And it begins...

Alright, we found some CAT5 cables at the 2euro store so hopefully it'll work well, it seems to be so far. It's really nice having internet in the apartment now!

Thursday was the day we left Minneapolis. Nothing too exciting. We got on a plane to Minneapolis to Chicago. The Chicago airport might be the most confusing airport ever. We got into Chicago around 3:30 and our next flight was to leave at 6:52. Luckily this gave us time to get confused! We asked at the information desk and the man drew us a nice little picture and told us to take a left at Starbucks and follow the signs through the exit, down the stairs, take a train to terminal 5 and then we'll have to go through customs. No sweat, right? We made it! Our flight left from Chicago on time and we landed in Dubling on Friday morning about 7:50 am. I couldn't really sleep well on the plane. I watched 2 movies and read a little, I finally dozed off to sleep just as the announcement went on that it was time for breakfast. To us, it was about 1 am so this breakfast was a little confusing to my eating schedule, but it was about 7 in Ireland, so I guess they were trying to get us on track with that time right away.

We got off the plane in Dublin and had to wait in a long line to get through customs. I had to have my picture taken because I am going to be in the country for such a long period of time. We also have to register with the government within the next 30 days. We're going to find more about that at orientation. After standing in line (which went faster than I thought it would) we went to claim our luggage. We then went into the entrance of the airport to try and figure out, what next? We asked at the information desk and the lady told us there was a bus that leaves and goes straight to Galway, right out to the left. Apparently by "right out to the left" she meant out the doors, across the street, through the building, all the way you can go on the sidewalk, take a right, and there will be a nice gentleman that will help you on the bus. We found it eventually! It was only 15 euro from the airport to Galway, we didn't think that was too bad.

We arrived in Galway a little bit after 1 pm and proceeded to the bus area. We asked a nice guy how to get to the school and he told us it wasn't a very far walk, so we started to walk in that direction and then came upon an information booth (which you see in quite a few areas in Galway, they are good to their visitors!) At the information booth we found it would be about a 15 minute walk to the university and about another 30 to Dunaras Village (our apartments). We decided against walking since we each had 2 suitcases, a backpack and purse. We found the bus that took us close to our place and then hadta walk about a mile (uphill, of course) to find the apartments, but we found them! We got into our apartments right away and then decided to go to a store near by to pick up some stuff we needed, get our apartments situated and call it a night.

We've been exploring Galway since! Today was really rainy but the weather hasn't been too bad so far. It's kind of unpredictable! Galway is beautiful city!! We stopped by our campus and it is one of the prettiest campuses I've ever seen! We have found that Dunnes is a good place to get pretty much anything you need. We also went down to see the ocean. I know where I'll be going if I ever get stressed, it's so peaceful down there. We were pretty tired after all our walking yesterday, but we did have time to stop by our first pub for some Guinness. We had amazing crepes for lunch yesterday and today ate at a cute little cafe.

I wish that our apartments were a bit closer to the city centre, but we're looking into getting monthly bus passes, so we'll see how much that is. Luckily there is a shuttle that goes between Dunaras Village and the university. This is a new service they started this year, we got bought those passes today!

I'm really excited for my roommates to move in and to start school! I think thus far, it kind of seems like a vacation still. Once school starts and everything gets going, it'll be interesting to see what happens. I'm also excited to see what kind of people that I'll meet!

I'm in Ireland!!
Loving it here all ready....it's very beautiful!
When I get internet in my apartment I will update further. Today, Shannon, Suzanna, and I are exploring Galway. We just ran across a little internet cafe and thought we'd update our friends and family. Anyway, when I have free internet I will write a longer blog and let you know all about the flight and everything when we got here! Right now I just wanted to say that I'm in Ireland and safe :)

PACKING (and all that goes with it)

I've gotten to spend some quality time in Dawson (my hometown) these past few weeks.

Some of my friends from Concordia came and stayed the night in Dawson. I had a blast with them! It was great to see them before I leave and before they continue with their lives as well (they all graduated this past May).

My mom took me shopping--the necessities. I needed a few more pairs of jeans and of course socks, bras, and underwear. I also got a book for the plane and a new purse!!

My parents had a bon voyage party for me on Saturday night. We had some of our family friends over for bbq, chips, veggies, and lots of bars! It was a lot of fun and was a nice way to see everyone before I leave for 4 months. I am so blessed to have such amazing people to surround myself with and that support me through everything!

I've also been able to spend some time with my "little sister" Hannah and my "little brothers" Noah and Zach--I'm gonna miss them, but I'm glad that I got to take this time to spoil them a little bit!!

Well, today I began the dreaded packing! I'm not a huge fan of packing in the first place, but when you have to pack for 4 months it becomes more crazy than one would expect. However, I'm pretty proud of myself and all I got done today. First, I had to go through all my boxes that I had brought home from moving out...what an ordeal! It took a couple hours and quite a mess to get that all straightened out. When my mom came home from lunch I think she was pretty concerned about the amount of clothing I had sitting in the living room--what I wanted to bring! Of course, I'm a heavy packer to begin with. I thought I did a pretty good job and was pretty much packed my 5:00. My dad brought the UPS scale home from work and he weighed my bags. One was a little over the limit so I'm procrastinating the inevitable right now--unpacking and repacking my big suitcase. I'm not too worried about it though! (I'm more worried about coming home--with all the souvenirs)

I've made sure that I have my passport and all other goodies I need to get into another country. I'm getting a little nervous about switching planes in Chicago (I've heard horror stories about that airport). I know that with the help of Shannon and Suzanna, we'll get to where we need to go. I feel better that there will be 3 of us!

Well...Here I go.. 2 days left and I CAN'T WAIT!!

IRELAND--HERE I COME!!!

Leaving Moorhead

Tonight is my last night in Moorhead until January. It's kind of weird! I'm still really excited to leave and see all the adventures that await me, but this will be the longest that i'll be away from the Fargo-Moorhead area since my freshman year at Concordia (September 2006).

This week has been a week of goodbyes from here. On Tuesday morning I went into Admissions office and chatted with the awesome people there before I leave and every night I've been spending with friends. Last night we had a summer roomie night. We tried to go to "Clay your Way." We got there at 5:58...they close at 7. We figured that would be perfect timing. We walked in and the lady working told us that we had to be there before 6 to start painting.Whatever, we left--we then realized the actual time and two of my roommates went back in to see if we could maybe just do one item each (which was our plan in the first place). The lady informed us that, "NO...you can't make anything nice in an hour." --apparently we're not very talented. We were welcomed to look around.. WTF?! Anyways, after that we went to Old Chicago and had a great time! Our waiter Kyle loved us...we pretty much made his day. After Old Chicago we came back home and they gave the the cutest going away gift! I got a picture frame (with a picture that we had taken at Old Chicago in it--don't you love technology!), boxer shorts with clover leafs and a really cute mug!! I'm gonna miss these girls. Who knew 4 months ago that I would become so close to people I didn't really know before moving in.

Today was my last day at work. It was bitter sweet. I made a lot of friends at Trollwood this summer, but I am so excited for Ireland! :)

Here I sit, in a thunderstorm, sweating and enjoying my last night in the house. I packed up the Explorer have a few things to do tomorrow and then off to Dawson. I'm really excited for the weekend. There are about 14 of us meeting up at the Twins game and then I'm going to spend Sunday night in the cities with some of my best friends!

12 days!!!

Getting Ready

It's exactly 17 days until I get on a plain and leave for IRELAND!! I'm so excited. I've got a few things to get together and I'm no where near my packing, but it's coming so soon!

I've been looking at pictures today of the university (NUI Galway) and the city of Galway itself. It looks absolutely beaufiful! I even looked at tshirts and sweatshirts and was tempted to buy one online. Yes, I'm that excited. I've never been out of the U.S. and I think this is going to be an adventure I'll never forget! Hopefully leading to more travels in the future :)

I've never blogged before so I'm going to try and keep this updated with posts all about my happenings. Wish me luck!

*hugs*