"Real adventures do not happen to people who remain at home: they must be sought abroad." - James Joyce, Dubliners

Hi friends!

It seems like it’s been awhile since I posted last so I thought I’d do a quick update before my very exciting weekend! This week has been pretty intense. I’ve been enjoying reading Joyce a lot more than I expected too. It’s amazing to see the levels of meaning and metaphor he put into his writing. Ulysses is a tough read, although it is interesting, but Dubliners is much smoother and, in my opinion, more approachable (it’s MUCH shorter than Ulysses). If anyone reading this is interested in Joyce or Dublin in the early 20th century, I’d recommend picking Dubliners up.

The tough part of this week has been juggling an essay with all the reading they want us to do for class. I’ve just finished my essay (2000 words on the biological and anthropological sources of the Potato Famine! Whoooo!) and it took a lot more research than the last one because I sort of made my own topic. I think Robert will enjoy reading something a little bit different though, I know I would. This essay should NOT have any problems passing bibliographical critiques either! Hooray! Hopefully that means an A for Amelia...:D

It hasn’t been all drudgery and work though! Have no fear! I went to a new restaurant (for me) called Zak’s with Kelsie, Liz, and Diana Tuesday afternoon. It was quite delicious! There was a worm in Kelsie’s salad. Gross!!! It was quickly remedied, though, so no harm done. Later that night I went to a pub called An Brog (meaning The Shoe, I think haha) and played some games of Bingo. I didn’t win, but my group won €60 total! So that was exciting.

Wednesday was all laundry, reading, and writing. Nothing fun there. I had most of my essay done yesterday though, so I decided to go out with some people to City Centre. We went to several pubs, listened to some live traditional Irish music, and learned how to Riverdance! I did manage to forget my room key in someone else’s apartment, which is brilliant, even by my standards. Aaron, one of my neighbours who had walked home with me, was kind enough to offer me his bed and sleep on the couch. What a nice guy! Thanks Aaron!!! It ended up being a really good night, but I’m very tired today.

Later this afternoon I’m headed to Galway with Liz, Kelsie, Diana, and Josh. A lot of people are headed up there this weekend though, so who knows who I’ll see. Kelsie and Liz are going to a concert there tonight so Diana, Josh, and I are just going to explore a little bit. Saturday morning we’re planning on heading to the Cliffs of Moher bright and early and then we plan on spending the afternoon in Galway City before heading back to Cork that night. It’ll be my first stay in a hostel though, so wish me luck!

I’m sure I’ll have tons of awesome pictures and stories from Galway to tell you about when I get back so stay tuned!

Amelia