Friday the 13th.

         I was unaware of what had occurred until receiving a message from my close friend Catherine around 11 pm. She said, "Blessed you aren't in Paris, I love you." I was confused and quickly replied asking what was in Paris, then turned to the friends around me asking the same thing. They informed me that people had been killed and injured and that numerous hostages had been taken. Remembering that my friend Nicole, who had just visited a week before, was in Paris I immediately reached out to make sure she was alright. She assured me that she and the other Bryant students were safe and together. We soon turned on the television to watch the scene unfold live and gain more of an understanding since we had countless questions and what felt like zero answers. I could not fathom what my friends in Paris at the time must have been going through, but I tried to remain strong and positive for them and pray that they would remain safe. During the night, our Bryant Study Abroad director posted on our Facebook wall asking all abroad students to comment and say where they were and that we were safe. My phone continued to go off as the hours went by allowing me to exhale as all my classmates and friends checked in, it did not feel real.

         I can honestly say that I had never felt fear like this, well never **have. I was only in first grade when 9/11 took place. Therefore I do not have many memories of the actual event.. only the war, hostility and fear in years following. The feeling of uncertainty for the future, inability to do anything, anger and terror were all overwhelming and new. The actual threat of danger, paired with the realization that no one around me could say it was all going to be okay or that I was safe ached me to my core. Not knowing what this means for my country back home, my country abroad or the world as a whole is terrifying. However, there is one thing for which I am sure, I will not stop living my life. They, whoever they truly are, want us to be scared. They want us to stop traveling and stop smiling and stop trusting our neighbors and I refuse to do that. I most certainly will remain alert when going to new areas and question my surroundings as I always have. But I will not expect the worst from everyone nor fear what is waiting around every corner. We are stronger than the terrorists and must show them that by continuing to live a life filled with happiness. If they can not scare us, they have no power. I understand that I am young and I do not know what it is like to have my own child living in this unpredictable world. I can see that look in my mother's eyes when I cross a street without looking both ways or stay out an hour later than I had previously promised.. and for that look, I will continue to keep myself safe by making decisions that I believe will protect me. But life is filled with uncertainty and I plan to embrace my future without fear. 

         For those of you who are wondering, I will be going to Barcelona from 1-3 December as planned and flying out of London to come home on December 19th, as well. This experience has taught me to see the beauty in different cultures, the knowledge that is to be gained from seeing new places and that time will pass no matter how I am spending it. These last two months have flown by and I have done all that I can to hold on to every moment, but they do slip away. I will not spend my last few weeks terrified, I will remain smiling at strangers on the street and attempting to savor every last minute that I have on this adventure. I hope that everyone back home will do the same because as this horrible event shows us, lives can be gone in the blink of an eye. Please do not waste yours while you are still lucky enough to have it. 

My prayers are with Paris & everyone whose lives have been affected by this terrible tragedy.

It's going down like London, London, London (Nov 6-8)

       Our weekend in London was wonderful. Though it rained the entire first day for our walking tour, we were able to see all of the sights on our list in the morning. The largest shock that I had during this excurison was how many statues I recognized from my history classes that I am taking here and the amount of information I already knew about London that our tour guide was telling me. It is a great feeling to see monuments/statues and actually understand the importance and meaning behind them.. especially since the last time I visited London i was fairly clueless. The fun fact that I took from the tour was that London used to use coal for everything that involved heat and in 1950 there was less wind than usual and all of the buildings and city became covered in soot. Everything turned grey and 3000 people died from the heavy soot in the air. In 1990 (so recent!), the city powerwashed everything and that is why the buildings are no longer grey. I am not sure why I found the thought of people power washing a city so amusing or if you will as well, but there you go!
       I had never heard of Borough Market before this trip, but I am so happy that we were able to explore and try all that it had to offer. Basically, it was a giant market with countless stands selling food items. From cheeses to falafel and granola to cannolis, there was something for everyone. Almost every stand had samples, which we took full advantage off and had delicious greek food for lunch. After, we wandered the city and then went to see the Crown Jewels, which were more beautiful in person than I can even explain. There were dozens of signs and guards to stop people from taking any photos so I do not have many to show you all how unreal the items were, but if you are ever in London it is certainly worth the trip to see the sparkles for yourself! It quickly brought me back to my childhood dream of being a princess and the realization that it is still 100% a life goal of mine.
       At night we explored Camden Market in a different area of town which was completely different from Borough. This was mostly crafts stands. Jewelry, scarves, home decor, paintings, etc. These items were all very unique and beautifully made. We spent a while admiring all of the pieces and amazing craftsmanship and then grabbed dinner at a closeby, questionable Mexican restaurant. However, where the food lacked.. the beer, tequila and lime margaritas made up. Following a few cocktails and odd looking meals we hopped back on the tube (this was actually very easy to figure out and we used it several times without issues through the weekend) and returned to our hotel. That second night we went out to a nightclub in the Camden area called Propaganda which my friend Bryan from high school, who is currently studying in London, told us would be a good time. This was easily the largest club that we had been to since being abroad, but it felt like a must-do while we were here since London is so known for it's nightlife.
     We woke up and visited Buckingham Palace and then spent almost the entire day at afternoon tea or "High Tea". Let me just say here that the exchange rate is BLOODY AWFUL.!! 1.6 US dollars is equal to 1 pound.. therefore, this was not a cheap afternoon. However, it was one of the most memorable experiences that I have had yet while abroad. I don't know if it was the hour and a half of bottomless champagne, countless varieties of tea, delicious tiny pastries or modern harp player, but I was smiling ear to ear the whole day. Pat, Sarah and I arrived in the late morning to Conrad St. James Hotel for our reserved tea time. The waiter was easy to talk to and explained how the day would go and then popped the first bottle. Next, he showed us the menu for finger food and tea. Once selecting our teas, he filled our glasses and we cheered to a soon to be delightful afternoon. The harp player showed up a few minutes later and sat down playing an extremely familiar tune.. Hello by Adele. We loved him all ready! He continued to play modern hits from artists like Britney Spears, Beyonce and Ed Sheeran and older ones like Hey Jude and American Pie.
     As the day went on, we chatted about all of our favorite memories since being abroad, coming to a sudden realization of how close of friends we have all truly become during this experience (which seems to happen after a few glasses of any alcoholic substance lol).. but this was different. When people say that the friends you make while studying abroad will be some of the closest friends you ever make, they are not kidding. I am not sure if it is our love for our home at Bryant, our new home at Cork, or simply being thrown into this adventure and having to rely on one another from the start.. but my friends here I hope to have for a lifetime.
     We ended the day in a mad dash to the hotel just in time to grab our suitcases and board the plane to Dublin with our API group. Sarah then misplaced her passport before we went through security.. LOL she was so distraught and as you can imagine after free flowing champagne (and a random round of Bloody Mary's .. *cough *cough,Pat's fault) we found this hilarious at the time and were not the most helpful. I eventually found the passport somehow, thank god, and we are able to laugh at the situation now.

Overall, it was a splendid weekend in London and I will surely be an avid appreciator of High Tea for as long as I live (as long as it involves endless champagne).

Bye for now!

Uisge Beatha: Water of Life (Nov 4.)

1.
I had forgotten to mention that we passed Dolores O'Riordan's house (Cranberries' singer) on our Ring of Kerry trip and I did not want to forget because I thought mom would appreciate that. I listen to the Cranberries and Shania Twain when I am missing her.. oh and NSYNC Christmas as of last week. I couldn't help myself.

-#TBT to broken ornaments Christmas 2015

2.
Franciscan Well Brewery tour:
1. I love these beers and the environment of the Well, we come here probably once a week. There is always delicious beer, usually live music and there is also an outdoor beer garden (which is kept warm by heat lamps). In addition, they have pizza which is a close second to my Italy pizza (for real!), it is cooked in a huge stone oven inside the beer garden and made directly in front of you when you order.
2. We learned that after they strain the barley through the vessel, the leftover "mash" can be used to feed cattle, as biofuel, as rich protein for cereal bars and more. I am learning loads about how beer and whisky are made here and have developed a pretty big appreciation for the art! Doesn't mean that I will choose beer or whisky over other alcohol forever.. but I am beginning to be able to distinguish a cheap/low quality beer from a nice one and that's something!

3.
Uisge Beatha
Irish pronounciation: Ishka Baha
Meaning: Water of life; Whisky
1. Tasted like hell to me, like fiery death when I tried it at the Jameson Distillery tour
2.On the tour we were shown the barrels that the whisky sits in, during the maturation process, at different stages and how much truly evaporates during this period. Our guide told us that they call this evaporated whisky the "angel's share" and that at the distillery the angels get 29k bottles worth of Jameson EVERY DAY!

4.
Nicole came last weekend and we had so much fun exploring Cork together during Halloween. I showed her the city, took her to Blarney to kiss the stone and we went on a Paddy Wagon trip to the Cliffs of Moher. These were unbelieveable and I am so grateful that I was able to experience these sights for the first time with her. She was able to see the Ireland that I have fallen in love with and understand why I can not get enough. The busride to the cliffs was a bit rough (to say the least) after our Thursday night escapades, but I made it through and we were able to get back in Cork with enough time to go to the Triskel for a film. This was my first time going to a viewing here (this is the desanctified church turned art/performance center) and it was a blast! We watch The Thing and enjoyed a bottle of wine while relaxing in our pew.. which was odd, but the church atmosphere totally added to the creepiness of the movie. Overall, we had an awesome weekend together and she got up for her very early flight (5:15 wakeup )the morning after Halloween. I can not wait to be back at school next semester with her, but it is comforting knowing that she is just "across the pond".

5.
My next trip is a few days away! We are going to London from Friday-Sunday through API and I am eager to go back. I did not love London the last time that I went, however I am hoping that I have a great experience this time. We leave Cork around 1 Friday and arrive in London by 5:30, then we have the night off. The following day we have a 4 hour walking tour of the city, ending at the Tower of London. After, we have the rest of the day to explore and we plan to ride the London Eye. That night we have signed up for London Pub Crawl with some of the Bryant students who are studying in London which should be fun and we are prepared to show our English friends all that us Irish students have learned the last few months LOL. The last day we are able to do whatever we would like until we depart from Heathrow at 10 pm. We obviously need find activities to do during these three days, so I plan to ask Nicole (who is studying here) to give me a list of the big ones that we will need to see.

6.
In other news, Sarah and I have officially booked BARCELONA for 1-3 December which I am so excited for! Anddd... I am spending the next week accomplishing as many papers as possible so I feel comfortable also booking SWITZERLAND with Nicole for 7-9 December. Ahhh, so pumped. But I NEED to accomplish lots now so that I am able to turn the assignments in ahead of time, since I may be gone the week that all of the papers are do.


LASTLY, my parents will be here in 10 days! AHHHH, I can not wait to see squeeze them. Bob, Sandy and Kirsty take Ireland. Oh my! It will certainly be an adventure. Let the countdown begin.


Bye for now!