First Few Days in Carlow

Hello everyone! Greetings from Carlow, Ireland. I have been meaning to write for days now. So much has happened in such a short amount of time. I'll start with traveling.

Mom drove me to the airport, leaving from Davenport. When arriving at O'Hare we found the check in line and arrived at about the same time as the rest of my group. We have a group of 10. Nine girls and one boy, Matt, who changed his name on us from Paul to Matt. hahah We sadly lost one group member, Lauren, but we all wish her luck back in the states and think of her often. Anyway, back at the airport. I checked in my luggage (both suitcases under weight!!), and survived security. Next, we arrived at our gate, waited and then boarded our plane. Matt had the pleasure of sitting next to me for the 6 hour and 40 minutes flight. It was lot shorter than we expected. We kept entertained with the touch t.v./ game system. I played a few games, attempted to sleep and watched Water for Elephants.
When we arrived in Dublin we found the bus stop, after going to the wrong place at first.  Then we road the two hours bus ride to Carlow. At this point we had all been awake all night and we were so exhausted. Once we got to Dublin, our academic advisor, Padraigin, met us at the bus stop and led us to our apartments called Carraig Abhaain. We all were given our keys (cool, large skeleton keys) and we settled in and unpacked. Emily and I are on the top floor and have a beautiful view of the hills.  We have two roommates, both Irish girls. We are excited to get to know them and spend more time with them. Then Padraigin gave a tour of Carlow Town and showed us where the phone companies (O2 and meotor), food stores (Aldi and Tesco), and other stories are located. She then left us on our own to shop and get our necessities. It was a somewhat scarey moment when she left us. Luckily though, we got our food, bedding and other supplies and found our way back to our apartments. Me, Therese, and Matt then ate at our first pub. It was delicious. The rest of the evening we settled in and went to bed early after having been awake for over 30 hours.

The next day, Friday, (we got so mixed up on our days, because of the time difference. It is 6 hours later here in Ireland than it is in Iowa),  we went back down into town and did some more shopping and exploring. We had a few questions about our phones so we went back to talk to Kevin at O2. He was so happy to see us all again! haha.  At three o'clock we met at the Carlow Institute of Technology Internation Studies Office.  They talked to us about our schedules and such. We also signed up for free field trip to Kilkenny for Monday morning. We are all very excited to see some more of Ireland with the other International students from Germany, France, Holland and more.
We have been running into David, one of our advisors/contacts at IT, all over town recently. It is nice to recognize people around town. Today, after Mass, he told us Ambrose is paying him to stalk us. HAHA 
Friday night, we explored downtown night life. We found what we think will be our favorite spot, Scraggs Alley (spelling?). We met a lot of cool people and had a great time. I also had my first Guiness. We then made our way to "The Med Bar" where we met some more locals. We haven't met many students because they all go home on the weekends but we did run into some friends of ours, Michael and Cormac. Everyone was very friendly and wanted to make sure we were adjusting, fitting in and feeling at home.
 It was a very late night so Saturday we slept in and then went downtown to find Carlow College. We ended up getting lost, but we were grateful because we came across the river, which was beautiful scene with the hills in the background, and also the Carlow Castle. We did eventually find the Church of Ireland church (St. Claires I believe), the college, Carlow College, and the Cathedral, St. Pats. All very beautiful, of course! (pics to come!)
 Saturday evening was a little  more low key. We met up with other international students in the apartments and then we went out for some late night food. We wanted to try to McDonalds. It's a little different but not too bad. It is a lot more expensive here and they have curly fries!
This morning a group of us went to mass at St. Pats. The church was pretty full, so that was nice. It was interesting to see the differences in the mass. They don't have music books, they kneel at different times, and it's a little more individual based. At communion time, members go up to recieve when they are ready. It's not in any certain order, which is neat. Mass was also a bit shorter and the music was great. I really enjoyed it.

A few random things-
It's weird having all this free time. I think we are all excited to start classes in the coming week so there will be some routine.
WALKING WALKING WALKING. A few of us were discussing yesterday how quickly the days go here. We realized that because we walk everywhere, going to the store and such is like an hour and half process. It takes getting used to and we are starting to adjust  to counting in walking time when planning things. I am really starting to enjoy walking so much.
Another adjustment has been buying groceries and cooking every meal. We did however score some free food from the IT when we were all lounging in the cafe area. I now appreciate the luxury of having a meal plan back at Ambrose! :D
We are all so surprised that where ever we go people immediately know we are Americans. We try to blend in, haha but it doesn't work. Many of the Irish talk to us about and are very familiar with US news, geography and even music. The pubs we have been to so far have been playing Katy Perry and others. haha
I am sure there is so much more that I am forgetting, but it is hard to put everything into words. We are all still just taking everything in and learning the ropes.
I feel blessed to have such a great group of friends from Ambrose here with me for support.
I love and miss everyone back at home!
more to come! (excuse my randomness and errors. I am not the best blogger.)