Mo & Muay Thai

This week's been pretty low key, but I'm super excited for this weekend. Mike Mo's coming to visit from Dublin, and he's bringing three of his roommates with him. I can't wait to hang out with Mo, and take him out for a few nights in Galway. We're cooking them dinner tonight, then will head into town to find some good live music. Mary and I were thinking of taking them into the market on Saturday for lunch, and then I think we're going to take a bus tour to Connemara on Sunday. It should be a great weekend.

Earlier this week Mary, Lindsey, Brianna and I went to a Mauy Thai class. It had to have been one of the funniest things I've ever done. We wanted to get a decent workout, so we wanted to try it out. When we got there, we were shocked to see the "coach." He was this old guy with grey frizzy hair braided down his back, wearing a extremely tight "Muay Thai Club" t shirt....and very interesting shorts. They were extremely short and were blue with bright orange flames. Super sexy in my book. NOT. He was hilarious though, and took the class very seriously. Mauy Thai is kind of like kickboxing. We started off with a good cardio warm up, and then learned some fighting moves. Mary was my partner so obviously we were laughing the time. I think some of the serious Muay Thai'ers didn't appreciate our humor. After we got the moves down pat, we took turns hitting and kicking bags and pads. It was actually a pretty good workout and I think we're going to go back next week. And I'm going to try very hard to get one of those t shirts!

We also booked a flight to London!!! We're leaving February 11th and coming home the 14th. I'm so excited to take my first trip, and am hoping to be able to meet up with ReRe and Mikey. It's going to be a blast!

Irish Roadblocks & Slippery Cliffs

Yesterday a few of us went on a tour through the Burren and to the Cliffs Of Moher. Despite having to wake up at 8 to catch the bus, it was a really great day. Our tour guide, Michael was hilarious and full of knowledge about every place we passed. We left Galway and headed towards the Burren and stopped at a ton of places along the way.

The Burren is sort of like a National Park, and it stretches for miles and miles, and is completely covered in limestone. It was gorgeous everywhere we went, and we saw so many old castles, ruins, and cows. Our bus even got stopped in an "Irish traffic jam" by a cow standing in the middle of the road.

The Cliffs of Moher were absolutely breath taking. Even though the day started out foggy, it ended up clearing by the time we got to the cliffs, and the view was unreal. The pictures I took don't even do it justice. We wanted to go out further along the path, but it was so muddy that

security was being super strict and wouldn't let us pass the fence.

We made a few more stops along the was throughout the Burren, and I got loads of great pic

tures of all the landscapes and attractions. It was such a great day and I was so tired by the end of it, and we will definitely be booking a tour to Connemara very soon!

Mashed Potatoes & Clubbing

I'm really bad at keeping up with this blog! I need to get on this. So last weekend I went to my homestay and had a great time. I stayed with an adorable woman named Peggy O'Malley in a small town outside of Tuam. I didn't know this until after, but apparently my great-grandparents were from Tuam, I wish I had known before I went! Here's a picture of me and Peggy, don't judge me, I had just woke up.

Peggy was a chef so obviously everything she fed us was absolutely amazing. Best mashed potatoes I've ever had! She made some delicious Irish Stew, lasagna, and chicken curry. Irish people are obsessed with curry, it's kinda weird. She was separated with two daughters, Saoirse (Sersha) and Grace. Only Saoirse was home for the weekend. She was only a few years younger than me and so nice! I quickly realized that all Irish people are OBSESSED with reality tv. We spent the first night watching American Idol, Celebrity Big Brother, and so many other random British reality tv. Peggy took us to a town called Knock on Saturday, which is supposedly one of the most religious places on Earth. Apparently "Our Lady" appeared there to people praying in the late 1800s. We went to mass there and headed back. Her house was so cute and decorated, and she was such a nice host. Here's a picture of me and Peggy, don't judge me, I had just woke up.

I made it to most of my classes this week, even with going out! I went to the clubs twice this week. It's so weird, all the Irish kids absolutely love going clubbing. It's not my first choice of a way to spend a night. I'd much rather spend it listening to Irish music in the pubs, relaxing and having a few pints. Being squished dancing on a tiny dance floor with crazy lights and awful music is not my idea of a great night out in Ireland. Don't get me wrong I enjoy the occasional club night out in Providence with the RWU girls, but it's different here I guess. Its ok once in a while, but I wish more of the Irish kids wanted to stay in the pubs.

I have no plans this weekend, but we're trying to get started with planning some trips. I would love to be able to go to Florence to visit Stacy, London, Paris, and Barcelona. We're trying to figure out weekends that work for everyone, and I really need to start booking some flights through RyanAir so I am committed!

IMPORTANT UPDATE

There seems to be some confusion about our new friend Paul we met the other night, I will not actually be staying at his house in Dublin, I just thought it would be funny to mention that he offered...RELAX DAD! I'm not that dumb!!!!

Shopping for Classes & Set Dancing

I've been in Galway for a week and am starting to get used to things. The weather has finally started to get warmer, turning the freezing snow into good, old Ireland rain. I just got back from the store and bought some cold medicine and vapor rub because I haven't been feeling too hot. Hopefully it will help and get rid of this awful cold I caught.

Technically, classes began this week. They do things so weird here, and we're all extremely confused by the registration process. Apparently these first weeks of classes are for students to decide what classes they want to take. I can go to as little or as many lectures as I want, and shop around until I find ones I want to register for. I w

ent to to two classes today, and they both seem good enough for me. Seminars don't start until next week, so I've had a lot of free time.

Last night, we went to a pub called Monroe's. We had been there before, and one of the locals had told us that Tuesday night was "set dancing" night. Set dancing is like step dancing, but they are paired off and dance in groups. We got pizza and Irish coffee's, and waited around for the dancing to start. While we were sitting at the bar, a man next to me stuck up a conversation. His name was Paul from Dublin, and he was in Galway for work. He was telling Mary and I all about Ireland, where we needed to visit, and was very interested in hearing about Boston. He told us that Monroe's had some of the best Guinness he'd ever tasted, and even bought us each a glass. We were talking about him after, and Bri brought up a really good point. If we were in America sitting at a bar having a few drinks, and a fifty year old guy started chatting with us and telling us what drinks to order, some girls might find it creepy (except for me and the Melrose girls, who will talk to anyone for a good laugh). However here, it's completely normal. He loved Mary and me, and even offered us a place to stay if we were ever in Dublin! And he has a twenty year old son, so we might be taking him up on it! Mary joked that we've had excellent luck getting the old Irish men to talk to us, but no such luck with the young ones yet!

This weekend is our homestay, and I'm so excited. I'm going to a little town in Galway and am staying with a single mother with two girls, ages 16 and 18. I'm a little nervous to meet them, but excited at the same time. I'll be sure to write all about it on Monday.

Bap's and Icy Footpaths

It doesn't surprise me at all that the first week I'm in Ireland is the coldest weather they've had in forty years. Galway is completely iced over, frost is covering everything. No one went into town last night because we didn't think we could make the walk without freezing. We're all freezing, but getting a kick out of how the Irish are dealing with the abnormally cold weather. Since it never gets so cold, they have absolutely no ice melt. The streets and sidewalks are covered in a thick sheet of slippery ice, and everyone ha to be so cautious not to wipe out. I went to a lecture on Friday to hear about course selections, and the English department head showed up 45 minutes late and blamed it on the ice.

Today I went to mass at the Galway Cathedral downtown. It was so pretty inside, I wanted to take pictures but I didn't think that would be too good of an idea while it was of people. The mass was just like any normal Catholic mass at home, apart from the priest's Irish accent.

We found a cute little coffee shop after, called Pura Vida. The coffee was great, and I got a turkey and cranberry bap (sandwhich) for lunch. I gave in and bought a new straightener, because apparently the Best Buy guy lied to me and my converter blew out with my old one.

Tonight we're going to a pub called Garvey's to catch the Pat's game. Apparently this place plays all college sports and NFL games. It should be a fun time.

Still no sign of my Irish roommate, but the Irish kids are slowly trickling in. I can't wait to meet him. The apartment's warming up a bit, because we've been cranking the heat. Probably not the best way to make a first impression with our new room mate, but it's freezing! Supposedly it's supposed to warm up this week, so I'm definitely looking forward to that.

Well, I took a stroll on the old long walk Of a day -I-ay-I-ay

I've been so busy I haven't even had time to start this! Where do I even begin? Nothing too exciting has happened...yet. I'll just start off with what I've been doing the past few days.

The flight over was good, but I was more than tired when we

landed. I could only get a two hour nap in before we had to go do all sorts of stuff. Orientation was real boring, but I didn't really expect anything too exciting. Exploring Dublin was fun, we all took a bus tour and made sure to stop off at the Guinness Storehouse. It w

as like Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory for adults! Overall I enjoyed Dublin, but everything was so expensive and it didn't feel much different from Boston, I could not wait to get to Galway!

I finally got here yesterday, and loved it instantly. Our apartments are gorgeous, except there's one problem...COLD! Apparently the Irish don't like to use heat, so I'm dying over here. My roommate and I still haven't met our other Irish roommate, but it doesn't seem like he'll be getting here until Sunday.

Last night we went to the King's Head Pub for dinner and drinks, and it was a blast! Almost everyone in the Arcadia program came out, and the band was playing American songs all night. I special requested Sweet Caroline , and we all sang along. Galway was full of Americans because none of the Irish students are getting here until Sunday, and classes begin on Monday.

Today was more orientation, and was even more boring. I finally found Mary, and was banging on her door at 1:30AM last night. I was lucky she was up! Today we walked through Galway Center, and got a feel for the place. It's such a cute little town, and I can't wait to try out every pub and sandwich shop!

We're heading back into town tonight to try out a new place, and hopefully find somewhere with some Irish music. I'll try to update this thing a lot, but who knows how I'll do. I never can keep up with stuff like this. Hopefully I'll have some better, more exciting stories to tell!