The unexpected snow....and the end part uno!

Alright, so as my time to come home grows closer and closer, I continually get more and more perspective on this experience...which is good!  haha...and one thing in particular that really tested me in the last couple weeks was the weekend after Ben left.  As you can imagine, I was on an extreme high the week after Ben left, but at the same time I was ready to see the rest of the family- emotional ups and down - quite normal over here let me tell you! :)  That Wednesday, I performed at UCC's got talent in a venue in Cork with my Irish friend, Izzy from Tramore.  I accompanied her on piano as she sang Regina Spektor's, "Samson."  It was a lot of fun, and it felt very neat to play in a venue in cork, Ireland!!!

Look at all the people watching us!!! haha

Anyways, the plan for that following weekend - Dec. 2-5 was to take a trip to Stockholm, Sweden with Connie as kind of an end of the semester holiday thing! Needless to say, we were both stoked about this trip!  But...then the snow came....I flew to Dublin on the morning of the 2nd at 7 am and then sat around all day waiting for Connies flight to get in around 3 pm so we could catch our flight to stockholm at 7 pm.  However, as the day went on...the snow kept falling...and flights were delayed, then delayed longer, then cancelled.  At 3 pm...her flight was cancelled altogether soo then what right?  Well after calling mom and getting my anger out...I did my best to pull myself together at get on a bus back to cork.  Luckily the buses were still running...there as a lot of snow - about a foot in some places around Dublin!  The bus ride home took about 5 and a half hours and it was not the best night of my life....it really challenged me to figure out what I was supposed to be taking from the situation!

However, I did my best to take it in stride - as did Connie - and I tried my best to keep myself busy that weekend.  Luckily, I have some great friends here who were more than willing to hang out with me.  I ended up taking a trip to the Jameson Distillery in Midleton, Cork on Saturday with my friend Chelsea..and it was an awesome day.  And guess what? - I became an OFFICIAL Irish Whiskey Taster myself!  The tour here in Midleton was better than the one in Dublin I thought - and Midleton is the actual place where Jameson is made today!  Then at night, we had my friend mary come over to her apartment and we made pizzas and watched movies.  Later on in the evening, Chelsea came out with me to actually meet up with some of Connie's roommates from England who were visiting Cork for the night!  It was great showing them around and listening to some music!  Sunday was also good because I got a paper basically done, and then I went to a carol service with my friends Mark and Laura - Mark is the leader of a study abroad program from Connecticut I believe.  They are a young couple who are so much fun!  All in all....even though the weekend was rough because I wanted to be in Sweden...it turned out alright!  That's normally the case in the end isn't it: Everything will turn out for the best!

Chelsea and I!

Jameson!

The world's best dessert - well one of them..

Last week was then my week of tests, essays, and group projects.  And, they all turned out pretty darn well.  It was also the beginning of the goodbyes.  Which is really hard to swallow right now.  On Tuesday, the Christian Union took all of us Americans out to dinner one last time to say goodbye which was great - they have been a great support and loving friends!  I am actually going to spend my last day (Saturday) at my friend Izzy's house in Tramore before heading up to the Dublin airport in the middle of the night - and I believe a bunch of them will be there to see me off which will be great!  Wednesday, I went to my last Bible study and it was hard saying goodbye to that gang too!  And, on Friday there was a retirement service/reception for George, the Chaplaincy's Church of Ireland pastor.  So, I said my goodbyes to all the chaplaincy folks then.  Yet again, another great support and group of friends...(I didn't realize how many people I really created relationships with until this last week!)

CU dinner!

Chaplaincy Christmas Party

And, this last weekend, I got to spend a night at my friend Rachel's house near Kilkenny!  It was awesome!!!! A true Irish home experience!  My friend Amelia (from Colorado) and I took the bus home with Rachel and her brother Michael (who also goes to UCC) on Friday afternoon.  We had a wonderful dinner with her parents on Friday night and then curled up in their sitting room next to the wood stove and watched a film!  On Saturday, Rachel's mom took us into Kilkenny to check it out, and then her dad drove us to a beautiful park area!  And, then it all concluded with another wonderful meal of Irish stew, dumpling, peas, etc.  Oh and by the way, we had a freshly baked apple pie and tierra misu (no idea how to spell that) for dessert!  It was quite wonderful to get a true Irish home experience! 

Amelia on left - Rachel (house) on right

View from their house!

Wood stove...ahhhh

Fresh fish...it was a stretch for me...but it was good!

me, Rachel, Amelia, Michael

Unbelievable

Once I returned on Saturday night, we went out to An Spailpin Fanac, our favorite pub, for Jordan's last night before heading to Rome with the Chaplaincy.  It was a very enjoyable night!  I think I got pretty lucky with my two roommates this semester! Jordan and Ryan are both great guys!  Alright, I'm sure I'll have at least one more post before heading.home!  I'm off to England one more time this Wednesday to Friday to see Connie and Lancaster.  Peace!