Southern accents are in this year

I made it!! My first two flights were a bit sketchy, what with the EXCESSIVE amounts of turbulence. The poor planes were jostled in the air like raggedy Ann dolls, and I was most unsettled. BUT my flight from New York to Ireland was wonderful. The pilots were Irish, and whenever they came over the PA system, I felt at ease. Even the stewardesses were Irish and they wore cute green uniforms.

I've decided that life is full of long lines. Too often I get frustrated by the present moment because I always seem to be looking ahead (if I could just get to New York, if i could just land in Ireland, if I could just get through customs...) I'm going to try to be more conscious of these thoughts and try to stay in the present moment. I fear that if I'm always looking ahead to the new best thing, I'll miss all of the little moments along the way that create the long-lasting memories. I'll admit, I got extremely homesick when I landed in Ireland. I miss the comforts of home, of being in good company with life-long friends, etc. BUT, I shall not wallow. I accepted the homesickness, then got to work on my new life here in Limerick. I refuse to allow my insecurities to hold me back from having one of the BEST semesters of my life.

By the way, southern accents are a commodity here, ya'll. I don't think I have much of a southern drawl, but my southern roots seem to be instantly betrayed every time I open my mouth. It's actually pretty interesting-I've never been in a place where I am the ONLY southern person around.

I'm still pretty jet-lagged (going on maybe 4 hours of sleep in the last 36), but I want to make a list of some of the wonderful things in store for the month of September:

Start of classes

Townhouse bonding (Americans, Germans, French, and Irish all under one roof..)

Cliffs of Moher

Munster Rugby Match

London trip, including a ticket to see Wicked

and plenty more shenanigans!

More to come--until then:

May God grant you always:

A sunbeam to warm you,

A moonbeam to charm you

A sheltering angel so nothing can harm you.

Laughter to cheer you,

Faithful friends near you,

And whenever you pray, Heaven to hear you.