Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Hello IRELAND!

I have been in Ireland for a whole 24 hours! It does not even feel real, I have been so busy with finalizing paper work, picking out classes, getting groceries and trying to get moved in. I'm actually over here with a friend from LaCrosse, her name is Simone. It has been so wonderful to have her here. We aren't in the same apartment but we are in the same village (kind of like a dorm) so that is nice. So I figured I would give you a recap of the last couple days...

So Friday the 26th of August was the day before i was supposed to fly out. Due to the conditions out east with Hurricane Irene we were keeping a close eye on our flight, thank goodness we did because our flights ended up canceling...great. I ended up getting my flights changed to Monday evening after waiting on hold for an hour and then realizing i could just do it myself. Smart one Nicole! Now Simone was supposed to be on the same flights as I, but because we rebooked our flights, her first flight was a 6am on Monday morning. Fast forward to Sunday afternoon-I was checking my flights to see if they were still on time, because I had heard from the news that the earliest the Newark airport would open was noon on Monday. My flights were still on time, but Simone's 6am to Newark, where we were connecting to Shannon, Ireland, was cancelled. She ended up getting on a flight that left like 2 hours before mine. So after being packed and ready to go for four days Monday, August 29th finally came! We had no problem with either of the flights and got to Newark in plenty of time to catch our connecting flight to Ireland! The cool thing was that we met about five other people who are studying at Limerick this fall through other programs at the airport. We were all on the same flight to Shannon. It was so awesome to see how God provided us with friendships at the airport that would probably not have happened if we left on Saturday. God is so good! Here are some pictures of my journey...
Simone and I ready to board our plane to Ireland!!

the gorgeous view from our plane as we preparing to land in Shannon, Ireland!

we officially arrived at Shannon airport!
Got got to Ireland around 9am! We were met by two Limerick students! There were about 15 other students on the plane that were all going to the University of Limerick. We all took the same bus over and were dropped off right in front of our village. Once we put all our stuff in our room we were supposed to "ring" this woman named Maria. She said to meet her at 2:15. Both Simone and I were extremely hungry, so we decided to grab a bite to eat at The Stable. It's a bar/eating place on campus. Then we went and met up with Maria, as soon as she introduced herself and the other API students that we will be traveling with this semester, she told us that we would be going out to eat and then shopping if we needed anything. EATING again...Simone and I were both full from the meal we just had, but didn't know how to tell Maria without being rude that we had already ate. Normally it would be fine, just don't get anything, but the meal was on API, so we both got a soup. After shopping for awhile we had to come back and went through paper work and our class schedule. I was able to meet two of my roommates one being Richard and the other...idk lol I believe there is also one other guys moved in but i haven't met him yet. We have two other roommates that should be coming on Sunday. Until next time...
~Nicole

Friday, August 26, 2011

Anxiously Awaiting!

Well I depart for Limerick, Ireland in about 34 hours! My mind is all over the place! Thinking about what I need to bring, to the status of my flight. I am about packed with some last minute things to get together tomorrow. What I am interested to see is what will happen with my flight, Hurricane Irene is coming up the east coast about to hit Newark, NJ, it will be late Saturday evening/early Sunday morning. My plane is supposed to depart around 7:30pm on Saturday from Newark...this will be interesting! Knowing that I can't control a Hurricane...dang, I really need to rely on the Lord for patience, understanding and a calm heart! He will provide and take hold of this situation and use it for His good! 
I am anxiously awaiting my arrival in Ireland, knowing that their is a fun and challenging semester ahead of me! I am excited to see what God has in store for me this semester!