So here is an update on what I have been doing since my last post. After my lamentations on Thursday about not having anywhere to go I was invited out to dinner with my lovely friend from New Paltz Lydia. It is really fortunate we came together because she is naturally more outgoing than I am so she has been instrumental in me actually doing things. Anyway, we went to dinner with some friends and then went for a lovely walk down to the bank of the Shannon river. It was so beautiful. Yesterday I had an intense day of classes. My law class is amazing. We did so much Irish history yesterday it made me so happy. That’s what I love most about traveling I think, it awakens the history nerd inside of me. Last night i actually went out in to the city with friends. You have no idea what a big deal this is for me. I am a lay in bed and watch SVU or read a book on Friday night kind of lass. I am so glad I went because I had a wonderful time.

Today we had a planned excursion. We went to this wonderful farmer’s market in the city of Limerick. They call it a milk market here. It was so grand. There was traditional music, free samples, and lots of very lovely people. It felt kind of old-fashioned to me. After the market we walked around the city and I found a birthday gift for my New Paltz roommate, which I am sure is a fascinating point for all my readers.

Then we went to Bunratty Castle. First, we had an amazing lunch at the castle hotel. I love food so much. I keep gorging myself it is seriously a problem. If it weren’t for all the walking I’ve been doing, (for those of you who are not aware Europeans do a lot more walking than most Americans because they are not as lazy) I would be afraid of gaining the Limerick fifteen.

So then we got to go into a castle. An actual castle that was build hundreds of years ago. It was an Irish castle built of stone. Most of the castles in Ireland had been built by the Vikings and were made of wood but the Irish burned them down. (hey give the Irish a break! If someone invaded your country and did lots of rape and pillaging you would burn down their castle too) Anyway, as I sat with my hands on a table that was built over five hundred years ago, my mind drifted to all the soldiers who had sat there before me. To them, it had not been extraordinary. It was just their life. We know the history of what happened, but really we can never know what most of those people felt and thought. How many children did they have? Did they enjoy the meals they ate at that wooden table? The table was slanted on a slight uneven incline and I thought it was very symbolic of how we see the world. From our own tilted perspectives made biased by nostalgia.

We learned that the staircases spiraled to the right as a safety measure. We learned that women could not be in the great hall while the men made big decisions. They could only listen through a window. The tour guide made a joke about how now it is opposite, that the women are now in charge. I chuckled but I could not help wondering…Why is that funny? If I get upset when women are made to be inferior why should it be funny when the same is done to men?

Perhaps the most fascinating artifact to me was the Irish fertility stone. It was a small stone in the wall of the castle. Tradition says it helps women have children. Despite my skeptic nature I found myself running my fingers over the stone, which was a picture of a woman giving birth. As I made a personal wish I thought about what it means to be a woman. I appreciated that stone because a lot of portrayals of women make them sex objects. This symbol is a much better representation of one of the central aspects of being a woman. I also thought about how lucky I am. So many women who worry about fertility will never get a chance to touch that stone. Whether it helps me in the future or not, or if it helps the others I wished for, it is still a reminder to me of what a lucky woman I am. I was born in to a wealthy country in a time where women can go to college.

I am in an even smaller percentage who is lucky enough to travel the world. The people who lived in that castle would have never gotten that opportunity.

Note: I apologize. This is not my best writing. I am still exhausted.

So after a crazy night of connecting flights and running like a nut through airports I arrived in Limerick. The past day and a half have been a blur of new people and information. I don’t know right now if I can write a deep philosophical piece about what happened because everything was so overwhelming, so I will just give a timeline of what happened and then at the end maybe I’ll develop some thoughts. Fortunately, another student from New Paltz was on my flight which was nice and she’s pretty cool.

We arrived in Shannon at around 630AM. People from the university came to bring us to the village on campus we are staying in called Cappa Villa. I have a room and bathroom to myself and I share a kitchen with some other New Paltz girls. (that was surprising) The disappointing part is no free wifi in my room…tragic! So I went with a lovely girl named Triona who is a Limerick student who works in the international office to meet an orientation and mobility instructor. For those of you who don’t know I am blind so the only annoying thing here is with the way the campus is set up it is very difficult for me to learn to get from place to place independently which is upsetting to me because I like to give a good impression of blind people but as Triona said I came across the world myself, so needing a little help really doesn’t make me look bad at all. I’ve realized that everyone needs help in different ways so if I can’t explore independently that’s ok. I’ll just make sure to go on all the group trips.

Anyway, that was a complete tangent sorry.

So then I had to take a taxi to a store because someone bought me the wrong adapter plug…(thanks Dad) Let me just say, sitting in the passenger seat of a car when you are from America is a terrifying experience…even when your blind…you still know everything is opposite. So then I hung out with my suite mates for a while and took a quick nap. Then we left for a brief orientation and a filling dinner. Unfortunately we almost went to the wrong orientation so that was fun.

Today, after a great night of sleep where I think I pretty much beat the jet lag, we went to a morning of orientation. I was happy because I got to eat lunch with some Irish students at the university who work for the International office. Then I hung out with some people I met on the program. If i have one complaint it is that all of the students on the program are from America. Don’t get me wrong there great and I’m sure I’ll make lovely friends, but I really hoped to meet Irish students. It’s all about new experiences and Americans are not new to me…No offense if fellow students are reading this. That is why I liked having lunch with the students from Limerick. It’s a blind perk that i was assigned an Irish student to show me around. I get to talk to a local more than other people!

After hanging outside on the lawn after lunch, the weather has been surprisingly beautiful, I went to my first class session. An aside about the countryside. Sighted people won’t understand this, but I can just tell how beautiful it is here… and as my friend Lydia said to me when we arrived, “Description update: everything is green.”

My first class was great. I am taking a 3 credit law class. It seems like it will be fascinating and challenging without being overwhelming.

A couple points of interest. Ireland isn’t super different from America. They have TV and hot water…even though sometimes you have to turn it on manually. It’s little things in the language that make it clear it’s different. For example, crack means fun and press means cabinet.

Well, that is it for now, I hope that wasn’t to much rambling. I will post more soon.

So I do not want this post to worry or upset anyone in any way. I really am okay. It’s just that I wish I was a healthier person. I do not want to get too personal here, but today kind of sucks. When I first got here I was on a high. It has been so fun and exciting, but I think I’m coming down off this high. Everyone involved in the study abroad process warned us this might happen. I am not posting this to get sympathy, I just want other students who study abroad to know this feeling is experienced by a lot of people and they are not alone.

Studying in another country is a truly amazing experience.

For the most part I have really enjoyed it so far, but it is like anything else in life, it will not be perfect. Today is not good but I have lots of exciting plans for the next few weeks and I know a few days from now I will be confused why I was so miserable today.

I am going to do more traveling tomorrow, so everyone look forward to another of my philosophical rants tomorrow on Tuesday.

I am feeling much better. I have nice friends and the other night I climbed a very dangerous tower and I’m going to Galway to see a friend this weekend! Also, I get to go to the Aaron islands. in two weeks. I’m sorry I can’t give much more of an update right now but I’m exhausted. In a few days I will post more about my recent activities.