Dia dhuit, Conás átá tú?

Dia is Muire duit, tá mé go maith! Oh, don't worry, thats just some gaelic I've picked up in the few short days I've been here (...I might have Googled "Gaelic Greetings...). It means "Hello, how are you" and "Hello, I'm doing well" but literally means "God is with you" and "God and Mary are with you". I hope everyone is doing well in America, I loooove Ireland! It has been such a hectic and exhausting week but so much fun that I haven't even found the time to blog! Liza and I flew from JFK into Dublin on the 1st and took a bus to our hostel (we had simple directions but got a bit lost after walking right past it, shleping our bags behind us and whipping out the map every block, but Irish people are SO nice and helpful and we made it back to the Abbey Hostel with many a good Samaritans help). We got there around 11 but couldn't get into our rooms until 2 so we went to the pub next door (the first costumers) and ordered Guinness and nachos for brunch. We surprisingly got some looks from the locals- I guess 11:30 am is too early to drink...I think 12 is the norm. We tried to explore Dublin a little bit but we were so exhausted that we stumbled back to the hostel and begged to just sit in the room we stored our luggage in and THEN they told us about the common room downstairs where everyone from our program was sleeping. So we plopped down on a couch and slept until we were able to get our room keys. We shared the room with four other girls - it eh was eeeeeeeeh alright . No, it was fine but I'm SO glad to be nice and situated in my new townhouse in Galway. After 3 days in Dublin (where we went to some great pubs with great Irish music and a Hop on Hop off Bus Tour where we toured an old jail, the Guinness Factory, Museum of Modern Art and the Christ Church I ran into a girl I go to school with who was visiting family! Small world!) We got to Galway Wednesday morning- the townhouses are so nice and a 10-15 minute walk to school and to town. We went dancing last night at a club with some of the Irish people who are our neighbors and moved back from being at home for the holiday (one kid Kieran, the equivalent to a 5th year senior in America, looks like a bear and is missing a tooth but is SO nice and fun- he gave us all giant hugs where he lifted us up which cracked my back and felt like HEAVEN after all the shelpin' I've been doin'). Classes kind of start today but not really because for the first couple of weeks you "shop" for classes and see what you like and then you sign up for them. The people in charge of our program are so sweet and we have a dinner tonight with a woman who feels like an old family friend (she spoke at our orientation in Dublin and Liza and I spotted her walking around campus on Friday and ran after her where she invited us into her office and chatted and warmed us up.) Speaking of warmth, heat is the one thing that is really hard to get used to- they conserve energy like I've never seen. All houses are set up so differently than in America where all the rooms blend into each other. Here, doors separate every room and have their own heaters which you shut off during the night and every outlet has a switch you have to turn on before you use it. But Liza and I couldn't figure it out when we got here and our Irish roommates weren't here to explain it so we slept with mittens on and tons of layers our first night. This has been the coldest week since 1960 something so we've left it on the whole time we've been here. You also have to set the water heater 30 minutes before you want to shower- which reminds me that I have to go and git my day started. I'm meeting some friends for coffee downtown (I had an irish coffee at lunch/dinner the other day after a freeeeeezing walking tour of Galway and it was so strong that I think I'll stick to regular. I'm not a whisky kinda gal.) I write again soon, I love and miss everyone!