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This week has been surprisingly typical for coming off of a week long holiday.

Saturday
Today I flew home. As soon as I got my stuff into my room, I went to the library. Then I worked on revising my essay for a little while before ordering food on Tesco’s website to be delivered on Sunday.

Sunday
Today I had my food delivered. It’s really convenient not having to carry my food clear across town (literally). After my food was delivered, I did laundry which is not fun. Afterwards I finished my essay; I hope I did it write (see what I did there?).

Monday
It is so weird having to go to class after vacation. Other than that I don’t remember much about Monday.

Tuesday
Today after class I went to Fab Lab Sunderland for a tour. I wanted to volunteer but, was told that they are way too busy to look for volunteers right now and that if I pay my fees and prove that I actually know my stuff then they might pick me as a volunteer. This was really disappointing. They don’t even have a remote knowledge of electronics equipment as far as I could tell. They had soldering stations and oscilloscopes but, nothing else for electronics.

Wednesday
I don’t really remember what I did on Wednesday. I know that I stayed up watching Scorpion until 2:30 though.

Thursday
My only class for the day was canceled. I didn’t eat lunch until 15:00 today. Then I watched Scorpion all day and evening.

Friday
Today I went to Ryman’s and bought some extra-fine markers and two more fountain pens. Then I walked back to the flat stopping at Subway to pick up dinner. After dinner I watched some more Scorpion and finally caught up to where it’s at on TV.

Saturday
Today I was really lazy. I attempted to read a book on international law but, It was really boring and irrelevant. It was focused too much on the English standpoint of international law. I wish that they had American law books in the library. I also finally updated my blog which, I put off for an entire week.

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I know, this post is a full week late.

I started of this morning going to where the tour bus picks up from. I waited a while in the freezing cold when the bus  finally arrived. On the bus we went to a couple more stops then we drive for about two hours through the Irish countryside until we reached Kilkenny. The Irish countryside looks very similar to Kansas except more cows, sheep and, hills. Instead of getting of immediately getting off the bus in Kilkenny, I went to a cave. The cave was the site of a Viking massacre a long long time ago. It was really a fairly small cave. After the cave, I went back to Kilkenny and had lunch. I had a beef pie of some sort with a coffee and lemon meringue pie. It was delicious and like everything else in Ireland, expensive. Then I did a little bit of shopping. I found that my camera was going dead so, I found a dig store and bought since batteries. After leaving Kilkenny we went to the Wicklow mountains. Several movies have been filmed in these mountains including Braveheart and P.S. I Love You. There’s even a small town named Hollywood by the mountains. In the mountains it was really child and windy. I couldn’t fell my hands for a while. I really wish I had taken clothes warmer than my under armour hoodie and jeans. After we left the top of the mountains, we went down to a small town with hiking trails. By this time it started to sprinkle. I decided to suck it up and walk to the upper lake, 25 minutes away. Big mistake, five minutes into my walk the light rain turned into a down pour and hail mix. I walked back to the small town and bought a cappuccino at the hotel bar. I was drenched and cold the rest of the evening as the bus heater wasn’t working great and, it was still a two hour ride back to my hostel. As son as I could I put on dry clothes and climbed into my bed shivering. I was hungry but, I didn’t want to leave my bed. I forced myself out and had the worst taboo fries I have ever had. I think the Irish need to learn how Mexican food is really made. Here’s some pictures:

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Cave entrance
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Selfie in front of Kilkenny castle
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Creek by Kilkenny castle
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It was really cold in the Wicklow mountains
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Hail on a walking bridge.

DSCN0177Irish Field with CowsDSCN0183  Hollywood SignDSCN0198 Wicklow Mountains PanoramaDSCN0205 River in small town in the mountains

Really Old Celtic Cross in a graveyardRSCN0176Another picture of the Irish Countryside

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This morning I went straight to the bus after breakfast so that I could visit as much as possible. My first stop was Trinity college, the oldest university in Ireland. I was really underwhelmed; It looked like every other college I’ve ever been to. I visited the science gallery but, there wasn’t anything there.
From Trinity college, I got back on the bus and went to the little museum of Dublin. It really is a little museum but, I got free admission with my bus pass. It was a great museum actually with an entire exhibit of U2. Instead of being one of the places that just says you can’t have backpacks they check it for you, just like a coat check. From there I wandered around a shopping area. Did I mention everything in Dublin is expensive?
My next stop was the Guinness storehouse which was a much better tour than Old Jameson. I ate lunch at a cafe there for a good price (Guinness and beef stew and a bottle of water for <$10). Then I continued the tour, at the seventh floor of the tour there was a observation room where I drank my pint. I could've also had my pint at the Guinness academy where you learn to pour it yourself. The views were amazing with windows facing down on Dublin. On my way out I bought my only souvenir so far, a deck of Guinness playing cards. After Guinness, I went to the Kilmainham goal. This is an 19th century jail. It is also where most of the rebel leaders from the revolution of 1916 were put to death. The tour itself was kind of boring really. Mostly it was a lot of taking by the tour guide. Next I went to another national museum which, I forgot the name of. The museum is in old army barracks with at and history from every period of time of Ireland's history. It was the best of the museums I went to this trip. I was there until they closed and still didn't have enough time. I got on the bus for the last time and went back to the hostel. I finished the book I was reading on my kindle then went to find dinner. I walked around 30 minutes until I found a Burger restaurant. It was a really good Burger better than most I've had in the States even. I also has a bottle of cider that's now one of my favorites, it's an Irish cider. This meal cost me more than $20. In case I haven't mentioned it yet, Dublin is really really expensive. I wandered back to the hostel and went to bed fairly early (23:00) so that I would be well rested for my tour to the mountains. Now everybody's favorite part, pictures. image
Entrance to Trinity college
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A building at Trinity college.
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Trinity college
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Entrance to Guinness
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The Guinness brewery lease, valid for 9,000 years.
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A view from the top of the storehouse.
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Another picture crib the storehouse
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Those mountains are where my tour is going tomorrow.
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Killmainham goal chapel, the die behind the alter is where prisoners would walk shortly before being hung.
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Killmainham goal
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Killmainham goal
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The national museum I went to.

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I had an entire post typed out yesterday and apparently it didn’t upload. So here’s a list of what I did.

1. Picked up hop on/hop off bus ticket
-Buses didn’t start running early enough.
2. Walked to Old Jameson
3. Went to café at old Jameson
-I got list and was still an hour early to my tour.
4. Went to tour at Old Jameson
5. Drank whiskey at old Jameson
6. Stumbled around till I found the bus.
-Just kidding. I didn’t drink that much.
7. Rode the bus back to the hostel
8. Got back on the bus and rode the entire tour.
9. Rode the bus again and got off near the museums.
10. Went to the national art gallery
-It was tiny and a waste of my time.
11. Went to the national museum of archeology
-It was huge and awesome
12. Went to the national museum of natural history
-Probably the Brest natural history museum I’ve ever been to.
13. Rode the bus back to the hostel area.
14. Ate fish and chips at a local pub.
-Also had a point of Guinness, the first beer that I’ve actually liked.
-Dinner was also very expensive almost $20.
15. Went back to the hostel
-Read on my kindle
-Went to bed

Now for pictures.
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The entrance to Old Jameson is the arch on the right.
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Why whiskey is so expensive. These barrels were full when they started maturing but, lose a lot to evaporation over time.
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Whiskey tasting. Scotch on the left, old Jameson in the middle and, Jack Daniels on the right.
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I’m an expert, enough said.
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Ginger ale and lime (with old Jameson)
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The Irish President’s house. His closest neighbor lives in a 60 acre 18th century mansion. If you guessed the US ambassador, you’d be correct.
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St. Patrick’s cathedral
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Polar bear at the natural history museum.
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Giant Irish deer at the natural history museum
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Human and horse skeletons at the natural history museum.

In the future if I upload an empty blog post, please leave a comment telling me there’s nothing there.

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Today I came to Dublin. The metro ride to the airport from Sunderland took longer than the actual flight did (delayed 20 minutes). In fact for all the awful things people say about Ryanair, it was pretty good. Just put headphones in, it’s literally an hour long infomercial to get to Dublin. I went from the airport to Abigail’s hostel by taking the airlink 747 bus which was reasonable at €6. The bus ride to town took 30 minutes. I actually arrived 15 minutes before I could check in. When I checked in they gave me sheets and a room card. I’m staying in a dorm style room with 8 beds. I have yet to meet anyone here yet. After checking in, I went out and wandered around. I ate at a burrito restaurant that has awful service and, the did wasn’t much better. Then I wandered around some more where I was approached by a Mormon missionary. He wouldn’t leave me alone. When he finally left, I went into a bookstore and looked at the used books section. Within about two blocks of where I’m staying there are several comic and normal book stores and, a hard rock café. I planned a tour to the mountains on Friday, I didn’t realize it was a 13th.That’s about it for today; here’s some pictures.

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Approaching Dublin

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The river that flows through the middle of Dublin (my hostels clear down on the right(you can’t see it))

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My hostel room, no one else is here yet. My bed is the one with the sheets.

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I’m going to post this update a few days early since I’ll be headed to Dublin tomorrow. Tourist mode: activating. I don’t know if I’ll post daily but, I’m taking my camera so expect pictures. Without further ado here’s my week in review (Yes, I made it rhyme on purpose).

Thursday night after my last weekly update, I booked a tour at the Old Jameson Distillery in Dublin. So far it’s the only thing that I have planned. It was one of the most recommended things in Dublin so, hopefully it lives up to the hype.

On Friday, I really don’t know what I did for most of the day. In the evening, I went to laser tag with the Snowsports club. Both games I was the second best player. The arena was probably the best one that I’ve ever played which says a lot considering I’ve played at several places in the States. Afterwards we went to the Cooper Rose where I had fish and chips and a pint. I also had a bottle of Angry Orchard cider. It’s the best cider that I’ve tried to date. Better yet, it’s American and is likely in a store near you unlike my previous favorite, woodpecker. Hanging out with the group was fun even though I have no idea what they were taking about most of the time (British accents get hard to understand when there’s more than one Brit in a conversation).

On Saturday, I had scuba in the morning. I completed my fifth and final scuba module. Now I just have to take the final exam and complete my open water dives to become a certified scuba diver. I think that I might move onto my advanced open water certification next semester. For my dives on Saturday I wore a drysuit. The water in the lake that the club dives in is cold, the air temperature here gets into the lower 50s now. This would make the water temperature beneath the surface even lower. This makes a drysuit ideal as air is a better insulator than water which, keeps you much warmer. If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to be in a vacuum chamber, try diving in a drysuit (it’s not comfortable). Surprisingly when I got out of the pool, I found that I got more soaked from walking to the scuba shop than I actually did from two hours in the pool. After scuba I went grocery shopping and bought a footlong from subway for dinner. Then I went back to Clanny and started working on my film analysis essay. I’m doing an awful job and so far only have 500 of 1500 words. Worse yet, I haven’t found enough sources yet to support my writing. I should be able to get it better before it’s due though (I really don’t want to take my laptop to Dublin with me). Saturday overall was a great day, bring it on homework and laundry Sunday!!!

Sunday
I shouldn’t have asked for Sunday to bring it. I don’t like writing essays. I got 1,150 out of 1,500 words done though. I did laundry and packed too.

It’s Monday!!! I’m leaving tomorrow morning for Dublin. I’m do excited, it’s my first time leaving Sunderland in the eight and a half weeks I’ve been here. I also figured out how to plug my camera into my phone to transfer photos. It’s going to be an early morning to get to the airport on time.

 

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Not much significant has been happening lately as I’ve settled into a routine now. For this reason I’ve decided to start doing weekly updates. This week I read a lot on my kindle. I bought the Maze Runner series and so far have finished the first three books or what is known as the Maze Runner trilogy. I’m on the fourth book now, The Kill Order, and am having a hard time getting into it since it’s a prequel with entirely new characters.

Next week is reading week for most of my classes meaning that I won’t have many classes to go to. I went to RyanAir’s site and found that there are only three places that they fly out of Newcastle to. Two of them are in Spain and the other is Dublin. I decided that Dublin would probably be a better first trip since, I want to be able to speak better Spanish when I go to Spain on a future trip. After booking my flight, I went to HostelWorld.com and booked a bed in a hostel near the city center. I don’t have an itinerary for my trip and plan on winging it. Some of the typical tourist attractions look promising like Trinity College and, the Guinness Storehouse both of which are near where I’m staying. If you’ve ever been to Dublin and have a suggestion of someplace that I should visit or have a question or something to say please leave a comment on this post.

The day after I get back from Dublin, I will probably go on my first open water dives. The air temperature here has been in the mid to upper 50s (Fahrenheit) lately so I’m getting trained on using a drysuit so I don’t become a human popsicle.

Lastly, today is the 5th of November. The fireworks are crazy tonight, maybe even more than the 4th of July. Why? The 5th of November is the day that Guy Fawkes and members of the Catholic church were caught and prevented from carrying out their plot of blowing up the British Parliament and King in 1605.

 

I’ll leave you with this picture facing out over Sunderland from the top of ski hill that I forgot to post a couple of weeks ago.
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And another picture taken off the bridge that go over every day to get to class on the St.Peters campus.
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