Friday night at home

I had enough yarn left over to make a hat to match my scarf! It's rather funny looking but I think it'll fit a bit better when I line it with a cheap blanket fleece blanket I found....it was cheaper and a better match than the fabrics at the store! I've also adopted a plant which can be planted outside when I leave. I'm going to name it the Gaelic word for "flower" which I don't know yet. Marie couldn't think of it. I'll take pictures of hat and crochet-wear soon.

Tomorrow we are planning on visiting the aquarium in town, helping the little kids during club (Ros Geal sponsers a club for small children on Saturday afternoons to teach them things and generally have a good time), and a movie after dinner (Memoirs of a Geshia). Sunday we are going to Clonmacnois, about an 1 1/2 hour trip. Should be lots of fun if the weather can hold.

Today was so beautiful that we spent what free time we had walking around, shopping for hiking pants, the plant (3euro), yarn, and the blanket for my hat. I hurt so much to be inside waiting in a line to register for classes but I'm now officially registered for classes, hooray!

I had my first "EU Policy" class....I'm going to have to brush up on my basic EU history in order to do well and understand pretty much anything. (yeah, 9 of us went to the wrong room this morning and ended up sitting there for at least 15 minutes until someone came and got us...the room change was NOT in the course packets.....I guess we all missed that memo!). All of my classes have at least 2 other Americans, and the other 4 classes are at least 1/3 Americans. Generally even more than that! I don't know why I picked the internationally popular courses.......guess everyone else is trying to learn about U.S. and Irish history and politics too! Other than that, not much happening around here.

Just lots of homework to do, catching up on things and reading ahead on others. Wishing you were here,with lots of love, Christi and the un-named plant

Clonmacnois (County Offaly): This was once one of Ireland's most important religious, artistic, and literary centers, a place of pilgrimage and high culture. Founded in the mid-5th century at the axis of the River Shannon and the medieval east-west thoroughfare known as the Eiscir Riada, Clonmacnois thrived for centuries until its prime riverfront location brought repeated raids that nearly proved its undoing. Even in ruins, Clonmacnois remains a place of peculiar beauty and serenity. For more information check out: http://www.faculty.de.gcsu.edu/~dvess/ids/medieval/clonmacnois/clon.shtml

Pictures will come soon!

Hopes of Jane Austen dashed by ticket number 82

Things in Ireland, like times, tend to not be set into stone. In fact, it's rather normal for things to be late. If things start on time, it's nice. If things start early, it is a little strange and usually unexpected. That's why I'm confused on the popularity of the queue/line.

This morning was registration for English courses. I only wanted one: Jane Austen. UW Madison doesn't have any course like it, in fact I haven't even found one that reads one of her books! This is why, with the urging of the girls and despite my better judgement, I tried to get up at 5AM in order to make it to the line with plenty of time. I wish I would've seen the signs that this course was not to be for I'd still be asleep.

First, I use my cell as an alarm clock. It's the only thing I'll wake up to. Unfortunantly, I'm keeping it in central time and doing the math on to what time it would be THERE in order to get up ontime here. I set the alarm for what I thought was 11PM=5AM here. Nope, it was set to 11AM=5PM here! I woke up at 6AM here, jumped out of bed, got dressed, and went down to the main door.

ahhh...the main door. Mom will be happy to know that that thing won't budge. Not with the spare lock put on it from about 12midnight to 7AM. Yep, it was still locked. I still had plenty of time to go to sleep (and my stomach was hurting), but I decided to go against my better judgement and stay awake until someone else got up. Pelar got up at about 6:30AM and I was let out then.

Next, the line. I got to the outer main doors of the library, and amazingly they were open! The room to register said reading room, ground level. Ok, I'd seen a reading room on the main level, so I decided to sit and wait there. I was first in line. A few people joined me. It just seemed wrong, for we (all international students) know how much the Irish love their lines. Hmmmm... It was almost 7:30AM. Then one girl got a text message that said we were on the wrong level!

I had never considered the lowest level as part of the library. This is for two reasons, one because that's where all of the shops are as well as their special texts section. Two, there is only one door that you can get into and out of without setting off an alarm which is the main door where we were (unless you've stolen a book, but that's another story). Someone obviously shut off the alarm and set up roping so that the corridor was divided into two - one for waiting and one for leaving. There were no signs from the main door leading down to this one. We (like many other times) are just supposed to know. Go figure.

Yes, I was first in line. The top of the heap. Until I moved downstairs and found many people who had come later than I were many many people ahead of me in this line. Yes, I should've read the signals. My stomach still hurts and I don't think I'm going back, despite my held place in line. For this reason. 5 spots are held in each course for international students. Just 5. Thoe other students have already registered. So up to 4 people in front of me could register and there'd still be room for me. 78 people would have to NOT have Jane Austen as their first choice in order for me to get in. And two of the people in front of me in the line have it as their first choice. I'm not liking those odds.

Thought I'd tell you all this story. I'm sure it'll be funny in a few days, but right now it just hurts. At least I don't need the class, unlike many of the people in that line.

Mmmmm.....a 15 minute nap before breakfast sounds mighty good to me right now. Perhaps some sleep will stop my stomach from hurting. At least I got through a lot of Memoirs of a Geisha while waiting for the door, the wrong line, and the right one!

Lots of love, Christi

p.s. I think I'll scrapbook that ticket as a momento and a reminder. get directions and be there early for anything that requires a queue in Ireland!

500 - Day at Immigration

Hooray for the 500th post!

Today we got to go to the immigration office to register as aliens. Thank goodness my antenna weren't sticking out :) I look scary enough on a Monday morning to look even more frightening! We (Laura, Mark, Jessica, and I) left the house at about 9AM for the 25 min walk all the way over to the immigration office. When we got to the place (thank goodness Mark had already scoped the place out for the directions are terrible. "Behind the bank"=2 blocks in a completely different building!) there were about 12 people waiting. When we left there were 25+! We filled out our little form and took our little numbers and made up strange meanings for the acronym P.S.V. that was in the same building while we waited. At first they only had one officer but they soon got two. It was just about Laura's turn when some super-rude guy (the first one I've met since coming) butted in line! I was already annoyed with him because his cell phone kept going off. There weren't signs getting to the place, but there were "Please turn off your moblies" signs EVERYWHERE. Then he just jumps in. Grrrrrrrrrrr...... Laura, Mark, and my turns went pretty fast, but as soon as Jessica's turn was up the guys went on a 20 min break! The waiting room was FULL, with people sitting on the floor and they went on a break?! The officer I had couldn't even type, but hunted for each key. What incompetence! I'm so grateful I don't have to go back there or I think I'd get arrested for trying to harm somone over the flaws of the whole silly system.

I wouldn't have been so upset but we had to get back to the house because Elaine was leaving for Austraila today at noon and we didn't want to miss her. Since I needed to pick up a laundry pen/permanant marker for Elaine, Laura and I left the office while Mark and Jessica waited for the officers to come back. We went to Hickey's, the craft store (we found a craft store at last!) where I found a crochet hook and some nice ribbon to mark suitcases but no marker. Had to run over to Eason's, the local bookstore (and I love it, b/c they have EVERYTHING, including jump ropes!) for markers. Made it back with 10 mins to spare. Started to crochet my scarf from the plum wool I bought on the Aran Islands. Said good-bye at almost 2PM (they got a really late start!).

I got a box from home today! Gosh, opening it was almost like Christmas. I got lots and lots of hot chocolate packets, EZ Mac, Kool-Aid (to make non-alcoholic punch, hooray!), tape, glue, Post-its (!), a copy of the movie Sahara with Matthew McConaughey and paper and photo corners for scrapbooking. Got in the mood for scrapbooking and so did that for a few hours. It really helped clean off the desk to get it all into the book. Hooray for organization. It'll be great when it's finished. I fully intend on using at least 1 full color ink cartridge on printing my pictures :) I'm also going to add my journal and blog entries to it, as well as my favorite e-mails from family and friends. And postcards/letters, but I haven't gotten any of those yet.

After that I had the chore of balancing the checkbook and the budget. Fun, fun. I decided to post before dinner so Mom knows I'm alive and well. Must do homework for tomorrow after dinner. Guess I'm not going to make it to choir after all b/c it starts at 6:30PM. I guess I'll have to wait until next week. :(

Lots of love, Christi (the now-legal alien!)

Another late night

Spent the day here at Ros Geal. Read the first 50 pages of Memoirs of a Geshia....looks promising. Went to service at the chapel on campus. Really different in style, more laid back. And I knew some of the songs as they were in English (unlike some of the other masses I've been to where they are in Latin). The girls used the computer a lot today as many e-mails written by family and friends from yesterday had to be answered. I called Mom and Gloria for her birthday. Mom's fine and really happy to hear from me. Gloria says Grandpa's got the flu pretty badly and so she spent her birthday taking care of him. Welcomed a newcomer to Ros Geal, but didn't say much to her as she came at 11PM. Since the girls were online a lot of today, I didn't have much time to put up pictures until now. I should get heading to bed as it'll be a long day tomorrow. Even without classes.

Lots of love, Christi

Here's Laura in front of the smallest chapel in Europe...perhaps the world. The inside isn't much bigger than a twin bed. It was created by a follower of St. Patrick. I don't know how he got up and down the hill, because it took us a while to find a good path. It was a true pilgramige! 

In order to get this picture near this stone fort, Laura and I had to either climb over an old rusty fence or around a stone wall (that held the fence). I chose the wall and Laura the fence. We both survived to get a great picture of us at this great fort (Laura's new home). The the background are the clouds that gave us a pretty good storm when I wrote my post at 2AM this morning 

View from the edge of the cliff at Dun Aengus 

Dun Aengus, an old round fort that has one side as a huge never-going-to-survive-the-fall cliff. Laura and I were finding new "homes" for everyone on the island. This one's mine. 

Here's a good lawnmower...it cuts the lawn and fertilizes at the same time. All totally organic too! 

The Lands End lighthouse is real. I found out that Lands End sells Aran sweaters...they are made here on the island! 

Laura and I at the farthest point of the island 

Here's me near the farthest point of the island. It points toward the States :) 

Mark hides and Laura smiles for this picture at Monroe's. 

woo hoo, tractors on an island. I bet you couldn't use them in the many smaller plots of land around the island. In the foreground is the only freshwater lake on the island. 

Here's Jessica and I at Monroes, a nice pub with good Irish music from a live band (compared to a dead one) and really really good pizza. 1/13 

We also found a hat in the closet. I call it the party hat, because wearing it calls for a party! 

The view from my bedroom window. It's called the Quad, the oldest building on campus. It's used for administration. Isn't it cool?? 

We took some of the decorations for the party out of a closet and I found this hair. Isn't it great?? Actually, I'm wearing that sweatshirt right now...hmmm.... 

Jessica preparing to decorate for Elaine's (from Ros Geal) going away party. She's going the land from Down Under for the rest of the year. 

That's one small step for me, one giant leap for Wisconsin. I wore my nice white shiny tennis shoes to the beach. They are a little less white now :) 

Jessica had a great time at the beach despite the damp cold of the sunless day.  

My friend Laura's first time seeing the ocean -- she didn't get to see much because it was so foggy. 1/8