week 2!

It's been so long! I apologize for being such an infrequent blogger! I love being able to update you all but I never realized how much time it takes! Anyway I'm sorry it's taken me so long. I'm just going to do a quick run down of the last week and just jot things down informally.

Thursday July 1st: Class all day. Played Rounders with our group after class. Rounders is a game like baseball but with a wider, flatter, curved bat. There are a few different rules. No 3 strikes your out. Also you have to get the entire other team out before the "inning" ends. You can get everyone out at the same time by catching the ball one handed. We played Midwest kids vs. Northwest kids. Everyone in the group is either from Michigan or Oregon, except for me and another girl from Indiana. Guess which team won? Clearly Northwest. Very fun game and a good start to the weekend. Thursday night we went out to Dublin and checked out the Temple Bar area of downtown. Temple bar is the artsy district with lots of restaurants, shops, pubs, bars, and markets. Very cute and fun. The roads are all cobbled and no cars can drive through. It's very fun! So many people!

Friday July 2nd: Slept in! Felt great. Watched the world cup match with some people from the group. Hung out with friends from my group all day and had a relaxed night at our neighborhood pub "The Graduate"

Saturday July 3rd: another relaxing day and then a night out in Dun Laoghaire. Spent some time at the beach and went to a dance club with a bunch of kids from our group.

Sunday July 4th: Went to the Hurling Match! It was amazing! We routed for Galway since they were the underdogs. Sadly Kilkenny won! Their team is just too good! The match was great though! We had front row seats! Somehow we snagged those for only about 20 euro. The crowd was very exciting and loud! Sunday night I watched an Irish film for our cinema class with my friend Matt. The film was called "This is my father" It was alright but I wouldn't really recommend it. Sunday night we also got a new student in our home! Her name is Ancarna and she is 14 and from Spain. Very sweet and cute. She doesn't speak much English but we get along really well!

Monday July 5th: Class all day. We watched the movie "My Left Foot" during cinema class. Very good! Daniel Day Lewis won best actor for this film! See it! Monday evening, a group of us went to the movie theaters to see an Irish independent film called "His & Hers" It was a documentary interviewing women from the Irish midlands. The women ranged in age from little girls to women who were over 100 years old! The movie focused on women's relationships with their fathers, boyfriends, husbands, and sons. It was beautifully made. Very honest and heart wrenching. I would definitely recommend it if you can see it in the states!

Tuesday July 6th: Class all day. That evening Margo took Ancarna and I to her son and daughter-in-laws to meet her kids and grandkids! The grandkids are Jane (almost 8), Luke (6), and Finn (almost 4). So cute. They are the sweetest kids. So polite and talkative. They make great conversation. We took lots of pictures and played chess and watched the Netherlands vs. Uruguay match.

Wednesday July 7th: Excursions all day. Went to the Dublin Castle in downtown Dublin. Learned tons about Irish history and politics. We saw the ruins of the original castle. Beautiful and haunting. Later we headed to the National History Museum. Say many Celtic artifacts, some all the way back from 2000 AD! So amazing and intriguing. Our Literature professor guided us through the museum. Last night a bunch of us went out to a pub to watch the Germany vs. Spain match. I routed for Spain and was so happy when they won. It’s great to be in a European country where football (soccer) is such a big deal. Everyone is so into it!

Thursday July 8th: Class today. Fun but exhausting. I came home after class and have just been relaxing since then. I needed a break! I’ve been so busy! We walk and explore so much! Not complaining, it’s wonderful! But very tiring!

Tomorrow morning at 9am we are headed out on a weekend excursion to Western Ireland. We will be visiting Galway and Connemara and many spots in between. We will be doing a lot of hiking and exploring. Our whole group will stay in a hostel Friday and Saturday nights. I cannot wait to see the countryside and the history! I’ll post again on Monday!

Love to all! Hope all is well!
-J