Michael Flatley: you would be proud!

In order to have an enriching experience abroad, I believe that its vitally important that one should try to adapt themselves to the culture and lifestyle to the host-country.

Now in Ireland, most have taken the easy route by taking on the traditional act of drinking 2 pints of Guiness before lunchtime...me however, I'm much more daring and bold (and too poor!) for that...

...Which is why I decided to take up Traditional Irish dancing!!

Think Riverdance. Subtract Michael Flatley, then add me. If that doesn't make you laugh, nothing will.

So for the past 2 months, I have been attending traditional irish dance for beginners every wednesday night, learning 1-2-3's, side skips, and jumps. Mostly though I have been flicking my feet around on the floor and having a really good laugh looking at myself. (the pic is me and my original group!!)

However, I didn't think that I would be sharing this good laugh with anyone else - until I found out that we were going to preform in front of an audience! So my group and I last week actually put a routine to "Lord of the Dance". But it was actually a really great experience - I managed not to forget much and had fun!

So naturally when our instructor asked our group if we wanted to preform again for high-school students on open day (where they come to the University to check things out - dancers included I guess...) - I agreed! One good way to end the semester right?

My roommate Julia and I (she was also in the class) went to the preformance hall a bit early, hoping to see our 12 other dancers and go over our routine a couple times before going on stage. However, instead of 12 girls - there was just one other girl! Our instructor didn't even show up! Luckily, the hip-hop instructor was there and we went to her for advice. But instead of solving our problem, she said to us "ok I've got your music - you know what you are doing right? Cause youre on next!"

So about 2 minutes later, there I was: standing in front of about 150 uniform-wearing, 17 year olds, with two other girls on my side,no practice, waiting for our music to change and start out with our 1-2-3's!

as you can guess, about 30 seconds later, we all three had forgotten the rest of our routine and were simply dancing in circles, wildly kicking our feet around. It wasn't going too bad - they didn't know we were messing up so maybe we could trick them into thinking we were actually doing alright.

That was until the girl in the middle, holding our hands, fell flat on her butt, pulling Julia and I down! Luckily we both manged to stay on our feet and continue to step around. But that definitely didn't stop the laughter and jeeringfrom our audience - and actually from the three of us as well! We finished shortly after by throwing up our hands, with giggles on our faces. We were rushed off stage almost immediately while the more advanced hip-hop dancers ran on to make a recovery.

Julia and I left the stage with damaged pride (and the other girl with a damaged butt), but also with large smiles on our faces! Julia turned to me and said she would never forget this experience she had with me - and its true. I think I will always think of Julia as someone I could publicly make a fool with anyday!

So I think that that in order to have an enriching experience abroad, one must make a complete fool of themselves, and most importantly have someone to share that experience (and hopefully a good laugh) with!

until next time!

xoxoxoxoxo

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today is Thanksgiving Day, and so far I have single-handedly put a turkey in the oven! Ok so that sounds like nothing, but there has been a lot of work to get to this point. First, I had to walk 20 minutes in the rain each day to the store this entire week in order to get prepared, walking from store to store to store to find the right things (you wouldn’t believe the confused looks I got when I asked for fried onion bits – cross green-bean casserole off the list!) My greatest trip was the one that required me to walk back home with a 10 kilo sack of potatoes on my back! So I really have a great “back when I was your age...” story to tell when I’m 80.

So what am I thankful for? Well one thing for sure: today is my last day of classes! Although I am glad not have to sit through boring lectures, the ending of class simply signifies that exams will be coming up – and in the Irish school system, the most critical part of any class. One of my classes, 100% of the grade comes straight from the final. In all of them, it is certainly needed in order to pass the class. So instead of being able to enjoy the rest of my days free and careless, I’m about to become a slave to my textbooks. In fact, I plan on getting up early to go to the library starting tomorrow! My roommate Julia will be there at 9am – I think I might need a little time to recover from my soon-to-be amazing holiday feast! I’ve got it all: the turkey, the mashed potatoes (which BETTER be good!), stuffing, gravy, green beans, I even made my own cranberry sauce! However, my favourite part of all is missing: the pumpkin pie! They have no canned pumpkin here – I guess you just can’t have it all can you? HOWEVER, I did buy whipped cream for dessert – now that I am surely thankful for J

Here are some other things I am thankful for:

1. Wellies
2. My new athletics team sweatshirt – I got it on Tuesday, and it’s the only thing I wear now (mainly because all my other clothes are dirty!!)
3. Sex and the City girl’s nights: friends, sex, wine, and chocolate – what more could you want? (to mom and dad and other family members: I’m just joking!)
4. Digestive cookies – name sounds like something grandmas and constipated people would eat – but they are so not that – and even if they were I would still love them!
5. Crappy instant coffee (makes me appreciate espresso SO much more)
6. The castle along the ol’ corrib river, and the Salthill cceanside – two best places to go on a run – best views I think I have ever witnessed
7. The Saturday market – where I get the best apples and hummus EVER (oh yeah, and super good doughnuts too!)
8. Sunday morning runs with Annelies, my little therapist here in Ireland (maybe its those awesome views – but man I can get emotional when I run!)
9. SKYPE! A bit hard to explain, but all you need to know is that you need to have it
10. NUI Galway – its lovely charm thus giving it the ability to attract old but rad celebrities. It just sounds so cool to say “I go to school with Martin Sheen”

But most importantly I am thankful for you who is reading this (unless you are some creepy internet stalker – then go away I am really not thankful for you). Whenever I hear that people are reading my blog and wanting to know how I am doing, or sending me a message (or skyping me – you get extra points!) - it truly makes my day! I know that I would not have survived this experience without the support of my friends and family – both back in the US and here in Ireland.

Although wine, chocolate, and sex does help (again family: joking!)

Off to baste the bird!

Until next time

xoxoxoxoxoxo


the result: look at my wonderful turkey! yum!!!

Finding Family in Edinburgh

It is so very sad - school is coming to an end - but that means crunch time: exams are in just two weeks, research papers are due after this weekend, and the library is now becoming the new late night place to hang out - even celebs like Martin Sheen have been spotted here.

However that didn't stop me from putting away my books for the weekend to go travel once more! So last weekend I took a short plane trip (and cheap - only 6 euros total!) to Scotland. I traveled with my friend Bianca, and another fella named Patrick, whom I honestly didn't even really know until we met up to catch the flight together!

The three of us started our adventure when we arrived in Edinburgh (safely this time! no close-crash incidents!) late on Saturday night. We checked into our hostel - which we discovered was a 38 mixed bedroom dorm - aka a giant room with a bunch of beds. Not wanting to really spend much time there, we quickly put our stuff away and went out on the town. We ended up on the grassmarket street, which is lined with pubs, nightclubs and lively atmosphere. Our first drink was at a place called the Three Sisters (which reminded me of my sisters! ahh!) - and despite the negative degree weather, there were people outside barbecuing and having drinks! From then on we hopped from bar to bar, usually ending up in the places that offered free shooters or free entrance! Finally we made our way back to our lovely room to have a good nights sleep - along with the other 30 plus people.

After a somewhat restless sleep (one of those 38 people decided it would be an excellent idea to play Counting Crows songs on the piano....) we got up early to start our 'culture' day. We walked all around the Royal Mile street from the parliament house, all the way up to the castle. On our way we encountered many fun people and things. We took photos with Scotsman dressed in their full attire, sampled fudge, learned all about whiskey (which we all discovered is a drink we don't really prefer), and took amazing photos of the enormous castle on the hill. Finally we ended up for dinner at a place called SNAX - where we got some amazing grilled paninis and chips - for cheap too! We walked everywhere and saw so much! It was a great and exhausting day!

So then we found a new hostel to stay in (the other one just wasn't quite our style!) - and this time it was with just 14 people - they were all americans who were also studying in Ireland (Cork) as well, so we got along with them quite well. We decided to just go out for a movie night, and saw The Departed - a movie coincidentally about Irish gangs in Boston. Martin Sheen was in it! He died though - but next time I see him I'll have to congratulate him on an impressive death scene, even if it was just him falling off a building...(sorry to ruin it for those who haven't seen it!)

So on our way home, Patrick could not stop singing 'we are family' song - over and over. Before we knew it, Bianca and I caught on and we were all singing together! For the rest of the weekend, this became our theme song and at any moment if any would start the song, we would all join in! We started our own little family for the weekend!

The next day however, our family grew! We were joined by our three friends Judith (not my roommate Judith, but another one!), Robert, and Florian (aka Flo). They had been in Glasgow and the highlands earlier that week (they didn't see Nessy however...). But before we met up with them, our little family explored the oceanside and took a tour of the Brittania (the royal ship) and also went to the Museum of Modern Art (which was surprisingly one of my favorite things - really interesting!). It wasn't until about 5 until we met up with the others, so we had an early dinner at SNAX (I love this place) and I even got to try some HAGGIS (minced meat cooked inside a lambs stomach) for free! It was ok...An old Scottish man next to me told me its made from a three-legged bird, and right now since its hunting season for them, its the best time to have some...;) lets just say I got my moneys worth!

That night we were lucky to discover that we had the entire room to ourselves! We also discovered that the next day was Patricks birthday! So of course we celebrated, and at midnight we sang happy birthday as loud as we could in the bar! And of course followed by 'we are family...'

We had to leave the next day sadly, but before we left I was determined to climb to a place called Arthurs Seat, which was just the top of a hill. However, we all decided to hike up together. It started out a bit cold and rainy, but in the end the sun cleared up just as we made it to the top! We had an incredible 360 degree view of the city and beyond! Absolutely beautiful! It was a great way to end the trip, and boosted our moods for heading back to Ireland.

Just before we left however, we retired into a Starbucks - the first one I have been to since Berlin!! It was quite an amazing starbucks - with giant windows facing the castle. So I sat and slowly enjoyed my tall soy latte while staring out towards Edinburgh city. Oh and of course - we stopped one more time at SNAX to grab a bite to eat!

When we arrived back in the Airport, Judith Robert and Flo all got a bus ride back early, while Bianca, Patrick and I had to wait for our busline (we bought tickets already for a different bus line) - so our little family was re-united once more! We of course sang our little song again while waiting for the bus! We were a crazy family for sure - but also a fun one!

So now back in Galway, I have just one more month left before heading back home! Time has truly flown by, but I am enjoying every minute of it! The people I have met here have been just incredible, and I think I will be mostly sad to leave them. But its good to know that no matter what: 'We are family!!!'

xoxoxo

my family: Judith, Robert, flu, Patrick and Bianca (and of course me in the middle - where else would I put myself huh?!)

Best Week Ever?

Ever since I got back from Italy, life here in Ireland has been wonderful, for a number of reasons:

1. The weather - although a bit frosty, the sun shines everyday and my feet are wonderfully and happily dry! Pictured is my daily walk from Corrib Village to School - b-e-a-utiful!

2. Parties - from halloween, to athletics club, to even my roommate Elisa's surprise party - there has just been a lot of fun and exciting events with new-found friends.

3. Martin Sheen - did I tell you I go to school with Martin Sheen? Yeah and I saw him! Its funny- I am about as far as you can get from hollywood, yet this is pretty much the only time I see a celebrity.

4. School - I actually am ahead of the game and getting a lot of work done!

ok so everything was going great - until came thursday. I decided to go out with friends to an 80/90's dance club, and happily broke a sweat to Phil Collins and Micheal Jackson! Rad!
However I must have crossed the 'borderline' (ok I don't even know if that song is 80s or not..) because I woke up the next morning feeling extremely worn out, tired and out of money. However I managed to drag myself out of bed, and even decided to treat myself to a coffee at the espresso stand (spending more money - I don't know what goes through my head sometimes). I ordered what I usually got back home - a grande drip - thinking nothing of it. However, having only dranken instant-can-this-really-be-called-coffee coffee practically since I have been here, the real stuff hit me like a ton of bricks. I vibrated my way through the next 5 hours of classtime, feeling sick to my stomach. To make matters worse - I got a group assignment back - which we failed (ok not quite, but pretty much). A 44 out of 100 (which is like a C in Ireland). But hey - if I blurred my eyes, those 4 look quite a lot like 9's.....

So here I was: failed paper in shaking hand, but also feeling like I could sleep for hours. My best week ever has come to an end - right?

well, maybe worse days were coming, but it didn't stop me from feeling extremely happy. My entreprenuership teacher told us that we can't be afraid of failures - maybe he said that to make us feel better about our grades to come - but I surely took it to heart at that moment. I realised that sometimes we make wrong choices: even if they are as minor as staying out too late while listening to cheesy music, drinking too much coffee, and failing school (ok that might not be as minor..). But this time I wasn't going to dig myself into a deeper hole by dwelling on it - but rather I was going to just be happy with what I have - like great friends and fun!

Ok sorry for that 'Full House' moment - that 80/90s stuff must have hit me harder than I thought!

off to Edinburgh today - lets hope my stomach can handle the haggis!

xoxoxo

Vanessa (who is pretty much best friends with Martin Sheen)

Flirting with death, and Italian boys (and yes they are different things)

It was the beginning of a wonderful weekend. I had successfully made my way to the airport (the correct airport too!) and was on my way to Venice, Italy! I sat down next to a few lovely school teachers from county Cork, and had a great conversation about Ireland while flying across the European landscape. They even gave me mints to suck on when we took off (to help with your ears – although I think I chewed mine up before the plane even started moving). However, just as I was about to receive my second mint for our descent into Italy, our plane began to rumble. Thinking it was just some turbulence, I popped the mint in my mouth. However, before I could even swallow it down the plane sudden dropped, then rose again – dropped even more sharply, then rose again. My new mint-loving friend and I exchanged glances. The engine suddenly went into overdrive and we rose up sharply, shook around, then made an even bigger drop! THEN the lights all shut off – a few people gave a little shriek. My neighbour sucked down about 4 more mints. The girl in front of me jokingly exclaimed “we’re gonna die!” – so not funny. I simply sat there, closed my eyes, and said a prayer, honestly thinking for a moment that I really was going to die. Yet, just as I was trying to convince myself that the ice cream in heaven is probably better than Italian gelato anyway, the engine calmed down, and the plane levelled. The lights stayed off – apparently that’s normal when you are landing at night (good thing we were all aware of that). God knew I wasn’t quite ready heaven ice cream just yet…
So shortly afterward we made our landing, and everyone’s faces returned to their normal warm tones. Yet, just as I thought I was safely on the ground, I was rushed onto an even more deadly mode of transportation – I giant shuttle bus that would take us through Italian traffic to the city center of Venice. Luckily we made it there in one piece, and I quickly checked myself into a hostel. The next morning I had made arrangements to leave early on a train for Florence, not getting much of a chance to see Venice (but I plan to later in December!). I arrived in Florence around noon, and I got to do something that almost made my whole trip worth it --- I took off my jacket! Yes, the sun was shining and I was actually able to bear my pasty white arms! Taking advantage of the great weather, I put my stuff away (at a hostel) and went for a hike up to the mountains to get an amazing view of the city! Taking as many side streets and long routes, I was able to explore the less touristy parts of the city, and got more of a local feel of Florence. However, it did not prevent me from acting like a total tourist – taking pictures of everything I saw, constantly referring to my map, and of course – buying gelato!
Being an obvious traveller, I was an instant target for the bold and ultra friendly Italian men. As I was walking down the street, holding my map out in front of me, an older Italian man grabbed my map and said ‘come here’ and led me into his leather clothing store and spent 5 minutes with me circling all the places in Florence I needed to see. The owner at the hotel did almost the exact same thing, made me sit down and told me that if I needed a ride to any place, he had his mo-ped with him and could take me there. Then in the grocery store another younger Italian boy helped me pick out a bottle of wine (although I was actually just looking for some olive oil for a salad dressing), then bought me a cappuccino. He told me we were going to drink the wine together later, but I told him I was going to meet up with friends and needed to go!
This actually ended up being true, when I came back to the hostel, and heard some girls talking over how to get back to Shannon, Ireland on Monday. Turns out these girls were on my same flight home, and they were American students studying in Galway! Erin and Katie, two girls from New York, suddenly became my new travelling partners, and new buddies! We went out for some fabulous gelato that night and agreed to see the statue of David at the academia. We waited in line for nearly an hour, but met some really funny old women, who giggled and took pictures with the postcard pictures of David’s you-know-what. Once inside, we stared in awe at the enormous David, and (his giant you-know-what) – as well as many other sculptures. Then we spent the rest of the day exploring the town areas, taking photos, and finally ending up in the central market area where all the street vendors were located. Again I felt the wrath of bold Italian men, selling fake Prada purses and leather belts. My best advice: look straight into the ground – one glance even remotely in their direction will cause them to assume you are extremely interested in what they have to sell, and will not stop asking you what price you would like to pay until you’ve reached the end of the block.
After our market experience we were quite exhausted, so we settled for another cup of gelato, and then went inside the supermarket to buy a baguette, cheese and little bottles of wine for dinner. We ate outside in the streets soaking in the cool Italian night!
The next morning the girls got up rather early to head to Venice, but I decided to stick around Florence for a few more hours. I had a lovely jog, a giant breakfast, and then slowly walked the streets of the market place again. This time however, because it was a weekday (Monday), the market opened up even more and offered a huge food market as well! Making my way through stacks of cheese, rows of fresh olive oil, and even hanging chunks of raw meat, I settled for a dried fruit stand, selling nearly every kind of dried fruit you could want. I picked a variety of dried cherries, strawberries, kiwi, passion fruit – even dried limes! So on my train ride back to meet the girls in Venice (and to sadly head home) I munched on my fresh dried fruit, nuts, wine all while rolling smoothly through the Italian countryside. It couldn’t have been a better way to end the trip…
But it did get even better! I had some spare time to walk around Venice before meeting the girls at the bus station to take us home, so I attempted to navigate my way through the maze that is Venice. After almost giving up hope, I actually ran into the girls again, also in the same predicament. However, we put our lost minds together and found that we were not far from the waterfront – as well as a great gelato stand that my travel book had recommended!
So my trip really ended like this: I purchased what is called “glandulotto de passeggio” (in the picture!) – basically a brick of chocolate-hazelnut ice cream dropped into a giant cup of – get this: WHIPPED CREAM. To make it even better, we got to sit and eat our treats just as the sun was setting along the water (although Venice could have been burning down in flames for all I cared – I had whipped cream!). I questioned whether my plane really did crash, and I truly was in heaven. Luckily I will be returning to my gelato-filled nirvana later this year. I’ll just be sure to pay extra attention to the planes emergency exit – just in case!

as for the Italian boys - well they aren't so bad after all - here is my new italian friend Paulo from next door, who says that all italian boys are liars - except for him of course!