April 8, 2019
I got the pleasure of taking my phone to the phone repair shop and getting it fixed for a lovely 130 GBP. On the bright-side, the gas station near Coppin House is finally finished. In fact, it seems to be more than just a regular gas station. It is part Centra and part Moran’s which means that they do sell gas (petrol), but they also sell produce, snacks, hot food, and ice cream. That night some friends from Coppin and I went try out their ice cream. Not bad and after having to get my phone fixed it made the day much better.
April 10, 2019
The weather was super nice today! No rain, not as cold, and *gasps* the sun decided to grace us with its appearance. This type of weather is too good to not be in it and I ended up going with Antonia and Josie on a walk.
After not having any assignments or tests this entire semester, final assignments and tests are rolling around all due around the same time. I have to say that even with deadlines coming up this semester has been the most relaxing semester of my entire academic career.
April 11, 2019
Presented on my topic for Irish Folklore today and it went well (it’s also over which is even better). I had chosen to research Irish wakes and funerary customs and I truly did enjoy researching that topic. It was a perfect mix of anthropology and history.
In typical Thursday class fashion, a group of us went to Boojum for lunch this time in celebration f being finished with presentations.
April 13, 2019
Somehow Alaina and I got it into our heads that we needed to visit Glenveagh National Park. It is the second largest national park in Ireland and is just a not so quick trip across the border. Of course, the only bus time that would get us there was at 8:30 am which lead to us getting up at 7 am. However, we almost didn’t get to Glenveagh.
We were not able to exchange our GBP for Euros and the bus did not take card payments. Fortunately, the bus driver was an amazingly sweet woman who set a positive tone for our entire trip. She allowed us to ride to the Letterkenny bus station and just use the ATM there to get the money to her. She even pointed us in the right direction to catch our other bus towards the actual park. She was so helpful and nice that it made our day. The thing we didn’t account for is that there is only one bus that goes to and from the national park and it drops you off at 10:15 am and does not come back until 5 pm. That is the only bus. That meant we were at that park for almost six hours. Six. Hours.
When life tries to give you lemons, make lemonade. The park was huge and we were able to explore basically all the park had to offer. From the gift shop and restaurant to the Glenveagh castle and the beautiful gardens. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take pictures inside of the Castle but it was truly beautiful.
April 14, 2019
Today was just spent studying for my upcoming finals and working on my research paper for my From Civil Rights to Brexit class. I decided to explore hunger striking and its use in Irish resistance. It is going pretty well and I am learning things that I had wanted to explore when I decided I wanted to come here.
