This week I pulled an all-nighter studying for a biochemistry exam; afterwards, I rewarded myself by watching back-to-back episodes of criminal minds on my laptop instead of being productive...was it worth it? definitely!
Yesterday, I went with the international society to Blarney Castle and Cork city. The morning started off foggy and misty, but by the time we got to the castle grounds the weather was absolutely PERFECT. We really lucked out :) The grounds are GORGEOUS this time of year-the leaves are all different colors, and everything is still so green because of the copious amounts of rain the west coast receives, and the castle looked magnificent.
It was so nice to just walk around the castle grounds and really appreciate the beauty of the country. So many colors, so much nature, such breath-taking scenery; no picture or vivid description could do it justice. I'm honestly glad I'm not Irish, because I fear that if I were, I wouldn't fully appreciate my surroundings; oftentimes, we get so distracted by the day's demands that we don't think to stop and "smell the roses." That's one valuable lesson I've learned since I've been abroad: just stop, and take it all in. It'll be gone before you know it...
Kissing the stone was quite the experience. Let me set the stage: my roommate and best friend here, Mo, LOVES taking pictures. As we were getting closer to the front of the line for the stone-kissing (which is highly unsanitary, by the way), Mo hands me her purse, jacket, camera, etc. etc. etc. and instructs me on where to stand, when to take the picture, etc. She's too funny ;) Anyways, she gets up to kiss the stone---to kiss the stone, btw, you have to lay flat on your back, hold onto handle bars behind you, and lean your body out and down to reach the stone (one of the employees at the castle holds your waist so you don't slip and fall off the castle's ledge)---so Mo is trying to kiss the stone, I'm trying to get a picture, and the employee is not very happy with us. Mo kisses the stone twice, I fail to get a good picture, and when my turn to kiss the stone comes, the guy lectures me about holding up the line, yadda yadda yadda. It was pretty funny. I successfully kissed the stone, though, and I'm hoping some Irish luck will come my way! :)
After kissing the stone, we explored the garden of poisonous plants, and that was actually really interesting--some of the plants had recently been seized by the Gardai (Irish police) haha. We walked some of the other trails in the castle grounds, and I found a nice giant rock to climb...it was quite an adventure!! The rain rolled in just as we were leaving--perfect timing! I settled in for a nice afternoon nap on the bus ride to Cork.
Cork was a nice enough city--the city center had their Christmas decorations up, so that was quite nice. I did a bit of shopping in the town, but other than that nothing exciting happened. We got back to Limerick around 6, ordered take-out from the local Chinese restaurant, and then one of the girls in the mountain biking club and I got ready to go out for a night on the town with some of the other Irish in the mountain biking club. It was a grand night--we went to the Wicked Chicken, a pub in the city-center, and I managed to run into my tutorial lecturer for Irish poetry. It's so weird to see lecturers out drinking, especially my Irish lit lecturer-she's slightly terrifying, but super badass at the same time. It was cool just to talk to her outside of class in such a random environment.
Anyways, today I went with some friends up to Killaloe to see where the mountain bikers were going to do their Sunday cycle. I saw Loch Dergh, and got some excellent pictures in the woods near the lake. Again, we lucked out with the weather--although it was a bit chilly, the sun was shining and no rain clouds were visible all afternoon-it was a relaxing, scenic afternoon.
So, what's on the agenda for this week? I have LOTS of assignments to complete before my PARENTS come next week!!! Ah! I'm so beyond excited to see them :) We are going to have a blast!! Things I need to complete before they come:
3 spanish essays (500 words, 1000 words, and 2500 words)
2 biochemistry lab reports
1 irish lit essay (2000 words)
1 physiology essay (2500 words)
I doubt I'll get it all done before they come, but hopefully I can blast through a nice chunk of that work...this coming weekend our program is going to the greyhound dog races, and I might take a trip out to the Cliffs of Moher and La Hinch to see the surfers in their natural environment.
Until then:
May the morning sun stir you from the bed
May the winds of March move you on the road
May the rains of April renew your strength
May the flowers of May captivate your sight
may summer heat inflame your zeal
May autumn color stimulate your dreams
May the silver moon make you wiser yet
May you never be with yourself content
May Jesus and Mary keep you young
Full of life and laughter and Irish song.
Lindsey
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