I really have to go to school here and not just have fun??

Well friends, the days has come where i started my first official" classes at Dublin business school! This first week is kinda stressful because no one knows what is going on and i am just not as laxed about this as the irish. Anywho it looks like i will be having classes Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday! AMAZING!!!! I have a night class on wed. night but i dont mind it because i am more awake at night so i will be less likely to doze off! haha. I am taking this class called irish Drama and Performance and it involves us going to about 6 different plays within the area! I am so psyched about it minus that we have to pay ourselves for each one! I am also taking to media/film classes. One is "Current issues in Broadcasting and film" and Musci and popular culture! My fourth class is one i need to take to reach my GS at SNC and that is called Racism/ethnicity.
I have so much time off it is weird. I do not know what to do with myself. We are unable to get jobs here so that is weird. I really dont mind the time off though.. I like to take my ipod and wander around the city going down new streets and discovering new interesting sights and shops. But goodness gracious i am always tempted to buy food!!! For some awful reason i CANNOT, like CANNOT stop craving chocolate! Something needs to change about that!! I wish there was some sort of pill to heal my obnoxious chocolate cravings. I am trying to limit my spendidng... each day it is a new task!! hahah
Anywho i have been booking my flights with my friend Allison and trying to get them out of the way now that we have our schedules! I am heading to Scottland next weekend with two girlfriends and am so excited. My Grandma Sue has had a pen pal friend there since she was in highschool. I will get to see my grandmas friend /pen pal Mary and her son Robert. I was just talking to them on the phone and just LOVE their accent! it is so cute and it reminded me more of Jude Law's voice!! I cannot wait to go!!! it'll be another new experience to this wonderful journey i am on!!! Also, everyday i hope the walk to school will get shorter, but i think that is hopeless, hahaha!!! But i do not mind walking back at night because that is when the city is seriously the most beautiful! I wish i could explain it better!!! I will try someday!!!
Hope all is well!! Miss and love you!
Love always& forever!
xoxoxox

Northern ireland!

Hello Followers! Boy oh boy it has been awhile! Bright and early last thursday morning we headed our way to Northern Ireland. Also, i was still a little sick on the trip but i did NOT want to miss it!
Our first stop was Carrick-a-Rede Rope bridge! Now I am going toake a guestemate here and say that up in these mountains the winds were blowing about 100 miles an hour with splashes of rain. I am afraid of heights and this bridge legitally made me wet my pants! Please picture a bridge made out of rope high above splashing water and rocks, that was this one! Well made it across, barely. As i was nearing the middle the winds picked up and it started blowing, i thought id be a goner!! Sadly on the way back i had to have the cute older Irish helper man walk with me over it! He was so cute and was giving me a pep talk. I definitely got a picture with him. How cute. I felt better when another boy froze up in the middle and needed help getting across. I still cannot beleive i made it out alive.
Next was Giants Causeway. This is the only place in the world where you can find rocks in this certain shape. There is some story that the rocks got this way when a giant from Scottland was trying to fight one here in Ireland. The scottish giant got scared turned around and ran leaving a rock path! it is so amazingly astonishing to see these rocks in such shapes! Almost breathtaking! While climbing the rocks i got dreched by rain, but it was well worth it!
Next it was off to Derry. It is the 2nd biggest city in northern Ireland. it is known for its history of fighting between Catholics and Protestants. On Sunday January 30, 1972, 13 unarmed civilians were shot dead by British paratroopers during a civil rights march in the bogside area. Another 13 were wounded and one further man later died of his wounds. This event came to be known as bloody Sunday.
We learned about this even in our history class. We went on a tour of the town and looked at all the murals that were made in memory. Then we went to the Derry Museum where we met the brother of one of the victims in Blopdy Sunday(Michael kellys brother). It was so heartwrenching but interesting at the same time. I love learning about history like that. SOme people call the town Derry(meaning its free from British rule) where others call it London Derry. Such conflicts. I loved that town.
Next we went to Belfast which had a lot of british influence ranging from the cars to the ferris wheel mimic of the one in London. it is the second largest city on all of Ireland. it reminded me alot of Dublin! I did a lot of window shopping. Also things were more expensive because we had to use the pound there instead of the euro, it was kinda a pain. Oh well!
This whole trip we were given breakfast and 3 COURSE DINNER MEALS!!! My favorite was by far the dessert! Oh nAlso i got to go to the place where the TITANIC was made and launched. OMG it was so amazing. I cannot get over how big that ship was! lol Anyways overall it was such a fun and amazing trip. It was great learning about the conflicts within northern Ireland and seeing the differences compared to Dublin!
Hope all is well with everyone. I miss and love you!
Love always&forever,
xoxoxoxoxox

VINEGAR!!!!!

Hello fellow followers! Top of the morning to ya!! haha
I just wanted you to know i will be leaving tomorrow morning and be gone until sunday evening. I am sure i will have a lot to tell you then! We are heading to Belfast in Northern Ireland which takes about 5 hours to get there. Today i can actually swallow a bit! Also my day was made when i received a card and a package from my Grandma Donna!! DOUBLE BINGO!!! I love her so much! Also i have been fortunate to be able to talk to my grandma Sue because she has some special calling plan! Also love her tons! Anywho, i was able to eat some soup, jello and icecream today! Yes! haha anywho on to the Vinegar!
Now if you ask some of my friends from school about me and vinegar they will just make a funny/ disgusted face and say ewww! I LOVE vinegar especially on my fries. My parents first got me hooked on it by taking me to the Escanaba fair where they had Norm's fries. These were fries with vinegar! Well Hello to the vinegar capitol(not really) but there is vinegar in every restuaraunt i go to!!!! AHHHHHH it is like vinegar heaven for me! Anywho the other day when in Howth there was a huge bottle of vinegar and i dowsed my french fries with it using most of the vinegar.... ooooops! Your only in Ireland once! I also noticed at some resturaunts when they bring a bowl out of all the different itemas like ketchup or mustard and what not there is also a tube of vinegar, Heintz vinegar!! hahah My friends here laugh at me too, but i am so darn happy with my vinegar packets! Just thought youd all love to know that. So if you love vinegar as much as me come and VISIT ME in Ireland!!!! Till we talk again on Sunday! Best wishes!!
Tanya Sue loves you, always&forever!!!!!
<3

tonsilitus in Dublin! Not some good Crack!!

Of course i always get sick especially when im in a completely different country!! ROMPOUS! I went to the Doctors today where he prescribed me an antibiotic. I have never had this tonsillitis junk and let me tell you it hurts really bad! I am so thirsty but cannot even swallow without my eyes watering up from my throat hurting so much! Anyways, now that thats out of the way i will talk about the latest.
Sunday we went to Howth, a small fishing town not far from Dublin. It is a little town with huge cliffs that you can walk on. It was so beautiful to see the water, the boats and all the rocks/cliffs. It was like a private getaway place. Here we were able to walk around amongst the cliffs and rocks getting beautiful pics. Sitting on the rocks and gazing out into the water was such a serene and relaxing feeling. It made me think about a lot of things within my life, especially how grateful i am for my family and friends.
There was also a fresh food market!! BINGO!! OMG it was filled with Bakery things like cupcakes, scones, cookies, breads and much more. There was also fresh produce. Everything was reasonably priced. I bought a cupcake(Unfortunately when i went back there was only a few left!) I also bought some grapes a scone and a loaf of bannana nut bread(which is supposibly healthy being gluten, milk free and other things!) We took the Louis(Train thingy) It was a nice trip.
When we got back my roommate Moni and friend marie went to a grocery store that was somewhat cheaper than others. Again i had trouble checking out, because they wouldnt accept my debit card. I am thinking i will need a pint of something after every grocery store visit! Goodness!

Monday we went to Kilmainham Jail. I love historical rompous like this! It was such a great tour because the tour guide told usThe Gaol was built in 1796 on a hill with the idea that the fresh air would be good for the prisoners, although no glass in the windows & porous limestone walls illness quickly spread. Heres a little history on it!
Men & women were kept separate in the Gaol & even children were sent here for petty crimes luck stealing potatoes. One man was held for 7 years for stealing a cart wheel. Photo’s were taken with a mirror to get the side profile. 14 leaders of the 1916 Easter uprising for Irish independence were held & executed here. Joseph Plunkett got married to Grace Gifford & executed 2 hours later. Grace said as she was walking out she heard the gunshot! how terrible!

The East wing was modernised & it was known as the all seeing eye. Prisoners were not allowed to talk & there were carpets on the floors outside the cells so prisoners could not hear the footsteps of the gaurds. During the famine the jail was overcrowded, sometimes up to 6 in a cell made for one, people were committing crimes so as to get their 2 small meals in jail many stories and events that happened along the way!

It felt so strange in the jail, almost like i could picture the people there in the tiny cells. Also outside along the premisice there was the place where they blindfolded the 14 leaders of the rebellion with their hands tied to their back and shot them! How horrible. I just cannot believe some of the stories!
We will be heading to belfast on Thursday with my class. I hope i feel a tad bit better by then!As always i love you! I am going to go gurggle this mouthwash rompous the Doctor gave me!
xoxoxoxo-Stay in touch!
P.s. I walked to school by myself today without getting lost! SCORE!!!! :)

Forgotten Posts & Some black rompous!

Good evening! As mentioned earlier i knew id forget to mention things so i will add them in now, so please be patient with me. I would like to start and mention why i am naming my photo album, "I see a Boat." I find this story quite humorous and hope you do as well!
On the plane ride here not only did i drink too much causing me to keep using the bathroom, my new AMAzing friend and partner in crime Becca thought i had lost my mind. We were over water almost near Dublin when i looked out the window and said, "I see a boat!!". Becca who was in the window seat thought i was crazy because when she looked out the window it had disappeared! Then I figured maybe i just saw the clover which was on the wing of the plane. I was going crazy!!!!!! Once off the plane i told the other girls about my deliourious incident and one of them said they saw a boat too!! Becca and i laughed forever!! I guess this might just be one of those stories you have to be there for to understand its humor! Anyways just thought id mention that moment.
I want to mention how thankful i am to my wonderful friends. Becca is my little gaurdian watching over me!!! I am so thrilled with all the people i have met. if it wasn't for them id probably have been in the liffey(waterway seperating North and South Dublin) and getting lost everywhere. Seriously i am so thankful for the people i have met. It is so weird because i feel like i have known them all forever. I feel like i have formed many new, longlife friends. Also the gang of girls also from St. Norbert ae absolutely splendid!
Alright now to what i actually did recently. Last night we went out to Fit Simmons which is a realy cool dance/pub area for my friend Sarahs birthday! So much fun as always. I just love the atmosphere! Then today a group of us went and looked around the Dublin Castle and plan on touring the inside soon! Next i went to the GUINESS FACTORY! Alright i'll be honest in admitting that i do not like Guiness beer at all, infact it makes me want to boof. But I had to tour the place where tis famous beer is produced. It is so interesting going through al seven layers. On the top is an open glass bar area where you get a free pint of Guiness along with a beautiful overview of the Dublin area. It was quite breathtaking if i do say so myself.
We ate at a cute Bistro area which was pretty inexpensive. Like always the girls and i had fun!
Oh yes and i also created my budgeting chart tonight with Sarah, my new amazing friend. So i feel quite accomplished. Tomorrow it is off to Hoath to feed the "pleasantly plump whales" and hit up the fresh food market. Im going Shopping!!!!
Hope all is well with everyone! I miss you all.
Love always&forever!

SASSY!

Guten Tag!! I am loving Dublin more and more every day, minus all the walking. haha Heres a little new info:My german roommate has arrived and i just love her. I love my roomies we are suck a diverse room. Tobi is originally from nigeria but has lived in the states for 6 years and Moni is from a town in Germany. you can find us around our kitchen table just giggling together. I am so lucky for them!
SO i forgot to mention that last week we went to this place called the Braisin (I beleive) and we were able to listen to a band play Irish/American music. it was so awesome!!! Also a few nights ago i went to Temple Bar and was amazed at three men who were playing guitar and an accordian!! It was real Irish music and they were so good!!! It reminded me of my younger days when I use to river danced!! I just love all the different types of music i hear. SOmetimes when i am on my break from class there are people in the streets playing and singing music.
School has been kinda lonnnng, i have to get myself back in the swing of things! Also i am now on this new kick of budgetting. I am so nervous with how expensive everything is so a friend of mine that i met here is helping me set up a plan, which will really help me now and in the long run. We celebrated her birthday last night and tonight we are going out to a club to shake our groove thing!
All the foreign students have arrived and a lot of them are from France. I am excited to speak more with them. I love hearing about their culture and ways of life. I try talking German to my roommate and she is always so proud of me! hahaha I remember very little but i try, so thats what counts i guess!!
This coming week at school we are going to visit a jail. I will tell more info once i tour it. Also i am super duper pumped for our coming up weekend trip to the countryside. I am sure i will have a lot to write about then!
I am trying to remember everything..... if i forget anything i will post it! Oh Ya, me and some friends saw a stray dog the other day and felt so bad for it. We tried to see if it would come to us but it was scared. I really hope it has not been abused. It was that moment i wish i had the skills of the lady on aminal planet who can read animals minds and communicate with them! Maybe in my next lifetime!!!
Another random thing.. I always use the word "sassy" and everyone here finds it so amusing and funny. I feel the word fits perfectly when describing many things and people. I have taught many of the foreign students this word and now they use it!!!! I feel as though i have accomplished something!!!!
Hope all is well! I love you all!
xoxoxoxoxo

Down Pour!!!!! Welcome to Ireland!

Today was the first day i experienced the well known weather for Ireland; RAIN! I am not talking about litte drip drops of it, rather huge puddles and massive winds. I kind of had to giggle to myself because the snow and ice finally melted and they are expecting the dirt in next week to get rid of the ice that is now gone. Although my sturdy rain jacket held up pretty darn well. Also spraying my boots with water resistant stuff is the way to go. SO if any of you plan on venturing to Dublin, remember that repellant.
This past weekend i kind of hung low because i was so darn tired. Sunday night we had a girls film night. it was precious! Then Monday we started a few classes. I am taking four classes but they are only us Americans right now and they last until next week. The classes involve the history of Ireland, politics and about the culture. it is quite interesting, i just have to learn to stop dozing off during class. I guess i am still wanting a vacation, haha! Today was crazy we had 6 hours of class. 3 two hour classes. it just stunk because we havent gotten a schedule yet so none of us expected it to be that long... crazzzzzy! Anywho, i am now back sitting in my bed hoping the heater will heat up faster!
Boy oh boy, i sure do hope after all this walking i at least loose some weight or build muscles. Walking 30 minutes to class everyday and 30 back really makes me realize how lazy i am back at school. I thought walking across the street and some was long!!!! I dont mind it, as of now!! We'll have to see how i feel about it in another week or two.
This weekend a group of us plan on going to the Dublin Castle. I am excited. I have always wanted to look and go into a castle. Maybe ill find my Prince charming? haha, ya right. Then Sunday we plan to take the Dart(train) along the cost to Hoath where they have a frresh food market and you can feed obese seals!!! I bet they are so cute.
Other than school and surviving the sporadic changing wether of Dublin i think all is well here with me. I am so happy i have some diet coke in my fridge right now!
Hope all is well with everyone! I love you all and would love to hear from you! Hope all is well!
Remember, "Tanya Sue Loves You!!!!!!!"
xoxoxoxoxo <3

Mustard Mashed potatoes, Really?

Hello Fellow followers! Today i wore two layers of leggings to try to stay warmer, but that didnt help too much. They say the weather is going to get colder... once again, Hello HOME!! haha. Today i was able to sleep in and finally catch up on my sleep from being so darn jett legged! A few of us wandered around to find a path to our school. Heres the issue: there are three different locations of the school. Rompous!!! Well, we got lost like usually and by the time we found it i forgot where we came from, go figure. We shopped around for awhile then had orientation dealing with the FIE program we are involved in. Geneveive is the lady who works with us through the program and there are only a few schools involved in it! i feel so priviliged. She is such a cool lady. She has lived in Dublin for 6 years. She will let us know upcoming events and fun activities for cheap. I feel i can learn a lot from her, and she is someone who is easy to talk to since she studied abroad when she was younger!! After orientation we wandered around and went to Starbucks.. haha Ofcourse it would be here in ireland! After that Genevieve arranged a dinner for us Fie members at a resturaunt that was, i swear about 45 minutes away. Here at the resturaunt we had 3 courses. I started out with the cream celeraic(or someting like that) (It was like celery and cheese flavored: it was good) then i had a steak with beans and MUSTARD mashed potatoes. I did not care for them very much because they tasted like someone dropped a whole bottle of mustard into them. they even had the mustard seeds!!! to finish off the meal i enjoyed a nice chocolate and hazlenut torte!!! YUMMY!!! We then went to a pub which is across from Trinity College. Here we were able to meet other college students! it was so much fun. I love the night life of Ireland. I think i could get use to it.
I start my class on Monday involving us learning about Ireland. This class will only be us American students. Actual classes wont start for two weeks... I am kind of nervous!!!
Heres some advice for those of you who dont like mustard, "Steer clear of mustard mashed potatoes!!!!

30 some years

I love how every Irish person keeps reminding us that this is the coldest winter they have had since 30 some years ago. It is official, features of Michigan are still with me: the ice and snow. Another thing i find interesting is that they have already run out of their shipment of salt from spain. So they use dirt instead or nothing at all. It was so interesting watching the people try to drive on the ice. They were all stepping on the pedal while their wheels just kept a spinning.....They need some good winter tires like my dad put on my car! haha. Im really liking all these little coffee shops around here. The hot chocolate is delish! The pubs are quite fun and interesting. There is one nearby that is a SHORT walk and many of us students go there. I love conversing with the Irish. Things are so different here, it is another world. The only thing i wish is that stores would have bags.... is that too much to ask for??? ANyways walking back next to the Quey(River dividing North and South) everything was foggy. Dublin is so mysterious and it keeps me wanting to see more!!!

Getting lost is part of being in a different country!

I woke up still feeling tired today and still couldn't believe i was here. It seems so unreal. thankfully i was able to work the strange switches which are located in the kitchen to be able to take a hot shower. A bunch of us got lost walking to the Dublin Business School main building, but it was fun and exciting checking out all the old and new buildings; they all seem to have a story to tell. We then went on a bus tour which was really nice although i wish i could have understood the tour guide better... I hope that i will soon be able to understand what they are saying instead of always just smiling and nodding my head! Then We ended up eating at a McDonalds because we were so hungry, although the meat is quite different tasting! While in line at the grocery store i realized there was no bags. I was using the self checkout line and the people behin me were getting angry and yelling at me in a different language. What an experience that was. The best part was walking back with a huge overloaded reusable bag and my heaping purse. I then had to walk back because my friends needed help carrying their things. Gahd, i really better be loosing weight after all this rompous! Although once again, not even walking 45 minutes again could ruin my mood. Dublin keeps me smiling!

flying & Arriving to a white not green covered land!

It was about 4 ish when i gave my hugs and kisses to my parents and grandmas. I left Chicago at 7:00 and boy was it a long 8 hour flight! Ofcourse i could not fall asleep probably because of all my excitement! It also brought memories back of when i was in Germany. We landed in Dublin Ireland at 8:45 A.m. The time change is always the hardest thing to get used too. When walking out of the plain instead of seeing nice green land i saw green covered with white snow and ice. I thought i was back in my hometown of Norway, MI.After waiting for a few hours we were picked up and brought back to our apartments. I like that there are only three of us sharing and we each get our own room. It was very cold in the rooms like we had been told by those who were here before. A few of us went out to by the bare essentials which took us about 25-30 minutes to get there. Everything is so magical though and beautiful in its own way. it is hard to describe. After walking back i got situated in my room and tried organizing in my head what time it was, that i was actually in Dublin (How Awesome!) and how to work my heater in my room. My first impressions of Ireland are magical! Now if only i can find the Lucky Charm man!!!

3 days!

Hello
Welcome to my very first blog. I am writing it while i am currently sitting here in bed pondering my soon to be adventures. I cannot believe i will be leaving the U.S. in 2days and entering a whole new place. I feel like this 987rrhnfajfkajfr7rbf, anxious/nervous/excited/ecstatic. I know i will be partaking in an adventure of a lifetime. I do feel bad that i have to leave behind my handsome boys(cats) and my friends and family. Although i know i have their support 100%. But four months will fly by faster than i think and i hope to return home as a stronger, more independent women. I am so grateful for the opportunities i have been given in life, this being just one of the many. I also hope to continue my music/theater while in Ireland. I will see it through a different perspective, and maybe traveling will inspire me to write some interesting songs. To those whom i am leaving behind, Remember
Tanya Sue Love's youu!
<3