We found it!

My parents arrived in Dublin this Monday, and it was great to see them.  They walked about an hour from the location of their hotel to my workplace and met my co-workers right after they stepped off the plane.  They learned quickly that when a Dubliner tells you that Point A to Point B is 15 minutes, it's actually double or triple the estimated time!  The only sad part about seeing my parents was that I wish my brother was here too.  Ben, I don't know if you've been following my blog so you may never see this, but how could you pass up a trip to Dublin?! You're crazy... hope you're enjoying the sweltering heat in Chicago while we are cruising in 60 & 70 degree weather :).

After my parents met my co-workers we went out to lunch at Violet's Cafe, an all-time favorite.  I love the people who own it (a son and his mother) and I always have long conversations with them when I go there.  After Violet's I took my parents on a work errand with me (slaves) and we ventured to Rathmines, another DIT location, so I could pick up a few important checks.  We stopped at a coffee shop before that and then headed to the DIT.  Apparently the DIT had issued checks in the mail that were stolen by an individual who tampered with the amount of money written on the document and the bank didn't catch the error and cashed the check anyway.  Now the DIT has chosen not to send out checks in the mail and they require an individual to pick the documents up personally, which is where I came in.  I loved speaking with Elaine and the other people who worked in the office; they were so friendly and gave us suggestions on places to stay and see during our travels.  Monday night I ditched my parents to go to my friend's apartment to play poker.  I never actually played I just observed; I have no idea how the game works but I'd love to learn one day.

Tuesday my parents took me out to lunch again (I am really enjoying mooching, as you can see) to a place called Louie's Bistro, right near my work.  The food was delicious.  I finished up at work and then we went to The Porterhouse with a few friends so that my parents could meet some of the people in my group.  My dad loves beer so I knew that the microbrewery would be a hit (he's raised me well because beer has always been a favorite of mine too).  After dinner I ditched my parents again to go to my last Tuesday night trivia with them at the Woolshed.  No luck winning but still a good time.  I'm seeing a pattern emerging here.  Eat meals with my parents, ditch them for my friends.  That sounds awful!  However, I figure I have an entire week to travel with them starting tomorrow, so I mine as well see my friends as much as possible before I leave, right?

Wednesday I ate dinner with my parents at The Brazen Head.  More food, but no ditching this time.  After enjoying my Beef and Guinness stew and writing my name on a dollar bill to staple to the wall (the pub is decorated with American dollars and European Euros that visitors write on and post to add to the decor), we went back to my apartment so they could see where I was living.  We hung out there for a while and then they called a cab home. 

Thursday I conducted a few parent interviews (sadly, my last) asking parents about the Speech and Language Therapy programs that their children received.  One parent spoke to me for nearly an hour, and the interview was supposed to last for only ten-fifteen minutes!  We were joking around with each other and I told her I was an intern at the DIT and thanked her for entertaining me and occupying my time.  She laughed and told me she was happy I enjoyed listening to her because she loves to go on rants and most people tune her out.  I'll definitely miss conducting these interviews in the future, I've spoken to such friendly and interesting people and I've loved getting to hear about their experiences.

Thursday night I went out for drinks with my co-workers, including Cathy, Siobhan, and Eaimur.  I told them about a pub that was listed in my guidebook called the Hidden Pub, written under "the hardest pub to find in Dublin."  Most of them hadn't heard of it and were excited to look for it with me.  Here were the clues given to us:  it's on the north side, near Mountjoy square (where I work), down an alley that isn't named on maps, and on the edge of a housing estate (never say the Irish aren't pioneers when it comes to pub building!).  The Hideout is worth searching for, as you'll feel like you've achieved something, the drink is comparatively cheap, and it's usually peaceful and uncrowded, except when there's a match on.  After walking down a few alleys and sketchy neighborhoods, we found the location of the pub!  There were only three or four lads in at the time, and they were looking at us as if we were aliens or something.  I'm assuming most people haven't found the pub before and that it has a strong local gathering.  We ordered a few drinks and watched the game-shows that were playing on the television in the background.  The book was right, I did feel really accomplished after finding the location... but I couldn't have done it without the help of my co-workers who know that area better than I do.

We went to another pub soon after The Hideout House and started talking about the summer and how sad we were that I'd be leaving.  They gave me a few presents (a necklace, an "I Love Ireland" shotglass, and chocolate) and a really nice letter thanking me for my work.  I'm going to miss everyone so much; this has been one of the best internship experiences I've ever had and I'm not ready for it to end.  I'm actually writing this post and my very last day of work (Cathy told me not to work too hard today!) and I'm feeling really sad as I'm typing this.  I was so lucky to have been placed with such a great organization with amazing people that I've loved getting to know.

After enjoying drinks with my co-workers I walked a short distance to Talbot 101 for my farewell dinner hosted by EUSA.  I sat with a bunch of my EUSA friends and asked them about their internship experiences.  Mostly everyone had positive things to say and told me how much they would miss working with their organizations.  It seemed like we were all on the same page.  Then I went back home to relax with GT, Amy, and Nina in our apartment with a bottle of wine.  GT and Amy are going to Barcelona this weekend so I won't see them until my last night in Dublin on Thursday.  We made a pact that we would pull an all-nighter that Thursday.  I actually orchestrated the pact which is strange since I'm the grandma, but I don't want to sleep the night away when it might be the last time that our group is all together in one place.  I'm just planning on drinking 20 cups of coffee and sleeping on the plane to get me through it.  Brilliant.

Tomorrow morning I head to Kilarney with the folks to visit the Ring of Kerry and Dingle.  Tuesday and Wednesday we're staying at Castle Leslie.  Thursday marks my last night in Dublin and Friday my return flight back to Chi-City.  One more week to live it up and "take Dublin."  Where'd the time go?!  My arrivial in Dublin where I lugged my 49.5 suitcase up four flights of stairs feels like just yesterday...

Who is Shamwow? You Tell Me!

This weekend went by way too quickly.  On Friday after work I went home and got ready to celebrate Ling Ting's 22nd birthday!  We went to a club called D2 and stayed there until 3.  Closing time was 3:30, and I bet if I hadn't literally fallen asleep on a bench around 2:50 my friends would have been down to keep dancing the night away.  I don't know how they do it!  They call me "grandma" here because I get so tired.  But who wouldn't get tired at 3 a.m.?!  Keep in mind that staying out until 3 a.m. isn't only a one night occurrence either.  I embrace my nickname though, and I have a new appreciation for sleeping more than 5 hours a night!

On Saturday a few of us decided to see Harry Potter 7 Part 2 at the Omni Movie Theater.  The movie was really well done and even though I haven't read all the books or seen all of the movies in the series I was able to follow the storyline.  After the movie we got ready to go out for our friend Seamus's gig "You Tell Me" at "The Legal Eagle" near four courts.  We decided to make shirts for the occasion because we're Seamus's biggest fans (especially me.)  Amy designed the shirts and on the front they read "Who is Shamwow?" (with a four leaf clover as the "O") and on the back "You Tell Me."  It was a pun we made up since it tied in both Seamus and the name of his band.  The band was really good and we couldn't stop dancing to the music.  They played 16 songs, some of which were originals.

After the show was over around midnight we decided to go back to Seamus's house for an after-party.  It was really interesting to see what life in Ireland was like outside the city and getting to explore a typical Suburban house (versus the "Frat House" which is the only other house I've been inside since I've been here.)  The night was really chill; we basically just hung out on the couches, listened to music, and at one point started singing in harmony to a guitar player's chords.  We slept over at Seamus's place and I fell asleep around 3, but some people stayed up until 5 a.m.!  Insanity.

Tomorrow my parents arrive in Dublin.  I'm looking forward to seeing them and traveling.  My internship ends on Friday, and Saturday morning we're going to Kilarney and The Ring of Kerry until Tuesday morning, then Castle Leslie Tuesday and Wednesday, back to Dublin Thursday, and finally all the way to Chicago on Friday.  When I said I wasn't ready to leave Dublin in an earlier post my mind hasn't changed... I still feel the same way now.  However, I'm really excited to spend the last two weeks of my summer with my friends from home before college starts up again, because I miss them a lot and can't wait to hear about their summers in person versus via e-mail.  It'll be great to be reunited, but there's no doubt that I'll be missing Dublin at the same time.  Definitely a bittersweet feeling.

No pressure?!

Monday: When I got back from my amazing and exhausting weekend in Cork I wasn't surprised that my friends were all planning to go out.  We went to Dicey's and Coppers to celebrate Sham-wow's birthday.  I stayed out until 4 a.m. and had to wake up at 8:30 for work!  I somehow survived the day with a few cups of coffee.

Tuesday:  I met up with AR for dinner at a really great Thai restaurant called Koh that I want to take my parents to, who are coming to Dublin this Monday!  I was sad to say bye to AR but so happy that I was able to spend an amazing weekend with her.  I realized that we both have the same traveling mentality where we want to see everything we can in the limited time available, even if it means that we're exhausted the next day.  It helped that we were on the same page.  Then I went to trivia night at the Woolshed, what has become our Tuesday tradition.

Wednesday:  The Comet, need I say more.

Work:  Cathy gave me an intimidating but exciting assignment, and I'll try my best to complete it in the six days I have left of work.  I just can't believe how quickly the time has gone!  Cathy sent me a data file with LGBTQ youth (Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Questioning) responses to several surveys that she administered measuring depression, anxiety, psychological distress, and other relevant categories.  She wanted me to run some statistics on the files and try to come up with some publishable results to write-up, which coincide with past data written about the "minority stress" model.  After reading this article (Meyer 1995) along with several other studies about the subject matter, I gained a better understanding of what her research was all about and the results that she hoped to contribute to the topic.  Cathy told me this assignment would be a great experience for me and said there was no pressure; I could take my time with it. 

No pressure?!  I'm really excited for the opportunity but I'm honestly not confident that I'll be able to complete it in the time I have left.  I've already spent an entire day running statistics and copying them onto an Excel spreadsheet, and I haven't even completed that section yet.  However, I'm going to try my best to make something out of what I was given because being able to publish something would be incredible.  I'm also starting to find patterns in the data which leads me to believe that the results could have a valuable scientific contribution to the research already presented on minority stress.  Even if I'm not able to complete the assignment in time I'm already gaining experience from going through the motions of running statistics and will ultimately learn a lot from beginning (or completing) a report based on the results.  We'll see what happens...

Do you believe in magic?

My weekend in Cork with Aunt Randy couldn’t have been better.  On Friday I met AR in my apartment around lunchtime and didn’t let her rest more than two hours; we went straight from Shanowen to meet my co-workers at the office and go out for drinks and tapas.  I dragged poor jet-lagged AR with me to Kavanagh’s, also known as The Gravedigger Pub, which was about 20 minutes away from my office.  The pub is located next to Glasnevin Cemetery, an eerie looking space with numerous old graves.  Cathy told me that the Cemetery used to have “grave snatchers” that would steal the bodies and use them for scientific research.  Picturing that scene really frightened me, but my mood shifted when I started thinking about the irony in visiting a cemetery with Cathy, as “Hocus Pocus” and Sarah Jessica Parker came to mind.  I felt like I was a character in the movie and that Cathy would whip out a broom at any moment and fly away! Here's a picture of us at the pub, can you spot SJP?

After the pub we got some sleep so that we’d be well rested in the morning to begin our travels in Cork.  We took the Dublin Bus to the Luas Train to the Heuston Station and arrived in Cork about 4 hours later.  We didn’t let the long day of traveling stop us from exploring the city; we quickly arrived at the Imperial Hotel (where Michael Collins, a leader in the 1916 Irish rebellion, stayed the night before he was assassinated), dropped our bags off, and booked it to the English Market.  It was definitely a perk traveling with an adult because we were able to stay in a nice hotel in a great location (a luxurious break from the hostels).  The English Market is an impressive indoor market in operation for more than 400 years.  We browsed the aisles of fresh meats, cheeses, fish, and breads and indulged ourselves with a fresh sausage sandwich, which was absolutely delicious.  I really enjoyed the experience because I could tell that the market wasn’t only appealing to tourists; plenty of locals were in our presence purchasing the fresh foods and it looked as if they shopped here regularly.  We found out that Queen Elizabeth II had visited the English Market in May!  Apparently she never eats in public, and I don’t know how she could have survived her experience in the Market without giving in to her taste buds… especially with the aroma of fresh food taking over her senses.

After The English Market, we decided to climb the hill north of city center into the district of Shandon, where we heard about the bells at the Church of St. Anne’s.  Unfortunately, by the time we arrived at the church the bells were closed to the public.  However, we kept walking and came across the Butter Museum.  We spoke with an older lad who seemed really passionate about butter (hysterical), and he led us inside.  We learned about the economic prosperity Cork faced when they were able to create a marketed butter brand and butter roads to sell the product outside of the area.  One of the most interesting parts of the museum was the section on folklore.  Back in the day, butter makers used to believe that witches stole their product.  They used to perform rituals to prevent the butter from being stolen, such as pouring salt over it.  Serious believers in folklore used to even put hands from dead bodies on top of the butter so the witches wouldn’t steal it!

The Butter Museum was quite an experience, but our night didn’t end there.  We headed to the Franciscan Well Brewery, a microbrewery (actually a rarity in Ireland) built on the site of a Franciscan monastery where legend has it that the well water was a miraculous curative.  Some lads outside suggested a drink to us, and when I arrived inside and looked at their suggestion I immediately laughed; the alcohol content of that specific beer was the highest on the menu.  I wonder if they were trying to pull a prank on us or if they actually thought we would enjoy their selection.  We ended up ordering two glasses of Rebel Reds (“a robust amber ale with a distinct caramel flavour”) and really enjoyed them.  After our drinks we went to a delicious Italian restaurant, Rossini’s (which our lovely cab driver recommended to us), with a live piano player and singer.

The next morning we woke up early to make sure we arrived at our breakfast buffet in time.  We headed out soon after to St. Anne’s Church to ring the bells.  The top of the church houses four clocks on each face, and all four faces show slightly different times which has earned it the nick-name “the four faced liar.”  Originally I thought that the experience of ringing the bells might be corny but I was pleasantly surprised at how much I ended up enjoying it.  We put on ear-muffs to protect ourselves from the loud noise of the bells and winded our way up the tower’s stone stairs.  There were several floors before we finally reached the top (which supposedly has the best view of the city.)  The first floor contained the actual bells, so we stayed there for a while and played a few classics using the music sheets to alert the city of our arrival.  On our climb we learned about the historical significance of the eight bells, which were first installed in the summer of 1752 as a gift from Daniel Thresher.  The bells first rang out on the 7^th of December in 1752 to alert the city of the marriage of Henry Harding and Catherine Dorman.  After taking some pictures we headed back down the narrow passageway and signed our name in the guest-book. 

We decided to travel to Blarney Castle for our next stop, which was also probably my favorite.  We walked around the castle and found “the dungeon” and the Watchkeeper’s Lookout Tower.  Then we went inside and began to climb to the top, where we passed by what used to be the kitchen and some bedrooms in the castle.  When we reached the top I was surprised to find that kissing the Blarney Stone would be a lot scarier than I had anticipated.  I visualized a little rock on the top of the castle that was easily accessible and not dangerous to reach.  However, I hadn’t pictured the location of the rock to be on the edge of the castle, where I had to be held by an older lad so I wouldn’t fall down!  I had to lie down on my back, grip the handle bars, and lean way back to make sure that I hit the right location.  My favorite sign read: “The prize for kissing the stone has always been a great one but in the past, it was a dangerous challenge.  Today, the introduction of solid iron bars for protection ensures that you need only flirty with eternity.”

Legend has it that kissing the Blarney Stone gives one the gift of gab- or the gift of eloquence.  Winston Churchill, among other noteworthy names, has been at this very location and kissed the stone. The Discovery Travel channel lists kissing the Blarney Stone amongst its 99 things to do before you die. I can check that one off my bucket list now.  On the way down from the castle we passed by the murder hole, which was used to deter outsiders and assailants from the premises entering the lobby through the use of boiling liquids, stones, or other missiles dispatched from the hole.  I thought it was fascinating learning about the castle and I had such a great time exploring the area and picturing what life would have been like in those times.  I picked up some souvenirs from the gift shop since this was one of my favorite places I’ve been so far.  Whoever I decide to give them to must follow the directions on the package; I don’t want to give too much away but let’s just say that I know the souvenirs will bring the recipients some Irish luck (you'll see why soon.) 

After walking around the castle, stopping for a tea break, and exploring “The Poison Garden” we decided to go on a quick hike.  The best part of the hike was the “wishing steps,” which relates back to the folklore that the Irish used to follow.  Apparently, the Blarney Witch has taken firewood from the Estate for her kitchen, and in return she must grant visitors to the castle wishes.  In order to receive a wish, you must walk down and back up the steps with your eyes closed, and without for one moment thinking of anything other than a wish.  We both decided to make the scary climb up and down the slippery steps and ended our journey alive.  Hopefully our wishes will come true.  During that same folkloric themed hike we passed by the Witch’s Kitchen, the Witch and Druid Stones, the Sacrificial Altar, and the Fairy Glade.  The day was seriously “magical,” and even though I don’t think I believe in a lot of the folklore, it was interesting to learn about some of the myths as it gave me a sense of what Irish culture looked like in the past.

On our way back from the castle we started talking to our cab driver.  Luckily, Aunt Randy loves talking to strangers just as much as I do, so we had a ball interacting with numerous locals whenever we were in a cab or at a destination.  This cab driver told us about a pub that was located right near our apartment called “Canty’s,” which he claimed played the best live music in the city.  We stopped by the area due to his suggestion before dinner and I could tell he was glad we listened to him.  I think Aunt Randy liked the music more than I did though.  After Canty’s we went to a delicious Indian restaurant and relaxed from our long day.  I had originally intended to explore a pub with AR after dinner, but I was so tired from the day that I decided it would be better if I passed out and rested up so I could enjoy our last morning in Cork.

The next morning we got off to a late start and couldn’t decide how to occupy the limited time we had left in the city.  After speaking with the concierge we decided to call a taxi to take us to the Cork Gaol, which used to house prisoners, many of which had roles in the rebellion.  We went on a tour and put on headphones with background information telling us about several prisoners that used to live in the facilities and their stories.  I definitely wouldn’t have wanted to be a prisoner in those times; inmates weren’t allowed to talk to each other and the conditions were miserable.  I had a good time exploring the premises but this was probably one of my least favorite destinations because I felt like I didn’t get as much out of it as the other sites.  The tour was rather short and we ended it feeling like we wanted more information.

This post is getting really long so I’ll try to wrap it up in this paragraph.  After the Gaol we headed back to the train to embark back to Dublin.  Once we got off the train AR realized that I had left my bag of souvenirs under my seat!  I was so disappointed because I had just picked them out the day before and couldn’t wait to give them to my friends.  I also purchased gifts that couldn’t be retrieved in any other location other than Blarney.  AR decided we should try to go back to the station and see if there was a lost and found section.  I thought the chances were slim that we’d find them but I went along with her plan.  We took a taxi and explained what had happened, and the cab driver was absolutely amazing.  He called the station for us and informed them that we were on our way and looking for a missing item.  Then he approached the man at the gate and told them what happened.  At first, the man told us that the lost and found section had closed five minutes ago and that nothing had been turned in.  I was so bummed… but then he asked me what I had left, and I told him it was a Blarney gift bag.  So he told me he’d check the area just in case, and one minute later he returns with the bag!  I would have never found it without the help of our cab driver, who knew just the right person to ask.  I truly think that kissing the Blarney stone brought me luck in finding the right person to seek out my lost items (even though I was the person responsible for losing the items in the first place… but still!)  The experience of finding the lost gifts in a crowded train station (a task I thought would be impossible) is the reason I just know that everyone who receives the small gift will also benefit from a lot of luck.  Maybe I should take the Irish folklore more seriously after all… the saying "the luck of the Irish" might actually hold true.

I haven't posted here on a while...

But you'll just have to wait a little bit longer to hear about my weekend in Cork with Aunt Randy.  I've been working on my paper so I haven't had time to blog yet.  However, an extra long post will be coming your way soon!

Business and Butter Beer (Work & Play)

Since my last post Sunday- I've been living it up in Dublin (nothing new).  Monday after work I decided to take a day off, stay in and clean my room.  It was necessary; my roommates can vouch for how quickly my space transforms into a perfect scavenger hunt for missing items.  Tuesday I decided to go to the Brazen Head, the oldest pub in Ireland, dating back to 1198! I didn't have my camera with me but I'll definitely go back and post pictures because I loved the environment of the pub; I kind of felt like I was in a fairytale again.  After the Brazen Head I met with Maire at the EUSA Capel building.  Sometimes I forget that I have a 14 page paper due at the end of this trip.  Clearly I haven't started it... in fact nobody in my program has.  But there's always tomorrow? No... I'd much rather go to The Ivy House.  Maire told me that the point of the meeting was to nag me about starting my paper since it's due in two weeks.  Great, she totally uplifted my mood.  I'll write it eventually, but for now I'd rather procrastinate as long as possible and pretend like the assignment doesn't exist.

After the meeting we went to The Woolshed for Trivia Night.  The theme of the trivia was Harry Potter.  I've only read the first three books so I wasn't much of a help to my team, but I still enjoyed the night because they were serving butter beer!  It's a mix of beer, butterscotch, and lemonade.  It sounds gross but it was amazing.  I didn't order my own but I mooched off of anyone who ordered it and pretended like it was my first time trying it with each person so I could have as many sips as possible.  Our group didn't end up winning but we were really close; I think we only got one or two questions wrong.  Too bad we just missed that 190 Euro prize; maybe next week we will have better luck.

That was the play section.  Now I'll talk about work.  Then I'll go back to play.  It'll be a play-work-play sandwich.  Perfect ratio.  Today at work I was going about my usual tasks: updating Cathy's reference lists, making sure I hadn't forgotten any documents to cite, alphabetizing the hard copies and filing them.  Eamur mentioned to me the day before that there would be a chance that I would get to join her in facilitating a parent focus group in Tallaght West on Thursday (the location of the intervention), but I hadn't heard back from her or Siobhan.  I didn't think anything of it and had pretty much forgotten about our conversation until there was a knock on my door from Siobhan asking me if I'd be willing to meet with her and Eamur to discuss the logistics of the focus group.

It was news to me that I'd be attending, but I was so excited (and a bit nervous).  I thought it was awesome that Siobhan trusted me enough to let me take on the responsibility.  We split up the questions in half and went over how to phrase certain sections.  Then Eamur and I headed to Tallaght in her car, about an hour away.  It was really interesting to see the location where the intervention was taking place because I was able to get a better idea of how disadvantaged the area was and how the services rendered there were truly beneficial.  We waited for the parents to arrive and even though we were expecting seven only three showed up.  However, the focus group went really well and the parents all had wonderful information to share about the intervention and the Speech and Language therapy that their children received.  The interviews I had conducted up until this point were all over the phone, and seeing the parents in person in a group expressing their gratitude and satisfaction with the program brought a more vivid sense of how the parents were feeling to me than I had experienced before.  Tomorrow I'm going back to Tallaght with Eamur to facilitate another focus group, and we're expecting six parents to come.  Hopefully they'll all show up!  I really enjoyed the day and can't wait to meet with more parents and hear about their experiences with the intervention and the Speech and Language therapy, which have all been overwhelmingly positive thus far.

I got home a little later than usual from work today and was planning on spending another night in when I get a text from one of my friends telling me to come to a pub called The Pav in Trinity College.  I couldn't resist the offer; she told me that the environment is really relaxed and that all the students drink outside on blankets and socialize.  It reminded me of the AU quad, or "beach" as we call it.  It was such a beautiful day out too, so the venue was perfect.  We set up our blanket and enjoyed the weather, took some funny pictures (we pulled off a six person pyramid), met some friendly lads, and overall really enjoyed the scene.  I'd love to go back sometime before I leave.  Tomorrow we're planning on going to The Ivy House which is becoming a Thursday tradition and then Friday Aunt Randy comes to Dublin!  We don't know what our weekend plans entail yet but I know that whatever we decide to do will be great.  With all of these upcoming plans when am I ever going to write this paper?!  I foresee an all-nighter coming my way soon.  Coffee will have to be my savior.

Rock DJ

I haven't posted a new blog in far too long; this week has been so busy that I've barely had a moment of rest or time to myself!  After my sentimental July 4th posting I figured I'd give everyone an update of how my night went.  I may not have seen fireworks but I had a great time with my friends at Dicey's eating 2.50 Euro hamburgers and "chips" with curry (a recipe I want to bring back to the States along with those Baby G's).  At first, I wasn't so sure how the night would turn out, because after convincing my friends to attend that "free" barbecue I had researched, the event turned out to be a hoax and the meal was actually 10 Euros!  False advertising!  I felt bad for stringing my friends along for the disappointing ride but Dicey's turned out to be a great alternative with cheap food, fun people, and a good time.  However, the burgers aren't 2.50 Euros until 9 o'clock, so I was counting down the minutes until the clock turned to 9 and getting really antsy as the time was passing.  I was obviously the first in line at 8:59 p.m.!

That was my Dublin Fourth of July in a nutshell.  Dicey's, burgers, & dancing.  The next night our group of friends decided to go to trivia night at the Woolshed Pub since some of the Irish lads we hang out with recommended it to us.  We were quizzed for four rounds on cartoon characters, artists of songs, names of celebrities, and random trivia.  We named our team "The Locals and the Lassies" (the PG name, I can't say the real one), because our team members included three Irish locals and four non-local lassies.  We ended up with a perfect score after the first round of cartoons but then we missed a few questions during subsequent rounds and ended up in the middle of the ranks.  The winning team receives 180 Euros so there was definitely an incentive to perform well but some of the questions were really tough and we were stumped.  I actually left the pub with a headache because I wracked my brain so much!  There's always next week though; we might make Tuesday Trivia night a tradition, it just makes sense with the alliteration doesn't it?

Wednesday was the one night this week that I stayed in.  However, even though I didn't go out, I still met up with a big group at an apartment in Shanowen and had a movie night watching "28 Days Later."  We didn't actually watch the movie though; we talked and laughed instead.  Thursday night we went to The Ivy House where drinks were only 3.50 Euros (which is cheap for that pub since it's normally very expensive).  There were a lot of people there from the EUSA program along with some of our Irish friends, so the night was memorable from the get-go.

I forgot to talk about work.  There's not much to add- I did a few parent interviews this week, wrote up some references for Cathy's research project, researched CDI training programs from their newsletters, and ate sushi (my favorite days are when we order in).  I'm getting closer and closer with the people I work with and I always look forward to hearing their stories and filling them in on my weekend plans.  This weekend, my Aunt Randy is coming to Dublin to vist me (so excited), and we're both going out with my co-workers for drinks and tapas on Friday night. I can't wait to introduce them to my aunt because anyone who knows her is aware of how special and amazing she is.  It'll be nice to have her here with me, and I'm looking forward to seeing her, showing her around Dublin, and possibly doing some traveling with her on the weekend.  I also can't wait for my parents to come in about two weeks!  I don't know what all of our plans entail yet, but as of now we're staying in a castle for a few nights that Aunt Jamie recommended to us (thank you)! It looks beautiful; there are hikes and horseback riding and scenic views... It should be incredible.

Now onto the weekend.  Friday night after work I got ready to go out to Coppers, a club in city center.  We stopped by "The Irish Frat House" before the club, which is what we call the house of some of the Irish locals we're friends with.  Even though they're not in an actual fraternity, we use that name because the lads that live in the house love to have a good time.  They're always up for a party- a typical "frat boy" mentality.  The name is really fitting and everyone at Shanowen refers to their house using that term.  It's caught on quickly.  Coppers was really fun- tons of dancing and great music (hence my title).  My favorite song was Robbie William's "Rock DJ," and I think it's a good title to my blog because the theme of this week was living it up in Dublin, staying out late, and having a good time (although that seems to be the theme of every week here).  The chorus goes: "I don't wanna rock, DJ, But you're making me feel so nice, When's it gonna stop, DJ, Cause you're keeping me up all night."  We stayed at the club until closing time, around 3:30, and then took a cab home.  We always search for the cabs that hold seven people, which are typically mini-vans.  So we find a cab that will fit our group and head inside, and the cab ride was as ordinary as all the others we've had. Not!  We're all talking about our memorable night and laughing when all of a sudden the cab driver starts blasting Soca music and dancing to the tunes!  We start following along and dancing the rest of the cab ride away until we hit our destination at Shanowen.  Nobody wanted that cab ride to end.  We couldn't believe how fun our driver was- the party in the cab might have been more exciting than the actual club itself.

After I got home Friday I crashed right away to prepare for our events the next day.  I managed to get a few hours of sleep before meeting at the Spar at 10:30 in the morning to travel to the Wicklow Mountains.  We took an 11:30 bus to Wicklow and arrived around an hour later.  We decided to hike the mountains independently without going through a tour company because the tours were mostly on bus and we wanted to see the sites on feet.  Even though we enjoyed our bus tour in Galway/The Cliffs, we wanted to have the freedom to venture to the places we chose without being confined to the schedule of the tour.  Amy researched everything for us and selected some of the locations she wanted us to see.  What would we do without her?!  We hiked up the mountain following the blue path, saw some amazing sites, took some incredible pictures.  The views were breathtaking everywhere I looked and the weather was perfect, sunny and not a drop of rain in the sky.  The hike was really difficult during certain up-hill points and I lost my breath several times, but once we got to the top I felt so accomplished and proud that we all stuck with it.  We climbed down the mountain and decided to stop by The Reefert Church and a surrounding graveyard with rough stone crosses and slabs.  It was kind of an eerie site but a lot of the graves were really stunning.  I felt like I was in a scary movie; thank goodness it stays light out here until late at night because it would have been a lot scarier in the dark.  After taking pictures in the grave we stopped by the "sensory garden" to relax and catch our breath before taking our 5:30 bus back to Dublin.  We hiked for about 5 hours that day and I was so exhausted by the end I could barely move.  I was grateful that we had a 1 hour bus ride to look forward to since I could use that time to sleep.

After the bus ride we arrived in city center and decided to treat ourselves to a nice meal at... "Eddie Rockets."  Eddie Rockets is pretty much the same as "Johnny Rockets" in the States, and a burger and fries sounded perfect after physically exerting ourselves the entire day.  After dinner we all planned on going back to our apartment, showering, and resting.  Even though it was Saturday night we all agreed that it would be best to take a day off from going out and catch up on sleep.  Great plan, eh? Yeah right, with our group of friends I knew that we wouldn't stick with that plan.  We ended up showering and catching one of the last buses to the city center to meet up with one of our favorite Irish lads.  However, we put too much trust in him because he ended up taking us to the sketchiest pub I've ever seen.  There were gross people with tattoos and piercings everywhere I turned.  The pub was really crowded and hot and there was nowhere to move.  The people were not what we expected and we were completely overdressed for the scene.  I drank a pint and pretty much ran out of there once I had my last sip along with the rest of our group.  We gave our friend a hard time for taking us to this horrible pub.  It was called "Fibbers," which is fitting because he "fibbed" to us and told us that we would have fun there.  No way.  At least I have a story to tell now.  After "Fibbers" we went to McDonald's to have some McFlurries and try and pretend that "Fibbers" never happened.  I don't think I'll ever erase that place from my memory though.  Thanks Sham-wow!

After "Fibbers" I went home and crashed immediately again.  This time we got back at 2:30, pretty early when you compare it to our previous night.  We woke up at around 10:30 to meet at the Spar and head to Howth during the morning.  I posted about Howth a few Sunday's ago when we initially explored the area, and we enjoyed it so much that we decided to go back and take advantage of some of the hiking that we weren't able to do before.  We got to Howth around lunchtime and went to the market to get some food.  Nina and I bought some fresh spicy red sauce and pasta to make for dinner.  I just ate it and it was delicious.  The market was the same as last week but we can't seem to get enough of it because the food is incredible.  They sell cupcakes, fudge, bread, sauces, vegetables, fruit, jam, you name it.  I've never tried anything I haven't liked there before; the free samples are hard to resist.  We ate our lunch and decided to embark on a hike up the cliffs in Howth.  On the way to the trail we ran into a fellow Canadian and I made my friend GT take a picture with him since she loves to bond with her Canadians (where she's from).  I'm known by my friends here for approaching strangers and striking up conversations with them.  After our awkward encounter (I think the fellow Canadian was scared of me), we got to the trail and the hike lasted a few hours; most of us were dying by the end considering we had just hiked for several hours the night before AND gone out right after.  But the views were amazing and we stuck through it, enjoying the scenery but never failing to complain intermittently about the pain we were feeling in our legs and feet.  Then we caught the bus home, stopped at Tesco to get some groceries, and headed to our apartments.

That just about sums up my Monday-Sunday.  Hopefully anyone reading this can get a sense of just how busy I was now this past week.  It was great craic (which means great fun here), but also very tiring.  However, I only have a few more weeks here in Dublin, so I have to enjoy it as much as I can and fill in my time with as much sightseeing as possible.  I'm looking forward for what is to come.  Sleep is for the weak! :)