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.
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!
 |
| SCHOOLS OUT, IT'S SUNNY |
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| Turns out 10 minutes of sun doesn't totally dry the ground... |
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| This is what happens when there's sun in Irelabd |
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| Apparently sleeping in hammocks isn't popular here yet, but it's a SOLID spot. |
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!
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