I spoke too soon...

I just mentioned in my last post that the weather was warming up and the sun was shining. Well, things decided to take a turn for the worst :(

Today and yesterday have been FREEZING and it poured all day on both days. Today it even snowed some! Dang.

Praises

As I reflect on recent occurrences in my life, I can't help but praise God for His goodness to me! Here are some highlights:

*It looks like I will in fact be visiting GREECE!!! It's kind of a long story how everything started to fall in to place, but once it becomes "official" I'll share some more :) In the meantime, you can be praying that if this was God who opened this door, it stays open!

*The weather is warming up! It's been sunny and warm, and things are beginning to bloom. Nothing like a bright, sunny day to lift one's spirits :)

*Ireland in general...I've had such an amazing experience here. I've learned things I didn't know I needed to, grown spiritually in areas I didn't realize were weak, seen places I never thought I'd see, built friendships with people I never knew before, and fallen in love with a country and culture that I had never experienced before.

*Jesus' death and resurrection--I went to a women's Bible study yesterday morning at my church, and we delved in to the crucifixion. In the past, when I read through the event, I always felt so uncomfortable and guilty (which is legitimate), but yesterday I saw another perspective I never noticed before: how utterly in control Jesus was through the whole process. It made me realize a little more how absolutely powerful God is.

There are so many more praises I can think of and list, but those are the ones that came to my mind at first :) May I praise Him even when things aren't always sunshine and roses...

Weekend Fun

This last weekend was very active...and very fun! I think with the combination of warmer weather, familiarity with the city, and our time here coming to a close, everyone is a bit antsy to get out and see more around Dublin. So that's just what we did.

On Friday night, some of us girls went to something called a Ceili (an Irish word pronounced "kay-lee," which means "party"). Basically there was a live Irish band, a large dance floor, and lessons on how to dance the Irish way!

The regulars are usually older people, but we happened to come on a night where a large group of Austrian high schoolers came for a visit. It was so fun to have a mixture of older, Irish people teaching us the steps, while reminiscing on what it was like to be at a high school dance.

Because all the dances required a partner, we primarily danced with one another, but I was privileged to dance with an old Irish man and an Austrian high school boy...haha. There were 5 of us that went to the Ceili, which meant someone usually had to sit out. I sat out the first dance, but not for too long before one of the high school boys came up to me and asked, "Will you dance with my friend?" Haha...oh high schoolers :P Later on in the night an older Irish man asked each one of us girls to dance with him...he was a good dancer!

Katelyn, myself, Leanna, and Kim (and Erin took the picture)

Before each dance, the instructor demonstrated and needed a volunteer. He kept asking us to be his volunteers because he said we were the only ones with enough courage!

Not sure what this dance was called...

Dancing with "Mr. Limerick" (as we called him). My dance with him was the waltz...he was great at leading, but the song we danced to happened to be nearly 10 minutes long! My calves were burning by the end and so was my nose...Mr. Limerick didn't smell very good :<( but he was such a sweet man!

On Saturday Erin, Katelyn, Kim, and I went to Phoenix Park, which is one of the largest parks in Europe. Inside the park is the President's house, which we got to tour (without going through ANY security...weird) and see her personal office, which was really cool.

President Mary McAleese's house

As we were roaming the park, we saw some deer and decided to see how close we could get...

I was amazed at how close Kim was able to get. But then...

THEY started coming towards ME! They got closer...

And closer...

Oh my goodness! I couldn't believe it! Granted, I had an apple core to offer, but I had never been that close to a live deer before. I was a little scared of his antlers, not gonna lie...

I love the Spring time flowers!!!

Then Sunday after church, I headed back up to Howth (if you remember in an earlier post, I had gone there for Valentine's Day but had a miserable experience because it was so cold). Howth is a small seaside town located on a peninsula just north of Dublin. I went with Katelyn and Leanna, and Leanna's two friends who were visiting from Oxford. We enjoyed walking on the docks and piers, through the farmer's market, and along the cliff walk...so beautiful.

Those would be sea lions...begging for food

Not quite sure what this sign means...

Flowers! :)

Housemates!

Ashley, Katelyn, Leanna, and Emily

The gorgeous view...I'm so blessed to be living in such a beautiful location!

Just an ordinary update

Wow...2 posts in 1 day? I'm on a roll! I realized that almost all of my posts are on big events during my time in Europe, rather than the day-to-day, usual kind of stuff. So, for those of you who are even interested, I thought I would give you an update on what I've been up to and a little peek into what a "normal" day looks like for me :)

CLASS

In order to continue receiving financial aid, I'm taking 12 credits here in Ireland (even though I only need 9 to graduate). My credits have consisted of 3 classes (each 3 credits) and a 3 credit internship.

One of my classes was Irish History, Politics, and Culture, which I got out of the way my first 3 weeks here along with the other American study abroad students.

After much hassle and irregularity I finally got my regular class schedule set about mid-February. I'm taking Sales Management and Marketing Communications, both of which meet twice a week in the middle of the week, so I don't have any class on Mondays or Fridays...convenient :)

Homework is...nonexistent :P I had 4 papers to write for each of the topics in the introduction course, but thankfully those are over and done with. My other 2 classes each have assigned 1 paper and 1 final exam. One paper I've already finished and turned in, and the other paper is a group paper that's not due until the end of the semester. What an incredibly relaxing and enjoyable way to finish off my college career :)

Unfortunately, none of my classmates are Irish. College is actually "free" here in Ireland (thanks to a 50% tax rate), but for whatever reason Dublin Business School charges tuition. Because of this, not many Irish students desire to pay for tuition, so they choose the free schools. The study abroad students, however, are already paying for tuition so paying DBS makes no difference for them. Therefore, my classes consist of American, German, and French students. The main reason why the Germans and the French came to Ireland was to learn and/or improve on their English. Since I'm the only American in my Sales Management class, I do a lot of repeating and reiterating to my classmates what the professor is teaching. It's fun though :)

Oh, and the school failed to tell me ahead of time that classes end April 9...I was under the impression they ended the 23rd, so my flight back to America is for the 24th. I do have finals on the 12th and 13th, but other than that I've got my last 2 weeks in Ireland free (as in, available)! My hope is to visit relatives in Amsterdam and then head off to GREECE during that time :D Oh, I hope, I hope, I hope...

INTERNSHIP

Oh, it was quite a pain getting an internship. But, I've got one! I was hoping to intern with an organization similar to Women At Risk, but unfortunately that didn't work out. The closest organization DBS could get me in to was a nonprofit.

The name of the organization is "Camara" and essentially what they do is refurbish computers and send them to Africa to be used in the schools. They also have people working in Africa who not only install the computers, but also educate the students and teachers on how to use them. If you're interested, you can check out their website: camara.ie

Erin and I actually both got internships at Camara, so not only do we live together and have a class together, but we also work together! Thankfully, we're still friends :)

Our original responsibility was to organize and carry out a fundraiser for Camara. After doing a ton of research and narrowing down our options on what event we were going to do, we received word that they no longer wanted us to plan a fundraiser. So...basically our assignments keep changing and I still don't exactly have a set job. Currently, I'm researching the affect technology has had on developing countries. If you know of any helpful resources, let me know :)

Even though Camara is far away, kind of dumpy, and located in a shady part of town, it's been fun to work with Irish people. Since I don't have class with anyone from Ireland, it's nice to interact a bit more with them!

CHURCH

I'm so thankful to be able to have found a "home church" while in Ireland! The people are very friendly, and I've been able to get pretty involved. One couple already had me and a few others from Cedarville over one Sunday afternoon for lunch...it was so nice! I've also gotten plugged in to a home group on Tuesday nights and a women's Bible study on Friday mornings. I didn't realize how much I would miss being around believers! It's great to know Christians from another culture, interact with them, and learn from and with them.

FUTURE JOB...A SIDE NOTE

For those of you who have not already heard, Women At Risk just recently offered me a job!!! I of course accepted, and could not be more thankful! It was a huge answer to prayer, and it's so nice to know that I have a job waiting for me when I get back! :)

VISUALS

Feeling overly ambitious on this whole blog thing, I decided to photograph different things that I see everyday...so you could know what a basic day in Dublin looks like for me! Each day is different in regards to the order of events, but I generally end up seeing the same things each day. I left a little early this morning for class, so I was able to take lots of pictures...thankfully, since it's the day after St. Patty's there were still lots of tourists and I fit right in with my camera :)

Leaving our little housing community for the Dart station

One of the neighbors' homes...I took this for the sake of the flowers :)

Sydney Parade Dart station...where I catch the train in to the city centre

One of the stops on the Dart...there's almost always a soccer or field hockey game going on that I get to catch a minute or two of as I sit on the train :)

The stop I usually get off of once in the city centre: Pearse Station

The streets that I walk on the way to class...

Trinity College (above)

The famous Molly Malone statue

Grafton Street...the walking-only shopping street

Fresh flowers on Grafton

Turning off Grafton to get to my class

The building where the majority of my classes are held...complete with French boys from my class outside smoking

Inside and up the stairs

Inside my lovely classroom...oh, and while I was early, I actually wasn't THAT early. I'm actually pretty sure I walked in right at 12 when my class starts...that's another reason why Ireland has been absolutely fabulous--everybody runs late and I fit right in! :P

Walking to my internship...

The signs here crack me up...they're quite straight forward. Another favorite of mine is on some of the trash cans which says, "Litter is disgusting...so are those responsible."

St. Patrick's Cathedral

Christ Church Cathedral

Taking a short cut down a back alley...it's even called "The Back Lane". Haha

Still walking to my internship...

"Street Markets" selling...toilet paper

Almost there...

Turn the corner, walk through an archway, and...

Welcome to where I work!

The office space I share with Erin and our boss...it gets kinda cramped.

Walking along the River Liffey back to the Dart Station

O'Connell Bridge (above)...the only bridge in Europe that's wider than it is long

Tara Street Dart Station...where I get on to go back home

After about a 15 minute ride on the Dart, and a 5 minute walk from the station, I'm back to home sweet home :)

Hope you enjoyed my day!