*whoops! Meant to post this last week, but something went wrong! Since writing this, I have been to la belle Paris and back, and can't wait to tell you all about my wonderful French adventures! I could not be more in love with that city.
Hello everybody!
So clearly that post three weeks ago promising a long post the
next day was a wee bit of a miscalculation. But now, what with being stuck sick
in bed and all, I've got oodles of time to give a nice long update about how
Irish life has been treating me.
Concerning classes: The thing about study abroad, which most
people don't realize, is that there is actually a bit of studying involved.
Crazy eh? So I do occasionally find myself in a classroom-like setting
listening to an Irish professor teach me about Irish politics and the like
(also one Vancouver prof! Small world eh?)(I say eh a lot now. To emphasize my
Canadianess I guess? I dunno, it's not intentional). Anyway, the classes are
all reasonably interesting, especially given I previously knew exactly nothing
about European politics. Basically it's Canadian politics but larger, and with
a couple more levels. But still pretty neat. It's also great that there's
pretty much no pressure, since as an exchange student I'm graded on a pass/fail
basis, and a pass here is only 40%. I'm reasonably positive I could a 40% in my
sleep (in any class that is not remotely related to math in any way), so that
means I really don't have to stress about school at all, and can learn at my
own pace just for the sake of learning!
Concerning travels: So since my last post, I've been on a couple
of trips here and there about Ireland. A few weekends back my friends and I
joined the OPC (Outdoor Pursuits Club) to go on a hiking exhibition to
Glendaloch. It was entirely amazing. I felt exactly like Frodo, in Lord of the
Rings, climbing for what felt like
months through woods and mountains on a grand adventure, along side my
fellowship of wonderful people. No orc battles though, thankfully. We stayed in
a great hostel that weekend and had a wonderful valentine’s day ball on the Saturday
night. Sunday on the way home we stopped in a pub to watch some big rugby game.
Last weekend we went and explored some caves on the west side of the Island,
and it was really gorgeous. We've also gotten a chance to explore more of
Limerick. On saturdays there is a massive farmers market called the milk market
which takes up blocks of the city and has a ton of really great things to see
and do. One week we walked down the River Shannon to get there and it was such
a lovely time. Also, abandoned castles in the woods! Yes, they are as cool as
they sound. There are a few of them in random locations about Limerick, and are
great fun to explore and climb. Upcoming trips include Paris(!) on tuesday,
which is all kinds of exciting, Dublin for St. Patricks Day (woohooo!), and
then for Easter break, I'll be headed to Majorca! Majorca (also called
Mallorca, which means "big island") is an island off the coast of
Spain. Some of my new friends from the OPC and I are headed there for eight
days, the majority of which will be spent rock climbing! It's going to be
absolutely amazing and I am actually out of my mind with excitement.
Concerning life in general: Everything has been really great, and
I'm still having a fabulous time (despite having a horrendous cold right now,
however I'm doing everything I can to make sure it's gone by Tuesday!). I can't
believe I've been over here for nearly two months! That means I only have 11 more
weeks to perfect my still pitiful Irish accent! Time is flying way too fast,
but I am enjoying every second of it.
I am currently growing a pretty impressive collection of post
cards on my desk, which are all ready to be mailed out, except for the fact
that I have no stamps. It will not do for everyone to get their Paris cards
before their Irish ones. Especially given I hear some of you haven't gotten
London ones yet! Tragedy. Anyway, tomorrow's quest will be to find a post
office and hopefully you'll have them soon!
Most of these pictures already went up on facebook, but for those
of you who don't have it (Grandparents and Anthony), I'll include some
highlights as soon as I can!
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