Downtown Waterford

Sorry I didn't get a chance to post yesterday! We've been super busy. After breakfast yesterday, we went into downtown Waterford and had another tour of part of the city.

 

We learned a lot about Irish history. Then we went into an Episcopalian church. It was beautiful!!

We also got to see how they make Waterford Crystal!! It was so neat! 

Waterford Crystal has been use in a lot of famous chandeliers, trophies, etc. It was so beautiful! And really expensive... 

We then had the chance to eat lunch at at traditional Irish pub called The Gingerman Bar (I'm in love with the name!). It was delicious and just what you would expect in an Irish pub. 

I love all the different sayings the Irish have!! They keep saying "that's grand" and "cheers." They also don't pronounce the "h" in words with "th" most of the time. For example, they say "one ting [thing] they used to do" or "I tink [think]." It's pretty funny. We were told that we talk really weird haha, and everyone stares at us. When we told this one Italian man we were from America, he said "But you're not black?" We also had someone ask us if we were Spanish and speak Spanish to us hahaha. It's been great, I mean grand ;)

It is about a 45 minute walk from downtown back to campus, but it is so beautiful!!

First day in Waterford

The drive to Waterford was beautiful!! There were lots of cows and big open fields. When we got to WIT (Waterford Technological Institute), we were given lunch and a tour of the campus.

It was a lot more modern than I expected, but it was really nice. Most of the people we met there have the best accents!! It't been fun to see how they say certain words differently or use different vocabulary- like how they say "rubbish" instead of "trash." 

After our tour we went into downtown Waterford and went on two different tours. One of them was in an old tower, and the other one was in a Medieval Museum. They were both really interesting, but we were too tired to pay close attention.

I've had a blast, but I'm looking forward to getting a good night's sleep tonight!!

Dublin airport

I'm in Dublin and waiting for the rest of the group to get here (most people flew separately). The flight here was interesting because I saw the sun set at 8:30 (Atlanta time), and then I saw the sun rise two hours later. I met up with a couple people, and we're waiting together. When our group gets here, we will have a 2-3 hour ride to Waterford. So excited- but really tired :)

Getting ready

Hey y'all!! I can't believe that I leave for Ireland two days from now, and I am overwhelmed by everything I still have to do. I'm so scared of getting over there and realizing I forgot something. Which, I shouldn't be because my mom has been helping me. And for those of you who don't know my mom, she is not one to come unprepared. I think I have everything I need. In fact, I have probably packed too much. We were told to leave a decent amount of room in our suitcases for souvenirs-- oops. 

For those of you who don't know much about my trip, I will be spending five weeks in Waterford, Ireland. The program is through European Council, and I will be studying with students from different colleges in Georgia. I am taking two different psychology classes that I am really excited about (yes, I am a dork), and I have a required seminar on Irish culture. Every week we will have class for two days, field trips for two days, and three day weekends :)

I leave early Thursday morning for the airport, and I would appreciate it if y'all prayed for safe flights, that I wouldn't have a problem meeting up with my group, and for my luggage not to get lost. I won't get to Waterford until sometime Friday, so that's probably when you'll hear from me next!!