London Calling

I went to London. It was the shit. Thats really all I can say. Next stop, Edinburgh.

Where in the world.

Its been forever. This is true. Due to the computer crashing and needing a new hardrive and an insane amount of traveling I haven't been doing anything productive, this blog being one of them. So, I'll just give you a quick update.

Things I've Been Doing With My Life:

1. Went to Rome!

Rome, needless to say, was amazing. I can't even begin to describe its beauty and being able to see so much history and culture in one city. I loved every minute of it, whether it was the Vatican and Coliseum or just hanging out in the plaza watching beautiful Italian men stroll by. I could live there.

2. Madrid!

Quite a different pace from Rome, but just as amazing. It was nice seeing how much I could apply my high school spanish skills...which lacked immensely. It was so chill and I experienced my first kebab. Mmmm...Doner Kebabs. Americans would go crazy if we had these.

3. Paris. Oh Paris.

I love Paris. Everything about it. Its SO beautiful. We never had a dull moment, and our hostel was the shiz. We managed to see a lot, but sadly (and I'm extremely sad about this) we didnt make it to the Louvre. I guess I just need to go back. Shucks.

It was amazing being able to travel to all these different places, but it just makes you want more. I want to explore so much more of these countries. I've also discovered how much I really do love Ireland. When we get above Dublin, I have this warm feeling of being home. I no longer feel like a visitor here. Each day abroad makes the idea of going home that much more difficult, but there are plenty of things I miss.

I MISS:

1) Driving.

I wish I could just have the ability to get in my car and drive around, singing at the top of my lungs. While I do much more walking here then I would ever do back home, depending on the buses blows.

2) Structure

Here, you get one assignment that has to be done before the semester ends and they "strongly encourage" you going to class. For the procrastinator, such as myself, this is dangerous. I need someone to kick my ass and tell me its life or death.

3) Friends

Oh, you guys. I miss your sweet little faces and the warmth you give my heart.

4) My Cellphone

I hate piccell. I miss my cellphone with its full keyboard and phone numbers. I'll never catch on to the extensive amount of numbers in one person cellphone number.

5) Chipotle

All I want is a big fat burrito. No beans. Steak, lettuce, cheese, and sour cream. Oh my goodness. When we reunite the world will sparkle.

6) Dollars

Euros are much prettier then the American bill, but each Euro I spend is 1.5 dollars. Im losing too much money here.

7) Family!

I know it'll be even more difficult next month when they'll all be together for Christmas, but the internet works splendidly for communication. and care packages, of course.

I could continue, but I'm really enjoying myself here. I could stay here, but my funds won't allow it. Thanks for your harassment into updating this, Melisa.

Holy Canoli!

I havent updated this baby in forever. I've been here officially two weeks now. Crazy, right?

My first week was orientation week, which was SO nice because it basically just allowed us to be introduced with Dublin. Also, the first week was St. Arthurs day which was the celebration of the 250th anniversary of Guinness. That was a HUGE day in Ireland. We went to temple bar for the evening. I wish I had a better sense of bar culture back in the states so I had a better comparison for pub culture here. Example: First night in temple bar, I was sitting in this pub with Bri listening to irish music. Melissa (my roommate) and Zach called wondering where we were, and we saw that they met some people. They came over by us, and the first thing this kid does is grab my face and plants one on me, then says "hey, whats yer name?" I respond with a blank stare and an "em...Kaitlyn. Whats yours?" he says "doesnt matter." I kept looking around at my friends like "did you not see him just kiss me?" Saying I was shocked was an understatement. He did seem though to be quite outgoing, so I'm assuming that kind of...greeting isnt unusual for him.

My first week though I had horrible luck with heating hair tools. I bought a converter that is meant for things like hair dryers, flat irons, etc. So, I plug my flat iron in it and my iron was working, but then it just shut off and wouldnt turn back on, and felt extremely warm in the handle. MY GLORIOUS FLAT IRON IS DEAD! That thing was magic. Well anyways, the next day I plugged my crimper into the same converter, and it turned on and was heating up just fine...so I thought "hey, it must've just been my flat iron", so I wasnt concerned really and it was performing like usual. My hair was steaming a bit, but I figured it was just from hair product, but then it was steaming A LOT, and then...a chunk of my hair burnt off. The thing BURNT MY HAIR OFF! I turned it off immediately and ran to the bathroom to examine the damage. Luckily, you cant tell at all. Unfortunately, it damaged SO MUCH of my hair. I mean really. It was bad. Since then I have broken my hairdryer, and my roommates. This is even using her converter. I'm taking this as a sign. Oh! Also our first week we went on this tour of a farm, and they also involved us in tradition irish things, like baking, dancing, music, games, etc. There were also TONS of adorable puppies. So freaking cute.

I had my first week of classes this week, which has been good. I dropped Anatomy! I was SO happy about this. Now I have all of January here for fun. and travel. I'm taking some boring classes, but I'm also taking a few amazing ones, i.e. Cultural Performance in Popular Entertainment, and Social History and T.V. Drama. These look like winners. What else did we do this week? OH! We found a pub close to us that looks promising. It gets expensive going to temple bar, especially for 6 euro pints and a taxi. The pub near us is more reasonable prices and within walking distance. We also went to Howth. This cute fishing town in our county. It was one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. My breath was stolen. It was perfected happiness walking along the pier, listening to music, and looking at the wonderful landscape before me. I love this place. I wish my camera worked so I could take photos and show everyone! (yes, my camera stopped working too. How great is that?) I'll try not to have such a long span between blog posts, I feel like I wrote a freaking novel. Bye friends!

OH! P.S.

Here is a little video of the 17:59 toast to Arthur Guinness last thursday, and also that evening in a pub. The guy was singing "wish you were here" and it made me think of all me friends back home...so obviously I had to record. We didnt make it in time to get a pint to toast with, everywhere we went was packed! The pub we were at ran out of glasses even. The 17:59 toast was this big global toast to Arthur to kick off the celebration. It was a big deal, they had concerts that were televised with a countdown to the big toast...it reminded me of the dick clark new years thing. I just found out that Noah and The Whale performed there. I immediately regret not buying a ticket for the concerts.

First Day...ish.

My first real experience off campus: Ikea. I know, I'm so adventurous. I guess I did experience how to ride a bus properly...which comes in handy. I do know this: things here are expensive. I'm becoming so stingy. This could either cause some good or bad. I might just come to the states and take advantage of things not costing me practically double.
I like the people I'm surrounded by, which I suppose is good. They are some lovely American girls (all of whom are from the West Coast, and named Elizabeth). Okay maybe not ALL are named Elizabeth, but 4 of them are. Also, 3 of those Elizabeths are red headed. Crazy, right? Tonight was pretty chill though. We just sat in the room across the hall (Bri's room), drank some wine, and just got to know one another. They are all pretty neat ladies. Yes, I'm disappointed I dont have Irish roommates...but I like what I got. I was placed here for a reason. All in all, today was a good day, despite being super self conscious of looking American in Ikea.

The Night Before.

Here it is. The day before I leave. 12 hours from now I will be getting into my mothers minivan (whoo hoo!) to drive to the airport. How crazy is this?! I have been DREAMING of this day for months now. Me going to Ireland once consumed my mind, and now that I'm here it all seems so unreal. The past months of planning, telling, dreaming, and saving is finally going to be put to use. Its so crazy to me that 8 months ago, all I wanted to do was get on the airplane and leave that very moment...but now that its the day before I go I'd like to hang on a little bit longer. I'm sad to leave my friends, old and new. BUT THIS IS CRAZY! I'm going to a different country guys! I'm planning on documenting my time abroad with blogging and vlogging, because video blogging is all the rage...and I'm extremely hip. I would absolutely LOVE to hear from all of you & know whats going on with you guys these next months too, whether its facebook messages, little video tidbits (i love seeing your faces), letters, and most importantly...Skype. Yes! Skype! 

I guess its time for me to quite procrastinating with packing (so much stuff. I'm definitely not doing the whole 1 suitcase thing.) I love you guys so much! Please pray for safe travels & no anxiety! (I can get a little...over dramatic with planes)