Oh I'm Going, going, back, back to Wood-land, Wood-land.

For the weekend.

Lisa and I are driving up in an hour to visit my family for a couple of days. We're going to check out Sac State and the credential program they offer and if they can sell me, then I think I'll be moving. If not... then I'll be staying in LB and I suppose I'll go to CSULB in the Spring (acceptance pending for both of course). Ah, so much to think about. Apparently CSULA has a great program, as does SDSU. So we'll see. I still want to finish my resumé and work on a cruise ship as a youth counselor.. so hopefully I can finish that up this weekend and see where (if anywhere) that takes me. I'm qualified for sure, but this economy still sucks royally, so all jobs are competitive.

It's funny how I find comfort in knowing that I always have Parkside.

I love working there.

And if I stay in LB I can sub for HBHS, work at Parkside for dinners and weekends and save up to pay for my program.

Or else go to Sacramento, be home more often and spend time with my family and figure out work and expenses later....

Both sound appealing. I hope this weekend tells me what I want to hear - whatever that may be... for better or worse.

Ah, should probably get to packing.

Peace out.

*sigh*

Every now and again, I miss you.

This is one of those nows.

...and again.

I just thought of that and wish I had someone to sincerely miss in a way that's not like "Girl, I miss you!!" or like "babe, I miss you, come hang out", but a true, can't stand being apart, breaking my heart missing. I hate it. But see, I hate missing people, so I do my best to NOT miss people. It makes life wonderful, but then every now and again I miss not having someone to miss because I didn't let myself miss them.

Does that make sense?

*sigh*

:)

What A Week!

CSET for single subject math (algebra and number theory) on Saturday.

Eek.

This week I have been working at CSULB and staying at Lisa's for the most part since there are 5 other people staying at my house in Long Beach. It wouldn't be so bad, except my uncle is really sick and has been sleeping in my room with my aunt so I don't want to go home during the day. I bought lysol to spray my room down when I get back on Sunday, but for now I try to avoid the place whenever possible. I can't risk being sick with my exam coming up and needing the hours at work. Plus, he was sick for over a WEEK! And I don't have health insurance - and I usually get strep way too easily.

So work has been fun! I skipped aerobics 3 days this week though... not because of work so much, but because I didn't want to wake up at 5am again to work out. I had work at 6am yesterday which meant I had to get up at 4:30 to get my stuff together and walk to work. I am REALLY slow in the morning too.... especially after tossing and turning on a chair all night trying to get comfortable only to wake up ever half hour with a hurt neck, back and shoulders.

Ah, Monday things should return to normal.

San Diego this weekend!! Going to Mission Beach with Lisa to meet up with Elyse!! Yay!! Just gotta find a time to go back to the house and grab my swim suit.

Then next weekend Lisa and I are going to drive up to Woodland since I have to go to a credential meeting at Sac State on Friday. I think we'll go to San Francisco on Saturday with my parents :) Should be fun!!! Then it's back to LB on Sunday or Monday to finish my last week of Aerobics.... then VEGAS on the 8th and Yosemite on the 21st! Woo Hoo!! This has been quite an exciting summer :)

Alright, it's almost 11 which means that it's time to get to work!

I can't wait till Saturday after 7pm.

Hmmm

Tonight was really fun.

I woke up way too early, but it was nice because I got some laundry done. Then I chilled for a few hours and talked with Jacqui and Jina about Jina's tattoo that she wants to get. I think she wants it to say something like "The trust of the innocent gives power to the... evil?" or something- I totally butchered it. Jacqui said it sounded like a quote for child molesters or pedophiles, because they often misuse trust as a source for their power. I totally agree. Jina had a rebuttal with words to the effect of "my mind is already made up" followed by an explanation of the quote being a piece of advice to not be so naive.

As native speakers of English, Jess and I said people will think she's a child molester based on the quote. Plus it was really long and she wants it tattooed on her lower arm/wrist area.

Sigh. Hopefully she changes her mind. But the discussion was fun.

Then we all got tacos!! AND frozen yogurt!! Weeeeeeee!! I got carne asada and pollo soft tacos and then chocolate/almond swirl with waffle cone pieces, strawberries, raspberries, whipped cream, almonds and like 4 mini m&ms. Oh so good!!

After that I headed to aerobics class, did the stadium work-out, and went home to get cleaned up for an evening of mini golf and In-N-Out accompanied by great conversation and random moments. It was a fun, yet tiring day, but I'm not so sure how to interpret the ending to the evening. It's difficult to distinguish the difference between being respectful and uninterested I guess. And I have to be up at 6:15 so I'll try to over analyze everything in the morning :)

Chinatown again tomorrow!! Gotta try to find a knife for my dad :)

Good Night.

p.s. I ordered a new sterling silver diamond shaped onyx pendant. I hope I like it. It's weird shopping online. I still miss my necklace too.

Lost Necklace

So sad!!!

Just about a week ago I cleaned my room. It was great- totally clean and presentable. Now there's only one problem:

I can't find my necklace ANYWHERE!!!

Seriously, I've looked in, under, and on everything!! I've checked my room, truck and the bathroom so many times over. It's so sad! I am about to give up and cry :(

It was the wonderful black diamond necklace I took from Amy nearly 5 years ago. I've had it forever and miss it dearly. It was, without question, the most PERFECT necklace in the world.

*sigh*

That was Easy

Emma and I made a short play this evening. She wore gerbil ears from a del taco kids meal I got probably close to a year ago and I put my hair in pigtails like a "hamster"

The script would have looked something like this:

Michelle: (running out to center "stage") I am a hamster and am on a very VERY difficult mission!!
Emma: (running to Michelle with "Easy" button from Staples in hand) It's not difficult! I'm a gerbil. (presses button)
Staples Button: That was easy.

End Scene.

I wish I had pictures, but alas, it was a spur of the moment short skit. Then we played barrel of monkeys and launched tiny plastic pigs in the front yard. Such a great day.

Life is great right now. I'm loving everything about it. This was the break I needed oh so much. I can't even begin to explain how much happier I am just by having free time to enjoy with friends and my family. Bobby came to visit this past week. Had I taken summer school (not counting aerobics) and been working more, there's no way he would have come down and we had so much fun, he stayed longer than expected. It was great to have the time to do that.

I'm just really happy :)

Haha, and yes, there maaayyy be a boy involved, but really, it's too soon to tell. I'm thinking good thoughts and enjoying the ride.

Ok, I had work at 6 this morning and am about to pass out.

Later homes.

I should be getting paid by NBC

Because my life is a much better sit-com than half the shows they air.

Yeah, I still can't get over that whole celebrity cast away thing. They should have left the "celebrities" stranded on an inflatable emergency craft of sorts and released a group of sharks. That would be more productive and possibly more entertaining.

So Father's Day is next weekend- no luck on gifts, but I'm going out to find a good card. I hate having to find something for a dad who just buys whatever he needs and doesn't want many things... other than like property in Hawaii or a pet lion or something crazy like that.

Eek! Post office closes at 6, gotta go!

And Congrats Jina for finishing finals!! Woo Hoo!! Celebrations are definitely to be had :)

Broke

So my right foot is still broken.

I'm starting to think that going to aerobics this week may not have been the best thing for it, but taking a week off is really not an option if I want to see results in 2 more weeks. I walked 15 miles in relay for life and nearly killed myself. Around mile 12.5 it started killing me and I just kept going (I stopped by "first aid"... even though they didn't have anything -no tylenol or advil - but they had one gel thing for burns....) yeah, so not fun. More details later maybe.

OK the show "I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here" is on. I've never seen it before, but in the 5 mins I've watched I have to say this is the STUPIDEST show ever.... EVER! Just when I think it can't get worse... it does. And speaking of celebrities, was Alec Baldwin's brother ever actually a celebrity? I think I've only ever seen him on either reality shows or in movies (LIke Fred Claus) where he is a character playing himself and complaining about being Alec Baldwin's brother... I think he's name is Stephen, but I'm not sure.

Oh dear Lord! San-Jaya (that American Idol kid) is on this show.

That's it, I've had about all I can take for one night :)

NBC, I am severely disappointed in y'all. ya'll? Hmm... I don't know how to actually spell that word (probably because it's not actually a word).

OOUUUUCCCCHHHH!!

OUCH!!

I stepped down from the counter in the bathroom and right onto the corner of a drawer that was slightly opened. Now I have a blister filled with blood and and in sooo much pain. Hahaha, but I am listening to country music and as soon as I wrote that part of the post it say "now and then, angels fall sometimes" which made my day.

Now I'm not in pain anymore.

Thank you Lord. That was what I needed :)

Oh yeah- and I'm done with finals. Walking on Thursday, celebrating on Friday....


Yipee!!


Hahaha - ok so moment.

After I wrote this, I went in and told my aunt the story of my writing and the song coming on. Then Jina, my cousin's girlfriend walked into the kitchen to get lunch and this is what followed:

Me: Hey Jina! Look at my foot!! (lifting my foot with my back to Jina to show her the blister)
Jina: What? It's big.
Me: No- look! (pointing at blister)
Jina: Oh. I thought you said your butt.

Ah, good times. I didn't think anything of it since my feet are pretty big for a girl... and most guys I know ;)

I love today.

So This Is It...

On Wednesday I will be done with my BA in Liberal Studies.

Then it's summer time with aerobics at LBCC... an hour and a half, 4 days a week to get my ass in shape before I go home. Woo Hoo!!

Then going home in August, coming back in September, and going home permanently in late October/ early November.

Gotta love the craziness that is life.

4 more days.

Wow.

K, time to be productive.

Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys

Because they will attempt to steal the heart of a young lady, then ride away, off into the northern California sunset.

Never to be heard from for a week and a half.

...but my goodness, they sure are handsome.

There is a sale at the Fashion Boutique

Did anyone else ever play the game "Mall Madness" when they were little? You were given a credit card and so much money and every time you ran out, you had to roll the die to make your way back to the bank. Then you had to make a purchase at so many stores, and if the "line's too long" you had to "try again later". Then all the sudden you'd hear the speaker say "Attention mall shoppers, there is a sale at the _____________, there is a sale at the __________________, there is a clearance at the ______________" and you had to move these little signs to the stores mentioned. As much as I hate shopping, that game was actually pretty fun.

I'm not sure what reminded me of it, but it was a tangent anyway. Here's the real update:

My life.

May:
Finish school.
Apply for substitute teaching credential.
Apply for jobs as a sub and perhaps a waitress.

June:
Happy Birthday Lisa!
Happy Birthday Daddy!
Go home to Woodland a bit.
Work.
HAVE FUN.

July:
Take the CSET for single subject math (section 1 or 2)
Happy Birthday Bobby!
Happy Birthday Jess!
Work.
HAVE FUN

August:
Cry about not passing the previously mentioned CSET, sign up again.
Happy Birthday Mom!
Work.
Get credential packet ready for CSUS
Have FUN

September:
Try the CSET again and/or take the other section not yet attempted
Submit application for the credential program at CSUS
Work.
Have fun, but save money.

October:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!
CSUS application due on my b-day (October 5th)
Work.
Save money.

November:
Start getting ready to go home.
Pack a lot, take some stuff home at Thanksgiving.

December:
Go home indefinitely.


Did ya catch that last part? Yes, I have made the decision to move back to Northern California to pursue my teaching credentials. Call me crazy, but I think it's the best thing for me :)

So Woodland, please have In & Out built by November/December and ready to go by the time I get there... or I may seriously have to reconsider everything again.

The great thing is, for the friends I still have left in the Long Beach area, I will have FREE TIME this summer to find any excuse to go out (or stay in) and have a great time!! Life is good... and just keeps getting better.*

*In order to assure the accuracy of this statement, Lisa Wilcox, my best friend, will be taken to Northern California with me. Hehehe

The Butterflies Are Back!

So are the ladybugs :)
This little ladybug landed on my sweatshirt on my walk to school today and hung on (it was REALLY windy) until I arrived on campus. Then I took him off and placed him on this little flower. It was nice to have an unexpected walking buddy.

So in other news, I'm going home again this weekend. I know in my last post that I was over going home, but the tables have turned.

I'm really happy to be going home for Easter, to see my brother's confirmation, my dad as a "water boy" for the Easter Vigil and to spend time with my family- especially my grandparents.

And then there are the butterflies.

But I don't want to jinx anything, so just think good thoughts and we'll get back to that at a later time.

I'm way too excited though!!!

<3 <3 <3

Suck it

Yeah, harsh words, I know.

Or are they? It's just a simple command to suck on something- like perhaps a straw, lollipop or a vacuum cleaner (if someone was asking "what does the vacuum do to the dirt?")

However, in this case, the title was meant to be harsh :)

I am so very lost that it's ridiculous. I feel like I am living my life to please other people while disregarding myself.

I went to college to please my family - I never wanted to go right out of high school
I went to Long Beach because of my sister
I stayed with my ex-boyfriend for so long to make him happy
I picked math to teach because my dad told me to (however I DO think that was an awesome decision)
I transferred to Long Beach because it was that or Sac State for free living arrangements and there's no way in hell I could have moved back in with my parents for 2 more years of college.
I go home for a majority of the summer because my family expects me to, even though I don't really have friends left up North and everyone else has their daily schedule and life.
I am going home this Spring Break because I "have" to- because if I don't I will get guilt trip after guilt trip NO MATTER HOW MUCH MY FAMILY WILL DENY THIS.

I have been working my ass off to get out of school - from summer school to winter sessions to 5 classes a semester with this semester being no exception. I have worked so damn hard (30 hours a week on average over the past few years) to save money (which is all gone in Ireland- but worth the experience even if the group I went with was a disappointment). I'm so burnt out and I'm done.

I'm done.

I just don't care anymore.

Give me C's across the board and hand me a piece of paper telling me I've done something to let me do something with my life.

I haven't even gotten out of bed today, and I really have little desire to do so.

Thank goodness I'm getting pizza with Bob in an hour - so I HAVE to get up.

I hate having so much responsibility right now- I mean, I have 3 different Spring Break schedules to work around, one day off a week which I want to dedicate time spending with the elderly, and I'm afraid I will look back on my college experience and say

"yeah, I went to school. Took me 6 years to finish and it was a lot of busy work. I made a couple of friends, they moved away... that's about it"

So then I'll graduate, most likely not get to take credentials at the school of my choice, and be miserable for who knows how long.

Lovely.

Can I just have the check, please?

So why now? Why all of the sudden so pessimistic? Well, here's why:

Spring Break was the final straw.

Yet again I am going home for my spring break. I will not be able to go out with my little sis to the beach house in San Diego or on a camping trip with friends from work or even have bbqs and/or go to the beach. Why?! Because I'll be in Woodland.

I love my family, please don't get me wrong- and I love spending time with them- but Spring Break for me is a chance to hang out with my friends and have those senior year memories of fun times to be referenced for ever.

I hardly have any friends left in Northern California and whenever I go home I feel like a spectator. It's one thing to go home for an event or a specific reason where I am needed, because I feel important- like there's purpose for me to be there.

So when I go home "just because I have time off" and no one has set plans (sorry to my mom, but shopping doesn't count), then I would much rather spend my 4 days elsewhere because at least I know the people I'm around and feel like I belong.

The last hope was a pub crawl for me and my sister's boyfriend (and sister, and guests) the saturday I'll be home. Well, I was super excited about it (after the A's game turned out to just be Spring Training still, but I am going to lunch with my grandparents so I couldn't really go in the end anyway)... well that turned into my sister's boyfriend's day out drinking with all of his friends - placing me, yet again, as a spectator amongst strangers.

So Nana, I'll be calling you soon to see if you and I can get Long Islands and sit around talking about Texas and the 1950s - because I would love nothing more than to be there right now, in my cotton dress, on the dance floor, until the old drunk man falls out the window again.

check, please.

Damn You Euclid!

So when I finally thought I knew what I was doing using Euclid's method for gcf/lcm, I sit through an hour of math history and get severely confused.

Hmmm.

Can I just graduate already?


...please?


*scratch that- I got it. Yay for being awesomely smart*

My Eyes Are Too Watery To Keep Reading

ABC'sShare
Today at 11:00 pm
A- Age: 23

B - Bed size: Queen

C - Chore you hate: Doing the dishes

D - Dad's Name: Robert Alan

E - Essential start your day item: Hmmm... pants? I'm usually running out the door everyday

F - Favorite Actor: Denzel Washington

G - Gold or Silver: Silver or White Gold

H- Height: 5'7" ish

I - Instruments you play(ed): Trumpet, French Horn, a bit of flute, clarinet, keyboard and ukulele

J - Job title: Student, Tutor, Lunch Lady, Catechist

K - Kid(s): I love them! I don't have any, but I am definitely looking forward to having a few someday :D

L - Living arrangements: My own room at my aunt and uncle's house in Long Beach. It rocks!

M - Mom's name: Teresa Alice

N - Nicknames: Shell, Michellikans, Belle, Mich, etc

O - Overnight hospital stay other than birth: None that I can think of?

P - Pet Peeve: When there's like 5 mins left in a 3 hour class and the professor decides it is now a "good time" to start in on new material.

Q - Quotes you like: "When You Dance With Your Tears, You See Rainbows"

R - Right or left handed: Right

S - Siblings: Amy and Bobby

T - Time you wake up: Around 7am everyday other than Saturday

U- Underwear: Yes, I wear it. And I have 25 pairs :D Yay for Ireland and underwear shopping

V - Vegetable you dislike: Cauliflower

W - Ways you run late: Having to do my hair (even if it just means washing it. I really do like being clean)

X - X-rays you've had: Dental, Right Foot, Right Arm

Y - Yummy food you make: Chicken fetuccini alfredo with parmesan cheese green beans

Z - Zodiac: Libra

<3

My weekend was amazing.

Especially Saturday night.





... times 5


... raised to the power of infinity

<3


Wow.

Over The River and Through The Desert to... STAGECOACH WE GO!

WOO HOO!!

I got my ticket for the 2-day, Country music festival that is Stagecoach!!

No idea what the sleeping arrangement is going to be, but that's just fine by me.

It's April 25-26th and I CAN'T WAIT!!!

YEE HAW!

My thoughts (and paper) about special education

When looking at the education system, I often look past the area of special education. Back in high school, I remember how the students with disabilities stayed together in a group and occasionally they could be seen around campus picking up trash. If I stopped to think about the situation, it would upset me, but just as quickly as I began to contemplate the special education program, I would be distracted by something else and move on. Until I was in English 309 at Long Beach State, I had never set foot in a special education classroom. By pure luck, I was fortunate enough to spend a semester with a middle school special education class as part of the SERVE program. The first day I spent with the class I remember thinking of the students as children who were not only slow, but also incapable of being independent. I was proven wrong, in the greatest way possible.
I saw the students as individuals. Mrs. Postiff made it clear that her room was “people first” oriented and my preconceived notions of her students instantly vanished. She talked to her students like anyone else, gave each student various responsibilities and played by a no excuse policy if work was not completed properly or on time. There was no babying or hand holding in class just because her students were not like the majority of middle school students. Over time I began to ask questions about special education and the individual disabilities of each student. Mrs. Postiff was very helpful and explained to me how her passion is in working with these wonderful students, yet it becomes difficult dealing with administration, parents who think they know more than the experts, and having IEPs (and other tests that I can’t remember) to complete, in addition to teaching the material required in middle school. She went on to talk about the importance of recognizing and understanding the differences of her students so if a situation occurred she could handle it, as well as having the knowledge to prevent a situation. Though I was only in the classroom for a few hours each week, I saw the work that went into running a special education class. Still, on the technical, paperwork level, there is very little that I know in regards to special education. For elementary school I am completely in the dark, I have no idea what RSP stands for, and I would not know the first thing to do if a student with any disability was placed in my class.
After spending time in the middle school class, I realized how bright students with disabilities actually are. I almost omitted the previous sentence, because it sounds horrible to think about how low my thoughts were for students with disabilities, but the sentence will stay as a reminder of ignorance and education. Students with disabilities should be integrated into mainstream classes when possible. Still, it is important to realize that some students require special attention, and to ignore this is only depriving those students their right to an education. I see nothing wrong with placing students who have special needs in the same class(es) for part of the day, but a unique class that pulls students away from their peers will only further isolate these students. It is one thing to be different, as we all are, but it is quite another issue to alienate students.
If I was teaching now and had students with special needs in my classroom, I am not sure how I would feel. This uncertainty is largely due to the fact that I have never taught a class by myself and regardless of students with disabilities or not, I would be indifferent. I am more nervous about having a student with a disability in my class versus a student without one. If I had the option, I would not mind initially having one or two students in my class with a disability, because my passion is in teaching, and every student deserves an education. However, I do not want to fail those students with individual needs because I do not have the proper training. Ideally, I would love to end up teaching in a middle school mathematics class, and I strongly believe in differentiated instruction. I hope to be able to integrate different learning styles and paces to enable the success and confidence my future students deserve. Hopefully at the end of this semester I will have gained more knowledge about special education and students with disabilities so that my fears will be at ease, as much as possible. For now, I remain in the middle with my feelings on special education, anxiously awaiting new information.

I'll take "life" for 1000 Alex

And the answer is:

Being completely confused about everything to come - a mix of emotions and unanswered questions while disregarding everything to stay afloat... yet still having fun and being able to smile through it all :)

That would be "What is being Michelle, at age 23"

*cough cough cough, dead*

Everyone on this trip is getting sick and as of yesterday, I am included. So I slept for like 14? 16? a million? or so hours yesterday and have invested in cough medicine, juice and soup mixed with ibuprofins. I think my fever has broken as I am no longer hearing voices or having very unusual dreams (yeah- I took like 4 times the dosage of cough syrup accidentally and read today that one of the side effects says "may cause confusion"... I think that may have been what it was referring to... crazy) so that's a good thing. A few of the girls needed antibiotics too. Some people are taking care of themselves, but most people are like "whatever" just coughing and sneezing as they please. Today even, one of the girls in class coughed on me! Then again I shouldn't complain as most people have been coughed on way more than that. But it's not like a common cough- oh no. It's the consumption for sure! It sounds like bronchitis at its worst. Seriously, having my fear of sick people is not good on this trip.

Other than that, things are good :)

We have 2 more class meetings and then the course is over! Crazy how time flies. Then we get to chill and have fun in Dublin for a few days before going back to Sunny CA.

Oh! And yesterday we went to the Cliffs of Moher. They were absolutely gorgeous! We had a few more stops, but I had a horrible fever and spent most of the time sleeping on the bus. I did get out at the Cliffs though. Wow. Just... wow.

ANNNNDDD I had Irish stew. Soooooo good. I definitely think those who choose corned beef and cabbage as their St. Patrick's day feast are greatly missing out! The beef, potatoes, carrots and other vegetables I didn't eat in a delicious broth warmed both my stomach and my heart :) I need to find a good recipe so I can make it at home!

K, time for dinner :)

J-J-J-JESS!!!

This entry is dedicated entirely to my awesome cousin...

JESS TRAUTT

WHy?

I say "why not?! And how dare you question my writing on the great Jess. Go slap yourself... twice".

That's why.

So Jess, I will add more as time continues, but it has been a long day (and night for that matter) and thus for now, I do not say goodbye to the Jess Trautt entry of magnificence, but rather, to be continued while the gloriousness of Jess Trautt manifests itself until it explodes to Ireland I will have no choice but to write more :)

Peace Out.

Oh oh! Look who's smart...

It's Me!

Ohhhhh yeeeaaahhh.

Just got my 4.0

K, back to studying.

And here's a "shout out" (do people still say that?) to Aaron for being so chill.

*Hi Aaron!*

k bye.

Just another day in… Limerick?!

In case I forgot to write about it before, I am currently in Limerick, Ireland to study about history and social sciences in the classroom (L/ST 471 at CSULB). We arrived on the evening of January 1, 2009 (Happy New Year!) after an unexpected, alternate flight path that brought us from LAX to Frankfurt, Germany to finally Dublin, Ireland where we had a 3 hour bus ride to our college in Limerick. We are staying the Courtbrack housing area at Mary Immaculate College, called “Mary I” for short. The trip has been absolutely amazing thus far! Here’s a general recap of what has happened (because a LOT has happened and I don’t feel like taking the time to write everything)
Day 1: Jan 1
Arrived around 10pm at Courtbrack. Some went out, I passed out.
Day 2: Jan 2
We met up with our professor around 11am? Met up with the President of Mary I and his assistant and walked around Limerick. It was fun, but walking with a group of 40 Americans was frustrating. We stopped by a few churches and met up for dinner at Dolans- the pub down the street from Courtbrack. Met some local guys who bought be a generous amount of drinks. I have discovered a love for ALL light Irish beer and cider. Stumbled home with a group of classmates. Crashed.

Day 3: Jan 3
Woke up still feeling painless from the hours before. Such a good night. Had our first class meeting and realized that our college is about a 15 minute walk from Courtbrack… not too bad. Oh yeah, it’s COLD here. But no rain as of yet, which is good because I lost my gloves. Walked to St. John’s Castle which cost 6.25 Euro… still not sure if it was worth it, but it was fun. Walked around Limerick a bit more, then went to a pub called the Strand, didn’t drink though because the bar was PACKED and it was awkward coming in with a group of 40 Americans again. That really started to stress me out and not so much that we are Americans, but there are so damn many of us! Anyways, a boy named Jarred (who’s mom is the one organizing the majority of our trip) and his buddy Colum were our guides from the Strand to our rugby match. Jarred stayed with me, Stephanie and Katie and was nice enough to stand by me during the match to help me know when to cheer. We went to see Munster (our team) play Ulster in a grudge match since Ulster had beaten Munster the match before…. Well we got “hammered” and lost like 27? 34? something like that to about 6. Jarred invited us out to the Trinity Rooms (a club downtown), but we were all waaaaaayyyy to burnt so we went out for pizza and met up with Dr. O’Connor and his wife. Great pizza place! Went home and crashed around midnight because we had to get up early the next day.
Day 4: The next day.
We met up at 9am and left for the Dingle Peninsula. Wow. It was amazing!! I fell asleep a few times on the 2ish hour bus ride to the place. We got out and stopped at a few places on the way up: an old church, another hut of some sort, some bee-hive huts that monks prayed in at some crazy lady’s house, a Cliffside, and a trail we walked up. It was COLD, but so green and nice! We stopped for lunch in this fisherman town and I had a Ribena: blackcurrant flavored (so good!), a banana, and the BEST chocolate bar ever!! It was a lindt wafer chocolate that had chocolate on the outside and like one of those really good rolled up wafer cookies inside with a hazelnut type filling. WOW. I found them here at the store and a tiny bar is like 1.85 Euro, so it is a luxury to get one, but I just may stock up before coming home… finances permitting. I also made friends with some of the girls on the trip and have found a few Catholics to go to church with… oh yeah, I attended mass too ☺ It was so beautiful.