Ah, the joys of the midwest

It has been raining since god only knows when. I woke up at like 10 to hear kids screaming and stuff. Apparently some idiots on my block thought it would be a good idea to boat down the street, seeing as how it is all water right now. I went back to sleep.

I have done nothing today. OK not true...refilled an Rx, but that was about it. There was a project runway marathon on (WOOOO!). So glad Keith finally got kicked off. I called that from the beginning.

Most. Thrilling. Weekend. EVER.

Ah, the joys of the Midwest

It has been raining since god only knows when. I woke up at like 10 to hear kids screaming and stuff. Apparently some idiots on my block thought it would be a good idea to boat down the street, seeing as how it is all water right now. I went back to sleep.

I have done nothing today. OK not true...refilled an Rx, but that was about it. There was a project runway marathon on (WOOOO!). So glad Keith finally got kicked off. I called that from the beginning.

Most. Thrilling. Weekend. EVER.

So Little Time...

This semester has been, thus far, HECTIC. That is the only word I can think of to desribe it. I feel like I barely have time to breathe, let alone update my BLOG. Goodness. But I will do my best to catch up...where to begin...

Beign back in DC is both awesome and crappy. Awesome because I love living in the city and seeing my friends I didn't see last semester, but crappy because I am busier than I have ever been, and I don't know if I can go at the pace for 2.5 more months! I am taking 16 credit hours of class, plus a 3 hour lab every week, plus 15.5 hours of work, plus APO...which, I know for some people, is, like, nohting...but I am definitely not one of those people.

I have been trying hard to keep things in perspective, but it isn't as easy as I thought it would be. After being in Ireland, I have realized that it is pointless to spend your life being unhappy, and I have become quite the little life cheerleader, in that I think that life is short so you should do things that make you happy (i mean as long as you aren't hurting anyone or whatever...you know, standard stuff). Yet, I find myself being a hypocrite, as this semester is not really allowing me the chance to do things to make me happy.

Of course, APO is a good outlet. Though stressful at times, I really love going to meetings and seeing my friends there, because they are so funny and goofy and make me smile. And the service events thus far have been awesome. But with my courseload, I find myself sacraficing APO events to study, sacraficing studying to sleep, and sacraficing sleep to work...it's like a crazy non-sensicle cycle.

My goal for Lent was to become more positive, but from the looks of this post, it is not going so well so far. I'm trying, really. At the end of each day, I write down three things that made me happy that day. Some of them are obvious, like getting a good grade on a test, but other ones are little, like seeing someone help another person on the Metro. I know it's cliche, but at this point I will take what I can get in terms of making me smile.

I'm hoping that as Lent goes on, and I am able to focus a little more, I will become more positive. This semester has made me so short tempered; I find myself getting so impatient with random people I don't even know, doing random things that have nothing to do with me, in reality. The girl that sits in lecture tapping her pen on her desk would normally just bug me a little; this semester, it sends my blood pressure sky rocketing. My professor's loud voice would usually just piss me off; this semester, it makes me want to cry and hyperventilate. I am trying to take deep breaths and put things in perspective now, because I think that will make me happier and far less stressed in the end. Yeah, my professor's yelling is obnoxious, but in the end, I only have to listen to her for 2.5 hours each week, and that's it.

Ok this post has dragged on and on...clearly I need to be quiet. Hopefully the next post will be more positive as I try to chill out, and I will have happier things to report. :) Until then, just gotta keep plugging away...the semester has to end sometime, right?

FIERCE!

Apparently God wanted me to spend a LOT of time on the couch this week...because there has been a weeklong "America's Next Top Model" marathon on Vh1. As some of you may know (and all of you should know), ANTM is insanely addicting. So here I sit, watching the 6th season, and I cannot get over one thing: JADE!

Anyone who has seen the 6th season knows who I am talking about. Jade is the cockiest of cocky people on TV right now at this hour. Dear Lord. She walked in the first day and full-out stated "I am the total package." Are you kidding me? You speak in buzz-words! When you open your mouth, you sound like an asshole on drugs! I can't deal. She'd better not win. And yes, I know I am going straight to hell, don't worry.

I swear I have actually been doing more with my life than critiquing tall skinny people. I finally secured a job for next semester! I will be working at the Department of Labor with the Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. I'm really excited about it; I'm not gonna lie, it's nice to know that I will have some source of income next semester. I'll probably be working 5 days a week, but that's ok, considering I have not done any work of any real kind since August. Ah, study abroad: a curse and a blessing.

Being home has been nice, but I am definitely ready to get back to DC. I miss the Metro, the easy navigation...ok mostly I just really hate driving, so I'm excited to not have to drive/be driven anywhere. Isn't driving here a bitch? Old Orchard has become my own personal hell...all those Suburbans! So, as I sit here tonight, I look forward to writing a week from now from my apartment on 13th street, with a killer kitchen and an in-unit washer and dryer. THE GOOD LIFE.

Welcome to America

Well, I'm baaaack...

being back in the States is odd, to say the least. I'm so happy to be home and see my friends and family, don't get me wrong. There were definitely times when I was abroad thinking "what the hell am I doing?!?" But coming back was strange...it was almost like...leaving home...? I had gotten so used to my life in Ireland; so used to living across from Dunnes; used to listening to Erin's rants after nights at the pub; so used to watching "Home & Away" with Laura and Cara; coming back seemed kind of absurd.

People mentioned "reverse culture shock" to me before I left, but to be honest I thought it was a load. I figured I would be so happy to come home that it would not phase me. But here I am, nearly two weeks after returning to the USA, and I still call dollars "euros" and catch myself using the phrase "take the piss at". Inside jokes that were so funny this past semester suddenly make no sense to anyone around me. Even the tea I brought back tastes different!

In a way, it's nice to be "homesick" for another country; it makes me feel like I really got to know Galway and became a part of a totally different culture. I know I will go back one day, and it's cool to think that I'll actually know what I'm doing, you know? Travelling won't seem so daunting (especially after getting through the Czech Republic without knowing the language!).

...and it is REALLY nice to not walk through rain every. single. day.

Oh, The Places You Will Go

I know I haven't updated this thing in a while...I've been occupied, to say the least.

I cannot believe it is already mid November. It seems like yesterday I was in Dublin for my study abroad orientation. And now I have less than 2 weeks of classes left. Who would have guessed that? Not me.

I have officially become a world traveler, which is something I would NEVER have guessed (if you know me and my fear of planes, you understand). The last weekend in October I went over to Scotland to visit my friend Erica, who goes to St. Andrew's (like an hour from Edinburgh). It was really nice to go hang out with someone familiar; I do not even get to see her that much when we are in the States, so getting to see her in Scotland was awesome. Her apartment is HUGE (2 floors!!) and her two flatmates are hilarious and really nice. She seems so happy there, which I think is really cool, because I really do not think I could actually transfer to NUIG, even though I love Galway. I just can't imagine being this far away from home for so long. But she is having a great time. And Edinburgh was SUCH a cool city. I only spent part of one day there, but it was amazing. It is built very high up for defense purposes, and the views of all the gothic architecture are amazing. So, so cool. But the pound still sucks no matter what.

This past weekend I went to Barcelona with my roommate and our other friend. It was amazing. I definitely want to live there at some point. Of course the weather was beautiful (compared to Ireland's how could it not be?), the people were friendly, and the atmosphere was awesome. I loved it. My Spanish was a little rusty, but we all got by. I just loved the whole feel of the city, and being RIGHT on the ocean was amazing.

It has been so nice to get the opportunity to travel. In a couple of weeks I am going to Prague and Vienna. And then...the States! I can't wait to be home.

Speaking of which, I should go make some phone calls back to the home country. Gotta love a 6 hour time difference...

Saturday Night: When the Freaks Come Out

Weekends here in Galway are very, very long. The fact that I have no classes on Friday contributes to this, but even so, the weekends here drag on. They're fun, that's for sure, but they never seem to end; come Sunday night, I am actually ready for Monday to come (how twisted is that?!?!).

This weekend has been good. Thursday night, Friday night, and Saturday night were spent at a pub called The King's Head...our favorite spot. It's a two-floor pub with a stage for live music, lots of room to talk and dance, and good deals on bottles of Corona. But last night's outing really floored me (and no, I wasn't passed out...I was actually sober haha). Let's see...there were the two 40-something year old Irish dudes trying to pick us up and constantly blowing in my ear...and then there was the verrry drunk man wearing a cowbow hat, who danced for my friends and I and then proceeded to unzip his pants and show-off his "lucky" boxer briefs...and then, of course, there was the old man sitting on a stool, in a corner, completely passed-out asleep. In a pub! Asleep! Who does that? He was probably my favorite character there.

Of course this morning, after a night of actually not drinking, I woke up feeling like crap...explain that one to me. So instead of being productive, I spent the day whining about my throat, eating soup, and watching DVDs on my computer. I finally dragged my ass out to Mass, which helped me gain some human interaction, but boy, that 15 minute walk took a LOT out of me. PATHETIC!!

Anyway, I'll end it here...this typing is far too exhausting. But goodnight, goodluck, and stay away from the dude in the cowboy hat at The King's Head.

Blue screen of death...

I finally have a functioning computer.

I always knew I was attached to my (very crappy) Dell laptop, but I think being in a foreign country, with a computer being my only real means of communication back to the States...having it die (again) on me really made me realize how attatched to it I really was. It was sad, actually. At night, before bed, I would gaze longingly at my desk, purely out of the habit of checking my email every 15 seconds. Did anyone IM me while I was at class? No...because you don't have a computer. I started planning my days around when I would go to the computer labs on campus to work on an assignment, check email, or print things out. THE HORROR.

But, I finally caved. I told myself I wouldn't get a new computer until graduation. But, I had to do it. I had to. And now I have a computer that (God willing) will not fail me. At least not for a while.

I finally feel like I have really settled-in here in Galway. It was pretty touch-and-go the first few weeks...I would have waves of homesickness, where all I wanted to see was a CVS or go hang out with my parents. Everything is so different over here. I told myself that I wouldn't get homesick; I was looking forward to this for so long. But it really does hit you, no matter how hard you try to resist it.

I have finally (sort-of) found my niche here. My roommate and housemates are awesome; we get along great, and I don't dread staying in on a Friday night, because chances are someone will be around to talk with or have tea with. And the traveling! So great. Last weekend I ventured over to Paris to visit a GW friend who is studying there. Who would have thought I would just go over to Paris...at a reasonable price? One hour and thirty minutes after stepping on the Ryanair plane, I was across the English Channel in the land of croissants and cafes. It was so wild that I was all the way over in Paris...thousands of miles away from home, yet I was hanging out with a friend that I hang out with back in the States...that might not really make sense, but it was all just kind of crazy to really think about. Who knows what London, Scottland, Spain, and who knows where else will bring...

So, I finally kind of feel settled here in this wild country. I still have moments where I just want to walk over to J-Street and get some Starbucks, walk to DuPont, go to HelWel, or even (gasp!) go to Gelman to study (24-hour reading rooms don't exist over here!). But, for the most part, I'm glad I can travel around Europe, and yet still feel (sort-of) at home once I return to Gort na Coiribe #3...