We Came Expecting Rain

We came to Ireland expecting rainy, damp weather with only glimpses of the sun and we are here with no signs of rain yet, knock on wood! It has been absolutely gorgeous for our first 2 days here in Ireland, warm sun, clear skies, and excellent temperatures. Yesterday we awoke early in the morning to an amazing breakfast cooked for us by Geraldine Foyle, one of the siblings that runs the Park Lodge. The breakfast consisted of fresh fruit, fresh bread, scrambled eggs, fresh cheese, fresh juice, amazing coffee, sausage, yogurt, and bacon. After all of those free hostel breakfasts this breakfast was absolutely, in all ways, amazing. After our breakfast we had a short orientation from Jane Marie Foyle, the other sister that kind of runs the show here at PLH. She just told us a few housekeeping details and then proceeded to tall our director not to work us too hard this semester, which we all enjoyed and appreciated.
With our short orientation complete we made our first trip into Galway City. Galway City is amazing. It is a city of about eighty to ninty thousand people but does not seem that big. Galway boarders the ocean and has a decently sized river that runs through it. Galway has a very large student population and we have been told that it is a very intelectual city.

We were dropped off in Galway at a place called the Spanish Arches which is a park area where the river runs into the bay and where there are 2 arches that are some of the oldest structures in the city. We were given about three hours to explore what we could in the city and we made our way up through the pedestrian street and shopping area which is full of pubs, shops, and businesses. The pubs seemed the most frequented, even at noon. From the pedestrian street we made our way around the city and explored a bit. We went to the university in Galway and just walked around to get an idea of what it was like. It is a nice quiet campus with lots of trees, old and new buildings, and of course, students. From the university we followed the river back to the Spanish Arches and relaxed for a bit in the park before heading back to the PLH.
In the evening my roommates, Ross Terhaar, Ben Bauer, Pat McCloone, and Jimmy Backes, and myself made some pasta for dinner and got a little more situated in cottage #1. We figuered that cottage #1 is a rather boring name so we renamed it Numero Uno, creative, huh?
We spent the early hours of the evening relaxing, orienting ourselves, and battling 5 young girls who were attacking us with frogs. We eventually made a truce by offering a bag of Swedish Fish and in return they doubled their attack. Needless to say the children eventually gave up due to a strong defensive stand on our part.
After our battle, the majority of our whole group got together and went down to the ocean side and watched the sunset and the tide come in for a bit. It was very beautiful and wish that all of you could have been there to see it! It was also a very good community experience for our group, it was our first time as a big group without a director, a "superior" guiding presence. It was nice.

This morning we took our first real Irish adventure to the Aran Islands, specifically Inishmore, the largest of the 3 islands located in Galway Bay. We had a short 30 minute bus ride and a similar ferry ride out to the island. Once in the island we were set loose to do as we wanted. A large contingent of us rented bikes to tour around the island which was quicker and more efficient way than walking. While touring the island we stopped to watch a Gaelic football match which was very entertaining. I would like to try playing sometime, but it seems like a lot of rules and things to learn, I better start soon! After stopping to watch the match we made our way to Dun Aengus, an ancient fort built in the 2nd century B.C. on a 300 foot cliff. The area was amazing, the rolling hills and rocky walls seemed to stretch forever and then there was the ocean. The view from the top of the cliffs was breathtaking. The ocean stretched out in front of us to the horizon and the cliffs dropped down to the water 300 feet below. It was a very impressive to say the least.
We left Dun Aengus and biked back to our ferry for the ride back to the mainland and as soon as my butt hit the seat on the ferry I was asleep.
Overall Ireland has been excellent so far, we have had lots of fun and experiences and many more to come. At the moment while I write this there is a wedding reception at the hotel and I have become a conversation piece for a group of 14 year old boys because of my American roots, it is interesting to talk to these kids and see how their lives are similar to kids back home, we think things are different but really, things are pretty similar. I am also becoming tired from a long day of fresh air and walking. I have a nice Irish sunburn because, like I said, I was expecting rain, not the beautiful weather we have. I am grateful for the weather because it really is absolutely gorgeous.

I took a huge amount of pictures today but am having uploading problems them onto picasa so when I get them up, I will let you know. In the meantime, here are a few of the highlights.
Have a great evening everyone!
Matt

A view from the fort, looking down the coast

A view of our kitchen. It is small.

The dining room

An Irish road, very narrow!