I've never been the type of person to have a blog, but after the last few weeks I have realized that my life is far too interesting for people not to have a knowledge of it.
My name is Savannah, I'm a sophomore at Franciscan University and I study Theology and Catechetics with a Youth Ministry concentration. I love anything Pittsburgh, Haribo gummy bears, Lacrosse, and Catholicism.
I'm studying in Gaming Austria with Franciscan University's study abroad program. I have been here for a number of weeks, traveling to different countries and having all kinds of cool adventures, hence, the blog.
I guess I could tell you about Ireland now, like the title suggests, it was a great way to ease into the semester. I traveled from Pittsburgh to Chicago to Dublin (quite a feat after returning from working in Northern Michigan at an all girls catholic camp the day before). It was a really long day of traveling but we eventually made it!
Our first stop was Castlebar. There we stayed with a family friend of a girl I was traveling with. It was the perfect way to start our stay in Ireland. They made us some kind of Irish stew and welcomed us into their home. It was wonderful. Then they took us to this really old Abbey in Castlebar. We took cool pictures in the ruins, and in the garden area.
The next day, bright and early, we departed Castlebar for Knock. We had mass in this small chapel, and believe me when I say it was the fastest mass I had ever attended. 15 minutes flat. After that we visited the shrine of Our Lady of Knock until it was time to catch our bus to Galway. Our group got split up, so Adriana and I boarded another bus, separate from everyone else.
HELPFUL ADVICE: Don't do what we did. Stay together, it was very hard to find each other once we made it to Galway, we didnt even know if we had all made it, or where our hostel was, so if you can't all fit on a bus, WAIT FOR THE NEXT ONE. It's not worth the stress. You are in a foreign country, take it seriously.
It was a very long ride to Galway but Adriana and I made it and attempted to find our hostel. As we are walking through the main square I hear SAVANNAH! And see Cassie running towards me. From there we met up with her and Hannah and MaryRose, it was so great to see them, it had been a long summer apart! Then Adriana and I asked some people if they knew where our hostel was, and they helped guide us in the right direction.
MORE HELPFUL ADVICE: Ask strangers things, esspecially in Ireland. They speak English and can help. Swallow your pride and do it.
Galway was amazing, it was one of my favorite places we stayed. We stayed for two nights, and depsite the drunk 40 year old man that slept in tiny underwear and smoked in the bathroom at 2 am, we had a great couple of days. We met up both nights with other Franciscan students there at this sick bar called The Kings Head (go there, it is awesome and get the King Charles dessert drink, it's delicious, I still dream about it). We met awesome Irish friends, Killian and Nathan, who also slept in our room, and a group of Dublin guys who took us to this cool electronic dance club in Galway called Carbon6.
NEVER lie about your age to an Irish police officer when hes checking your passport. Just don't do it.
Also, never wear a rugby to a club, you might not get in. I was very happy I was wearing it, compared to what some girls had on (modesty is the best policy ladies) but the security guards weren't too pleased with me. Maybe this is just the ghetto Pittsburgh in me, but I think sports-wear is classy.
We also took this sick day tour to Connamara, and saw a really awesome castle called Kylemore Abbey. That tour was so cool, easily one of the best things we did all week.
After we left Galway we spent the next two nights in Dingle. I LOVED DINGLE. It is like the Seattle of Ireland, right on the water its this adorable sea-side down and we stayed in this aggressively hippie hostel/campground, it was awesome. Right up my alley.
Eat the berries on the tree's if you ever go to Dingle. They are delicious I promise.
This is where we decided to start the new life. Sailing away on a canoe and living off of the earth.
No for real though, Austria is all about roughing it. You are going to be tired. DO NOT be that person who complains all the time and nobody wants to travel with. Suck it up.
I went for a jog around dingle, where I ended up getting lost and running for almost two hours. It was beautiful, but be aware of where you are. THINGS LOOK DIFFERENT AT NIGHT! Duh Savannah.
Catherine and Maria and I hiked this aggressive mountain, Mount Brandon. It is the second tallest mountain in Ireland. Did that on the same day as my 10 mile run. Not the best idea, but the view was incredible. Also became one with the sheep. Baa. And even though it was hard, I would have rather done that than sat around. Austria is all about adventure, take every opportunity to do something cool that you can. YOCTAO (You only come to Austria once).
After Dingle we headed to Dublin for our last day. On the way we stopped at the Cliffs of Mohr, it was beautiful, we took some pictures, and had some awesome soup in the little cafe. Then we got back on the bus and went the rest of the way to Dublin. Some of our group wanted to go see Trinity College, but I just wanted to find the James Joyce statue and chill out, so Catherine Maria and I hung out in O'brien's cafe for a few hours then we all headed to the airport. We met up with a bunch of Frannys and stayed there for the night. Our flight was pretty early, so we just slept in the airport. Do it. It saves money. You can sleep when your in America, don't waste your money on unnecessary lodging. I might just be cheap, but it was a good choice.
Soon enough, we boarded our plane and were on our way.
Stay tuned to read how Patrick and I almost missed our flight from Frankfurt to Austria, our first couple of days at the Kartause, and our first real "Scott Knows" moment.
Peace of Christ
- Savannah
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