The week was fairly uneventful, am seriously considering Paris, Germany, and the Alps as future destinations in the next 2 months; for only 40 for a round trip flight to Paris, why not? I will be going to Derry and Dublin as well in the next month or so, Dublin for a day; apparently it’s dirty and dangerous, but hey you’ve got to go to Dublin when you’re in Ireland.
On Friday, I skipped class (apparently it got cancelled) and took a train with a few other students to Bangor. Bangor is north of Belfast and is a summering town with gorgeous views of the ocean. It is extremely clean; we were shocked that there was no trash on the beaches at all, such an American thing to be shocked about. We trudged through the rain for about 5 or so miles before getting so soaked that we conceded to the weather and took shelter in a pub for some warmth and food. Mmm Guiness steak pie!
On Saturday, I was bored and decided to attend a rugby game with some of the girls, was so lost and confused but had so much fun. Although Nicole would kill me if she knew I wrote this, rugby general, skeletal parts are similar to American football. There were some definitely scary hits though and I can’t imagine that the players overall time in the sport is that long without serious injury. As one Irish boy put it, “American football players are wusses; we don’t wear padding, not even cups.”
Side note: Over the past couple days in walking to class, I’ve noticed a white letter on the green hillside. At first I thought it was just left over from a previous message; however, the letter changes daily. I wish I would have thought to take pictures every day, but of course that thought eluded me until it was too late, hopefully I can catch the last letter tomorrow. IMAGINE…imagine what?
Gingerbread roommates...Vanessa and I stayed in on Friday to make these gorgeous representations of ourselves and our roommates. (Yes, the cookies were store bought). Clockwise from top: Vanessa, Jenny (Illinios), Me, Jennifer (Sweden)
----------------------------------Bangor--------------------------------------
We were able to see Napoleon's Nose on the way to the train, it was said to have inspired Gulliver's Travels.
The City Hall...
Again...
The Queen's statute in front of City Hall.
On the train ride we passed through the Protestant side of town, notice the Union Jack flags and the mention of "the People's Army" in the mural.
The gorgeous ocean, notice the lack of trash.
It was awe inspiring
Me looking like a goob, before I started looking like a drowned rat.
Me again...
The ocean front houses, Bangor is a ghost town around this time of the year, a lot of summer houses.
One of my favorite pictures...I kind of want to get it framed
Further down the coast
.....
Me, Laura (Ashley's Friend), Greg (Iowa), Steph (Ashley's Friend), Ashley (Pennsylvania)
I love how the beach melts into the ocean
Me, Greg, Steph, and Ashley
Another all time favorite, definitely need to frame this one. Reminds me of Robert Frost.----------------------------Rugby-------------------
Yes the opposing team is wearing pink and baby blue, they kinda looked like cotton candy, oh the silly French.
A better look at the amazing color combination.
Not only did they have the masculinity to wear pink but they also beat us soundly...23 -10
GO ULSTER MAN!
They pick their teammates up by the legs and shorts to catch the ball.
This is the starting of a Scrum...the guys in green are the Referees
Checking to see who has the ball, the clock nor the play ever stops in the 40 minute halves
A scrum right before the ball is rolled in
That's a major wedgie right there....
Getting ready to recieve the ball in a line out formation.--------------------------------------------------------------------------
I can't believe that it has almost been a month, it's crazy to think about. The time has gone by so quickly and the last of the ERASMUS students arrived Friday, who ironically enough has a house outside of Paris and is going to let us stay when we travel. Classes are going well, starting to work on my papers as way of getting my classes done with. Irish Film History starts tonight which should be fun as well as another Irish Language lesson. Just hopefully I don't come home to the police raiding our neighbors' house again.
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