Hello Everyone!
I’m back after weeks of neglect to resurrect my pitiful excuse for a weekly blog. A big thanks to all of you faithful readers who stayed even when days were dark and all hope seemed lost. Fear not my friends, the blog is back in business!
I write to you today in the warmth of the bright Irish sun- a true phenomenon! We’ve had such lovely weather lately and you can really see it’s effects on everyone. Sunshine just makes people happy!
My last real post was after the first weekend of March when I explored the bright and exciting city of Madrid! So let’s pick it up right after that. Buckle your seat belts everyone, because the roll coaster that was March is about to begin.
I returned from Spain to go straight into a week anticipated by the University of Limerick’s student body for the entire year- RAG (Raising and Giving) week. Now every college in Ireland does this and basically it is a week dedicated to raising as much money as possible while having as much fun as possible. The studies are few and the drinking is plentiful and by the end of the week thousands of euros are raised for charity! There’s events like mud wrestling, pub quizzes, the nearly naked mile, huge concerts, and “Shave or Dye” where tons of students get sponsored to shave or dye their hair into the craziest hairdos possible. It was an absolutely wild week that started the month off running!
That weekend I went to yet another Ultimate tournament, this time up in Dublin!
Here’s a group shot of us all after the wettest, muddiest, and wildest day of Ultimate playing that I’ve ever experienced:
I had another week full of classes and then I was off again to my next adventure- this time a weekend in the beautiful town of Killarney to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with my housemate Mike and his family! Now contrary to popular belief, St.Patrick’s day is not that big of a deal here. Sure towns will have their parades full of adorable children all dressed up waving and throwing candy at you, and then people may go out for a drink in a pub, but other than that it’s just a normal day. Much to Mike’s dismay I enjoyed the parade with my American-Irish pride displayed proudly as I war all green and danced along to the Irish music. I had an incredible weekend filled with hiking, fishing, and the most delicious food. Irish people still remain to be the most hospitable in the world. Here’s a picture of Mike, his mom, and his sister who were my own personal tour guides for the weekend!
Their house was so lovely and the view out the windows was like the epitome of Ireland. Equipped with mountains, huge fields, a flowing river, and of course sheep. Every morning I drank my tea and wrote in my journal in this spot:
It was perfection.
The highlight of the weekend for me was when we hiked up the gorgeous Torc Mountain to be rewarded with the most breathtaking view at the top!
It really was magical. As was the giant waterfall near the bottom:
Will Ireland ever stop being beautiful? Let’s hope not. 🙂
I came back from my fantastic weekend to go straight into another 3 days of classes and then by that Thursday I was packing up again this time for a 9 day trip to London for my Spring Break!
It was incredible. I’m sorry, I feel like I’m being really redundant in my positive adjectives but there is no other way to adequately describe my experiences!
Anyways, while I was in London I stayed with my old roommate Zanny from back at Chapman. Every day we’d get up, take the train into the city, and have the time of our lives! The buildings and monuments in London are astounding. My favorite thing to see was Big Ben. Though his name is deceiving as it was a lot smaller than I expected! I think what makes it remarkable isn’t it’s size but rather it’s exquisite details and splendor! They should call it “Medium Sized Ben that is really pretty!” Doesn’t really roll of the tongue but it fits.
Here’s me admiring Ben in all his glory:
And here’s one of my favorite pictures I took with Big Ben and then the London Eye in the background:
This city is extraordinary!
Another of the best parts was the first few days I was there and it was snowing. The peaceful snowfall contrasting with the bustling city was really neat. Here’s me and a few of my friends from the University of Limerick that we met up with for the day:
It was great to have so much time in London because I didn’t feel like I had to rush from one site-seeing destination to the other. But rather I just got to leisurely amble from one place to the next enjoying long stops in coffee shops in between. It was just perfect!
The one thing that could have gone better was our theater seeing experience. I decided that while in London I had to see a show on the West End! Every day for 5 days in a row we went to participate in the Book of Mormon Lottery, but unfortunately we never got to see the show. We did however win the lottery one day, but unfortunately Zanny was running a bit late so I put her name in for her and by some crazy chance her name was drawn as she was literally running down the street to the theater. She got there two minutes too late and missed it. It was tragic, especially because I had to stand there as they counted down the seconds before they gave her tickets away. But I suppose it wasn’t meant to be so we instead saw Singing in the Rain from the second to last row…but it was a West End experience nonetheless!
Here’s Zanny and I outside the beautiful and well decorated theater:
And here’s one more picture I really like from London of the Tower Bridge:
I returned from London with 800 pictures on my camera, 3 more pounds on my waistline, and memories to last a lifetime. But the fun wasn’t over yet! Zanny came back with me to Ireland and now it was my turn to show her the sights of the country I now know and love.
We started our weekend with, you guessed it, another Ultimate Tournament! This time down in Cork in the South of Ireland. It was a beautiful day for playing and I got to show Zanny what my Ultimate obsession is all about! Here’s a picture of our happy team at the end of the day:
What really amazes me looking at this is the fact that I am the only american in this whole photo. I love that no matter where you’re from we are all so fundamentally similar that you can be friends with anyone! And I really cherish the friendships I’ve made with these girls, I’m going to miss them so much when this school year is over.
Anyways, Zanny and I then had the lovely experience of staying in a warm Irish home of my friend Max from the Ultimate team. And yet again the Irish showed their wonderful hospitality. We stayed in a beautiful room overlooking the ruins of an old castle, we were awakened with tea in bed every morning, spent the days getting shown around Cork City and the beautiful countryside around it, and then ending each day with some whiskey and Irish coffee as we chatted around the warm fire into the wee hours of the night. Nothing could have been better!
One of the days we even went on the Jameson Whiskey Brewery tour where we got to see the whole process of how whiskey is made and learned all the history that’s behind it. And then we were given a lovely sample of some of the finest Jameson whiskey at the end!
Though I’m still trying to acquire a taste for it: 
Haha anyways the following day we left Cork and I took Zanny up to the Cliffs of Moher and then we spent the next day in Dublin! So it was go go go for a whole 2 weeks as I experienced London and Zanny experienced Ireland. And even after 2 weeks of constantly being together we somehow weren’t sick of each other! Here’s a picture of us by the Irish sea side:
(I think I should be a hair model with that wind blown look)
Also, I’m a ninja:
And now I’m back into the swing of things with staying in Limerick and going to college. We’re getting to that time of year where tons of final assignments are due and exams are right around the corner. So now I’m actually having to be studious and do school work- what is this nonsense?! I guess it’s called “Study” Abroad for a reason…
So that’s what I’ve been up to! I’m sorry again to cram an entire month into one blog post. But! I’m only officially halfway through my abroad experience. I’m 10 weeks in with 10 weeks to go! So never fear, there are many more posts to come.
Thanks again for reading and I wish you all a wonderful weekend! I’m off to my last Irish Ultimate Tournament this weekend up in Maynooth. It should be great craic. 🙂
Also, my favorite view walking over the River Shannon is still beautiful as ever:
Cheers!
Hannah goes to Ireland 