mo' procrastination

ONLY ONE MORE EXAM UNTIL I AM FREE (until grad school)

I keep meaning to write about Belfast, and it keeps getting away from me, so here are just a few quick impressions it left on me:

- SO COLD. Well, that's the Republic too right now. I did not think it could/would get much colder until it DID and now going outside is the most miserable thing imaginable, which is why I spent most of my time holed up in my little room in the apt, drinking mass quantities of tea and cider (which my sweet beau brought me all the way from ye olde U.S.). Oh yeah, Belfast. Well I bought an awesome hat at the Christmas market there that basically doesn't leave my head ever. Which is good because I also need a haircut something fierce. But that's another story.

- ANOTHER terrifying experience. I would really like to go somewhere that doesn't involve me risking my life in some kind of really high-elevation adventure. In this case, it was the Carrick-a-Rede bridge, a rope bridge suspended high over the OCEAN. And once you crossed it there was no way to get back from the little island thing but to cross it again. NOT. HAPPY.

- The Giant's Causeway is one of the coolest naturally occurring phenomenons ever. Definitely a highlight.

- It is unreal to me the separation that still exists there. Only 3% of the population actually lives in undivided neighborhoods. Everywhere else the Protestants and the Catholics live separated. In Belfast there are these huge walls, really high that they call the Berlin Walls of Belfast because they close off the neighborhoods to one another. There are these gates that close automatically at 10 p.m. and no one can get through after that time. All in all, it was very eye-opening that stuff like that still happens in a place like the U.K.

- I like pounds, as in the money. The coins are really cool and they feel good in your hand. Euro paper money is still way prettier though.

Some other thoughts: Brian is here (yay!!) and it seems like he is going to end up doing in a week and a half almost all the stuff I've done in a semester. We did a weekend trip to Cork and the Blarney Stone/Galway and the Cliffs of Moher, and we did the Guinness tour, Jameson tour, and literary pub crawl. He is in Belfast now visiting our favorite Northern Irelander, Jack of course. Once I (FINALLY) finish my Irish Lit exam we are off to England and Scotland.

WHICH MEANS I ONLY HAVE THREE MORE DAYS IN IRELAND. Where has it gone?

I am considering starting a blog about my life in general when I get back to the states. But I'll probably be really bad about keeping it up.

Cork, etc

So since some people (Taylor) have asked (repeatedly) to see the amazing fully sequined floral leggings, here is a picture:

Its not the best picture, but I didn't carry a camera that night and its the only one I have... for now. Just know they are much better in person.(Also, that's my friend Susan wearing tights as pants.)

Also, we went to Cork this past weekend! It was a fun, short visit where IFSA treated us to a SWANK hotel and I never wanted to get out of bed-slash-wanted to ship it home to sleep in every night.

One cool thing we did was climb to the top of this church in the center of town to ring these famous bells (we played "Three Blind Mice," although other options included "Final Countdown" and "Died in Your Arms Tonight") and see AWESOME views of the whole town. The only thing that wasn't great about it was the climb involved MORE creepy, super steep, narrow-as-hell, claustrophobic stone stairs. I had flashbacks to Blarney and didn't like it. But the view was worth it:


Also, we had to wear these awesome noise-blocking headphones because the bells were so loud when you were right next to them. Styyyylish:


It was also the Guinness Cork Jazz Festival, which is the real reason we went there. Lots of music and fun:


Fun fact: Guinness is basically the sponsor of life here in Ireland. Jazz festivals, rugby championships, pub crawls, even hospitals. Guinness is everywhere. Oh, and I can drink it now!! After some practice, I have acclimated to the taste and even (gasp!) kind of like it.

Smoochin’ the Stone (8/25 post)

[The internetz on our journey throughout the countryside has been pretty much hit-or-miss, with wifi specifically being miss. For example, I am currently sitting in a closet in the attic at Frank and Kay’s, the only spot in their house with service. So I typed these posts up previously and am uploading them now.]

Today I kissed the Blarney Stone, an Irish tradition said to bring the kisser the gift of “eloquence” (aka the ability to shittalk/schmooze). Well, I’m not sure if I’ve received eloquence, but I smooched the stone and just about peed my pants/ran away several times. Why, you ask? Because, despite my previous belief, the stone is not just chilling in some courtyard somewhere, but in fact five or six stories up on the parapet of the castle. To get there you have to go up all six (or five) stories in a super skinny stone spiral staircase (check out that alliteration!) which is SCARY. (At least for me, because I’m a ‘fraidycat.) Then, when you finally make it out onto the castle roof, you have to go around the parapet to the Blarney Stone. To kiss it, you have to sit on your butt and lean backwards out over the ground SIX STORIES DOWN. You can see the little people below. I don’t like it. You grab some bars and this worker dude holds on to you and you have to scooch upside down until you can reach it with your kisser. WHILE YOU HANG OVER THE EDGE OF A CASTLE! But I smooched it and I smooched it good. And then I immediately headed for solid ground.



Sidenote: My cousin Moira, when she lived in London, heard stories of local boys climbing the tower to pee on the stone (Bacot?). But at the time I was much more worried about death than pee. So hopefully that is just an urban legend.