Joyful days

      What a wonderful day! It's absolutely beautiful outside, I can hardly contain myself. No need for a jacket on this mornings walk to school as the sun is brightly shinning over Galway. Last night, I was up much too late and it's my long day, as far as course work goes, but I jut can't take a nap with this sunshine. With our apartment windows wide open we're enjoying the fresh air. It's been such a blessing to experience Christ's Joy. On my walk to school I was filled with joy and content, which has been absent over the last week or so. Soaking in the warmth of God's beautiful creation I was elated to spend time in prayer while I walked.

View from out our Kitchen window

Sunshiny day 

     Yesterday, during Bible Interpretation, I was very distracted and couldn't focus on John's teaching to save my life. This was not only frustrating, but discouraging as well, knowing that I truly wanted to learn the material. Thankfully God's mercies are new every morning and today is a new day. Unlike yesterdays scattered thoughts and wandering mind, today God's provided me with a sense of focus and comfort. This morning I learned a great deal during my Violence lecture and enjoyed my ability to concentrate on the course work at hand. Abby C. left her bike on campus last night and offered me a chance to ride it back today. This cut down on my commute allowing me to eat and relax at the apartment between classes. Quite excited for a warm bowl of soup I knew it would be a time crunch to make my soup and get back for my next class. However, I was grateful for the use of Abby C's bike and my time at home so I wouldn't complain. Walking into the apartment Abby C. explained she had just made soup and there was an extra bowl in the fridge if I would like it. Yes! Needless to say I was thrilled.
     During my last post I forgot to mention the variety of food offered at Erik's birthday celebration. On one plate I had Asian, Irish, Italian and American food....quite interesting for the taste buds. Darren is from Co. Mead, Ireland and brought back Irish Stew and Mash from his weekend at home. Vinny made stir fry, Allison put together an Italian pasta dish and Katie cooked baked beans and sausages. Overall the food tasted great and we enjoyed sharing our stories on how the food came together.
     Car's in Ireland are absolutely tiny and very brightly colored. I have never seen so many different colored cars. Some are beautiful and others...well let's just say I wouldn't have made them my first choice. This is certainly not the best example I could find, but it was the closest.

Yikes, I've gotta run. One more class for today and then off to Mandy and Jason's house for 3D (dinner, discussion, dvd). 

     The ultimate provider. God is so good. For over a month now I've been praying that God would provide me with a bike, allowing me to save money and shorten my commute to school. Patiently I've waited and used my long walks as time in prayer. They have been a blessing and much needed quiet time in communication with the Lord. For weeks now my roommates have begged me to get a bike and friends have questioned and pleaded why I haven't just given in and purchased one. Tonight Abby C. and I went to Mandy & Jason's house for our 3D evening. Originally from Texas, Mandy & Jason are taking two months to return home and visit family in the states. Mandy gave birth to their fourth child Wyatt on Christmas Eve, giving them Emma at age 6, Zoe at 4 and little Ruby is 2. Seeing as though they are leaving Ireland for two months Mandy will not be using her bike and has graciously offered to let me borrow it. Overcome by gratitude and emotion I gladly accepted her offer. She even gave me her lock and helmet. What a blessing and prayer request answered! It's a mountain bike which is very heavy, the last bike I would ever choose to compete in a triathlon with, but I could care less. I simply asked for a bike and God provided. How great He is.

     Selfishly, I wanted to attend the 3D night alone and enjoy my time with my church family. However, I've made it a goal of mine to invite Abby C. to come along to events with me. Whether it's a simple trip to the post or a night at 3D, I know she doesn't enjoy engaging in activities alone. I on the other hand am just the opposite, so this can be a bit frustrating Each time I've brought her along to spend time with other believers at CU or 3D she can't stop talking about the immense amount of love she feels. Last night the experience of love and comfort almost became negative to Abby C., as they were homesick reminders. It was delightful to walk into a warmly lit home with candles giving off a sweet cozy aroma. Jason and Mandy also have their family motto posted on the wall; it goes something like this "We are a fun, foreign, family desiring to worship Jesus Christ." What an encouragement to see it displayed for all to see.

Jason & Mandy our wonderful hosts

Adrian(Galway), Ken(South Korea), Mandy(Texas),
 Joanie(Galway), Arthur(Mexico), Me, Abby C.

My new bike & helmet!!

     The repair men came to, once again, fix Aurelie's bathroom. We're not sure if it'll work this time, but Abby C. and I kind of hope it doesn't. Paul and Charlie the cute old men who come each time to fix it are so kind. Each time they sit and chat with us asking how we're enjoying Galway. They had an odd request today asking if they could borrow our hairdryer. It was a humorous sight to watch two old men dressed in work clothes and wellies walk away with a hair dryer. I also ran into my favorite mail man again, remember the one who sang to me when delivering Anna's package? Well he was back whistling the gayest of tunes as he sorted the mail. As I walked down the stairs he even took the time to go through all the mail for me just to check if I had any waiting for me.

Overall today has been absolutely fantastic! Now that I have wheels Abby C. and I are excited to go to the market on Saturday as well as a trip to Salthill.

With Love from Galway

Erik's 21st

     Today was a quiet day in Galway with cold winds and tired students. Those of us who stayed up until the wee hours of the morning, faithfully cheering on our Packers, were able to make it through yesterday just fine. However, the lack of sleep has kicked in, making today a rough one. With only one class I contemplated skipping it. After all, an hour walk in the cold for one class? Coming to the conclusion my reason wasn't good enough I made myself go. Let's be serious, it may only be one class, but 2 is the most classes I have in a day haha. So I put on extra layers to stay warm in the wind and headed to Castles. Although the course seems slightly pointless, I enjoy it and left class with good news. Amandine and I sat next to one another chatting about CU and our final paper required for the course. Due to her previous archaeology class requiring a paper on timbre castles, she is not able to write on this same topic again. This is exciting news for me, because I selected timbre castles as my topic to write on, meaning Amandine will be of great help while I write.

     Finishing castles I headed home for a warm bowl of soup and Super Bowl commercials. What a bummer not being able to watch the commercials during the game. Thankfully they are posted online for my viewing :  ) There are so many that I haven't been able to get through nearly half of them, here are two of my favorites:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R55e-uHQna0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ulbjaKmKG0&NR=1

Sadly I spent most of the afternoon watching them, because they loaded so slowly. Quite productive I know...yikes. Abby C. came home around 5pm so we could make Erik brownies for his 21st birthday. Growing up in Minnesota Erik now attends UW-Madison for school. It's nice to share stories from the midwest together. Fourteen of us made dishes to compromise a potluck dinner/birthday bash. Birthday candles are very expensive here, but Aurelie had a few left over from a birthday celebration first semester. We surprised Erik with a cake and brownies complete with glowing birthday candles. Unfortunately pictures were not taken on my camera, so I'll post them when I receive them from Katie. Most of the crew is going out tonight, but I think I'll stay in. More adventures to come.

Not the greatest photo, but you get the idea :  )

Birthday hats!

With Love from Galway

Attitude of Gratitude

     Living in another country as opened my eyes to so many new experiences and opportunities. While here I've noticed many differences and foreign situations. However, these have helped me gain a new perspective on life and what I take for granted. For example, in La Crosse I lived on campus and walked between 3-5 minutes to class. Between a few classes my walk was literally only 45 seconds. In Ireland it's not quite the same, my 30-45 minute walk is much longer than I am used to. Yes, it's different walking in 45 degree weather compared to the subzero temps of Wisconsin, but it has made me rethink complaining about my commute in La Crosse.
     I have also been spoiled with a wonderful church family in both Wausau and La Crosse. Something that I'm thankful for, but have quite honestly taken for granted. Without any family and no roommates actively seeking the Lord the impact of my church family here is incredible. The body of believers and their actions to help me has truly been a blessing. Even the smallest acts of kindness like a hug on Sunday morning feels like an amazing gift.

    Sunday morning I had the privilege of joining Larry and Gretta for church as they gave me a lift to Galway City Baptist. While at church Sinead noticed my cursive hand writing and commented on it's beauty. It's truly not that nice, I've been working on it because I learned the skill in 3rd grade and really haven't used it since. It's also much quicker than printing. I find it sad most of my generation doesn't use it and many can't even remember how to anymore. During our conversation I learned the word cursive is not used here in Ireland, rather they call it joined writing. I suppose it makes sense, the letters are joined together.

     After church I decided I better take advantage of the fact most students were still sleeping meaning there were open washing machines. Our drying rack is quite helpful, but Aurelie was washing her clothes at the same time, resulting in laundry hung all over our apartment.

Clean clothes :  )

      Joy came over to make crafts with me. We both love to bake and use our creativity to create fun projects, however Ireland is not a thriving location for either of these hobbies. The baking section of the grocery store is very limited and the same holds true for craft supplies. With a bit of frugal shopping, we combined our supplies and fulfilled our craft withdrawals. By the way Abby C. made nutella brownies while Joy and I crafted. Yummm! Possibly the worst brownie health wise, but let's just say my taste buds were thrilled!

Brownies & crafts = great combo!

     Joy left around 7pm to run a bible study as Abby C. and I contemplated what to make for dinner. Chicken Spinach Florentine was the winner. We had yet to try this recipe meaning, like most of our dinners, it was an experiment. Thankfully it turned out great.

      Once dinner was finished and the kitchen cleaned Abby C. and I agreed a nap was necessary. Seeing as though the Super Bowl kickoff wasn't until 11:30pm we were going to have a late night ahead of us. Banking an hour of sleep we awoke and headed off to Chris's apartment. Joining 18 other football fans we crammed into a small apartment to watch the big game. Prepared for the occasion Chris set up his laptop with songs including the "GO PACK GO" cheer, Bang On The Drum All Day, and great selections from Da Yoopers. The Irish students were thoroughly confused as Chris and I would bust out in song full of Packers Pride.  I can't blame them because even the other American students didn't quite get it. I guess it's a Wisconsin thing. The room was divided with fans cheering for both teams, making for a competitive atmosphere. Towards the end the Steelers scored making it a 3 point game causing Chris and I to be quite nervous! However, the elation following the victory was amazing. You can tell we were both very excited.

      At the conclusion of the game it was 3:30am and Abby C. and I were more than ready for bed. Walking through the cold rain home added to my exhausted body pumping with adrenaline from the win made for an interesting nights sleep. However, it wasn't very long seeing as though I had class in the morning. With 4.5 hours of sleep I had to be up ready to speak Gaelic for my Irish course. Thankfully I made it through the day just fine and I'm still up at 10:45pm, yikes what am I doing! I better head off to bed before I fall asleep at my computer. Hope everyone enjoyed the Packer victory just as much as I did.

With Love from Galway,

Abominable Grapefruit

     Yesterday marked my 1 month arrival in Galway. Crazy how time flies...hey mom and dad can I study abroad for a year?!? Pretty please! Gusty Galway was once again...you guessed it: Windy! Thankfully the rain wasn't as hard and temps were actually pretty warm, however the wind was nasty. This is how I chose to face the wind

Bundled up Abominable Grapefruit

 And this is how a girl from Galway faces the weather:

seriously?!?

Clearly I'm not from Galway and cannot handle the wind and rain like they can. In her defense once I was outside I realized it wasn't actually very cold, but nonetheless the wind made it bitter. No matter how ridiculous I look I will choose my much more comfortable abominable grapefruit look.

     Having made a coffee date with Joy I was forced to get out of bed and face the windy day. Had I not scheduled the date I'm not so sure I would have crawled out from under my cozy covers. In the end I'm very thankful I did, we had a great time getting to know one another. It was encouraging to have good discussion and encouragement with a fellow believer. 

     Following our date I stopped at Feanor, a craft store on my way home. It's great to dream about being able to make crafty creations. However, until I win the lottery that will not be happening. Ireland simply isn't very crafty. I've only found 3-4 craft stores in all of Galway, each displaying outrageous prices. My love for crafts will have to be put on hold. Looking on the bright side I've never been so thankful for crafts. Small things like not having a scissors and glue make me excited to go home and have a new appreciation for all of my craft supplies

      Once home, I jumped on Skype for an interview with Larry to discuss working at Camp Forest Springs for the summer. It was great to catch up with him and chat about camp. I have yet to know where God will place me for the summer, but it is ultimately up to Him and I'm excited to see what He has in store for me.

   Last night Abby C. and I walked to Amandine's apartment to attend CU @ the movies. Meeting even more believers from around the world it was fun to get to know Estelle from France, Martin from Poland and Alice from Australia. We ate a pasta dish Lukas made, with pasta, tomatoes, cheese, and interestingly enough raisins. The raisins weren't too bad, but I'm not sure if I would add if I were to make the dish. We also feasted on cake made my Estelle and Amandine...yumm! The chocolate frosting was stellar. I was grateful for free food and friendship.

     Tomorrow is the Super Bowl and I can hardly contain my excitement!! Ideally I would like to go to one of the missionaries houses to watch the game because kick off doesn't start until 11:30pm. I always have the alternate option of going to the Hole in the Wall pub. The pub was good craic for the last game, but I don't know that I want to be in a pub until 2-3 am.

     I can't believe I'm actually saying this, but I'm going to do homework....the first time in a month. Ick! However, since I have free time I'll get it done and enjoy my Packers tomorrow! There is more to write, so maybe if I can get this work done I'll come back and add. Hope you're all participating in the excitement of tomorrows big game!

Tonight for dinner Abby C. and I made Creole Beef with noodles, a favorite recipe I often request to have at Grandma Vivian's. Running gear and cooking don't usually go together, but I figured I should get out and get moving after sitting inside all day. What a great feeling to get in a quick energizing run. I try to think of the rain as a refreshing spritz in the face. This doesn't always work, but I've gotta try some sort of positive thinking to get used to this rain!

Familiar Family Food :  )

The photos pretty dark, but I thought I would document the biggest and baddest of the puddles who contribute to sidewalk showers. I'll have to take a picture in the light, because this doesn't accurately portray it's size, but it's dark coloring brings out it's ominous presence. Seriously scary stuff when a car's around.

Big bad puddle!

     Poor Aurelie is having a heck of a time with her bathroom. First semester her window leaked leaving a puddle on her window sill. Having reported the problem early in the semester the maintenance men didn't fix it until two weeks before break. Unfortunately, this didn't solve the problem, coming back from break she found it was still leaking. The men waited an additional month and now have finally "fixed" it.  This afternoon I looked again and found the sill covered in water..bummer! In addition to her leaky window I heard a shriek come from her bathroom. Walking into the kitchen with a stunned look on her face she explained that as she turned on her fan it poured out water. With a leaky window and fan raining water onto her floor there is no escaping this Galway rain.

Somethings not quite right?

With Love from Galway

Windcident

     Holy Camoly! The wind today was insane. Sure the rain isn't spectacular to walk in, but this wind is nuts. My walk to campus was not so bad, however it was dramatically worse after lunch coming into Eyre Square. Pushing me all over the sidewalk, I was truly having a hard time standing up in the wind. Pressing forward to fight it,  suddenly it changed directions and I almost fell flat on my face because I was putting so much effort into pushing forward against the wind. Catching my balance again the wind hit me from the side nearly slamming me into a steel pole. Shocked, I thought "was I the only one struggling to stand up in this wind?!" Looking to my left a lady was hugging a metal pole to help keep her on her feet and up ahead of me were a group of rugby players who joined the scrum formation holding onto one another to attempt walking into the wind. These sight made me feel comforted that I wasn't the only one having difficulties.  From the angle of this sign you may have a better feeling for the force of todays wind.

Not so straight

     Last night at Christian Union, Paul a pastor from one of the local churches, came and spoke. He used Romans 6 to talk about the newness of life in Christ. It was kind of neat, because Michael and I are memorizing that chapter, so I was able to recite the verses he was using. Okay, so I only know the first 4, but it's a start! Anyway he told us that the church he pastors is currently looking for a permanent building to meet in. Having found one they now need $250,000 to fund the move. On a bus ride back from Dublin he received a phone call saying someone wanted to donate $100,000 to the church. He had never even met this individual. Praise God for his provision in finances for Discovery Church!

     Sadly the dreadful mullet is not contained just to the states. Even in Ireland there are individuals who make Poor Life Choices (PLC's) and grow mullets. Like this kid who walked in front of me today with his ghetto fluffy mullet....I just about puked.

ahhh mullet!

I'm going to go drink my 8th cup of tea for the night...addicted? I do believe so.

With Love from Galway

La Chandeleur

     Unlike all of my friends and family back in the midwest posting facebook statuses about the blizzard I have been enjoying a balmy 47 degrees. Okay before you start booing listen to my story, maybe it'll make you feel better. In a previous post I wrote about a friend, Allison, who experience the sidewalk shower. Well it looks like today was my turn to receive my very own sidewalk shower. On my way to class this morning it was raining, so of course I was fully equipped in my rain suit. A car drove past and splashed me, but I was quite delighted to be warm and dry thanks to the suit. However, there was a large puddle in front of me; in order to go around I had to walk closer to the street. Another car came speeding by and splashed through a puddle. A tidal wave of water came crashing down on me as it soaked me head to toe. Now of course I was still dry because of the rain suit, however the suit doesn't cover my face, dripping with brown street water. Yumm, that's a nice feeling. I really hope some onlooker was able to see the incidence and get a good chuckle. Although it was quite icky, I must admit the look on my face must have been priceless as I stood there in shock.

This picture accurately describes today's sidewalk shower

     This morning Abby and I were delighted to wake up to crepes made by Aurelie in celebration of La Chandeleur. Using nutella, peanut butter, bananas, and jelly we created delicious breakfast crepe creations. Not exactly the healthiest breakfast, but it's certainly not a frequent occurrence.

Celebrating La Chandeleur

yumm!

After breakfast I made my way down to Emmaus Scripture School for my Bible Interpretations course. John Shelton from Oklahoma teaches the course and does a great job. I especially enjoy his sense of humor and desire for discussion and questions.

A few differences I've noticed in names of food:

Chips are called crips
Jello is called jelly
French fries are called chips

    I'm tired so I'm off to bed.

With Love from Galway

The Legend & Crepe Excitement

      I promise today's post will be shorter than my last was :  ) It wasn't a very eventful day in Galway, but enjoyable nonetheless. Seeing as though I had quite a long weekend and only slept 4.5 hours Sunday night, I figured I should let my body get some rest. No worries, I'll be up bright and early tomorrow morning for another run! Besides mom is checking up on me, making sure I'm in shape just incase I join her team. 

    I woke up around 8 and found that Abby C. had made a special french toast dish. Yumm! It was a delicious and nice morning surprise. Even better, at breakfast Aurelie announced that tomorrow is La Chandeleur, a Catholic Holiday in France celebrated by eating crepes. Dear morning you can't come soon enough! Okay so yes it's slightly counter productive to wake up early for a run, only to come back and feast on crepes with peanut butter and nutella. However, I don't really mind, because I believe this is the last time I'll have a French roommate and will officially celebrate La Chandeleur. This said, I will take full advantage of our crepe feast and enjoy!

     An additional morning surprise came out my window as Abby C. told me to take a look outside. Displayed across the morning sky was a beautiful rainbow. A little hard to see in the photo (look on the left side) but it was lovely. The second one I've seen since my arrival. God's promise to never flood the earth again is an amazing site against the Galway scenery.

Rainbow

     Now that all of my pictures are finally posted on facebook and my looooong blog from the weekend is complete, I believe everyone should be updated. There have been a few requests for more pictures. You can look at additional pictures following these links:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=607041&id=836290222&l=cfd63ca569

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=607095&id=836290222&l=de33acee18

     During my castles course I sat next to Owen an Irish student, who unlike me, is an actual archaeology major and this course matters for his degree. He explained to me that our professor Dr. Kieran O'Conor is a legend. I had no idea, I knew that he was quite passionate about Castles and had written a book, but wasn't informed about his status on campus. Apparently he won lecturer of the year a couple years back. After handing out the reading list I also discovered he has written his fair share of books and other such archeological publications. Who knew Mr. I Love Castles was actually an archaeology hero.

     Surprise it rained again today, but sadly I left my rain pants at home. Bum deal! I was quite sopping wet by the time I made it back to my apartment. Thankfully I had my umbrella, but it was a reminder of why citizens of Galway don't use umbrellas. As if the rain isn't bad enough the wind is just nasty. Unfortunately umbrellas usually get turned inside out and fly right out of your hand. I borrowed this photo from a friend, Katie, who documented the destruction of umbrellas in Galway.

Galway wind 2, Umbrellas 0

     In our Irish class we learned to sing Oro Se do Bheatha 'Bhaile, a traditional Irish song. Our professor explained that everyone in Ireland knows this song and we must know the lyrics if we were going out to a trad pub. I really enjoyed singing along and I've been practicing. Maybe, just maybe Abby C. and I will do a duet and record it for you :  )

     It's official! I am signed up to run the Spiddal Triathlon May 21st! I'm excited, I think it'll be a good challenge and motivation to get out and exercise.

     Throughout the day it seems like I notice the very smallest things that remind me of home. For example last night I was hungry for a snack and found that we had celery in the fridge. So I made ants on a log. A great snack and warm memories of home

Yumm! Ants on a log ;  )

 With Love from Galway