What I Did in the Last Month pt. 2

The second trip. sponsored by IES, was up to Northern Ireland.  Starting Friday, we met in the afternoon in Belfast for a quick lunch and tour of the conflict murals, then verntured further North to a small sea-side town known as Portrush.  Here we spent two nights in a well kept, but very retro hotel complete with an adjoining  pub and full Irish breakfast served each morning!

Whiskey tasting at the Bushmill's Distillery

Saturday day we stopped off at a Bushmill's Distillery, the oldest, legal distillery, for a late morning kick-start.  Next, we visited a special part of the Northern Irish coast known as The Giant's Causeway.  It was wet, windy, and incredible. 

Rainbow's are commonplace in Ireland

Group shot, a la Jake Kimble

In the "Giant's Boot"

After being taken out for a huge dinner at a restaurant with the most literal menu in the world (a cheeseburger pizza was actually a pizza with a cheeseburger on top), we had a night out on the town and encountered our first DRINK SPECIAL in Ireland - 2 for 1 until 11pm.  Boy, did Derrick and I take advantage of that!

The next morning, before heading back to Dublin, we stopped off at another part of the coast to walk the Carrick Rope Bridge.  I could try and describe how unstable you felt crossing it, but I think the pictures do it more justice...

Also in included in this month was the dreaded midterm week.  A storm that I can safely say we navigated ourselves through with relative ease.  What's worrisome now is the only thing that separates us from the end of our study abroad experience are 2 final exams, 7,000 words -spread over 4 papers, and a trip to Scotland.  All of which take place within the time frame of less than 4 weeks of time.  Giddy-Up!

Poland experience coming shortly.

What I Did in the Last Month pt. 1

Park lunch in the Galway town-square. (Great idea, Adam!)

The first trip we took was to Galway to see the west coast (also known as the REAL Ireland by all those who live there).  We spent the Firday night in the city, known as a culture-rich college town, and the second night on a nearly deserted Island - known as Inis Mor - that you could only reach by riding a fairy.  Galway was much less expensive and far smaller than Dublin, but equally as fun.  I taught some stiff Irish youths how to dance, but sadly, no photos were taken.  

 

To jump, or not to jump...

Inis Mor was incredibly eerie upon our arrival (8pm on Saturday night, pitch-black with almost no signs of life), but incredibly gorgeous once the sun rose.   In our hostel, we met a couple of old ladies - one from Texas, the other Alaska - who told us where to go if we wanted to see cliffs.  It was as if they read our minds!  So Sunday morning, we set off on a 45 minute hike to witness one of the most beautiful landscapes one could imagine.

The hike

The reward

What started out as a haphazard venture, turned out to be one of the most fulfilling trips I've ever taken in less than 3 days.  So much adventure, but so little time!  In between all of this, there were delicious meals, loud laughs, and special moments.  Many of which I can't include because I simply don't remember, but rest assured, they happened.  

To My Avid Readers

I sincerely apologize for my absence.  I know it's been hard for you, and my phantom-like existence is frustrating and largely unforgivable,  but in a vein attempt to justify myself, let me offer you an explanation.  

It's due to a combination of factors.  Mainly: a flood of academic assignments, successive trips, and a failing economic market.  Also, I felt compelled to finish my latest Chuck Palahniuk book, Rant.  It all happened in the blink of an eye, and in order to keep my head above water I couldn't afford to stop and contemplate, so I sincerely apologize.

For now, it is off to KraKow, Poland, to get a first person perspective of the Home-Country!  Until Monday, when I promise to return in full force with constant updates,  Na Zdrowie!

Malahide

This past Saturday Brian and I joined the girls for another train-trip to a town in northern County Dublin - an area I still haven't left from since arriving in the beginning of September.  The destination was Malahide, the purpose was to see our first castle.  

This is Malahide castle

And this is the group reacting to the sight of it.

The tour itself took about as long as it will take you to finish reading this post, and was a bit unorthodox.  It consisted of you and a random group of tourists walking yourself about the 8 room "house" as a voice recording continuously told you random facts.  The biggest letdown was the forbiddance of any flash photography, sorry guys.  You'll just have to take my word for it when I say they had some pretty intricately carved mantles back in the 1600's. 

Compensation for the lackluster castle was provided by the beautifully green, wide open area surrounding it.  There were hundreds of yards of untouched field capable of inspiring even the manliest of men to frolic.  Unfortunately though, Bryan has a bad knee that is aggravated by damp weather, so we were forced to settle for a jubilant stole in order to not make him feel left out.

Although our wanderings started out aimless, we ended up at a really amazing playground complete with a 40 foot slide, a really tall jungle gym that Jeanine and I conquered (seen below), and a huge tandem zip-line that made the entire trip seem worthwhile.

We also met an American couple from the East coast who just moved to Dublin no more than a week ago.  It seems the girls may be baby-sitting for them in the future - cha-ching! - but I'll let them tell you all about it.  Until next time, I'm Adam Kepa and you've just been updated.

  

Last weekend before this weekend

It's a slow Friday morning here.  Derrick and Brian are still asleep, compensating for the hours spent at a birthday for someone in our program,  and Joe left  for a  complicated trek to Amsterdam late last night.  Complicated because he had to catch a train from central Dublin to Belfast - where he was flying out of - only to kill 6 hours in the airport waiting for his plane to take off...I wonder how he's doing.  Anyway, before the activities of this weekend put me further behind in my updates, I thought I'd catch you up on the happenings of last weekend.

Saturday was a big day, and if it were a sit-com episode I think an appropriate title would be "Adam and the estrogen" because it consisted of me and 4 women parading around Dublin for the better part of the afternoon.  Starting from Kayleen's front-door, we walked to Dublin Zoo, where we were greeted by a sleeping lion, shy tigers, and phantom zebras.  

I can't say it was the best trip the zoo I've ever had, but it was worth it to see the Californian sea lions swimming around and yelping for no apparent reason.  I think we just came at the wrong time because it seemed like every animal was either being fed, or corralled inside for the night, but we still got some good views...

If you want more animal pictures, check National Geographic.

On our way back from the zoo, we stopped into The Brazen Head - Dublin's oldest pub - for much needed refueling before making the long walk home.  It was a nice, quaint place with a history so rich, you could smell it when you walked in and taste it in your Guiness.  Though it wasn't live (as the sign out front suggested it would be), it was the first time I had heard traditional Irish music being played in a pub since the first week we got here when my roommates and I sang with an Irishman.

  

In total, we clocked 9+ miles on the day, so you can imagine how excited we were to get home, heat up some food, and huddle around a laptop to watch the season premier of The Office!  The perfect way to end the day.

This just in...

A startling development has taken place in the course of Adam Kepa's study abroad semester. Approximately 4 hours ago he submitted a request to be selected for a completely random, one off, one-time job here in Dublin's fair city.  Considering it nothing more than a pipe-dream, he forgot about the entire thing almost immediately after hitting "send" at the end of the e-mail. 

Nearly one hour ago, that very same dream became a reality as his e-mail was quickly replied to with positive results claiming,  "You sound like just the type 

of person we're looking for - crazy!"  Out of complete joy, and a bit of shock, Adam then proceeded to exclaim to the entire living room he had been hired!  

So, what's the job?  Continue to scroll...

Shown directly in the center of this photo is the first participant of the 2006 Dublin marathon to cross the finish line.  Notice the graceful stride,  his hands jubilantly waving in the air, and the enormous smile on his face. Now shift your gaze to the right corner of the picture to the gentleman with the bright-neon vest eagerly awaiting the runner to cross the finish line so he can get his picture taken.  He's called a Finish Line Marshall, and that's what I'm going to be for the 2008 Dublin Marathon this October 27th.  

A big thanks goes out to my folks, without whom I wouldn't have had the experience to consider going after such a position.  

Catching Up

It's been a while since my last update, but it has not been due to a lack of activity over here. In fact, it's quite the opposite. Since I left you, A LOT has transpired.  So let's just get the apologies out of the way and move on, because I know you're sorry for wanting a constant stream of current information and you can't help it. All is forgiven.

Kayleen arrived, bringing with her 3 other females studying Dietetics at Purdue.  This means a number of great things, the most important of which is that they can all COOK! We've already taken advantage of this by organizing weekly group dinners between their house and ours, the first of which took place this past Thursday at their place.  

Rather than repeat what you may have already read, I'll just refer you to her blog for further detail/pictures.   Some might consider this lazy, or a bum's way out, but I think of it as my way of reducing waste.  There you can find a good summary of everything I've done in the last few days including our amazing trip to Howth (Hoe-th) for our first view of the gorgeous Irish coastline, fresh fish n' chips, and surprisingly, to meet some wild seals.  Photos for proof are there as well...

Just swimming freely in the harbor.

So while you get aquatinted with her blog, I'll get some photos organized from this weekend's trip to Dublin Zoo, and the Brazin Head - Dublin's oldest pub, and meet you back here soon.  Cheers!