Happy Duck Day

So after a week and a half back from our long break, we began break again on Wednesday. So naturally, I slept late and then went for a run in the morning. IN the afternoon I went to a seminar on terrorism held at the Danish Institute for International Studies. I was suppose to get there at 1, but I got lost. Then I couldn't figure out how to work the door. In my defense, danish doors are tricky. You have to buzz, press a number, wait, hope that you deciphered the directions correctly. I finally got in and enjoyed the seminar. The speakers were experts from all over Europe and gave me a couple of ideas for my final research paper in terrorism.

Over this break I have a ton of work to do. I have a 15 page, 10 page, 7 page plus two group papers to edit. It will be fun. But today I played hookey from work to celebrate thanksgiving. It is my favorite holiday (beside my month long birthday celebration.

My friend elisabeth invited me over to house. She lives with her aunt, uncle, and two cousins. Since Denmark doesn't celebrate thanksgiving we would do the cooking so they could come home and eat with us at 6. I left my room around 11, went to three grocery stores and the flower booth in town then took the train out to visit her. Shocker, I got lost. The trains took longer/tech problems, and the bus system was complicated. It took me a while, but I did get there.

We did prep work, ran, then cooked for a few more hours. Although it was raining, we had a great run. A little bit more hilly then where I live, but so pretty. Elisabeth made mash potatoes, nut bread, green bean casserole, carrots, and cranberry sauce. I made stuffing, a cranberry/cocoanut/chocolate/walnut pie, another cranberry sauce, and butternut squash. Her aunt made the duck. Yes, we had duck. On thanksgiving. Her family doesn't really like turkey, and you can't find whole turkeys at any of the grocery stories ( I should know; I went to four today alone + her uncle picked up whipping cream for me on his way home after I mistook coffee cream for heavy cream--lost in translation).

But everything was great it was her aunt, uncle and two cousins whom she lives with and another aunt, uncle and cousin. Everyone was so

nice. It was the first thanksgiving for some of them. It was godd to be with family, even if it was not my own.

The pie turned out great. First time I had made it/ servely altered/ made a new recipe. Also experimented with the leftover pie dough and created a other dessert.

They invited me to spend the night, but I know that I'll be more productive tomorrow I'd I wake up in my own bed.

I hope everyone had a fantastic thanksgiving.

Today iam am thankful for the oppertu ity to study abroad, for great friends and family, my health, and for the duck who made a delicious main course. A turkey out there is grateful for that as well.

From Tralee to Copenhagen

Where I left off in my trip was Saturday evening, so I will take it from there.

Saturday evening I was suppose to go out with Ciara and her friends. The howling wind and rain, however, was not exactly welcoming. So instead of going out I stayed in and watched television. It was a good choice; the door started to shake because of the strength of the wind about an hour after I made my decision.

Sunday we spent the day relaxing and went to Bana beach. Such a beautiful beach, wide, clean, gorgeous views.

Monday we went into town to run errands. I went in with my grandma, walked around until we met Sally, my grandma's sister. We met Sally so we could go with her to pick up her granddaughter from school, the same school my mother went to from k-3(2nd or 3rd) grade. The school was very cute. It was fairly big with a mini court yard in the middle, and classrooms surrounding it. Unlike my elementary school, however, the class rooms had walls and hallways separating them. It was a typical school, none the less it was neat to see where my mom had classes.

On Tuesday I made thanksgiving dinner for my grandparents. It is a good thing I brought my running stuff with me, because I ate so well last week. My grandparents house is situated on top of a series of hills that combined with the winds gave me a serious workout on all of my runs.

Wednesday my grandma's friend from work volunteered to be our tour guide for the day, taking us to Killarney National Park and the Dingle Peninsula.

Killarney was our first stop, and we lucked out. The rain had cleared up (it is my personal theory that it only rains in Tralee--it would be sunny elsewhere until we approached the town limits, and then as soon as we were in Tralee the rain would start) so we went for a nice walk. I could have spent the entire day on the trails. The trees were so neat, and the leaves on one some of the plants were as tall as me--I took a picture but they are on my grandma's camera.

After Killarney, which is near/part of the ring of Kerry, we headed to the Dingle pen. Very pretty drive. It started to rain, but we still had a great time. Stunning views of the hills and waters. The land in Ireland is such that you can see the property lines. In the US, you generally know where your land starts and stops, but in Ireland you can see it. They have hedges/fences that divide the land so everyone can see where your property starts and stops.

On Thursday we ran errands, relaxed, because on Friday my flight left at 630, so 430 wake up call. I will never fly Ryan air again. It was horrible. I did not check a box when I was checking in online, which they require, and therefore I had to pay a fee. I wanted to check a bag; I had to pay a fee. Lovely. Thankgoodness I did not have a carryon. As people were boarding the plane they announced that purses counted as a carry-on (this is after all the bags were checked) so women were attempting to stuff their bags into their carryon. If there carry-on was too big (because of the stuffing or they did not fit correctly into the approval basket thing) they had to pay for it. They were handing out slips left and right at the door. I have never seen so many people have to pay the extra. I asked for the customer service number, and they do not have one. You have to write to them if you want to complain. Seriously. Oy.

So after dealing with that I was

so glad to get on Norwegian. Not only is their checked bag limit 5 kg more than Ryan Air, the staff was helpful, and the ride did not make me feel like I was going to plummet to my death at any moment. It's bad when that's your standard for a good airline...

Now I am back home in

Copenhagen and glad to be back. Last night I went to bed at 9 so I could wake up for the meteor shower at 2. I woke up, but it was too cloudy to see anything. Today my only class was canceled, but I came into school, so now I just waiting for my meeting to begin in 20.

Back

Greetings. I arrived back in Copenhagen on Friday afternoon to lower temps and less daylight. I had a wonderful trip, but at the same time was glad to come back, despite the dramatic change in weather. This weekend I neglected updating my blog in favor of sleep and homework, but tomorrow evening I will catch you all up to speed with my last week in Ireland.

On a related note-- I would like to thank my grandparent for allowing me to stay with them--it was a fantastic visit!

Wind in Tralee

I have arrived at my final stop, Tralee. After two nights in Wexford, I departed on Thursday morning via a bus to Cork. I had a great time in Wexford; it's a small town by the sea. I went on long walks and took in the scenery. It was great place to rest up.

On Thursday when I got into Cork I met up with my Grandma's niece who goes to a university there. I stayed at her apartment overnight and then we headed to Tralee, where my grandparents live, on Friday afternoon. The bus from Cork to Tralee was packed. I think every seat was taken. The views on the way here were amazing. It was beautiful and sunny the whole ride. When we got into Tralee, however, that changed. Rain and wind is a staple of this area. As my grandpa keeps saying, "this is the real irish weather".

My grandparents house is a few minutes outside of the town of Tralee in the Spa. It is quite rural out here, but very pretty. The views are great because there are rolling fields and hills, an view of the bay behind which there are towering mountains. I went for a run both yesterday and today, and am enjoying the views. Today on my run, however, I was moving very slowly, not for a lack of effort though. The wind was incredible, so powerful. The gusts were brutal on the way out, giving me quite a workout. I had to be careful because the roads are narrow here; there are suppose to be wide enough for two car, but are snug with only one.

My grandparents house is cute, definatly an irish style. They have to boil water, scope out the lime, and then put it through a filter before they can drink it. They have a dryer, but my grandma only uses it on occasion for towels. With all this rain it's a wonder they have any dry clothes. They actually use coal in the fireplace to sustain the fire, very different then back home.

Today we went into town to do grocery shopping and then to the golf course for lunch. Out there the views are even better. The wind sent the waves crashing against the rocks, and it reminded me a bit from a scene in the latest Harry Potter film. Now I'm going to warm up, and then go into town tonight.

Traveling by Train

Yesterday I traveled from London to Dublin via train and ferry It was an all day affair. I left Keely's at 9 and got to London half past 5. I took a cab to the hostel because it was dark and the ferry left us off at the docks. (on a side note the ferry was a bit rough but they had a movie theatre on board so I saw Dr. Parnassus-with the late Heath Ledger. good, but odd).

I checked in at the hostel, and got a room. It was cheap, but really nice. For $15 I got sheets, towel, and breakfast. It was also right in the middle of Dublin. I went into my room, and then walked out. It smelled like smoke, and there was no way that I was going to be able to fall asleep. So then I asked for another room and they gave me it. Much better, and there was only one girl staying inthe 6 bed room. I then went for a run around town. There were plenty of people out running/walking so I was safe. I got stuff to make a sandwich at the grocery store, watched friends/one tree hill with a bunch of people in the hostel lounge. After sleeping 9 hours, I wandered around town. Got a train to Wicklow. It was very pretty there. Walked around, grabbed food at another grocery store, and then got another train to Wexford. I love traveling by trains. They are fast, and you get to see so much of the countryside. I took a bunch of pictures. After getting into Wexford I tried to find the hostel, and soon learned that people give horrible directions in this town. First of all the streets are narrow and windy, which makes for pretty pictures, but horrible if you need to find something. I found the hostel, and then left. It was too expensive for a hostel, and it was quite gross. Such a hassel. Then I tried to find a B&B. Couldn't find one with free rooms, so I looked for the internet cafe. Literally walked around for an hour. People would tell me you're two minutes away turn at the round about. I did that for an hour. Ridicuouls. When it started raining and my bag got heavy I found a B&B. I looked so pathetic that the lady gave me a discount so it was only 5 euros more a night then the hostel. I'm going to stay here two nights because there are plenty of trails to walk around in. Then I think I'm going to head towards Cork. ( I might get to Tralee earlier then I expect, but I have to call my grandma tomorrow to check). I just had soup and now at the internet cafe that I finally found.
On a more postie note, it is beautiful here. The country side is great, and the weather hasn't been too cold yet. Night!

Dublin here and safe

Hello London

So, I have failed thus far to update you on my travels(1.5 days of it). Let's recap.
After another trying week of school, I was thrilled when classes ended on Friday. My flight from Copenhagen to London was at745, so I had to rush to the post office after class, then pack. My friend Elisabeth's uncle and aunt have a backpacking/camping backpack so I borrowed that. I was running late getting to the airport, but CPH has these great self-check in things, so I ended up waiting by the gate.

My plane was small. I have never been on a plane that small. It looked like a private plane. I was shocked when we pulled up to it. There were 14 rows. I could feel the size when we flew. I mean, I still feel asleep, but it was rough. They had us buckle up over 20 minutes before landing because it was that shaky. When we landed in London I was glad to step on the land.

I got through Gatwick easily, took the Gatwick express into the City and meet Keely. It was great to see her. We dressed up, went out, and had frozen yogurt. It was lovely.

Saturday, yesterday, we met my friend from PC debate, Jon, at the Museum around the corner. Keely lives in South Kensignton, right by the History Museum. We then went to Notting Hill, because I wanted to go to this bookstore that Elisabeth's aunt/uncle recomended to her. It's called book for cooks. All cooking books. It was very neat inside, definatly a foodie haven. We found a neat spice shop next door, and there was a street market that took over the road.

We then went to the British Museum--amazing. We saw the Greek/Egyptian/Americas. I could have stayed there all day. The greek part was interesting because we I was in greece they always said things like, "this is a replica, the real one is in the british musuem", so it was like I was fully completing that trip. It's crazy to think about how much the British got away with in the 1800s. They literally took walls and major parts of other people's history from them. With that being said, they really do know how to preserve/display them properly. The mummy exibit was phenomenal. I saw cleopatra! Also seeing mummies on halloween was very fitting.

After we went to the globe, didn't go in because it was pricy/we were too tired for a tour. I love the london bridge though. I went for a run, keely cooked dinner, then we went out with her friends. It was a long evening, fun, but it took over 1.5 hours to get back. The bus system is the most inefficeint transportation system I have ever been on. Long waits, random stops that don't connect so you have to walk blocks to find the next one. Oy. But we got home, slept late, and now are heading out again.

Tomorrow morning I am heading to Dublin. I think I'm going to head out of here early so that I get to Dublin at a reasonable hour, so I can find a hostel/run/find food. I will then be backpacking till next Sundayish. I will then go visit my grandparents! I'll update you when I get to Dublin!