Ireland and 2nd session

Today was the first day of class for my second session. I am in "Race and Ethnicity in British Society." So far I really like. My class is only seven people which leaves lots of room for participation. My teacher, Yaa, is a really nice, funny woman. I like her a lot and she creates a really good atmosphere. This time, instead of buying 32 books, we have a reader which is nice. I need to start reading because I have a presentation to give next Monday. Fun. Luckily, or unluckily, today has been rainy. It's made me just want to stay in and read. I haven't started the course reading yet, but I have started a new book now that Harry is done. I'm doing pretty well on this summer reading thing. So far I really like it. The book that I'm reading, Killing Yourself to Live by Chuck Klosterman (Not as morbid as it sounds, I swear) is really interesting. It's about Chuck working for Spin magazine going on a country wide roadtrip to look at rockstar death. I know it sounds really gross and depressing, but it's not. He talks about his personal life and all this other stuff. He seems like a really interesting guy and he makes me want to write. I've always said I want to write a book or do something like that. Reading this book is kind of motivational. Watch out, one day I'll be a published author. haha.

Reading academic works again is really difficult. The packet that our teacher gave us is put together in the weirdest way. It's hard to turn the pages and it's frustrating. Also, I have no good place to read really. My desk is like my computer area. My bed is my sleep area. I have no good studying area. Hmm. I think I may have to go back to that cafe. I have lots of reading to do already. Eep. At least it's somewhat interesting and I am sort of familiar with the topics.




Did anyone else buy the new Stars album on Itunes? I did.. I want to know your thoughts. I'm still debating. I think it needs a couple more listens and I want the lyrics.

Also, I've decided I think I have a thing for Bob Dylan covers. It Ain't Me Babe (Dave Melillo) and Simple Twist of Fate (The Honorary Title) are worth downloading. I wonder if Bob Dylan would be disgusted to read that.. oh well.


Anyways, Ireland!

We left for Ireland on 2pm last Thursday. The airport was really crowded and kind of crazy. For some reason, I never get searched. I'm not complaining but I just think it's funny. Vanessa was wearing a tanktop and jeans, and they like thoroughly searched her. They even were like checking her bare arms, like she was hiding drugs in her skin. It was the weirdest, most awkward thing. I felt bad for her. They didn't even give a crap when I walked through. I hope I didn't just jinx myself. Anyways, we got on our plane. RyanAir isn't actually bad, considering how cheap it is. Our flight to Ireland was only 12.5 pounds, or like 25 USD. Once we landed we spent a while trying to figure out where the hell our hotel was. We ended up taking at 47 Euro taxi. Our hotel was really an apartment, and it was super nice. When you walked in, there was this hallway. On the left you walked into the kitchen/living room. The kitchen was really pretty and had a dishwasher, fridge, and washer and dryer! Awesome. We also had 2 leather couches, a flat screen tv, a patio, and a dining room table. Out bathroom was really good size and nice and clean! The bedroom had a queen size bed and a single. Very good accommodations for pretty cheap. That night we pretty much just bought groceries for our kitchen (just like cereal and such) and pizza. We watched tv too, for the first time in a long time. Exciting.

The next morning we work up and went into Dublin. Our first stop was the Guinness Storehouse. It was actually probably the most exciting thing we did. The tour was really fun and interesting. We tasted the North Star brew which was disgusting. At the end of the tour we got a free pint. It was really pretty and they drew a clover in the top of the foam head thing. So yeah, we pretty much didn't touch ours. It was kind of funny. Everyone else downed their beers, and we grimaced as we tried to take a couple sips. I think beer is disgusting. Vanessa got to pour her own pint which was really neat! I took a video of it. I kind of learned how too. Neato!



Water is an important ingredient.


At the tasting lab. We look happy.. this is before we tasted North Star brew.. which made us want to gag.


Perhaps what we would look like if we drank a lot of guinness and did hard drugs. hah. jk.
The flash got messed up --> blur


We saw the red hat society!!!!


Vanessa got to pour her own pint! neat



After this we walked out and it was POURING rain. Ugh. We tried to go to some cathedrals, and were semi unsuccessful. We saw St Patrick's Cathedral if I am not mistaken. The stained glass was amazing! I think that was my favorite part of the Cathedrals. After a while, they all start to look the same though.



This is a bad picture, but you can see how pretty the stained glass is.


We got some food after that. I got a panini, yum! They have good pastries in Ireland. Let that be known. haha.

After food we headed to Dublin Castle. I was disappointed. It cost a lot to get in and it really wasn't that cool looking, so we left. We made it down to the Bank of Ireland and the Book of Kells. The book was really pretty and I thought it was really fun to look at. Trinity college was really pretty, but I would imagine it would be really really annoying to always have tourist on your campus.

Temple Bar was next. The area was cool and lively, but not exactly what I expected. I really dislike going into bars because its always so crowded and I am paranoid of being pickpocketed and I don't like being around drunk people... and the list goes on. We saw some cool stuff though and had a very yummy dinner. We got leek and potato soup, potato cakes, and potato pancakes. Yum! After that, Ashley, Vanessa and I went home because we were pooped. Lis and Jessica stayed out.

Dublin was fun, but I think the weather kind of hurt the trip. It made all of us grumpy. I also think it's hard to travel with such a big group because it's hard to please everyone. Oh well.

Day 3 was much better. At midnight we headed to Tesco (grocery store) to get HP7! It was really cheap, about 9 Euros. They did a really good job with the crowd control and payment. I was pretty far back in the line, but I had paid for my book by 12:08. There were these really annoying girls though who kept screaming every two minutes. Then they were like flirting with this forty year old guy. It was really disturbing



After sleeping, we headed to the train station. We had originally planned to go to Cork but that didn't work out. After a little "discussion," we decided to go to Kilkenny instead. It was a good choice. We took a 2 hour bus ride there, but it was sunny! We got some food at this weird cafe. Then we headed to Kilkenny castle which was really fun. They wouldn't let us take pictures inside, but the tour was awesome and cheap! Probably my favorite part of Ireland. The Butler family that owned the castle owned 20 THOUSAND acres of land in the backyard. That is sooo much. We were trying to image how big that is, but I can't wrap my mind around it. Nuts. After that we went to another cathedral and the Black Abbey. Neat. Then we did a little wandering and shopping and went back to the bus. It was pretty leisurely. I enjoyed it. We went to temple bar for dinner. I got an Irish stew which was yummy. The brown bread in Ireland is amazing. Then we headed to the oldest pub in Dublin. It was founded in like 11something. It was too crowded and crazy. They were supposed to have Irish music and they didn't. Vanessa and I left because I needed to get some rest.

Kilkenny Castle! Oooo!



I slept, sort of. I had to wake up at 4:30 and pay another $47 for a taxi to the airport. Pretty much all I did yesterday except for fly home was read Harry. I'm still really tired from waking up so early though.

Well that's all about Ireland. Look at my photo album for more pictures.