So, I know I've been updating a butt-load lately, haha. Mostly it's because I don't want to fall behind, but also it's because I secretly really love blogging. It's kind of nice to just sit down and recall events from the past few days because most of the time everything goes by so fast that I can hardly remember what I did yesterday, nonetheless last week.
I've been thinking a lot lately about my life here and how much I've been sincerely enjoying myself. It's funny, because I remember feeling this way when I first got to Clark too. Everything is so new: landscape, people, activities, life-style; it's quite exciting and refreshing. I'm thetype of person that is hard to tie down to one place and I think that it was really time that I got out of my comfort zone again and discovered a new adventure. I cannot believe that I've been here for over a month now, almost a month and a half actually, and I'm so comfortable here. I love Ireland so much and I love the house I live in and my house-mates. We are like a big family, we watch out for each other, laugh with each other, party with each other haha, the whole undergrad lot, actually (ugh, now it's starting to sound like Jersey Shore haha, don't worry family! It's definitely nothing like that!). Everyone here is SO nice and wonderful and they all have so much talent, I'm extremely blessed to have this opportunity. Also, it's been a blessing to have TIME. Time to unwind, time to work on my art, time to eat, time to breathe. I'm so used to being the human tornado that I forgot what it's like to slow down and take my time. I don't know WHAT I'm going to do when I get back to the hustle and bustle of Clark! haha. I'm hoping that I will be well rested enough to get back into the groove of it though because last semester was so rough. I think I will get back to the states refreshed but I will also miss this place dearly. I intend with every ounce of my being to come back to Ireland at some point in my life though. I've decided that I need to, and it will definitely happen one day.
Anyways, enough philosophical talk, now to the good stuff.
We had Irish studies again yesterday and it was pretty cold and rainy (surprise!) so we mostly stayed on the bus. The lecture focused on the the Gaelic Age or the Iron age. We talked about how the ancient Celtic people lived and their secular as well as spiritual beliefs. It was very interesting. The physical part of our class involved visiting ring forts and round towers around the Burren, but since the weather didn't let up, we ended up ending the trip prematurely. This I was actually sort of glad about since that jog I told you about the other day really took a toll on my legs, haha. Anyways, afterwards we came back home and I went to my studio to work on my painting of Brijit for a while and got a little farther with it. Afterwards I met up with my friends at Mandy's house and we watched the Kings Speech, which is a FANTASTIC movie by the way, I would recommend it to all of you. The fun didn't stop there, though! I brought my camera and tripod so I could take some more long exposure night shots since the full moon was out. After getting some along the walk home, Shawn, Casey, Hannah, and I - around 1 AM - walked to the nearest Faerie Fort (the same one, ironically, that we visited in Irish Studies earlier that day) and I took some more night shots. It was pretty awesome to be there under the full moon in the middle of the night, it was so bright out! We read a faerie story out loud and I got some really great shots which are below. This night photo stuff is pretty cool =)
Today was kind of a spur of the moment day. There was a trip organized to a neighboring town, Gort, and I wasn't originally going but Mandy convinced me to go so I had about 20 minutes to get myself together. I made it on the bus and once at Gort Mandy and I searched for a few things: coffee, cupcakes/scones, bookstore, lunch. Most of those were accomplished. We met a wonderful woman in the book/school store who is a teacher and she chatted with us about our stay so far in Ballyvuaghan and at the college. She was very sweet and in addition to asking us where we lived in the states and such and such she corrected us on how we pronounced Ballyvaughan (haha it happens more than you think, it's bAlly not BaLLY) and I had a DELICIOUS lunch that consisted of a mushroom, goat cheese, and spinach quiche with lemonade. (our water is still kind of bad in Ballyvaughan so I am perpetually thirsty). Also, I realized today that I have been eating so much heavy food since I've been here that I'm pretty sure that is the lightest meal I've had in over a month! It was delicious and my body was so happy I opted for something light for once. Also, it was a gorgeous day today. The sun was shining and the weather was warm enough to only wear a sweater. Yay, spring!!!
Mostly it was a very nice day. I had planned on going to my studio once we got home but I think I might be getting sick again so I didn't end up going. All this week I've had weird moments of sore throat, nausea, headaches, and ear aches. I kept telling myself that it was all in my head (haha no pun intended!), but I've decided I really am kind of getting sick and should slow down. I opted to stay in tonight so I'll probably be going to bed soon to get a good nights sleep.
For your viewing pleasure (upon some requests) here are the portraits I've been working on so far. They are both works in progress right now, but I like where they are heading. The portraits are something like 25 in x 30 in by the way painted with oils.
Brijit
Emerson
Oh! One last thing! It was my wonderful roommate's birthday on Thursday so we had a party at our house for her and I made her a lovely cake. It was fun and the cake as delicious and she had a wonderful birthday which I'm very glad because she is a wonderful person! So here is a picture of the cake and of me and Maggie =)
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