I walked into my kitchen for dinner and Paul said to me, "would you take off that hat?!" I'm still wearing the minion hat. I didn't sleep in it OR go to class in it, but I've been wearing it in my room.

Brynn and I met up in the library and booked our hostel for when we go to Spain, and we are super excited!

Here are some pictures of me near the Carrick-a-Rede Bridge and Belfast this past weekend.

After crossing the Carrick-a-Rede Bridge

Belfast Titanic Experience

Minions

I was on my way home from my internship, and there was a vendor at the bottom of Grafton Street, selling minion paraphernalia!! There were hats and plushes, and the hats were only 5 euro, so I bought one! I'm going back to City Centre tomorrow, and I hope that the vendor will still be there.

Giant's Causeway and Belfast

Hey Y'all!

I have returned from my weekend trip to Belfast! Rickey, Hannah and I woke up at 5am on Sunday, took a taxi at 6:30, and hopped on a Paddywaggon tour bus to drive to the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge and Giant's Causeway.

The Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge is in County Antrim, and we had to pay 5 pounds to cross it (the tour did not cover it for us). It was worth it though - we got a very scenic view of Antrim.

Giant's Causeway was even more awesome! It's a bunch of basalt columns where tourists can climb on and take pictures. It's essentially an adult playground.

After that, the bus took us to Belfast to do some shopping, but since it was Easter Sunday, nothing was open. Rickey, Hannah and I walked to our hotel, which was loads nicer than the hotel we stayed at in London! The breakfast food was better (hooray for sunny-side-up eggs!!), and I did not get stuck in the elevator this time, so all was grand.

After breakfast, we took a taxi to Titanic Belfast, the birthplace of the Titanic! First, we took a SEGWAY TOUR to learn all about how the Titanic was built. That was honestly one of my favorite moments of being abroad! I've wanted to ride a segway ever since I was in third grade, when they were first invented. We rode around to the various attractions/ships, and at the end, our tour guide gave us some free riding time!! After the segway tour, we did an interactive tour, which took us through many different stories. We even saw a few of the telegraph messages that were sent while the boat was sinking.

I am exhausted, as we did so much walking today, and my calves are sore from the segway tour. I'm about to go to sleep, but I will add pictures as soon as possible. Also, this post probably does not make too much sense, but enjoy!

Giant's Causeway

I woke up early planning to go to Dun Laoghaire, but that didn't happen. I decided to do laundry instead, since I'm traveling a lot this week.

Hannah and I met up in City Centre later and grabbed Gino's Gelato (THE BEST!!), and I tried the Kinder Bueno flavor this time. We then walked around for a bit on this beautiful day.

I'm leaving for Belfast tomorrow with Rickey and Hannah, and we're gonna see Giant's Causeway and ride segways for the first time!! Can't wait!!

Start of Easter Weekend

Brynn and I met up at 10am, and grabbed a bus to O'Connel St, where we went on a long walk to get to Phoenix Park and the Dublin Zoo. The line for the zoo was incredibly long (I mean, I guess all the children had school off today since it's Good Friday, and it was a beautiful day...), so we decided not to go. We grabbed food at a cafe in the park, and walked to some monument and sat on it in the sun for a while. We squealed over the dogs that were playing (or mating?) on top of the monument near us.

After that, we walked all the way to St. Stephen's Green. The walk took long, but we got a ton of exercise. We stopped in Gino's for gelato, and I got a Ferrero Rocher flavored gelato! So good!

I am now back in my room relaxing, and I just booked a flight to Edinburgh! I was there 2.5 years ago, where I participated in the Fringe Festival, as Dunyazade in "The Arabian Nights." I cannot wait to go back!

Internship

The people at my internship are the nicest! Recently, I've been writing articles for their TechCentral website, which is beneficial for both of us. I'm receiving real-world news-writing experience for a medium other than radio, and they now have an extra hand in their news-writing department. There's a sector in the company I work for, that works on this event called Invasion Dublin, a Star Wars fan event in May, and the guy who is the head of this department/event, stopped by my desk to give me a huge chocolate "flake" easter egg! Happy Easter to me! hahaha.

The staff let me out early today because I had to go to my Psych, Media and Creativity class at 3pm. They all know that I am super excited for the weekend because I'm taking a trip tomorrow (still to be determined), and then for the other part of the weekend, I'll be in Belfast with Rickey and Hannah, riding a segway for my first time! There's a segway tour at the Titanic museum and I have dreamed of riding a segway ever since I first heard of them in 3rd grade.

In Media Art (my class from 9-11am), we had to record a bunch of natural sounds and put them together. Rickey asked me, "hey Katie, can you open my iPhone?" I'm still laughing!

I went out to City Centre today because I was free all afternoon. I was looking for some market that Ashlee, Laura and I had gone to forever ago, and at first, I couldn't find it. I walked around lost for about a half an hour, and then, by some sort of magic, I was standing at the entrance to the market! My purchase...bubble tea! This was only my second time having it and I love it!!

It's Easter this weekend, so my roommates are leaving tomorrow :(. I hope they bring me back candy!!! (haha totally kidding, guys.) I now have enough candy to last me through the rest of my time here, because my family's birthday package to me arrived today. There's a lot of mini chocolate eggs, popcorn and chocolate pretzels! Am I going to regain the freshmen fifteen? Probably. It will be worth it.

Laura's sister and boyfriend were here tonight. Her sister's boyfriend asked me, "wanna do a magic trick?" I said "sure!" He laid cards on the table, and told me to pick a card, memorize where it was, then walk to the center of the common room. I did. Next thing, he took a chair, a tiny container of water, and a mop. He stood on the chair, put the container filled with water on the ceiling, and then asked me to hold the mop as he got off the chair. I took the mop from him, and realized a second later, "oh no..." I was stuck holding a mop to a bin filled with water on the ceiling. If I let go, it would fall. My roommate Paul found it hilarious and took a video while we were laughing so hard!

Quote during the video: "do you wanna know which card mine is?" as I held the container of water to the ceiling. I found this whole thing absolutely hilarious. This is why I love my roomies!

UPDATE:
Paul, Laura and I were gonna go to the Nubar, but instead, we went for a walk around campus to a tiny amphitheater or something where it echoes when you stand on it. We went to the DCU sign and took pictures. Also, Paul got a parking violation. Haha!! Sorry Paul. Campus safety put a sticker on his window and he can't get it off.

Passing Over Passover

The search for matzah is in progress. I have been in 3 different supermarkets and have found none. The struggle is real. I guess my roommates won't get to experience a Passover seder. We have passed over Passover. They must be so upset.

I hope you got my sarcasm. When I told my roommates we were gonna have a Passover seder, they were like "what...ummm okay."Yesterday I took out a piece of bred (how ironic), and tried to teach them a quick Passover song, but I gave up within two minutes.

Internship
My internship is going well! I wrote an article on the release of Google Glass for their TechCentral website. I'm also working on an article on 3D printing.

Lauren's 21st

Saturday through Sunday afternoon, I was away at Lauren's gaff (the word they use for "house" here) in Donabate. I took a bus there on a route I had never taken before, transferred to a second bus, and got there safely. So proud of myself!

Anyway, it was Lauren's 21st birthday party! She doesn't actually turn 21 for another 10 days, but because she has assignments due right after her birthday, she wanted to have her party before. I arrived at her house between 5 and 6, because I honestly was not sure how long the bus would take, or if I would get lost...etc, and I helped her family set up for the party. Her family and friends were so nice and welcoming, and even though I only knew one person besides her at the party (Rory was there), everyone who I met and talked to was so cool. People did not leave the party until a little past 3am, so Lauren and I and her friend Michelle who was also staying at her house, did not go to bed until 4.

Lauren's family were by far some of the most amazing people I have met in Ireland! I ate meals at their house last night/this morning that were bigger than any meal I've had during my entire time in Dublin. They also drove me home so I didn't have to take the bus (so nice of them!), and we stopped to walk around Malahide Castle for a few minutes, which is so pretty! Oh, AND they gave me a whole lot of extra food to take back, so now my meals are covered for the whole week. Thanks guys!!

Lauren and family, if you're reading this, thank you so much for your hospitality and everything, and happy 21st once again!!!

Malahide Castle

Running

I went on my second run with the running club, and the people that showed up were not the same people that I ran with last week. These people were so much faster. We only ran a 5k, but I was not feeling too well after, due to my lack of training. I ran next to a girl named Ashlyn, who said that she knew my roommate Paul. Apparently, Paul had asked her if she met me because we both do the running club, and Paul's description of me was, "she's really fit and she drinks a lot of water." Can't say I'm really fit anymore, but as per the second part of Paul's description, during the first week, one of the first things Paul had said to me was, "you drink a lot of water!" hahaha LOVE YA, PAUL!

Livin' Like Kings at the Palace

A bunch of us went to The Palace on Camden St. to celebrate Laura's, Hannah's (she's visiting us from Edinburgh), and my birthday! We just got back now. Since we all turned the big two one, we stopped in The Bleeding Horse (a bar nearby) for some drinks, and then we went to The Palace, where I swear the men were only either high school age or waaaaaay out of college.

I apologize for the fact that these posts have gotten shorter. I'll be traveling soon, so then I will have a lot more to talk about.

My old roommate in college (who I lived with for two years), Tayla, is visiting this weekend! So I'm gonna see her on Friday and part of Saturday, and then I'm gonna celebrate Lauren's 21st with her, so I'll be with her for most of the weekend!

John, Hannah and I went bar hopping tonight. And by bar hopping I mean we went to two bars. But it was fun! I had not hung out with either of them in about a week, so going out with them for a couple hours was great!

Twenty One!!!

Hello world! So I guess now I'm a legal adult in America? To celebrate in Ireland, some of my closest friends, my amazing roommates and I went to Captain America's to grab some drinks and dinner. I could NOT finish my pizza for some reason!!! I DON'T KNOW WHY!! But I had a Bailey's dream milkshake that had alcohol in it, and it was delicious!!! 

After that, we got back to our apartment, and my roommates and friends brought out a cake and a card!! Uggh I just love them so much!! I teared up telling them how much I was gonna miss them!! It was a great night, full of flawless sarcasm ("your sarcasm is flawless!!") plenty of jokes, friends, drinks, and so much more! Now I have to wake up at 7am for my internship today. 

Thanks Laura, Paul, Brendan, Antoine, Hannah, Lauren, Shane, and Thomas for celebrating with me tonight!! I am so thankful for all the wonderful friends I have in my life! I couldn't ask for a better way to start off 21!

I have the best friends!

Do I really look 21?

My roomies surprised me with a cake!

Twenty One Fun

I turn 21 tomorrow! Crazy, right? I have my internship all day tomorrow (10am-5pm), so naturally, today was part one of the three day 21 birthday saga. I'm celebrating over the course of three days because on Tuesday, I have to wake up at 7am for my internship, but on Wednesday, I do not, so I am celebrating my birthday on Tuesday night as well.

21 Birthday Part 1: 

Me, Rickey, Hannah and Antoine went to Howth! This was my second time there, and I find it to be absolutely beautiful! We went to lunch at a pub (and ate amazing chicken goujons), then did one of the cliff walks by the sea side near a golf course. Howth has a market that is open until  5pm on Sundays only, so we walked over there, and I got the most amazing Belgian chocolate covered popcorn. I finished it...are you surprised? 

Oh, we took the dart (Ireland's train) to get to Howth, and this toddler was sitting across from me. She all of a sudden pointed at my hat and said "ahyaya hat!!" with the biggest smile on her face. I took that to mean "I like your hat!" in toddler language. Also, her father was giving her his coffee to drink. According to Rickey, "some of them start young." 

I'm so excited for my birthday because I get to celebrate with the coolest people in Ireland, and my friend who is visiting from Edinburgh, tomorrow night! In the words of The Who's "Tommy", "got a feeling 21, it's gonna be a good year." 

I went for a couple drinks at the Nubar with Mossy tonight. Only, I am the worst person EVER because I stood outside the Nubar at 8pm waiting for him, and it was 8:20 pm and I messaged him on Facebook [because he wasn't there] saying "I think I'm just gonna head back to my dorm." Then, he came out of the Nubar and I felt so bad because he had been inside waiting there for me for 20 minutes, but I had been waiting outside of the bar for him for 20 minutes. Whoops. Anyways we had a couple drinks, and I met his sister who seems really nice.

Plans for tomorrow: Hopefully going to Howth with Rickey and Hannah in the afternoon. We're going to try to figure that out tomorrow morning. Also, my birthday is on Monday, and I'm gearing up for the big two one. Except, it won't be that special of an occasion because I have to wake up at 7am for my internship the following morning. Still, it's gonna be great hanging out with my roommates and a few Irish friends!

The WEIRDEST thing happened in City Centre. I was walking to the bus stop, and I was almost in sync with another woman. I saw from afar these two men in yellow or orange jackets ( I really don't remember the exact color), so I kept my head up high and did not make eye contact as I got closer to them. They all of a sudden said to both me and the lady, "can you come with me? I want to show you something."

Uhhhh....STRANGER DANGER!!

They did NOT have Irish accents. I wasn't really sure where they were from, but I really want to know what on Earth they wanted to "show" me. Was it a van filled with candy? - because that's my suspicion.

Internship: 
I'm interning at a place called Mediateam, and they do a lot of publishing, marketing, advertising, web-work, multi-media stuff, etc. I'm doing video editing, web work, and other tasks for them and I really enjoy it! Everyone is so nice! Also, my internship coordinator reimbursed my for my long commute and lunches today. I was absolutely shocked, and so flattered he did that!

Run Like the Wind!

I officially joined the DCU running club! They run from 6-7pm, and for some reason, I was nervous because I thought I would be running with 30 speed demons, but there were only six of us normal-paced humans: 3 girls and 3 guys. We split up 2, 2, and 2 for a run in the park, and I ran with one the guys, but eventually fell back and waited for the two other girls because I had eaten right before running and my stomach really felt it. The club runs on Mondays and Thursdays, and I can only go on Thursdays because I don't get home from internship until 7 on Mondays. The people seem really nice and I definitely want to go again next Thursday!

Also, just want to say that one of my roommates, Paul, looks like Niall Horan from One Direction.

Student Race Day

About a month ago, my roommates, friends (shout-out to Ben, who wanted his name in the blog), and I bought tickets for Student Race Day, and today was the day the races happened. Student Race Day is this horse race event that happens once a year (I think), with discounts specifically for colleges in Dublin. When we woke up this morning, we were  disappointed that it was raining, but still decided to go. We rode a taxi down to the race course, purchased a pint to drink, and went to place bets on the horses. I did not bet because gambling makes me feel so guilty, but Lauren, Laura and Paul all won money.

Student Race Day was packed, and there was a ton of pushing and shoving, spilling of alcohol...etc, but despite this and the weather, it was fun and definitely an amazing new experience. There were seven races I think, all 30 mins apart. We left for the races at 2pm, and they did not end until 8ish. We arrived back on campus around 11:30 or so. After we left the races, we took the luas into town, ate at Jimmy Chung's Chinese buffet, and grabbed drinks at Hard Rock Cafe. Lauren, Laura and I all had electric blue iced teas, which I need to type in this blog because for some reason, I could not remember the name, and kept calling it "blue ocean". 

I am proud to say that my roommates and Irish friends have all adopted my phrase, "your sarcasm is flawless." It was said at least 30 times today. We're going to have to start keeping a tally on how many times it is said.