Rocky Road

Welcome back (or just plain welcome if this is your first time visiting) everyone! 

Long time no see, am I right? (That was, in fact, sarcasm. Maybe I should just do a ton of posts all in one week...people won't know what to think!) 

First off, it is coming up on the one month anniversary of my arriving in Ireland--I cannot believe where the time has gone and it needs to slow down immediately! 

This also means that you (if you aren't new here) have stuck with this blog and my story for about a month as well! 

So here's to y'all, and to my one month study abroad anniversary (it's only sappy if you make it sappy)

Anyway--I've been getting a lot of fantastic, lovely support for the videos I've been putting up on here, which means that I am (of course) going to keep doing videos for y'all! 

However, I should pause for a moment as there are some people out there (hi family and friends that I haven't been skyping!) that may still be interested in what I've been up to these past few days. So, here is my review: 

• Class (not as in "that is so class," I mean going to my lectures, because I still have to do that...) 
• 1st rehearsals for Time Stands Still (YAY)!
• Fun times at friends' houses (including introducing our Irish friends to beer pong, playing True American, going to parties, devouring whole pizzas together, and watching movies on laptops.) 
• Going out (Guinness Amplify was going on in Galway this weekend, so that's cool.)
• Excursion to Dublin (It's a fair city--See my Adventure is Out There tab for more.)

And I think that about covers it! For further, deeper, conversations about life and all things in it: well that's not what this blog is really about so....I would recommend skyping or facebooking me! 

Moving on, here is the video primarily of our weekend in Dublin (with a few of our fun times in between as well) set to the song "Rocky Road to Dublin" (hence the title of this post) by The High Kings (I can't help it, they are my favorite.) 

*Sidenote: For those of you that know me and know that I do not usually drink--I do appear drinking multiple times in this video. Ireland is a drinking culture, you are legal at 18, and I have learned and adapted to drink on occasion. I still have never had more than one full drink of my own, or been anywhere close to drunk. I just wanted to throw this disclaimer in, so you know and don't start questioning me about it. Drinking is in fact a great way to relax and enjoy yourself, especially if you drink responsibly and within reason. Fact of the day, kids!*

I hope you all enjoy and keep sharing, commenting, liking, etc, because it just fuels my motivation to keep doing this!

As always, thanks a million!

Slainte,
Meghan 

(Insert creative title here)!

Hello, people (and others)!

Yes, Frodo, I know this post is a little (very) late. My reasoning is that videos take a while and I am 1: Very busy, and 2: Fairly Lazy.

But have no fear, I am back, and with another video for y'all!

I want to pause for a moment, though, and (for those that are interested) talk about what I've been up to!

Essentially I've been going to class (good thing to do since technically this is a STUDY abroad program) and going out (not too much, mind you) and doing additional fun things as well (too vague?)

Well, on Tuesday we had an ISA traditional Irish music/ dance night at Monroe's--great craic.

We went on our first ISA excursion to the lovely Connemara on Saturday (See the "Adventure is Out There" tab for more on that.)

Then Sunday was the Gaelic Football Final between Kerry and Donegal! It was a very exciting, very close match--great fun to watch--but Kerry won out in the end! Congrats to them!

I also went to Salthill on Monday with Nina where we proceeded to jump off the Blackrock Diving Tower (the top diving board/ the one we chose to go on is about 25 feet above the water) and where I proceeded to obtain bruises/welts all over my back and arm because I landed wrong the second time (ha--go me! That's why you--or I--never need to try and show-boat, kids.)

In other news: I got a part in a play being put on by NUI Galway's Dramsoc, which is fantastically exciting! I also went to an improv workshop on Wednesday, and took my first climbing lesson Tuesday. I'm meeting so many great people, and pretty much all of them have been so friendly and lovely, I already can't imagine leaving.

Not to get too dramatic or sentimental, but this experience thus far has, essentially, been what I always hoped college would be like. Suddenly my last two years (at a college I do love, by the way) seem very far away, and I am constantly just so grateful to be here now.

Anyway, it's been a great and packed week, and the proof is in the video below! I put the clips to a cover of the Avicii song "Wake Me Up" that is performed in Irish Gaelic (Gaeilge) by a group called Lurgan. Their stuff is great, so check out the original music video, subscribe, whatever, here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1A6__HssHW8

Thanks again for checking out the blog, everyone! While you're here, do explore the other tabs as I have a lot of fun writing them as well!

Thanks a million!





Grá i bhfad (Much Love),
Meghan

Time for a video!

Hi everyone and welcome back to my Irish Adventure blog (if you've been away, that is...)

Like I mentioned before, my posts will not always be a rundown of what I've been doing--that was more a one time/ first week thing.
So this is all I'll say about my second week: This week essentially involved the start of classes at NUIG, signing up for societies and sports clubs, and going out most nights as well (see the places I've been on Guide to Galway). Classes are enjoyable, the routine (for me) is nice, easy and laid back, and I'm already getting used to the walk to campus/to the city centre. I also visited Salt Hill yesterday and got to walk by the ocean and see many (very nice, expensive) cars in a charity race. Sadly it seems I am getting/ have a mild cold right now, so tea and rest are my best friends this weekend.

Sidenote: U2 (my favorite band) just released a new album on itunes called "Songs of Innocence", for free download, because they are wonderful human beings. The album is fantastic, and you should check it out and support them (but no pressure...) Here is a link to their website in case you are interested: http://www.u2.com/ 
Also, U2 is in fact an Irish band, so it does relate!

Anyway, back to my post of the week! So today's post is not much writing (because I've taken care of that in the other pages) instead, I'm putting together a compilation of the videos I've taken since arriving in Galway! The background song is "Galway Girl" (of course) performed by one of my favorite Irish folk bands-The High Kings (a link to their website: http://www.thehighkings.com/)

The video is posted below, I hope you enjoy it! And, as always, thanks a million for stopping by!

Grá i bhfad (Much Love),
Meghan

Start of Something New

My first week living abroad and first blog post (yay)! 

Well hello everyone!

I said I would do it, and here I am--blogging! Quite exciting. Really.



Before I say anything, let me just say: I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT HERE (so far)!

Just wanted to put that out there, and now we can move on!

So, a quick run-down before we/I start: I am not completely positive how this is all going to work, but I think I am going to try and post a main post about once a week (maybe more, maybe less, don't hold me to any specific standard--no one likes peer pressure) and do various sections for you to check out in addition to the main blog posts (to be honest, the sections will probably be more interesting.)

Among those aforementioned sections will be:

Pictures (I will post them all if I can)

Tidbits (brief stories of specific experiences)

Busting Ireland (where I discuss Irish culture, things I learn, possibly discuss some myths, etc.)

Guide to Galway (Pubs, restaurants, clubs--whatever I discover or try out I will try and put on here)

Adventure is Out There (the section on where I travel to, both in and out of Ireland! I will likely travel more outside of the country starting in November, but there will be many trips around the island before then.)

And each of those will have subsections to help you navigate, of course.

So, without further ado...

So, this week has been a complete whirlwind, lemme give you the basics as quick as I can and you can just read what you want, or skip it and read the interesting sections I listed, it's up to you:

Day one (Tues):

1. Arrived at the airport in the morning, and started meeting the people in my ISA group (made up of 13 other American girls, and our guide--Dermott.)

2. Got to our apartments, and had about 30 minutes before we walked over to the shopping center.

3. A group of us walked into town to a coffee shop, then back, and then we met up for dinner with the whole group at 7--still severely jet lagged at this point.

4. We walked around town a bit, Dermott pointed out some of what we passed (shop street, spanish arch, the river, popular places, etc).

5. Despite our jet lag, a group of us went out to the Kings Head and listened to music.

Day two (Wed):

1. Woke up early and Dermott led us on a tour of the NUI Galway campus as well as giving us our ISA student orientation.

2. Walked all around town again, and visited a few of the churches and other sites along the way.

3. All of us went out to a dinner of our own and split into groups depending on what people wanted to do afterwards. I went with two others to a popular club and we hung out there until late.

Day three (Thurs):

1. Early morning again. All of us met up and walked over to campus for our International student orientation.

2. Went shopping for groceries, etc.

3. I met up with my roommates and we (with one of my American friends) went out to dinner.

4. Stopped by a surfing documentary being hosted for Intl. students, then headed back to our apartments to get ready for the night.

5. Went to the Ceili (hosted by Tradsoc) and learned some Irish dances before heading to the College bar to listen to some karaoke.

6. Left the college bar to head into town (led by some kind young men because we were slightly lost.)

Day 3 (Fri):

1. Up early for the Academic orientation for international students. Involved an intro and then 30 minute sessions for each section of study (one for psych, one for history, one for law, etc.)

2. (insert more shopping here, because we can only carry so much in one go)

3. Planned on going pub hopping with a group of Americans and my roommates, but we started late and ended up just going to the Quay's and listening to the band there.

Day 4 (Sat):

1. Dermott took us to the Farmer's Market in town and we all got amazing food and explored the vendors there for an hour.

2. Went over to the museum by Spanish Arch and explored inside there.

3. Dermott led us back to an incredible second hand bookshop called Charlie Byrne's.

4. Hung out with a group in Nina's apartment and played charades/ head's up for a while and chatting before Nina and I left to go out.

5. The plan was clubbing or pubbing, but we ended up just hanging out in one pub for a while and then wandering before meeting a guy outside Eire Square and talking with him for a long time.

6. Went home around 5 AM--latest night so far.

Day 5 (Sun): REST DAY! (Or so I had planned)

1. Slept in until 1:30...

2. Did basically nothing productive except plan out my schedule for school.

3. Got with a group to go watch the Hurling finals in a pub--(The match was a tie, so they will play again in two weeks).

4. Went over to Nina's and hung out with she and her roommates watching X-factor, etc, for a few hours before heading to someone else's to watch PS I Love you.

Day 6 (Monday): Technically the start of classes

1. I had no classes! So basically just was lazy the entire day.

2. Organized my room and watched Outlander.

3. Went to Nina's to hang out, met tons of people, and then we all took cabs to head into town to go to a club.

4. Nina, Sam, and I ended up heading to the Quay's again and listing the band for a little before heading home.

And now it's Tuesday!

From now on I promise I won't give specifics like this, I'll just do general information about what I've been up to--but I figure it's the first week and people may want to know, so here it is!

I'll be posting about the places I've been so far, what I've already learned, and pictures today as well, which may be (much) more interesting than my itinerary...

Anyway, thanks for visiting and keep a look out for more, if you are so inclined!

Thanks a million!

Grá i bhfad (Much Love),
Meghan