Manfull's Handfull

 "All that is gold does not glitter. Not all those who wander are lost."- J.R.R. Tolkein After a weekend full of London adventures, and spring break planning to far away lands (coming for ya Barcelona, Rome, and Budapest!), it hit me that we hadn't even really began to explore our own backyard. Thus, the wandering began. On one of our first days in Cork, Heidi and I wandered past St. Finn Barre's Cathedral and ooh-ed and ahh-ed at it's magnificent beauty, we even questioned whether or not it was real (it is, don't worry). But this time, we decided to actually go inside- oh, what a revelation . Upon our entrance, we were told that because we go to UCC, we get free admission- thank you God  for free things, amen. The inside was glorious, spectacular, and breathtaking . Full of vibrant stained glass, huge vaulted ceilings, and such intricate detail it was almost hard to look at everything.  The stained glass literally glowed throughout the church, due to a ra...

After a wanderlust adventure in London these past four days, Heidi and I have landed back safely in home sweet, Cork. Only to immediately stop into our Holy Land, that is Tesco, and grab some frozen pizzas, chips and salsa, and ice cream. You could say we're pretty fit . Although it seems as if four days is a small amount of time to conquer a city, I assure you- it was indeed packed full of meaningless adventures, scrumptious food, and of course a picture of Big Ben from every angle possible (I swear, it's necessary). Our first trip out of Cork began on Thursday, catching the bus to the airport. Apparently, riding a bus to an airport is no easy task because the girl behind you is blasting N*SYNC through her headphones, people ignore you when you ask where to get off- causing you in turn, to get off at the wrong spot (who's to say a business building isn't actually an airport- amirite Heidi?). Anyway, we finally figured out that if a bus was dropping us off at an ai...

It's like Green Day once said, "I don't want to be an American Idiot". That stupid song has taken over every thought I've had whilst in this foreign land. You see, even though they speak English here, the accents are so thick I often find myself just nodding in agreement followed by a polite giggle after the third time of asking for clarification. For instance when I was at the FINE Wines store (sorry mom and dad), I couldn't understand the cashier and gave up asking the desperate "sorry, what?". Ironically, the only thing I did understand was when he handed me the receipt and under his breath said, "sign your life away here"…he was utterly shocked when I finally heard what he said. Then we briskly left the building, arms full of wine and imminent ragrets  (thats my creed though). But other than being the definition of an American idiot and continuously being told, "Oh, you're American.."(still haven't come up with a cl...

So the first week of 'class' has officially ended (well, technically my last class of the week is on Wednesday, but whatever). This week was all about testing out different classes, yes even the Irish students get this glorious opportunity. We register for the ones that look most interesting today, which is quite the concept if you ask me. So far, I'm really challenging myself (I wish I could send sarcasm through blogs) by taking Irish History, History of archaeology of Ireland, and Intro to Gaelic. If anyone asks, I'm fully emerging myself in this culture, ok? Also, I've gotten really good at making pasta (boiling water and putting noodles in), and shopping for the groceries and goodies at really cheap places . With all this free time we have, Heidi and I have also really acquainted ourselves with the city. We have often wandered around aimlessly only to stumble upon some pretty incredible places. 3 euro for a ride? sure, we'll get on. St, Fin Barre...

After what has been one of the longest weeks of my life, I can finally say that I think I have settled in pretty well. The jet-lag has finally ceased and I can sleep normally (except when I wake up at 3 am scared out of my mind because the last episode I watched of Dexter was just too messed up), and I have officially acquainted myself with the layout of the beautiful city (by that I mean, I know what landmarks I have to turn at to get to the grocery store/and or McDonalds- typical). Heidi and I have made a bucket list of all the fun adventures we hope to embark on during our stay. For example, we want to splish-splash in the City Center fountain ( Berwick Fountain ) in the wee hours of the morning, maybe bring some soap to get a big ol' bubble bath going (Great idea Katie Ranshaw..lol), meet the Queen of England and introduce ourselves as the "Princesses of America" and then have a little giggle with the Queen, and so on etc. you get the idea, we're fun. In our...

Reflecting on my last few days, I can honestly say I have absolutely no idea how I made it nearly 4,000 miles away from home in one piece. If you know me, you can probably already guess why (or rather, what I screwed up). As our journey began, Heidi and I were so excited to board our little Cedar Rapids flight that we slightly forgot to look at our seat assignments before we boarded. Assuming we sat next to each other, we plopped down in what we thought were our seats. Low and behold a sassy little blonde approached us and just stared at us. Turns out the Hediz and I were in their seats and they were not pleased. Cool, so now Heidi and I are separated on our first leg of our very big adventure. After a shifty landing, at best, we scurried over to our correct terminal at O'Hare and awaited the plane that would take us halfway across the world. Once boarded (this time I swear we got the right seats) we  ordered a nice little airplane sized bottle of sparking wine (because we ca...

It's a new year, yet again, but this time I'm not waking up in someone's basement with the stale taste of alcohol in my mouth and regrets lingering around me...nope, this time I'm waking up half way across the world in Ireland (still waking up with that stale taste, but it's better here). 2013 has brought me through some amazing adventures. From finally taking my first official journalism classes, and falling in love with my major- to applying for internships all over the United States (If you're reading this and I sent you my resume, hire me for the love of God). All in all, 2013 you were beautiful and tragic and adventurous obnoxious and I hope 2014 has nothing less to offer! So, here's a synopsis of how the last 12 months unfolded: 1. I went to Florida for an incredible vacation with some incredible people for Spring Break, and came home with some ripe sun poisoning torturing me the entire flight home- but it's cool I was still tan, right? 2. I ...