Oyster Festival

This past weekend the oyster festival was held in Galway. There were lots of fun street performers, parades, and various other events going on in the city centre. In the spirit of the festival, I decided it was necessary to try oysters for the first time. To say the least, I found them quite unpleasant!

The pictures I've posted are of a very strange parade that was going through town, a ship on display at the docks that was once used in a Marlon Brando film, and, of course, my horrified reaction to the oysters.

Aran Islands

On Friday I headed out to one of the Aran Islands. There are three islands total, but I went to the biggest and most populated one, Inis Mór. The island is about 9 miles long and 2 miles wide. In order to get around the island, you can choose between a minibus tour, renting bikes, or a traditional horse-drawn carriage. I went with a friend and we decided to get bikes and explore the island without a tour guide. The scenery on the island is so beautiful. There are amazing coastal views as well as incredible rural sights. The island has tons of hand-piled stone fences that are held together by nothing but have somehow still managed to stay intact after many years and lots of harsh weather.

One of the main attractions on the island is the ancient aran fort, Dun Aonghasa (pronounced dun angus). It's a large stone fort ruin on the top of a huge cliff. On top of the cliff, there were some amazing views of the island's coast. The islands are also really well known for their aran knit sweaters. There are a lot of little sweater and craft shops set up across the island which are pretty touristy but still fun to see. We picked a really good day to go because it wasn't raining and at times it was almost sunny. We've had a few really nice weeks without rain, but I'm pretty sure that is coming to an end so I'm glad I've been able to fit in a few outdoor trips before the weather interferes.

My first *successful* knitting project

My actual first knitting project was kind of a bust. It was supposed to be a cute little bag, but instead it turned out to be a misshapen rectangle. Luckily, my second project turned out much better. It is a headband made with a basketweave pattern and a cute little flower which I am told will keep my ears warm during the frigid Galway winters. Next project: a hat!

The Burren

So far, I have found that the Irish tend to be huge under-exaggeraters. When they say that something is just a 10 minute walk away, they actually mean 30 minutes. When they say that class begins at 10:00, they actually mean 10:15. The list goes on, but you get the picture. So last Sunday when I went on what I was told would be a "nice hike around the Burren," I should not have been surprised that they actually meant we would be hiking 11 km (about 7 miles) and climbing up to 300 meters (about 1000 feet).
While the hike was definitely a challenge, it was well worth it. We saw some amazing views and the Burren itself is a geographical area unlike anything I have ever seen before. The hills that comprise the Burren do not consist of much earth or trees but are instead covered in many layers of broken limestone. Since many of the thin sheets of rock have come loose, you definitely have to focus very hard on exactly where you are stepping. The parts of the Burren that are not rocky are big grassy fields that for some reason or other, have big holes in the dirt covered by a thin layer of grass--something else you have to watch out for when walking. Because of the unstable footing, I spent most of my time staring at the ground in front of me as I walked. When I did look up, however, there were some amazing sights of the Bay and the Irish countryside. The pictures I took really don't do the scenery justice but you can kind of get an idea of what I was looking at.

Classes

Luckily my roommate does not have swine flu. Apparently she just had a sinus infection. I'm not quite sure how they got those two mixed up but at least she's not infectious!
After two weeks of sitting in on a lot of different classes, I've finally settled on the six classes I'm going to be taking this quarter. Here's what I came up with:

-Psychology of Learning
-Memory and Cognition
-Psychology, Science, and Pseudoscience
-Human Sexuality
-The Irish Emigrant Experience
-Intro to Irish Culture Studies

It's a lot more classes than I'm used to taking at one time, but they all seem pretty interesting. My class schedule is definitely really busy in the beginning of the week, but luckily I ended up with no class on Thursday or Friday! Hopefully it will be a good semester!

Maybe Swine Flu

So, my roommate, Leah, has recently developed severe flu-like symptoms. She has been on the phone with the doctor's office all day and since everyone here is terrified of swine flu, she is quarantined in her room and not allowed to leave the house. I picked up her antibiotics today and the doctor's office gave me a bunch of protective masks that we are all supposed to wear whenever she is around. She was feeling a little better tonight so I'm thinking it probably isn't swine flu but at least it was funny to see how ridiculous we all looked in the masks.

Club Day

Today was club day at school where everyone goes to a big fair and signs up for whatever sporting clubs they want to join. I signed up to try kayaking, rugby, camogie (women's hurling), and mountaineering (hiking and rock climbing).
I think some of them will be a little too intense/violent (camogie!) for me but it will be fun to at least try them and then I can keep on with whichever ones I like. I'm really excited for mountaineering. This is such a good place for hiking and there are so many amazing places to see. The first trip is this weekend...I'm hoping it won't rain!