The EMO gas station-where we meet the bus for tours.

i'm stepping my way up in the world of blogging. i've had a livejournal for years, but haven't really kept up with it especially now that i'm in ireland. i've notice the popularity of this site among my fellow peers here and decided to just make one to not only document my stay here in ireland, and just the thoughts in my head but to keep up to date with everyone else. because i enjoy that sort of thing. yeah.

so as i said i'm in ireland. yes. i've been here for about 3 weeks going on 4. wow, almost a month already. it's a little surreal to be honest. i've said it before, but if you were to ask me 3 months ago if i thought i would have the opportunity to go to ireland, i wouldn't believe you. yet here i am, sitting in my studio listening to iron and wine, watching eileen hula hooping outside, in ballyvaughan ireland. it feels good.

Kaetlyn on the bus-when we got there everything was covered in frost.

my experiences so far have been plentiful and great. every day there's a new adventure. luckily there's less bus than there was in the beginning. the first week or so have just been bus tours. as jesi, my fellow roommate jokingly said

" 'so how's ireland?' 'oh it looks nice from the bus! hope to actually see it one day' " hah, so very true though.

but within the last weeks there's been far less bus and much more actual walking and exploring. and there's so much to explore here. the landscapes are just rich

with history and little treasures to find (ie: there's old ruins of houses and churches everywhere, each one with a different story to tell) (sidenote: it's 11:11am, time to make a wish!) it's really fantastic. i keep saying it but this is probably one of the best decisions i've made so far. last semester was just all downhill in terms of school and my sanity. i was stressed and confused and just dealing with personal issues that i couldn't handle by myself anymore. i needed a break, an escape really. and so far, i've found it. and so far, i'm happy. it's funny really. my roommates (jesi, kaetlyn, katie and maura) and i were talking one day about what we'd like to change about ourselves, and kaetlyn had brought up how she wishes she was more outgoing and i had agreed with her. katie asked "more outgoing than you are?" in disbelief. it's just funny to think other people view me as outgoing, and i guess i am now. more than i used to be. i think i'm just in this constant disbelief of how much i've actually changed over the years. it's nice to realize though. gives me hope in a way. because i know i still have so much to learn, and there's so much i'd like to improve about myself. so seeing that i've made it this far is just hopeful that one day i will be exactly the person i want to be.

the view from the window on the plane to new jersey.

but anyway, enough of the personal mumbo jumbo. let's talk ireland. the plane ride over was pretty brutal, but tolerable. the destination was enough to keep me from complaining. though i wish i could of slept on the plane because when i arrive i had terrible jet lag. for a good week or so my sleep schedule was just so wonky. since then i've been getting better. which is nice because i was sick of being too exhausted to do anything at 6pm. the house i'm staying in with 4 other girls is pretty nice. the nicest of the school's housing i guess. i haven't seen any of the other houses other than the outside so i don't know. but that's what everyone is saying. i know i love my house though. we each have our own rooms, and there's a nice big kitchen with a fire place. we have this beautiful view of a pasture and some mountains around us and in the morning there's always cows mooing. one morning there was one right outside in our driveway. i have yet to get pictures of the house though. when i do i'll post em to show you. because it really is a lovely house.

the school, which is about 5 minutes away when robert, the school's personal superman as kaetlyn has said, drives us in the mini-bus (otherwise a half hour walk, which is nice sometimes) is really small. there's about 30 undergrad students, and just a handful of grad students. so needless to say the facilities and faculty are small numbered. but it's nice. it makes going to school so much more comfortable and relaxing. i'm not stressed out or even that anxious like i usually am when starting a new semester. it's refreshing to be able to have time to think and actually work on becoming a better artist. as far as classes go, i'm taking 2 photo classes; intermediate (which is basically an alternative processes class) and independent (which means i just work on a personal project on my own time all semester). there's also the art in context class i'm taking, which is kind of another independent photo class just a different project and more research based. i'm also taking a mixed media class which should be fun. so far we have to take some kind of journey and find a way to document it. simple, easy, and so much fun. it'll be a nice break from my photo classes i think. then there's irish studies, which everyone is taking on friday's. basically it's a lecture about irish studies in the morning, and a trip to actually see the places and things we learn about in the afternoon. first time i'm actually excited for a class like this. it'll be nice to have the visuals and experiences to go along with the lectures.

i'm thinking this is a good time to end this post. i'll be (hopefully) updating this regularly with photo's and what nots. i'm terrible with making new habits of things like this, but i'll be sure to make an effort. for my own personal sake really. anyway, have a nice day. :]