This past weekend, we took a field trip to the Aran Islands.  The voyage to the miraculous floating land in the Atlantic ocean was taken on a Ferry, or a boat to be more specific.  Before arriving, the locals were saying things like good luck, or I hope the weather is good.  However, me being the optimist that I am, I was determined to experience the island in the sunshine and light jacket type of weather.  Lesson learned, listen to the locals.  We arrived on the island and my two layers of pants were already soaked through from the ferry ride.  While sitting on the tour bus in damp clothing, we stopped at one of the local shops.  I bought water proof pants that were four sizes to big to wear over my pants.  Turns out, these were the best inventions ever, despite how much of a parachute I looked like.  The shop we stopped at was next to the spot where the movie "Leap Year" was filmed.  We stopped at a cemetery with the tomb stones shaped as crosses with a circle behind them to represent the sun.  It is said that if you hug one of these crosses and your fingers touch, then you will find true love in Ireland. I tried, but my fingers, didn't touch.  We then continued to walk on the beautiful broken grassy roads, with an occasional puddle here and there. My favorite part of strolling along this island, is the hours and months and years of work of stone walls.  These stone walls are not made for decoration.  They are created as a way to get all the natural rock off the little grass they have, so they can have livestock.  However, it adds a beautiful aesthetic and creates a quilt like pattern when looking at the whole landscape as a whole.  The Irish use everything and do not waste.  I respect this.  We went into a sweater shop, and as we walked in, you were suddenly in a whole new world filled with extravagant sweaters that took hours to create.  The wool was from the island and when you slipped a sweater on, you suddenly felt warm and cozy while the soft wool hugged your arms.  When leaving the shop, we walked around a little.  Being on an island of 800 simple people, you felt as though you were in a place of peace and simplicity and you didn't have to be anyone but yourself. The buildings had wear and tear, but character.  My favorite part of this experience were the dogs.  There were two-four stray dogs that were Boarder Collies.  Very well trained, they would waltz up to you to give you a hug, a kiss, or receive a petting for themselves. At one point, I was in the back of the group making sure I got the perfect shot with my camera.  The dog stayed by me until I was moving along, as though it was almost herding me.   One of the most amazing things we did, was walk about 6 miles to see these beautiful cliffs that stood higher than the earth.  While standing at the edge, the waves came roaring at your feet below, and crashed upon the rock making a thunderous, booming, echo.  Atop these cliffs, were limestone rock lining the ground on which we walked the 6 miles.  At one point, we looked over the giant cliffs at the powerful water, and below was a natural, perfect rock rectangle.  The water breathed in and out of the rectangle, creating a circular pattern.  The waves crashed upon the cliffs hundreds of feet as though it wanted to reach out and pull you in.  The experience in which I had here was quite amazing, even though the weather was poor, the people were quiet, but the nature was mysterious and captivating.

Week 3
Dia Dhuit! That is hello in Irish.  This past week has been full of adventures. Thursday the 11th, I went to Kilkenny, Ireland.  It was a beautiful little town about a 2-3hr train ride from Galway.  With beautiful castles older than America and cathedrals decorated with intricate detailed stain glass windows, you definitely felt like royalty visiting this place.  Especially with how friendly the people here were. One friendly fellow who happened to be a palace guard and opened up the castle park gates for us, not only gave us some recommendations of good old Irish movies to watch but gave us some great life advice.  His name was Matt and said after I asked his name, something along the lines of, being sure you know what you stand for and standing strong in that belief.  Matt also said,
    "I am 49 years old and I have two bad knees, one bad hip and one bad foot, I don't have a lot of money and I'm not very bright". 
 Even though he didn't consider himself very bright, he happened to be the nicest person I have met while here in Ireland.  One may consider themselves low, but don't underestimate the power of kindness, as I will remember his kindness toward us young travelers for a very long time. 
       I however may have jumped ahead a bit as I missed an adventure in which did not seem like one while it was happening.  One fella who happened to be traveling with our small group of four, got on the wrong train, leaving us three behind wondering where in the world he had gone.  After speed walking a mile into town, stopping in four businesses to find Wi-Fi, and running back to the station, and this person finding his way back to the station, we finally made it to Kilkenny 2 hours later than planned.  The important part however, was we made it.
       Jumping ahead to Sunday, (Valentines day), I relaxed and walked to Spidal to get some exercise and coffee.  Sunday night, I enjoyed the sunset over the ocean, existing on a rock that raised high
above all the other ones.  The locals in Spidal are very friendly, at least the ones I have talked to.  They are kind of reserved, however, they will answer any question you may have about the country or places to visit. 
       Saturday morning, we went on a 6 mile hike along the river to a beautiful old mill.  Once you stepped foot inside this mill, it was like you stepped inside a whole new world.  there was a little river going under a doorway and green luscious vines growing on the brick.  It was like a magical place that you only read about in books.
      Monday, Kendra and I walked to a beautiful beach the opposite side of Spidal .  This beach happened to be sandy.  I dipped my feet in the water, which caused an instant chill to run up my legs as the water is basically ice cold.  I especially enjoy looking at seashells.  I get a little grossed out if there happens to be slimy things in them, so I will just stick to collecting a few, and taking pictures of many.  Speaking of the locals, we visited the local nursing home to see if we could do some volunteer work with them.  I am very excited to get to know more locals.
   Tuesday happened to be the worst day as it was quite rainy and cold, however, Wednesday was beautiful.   I walked to Spidal to have some fish and chips. When walking back, the sun continued to shine with a small out burst of hail and a rainbow after wards.  The golden sun reflecting off the spring green grass will never get old.

I cannot believe it has already been 3 weeks here and I look forward to many more!
   

Matt the Castle security man

Kilkenny Castle

Old Mill

Old Mill

Sunset on Valentines Day

Seashells on the beach

Walk to Spidal

   

Week Dó. This is week two in Gaelic, well part of it.  We haven't exactly learned the word “week” yet.  I would look it up, but wifi is a little short this week. This week has been full of adventures! We haven't done much differently, except that we have done so much differently!  We drove to Galway Friday night to experience the nightlife.  I personally enjoyed people watching and observing the musicians.  I'm not one much for big crowds.  However, I enjoyed the Gelato which is basically ice cream on steroids. We also went to an Italian restaurant called Venice. Yes, literally named after the city. After stuffing our faces we wandered into a cute little shop where they had chocolate. In case you didn't know, I love chocolate.  Excuse me..I ADORE chocolate. So, I bought some. Then I ate it.  It didn't last very long.  After a long night of walking around downtown Galway and eating all of the food, we departed home in the taxi van.  The drivers name was Joe.  He was a kind fella.   Saturday morning, I headed back to Galway with my roommates to do some grocery shopping.  Grocery shopping is an adventure within its self. Especially with the fact that almost none of the brands we are used to, exist over here. That's okay though, I didn't come over here for the same experience as I would have back at home. When grocery shopping in Ireland, it is important to know that you have to pay for plastic bags, so we all used our backpacks.  After a while, you kind of get used to feeling like a pack mule. Sunday, we used to get some homework done and enjoy the cabin, as it rained all day, although, we did venture out in the morning to see the low tide.  We saw a star fish in a tide pool, so many snails and colorful shells, and a red baby fox.  Monday, Kendra and I walked to Spiddal and braved the cold. No matter how many times I walk to Spiddal, the ocean never seizes  to amaze me.  We ate our first true fish and chips, with hot chocolate. I had a Carmel mocha (same as the last two times). The woman who runs the shop, has gotten used to seeing our faces. We attempted to say thank you, and she kindly laughed as she understood the Gaelic in which we were attempting to speak. We found the perfect place to have coffee every time we venture two miles to town.. I picked up some peppers for supper and had to pick them up three more times because, one, they didn't fit in my back pack and two, I dropped them in the road three times on the way back.  Let's just say we literally had cracked peppers. Tuesday, we went to Galway again to go shopping. Also, it was Fat Tuesday which is Shrove Tuesday in Gaelic.  Which literally means you eat pancakes. We tried to find a place that served pancakes, but instead we craved fried chicken and fries. We found this place called Hillbillies. It definitely helped with small part of me that was home sick because there were two kind Irish men about my age, wearing plaid.  Definitely reminded me of Nebraska, minus the Irish accents. Wednesday, we had history class in the morning. We are learning about how this is the  centennial year of the Irish Easter uprising. Ireland went through a lot of grief and trouble to be in the place that it is now.   After class, Kendra and I walked to beach which is not even 5 minutes away, and climbed rocks.  Today was a rare occasion, as it was sunny for the first time this week. However, it still managed to sprinkle a little bit.  It is hard to believe it has been two weeks almost, as I am so in love with this place that it feels like it's been a life time!

 

 

 

 

 

New York City

Leaving a country is probably one of the most exciting and nerve-racking things that one who longs for adventure, could ever experience.  Then of course the fact that not only am I leaving the county, but I am leaving for three months.  After the three international flights I have experienced, its the process of arriving in the designated country that makes me the most nervous.  When I arrived at the Omaha airport, all the nervous energy quickly dispersed through out my body into a surge of excitement.  After saying goodbyes that quickly turned into see you laters, I confidently strolled down the ramp to take my luggage through security.  After getting a little acquainted with my new family for three months, we all boarded the airplane to Newark, New Jersey.  As we arrived at the airport, we flew by New York City and the statue of Liberty. After arriving, we waited for four hours and bought over priced airport food.  The flight attendant called us group by group onto the plane. Then BAM! 6 hours later, We had arrived on the emerald Island!  after arriving at our Lodge, we fought sleep deprivation and jet lag.  However, it soon over took us.  Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday were much more productive!  Monday we took our first adventure to Spidal, which consisted of trudging through 80 mile per hour winds for 30 min. We saw a lot of beautiful buildings and enjoyed the feel of a new town.  Tuesday,  we ventured out on a twenty minute drive to the neighboring City of Galway.  It is an adorable medieval city with plentiful wool shops and pubs.  Experiencing so much history from hundred of years back is exhilarating. Wednesday, we took it easy and enjoyed some company with friends at a "family dinner" cramming 17 of us into one cabin.  We also took a night walk to the beach(rocky, rainy, wet beaches), watched one of the guys eat a live muscle, and walked to Spiddal(during the day).  Classes so far have been great. we have learned Hello, Please and Thank you, My name is, and How are you in Gaelic.  One interesting fact that I learned in my literature class was that the Irish are actually not originally red headed.  The Nordics or Celts, in which invaded Ireland, were red headed and the actual Irish people had dark toned skin and dark hair.  The people who live here are very kind and hard working.  The amount of information that I have learned is amazing and I am looking forward to making many more memories!



Buildings in Spiddal

Wool Shop in Galway





Walking around Spiddal

Walking to Spiddal