Kayt in Ireland

My Tales of Studying Abroad in Dublin

Thursday, June 29, 2006

A Night at the Dog Races


Greyhound Racing @ Shelbourne Park is absolutely savage.... Literally had an amazing time. There were a total of 11 races with 6 lanes each time. Not knowing anything about greyhound racing, it was very difficult at times to pick a dog. My strategy quickly became pick the dog whos name amuses me the most. I won with dogs like Cookies on Fire, Do Me DAnny and Rathyvlls Best. I usually bet a euro on a dog to place and found pretty decent results. I dont think i lost any money although im not sure that I made any profit either. O well..its definitly something everyone visiting Ireland should experience. We are told the dogs are treated super well here. Only dogs in top form can even race. The only problem is after their done racing in Ireland, they ship them off to Spain, where they have no standards and they basicly just race them to death. That is really sad. Our friend that happened to be working at Shelbourne told us that Saturday nites there are deadly. Not so many grannies and just loads of people. May have to go back and check it out.
Afterwards we stopped off at pub just a block from our house. Its called The Comet. I had yet to pop in there...it was fairly decent. A bit of an older crowd...
Today, I'm supposed to have a discussion with my supervisor about my work...AHH...What work? ...uhoh. haHa... Also i have a doctors appointment to finally get my foot fixed. Here come the crutches...Cheers!!

Tuesday, June 27, 2006

Damn...Feeling abit bitter towards Ireland....

Today i spent the entire day at the hospital...St. James to be specific and nothing was accomplished....i hate the ireland health system .... they asked me if ......
this is sarah now. and something is askew with katine's foot. that's what the irish call her. it's twice it's normal size and they send her on her way. f*** the irish health care sysem! I'm currently making kayt ice and elevate her foot on behalf of jan's command's. Don't you worry Jan, I'm on it! It's grand, and we'll contact those EUSA wankers tomorrow and strongly voice our concerns!
Excuse the interruptions ...Anyways...they asked me if it would be ok to send to the results of my xrays to my gp (dr) in 7 days...like what good would that do. Since there is no broken bone, they did nothing for me and as a consequence im still in excruciating pain. Have another dr apt. tomorrow....hopefully this one will go better for me.
In other news...yesterday we found a chinese food restaurant...It wasnt the most proper chinese place ever, it did lack almond chicken and crab rangoons. I had King Prawn Chop Suey. I dont really understand the difference between prawn and shrimp...they taste absoutlely identical. Then we hit up the sale at Arnotts in an attempt to improve my sullen mood. Things went well, got a savage dress. Then we went to a pub (Dame Tavern) to watch the world cup matches. We caught France vs. Spain. France won. sound match though. We also saw a bit of horse racing. Couldnt help but notice that the jockeys were practically normal sized people, the horses were buckling under their weight...i mean they couldnt even jump the short hurdles without hitting them. The barkeep told us that the jockies were meant to be small but they are not at all what we are used to seeing.
Very excited bc today after work we are going to the dog races with our EUSA group. Im feeling lucky!! Will let you know how it goes later...Peace

Monday, June 26, 2006

Irish Health Care System


So today i finally went to the doctor to get my foot that is swollen to twice its size checked out... I can't believe how unsure my doctor was of the procedure to follow. She tells me that i probably have a stress fracture and that i must go for a x-ray which at home would be super simple, refer me and im there. But o no not in Ireland...she spends 30 minutes trying to come up with the plan that will take the least amount of time. If i go to a private practice to get my xray, then they will send me to the hospital anyways...so would it be faster for me to just go the hospital?....it was unbelievable...after 50 euro, all i came out with was a 50 euro charge and a referral to the hospital and the assurance that things are not as fast here as they are in the states...DAMn iT!!
Today in conversation with my friend and flatmate Amy, she mentioned how in the first week here people told her how great the US was because things worked....at the time she thought it was odd...but now we have come to understand...THINGS DoNT WOrk here....nothing gets fixed..if its slow or broken DEAl WITH it...i think that is the most important thing u can realize before coming here...SLOW DowN...
Cheers...

Sunday, June 25, 2006

Another Weekend Full of Mayhem in Dublin

Friday: Being that it was Mexican Friday, we headed to THe Alamo Cafe in Temple Bar area..mmm...not the best mexican ive had. Pretty pricey...the vegatable mix they used was grand but the guacamole left something to be desired. Next we headed to Anseo on Wexford Street...thats a nice little pub. We were educated there on the differences between Culchies (people from the country) and Dubs (People from Dublin). The main thing i gathered is their accent. Culchies speak much faster, and mumble...therefore they are generally much more difficult to understand. Apparently culchies can drink more than dubs but im not sure if that is true...only time will tell. Then we ended the nite in a club called RiRa (its off George Street)...pretty decent. Nothing spectacular...although they did have a fooz ball table. (is that how u spell fooz?) Which i fould quite brilliant. I like to think that we americans had much better skill than the irish.
Another difference i feel the need to comment on is the difference between irish men and american mens behavior toward each other. Irish guys...it could be european guys in general...are much more physically affection with their mates. Its actually quite odd. Just a little heads up because its rather shocking to see heterosexual males behaving in that manner.
Saturday: Since the weather was very unpleasant, our tours were put off and we decided to catch a movie. We saw Friends With Money..(not that it really matters).
At nite, we went to Temple Bar Music Centre to see DJ HYPE...it was an amazing show. TBMC is a grand venue for that type of music but I dont know that it would be that great for a band.Doesnt sound the acoustics would be that great.
Today this far we went to Eddie Rocket's which is the European version of Johnnie Rockets...pretty decent greasy fast good...hahha. It was another appearance of Ranch, so that was exciting.
Got to go do more productive things with my life....Peace

Friday, June 23, 2006

Celebrities in Ireland.


Last nite I met my very first Irish celeb @ The Village (Wexford St.). It was pretty amazing. Paddy Casey has an album out called Amen So Be Tt.Havent heard his music...but im i dont really care. Check it out www.paddycasey.com.
In other interesting news Pamela Anderson and her new boyfriend Eddie Irvinne are in Dublin this week. It was very odd to pictures of her in the same places I walk everyday. Unfortunately, i have not seen her, though one of the other girls on the trip did. Last nite she threw a party at St. Stephens Green. Thats the park where i eat lunch every day...CRAZY!! Some 150 VIP guests were invited including Bono. WE tried to play it off to our irish friends that we would be attending, and that we had to go bc we couldnt let Pam and the crew down but i dont think they bought it.
Another fun game to play while you are abroad is pretending to actually be a celebrity. They key is to act shocked when they dont recognize you, and then refuse to take pictures. HaHaHa. They dont know the difference. With all the reality shows and such, its entirely possible to be D-list celeb in Dublin...hahaha.
Anyways...We planned to go to Cork this weekend but all the hostels were booked. So turns out we will be staying in town this weekend and heading down there next Saturday. We may hit up some touristy things this weekend, because as we have realized our time is dwindling...its already almost July...AHHH!!!
Alright...have to get ready, its Mexican Friday and we have reservations at The Alamo Cafe in Temple Bar Area. ... Cheers!!

Thursday, June 22, 2006

UsA Out of WoRlD cUp!!!

Gross!!! The UsA is out of the World Cup...im real sad...now i have to pick a new team..Damn It!!...any suggestions?
Just thought i would advise today on some things you will not find in Ireland and i dearly dearly miss:
Cheese...all they have here is very very dry chedder
What i wouldnt give for a piece of colby or a string cheese
Neutrogena makeup...i ran out of healthy skin blush blend and my life
has not been the same since
Target...
No SUCH thing!!!
Variety...There is no such thing...maybe one or two choices..
Everyplace there is the same choices...o america
Cheetos...Sarah talks of them all the time...Hilarious
Gallons of Milk...we buy milk and drink it in .5 seconds..one sitting
Shout!!...damn stains do not come out
Baseball... Tigers
Reese Pieces...Anything peanut butter
JIF... Peanut butter does not exist as u know it...you want a
spoonful?...NEVER gonna happen....Its pracically White!!
Coney Island.... O man
Real Bacon.... No way!!...bacon isnt crispy!! Its HAM!!!
Taco Bell.... You'll never have fast food mexican
Ranch... I've seen in once in the month ive been here @ a Pizza Hut
none the less. No such thing as Ranch in the grocery store.
Hmm...Thats all i can think of now...Just a little heads up, stock up before you come.
off to hobble around the concert on my broken foot.... Gotta get that checked out
Peace

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Dublin Bus

Today since nothing much went down, I will waste my time critizing the Dublin Bus system. I despise how long it takes to get to city centre from santry each day... I would venture to say that i sit on the bus for a good 3 hours a damn day. It doesnt matter which one you take either...4, 13,13A,16,19...its all the same. On a more helpful note, i recommend getting a bus pass if you are here for any length of time. With my Student Travel Card, I get a 30 day pass for 64euro. Which isnt bad if you think about how it costs about 1.50 each ride, I ride it at least twice a day on the weekends 3 times. Another problem i find with the bus system is that it shuts down at 11:30. There is a nitelink bus that begins at 12:30 and runs until 4:30 but the bus pass doesnt count for that and it costs 4euro...if you have more than 2 people its prolly best for you to get a taxi instead, it will prolly be cheaper. Taxis are another story...once the pubs and clubs let out it is very difficult to catch one, and it is very important to look sober, even if you are not. There are taxi ques on various streets, O Connell, Dame...but those can be extremely long, so its probably a better bet for you to just try and catch one on the side of the street. Hmm...do I have any other helpful transportation tip?...NAhh...
Today we went to The Market after work to kill some time, so that traffic would die down, so the bus ride wouldnt be as long. Its on George STreet and is very nice. Lovely time. Gets real crowded around dinner time.
I'm very sad bc i will be at work tomorrow during the USA vs Ghana World Cup match...why do they have to play in the middle of the day?? Looking forward to seeing the outcome of that match.
Well im off to bed....Nite

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

Damn Irish Weather


I swear the weather here is more absurd than Michigan. The last few weeks were super warm...sunny and mid-sixties. We were warned it wouldnt last long...but its very depressing now thats it gone. Today it couldnt have gone much above 50..and it rained all day...just like yesterday and prolly tomorrow... I miss the sun and warm weather. Another point worth mentioning is the sun is SUPER intense and always up. It rises at like 5am and goes down around 11pm...and you get burned doing practically nothing. Its horrible.
Today we had a meeting with EUSA concerning our safety. They took alot measures to assure it here at Shanown Square...the gate will be faster, security better, and the Spar is closing now at 11. I feel satisfied with these precautions...stuff happens.
After the meeting we headed to a pub to catch the England vs Sweden match...they drew. Since Trinidad and Tobago lost today to Paraguay....England and Sweden will be advancing out of that group. They show the funniest budweiser commercials during halftime....(FYI there are no commercials during the game AT ALL)...since bud is the official beer of the world cup, they have ads where american announcers are trying to announce the game...and making stupid comments...and then the slogan is "We'll bring the football, you just bring the beer"..or something like that...its super funny.
Alright im very tired and i have to get up early and go running bc im like the only person in the history of the world to come to Europe and get fatter...SICK.

Monday, June 19, 2006

Another Wonderful World Cup Weekend!!!


This weekend was jam-packed with world cup matches and it was lovely.
Saturday, we hurried down to city centre to take in a few matches from Group E. First we watched Czech Republic vs. Ghana at Citi Bar on Dame Street. It was a low-key place to take in a match while eating dinner. For the US vs. Italy game we had something alittle more rowdy in mind, so we wondered over to The Globe on George Street. It was packed!! I was very impressed by the draw with Italy. Hoping the US can pull out a victory from their match with Gana and have a chance to proceed to the next round. As I understand it, if we beat Gana and the Czechs beat Italy...then we may advance. Go CZECHS!!...hahaha. After the world-cup excitement we headed to a party at a house actually inside of Phoenix Park. It was literally surrounded by the zoo....very cool. They had a bouncing castle (AKA MoonWalk) and everything. We were told that the president actually lives like 2 doors down, I feel pretty good about that.
Sunday. We once again headed down to city centre for a little World Cup madness....its too bad we dont have a TV, things would be much easier than. Anyways, we went to Porterhouse Central on Grafton Street. Porterhouse is actually really cool bc it is a microbrewery. I believe the ad says the largest genuine brewer in Ireland, i assume that doesnt include Guinness. They have some really good brews though, I reccommend the Porterhouse Red and also the Chiller. The Chiller is definitly lite, prolly the litest beer I've had since I've been here, which is definitly a good thing. Anyways the Brazil vs. Australia match was pretty exciting. I think Brazil is one of the most intense teams to watch. They also have the most amazing fans. After their victory, their was a celebration in Temple Bar Area, complete with drums, singing and dancing. Very nice to see. Then since we have some visitors we decieded to do a pubcrawl and hit up a few other new pubs. We went to O'Doules near O'Connell, ONeills on Suffolk and ending in the Czech bar at Isolde's Tower. Pretty nice little crawl. Nothing too crazy.
In other news, I have discovered that i am ethnic enigma for the Irish. Thus far I have been labeled (in alphabetical order) as Bette Midler ( ifeel thats a enthicity..hahhaa), Brazilian, Canadian, Chinese and Irish. HAHAHAHA.....its nice like. What a disappointment it must be when i begin to talk...damn American.
Alright time to get down to business.... Cheers!!!

Saturday, June 17, 2006

Steer Clear of the Northside of Dublin

Whenever anyone finds out where we are residing in Dublin this summer, we get the same reaction..."Be careful the northside is a bit dodgy"....until last nite i hadnt realized that the roughness involved our area as well.....
The nite started off grand...we went to the pub Eamon Dorans, which is near the Temple Bar area...it was definitly a bit of craic. ..It was when we returned to our apartment complex that things got a bit shady. Recently like maybe 2 weeks ago they opened a 24-hour Spar just below our complex....like right under my window in fact. The Spar has been attracting many of the people who reside in Ballymun which is the ghetto of Dublin, its about a 10 minute walk from where we live in Glasnevin. Anyways so last nite there was a bit of sparring outside the spar. And by sparring i mean stabbings, with a pen none the less. I feel it is a very good thing that no one really has guns here to speak of that could be disasterous. It was unbelievable, i heard yelling out my window around 4:30am and when i looked outside i saw a group of 'knackers'(as far as i can tell a knacker is a person who wears track suits all the time and slicks their hair back, comparable to the term white trash), running away. When i went to join the rest of the group in the living room, they were watching a man bleeding rather profusely from several little wounds, on his arms, his side,,,adn there was one on his head. We went down to help him out, bring him water and such and find the security for some first aid. Turns out the 'knackers' asked him for a ciggerette and when he said he didnt have one, they attacked him. His friends has several minor injuries as well. The garda showed up promptly bc their station is only down the block. Turns out im a witness bc i saw them run away...i had to make statements and everything. My statement was i saw 10-15 young boys in royal blue track suits, running right down shanowen avenue. Hahaha....very helpful, im sure. It was a bit crazy.....
We emailed the people who placed us in our location right away....they have already called the people who run our complex and they decieded to close the Spar from 12-7 and get more people for security. Thank God......
Now its time to go watch the world cup USA vs. Italy....GO USA!!!
Peace....

Friday, June 16, 2006

A little site seeing on a Friday off.....

Today we made our way down to Christ Church Catherdral Dublin....pretty sweet place. Very large...although not as decodent as i imagined it might be. I've seen prettier churches in America. It was really cool though that they had crypts underneath. That is something I've never seen before. We were there when a service was going on...it was actually kind of cool to witness something ive seen so many times at home in a different culture. I noticed some of the prayers were alittle off....but ya know same meaning. We also witnessed something that could best be described on shittystories.com ...u may want to check that out. I dont know why everything is underlined right now but i cant figure out how to stop it so ill just continue on.
We discovered a grand mexican restraunt on George ST. called Acapulco.....so good....absolutely savage guac...mmm....That are is quickly becoming my favorite lots of good bars and my mexican food fix.....thats good stuff.
Next we headed to Aldis which is an amazing german supermarket where everything is 10x cheaper than tescos.....its def worth the trip. I recommend picking up some joysticks...they are like mambos or now and laters...super delicious. Plus we got magnum ice cream knockoffs which were very good and at the price of 3 for 1. mmmmm.....YAY for Aldis we have decided its a blessing.
Well time to head out for the nite....I'm attempting a dress over jeans today as that is the style around here..i've worn it a few times but this is the big dublin debut.....Wish my luck.

Thursday, June 15, 2006

Internships Abroad


I would like to take this opportunity to HIGHLY recommend doing an internship in Ireland rather than just at home for the following reasons:

  • There is no such thing as being on time....EVERYONE is late...I am usually the one who is late for EVERYTHINg...but not here, I'm always early in comparison to my coworkers.
  • You have to do an internship to graduate anyways...why not kill 2 birds with one stone, travel and be productive at the same time.
  • You wont need am extensive professional wardwobe...since most places here are 'smart casual' attire and they all repeat outfits as well. There have been many reports from fellow interns of people wearing the exact same outfit 2 days in a row...I'm against repeat outfits in the same month let alone the same week but if you have no probs with that then this is your place.
  • Not awhole lot of stressful work to be done...its grand...Since we are americans we are used to a fast pace...there is no such thing here....They will assign you simple tasks and give you weeks to complete them.

I am thoroughly enjoying my internship experience. I work at an charity called one family. You can check it out at the website: http://www.onefamily.ie. Its actually a pretty great group...they help out single parent families, giving the parents adult education programs and assistance into finding support. I feel like my karma has improved just working here for the summer. Currently I am helping to develop sessions to run in the adult education programmes. Pretty good stuff..right up my alley for community psychology. Brilliant!!

Well work is done now..so its time to play.... HEaded for some afterwork drinks mostly just to kill some time so that traffic dies down.....CHEERS!!

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

More lessons straight off the Dublin Streets


Since yesterday was a pretty uneventful day, I'll post a few more tips I learned from through some rather ridiculous experiences:
  • PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO TRAFFIC....learned this when struck by a vehicle yesterday
  • THE BIRDS ARE VERY BOLD...witnessed a fellow travelor attacked by a bird over a cookie
  • ENGLISH BIG BROTHER IS THE BEST REALITY SHOW EVER...I just read that they made Susie the dictator of the house...she wears a miliatry outfit and everyone is forced to pledge alliegance to her and sing her fav songs and eat her fav food...its just brilliant... although ive only seen a few minutes of them sleeping (since we have no tv) i am very intrigued.
  • FORGET WATCHING OUT FOR CRIMS...IT IS THE IRISH CHILDREN YOU SHOULD FEAR...those kids are very VERY bold..As a group we have learned this various ways...
  • 1. Being called a bitch by a 5 year old eating blue ice cream
  • 2. Sexual assault by a gang of 10 year old bikers
  • 3. Sidewalk verbal assualts by 6 year old little girl
  • 4. sparring outside the Spar with Alex the security card
  • 5. 7 year old girls with scabs on their faces attempting to pick
  • fights at the gate
  • 6. Rowdy bus rides
  • I think that is sufficent evidence.

I'm being mocked now bc i actually have work to do and still spend my time playing with my blog....Peace...

PS Excuse the 1000 extra bullets....i could figure out how to escape them

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

OOO....THE WORLD CUP

O man....the world cup is in full swing here. Unfortunately for the Irish, Ireland didnt quite qualify. I have about a week left of bragging rights over them bc the United States, though they did qualify, is not putting on a grand showing. Last nite we went to Big Tree (a pub on dorset street) to catch the US match. It was certainly dodgey. We lost 3-0 to czech republic...down right humiliating. Things dont look too promising for our next matches, Italy and Gana. We caught a bit of their game against each other as well and both teams looked rather impressive. I guess I'll have to pick a new team to cheer for....
I tried to post some pictures yesterday but it got quite boring...so i quit. I think it will be easier if i just make a webshots account. Plus its very difficult to select particular pictures...I want them all up.
Alright...i need to get back to work now...I'm writing up sesson outlines for an adult education programme....who knew i was qualified for that?...its actually rather enjoyable.
Cheers!!!

Monday, June 12, 2006

Great Craic in Northern Ireland




WOW!!...it definitly just took me like 10 years to get into this damn blog. Apparently Im a bit slow and have problems remembering my actual name is my user name...i can see how that could easily confuse..
ANYWAYS....
Super glad, i took a chance on heading away with strangers for the weekend...i feared it might turn out abit dodgy but it actually turned out to be absolutely amazing. The birthday celebration we attended was in a small town (warren point i believe) just about 40 minutes south of Belfast. Friday nite, when we arrived there was a bbq...o god how i have missed the taste of bbqed chicken...and then we ate the most amazing strawberries and ice cream with butterscotch sauce..o man it was fabulous. But the best part of the evening was actually the wooden horse races at the fundraiser we went to. Little wooden rocking horses were attached to strings which were then wheeled in by a jockey who was facing the wall opposite from it. (ill put pictures up explaining soon). I actually convinced one of the jockies to part with his first place ribbon, which turned out to be my most favorite accessory of the weekend. Such a great nite. The next day we helped to decorate the banquet room for the party, though i wasnt much help bc im actually not capable of blowing up balloons. At nite loads more people came down from dublin, and the celebration began. Dinner and dessert at the house, then we all hopped on a bus and drove to the pub. 21st bdays are very exciting here, it involves 21 kisses and speeches....amazing. I learned how to snorkel, a new and exciting way of chugging fruity drinks. All and all i would say it was a very successful nite. Sunday we tidyed up and headed to a pool, for a little sunning. I believe i actually heard on the irish girls say "i feel like im on the oc"...hhhaha. We missed the hunger striker commerative march, but i imagine it was pretty grand. Then we returned to Dublin, all rested and ready for the work week...that makes me sad...hahah.

Friday, June 09, 2006

Look Out Prague...here we come!!

Very excited bc last nite instead of drinking ourselves into oblivion, We sat down and planned our second bank holiday. After much deliberation, and shopping around. We settled on Prague... though its rather expensive to fly there, its insanely cheap when u get there. And since Ryan air doesnt fly to Prague out of Dublin, we elected to fly into London and will be staying a nite there...all for around 200 euro....not too shaby.
Just spent some bob on henry street...that damn street will be the end of me...ill soon be selling myself on the street. The H and M here is pretty alright....i enjoy a-wear.... Top shop...uhh...o so many other places. Grafton street has some fine shops as well. I swear i only peruse....no obscene spending.
Well this weekend i am headed out of the city to a birthday celebration. should be good times with a group of strangers...ahh who knows...If you dont hear anything from me within a few days, ive prolly been sold into slavery.
Alright...i need to start packing now.....Cheers!!!

Thursday, June 08, 2006

A Few Valuable Lessons Learned in Dublin.....

While eating a cold irish "chicken fajita" in St. Stephens Green this afternoon, I was inspired to pass along a few cold hard lessons I've learned in the first 3 weeks of my trip:
#1. Though the bottle says "diet coke" on it...it is not in fact the "diet coke" we all know and love, well at least i love, It is certainly lacking that special crispness, and contains for some odd reason vegetable extracts....those things definitly do not belong in my beloved nutrisweet filled beverage.
#2. While reading, it is good to keep in mind that there is no such thing as a z here...well maybe there is but i have yet to come across a word containing the last letter of the alphabet...forget about organized, or minimize...o no...now its organised and minimise. This brings about an interesting question, whose answer is still alluding me: Zebra or Sebra? O and practice...its definitly spelled practise. Center, just reverse some things Centre...Program...just add a few more letters...programme...drag it out abit. No such thing is "th" either...thanks is now tanks, that is tat...in both spelling and speech. I believe u get the picture now...
#3. Vanish is not the same thing as Shout. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER: do NOT touch vanish...i can tell u from personal experience it is not pleasant. It is not correct to rub the stain remover into the stain here, just let it set otherwise u will end up with hands with white speckles all over them that burn like hell. And it is also valuable to know that vanish is not supposed to dry on your clothes...get that shit in the washer before 10 minute is up. Just once more for clarification: VANISH DOES NOT EQUAL SHOUT!!!!
#4. Hi Ya, tanks a million....any irish slang in general only sounds cool when Americans say it to other Americans...Do not attempt to pull it off to Irish coworkers....just sounds stupid.

Must get down to the business of writing a programme about sibling rivalry now...
I hope lessons can be learned from my foolish behaviours.... PEACE

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

Amazin Discoveries on Dawson Street....

Work is still not going superbly....but i have found a brilliant place to enjoy my lunch...St. Stephens Green is packed around 1 with business men in suits and ties....GRAND....although today i went around 12:30 and only found tourists...not soo grand.... Tomorrow im thinking about hitting up Merrion Square, another great park located near where i work. My fake internship is in such a KEY location.
After work tonite we went out to dinner with Megan's Dad who is here on business. We began at a pub in Temple Bar called Gogarhty's (prolly spelled incorrectly...but its very identifiable bc it is green and yellow and covered in flags.) Then we hit up the Temple Bar ....which i must admit is much more enjoyable on a weekday than it is on the weekend...way too crowded with tourists on the weekends. We walked around for a long while...who knew places like Gallaghers in Temple Bar area needed reservations?...and ended up in a place called Fire on Dawson's Street. Very classy....but super delicious food...I thoroughly enjoyed it. We then head to Cafe En Saine...which is across the street...decorated rather tacky (alittle over the top) but maybe worth checking out.
I plan to attempt picture posting soon...so keep that in mind....i have got to pass out now....Cheers.

Tuesday, June 06, 2006

Galway....its Grand



First bank holiday of the Summer was a definite success.....Traveled to Galway via the cram-packed sweltering train and spent 3 fabulously warm days there. It hasnt rained in days and days...Brilliant.....
Saturday we arrived at around 5 and hung out for a few in the hotel and then headed out for the nite. We hit up the Kingshead pub...one of the most jammed places in town, i believe they also said it was the oldest but dont quote me on that. We met up with the other MSUers there, they were stopped for the nite in Galway while on a paddy wagon 3 day tour. We parted from them and made our way to quay street (oddly enough quay is actually pronounced key), seems in Galway is it totally kosher to drink on the streets. Enjoyed a snake bite there and the headed off for Cuba, a brilliant nite club where we witnessed a real live irish pearl jam cover band...who knew they even existed? Actually they were mindly impressive...sarah believes they were titled "the pearls"... but for their sake i hope she made that up. I think its worth noting that someone asked me if i was asian on this nite...apparently i have squintly eyes and have now switched my accent from canadian/mexican to chinese...quite an accomplishment if you ask me.
Sunday we woke up super super early...and took a bus then a ferry to the Aran Islands, most specifically the largest island Inis Moore....super super spectacular....prolly the most beautiful place ive seen in my life. We rented bicycles...the dream was for me and megan to rent a tandem bike but no such luck, i had to embark on meerly a one seater. The ride was unbelievable....nothing like a good breeze off the ocean blowing on while u enjoy the scenery...ahhh...the memories..ahhaha. If i had to choose 2 words to sum up the island i would for sure choose, cows and stones. Lots of rocks used to build walls, forts, huts for monks....very well constructed. I believe this is the first time in my entire life that i was kept amused by rocks for 7 hours. The Cliffs were the most impressive part of the whole trip. 300 ft tall...o god horrifying...i layed on my stomache and looked over the edge...i couldnt believe the drop. They told us that no one has ever died by falling off....i find that rather hard to believe. It was great craic. We then returned to Galway with brutal sunburn...who knew u needed sunscreen in ireland? (FYI sunscreen costs a biggillion euros here)...Forced ourselves to get ready and go out...hit up the worst place ive been to prolly EVER...gpo is not cool...then we went and drank on quay, where we actually tricked some natives into buying us all cowboys hats and roses off the street vendor. The hat is pink i was pretty pleased with it.
Monday, after the rest of group left, me and sarah stayed behind to hit up the beaches. We went to Silver Strand...enjoyed it immensely.....though saw a little too much of many of the men, speedos are soo not cool. Although its better than the guy on the Aran Islands who felt it was appropriate to just remove his pants on the beach and walk around in his whitie tighties,,,which were actually not white at all but grey. GROSS!! Anyways...afterwards we caught the late train home nad made new irish best friends with some native galwayers who know live in Dublin. They actually met on the train down there and decieded to ride home together and as luck would have it, they sat down next to us. Which turned out absolutely savage bc they fed us budweisers the whole way home. And then we all want to The Market for a few pints afterwards...ease into the work week ya know?.....
All and All i would say it was a very successful trip....good craic...I highly reccommend a trip to Galway or at the very least the Aran Islands....wish we could have checked out the other two but no time....i need to catch up on my sleep for sure..CHeers!!!

Friday, June 02, 2006

Guiness Storehouse Tour - Brilliant!!

Last nite...definitly won a shirt showdown....a girl at the bar was wearing the same shirt i bought but she had it on backwards...everyone mocked me,,but then to my satisfaction when i approached her for discussion she was like "that makes soo much sense"...she had cut out tags and everything....GRRAND!!
Today we went to guinness storehouse tour....amazing.....definitly worth the dollar....recommend student travel cards...save soo much money with them. The guinness there is amazing. gravity bar has awesome views.....spectacular. We also went to the Brazon Head pub....one of the oldest pubs in dublin......super cool.
Tommorrow we are headed to Galway....im soo excited....talk to you in a few all about it......
Cheers, Kayt

Thursday, June 01, 2006

Ireland Internship

Wow...my very first post that isnt actually a private email...Its grand!! Currently at work, have been delegated no tasks to speak of so i mostly just mess around on the computer and pretend to read things. I believe they think im doing research....the topic?... im not too clear on that. Next week i have to actually produce things though...sort of horrifying.
Super excited for galway this weekend....have heard many good things. I feel like i talk now like i text message...texting is super huge here...I think my phone has actually only rang like 5 times in the last 2 weeks. Hopefully when i get back ill have some super fast texting skills. Though i suppose it doesnt really matter. Anyways....galway is on the west (ithink) of ireland and is allegedly super beautiful and a fantastic time, especially on saturday nites, which happens to be the day of our arrival. This weekend is a bank holiday so we have no work on monday...Brilliant!!!
It's actually sunny and pretty warm here today....felt the need to fit in with the rest of the irish and walk down the street eating ice cream. Its actually very amusing to watch all the grown men in business suits eating magnum ice cream bars....super delicious.
Yesterday was Morgan's 21st bday...very exciting. From work we went to ONeills, then we ate at porterhouse...super good burgers, and then we went to Bruxelles where they had a singer/songwriter open mic nite. I think people enjoyed our american antics....hahhaha.
Alright well i best get back to pretending to work... Cheers!!