Hey everyone, I decided to attempt an everyday-life blog.
http://mattreeveblog.blogspot.com/
Check it out if you are interested.
-Matt
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Done
Hello everyone. I am sorry about not updating my blog for the last month or so of my study abroad experience. I can make the excuse that I was soooo busy but I just got lazy in my posting of entries and pictures. I hope that you all enjoyed what I did post on here and it provided some entertainment for those of you who read it.
All in all my trip to Ireland was an excellent experience and was very enjoyable. I learned a lot about Ireland and a lot about myself and am very glad I did it. It is good to be back home though and I am, surprisingly, looking forward to going back to school, starting classes and track, and getting back into the swing of things. For now I am going to enjoy my time off and take it easy.
I hope all of you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Best Wishes,
Matt
All in all my trip to Ireland was an excellent experience and was very enjoyable. I learned a lot about Ireland and a lot about myself and am very glad I did it. It is good to be back home though and I am, surprisingly, looking forward to going back to school, starting classes and track, and getting back into the swing of things. For now I am going to enjoy my time off and take it easy.
I hope all of you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Best Wishes,
Matt
Monday, November 16, 2009
Wow, Sorry About That...
Hello everyone, I'm back! Sorry for the radio silence over the bast 2 weeks or so since my excursion to Northern Ireland. To be honest, as that was our last excursion, there hasn't been much happening around here other than class and daily activities. Pat and Thomas' parents have visited in this time frame and it sounds like there are more families coming this week. I know I am excited to see Mom and Dad and I know they are looking forward to seeing me! Should be exiting to see everyone!
Most recently 15 of us traveled down to Cork for an over night trip to visit the city. It was a good 2 days and night. We left after class last Thursday and arrived in the afternoon. We spent some time exploring Cork and enjoying the night life on Thursday. On Friday we made our way to Blarney Castle and the grounds surrounding it. It was a beautiful morning with frost on the ground and lots of castle adventuring to be had. We walked around the grounds and enjoyed the morning and fresh air. We also climbed to the top of Blarney Castle to kiss the famed Blarney Stone. I felt like a giant climbing up to the top of the castle. All the doorways were made for people at least 6 inches shorter than me and with shoulders not quite as broad as mine. It was interesting. I had fun though and I did kiss the Blarney stone, despite stories from Gramma of people "taking a leak on it" (they had 2 guys there to help you and one had disinfectant spray and paper towels to clean it). After Blarney Castle we explored Cork for the afternoon and caught a bus back to Galway around 6.
Other than Cork, there hasn't been much happening. The workload for classes has picked up considerably. I have a paper due Wednesday, another due next week, a documentation project due on Thanksgiving, and another paper due the next week, busy busy. I am off to Stockholm on Thursday and very excited for it! I am hoping to see some snow on the ground, but I will be ok if there isn't any.
My time in Ireland is dwindling, I am down to a month left...Crazy how fast time goes, especially when you think of it as I am almost halfway through my Junior year of college...Ahh jeez....haha
Well I better get back on track this morning, there is work to be done!
I WILL get pictures up soon (Mom) I promise!!!
Hope all is well!
Most recently 15 of us traveled down to Cork for an over night trip to visit the city. It was a good 2 days and night. We left after class last Thursday and arrived in the afternoon. We spent some time exploring Cork and enjoying the night life on Thursday. On Friday we made our way to Blarney Castle and the grounds surrounding it. It was a beautiful morning with frost on the ground and lots of castle adventuring to be had. We walked around the grounds and enjoyed the morning and fresh air. We also climbed to the top of Blarney Castle to kiss the famed Blarney Stone. I felt like a giant climbing up to the top of the castle. All the doorways were made for people at least 6 inches shorter than me and with shoulders not quite as broad as mine. It was interesting. I had fun though and I did kiss the Blarney stone, despite stories from Gramma of people "taking a leak on it" (they had 2 guys there to help you and one had disinfectant spray and paper towels to clean it). After Blarney Castle we explored Cork for the afternoon and caught a bus back to Galway around 6.
Other than Cork, there hasn't been much happening. The workload for classes has picked up considerably. I have a paper due Wednesday, another due next week, a documentation project due on Thanksgiving, and another paper due the next week, busy busy. I am off to Stockholm on Thursday and very excited for it! I am hoping to see some snow on the ground, but I will be ok if there isn't any.
My time in Ireland is dwindling, I am down to a month left...Crazy how fast time goes, especially when you think of it as I am almost halfway through my Junior year of college...Ahh jeez....haha
Well I better get back on track this morning, there is work to be done!
I WILL get pictures up soon (Mom) I promise!!!
Hope all is well!
Monday, November 2, 2009
Northern Ireland
Hey everyone, it has been hard to find the motivation to blog lately due to less free time to do things of the blogging/posting picture sort, especially when the Internet can be rather slow around these parts. Regardless, this past weekend we traveled up to Derry and Belfast in Northern Ireland. We spent a lot of time on the bus and it made for a pretty tired and bus-weary students when we arrived in the North.
Our first stop was in Derry where we spent the afternoon and evening of the 29th and the morning of the 30th seeing the city and learning about the interesting and vivid details of the conflict in Northern Ireland. The first sight we saw in Derry was the ancient wall of the city, built in the 1600's to protect the city. We took a walking tour of the ancient wall and then went down to the Bogside neighborhood of Derry where Bloody Sunday or the Bogside Massacre took place in 1972. We took a short tour of the neighborhood and then on Friday morning we took a tour of the Bloody Sunday Historical Center, which was very interesting and moving. The man that gave us the tour had participated in the civil rights march on Bloody Sunday and his brother was one of the 17 who were murdered by the British forces that day, it was pretty deep and a moving situation to actually talk to him and hear his stories.
After we left Derry, we made a stop at Bushmills Distillery, the oldest licensed whiskey distillery in the world, and we were given a tour. It was very interesting and of course, we all enjoyed it! After Bushmills we took a bus ride out to what is called "Giant's Causeway". Giant's Causeway is an impressive geological site that consists of thousands of hexagonal stones that go into the ocean, it is kind of hard to visualize so I took pictures and will post them for you to see! It was very rainy and windy at the time, but it was still a really cool site to visit, crazy how the Earth works!
From Derry we moved to Belfast. In Belfast we took a bus tour of the city, seeing many things. We saw the dry docks where the Titanic was built and the enormous cranes used for shipbuilding that dominate the Belfast skyline. We moved on and saw 2 of the Catholic and Protestant neighborhoods that saw the most violence during the Northern Ireland conflict. One of the most interesting parts of the tour was seeing all of the murals that people had painted on walls and side s of buildings commemorating the conflict, the lives lost, the battles won, the pride taken, and such things. The murals were usually very pointed and quite intricately done. After the tours of the neighborhoods we went and saw the Northern Ireland government building and the town hall.
After our tour was over, a good number of us went to the St. Michael's market in the city center. The market was amazing! There was live music, fresh vegetables and fruit, fresh meat and fish, fresh baked goods, coffees, and teas. There were people selling hand made crafts and trinkets and there were plants and fresh flowers intermixed amongst all of this, it was pretty extravagant and very cool. The food was good, I had lots of free samples and lots of great free smells as well as a delicious sandwich. It was all in all a great day! That night was Halloween night and many of us in the group dressed up and went out. I was a ghost and I felt pretty cool because lots of locals enjoyed my costume! I think almost everyone in the group dressed up for Halloween, we had togas, lumberjacks, Jamaicans, fairies, witches, and several other great costumes and overall, it was a great night!
Sunday was a long day that consisted of about 6-7 hours on the bus. We made a stop in the town of Strokestown and visited the Strokestown Famine Museum and the Strokestown Manor and Gardens. Over all the Manor was gorgeous and the weather had just cleared up so the sunset in the gardens were pretty amazing despite most of the flowers and what not being done blooming for the year. We arrived back at the PLH pretty late, had a late dinner of meatloaf and watched the Vikings beat the Packers and then went to bed. We had a long day and a long weekend with lots of bus riding and sight seeing. Northern Ireland was our last group excursion and it was a good one! It was a great time and a good place to visit, I would really recommend it!
I hope all is well back home, I can't believe it is already November! Time is winding down and before I know it Mom and Dad will be here for Thanksgiving and shortly after that I will be home in Minnesota! Things are moving fast! Here are some pictures of Northern Ireland, I will update my Picasa page when I get the chance! Enjoy!
St. Columb's Catholic Church in Derry
A mural on the side of an appartment building in Derry promoting peace.
Me at Giant's Causeway. Notice the hexagonal rocks.
A mural on the side of a house in Protestant East Belfast.
Our first stop was in Derry where we spent the afternoon and evening of the 29th and the morning of the 30th seeing the city and learning about the interesting and vivid details of the conflict in Northern Ireland. The first sight we saw in Derry was the ancient wall of the city, built in the 1600's to protect the city. We took a walking tour of the ancient wall and then went down to the Bogside neighborhood of Derry where Bloody Sunday or the Bogside Massacre took place in 1972. We took a short tour of the neighborhood and then on Friday morning we took a tour of the Bloody Sunday Historical Center, which was very interesting and moving. The man that gave us the tour had participated in the civil rights march on Bloody Sunday and his brother was one of the 17 who were murdered by the British forces that day, it was pretty deep and a moving situation to actually talk to him and hear his stories.
After we left Derry, we made a stop at Bushmills Distillery, the oldest licensed whiskey distillery in the world, and we were given a tour. It was very interesting and of course, we all enjoyed it! After Bushmills we took a bus ride out to what is called "Giant's Causeway". Giant's Causeway is an impressive geological site that consists of thousands of hexagonal stones that go into the ocean, it is kind of hard to visualize so I took pictures and will post them for you to see! It was very rainy and windy at the time, but it was still a really cool site to visit, crazy how the Earth works!
From Derry we moved to Belfast. In Belfast we took a bus tour of the city, seeing many things. We saw the dry docks where the Titanic was built and the enormous cranes used for shipbuilding that dominate the Belfast skyline. We moved on and saw 2 of the Catholic and Protestant neighborhoods that saw the most violence during the Northern Ireland conflict. One of the most interesting parts of the tour was seeing all of the murals that people had painted on walls and side s of buildings commemorating the conflict, the lives lost, the battles won, the pride taken, and such things. The murals were usually very pointed and quite intricately done. After the tours of the neighborhoods we went and saw the Northern Ireland government building and the town hall.
After our tour was over, a good number of us went to the St. Michael's market in the city center. The market was amazing! There was live music, fresh vegetables and fruit, fresh meat and fish, fresh baked goods, coffees, and teas. There were people selling hand made crafts and trinkets and there were plants and fresh flowers intermixed amongst all of this, it was pretty extravagant and very cool. The food was good, I had lots of free samples and lots of great free smells as well as a delicious sandwich. It was all in all a great day! That night was Halloween night and many of us in the group dressed up and went out. I was a ghost and I felt pretty cool because lots of locals enjoyed my costume! I think almost everyone in the group dressed up for Halloween, we had togas, lumberjacks, Jamaicans, fairies, witches, and several other great costumes and overall, it was a great night!
Sunday was a long day that consisted of about 6-7 hours on the bus. We made a stop in the town of Strokestown and visited the Strokestown Famine Museum and the Strokestown Manor and Gardens. Over all the Manor was gorgeous and the weather had just cleared up so the sunset in the gardens were pretty amazing despite most of the flowers and what not being done blooming for the year. We arrived back at the PLH pretty late, had a late dinner of meatloaf and watched the Vikings beat the Packers and then went to bed. We had a long day and a long weekend with lots of bus riding and sight seeing. Northern Ireland was our last group excursion and it was a good one! It was a great time and a good place to visit, I would really recommend it!
I hope all is well back home, I can't believe it is already November! Time is winding down and before I know it Mom and Dad will be here for Thanksgiving and shortly after that I will be home in Minnesota! Things are moving fast! Here are some pictures of Northern Ireland, I will update my Picasa page when I get the chance! Enjoy!
St. Columb's Catholic Church in Derry
A mural on the side of an appartment building in Derry promoting peace.
Me at Giant's Causeway. Notice the hexagonal rocks.
A mural on the side of a house in Protestant East Belfast.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Back In Ireland
London was great but it feels real good to be back in Ireland. I spent a busy 6 days in London, seeing the sights and enjoying my fall break abroad. It is really good to be back at the PLH though, to sleep in a bed, to eat Pat's home cooked food, to take cold showers, and to be back with the people I have gotten used to being around for 2 months!
We had a long day yesterday as we didn't actually go to bed on Saturday night. We went to a concert in London on Saturday night, arrived back at the London flat around 12-1 Saturday night and left the flat for the bus station at 4:15 am. We were supposed to take the 5:10 am bus to Stansted Airport but missed it and ended up taking the 6:10 bus, which left us kind of rushed to get through the airport and to our gate in time for check in. Luckily I had been through Stansted before and it wasn't too hard to make it through and onto our plane. We took off out of England at around 8:30 and arrived in Shannon at around 10. We hung out at the Shannon airport for about an hour and hoped on a bus to Galway around 11. Eventually we arrived back at the PLH around 1-1:30, tired from travel but happy to be 'home'. We all did nothing for the rest of the day, it was great! Pat made hamburgers and onion rings and we feasted, then watched a movie. That meal tasted soooooo good and the fact that we did nothing was also a pretty good feeling, it was the perfect way to end the day.
The amount of daylight is getting shorter and shorter here now, we have lost an hour due to daylight savings, so we have to make the best of the sunlight while we can. I am in class at the moment, so I probably shouldn't be blogging but oh well, life goes on...haha
I posted some new pictures of London on my Picasa album, so check them out!
Happy Monday! Back to the grind!
We had a long day yesterday as we didn't actually go to bed on Saturday night. We went to a concert in London on Saturday night, arrived back at the London flat around 12-1 Saturday night and left the flat for the bus station at 4:15 am. We were supposed to take the 5:10 am bus to Stansted Airport but missed it and ended up taking the 6:10 bus, which left us kind of rushed to get through the airport and to our gate in time for check in. Luckily I had been through Stansted before and it wasn't too hard to make it through and onto our plane. We took off out of England at around 8:30 and arrived in Shannon at around 10. We hung out at the Shannon airport for about an hour and hoped on a bus to Galway around 11. Eventually we arrived back at the PLH around 1-1:30, tired from travel but happy to be 'home'. We all did nothing for the rest of the day, it was great! Pat made hamburgers and onion rings and we feasted, then watched a movie. That meal tasted soooooo good and the fact that we did nothing was also a pretty good feeling, it was the perfect way to end the day.
The amount of daylight is getting shorter and shorter here now, we have lost an hour due to daylight savings, so we have to make the best of the sunlight while we can. I am in class at the moment, so I probably shouldn't be blogging but oh well, life goes on...haha
I posted some new pictures of London on my Picasa album, so check them out!
Happy Monday! Back to the grind!
Thursday, October 22, 2009
London Times
Hey everybody! Still in London, still alive, and having a good time.
London is a very happening place we have found out, especially when you know people to help you out a little. We went to a sports cafe and watched Liverpool play Lyon, a French club team, on Tuesday night and last night we went to our first concert. The concert was, well, lets say interesting... It was an experience if anything else and I made the best of the experience while I could. This morning we left our hostel and moved ourselves into the flats of our friends and classmates from the London study abroad program. So far it has been great, these guys know where everything is and know how to have a good time so the next few days should prove to be a good time.
We went and got Subway for lunch and it was delicious AND cheap and on our way back we took a detour and saw a rare car dealership that had Ferrari's, Lamborghini's, Porsche's, Aston Martin's, Indy car's, and others, it was really cool. Tonight we are going to go out and about and see what is happening in London, should be a good time.
I don't think I have any other news so I hope all is well, no new pictures yet, but there should be some more soon. Have a great day!
London is a very happening place we have found out, especially when you know people to help you out a little. We went to a sports cafe and watched Liverpool play Lyon, a French club team, on Tuesday night and last night we went to our first concert. The concert was, well, lets say interesting... It was an experience if anything else and I made the best of the experience while I could. This morning we left our hostel and moved ourselves into the flats of our friends and classmates from the London study abroad program. So far it has been great, these guys know where everything is and know how to have a good time so the next few days should prove to be a good time.
We went and got Subway for lunch and it was delicious AND cheap and on our way back we took a detour and saw a rare car dealership that had Ferrari's, Lamborghini's, Porsche's, Aston Martin's, Indy car's, and others, it was really cool. Tonight we are going to go out and about and see what is happening in London, should be a good time.
I don't think I have any other news so I hope all is well, no new pictures yet, but there should be some more soon. Have a great day!
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
London and MCS? I think yes!
Hello Everyone! We made it to London safe and sound albeit tired and cranky. Travel once again took all energy out of me and my traveling cohorts and by the time we got to our hostel we just needed to crash. So we did.
We arrived in London-Stansted airport early Monday morning and took a bus into the heart of London at Victoria station. From the station we made our way through London, past Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, through Hyde park, and into South Kensington. We found our hostel and then went and explored a bit. Pat conveniently booked a hostel that is located about 4 blocks from the flats where the London CSBSJU students are staying. We meandered on over to their flat and hung out for a bit before our lack of sleep got to us and we had to return to our hostel for nap and rest time. Travel stresses me out I have found so before nap time I was pretty crazed, but after some sleep I felt better.
After we had woken up and reorientated ourselves we went out to eat with some of Pat's friends from the London trip and then we went to a Fulham v. Hull City soccer match which was lots of fun, Fulham won 2-0. Following the game we had some hot chocolate at the flats and then proceeded to sleepily make our way back to our hostel and crash. And crash we did! We slept in this morning and are just now, at 12:30, thinking about going out and doing something.
It is time for lunch though so I have got to get a move on, but in parting I am going to leave you with this: Disappear-Motion City Soundtrack
MCS is one of my all time favorite bands and this is their new single. It has a different sound than previous MCS songs, but it is definitely MCS and is definitely AWESOME! Just thought I'd share that, have a great day, more updates to come!
Buckingham Palace
Monument to Prince Albert in Hyde Park
Fulham v. Hull City
We arrived in London-Stansted airport early Monday morning and took a bus into the heart of London at Victoria station. From the station we made our way through London, past Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, through Hyde park, and into South Kensington. We found our hostel and then went and explored a bit. Pat conveniently booked a hostel that is located about 4 blocks from the flats where the London CSBSJU students are staying. We meandered on over to their flat and hung out for a bit before our lack of sleep got to us and we had to return to our hostel for nap and rest time. Travel stresses me out I have found so before nap time I was pretty crazed, but after some sleep I felt better.
After we had woken up and reorientated ourselves we went out to eat with some of Pat's friends from the London trip and then we went to a Fulham v. Hull City soccer match which was lots of fun, Fulham won 2-0. Following the game we had some hot chocolate at the flats and then proceeded to sleepily make our way back to our hostel and crash. And crash we did! We slept in this morning and are just now, at 12:30, thinking about going out and doing something.
It is time for lunch though so I have got to get a move on, but in parting I am going to leave you with this: Disappear-Motion City Soundtrack
MCS is one of my all time favorite bands and this is their new single. It has a different sound than previous MCS songs, but it is definitely MCS and is definitely AWESOME! Just thought I'd share that, have a great day, more updates to come!
Buckingham Palace
Monument to Prince Albert in Hyde Park
Fulham v. Hull City
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