to hit snooze on their alarm SEVEN times before getting out of bed. Then, at 7 am, another decided to make a bunch of noise and take a shower. Lastly, the final unknown roommate left on the lights and didn’t even bother closing the door when he left. It was my first horrible hostel experience, and it resulted in 4 hours of sleep when I desperatelyt needed more.

Inagh Valley.

The Victorian Gardens at Kylemore Abbey.

Kylemore Abbey.

The second day tour consisted of gorgeous scenery… and the feel of vomiting. I felt extremely ill on our tour through Connemara, but I tried to take in the towering mountain ranges that we were passing by. After eating some food and taking a walk through the gardens at Kylemore Abbey, I regained some of my strength before we ventured onto more breathtaking sights.

At 6 we returned to Galway and then departed for Dublin, and I eventually returned home around 10 pm. I don’t think I moved positions all night when I eventually passed out.

The rest of my weekend was spent doing coursework, and I am happy to be back in university on a schedule once again.

Killary Harbour, aka Ireland's fjord.

Halloween Escapades

Jana and I in costume.

I’m going to ignore the majority of the week and focus upon one day, one particular holiday that is…

HALLOWEEN!

This holiday has always been such a fun time in the past and I was excited to see how Dublin would handle it. I was especially excited this year since my friend and I were dressing up as Thing 1 and Thing 2- birthday twins for the win! We even had the Dr. Seuss poem to read out if people didn’t know who we were. The costumes were homemade so they didn’t last very long, but we had fun and that’s all that matters- plus they were cheap, gotta love saving some money.

I co-hosted a Halloween party with my friend and there were both old and new faces that attended. Everyone was dressed to the nines in their best Halloween gear. I have a brief background of fx makeup so I helped out a few people that night, and I’m pretty happy with most of it- Sorry Diego!

There were about twenty of us that decided to venture into town, and we had to rush from Diego’s flat to catch a bus into town. A journey that would normally take less than half an hour turned into a ride of over an hour.

A blurry picture to try and illustrate just how bus city centre was on Halloween.

Once we arrived at O’Connell, the bus could barely move since there were so many people. Queues for clubs were around the corner and down the next street! I never thought that Halloween would be such a big event here. There were some very creative costumes out there, and I can’t imagine how much time some people put into their outfits.

Not only were all the girls dressed up, but quite a few of the boys went all out as well. I thought that the States knew how to do Halloween but I am absolutely blown away by Dublin that night.

Well done Dublin. Well done.

Some of the gang.