Home again, home again!

Well, after surviving on baguettes, cheese, and apples for four days, let's just say that I'm glad to be back at the Y where I'll get meat and veggies and a big meal for free!  Paris was incredible, with all the fall colors in the trees, but I'm glad to be back in green Ireland.  We saw the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Musee D'Orsay, Sacre Coeur, Sainte-Chappelle, the Tuleries Gardens, Les Invalides, and a bunch of other stuff all within three touring days.  I successfully navigated the metro, and didn't get us lost too many times.  We had church Sunday morning in the Tuleries Gardens, we survived the the sea of people trying to sell Eiffel Tower keychains, we ate Nutella Crepes along the Seine River, bartered for apples and bread in an open air market, and did a whole bunch of other stuff that I don't have time to talk about.  Ask me for stories when I get back, because there are some good ones...

But we're back now.  I think tonight Lauren and I are going to curl up with a cup of tea and a good movie.  Homework and all that other stuff can wait for tomorrow.

Attacking Paris

Well, after taking the DART to Dublin, a bus to the airport, a plane to France, a bus to Paris, and a taxi to our apartment, we finally made it at about 1:00 in the morning. We were just going to rent hostel rooms in Paris at about 25-30 euro per night per head, but then my friend had the brilliant idea of renting an apartment. It was much cheaper, we have a kitchen, our own bathroom and bedrooms, as well as internet. It is also very nice to have a place to hang out at night that is not shared with complete strangers!

Today was a fun, but very stressful day. To start it off, one of us got locked in the bathroom accidentally. After we sprung him free, we bought croissants for breakfast at the bakery across the street. Then we had the daunting task of navigating the French metro with our terrible grasp of the French language, but we succeeded in figuring out the system after some wandering around aimlessly. We saw Napoleon Bonaparte's sarcophagus, Les Invalides, le Arc d'Triomphe, and Sacre Coeur. (I know I'm spelling that name wrong, but it's this beautiful basilica with a wonderful little market outside.) Finally, we made it back to the apartment, had a great adventure finding a chicken, some bagguettes, and some cheese that smelled seriously like BO but tasted pretty good. All in all, I'm exhausted, but excited to see the city after figuring out how to use the Public Transport today.

Tomorrow we're off to see Notre Dame, Saint Chappelle, and the Musee D'orsay. It should be exciting...

First Day in Paris

Well, after taking the DART to Dublin, a bus to the airport, a plane to France, a bus to Paris, and a taxi to our apartment, we finally made it at about 1:00 in the morning. We were just going to rent hostel rooms in Paris at about 25-30 euro per night per head, but then my friend had the brilliant idea of renting an apartment. It was much cheaper, we have a kitchen, our own bathroom and bedrooms, as well as internet. It is also very nice to have a place to hang out at night that is not shared with complete strangers!

Today was a fun, but very stressful day. To start it off, one of us got locked in the bathroom accidentally. After we sprung him free, we bought croissants for breakfast at the bakery across the street. Then we had the daunting task of navigating the French metro with our terrible grasp of the French language, but we succeeded in figuring out the system after some wandering around aimlessly. We saw Napoleon Bonaparte's sarcophagus, Les Invalides, le Arc d'Triomphe, and Sacre Coeur. (I know I'm spelling that name wrong, but it's this beautiful basilica with a wonderful little market outside.) Finally, we made it back to the apartment, had a great adventure finding a chicken, some bagguettes, and some cheese that smelled seriously like BO but tasted pretty good. All in all, I'm exhausted, but excited to see the city after figuring out how to use the Public Transport today.

Tomorrow we're off to see Notre Dame, Saint Chappelle, and the Musee D'orsay. It should be exciting...

Fall Break... in France?!

Tomorrow, four friends and I are flying out for Paris for our fall break. I never in my wildest dreams though I could say that I was going to France for Fall Break... It's a strange feeling. I'm excited to go and see the gardens and all the different sites. Hopefully the food will be good too, and the exchange rate is at its lowest since I've been in Ireland, which is great news! Anyway, please pray for safety and that we won't get too lost in the city. Thankfully we have two people who've studied French extensively in school and travelled there before.

I still have a lot to do before tomorrow. I have a class at 10:30 downtown Dublin to discuss the AIDs epidemic with an Irish graduate of Taylor, and then we fly out at 7:00 in the evening. But I still have to finalize our itinerary, and turn in some homework. Today, we started Irish drumming classes! (Yes, I'm getting credit for that) It's an ancient Celtic instrument called a Bodran or Bohran, or something along those lines. Definitely a unique experience.

Well, the dinner bell just rang. I'm off for Paris tomorrow!

87 Pancakes

I had cooking group this weekend... It was a lot of fun to hang out in the kitchen, but I'm really glad it is over.  I have a new appreciation for the Y staff that feeds us every day!  It's a full time job.  On Saturday, we made hot dogs and American Mac 'n' Cheese for lunch with pizza for dinner.  On Sunday, we made sloppy joes and then breakfast for dinner tonight.  I just finished making 87 pancakes.  Tomorrow we'll be back to the normal schedule with our wonderful cooking staff.

Today, after a wonderful Sunday message from Rev. Monty, Lauren and I were invited over to Sunday dinner at their house.  It was wonderful to be sitting at a table with a home cooked meal.  I don't think I've had that in about two months.  The food was delicious, and Monty and Gwen were great company.  They are a pretty dynamic ministry duo that have had a huge impact on my life in just a few short weeks.  They are definitely a blessing from God.  Anyway, we have small groups tonight and a free day tomorrow.  I'm excited to have absolutely nothing to do for the first time in about 2-3 weeks.  Maybe I'll go to the zoo...

Raining Sideways

I decided to post again because I really, really do not want to continue doing my homework.  It's a pretty stormy day her in Greystones.  About five minutes ago, the rain was coming down sideways because of the high winds.  Now, it's sunny and beautiful... the weather changes extremely quickly in Ireland.  Since the parents have left and we are getting back to a more normal schedule, we have gotten a lot of homework as well.  I've been working all day on my Book of Kells and National Museum study guide which as been about as interesting as watching paint dry. (Weather update: It is now both sunny and raining sideways.  I should go look for a rainbow)  But studying with my roommate Lauren makes it a lot more interesting.

I should probably tell you a little bit about Lauren.  We first roomed together at Taylor for a week, and discovered our shared love for C.S. Lewis and the Chronicles of the Narnia.  Then, we found out we would be rooming together here at the Y, and that was very exciting!  Our room is very tiny and narrow, and usually a complete mess because Lauren is even messier than I am!  But we have a blast together, and have started completing each other's sentences at times, which is a little scary.  Hopefully we'll be able to room together at Taylor next semester.  We'll have to see.  But in all seriousness, Lauren is a gift from God.  I wasn't sure about how I would get along with a roommate after never sharing a room in my life, but we have pretty much the same sleeping schedule and disposition.  I'm really loving getting to know her more!

Been a long while

I haven't updated this in a long time... sorry.  We've been pretty crazy around here for the past week or so.  First of all, my Contemporary Ireland prof was in town, so we actually had classes and visited different sites in Dublin like Kilmainham Gaol, the Book of Kells, and the National Museum.  After that, the parents came into town.  A lot of fun, but very crowded here at the YWCA.  Usually, we only have 30-35 people here, but with the parents we were hitting 70.  There were people everywhere, and it was very loud here for a while.  But I got to show my mom and aunt Lynette around Greystones and Dublin.  We visited several sites in Dublin, saw a show in the theatre, had a nice Italian dinner, ate in a pub, and had many other adventures.

One of which was the drive to Kilkenny to see the castle there.  My mom and aunt Lynette decided to rent a car on our free day and drive to this little tourist town in the middle-of-nowhere Ireland.  That day, I nearly died... seriously.  It's been several years since my aunt drove in Europe, and here in Ireland, all their cars are manual, and they drive on the left side of the road!  Let's just say there were several close calls involving semis on country roads and crazy traffic "diversions."  But we made it there and back alive and without too many problems, besides a broken-down cake delivery truck.  All in all, a very fun, busy week.

Now, we're all going crazy trying to catch up on all our homework.  I was able to finish a few papers today, and I plan on doing a lot more tomorrow.  That way, I should have a free day on Friday before being on cooking duty all Sat/Sun.  Things are settling down again around here, so here we go again!