Lost in Galway

Hey Everyone!

Today was filled with lots of adventure (which is how I like to say that we got lost a lot).  We woke up to a new roommate moving in, her name is Caitlin and she seems pretty great so that's awesome.  After having some breakfast and checking on Marie's (read her blog here) luggage (which still isn't here) we ventured out into Galway with plans to go to Penny's (a supper cheap clothing/home-goods store) and Lidl (a super cheap grocery store).  We stopped with Caitlin at the phone store to get her set up with the same plan we have and then she went back to the apartment to sleep while we went deeper into the city to find the stores we were looking for.  We decided that if Galway was in the states it would be a highly marketed touristy town for its quaint charm (see below).  One of my favorite things so far about the city is the several street performers, they add such depth to the city. 

    

                                  

Making our way in what we think is the right direction, we began to notice that there weren't as many shops and the surrounding area looked a little sketchy and a lot residential.  I decided we needed to ask directions but wanted to do it from someone who looked trustworthy and reliable.  So we walked until we saw an old lady heading in our direction. When we told the old lady our dilemma she was very kind but you could tell that she was trying not to laugh at us.  She informed us that we were well past the store we were looking for and were on our way out to the countryside.  Feeling quite foolish we followed her until she got to the shop she was going to and headed back towards the center of town.  The old lady told us that Penny's was in town but to ask someone closer for more explicit directions, and that is exactly what we did.  We stopped another woman, this time a young friendly-looking one, and asked her where we could find the store.  She told us to look for arches and that was the entrance into the shopping center that Penny's was inside of - we never did find the arches until the end of this adventure.  We kept walking until we were by the grocery store we went to yesterday (which is in the same shopping center by the way) but because the name posted wasn't the name the woman told us to look for and there were no arches we decided to keep walking down the street.  Soon we were surrounded by small shops and it became clear that for the third time we needed to ask for directions, and so we did.  Popping into a souvenir/sweater shop we looked around for someone who worked there and upon finding and asking the shopkeeper we found out that Penny's was in the shopping center we debated on going into.  Yet again feeling foolish we thanked the shopkeeper and went on our way.  It is hard to be mad or frustrated about getting "lost" because we found a lot of shops, pubs, and cafes that we wouldn't have otherwise known existed (at this point in time anyways).

After making it to Penny's we had lunch in the shopping center and then went to get Marie and Lauren outlet adapters.  At this computer store we decided to be proactive and ask the guy for directions to Lidl before venturing out on our own.  After a series of "go to this store and turn left and then turn right" type of directions we were off yet again.  This time we found our way there on the first try and we found everything that we needed and were on our way in a decent amount of time.  Once getting back to our apartment we retired for naps/relaxing and didn't move again until 4ish.  We hung out and skyped with people back home for a little while and then (once Caitlin had gotten up) had our first sit-down dinner as a complete "family".  On the menu was pasta with meatballs and it was delicious!

As a group we made the decision that we were going to go out to Taaffe's which is one of the pubs we had passed during the day that has live music every night.  Once we got ready (a blown fuse delayed us a bit) we headed out into the eerie fog of the night.

Getting ready

Finished product

Creepy fog

Taaffe's <3

The street we live on was weirdly empty and at first we were concerned but as we got closer to our destination more people we milling about.  We entered in and were hit hard with vibrant Irish music which I absolutely loved and were lucky enough to find four free stools next to each other at the bar.  After sitting down we were approached by our magnificent bartender Johnny (who by the way will be doubling as one of our orientation leaders in the morning) who immediately guessed that we were students and began telling jokes - none clean enough that I would put them on here.  We ordered pints of Guinness all around (as if we could get anything else) and what a difference!  Guinness in Ireland tastes nothing like Guinness at home, it was so smooth and delicious that I could've had more but we were limiting ourselves to one for the night due to the fact that we have to wake up early.  I had noticed the man I know now as PJ when we came in (to be fair it's kinda hard not to, he has a very Hagrid-esque appearance) but he and I didn't talk until he offered to take a picture of us four girls and we didn't truly converse until he photobombed me (both can be seen below).  PJ, I now know, is a security guard for several bars in Galway, not a bad friend to make on our first night out.

First Irish Guinness pint with the roomies!

PJ's photobomb.. all the laughs!!

Johnny telling jokes

What time is it? Guinness time!!

We finished our pints over great conversation and then headed back to the apartment.  Overall I view today as a success (the twists and turns made it fun) and look forward to what orientation brings in the morning - don't worry, we are giving ourselves extra time in case we get lost.

Until next time,
Sarah

First Day Adventures

Hey Everybody!

I'll start with the end: I am here in my Galway flat with a glass of wine and some M&Ms, safe and sound and a bit chilly.  Getting here was a 14 hour 3,500 mile journey that I wasn't even sure was going to happen due to weather conditions in Buffalo, NY.  I think the hardest part of the whole thing was packing - flash to Monday 2am with me sitting on the floor next to a scale crying cause I couldn't get my one bag to way less than 50 pounds - but everything got better when my mom talked me into bringing two suitcases.  The only problem being that I have a separated shoulder and could not (and still cannot) wheel two bags at the same time so again my mom came to the rescue in Buffalo and helped me get both the bags checked.  Airport security was a breeze as they sent my injured self through an express lane where I could leave my shoes on and my stuff in my bags with the only catch being that I had my hands swabbed like 5 times but I'll take it.  Thankfully I got out with only a minor 45 minute delay in Buffalo and an hour delay in Newark.  Taking off from BUF was a little bit of a white-knuckle experience as we were flying right into the storm but once we were at the top of the troposphere it was smooth sailing.

Flying through, above, and next to the storm with safe and clear landings in Newark

My four hour layover in Newark was made much better by the fact that I was meeting up with my roommate and bestie Marie (read her blog here) after not seeing her for three weeks (and two days - just sayin') this was very exciting stuff.  We had some dinner and then got chocolate for the flight (because chocolate always makes everything better - even airport delays).  I was lucky enough to score an outlet so I could charge up my phone before departing on my last and longest flight.  In the end getting on that plane was just one big long waiting game - something I'm not always the best at.

Marie and I waiting to board the plane

Alas we boarded our non-stop flight from Newark to Shannon and I could not contain my excitement.  On this flight of 200+ people I would say that at least 80% of them were students heading to Galway - talk about overwhelming!  Sadly Marie and I were not seated together for the flight but the two girls I was between were very friendly and we chatted on and off throughout the entire flight.  One of my favorite things about international flights is all the free movies that you can watch, although this time I limited myself to just one with the understanding that after it was over I would sleep.  So I watched The Butler (2013) which was much more emotional than I expected it to be but it was also amazingly well done.  Then we received dinner (some wacko airline food that wasn't too bad if you didn't look at it while you were eating) and I fell fast asleep.  I slept soundly almost entirely until "breakfast" was served.  After a croissant and four pieces of cantaloupe I got up to visit Marie who told me a bit about the documentaries she had been watching.  After several minutes of shark talk Marie introduced me to Lauren, the girl sitting next to her, and told me that Lauren was heading to living in the same apartment complex that we were in Galway and that there was no one else from her school there.  I responded with a quick: "Well we'll adopt you!" - and we did but more on that later.  I headed back to my seat where I visited some more with the girls on either side of me and we settled in for landing.  I wish I could have seen our incoming to Ireland but the sun was not yet up - I imagine it would have been breathtaking.

After going through customs and gathering luggage (although Marie's suitcase is missing in action at the moment which we aren't going to dwell on) we decided that we would get a cab to our apartment in Galway because there were four of us (Marie and I with another girl from our school and our new buddy Lauren) with lots of luggage and let me reference my arm injury from before doing it on our own would not have been a good idea.  Plus the next bus was in an hour and we just wanted to be at the apartment already.  The driver was super friendly and helpful - something I am beginning to notice as a trend here.  One hour of driving through some Irish countryside later we were finally at our apartment building!  We met up with our landlord who was fantastic and got everyone in where they wanted to live - meaning Marie and I are now living with our super cool new roomie Lauren.  By the way, the view from our stairwell is amazing!! Check it out:

After we got all our luggage into our apartment we relaxed for a bit, contacting our families and friends to let them know we had arrived safely (although it was like 5:45am at home so no one was awake).  We soon realized that a) we had no toilet paper, b) we had no food, and c) we were hungry.  So we ventured out into Galway City stopping to sort out phones (we all got new SIM cards) and get groceries.  For the record it is really hard to grocery shop in an unfamiliar country but the three of us found the essentials and got it back to the apartment.

Galway City Center 

After bringing our groceries home none of us felt like making anything to eat so we dodged the rain and went to a sandwich shop around the corner from our apartment where I had the most amazing sandwich of my life accompanied by the worst potato chips of my life.  I must be careful not to allow myself to go back there often or I will be so broke.

Yumm

 We went back to our apartment full and happy and proceeded to shower (with not enough hot water) followed by glorious naps.  We bonded by keeping dinner pretty simple and classy - frozen pizza and 5€ rose and it was good.

Classiest dinner around

Roomies <3

All and all I think that it was a great first day in Ireland and I look forward to what the future holds for us girls in 302!

Until next time,

Sarah

Sarah 101

Hey Everyone!

Although I know most of the people reading this blog are my friends and family (maybe some friends of my family), in case someone I don’t know is reading this let me give you a little background on who I am and how I got here.

My name is Sarah and I am a junior in college dual majoring in Psychology and Religious Studies & Theology – although sometimes I would say that I dual major in Procrastination and All-Nighters but it’s like six of one and one half dozen of the other, right?  My family and my friends mean the world to me, but I have danced to the beat of my own drum for as long as I can remember. My parents, teachers, or peers say go right and more often than not I go far left with great defiance written all over my every step.  Doing this is probably stressful for everyone involved but it has also lead me to meet people and experience things that I otherwise would not have (like skydiving for example).  This is where the title of my blog comes from: This Mosaic Life represents how the little (or big) moments and experiences of my life – the good and the bad – come together to make up the picture of who I really am.

So, true to form, I am about to toss a plethora of new moments and experiences into the mosaic of my life because my best friend/roommate Marie (read her blog here) and I studying abroad in Galway, Ireland for the next several months – the idea of which is still unreal to me.  I have been in Western New York my whole life and while that isn’t a bad thing (if you like snow and going from summer to winter and back in the course of a few days) I am excited to embark on this journey in the best company I can think of.

Until next time,

Sarah