New adventures!

Hi everybody!

I know it has been a while since I updated you all, so this one could be kind of long! Last weekend a few friends and I went to Limerick, the third largest city in Ireland, just for the day on Saturday. It is a fun city, but I after going there I am very happy that I chose Galway over any other city that I have visited so far. Galway has such a great historical aspect to it, a great social scene, and the university is highly regarded as one of the best in the country. Limerick was kind of dirty and more industrial, and we had to SEARCH to find a pub! It was crazy haha in Galway you get tired of seeing them because they are everywhere! It was still a really fun place to visit, and we got to see the large St. Mary's Cathedral and King John's Castle. We also had our first "traditional" fish and chips at a super shady diner. It was basically grease fried in more grease, it was SO good! It was nice to get away from Galway for the day and see something new.

This week I FINALLY got to start all of my classes, and I registered with immigration, so I got to cross a lot of things off my stress list, even though the 150 Euro immigration fee did not help the stress haha. My classes are good, some definitely more interesting then others. Most of the Irish students rarely go to class, and I am beginning to see why. Most classes just have one essay at the end of the term as assessment, and it is usually a specific topic or book not really having to do with the whole content of the class. I am still being a good girl and going to most of my classes, but I definitely do not feel as guilty missing a class here to travel as I would if I was at home.

We have found a pub called Monroe's that has traditional Irish music and dancing on Tuesday nights, and has really great pizza! I think it is now going to be a weekly date, and I am definitely going to join in the dancing this next week! There is a cute little old man who teaches American girls how to dance, and you can see in his eyes how much he looks forward to finding a new partner each week. I am bound and determined to be that girl this week haha.

I have found a really great group of girls here, all from different parts of America, who I can share experiences with. They are usually who I travel with, and each week we have started to do a international dinner type potluck. We were all craving Mexican food this week so we made tacos, guacamole, beans and rice. It is really fun to get together and enjoy each others company!

Today I went to Conamara, an area west of Galway, that was absolutely beautiful. It was a day tour through our International Student Society so we got to stop at all of the important sights and photo opportunities. I went to Kylemore Abbey and a few other places around the area. Again it was nice to get away, especially with a group of 50 international students!

I think I am pretty much adjusted to life here, it is definitely easier then it was at the beginning, but there are still things that I have to get over. My apartment is kind of a disaster zone, two of my roommates smoke (uh oh for my allergies) and all of them are pretty dirty, but I know that it is a temporary living situation and I am so grateful for all of the other experiences I am presented with while I am here. I think what I miss most is hugs! Pretty soon I am going to have to start going up to random people and hugging them so I can get my fix for the week.

Tomorrow a group of us are going to Cork (the second biggest city in Ireland) for tomorrow and Sunday. I get to kiss the Blarney stone and be a cheesy tourist! I will update you all on that next week, and then next weekend I am going to Scotland for the weekend! I am so excited!

I am still loving all of the thoughts and prayers, and the notes and e-mails! You wouldn't believe how happy I get whenever I get an e-mail, it is kind of ridiculous. By the way, if any of you have skype my skype name is melissaschisler, look me up:) Oh and one more, if by chance (no pressure, I'm not expecting anything) but if anybody happens to send a package to me if you could let me know that would be great because they go to the front desk and they don't call us we have to go check for packages.

I love you all! I hope that your weeks were great and that your weekends will be relaxing. Miss you all!