Onto the next!

I'm back! Here to finish off the second part of the week.

After Mom and Grandma left, I made the most amazing stir fry for dinner. I admit, I am not the most amazing cook ever, but I think I could define this meal as amazing. At 7:00pm, I headed off to Club Tennis practice. Ever since I arrived at UCC, I had decided I wanted to join the Club Tennis team. Holy Cross doesn't have a club team, and I've always really liked playing tennis. Not to brag, but I was runner-up in my camp's Camper/Counselor tournament two summers ago. But because I have been so sick, I wasn't able to go to any of the previous practices. I decided Sunday night I would finally start going, so after dinner I walked over to the Sunday's Well Boating and Tennis Club where the UCC team practices. The club is basically right across the street from Castlewhite. If you haven't already figured it out, Castlewhite is the best location. I barely have to walk more than 5 minutes to anywhere I want to go around the UCC campus. I was so happy I went to tennis on Sunday! Everyone was really nice, and it was one of the first opportunities I had to get to know some Irish students outside of the classroom. I've noticed that a lot more Irish students are familiar with America than I thought they would be. Most of them have a very good sense of the U.S. geography or have even visited a bunch of times. There was also a tennis practice I went to last night. Even though it's really fun and I love playing, it's hard for it to be a productive practice because there are so many people. There must have been at least 70-100 people there last night. So although rallying and talking to other people is good craic, I definitely want to improve my skills which might be hard to do. I'm going to keep going for a little while and see if the group gets smaller, but if not, I'll have to think about if I want to continue with it.

Tuesday was full of the good and the bad. First, the bad - Early Start Final Exam. NOT FUN. I think it's clear Archaeology and I were a bad fit from the start. Luckily, I met some great friends, saw some cool places, and heard some awesome Irish music on the field trips, so I still have fond memories from the program as a whole (as long as you omit the "learning archaeology" part).

The good came that night - a delicious, free meal. Jeannie LaPlatney, our Holy Cross Study Abroad Advisor, came into town for a site visit, and we all went out to dinner together. It's always nice getting a prepared meal that you don't have to make! We were able to tell her everything that's been going on with us. It was also nice because all of us Holy Cross girls have such different schedules now with the start of classes and different clubs/societies, so some of us don't see each other as much. It was nice reconnecting with each other, as well.

The other big news of the week was the Slainte Society meeting yesterday evening. It was their EGM. I'm not entirely sure what that stands for, but it's something along the lines of their Election meeting. Different positions were elected, and there was a general discussion of ideas to accomplish throughout the year. I ended up running for one of the Ordinary Committee Member positions and I got it! There are 3 OCMs. Our next society meeting is next Wednesday evening, and then the Committee (treasurer, secretary, OCMs, etc.) is going out to dinner at Captain Americas afterwards. It should be a great way to get to know each other. I think I'm the only international student on the Committee, so I'm very excited to have the opportunity to meet more Irish students. Unfortunately, one of my friends from Early Start Archaeology is having a dinner party on Wednesday evening which now I will not be able to attend, but considering I already know a bunch of the American visiting students, going to this committee dinner will definitely be worthwhile.

Finally! Everyone is caught up! Next item on the agenda to discuss on Sunday: PARIS! I am jetting off tomorrow afternoon with a group of Holy Cross girls to the famous City of Lights! I'm pretty sure that while I'm there I will be seeing one of my Lochearn campers, Ella, who lives in Paris. I am so excited! I will be sure to bring my camera and have many stories to regale you all with!

Have a lovely (this very-Irish word has become a permanent part of my vocabulary) weekend! Slan!