Cliffs of Moher and the Burren

Josh, Dani, Marit, and I all got up early and biked to Eyre Square to catch our tour bus for the day. After a bit of confusion, we found it and got settled in for our trip to the Cliffs of Moher and the Burren. Our tour guide, Billy, was quite funny and very knowledgeable, which helped make the trip better. The bus itself was decently comfortable, and the only bad part of the ride was the jerky/swaying motion it made while we were winding through the narrow roads. But I didn't puke, so that was good. The area we were traveling through, the Burren, is a section of Ireland covered in limestone hills where very different plants and animals live. We found out that it is the same type of land that's on the Aran Islands, which we went to last weekend. As we drove through the area, we could see the large mountains and the odd landscape, but it was gorgeous (Pictures of the Burren can be seen here).


Our first stop on the journey was Aillwee Caves, discovered randomly by an old Irish man walking his dog in the 1960s. Apparently, the dog chased a rabbit down the hole, and when the man followed he found this cave. Pretty nifty, but it sounds similar to discovery of caves back in the US. Mom, Dad - didn't we go to a cave discovered in the same fashion out West? Regardless, the caves were pretty neat. There was just one path, but it had a nice waterfall inside, as well as a frozen one. I managed to avoid hitting my head on any of the narrow ceilings (yay!) and was glad I brought a jacket, since the temperature dropped inside. We all grabbed some sandwiches at the shop to hold us over til lunch, and boarded the bus again.



We then picked up a group of people who had left us earlier for a hike through the Burren in Ballyvaughan, and got out to look at the church they had. It was pretty cool looking, even for a regular church. The weirdest bit about it was the fact that the inside was completely modernized. Just didn't seem right to have yellow walls inside a stone church.


From there, we made a stop at Poulnabrone Dolmen, which is an ancient stone t0mb that is up to 5,000 years old. It's a very small thing, seemingly insignificant, but cool nonetheless. We walked around it and took pictures, but it was a quick stop - only 10 minutes - because the society that preserves that sort of thing here is trying to reduce the amount of wear and tear the area gets.


On our way to the next stop - the Cliffs of Moher, we passed through a couple of villages. One of these - Lisdonvarna - is reknown for its Matchmaking Festival, which happens every September, and and also has famous spring wells with water that's supposed to cure various ailments. We also passed by a castle that was owned by a woman who had four husbands, all of whom died by "accident". It was quite amusing to listen to the tale from the tour guide. Clever woman? Or evil? Haha.

We made our big stop soon after, at the Cliffs of Moher, and got out to walk around for an hour. Unfortunately, it was quite rainy when we left the bus, but it cleared up soon enough and we got some excellent photos (found here). There were some amusing warning signs on the walls, and we even found a pirate cove (lol). We walked along the edge (don't worry Mom, there was a wall) to get some good shots, and wandered toward an old watchtower and then back up the other side. Here, we ignored a "No Trespassing" sign (with everyone else, mind you), to get some excellent photos. Mom might not want to see those, though. We headed back to the bus soon after and stopped off at Doolin for lunch. The pub wasn't all that bad, but I wish I would've had more time to explore the city. It's supposed to be great.


There was a short stop on the way back, as we took the coast road, for pictures next to some other cliffs. It was nifty, and had some great views. From there, we rode even farther and made our final stop at Dunguaire Castle for pictures. They have medieval banquets here most nights, but they run rather expensive (45 Euro a pop). We might do it later, but I've already been to medieval times. The castle was neat, though. After a bit longer, we made it back to Galway and Eyre Square, picked up our bikes, and headed home.


When we got home, we pretty much lounged around for a bit, watching TV. Shelby called me and came over for a bit before we went out to dinner with Niamh and Dave. The four of us hit up a Thai food place near the Spanish Arch off Shop Street. It was excellent! From there, we parted ways. All the UREKA students and I are supposed to go bowling soon, so I better get ready for that. Cheers!

TGIF

Last night was a blast. First, we went to a pub called 'Ti Na Nog' off shop street. It was really spacious, had a fish tank behind the bar, and was a fun spot to hang out. After a while, Niamh showed up from dinner with her family, and after we'd hung out with everyone a bit more, we headed across the way to another pub, The Front Door. This place was HUGE! There had to be at least 10 rooms and around 4 or 5 bars in the place. The atmosphere was the best part, though. We situated ourselves in a little nook off to the side, where we laughed, took pictures, and danced. The night ended with some old 80s and 90s classics, like "Grease" and other great songs. We took a taxi back to Corrib Village and crashed.


It was hard waking up this morning, but totally worth it. We got to work on time and had a relatively easy day. I started by running a gel and setting up a PCR. Unfortunately, my reaction from last night didn't work, so Sandra got me to set up another reaction using only positive isolates from before and her reagents. Hopefully it will work, and we'll see on Monday what we need to fix. Tea was fun, as usual, and filled with talk of TV and concerts. When we got back to the lab, Fiona showed Sarah and I how to set up sensitivity tests, which was relatively easy. It's something I've only done in class once or twice before, so it'll be neat to do it a lot and get some practice now. Plus, this is work that was done previously on all the isolates we're now PCR-ing, so it's an insight into more background on our projects.

Dani and I went to the College Bar for lunch, where we ran into Marit, Niamh, Tyler, Danny, and Darren. Always fun to hang out with everyone. From there, we stopped by the bank so I could deposit my paycheck (yay cash!) and then headed back into work. I finished off the day by running another unsuccessful gel and then looking up information on bus tours for tomorrow. I think we'll head on one to see the Cliffs of Moher and the Burren, so it should be really nice. We headed home after work, where I took a nap for a few hours.

When I got up again, I made some pasta and we all watched the elimination episode of Big Brother. In case you don't know, it's a reality show that's huge in the UK, where people live in a house together for weeks and basically do nothing but talk and argue. It's amusing how obsessed they are with it, and even more so how addicted we're getting. Oh well. Ruth and Niamh invited us over to watch a movie at their apartment, so we headed over after the episode and watched "The Day After Tomorrow". It's a few years old, and not that great, but more amusing than anything else. I still love the part where the Americans are illegally immigrating into Mexico to get away from the ice storm. Classic.

I've just gotten home from that and booked our tour for tomorrow. I should have some excellent pictures up then, so I'm excited. I should get to bed now, though. Gotta make sure I don't fall asleep on the bus! Cheers!

Irish Birthdays are Grand

Since the sterile cabinet was being worked on in the lab today, we left for work around 9:15 and got there at 9:30. There really wasn't much to do, so we figured we'd reduce the amount of time we had sitting around starting off into space. We started off showing Dani how to start DNA extractions, and let the isolates sit in the water bath for two hours. In the meantime, we were told we could head over to the IT Building on campus to listen to talks about the Environmental Change Institute. Our supervisor, Dr. Cormican, was giving a talk on water quality and human health that basically was the ultimate overview/goal of all of our projects, so the girls in the lab told us we should definitely hear it.

After a quick stop at the hospital canteen, we walked back to the NUIG campus and arrived just in time for Dr. Cormican's talk. It was really informative, and helped us see the importance of the research. The whole project is composed of seven different smaller projects all looking at the elements of water quality and human health. Our specifically deals with effects of antibiotic-resistant microbes living in the water. Plus, Dr. Cormican is a really good speaker, so that was nice. We listened to anther, less-exciting lecture, before a coffee and biscuit break where we looked around at all the posters. Reminded me of last summer, and all the fun I had making one of my own (lol).

We headed back to work afterwards, and Sarah and Dani got to work on the rest of the DNA extractions. I streaked out some isolates for Fiona to use with antibiotic sensitivity testing tomorrow. We took our lunch break soon afterwards, and went to a different food place on the hospital grounds. I think it's an assisted living center, or something, but it was super cheap and had really good food. I'm sure we'll be back there. After lunch, we did some other work around the lab, and I set up and ran a PCR, since the cabinet was done being serviced. Hopefully this one will work...we're trying a new buffer, so it should.


Once we left work, Dani and I headed into town to get some shoes. I'd found a pair of really cool ones before, but they were too small. They were really nifty, without laces, and just looked cool. Plus, I didn't get any new ones before I left - I ran out of time. It was quite the quest. I've determined that my feet are even more grotesquely large here than back home. People in the stores looked at me with really confused faces when I asked if they had my size, and I even got a few chuckles. A group of ladies at one place said, "uhh...we don't carry anything close to that size," but they were nice enough to direct me to a few other stores. We ended up finding a pair that almost fit me in the shopping center, so I got them to order the next size up. Hopefully it'll come in soon enough. Dani got some shoes as well, and then the two of us headed over to Argos to pick her up an adaptor.


On our way home from there, it was pelting rain. We got soaked, even though we were on our bikes. I really hope I don't get sick. When we made it back to Corrib Village, I got into my PJs and made dinner - grilled ham and cheese sandwiches! I spent most of the rest of the evening lounging around with the roommates, and even took a nap.

Today is Niamh's 21st birthday, though, so we've all planned a night out on the town to celebrate. It should be a really good time, especially considering the people going. Well, everyone's calling me, so I better get going. Not quite sure which pubs we'll end up at, but it'll be brilliant no matter where we end up. I love these kids!

TV on a Rainy Day

This morning felt an awful lot like yesterday morning. It was cold and overcast. I think there was a 90% chance of rain for most of the day. Hooray. The three of us biked to work, as usual, and I started off making a gel to see if my PCR from yesterday worked. After I loaded it and put it on the machine, we all went down for tea. I really love our conversations. Today we talked about TV, mostly. The Irish get a lot of our shows quite a bit after we do. For example, "Brothers and Sisters" premieres tonight, and they are on the 4th episode of the 3rd season of "Grey's Anatomy" (we've finished it). Interesting, really, that we all know what happens already and the Irish people I'm around all want to know (but don't at the same time).

When I got back to the lab, I checked the gel and took a picture - but no success. That's a frustrating feeling. I had another PCR set up and in the thermocycler, so I hoped that it would work as well. While I waited around, I helped Sarah with some things and the two of us helped Dani find isolates to prepare for extraction. Also, Dani and I went with Gene to pick up supplies from the main Bacteriology Lab at the hospital. It was huge! There were so many people running about doing all sorts of different things. I'll have to try and get Dr. Cormican to show us all around it at some point.

We walked back to NUIG to go to lunch at the College Bar. They have pretty good sandwiches and soups and such. It was tasty. :) After lunch, Dani and I hung out in the office with Sandra for a bit. While we were sitting there, it started to pour (it had rained right before lunch too). The office has these window/skylights with vents that we open to try and cool down the place. But with the rain, there was actually rain coming into the office. It was really odd, but kinda cool at the same time. After we were tired of slacking off (lol), I set up another gel and ran it. But again, no success. Dearbhaile suggested that we try a different buffer, so that's what I'll do on Friday. Tomorrow I can't do any PCRs, because the cabinet (sterile workspace) has to be serviced. There are a bunch of lectures on the goings on of the environmental research department, though, so that should be interesting. If nothing else, we should be able to get more of an idea on where our particular research fits in with the whole scheme of things. Good stuff.

After work we all came back to the apartment and relaxed. I did laundry again, which hurt my wallet (10 euro total...), but gives me clean clothes - which is good. I ate my leftover pasta (which was grand) and then watched TV with the roommates. We caught Friends, the Simpsons, and then watched the premiere of "Brothers and Sisters". I think everyone's hooked now, which is awesome. I love the show. After some "Big Brother" catch up (lol), we saw another episode of "Brothers and Sisters", then dispersed for bed. Should be a nice day tomorrow.

Another Irish word for you is "slagging", which is the equivalent of "messing with" or "picking on". Someone can be just "slagging ya" or you could "slag" your friend about her outfit. Whatever works. Anyways, I should be getting to bed. Cheers!

Cue Torrential Downpour

Today started off nice enough - a little on the chilly side, but it was tolerable. Sarah, Dani, and I biked to work and started on our projects. I got into PCR and running gels, so it was a nice change of pace. Our PCR worked (yay!), and we found 3 isolates positive for a tetracycline-resistant gene (tetracycline is a common antibiotic). There was a bit more people at tea break today, so that was fun. Sarah and I also helped Dani get adjusted to more aspects of the job. For lunch, the three of us walked down to Subway, which was a good 10 minutes, but worthwhile. Good, cheap meal. After lunch, I set up another PCR to run over night, and went down for tea to celebrate Niall's graduation (he just got his PhD) with tea and cake. Yum!

It had rained pretty harshly while we were at work (a first for me since I've been here), and it drizzled quite a bit on the bike ride home. After I checked my email and such, I finally got a call from Shelby saying that she and the other LSU kids had made it into Galway and were at a pub off Shop Street. I took a shuttle down there and met up with her and Amanda Glinky, and saw a bunch of other kids I knew. It was pretty cool. I even ran into Caitlin Hill (my kindergarten teacher Mrs. Wilburn's daughter). Gotta love OS kids.

I took Shelby and Amanda to Finnegan's (the Irish pub I've been to twice for food), and they both had an experience with a full Irish Breakfast. Lots of fun. From there, I walked with them for a bit around town in the rain before we caught a cab back to their apartment. We did some shopping at Dunnes for Shelby, and then I toured their living area. It's so much nicer than ours. I'd be so much happier if I had a broadband connection like they do, instead of crappy wireless. Lol. Ah well...maybe I'll just go bum some internet off them for a few nights. :)

They were both pretty exhausted after that, so I headed back to Eyre Square alone to meet up with my roommates at Taafe's - the same Irish pub I went to on the first full program day (after our Galway City tour). They had live Irish music playing, which was lots of fun. We headed home in the hurricane-like rain and caught a taxi to stay dry. I didn't think it rained like that here! But we made it safely and semi-wet. I just feel bad for the LSU kids...having that be their first introduction to the Emerald Isle when mine was gorgeous, 80-degree weather.

I'm really glad to have seen people I know from home today. I miss it a lot...but this makes me less homesick. Hopefully other people will get the idea to follow suit and come see me. I can be optimistic, right? Haha. Well, I think I'm going to watch another episode of Top Chef and get to bed. Cheers!

Easy Monday

Today was a pretty good day, mostly because it was so easy. Sarah and I took Dani to work for the first time, and introduced her to the people in the lab. Sandra and Fiona (the grad students overlooking mine and Sarah's projects) left the lab to go collect water samples for the day, and left us with journal articles to read. That was really all we could do, though, so Dearbhaile told us that we didn't have to come back after lunch (YAY). There was almost nobody in the lab today, anyways. The three of us went to tea with Genevieve and had a good time chatting. She also showed us one of the food places on the hospital grounds that is supposed to be really good and really cheap. We'll have to try it later.

After that, we finished our articles and headed back to the apartment at 1PM. I went ahead and sauteed vegetables so they wouldn't go bad, and added them to pasta with some pesto sauce. Yum. I think it's the best pasta I've made here so far. And I made enough to have leftovers! Woo hoo! I watched TV with Sarah and Dani for a while after that, then goofed around online talking to people for a few hours.

At 5, we took the shuttle into the city to meet one of Sarah's friends, Cormac, at the bus station. He's coming to visit Sarah for the week. We walked around town a little bit with him, did some shopping, and ate at the same hotel bar I went to a week or so ago. It was still good. From there, we headed back to the apartments to hang out and watch TV. A few other kids from the UREKA programs stopped by as well, so we had a good group over. Lots of fun.

Shelby called me during this time from the Atlanta airport. She'll be in Ireland tomorrow morning. That excites me so much! All the other LSU kids will be in Galway as well, so it'll be a small bit of home right here. :) It makes me happy that I'll get to see some familiar faces, because I'm not sure if that'll happen any other time. Other than that, I talked to Christy for a long time, which was needed, and then watched a Top Chef episode (haha...I love it). Bedtime now, though.

New Roommate and Shopping

We did end up going out again last night, to the same places we went last time. But lots of fun was had still. I forgot to mention that we got a new roommate yesterday. Her name is Dani, and she's from UGA. She's actually going to be working with Sarah and I in the Bacteriology Dept, so that's fun. She's really cool so far, so I think we'll get along just fine. Anyways, we got back pretty late, so I slept until around noon and took a shower. We decided to head into town to do some grocery shopping, so we walked to the reception office to catch the bus to Eyre Square.

Our first stop in town was Dunnes, so I could buy a belt. Mine decided to randomly snap on me in our hostel on Saturday morning and it was driving me crazy. I ended up getting three belts and a wallet (2 came together, and it was buy 2 get 1 free...I am so my mother's son). The girls (Marit and Dani) did some shoe shopping and then all of us stocked up on groceries for the week. I find myself mainly buying pasta, since I know I can cook it well. But I have yet to have the same kind twice...I keep making sauce/ingredient changes. I'm mastering the art of sautee, though. :)

We headed back to our apartment afterwards, and just hung around watching TV. I updated some blogs from my trip, then watched a few episodes of the Simpsons. We then got the bright idea to order Chinese food, but found that it's quite different here. There aren't any of the typical dishes, and apparently curry is Chinese here (lol). We ended up with some decent food though. We also threw a party to watch "Pirate Master", which I must say is hilarious. Some of you may have heard of it - it's a CBS reality show that started right before I left the states. It's just so funny...cause it's so cheesy. We didn't do much else last night but that, and then I went to bed. Work in the morning, ya know.

Another Irish phrase for you. Instead of saying "y'all", they say "ye". So you have "all of ye", "do ye need anything?", and "ye can go away". Awesome. Oh yeah, and "go away" is the same as "leave". :)