SUNSHINE

WE SAW THE SUN TODAY!!! Not that it's completely dark here, but the sun doesn't SHINE very much in Ireland (from what I've been told).  It's pretty much constantly overcast, so the fact that my face is slightly tinted from being in the sun today is a really big deal.  It's enough of a thing to where 50% of the people I walked by said "Good morning! Great day today!".  And enough of a deal to take a 15 minute break from class, go for a run, walk the ~3 miles to the city center along the river, walk 2 more miles to run some errands, and take a nap in the hammock (only to get awoken by the building manager asking if I was okay... I think she thought I had passed out).  It was a GREAT day.

SCHOOLS OUT, IT'S SUNNY

Turns out 10 minutes of sun doesn't totally
dry the ground...

This is what happens when there's sun in Irelabd

Apparently sleeping in hammocks isn't popular here yet,
but it's a SOLID spot.

 Things I've loved about the past couple days: 
1. Walking EVERYWHERE
2. Getting out of class at 10:30 every morning
3. That the University of Limerick is such an active place.  I went to my first Irish workout class today!  The instructor kind of reminded me of Mrs. Trunchbull from Matilda (http://nomorepopcorn.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/cast-margel.jpg ... this might be an exaggeration) and I felt like I had better form than she did at some points, but it was fun!!
4. There are huge flagpoles at the entrance to the University in case you get lost when you're walking back (it's like Atlanta! When in doubt, head towards the Bank of America building)
5. Our kitchen gets restocked with cereal, granola, and APPLES every day.  They even brought raisin bread the other day... I think somebody must have secret insight into the desires of my heart. It's pretty creepy.
6. Even though there aren't many students, campus came alive on Monday! We saw people walking around and it made it feel like a populated place! I also figured out that I'm way more shy than I think I am.
7. There's a sport called hurling (we're going to try to watch a match).  From what I understand, it's a combination of basketball, soccer, rugby, football, lacrosse, and probably other sports that I didn't name.  I still haven't figured out why it's called hurling?
8. The University has a Farmer's Market every Tuesday and today I had an everything bagel sandwich with seared salmon, cream cheese and lettuce.  YUMMY!!!
9. SUNSHINE (if you haven't heard, the sun came out in Limerick today)
10. Our group.  I'm spending the next 10 weeks with some REALLY cool people.

We ended up booking 2 weekend trips tonight - a couple of us are heading to London at the end of June to try to get tickets to Wimbledon, and then we're going to Amsterdam in 2 weekends to be there for when the Netherlands play Spain in the world cup! It might be the most money I've spent in one night (except for when I paid for this trip), but it made me really excited!!

I mentioned this before, but I got to do my "Marnie city thing" and walk around by myself all day today.  It was AWESOME.  There's a trail by the river that goes straight from the University to the city center (I think it's about 3 miles?), and I didn't get lost once! I think the fact that they drive on the left side of the road is very beneficial to my safety, because it makes me look extra times before I cross the street.  It was just cool to get to do what I love to do - walk around by myself and try to get a "local" feel for the city.  The center of Limerick City is neat! It's a lot of hustle and bustle and the occasional church that's been there since the 1100s.  It's essentially what you would think of a small, modern, old European city looking like.

All in all, today was a great day.  It was definitely needed and set a pace for an amazing next few! 

Welcome to Ireland!!

And now for what's actually happening...

We made it to Limerick!! The flight over was great (they tend to be better when the movies are good... I got to watch The Lego Movie AND The Nut Job...  big girl movies can wait for later), and the lady next to me made a nice pillow (that wasn't on purpose, but when I woke up on her shoulder she didn't look too offended).  We took a bus to the University of Limerick and had to walk about half a mile to the dorms.  This is where I was REALLY thankful that I packed light (my suitcase is the grey one on the left... picture is  below on the left).  The right picture is how Katie pushed her bag for half a mile.  At least she made it look trendy!! 

When we got to the University we unpacked and headed to dinner (we get meal vouchers for lunch and dinner every day, and breakfast is delivered to our room.  SCORE).  Below is a picture of the dorm.  It's right on the river, and I have my OWN room, my OWN bathroom, and the biggest bed I've had since I graduated high school (it' just a double, but it's not a twin OR lofted).

The campus is cool! It's weird because I feel like I'm on a normal US campus, and a lot of the time I forget that I'm in Ireland.  The small reminders come when I walk around and hear the steady traffic noise coming from 75/85 that Tech students are used to, only to realize that it's actually just the sound of the river. Or when we see pubs next to the student center.  Two things that I definitely want to bring back to Tech.

Unfortunately, there aren't students at the University for the summer, so it'll be harder than expected to meet Irish students.  The first night, we went into the city of Limerick to get some things from TK Maxx (not to be confused with TJ Maxx... it's essentially the same thing, just the bootleg version), but everything was already closed. I felt really early for the city to be shut down, but then we realized it was already 8:30 p.m. (the sun stays out until about 10:30... so much "sunlight"!!).

The weather here is just as everyone said it would be - cold, drizzly, and cloudy all day long.  Fortunately, since it's not a constant heavy rain, it doesn't stop you from doing things outside.  Katie and I went for a run today, and it's exactly what you would picture about a run through Ireland.  Gravel paths along the river through grassy fields with cows, horses, and sheep.  Cute houses along two-way roads that hardly look big enough for one cars.  It was AWESOME and something that I definitely want to make a habit of.  

My days are going to be cool because my classes only go from 8-10:30, so I'll have the rest of the afternoon to explore.  I'm looking into taking classes at the gym (because fitness classes would be WAY more fun with an Irish instructor), taking some short day trips, and finding random things to do to take advantage of where I am.  Again, I have no idea what this is going to look like, but I'm excited to figure it out tomorrow! 

I'm in Ireland... now what?

From my journal this morning... 

"I really don't know why I'm here, and while I have a peace about being here and I'm really enjoying sitting next to a river and listening to the river noise and not steady traffic from 75/85, I'm not overflowing with joy about being in Ireland.   I think a lot of it has to do with feeling pressure of making this the experience of a lifetime.  It was expensive to get over here, I'm in Ireland for the summer, it's my last summer vacation... I feel like all of these statements carry some powerful expectations of "Make it count" and "Use your time wisely".  It's funny because I remember feeling exactly this way at the beginning of Ethiopia.  I remember Emily Nicholos saying "Maybe God brought you to Ethiopia simply so that he could draw you away and you could learn to walk with Him".  And it had never really occurred to me that maybe that's the same reason I'm in Ireland this summer.  Not to have crazy adventure stories (thought I'm sure I'll have more than a few), not to relish in the beauty of Ireland so I can tell everyone how pretty it is (thought I know that's going to happen too), and not to come back with crazy pub stories (this isn't a Spain repeat).  While all these things will happen in their own time, this summer isn't about a story.  It's not about proving I'm adventurous or well-traveled or independent or knowledgeable about every facet of Ireland.  It's not about justifying a scholarship or confirming that I made the right decision about coming here this summer.  It's about an experience where I'm going to grow in ways that I never expected and about learning to walk with God in yet another part of my life.  It's a chance to see how different components my past summer experiences (Spain, Beach Project, and Ethiopia) come together to propel me into a summer where I continue to define who I am. I wrestled for a long time about whether or not to even do a blog.  Deleting it would eliminate the pressure of trying to be witty/entertaining/seeking out cool stories to write about.  But I decided to keep it because

a) There's always the chance I could lose my journal 

b) My computer could crash and delete all my pictures (aka a repeat of 2 weeks ago) 

c) Nobody is depending on my blog and if people lose interest in it, it doesn't affect anything other than my pride

d) It's a chance to share my experiences rather than recount them at the end of the summer

e) It's a challenge for me to be vulnerable and show that a walk with God doesn't just happen on a volunteer trip in Africa"

...I'm not really sure where to go from there, but I decided it wouldn't be right if last summer I shared thoughts AND experiences, and this summer I only focused on stories.  That being said, here are some (but not all) of my summer goals: 

1. Run a 1/2 marathon somewhere pretty

2. Get to know people in my program 

3. Go to a pub recommended by a local

4. Keep my room clean (who knew I had to come to Ireland for this one) 

5. Spend time with God everyday

6. Keep up with people at home

7. Drink a Guinness

8. Make an Irish friend

9. Ride a bike through the countryside 

10. Learn (obligatory goal about school, but something I actually want to do) 

Step 1

Sitting at the Atlanta airport writing my obligatory "Hasta La Vista" post!! Things I've figured out since starting my journey (about 2 hours ago... I haven't made it very far yet)

1. I've confirmed the greatness of owning a Go Phone rather than an iPhone. It helps to not have your life attached to something, especially when you leave it in the car at the airport.
2. That being said, getting an iPad was a great decision. Thanks to everyone who told me that I would want a way to find free wifi in case I needed to contact people. Nobody thought it would be before I'd left Atlanta, but I just wanted to start the adventure early.
3. Take advantage of poor signage. It might put you in the first class line in security. Turns out they don't even care if you're actually first class!

Although this blog has a high potential at not being as interesting as last summer's (classes aren't as cool as hanging out with women and children in Ethiopia), hopefully the travels and pictures will be worth it. And with my track record, having multiple "permanent" places to record memories is always a good thing to strive for.

Here's to another awesome, unpredictable, and once in a lifetime experience!