Saturday by the Sea

After spending Friday at Blarney Castle, its hard to believe that our weekend could have gotten any better, but it turns out that it did. Saturday, we boarded another smelly bus (the Irish don’t find it necessary to shower as much as Americans – we have found that this cultural habit leads to really smelly public transportation) headed for Kinsale. The historic town of Kinsale, located 45 minutes by bus from Cork, was quite beautiful. Just minutes after arriving, we all had our cameras out and were snapping as many photos as we could of the harbor. Much of our day in Kinsale was spent making the hour trek up to Charles’ Fort - a huge fort used for protection during World War I. After walking back into town from the fort, we were quite hungry and lucky for us, Kinsale is the gourmet capital of Ireland, known for its restaurants and dining options. With few seafood lovers in the group, Sharlett and I broke away for some delicious dining at the Fishy Fishy Café. We both enjoyed chowder as well as scallops and grilled salmon. After dinner, it was back on the bus and home to Cork!

Picture 1 - the boats in the harbor with green mountains behind

Picture 2 - happy to be in Kinsale

Picture 3 - group shot of the girls by the water

Picture 4 - group shot of the girls taken inside Charles' Fort

Picture 5 - looking for a four-leaf clover - no luck yet

"What we call luck is the inner man externalized. We make things happen to us." - Robertson Davies on Luck

"All Blarney"

What an amazing weekend! I’m sad to see it end. Having no classes past Thursday, we began our adventures on Friday with a trip to the Blarney Castle, which holds the famed Blarney stone. The stone holds the “traditional power of conferring eloquence on all who kiss it.” The word Blarney, coined by Queen Elizabeth, has been described as “pleasant talk”, intended to deceive without offending. The stone is set in the wall below the battlements and in order to kiss it, you must lean backwards, grasping iron railings (a picture of me kissing the Blarney Stone is included). I was quite nervous, but lucky for me, there is a very friendly Irish man who holds onto you throughout the experience.

Blarney Castle was more than just a castle and a nifty stone. The Castle is surrounded by the beautiful Rock Close Gardens as well as acres of land, which, having the entire day, we set off exploring. Along the way, we saw giant green palm trees, grazing cattle and horses, and waterfalls (complete with wishing steps).

Picture 1 - Blarney Castle

Picture 2 - Kissing the Stone!

Picture 3 - Afterwards, with the Irishman & Jenna

Picture 4 - the whole gang (minus Mike our photographer)

Picture 5 - Picture of the lake and view (we've lucked out so much with the weather - no rain yet!)

"This is all Blarney. What he says he never means." - Queen Elizabeth I

Cork vs Kerry

Also this past Sunday (quite a busy day, I know) was the ALL IRELAND GAELIC FOOTBALL FINAL between neighboring counties and huge rivals, CORK and KERRY. For the Irish, this is the equivalent to our superbowl. Basically, everyone in town piles into a local pub to watch the game. Although we (Cork) lost by four points (16-12), it was still lots of fun to watch people cheering on their team.

Quote:

"Winning isn't everything, but wanting to is." -Vince Lombard

County Cork

On Wednesday we packed up our things in the morning and took a three-hour train from Dublin to Cork. From there we settled into our apartments, which although a bit small, are very nice. Major plus: everyone has their own bathrooms!

Basically our first few days in Cork have consisted of exploring the city and doing lots of shopping for food/cleaning supplies/etc. for the apartment. We’ve also had more orientation meetings with University College Cork, where we will be studying for the semester.

This past Sunday, on a random trip to campus, we were invited to join a large group of locals on campus that were playing African drums (pictures of this experience are included along with some fun pictures we took in front on the main quad building on campus).

Picture 1 - Already Proud of my new school & grabbing random UCC flags

Picture 2 - Quad Photoshoot Take 1 - Having fun with Jenna

Picture 3 - Quad Photoshoot Take 2 - Classy

Picture 4 - African Drumming on Campus

And a quote (from a song that came on while making this post):

"And it's a winding road
It's a long way home

So don't wait
For someone to tell you it's too late
Cause these are the best days
There's always something tomorrow
So I say let's make the best of it."

-Best Days, Graham Colton

Three days in Dublin

I arrived this past Sunday in Dublin for three days of orientation with IFSA-Butler (my affiliate program). We basically spent our mornings in fun meetings in the IFSA-Butler office in Dublin and then explored the city in the afternoon. I'm including some pictures from my three day stay in Dublin.

The first is of our hotel Bewley's.

The second picture is a failed jumping picture. We took this picture at Trinity College in Dublin.

And now, a quote. This is from Oscar Wilde - the playwright and author who was born in Dublin, Ireland. We visited his birthpla

ce while on a tour of the city.

"If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they'll kill you."

-Oscar Wilde

Newark, New Jersey.

After a too short (not enough time to nap) plane trip from Greensboro, I landed in Newark, New Jersey around 11:30 this morning. With almost eight hours of layover time, I have lots of free time on my hands. I had lunch at a 50s-style diner restaurant in the airport while iChatting with mom and dad (pictures included). Now, with five more hours to go, I thought I would write another entry to my blog!

I want to briefly explain the name of my blog - "Aine's Tales from Cork." While trying to come up with a name, I looked at a few websites of Irish names. I stumbled upon one that showed names along with their English equivalent. My name Hannah translated into Irish happens to be the name Aine (pronounced ANYA), hence the decision to call my blog Aine's Tales from Cork!

Enjoy the pictures and hopefully next time I post an entry I will be safely landed in Dublin, Ireland!

And now a quote:

"I am so convinced of the advantages of looking at mankind instead of reading about them, and of the bitter effects of staying at home with all of the narrow prejudices of an Islander, that I think there should be a law amongst us to set our young men abroad for a term among the few allies our wars have left us." -Lord Byron

Oh, and a small bird definitely started hopping around the seats at my terminal - or as the French man a few seats away called it - "un petit oiseau!"

One last thing. I am posting a link to the YouTube video to my favorite song right now - "Say Hey." WATCH & ENJOY!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoaTl7IcFs8

The Initial Step

So . . . here goes nothing. Welcome to my blog!

I'm writing this (my first entry) approximately 34 hours before departure from the Greensboro airport for a semester abroad. After spending two months in France, I cannot believe that my eight weeks of downtime in the USA are over. With less than two days to go, I am finally beginning to have the normal feelings of nervousness/excitment/curiosity/etc. for my life in Europe! Today I finally started packing. Also, I am beginning to read all the e-mails sent to me by my affiliate program - IFSA (Institute for Study Abroad) at Butler University. As I continue to pack and make final shopping runs to Target and Gap, I think now is a good time for a quote...

Tao Te Ching, verse 64:

Great trees grow from the smallest shoots;

a terraced garden, from a pile of earth,

and a journey of a thousand miles

begins by taking the initial step.