Crazy week of travels!

Hi everybody!

This past week has been packed with lots of things, thus the reason I haven't had a chance to update you on all of them. Last Friday I went with a school group to Connamara, the Western region of Ireland, and got to see Kylemore Abbey and other important sights. It was couldy and misting (of course) but was really beautiful! They also took us to a little town called Clifden, and a famous furniture college which used to be a reform school for boys. There is a graveyard and memorial behind the school because while this school was opened the boys were tortured and beaten so many of them died. It was eery and sad but very interesting at the same time.

Last weekend twelve of us girls took the bus to Cork on Saturday morning (4 hour bus ride!) and stayed there over night. We went to Blarney to visit the castle and kiss the stone which was really pretty and touristy and so much fun. I now have the gift of gab, which I probably didn't need more of! We got back to Cork in time for dinner and were going to go out that night, but as we were walking around we found that most of the pubs and bars were not letting us in, and they told us that they had a over 23 rule, which we found crazy! I never expected to be carded while in Europe where the drinking age is 18, and I think I have been ID'd more times here then I ever will at home! I survived my first hostile experience with little trouble, it was actually not bad at all. I think I will learn more about traveling simple every time I go. The next day we couldn't really find a lot more to do in Cork so we came back to Galway pretty early. It is always nice to get away, but more and more I am loving just staying in Galway.

On Wednesday of this week I went to Dublin with Alexa and her roommate for a protest against the Irish students having to pay tuition for higher education. Right now third level education is free but the Irish government is trying to implement fees. I honestly really do not have an opinion if they should be paying for school or not, but the trip was through school and it was 4 Euro for a trip to Dublin, two meals, and two t-shirts. I wanted to experience the atmosphere, but I realized I am a terrible protester. There were 25,000 students marching the streets of Dublin which was really cool to be a part of no matter what the cause!

That night was one of my friends 21st birthday, and we celebrated by making homemade pizzas and taking her out for the night. It was so much fun, and I am loving all of the friends that I am making here. We really have a great group of girls who work really well together. We have pretty much made it a weekly tradition to get together one night and make a big potluck type dinner, and spend the evening having fun. I am really starting to cherish those nights!

This past weekend I went to Scotland from Friday through Saturday. It was my first time out of Ireland since I got here, and my first Ryanair trip, and it was a wonderful weekend. We flew into Glasgow about 6:30 on Saturday night and had to take a train from the airport into the city. We found our hostile and were all starving so went out for dinner at a really fun sports bar type place. It was dark by the time we got there so we rally couldn't do a lot of sightseeing that night, but had fun experiencing a little bit of the night life.

The next day we got up a little bit early and took the hour bus ride from Glasgow to Edinburgh. Edinburgh was absolutely BEAUTIFUL. It is definitely in my top five of favorite European cities that I have been to so far, and I had a really great day there. We were lucky because it was neither snowing or raining, and it was only a little kind of cold (at least I thought so, my West coast friends disagreed a little bit). We were able to go to the Edinburgh Palace which is really cool, and gives an unbelievable view of the city. We walked around and saw all of the old architecture and the city. There was a huge four week long rugby tournament going on beginning that day in Edinburgh so it was packed! We couldn't get into any pubs to eat or enjoy, so we went back to Glasgow earlier then planned. We had a great dinner at this fantastic Italian restaurant, and found out how nice Scottish people are. I though Irish people were nice, but they are nothing compared to the Scottish! Everyone we spoke to was so into helping us in any way they could, and joked around with us when we had questions.

Sunday we had some time to explore Glasgow and got to see a beautiful Cathedral and some of the other sights. Glasgow was more dirty and industrial, and we had a little bit more trouble finding something to do. We found the Peoples Palace next to the Winter Gardens. It looked like a children's museum and was set up that way, but the floor we were on was all about the historical influences of alcohol and why it is both good and bad. It was a cultural experience haha. Finally we got home safely after a train ride, a plane ride, and two bus rides.

I cannot believe I have officially been here over a month, some days it feels like it is going so fast and others I feel like I am never going to make it. Those are the days I eat a lot of chocolate:) I miss all of you more then you could imagine, honestly I would love to hear anything that is going on at home, an e-mail really really brightens my day. I love you all!