The day in review

Now that I am rested and no longer covered in an attractive mixture of flour and stuffing, I thought I would let you know how my Thanksgiving went. First of all, I cooked all day. Although I had volunteered to do this, I realized that it's more fun to think about and plan than actually to do. My chocolate pecan pie was weird looking but tasty, the stuffing was almost up to par, and the turkey turned out MOIST. Who knew?? It was definitely worth all the work. By 7:00 I felt like I had a little bit of home here in Ireland. What with the cranberry sauce, the dressing, and the apple pie, I really felt like it was Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving Update

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I am only doing a quick update because I am exhausted. So far I have baked a chocolate pecan pie (crust and all!), made an Irish-American stuffing (so cultural), made the extra pie crust into delicious pie crust cookie things, put the turkey in, and started the potatoes. I will let you know how it all turns out!

I found him...

My Irish gentleman. He's been in my life for quite awhile now, but I've really come to depend on him in the last few weeks. He's cute, but not overstated. He always puts me first, is a little protective, and never leaves my side. He's pretty quiet, but is a great listener. Oh, and he's my umbrella. Literally. Is that sad? Because I think I'm in love.

Thanksgiving Challenge

Tomorrow Colleen and I am cooking Thanksgiving dinner, and I am slightly intimidated. Only slightly because everyone attending is in their twenties as well and therefore highly unlikely to know how to cook all of this as well. Here's my menu:
Turkey
Stuffing
Rolls
Mashed Potatoes
Cranberry Sauce (homemade!)
Corn
Apple Crumble
Chocolate Pecan Pie
Chocolate Biscut Cake (my Irish roommate is making this one, and I am pretty excited)

Wish me luck! I think I might need it!

A Wet Adventure

Yesterday Colleen and I had an epic adventure. After a very indecisive morning, the weather finally cleared and it looked like it was going to be a good day. We decided to take advantage of the sun and take a walk to the bed and breakfast that her sisters are going to be staying at. Now, we knew the walk is about an hour one way, so we were prepared for quite a trek, and she had persuaded me to come with the promise of a cab ride back. So after making a pit stop at the library, our adventure began. We were about half way when we heard the thunder and started to worry. Although the sky at our backs was a cheery blue, it looked as if we were walking into a hurricane. This was also about the time that she saw lightening, which she didn't tell me because she didn't want me to turn back. Which we definitely should have done, because about five minutes later the rain started to come down in sheets. True, I had an umbrella, but when the wind is whipping around it's not completely useful (especially because it is really cute which forces me to be over protective of it). So we ran into a cafe to take some much-needed shelter. Half an hour later, we set out again, after being lured out with the slowing rain. How wrong we were! As soon as we left it started to pour again. One hotel lobby and two pairs of soaked jeans later, we finally arrived at our destination. This bed and breakfast must be the farthest hotel from the city center (which she has not yet told her unsuspecting sisters). I did however learn some very important lessons from this: 1)Never trust Colleen when it comes to weather and 2) There is nothing like hot tea and pajama pants to make a rainy day well worth it.

Blue Skies

When I was little I love rainy days. If I woke up and heard it storming outside I would peek out the window near my bed, hoping that by some miracle it would be so stormy that the power would go out and school would be canceled. Even now that I'm older I love waking up to rain. There's something about living in California, and even more recently in SLO, that makes you appreciate a rainy day. Here in Ireland I find that I am the opposite. This morning I woke up and saw a little sliver of blue through my blinds. Blue!! I haven't seen a blue sky in just under a week, and then for only a day. Now I am sitting in the front room where my roommates and I have opened up the curtains in order to soak it all in. With the sun shining and New Moon waiting for me this afternoon, not even the threat of my essay looming over me can dampen today!

Update: My blue sky just disappeared behind the biggest, grayest cloud ever. I think I celebrated too soon.

Consequences of Cold

Even though a seventy-degree fall (ahem, SLO friends) sounds fabulous right about now, I am enjoying soaking up the cold weather. Or at least what it brings along with it. As my mom says, I have been "nesting," making comfort foods and bundling up. A few nights ago Colleen and I made homemade macaroni and cheese (which my Irish roommate promptly declared "so American") and last night I made some delcious, buttery shortbread. Perfect for dunking in tea! Which reminds me: I now have a new favorite blog. Check out www.smittenkitchen.com. She tries out delicous recipes and let's you know how they turn out. Besides giving you great recipe ideas, she is really funny and puts up great pictures. Trust me, you'll be addicted too if you like to cook or bake!

Only in Ireland

One reason I love Ireland is because it is so endearing. For the most part, the culture here is very similar. But, like the story of the builders constructing the wrong university building on the NUIG campus, sometimes Ireland is very different than the US. Last weekend I came upon another story like this that reminded me why I love this place. We were on our awesome land/water tour in Dublin and boated past an old ferry. The ferry was docked with one side facing the an apartment building, and the other side facing the opposite side of the river, where there was another, more distant, apartment complex. The side facing the river, and that we saw, was completely run down. It looked like a boat that had (barely) survived the Perfect Storm. The funny part was that the other side was newly painted and in great shape. This was because the people in one apartment complex complained about the boat, while the people on the other side did not. So what did they do? They painted the side that faced those who complained, and left the side that faced those who didn't. It was yet another "only in Ireland" experience.

Senior Project Woes

So, devoted readers, I need your input. The time is coming when I have to make a decision on what to do for my senior project. For those of you who have not had the benefit of hearing me complain about this yet, every History major has to write a forty page paper during their last two quarters at Cal Poly. I am having major problems coming up with/committing to a topic. So...that's where you come in. Here are my ideas so far:
1. The Salem witch trials (and how the role of children in the trials escalated the witch hunt).
2. Joseph Kony and child soldiers in Uganda (pretty much what Invisible Children is dealing with).
4. The Easter Rising in Ireland (the beginning of their independence).
5. The "Troubles" between Northern and Southern Ireland.
Does any of these stand out? Or anyone have any interesting ideas? I know it really comes down to what I am most interested in, but I would love some input anyway. Thanks!

Good News: I was productive today! Considering these days are few and far between, this is exciting.

Bad News: All of the New Moon midnight showings in Galway are sold out. Already!!! No one here quite understands my pain.

Dublin

I LOVED Dublin. It is such a good mix between a typical big city and a typical Irish town with colorful buildings and charming pubs. I think I will just start in the beginning and walk you through the highlights of the weekend. When we first got to the city we checked into our hostel (let's just say a hostel is quite different than a hotel, but this one was mercifully clean and quiet) and then made our way to the "Viking Splash Tour." I know - so exciting! On our way there we walked past stores already decked out with Christmas decorations, saw an aspiring rock band, and stopped in a cafe for coffee (the majority of the group) and cookies (me). Despite this delightful walk through downtown Dublin, I was excited to start our tour, which reminded me of a Disneyland ride. We sat in a "duck" boat (they were from WWII and can go on both land and water...I'm sure you know what I'm talking about Grandpa) with about 25 thirteen year old girls from Spain. Which was interesting. Our crazy (and cute, I should add) tour guide made up for this though, for as we drove through Dublin on our tour he would have us all yell, Viking-style, at unsuspecting passerby. Although this was probably geared towards the hoard of preteens on our tour, it was nonetheless very entertaining.
After this unorthodox tour we headed to Dublin Castle. It no longer looks much like a castle, besides a stone courtyard and a big tower. It was cool to see inside though, because this is the building the government still uses for a lot of their state events. After this we went to the Guinness factory (you can imagine how interesting this was for me) where I got a free pint that I promptly gave away (I haven't warmed to Guinness yet) and wasn't able to visit the only part that interested me: the gift shop. Luckily for me, there is no shortage of gift shops in Ireland. We ended the night at the Temple Bar, which is apparently a famous Dublin pub. It was the Ireland v. France game, playing to compete in the world cup, so it was absolutely packed. I mentioned to one of the girls that it reminded me of the Quidditch World Cup in Harry Potter, and she looked at me like I was insane. Apparently she's not a big HP fan. Oops!
Today we slept in (fantastic) before we headed off to finish our tour of Dublin. We started out at Kil-----? Jail (I don't remember how to spell it) which is the jail that, along with other things, held the leaders of the Easter Rebellion of 1916. The history geek in me was in heaven. I could rave about it forever on here, but I will spare you all. My group finally peeled me away from the jail, and we headed off to Trinity College. We were given a tour by the most "posh" professor ever, and then went to their library, which is the most famous part of the college. It is absolutely gorgeous. It is everything a library should be, and reminded me of the one in Beauty and the Beast, but even better. I even snapped a forbidden picture, despite the guard lurking in the corner. I know, I am quite the daredevil.
So now I am back in my apartment, cozy and ready for bed. I hope you all had a great weekend as well!

Holidays? I think yes.

Is it the start of the holiday season yet? Although some of you might think it is too early to start celebrating, I have decided to give in. It's just so much more fun that way! Take today for example. Even though I walked all the way to the grocery store only to discover that I had forgotten my wallet, and even though it is once again cloudy and gray out, I am still having a great day. Why? Because I have decided to start my holiday season. So I turned on the Beach Boys Christmas album (because in the Hitch house, this is classic Christmas music) and spent the afternoon baking a favorite holiday (or for that matter, anytime) treat: Oatmeal Carmelitas. For those of you who are interested, the recipe is below (all credit to Sue and Sarah Rich). I highly encourage you to try it!

Oatmeal bottom and topping:
2 cups flour
2 cups oatmeal
3 cubes butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups brown sugar

Middle:
3/4 cup caramel
3 tablespoons flour
chocolate chips

Heat the oven to 350 degrees, and grease a 7x11 pan. Make the oatmeal mixture and split it in half. Put the first half in the greased pan and bake for 10 minutes. While it is baking combine the caramel and the flour. Top the oatmeal bottom with chocolate chips (to taste) and caramel. Crumble the rest of the oatmeal mixture on top, and bake for another 15 minutes. Cool and enjoy!!

Scotland

What should I say about my trip to Scotland? Well, to start with, it was cold. Although the first few days were about the same temperature as Ireland (and not quite as wet) by the third day it was so cold we could see our breath, even in the middle of the afternoon. When we first got there Colleen and I were met at the airport by Gloria, my "host mom" from this summer. It was so good to see her and her husband! Not only did they pump us full of scalding hot tea and give us cozy beds to sleep in, but it was a great chance to catch up and have great conversations. The next day Caitlin met us in Glasgow where we met up with some friends from the summer for lunch. Once again, it was so good to catch up with these people, especially because I was never guaranteed to see them after this summer. What a blessing! This was followed by a speedy tour of Glasgow given by one of Caitlin's Stirling friends, and then we headed off to Stirling. Stirling is just what a little Scottish town should be. It is "chockablock" (aka stuffed full) with brown brick buildings and houses and topped off with a beautiful castle above the town. We got to meet her friends (who are sooo nice), go to her bible study, and explore both Stirling and Edinburgh. Now that I'm back I have school work and laundry to catch up on before the next adventure: Dublin!

Living in Ireland

As I begin to really settle into life in Ireland I am beginning to realize that there are things I have grown accustomed to, things I love, and things I will never love about living here. Enjoy yet another post full of my lists!
Things I have grown accustomed to:
Bringing my own bags grocery shopping
Walking EVERYWHERE
Horrible public transportation
Rain
Great accents
Things I love:
Tea time!
Biscuts (closely related to tea time, they are hard, store bought cookies that are highly addictive)
My blue polka dot umbrella
Cozy pubs
Green hills with little white sheep
Lots of potatoes (it is completely acceptable to have two different potato dishes in one meal...my kind of country)
Things I will never love:
Wet jeans
Wet shoes
Wet socks

Happy Ramblings

Life is going well here in Ireland. Why? Because I am temporarily without school work, making new friends in the CU, and made funfetti cupcakes this afternoon. It is incredibly rainy though. The past two mornings I have been convinced of it being a nice day, which meant not bringing a coat when I left for class, only to be caught in a down pour on my way home. When it rains, it pours here. At least this week. When Caitlin visited all she could talk about was 1) How wet she was, 2) How wet Ireland was, 3) How tired of walking she was. Speaking of Caitlin...Colleen and I are leaving for Scotland on Friday!! I am so excited. Not only do I get to see my sister, but we decided to fly into Glasgow so I can meet up with some of my Scottish friends from this summer. Colleen and I are staying with my host family, and then meeting up with some friends for lunch. I can't wait!

Wicklow

Even though I'm a little late, I want to do a post on this weekend. I went on a retreat to Wicklow (near Dublin) with the Christian Union. It was wonderful! The retreat was for groups all over Ireland, so there were about 80 of us there, which meant I got to both meet new people and get closer to those in my CU. We stayed in a manor right outside a tiny town surrounded by "mountains" (or hills, for anyone outside Ireland) covered in red and orange trees. I think the highlight of the trip was being reminded of who Jesus is. To my non-Christian friends, this might sound a little weird and probably more than a little cheesy, but I fell in love with him a little more. There is something about looking past the habits that grow out of Christianity and right to Christ that is so refreshing. I was encouraged to look again at his life and who he really is. And you should too! Whether you are a Christian or not, I challenge you to look at one of the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John) and read it with an open mind. I know I am going to!

Split

I'm split. On one hand, there's home. There's my wonderful family and home where I am surrounded by people who love me. Where the colors are changing and Thanksgiving is in the air. There is Cal Poly, with beautiful sunsets and Avila Valley Barn and Pismo beach. There's Stephanie and Laura, Erika and Sarah, Alex and Amy. There's Taco Bell and basset hounds and waxy Hershey's chocolate. And I miss it. But now I have another side pulling at me. Now there's Ireland. Here there are new friends with wonderful accents, new opportunities and new challenges. In Ireland fall is not only red and orange and brown, but it is set against a constant background of bright green. There are cozy pubs and soup and brown bread. There's shiny euro coins, never-ceasing tea, and lots of rain. No matter how much I love both, I can only be in one place at once. It's hard knowing that the more I invest in people here, the more I fall in love with this incredibly endearing country, the harder it is going to be leave. Despite this, I'm loving getting to know people better, and just praying that I can come back!