This weekend my parents finally arrived in Limerick to visit me. They had been here in Ireland a week so far and decided to come and see me after a week long tour. This allowed for them to get a glimpse of all the real popular areas of Ireland before they came to see me. It was good of them to find a way to see what I’ve seen so far since I’ve been here without being too much of a burden during my last week of classes. They saw so much, that I could not even imagine bringing them to several different cities during one week while I’m trying to do some final papers for the Ireland study abroad program and starting review for finals.

I did however get to spend four days with my parents which was nice, and we traveled to some amazing places. I made sure to go to some places that their tour had missed as well as places around Ireland that I had not yet visited during my time abroad. This first day brought us to Galway, which is a well known city a couple hours north of Limerick. It is a very beautiful yet busy town near the coast. Before going to Galway I really had no idea how busy it would actually be, which proved to be very challenging for my dad who was still learning how to drive on the wrong side of the car and the wrong side of the road. He was trying his best not to get us in an accident and I was trying my best to read the maps and try and navigate us on the roundabouts. A good portion of the day was spent seeing the city by car because we were still trying to figure out the roads and everything, but it gave us a good tour overall of the city. That evening I had one of my only dinners out-to-eat during my trip to study in Ireland(because it’s too expensive to eat at restaurants) where I spent a good portion of my time catching up with my parents. It was a good time for telling them what I had been up to since we last talked and also to hear about their experiences so far in Ireland during their tour.

The next day we left Galway to go to the nearby Aran Islands. We ended up taking a flight from a nearby town to one of the islands, and it is one of the most interesting experiences I have had in Ireland so far. I was quite excited to try this out because we rode in an 8 seat plane, and the flight lasted only seven minutes. I was a little bit nervous at the start, but have never had such a thrill in my life. The views from the plane were amazing and we made it to the island in such a short time! Once we made it to the island we took a van tour that lasted about three hours. Our driver was a local man who had lived on the island his whole life, and had the best stories and descriptions of the sights and everything we saw around us; plus, he was hysterical. We truly got a taste of rural Ireland that day when we saw farm animals and stone walls everywhere. It also allowed us to see the beauty of the ocean from many angles, the best being the views from the top of Dun Aonghasa, a historical fort at the highest point on the island. The Aran Islands overall were just astounding, I have seen few places nearly as beautiful. At the end of the tour we did our obligatory gift shopping and then hopped on the ferry to the main shore. Let’s just say that the ferry ride was not that exciting(and rainy). It was hardly anything compared to the plane ride a few hours earlier.

Sometime the next morning we left to go much farther south in Ireland to the Dingle peninsula. This is another coastal area, but in a much smaller setting. The drive was a bit long, and the most challenging part was going through Conor’s Pass in the middle of the peninsula to get to the town of Dingle. That area is completely mountainous and has only one lane in which both directions of traffic must go. The journey through this area was quite scenic and we could see both the bay areas and the mountains mostly at the same time. There were troubles from time to time when we had oncoming traffic and people often had to pull over on the side of the road to let others pass, but we made it out alright and with a ton of amazing pictures of the multitude of views. Once me made it to Dingle, it was much more relaxing, and we were done with driving for the day. The town is quaint and very small that we spent the rest of our time walking as we went shopping and went to dinner at a nice local pub. This was a nice quiet evening after dinner, and it was a good time to rest up after all the traveling.

The last day we headed back up to Limerick. I gave my parents a tour of the campus and they also got to meet my roommates. It was nice to be back at home and just relax. My mom also decided to cook dinner that night, so I got a nice home-cooked meal, which is something that I haven’t had in a very long time. It was a good way to end my time here in Ireland with my parents. Then it was time to get back and buckle down on my studies in order to be ready for exams coming up.

I can’t believe I just used a Dashboard Confessional song as the title to my blog.   It is extremely appropriate though.  As my friends and family back home are getting excited for the warmth and the occasional 80 degree day, things are turning to fall and getting much chillier.  Gone are the days of wearing shorts and tank tops and wasting days at the beach.  For some reason I thought the weather would always be warm and sunny when I thought about Australia study abroad programs.  Deep down I knew it wouldn’t be, but I still packed a few too many tank tops and just barely enough warm clothing.  I will probably buy a Sydney Uni sweatshirt to round out my “winter wardrobe”? over here.

As with the end of every other summer, it signals the beginning of heaps of school work.  I’ve been attending class for six or seven weeks now (half way done, yes!) but the work is really starting to kick in as the essays and readings and accounting homework piles up.  I guess it’s about time I got to the study part of my decision to study in Australia.  I don’t mind it though, it’s much nicer doing work in this Hogwarts-esq setting than it would be at University of Hartford.  Also taking some of my elective classes has been a good change of pace.

The weird thing about classes being halfway done, is that it means my study abroad experience is half way done as well!!  When I got here I felt like I had all the time in the world and going home was a life time away.  Upon realizing I only have 2 months left I feel like there’s not nearly enough time to do everything I’d like to.  As soon as I have time I’m going to try to plan a trip south to Melbourne, the Great Ocean Road, and either Kangaroo or Phillip island, as well as a trip north to Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef.  For now I’m content to visit some more places around Sydney and get through my school work.

Unfortunately I got sand in my camera at Fiji, so no new pictures for a little while.  But the lack of pictures is definitely not from a lack of experience!  Last Wed was our huge college informal; a big party that we hosted as a way to raise money for our student club.  It was a huge success.   The tickets sold out and we had a couple dj’s for the night.  Last Saturday I went to a bar called Bungalow 8 in Darling Harbor.  The drinks were a little pricey (like everything is in Darling Harbor) but the atmosphere was great and I loved the music!  The music is definitely a key element in creating a good night.  Techno is very prevalent in Australia which I’m not a particularly huge fan of, and unenjoyable music equals little or no dancing.  However the music doesn’t always make that much of difference.  Last night for example I went to dinner at Pancakes on the Rocks and the 5 song Avril Lavigne set did not ruin my appetitie for the delicious chocolate strawberry pancakes I had.

Pancakes on the Rocks is pretty much a landmark in Sydney.  They have a few other Pancakes chains in other sections of town, and they all have extensive pancake and crepe options as well as some “regular”? dinner and breakfast food.  You can check it out at www.pancakesontherocks.com.au . I’m looking forward to checking out some more well known places in Sydney over the next few weeks.

I really do love living in Ireland because I’ve traveled some amazing places, made a ton of new friends, and learned so much from the study abroad Ireland program, but there are days that greatly miss home. Being here has made me realize that overall Ireland is pretty similar to America and in many ways, but it just seems to behind a few years. I also appreciate the fact that I get live so easily here because everybody speaks English and most of the time there isn’t too much miscommunication.

I haven’t found too many things that I really dislike about Ireland, but many times I feel it is lacking. Little conveniences of home like 24 hour stores is something that I wish they had more of in Ireland. Most places close at 6 PM, which can really put a time strain on planning my day. Back in the U.S, I’m used to being able to go to a store and get what I need at any time of the day. I have also become accustomed to the bus system. It’s not the fastest way of getting places, especially because the buses rarely run on time, but it’s my best option. Little things like these can make life frustrating at times because it isn’t convenient or very accommodating to much schedule, but I make it by alright.

Lately I’ve been craving a lot of foods from home. For the most part the food in Ireland is pretty much the same and you can usually find what you’re looking for in the grocery stores. However, there will be times that I get hungry for a particular kind of food and then I realize I can’t have it because they just don’t have it here. The two foods that I miss the most that I have been dying for are mac-n-cheese and Mexican food. They seemed like pretty typical foods to me and I have found some similar stuff, but it just doesn’t match up to my expectations. Food seems like such a trivial thing to be thinking about during my time abroad, but when I cook for myself a lot I like to make what I know.

Then there are all my friends and family that I miss the most. It’s been nice to have all the technology available to me so that I can keep in contact through email and Skype because otherwise I would have been much more homesick this semester. Even so, I know that things are changing back in Minnesota while I’m gone and there’s a bunch of things that I’m missing out on. I realize that even though I’m missing out on fun at home, I get to have a once in a lifetime experience participating in the Ireland study abroad program. It really is a great time, and I know that I can wait another month to see people when I get home in about a month.

This was the view out of my plane window on the flight over, and my first glimpse of Australia!

This is Noosa.  The first beach we went to and where we stayed at our orientation for ifsa-butler study abroad Australia program.  Unfortunately we only had one sunny day here but it was gorgeous and I had my first surfing lesson there.  A little further inland there were kangaroo’s everywhere.

After orientation it was time for me to fly to Sydney and move into St. Johns College.  This is a picture of it from the back across the rugby pitch.  Hogwarts much?  As one of our college songs proclaims, it has become my ‘home of joy and bliss’.

When we first arrived a conference had our rooms booked so we stayed down a different hallway with single bedrooms and sinks.  This is the room that I’m living in for the semester.  I have a bunch of stuff on my bed because I took the picture while I was packing for spring break in Fiji!  But lets be real, my room is usually a little cluttered.  A few things on the wall I brought from home, but most of it is collages I made here.  A cheap, fun way to decorate.

This is called the Peace Garden.  It is my favorite spot at St. Johns.  There are tons of grassy knolls hidden here and there around campus.

The picture really doesn’t do justice to Manly Beach (yes that’s really it’s name).  It is my favorite beach in the Sydney area.  I’ve only been once because it’s kind of far and you have to take a ferry to get there.  It’s definitely worth the trip though and the ferry ride over is a nice ride.

I took this picture on the ferry over to Manly Beach.  It’s pretty much Sydney in a nutshell.  The city skyline, opera house, and the bridge. I climbed over the top arch of the bridge!

I not only saw the city from the ferry, but by bike as well (and via walking and buses of course).  This pic is from the bike tour (which was free thanks to ifsa butler Australia study abroad program!)  That’s why I’m wearing the super cool red helmet in this shot.

This is one of my favorite scenic shots of the trip.  There is a cliff walk that goes from Bondi beach to Coogee beach.  I highly recommend doing it.

Typical tourist shot.  Didn’t want all my pictures to be just scenery…  This is also on the Bondi – Coogee walk.

Surf camp!!  I had a lot of fun that weekend and even managed to catch a few waves.  I was too lazy to take a bunch of pictures that weekend, but this one was from the second day.  We spent the weekend at a place called Seal Rocks a few hours North of Sydney.  Beautiful place.  The one wierd thing was that the sand squeaked when you walked on it because there is silicon in it or something.

That’s it for now, I’m sure there will be more pictures later!