grandma

thanks for the birthday card
i miss you so much :(

to tide you over

some photos:


-Emily the Boy (the "baby lamb" that sits on my lap for photoshoots)
-a chair in the studio
-Christopher cooking, which led to
-4 plates that looked like this
-i believe I described them to you in an earlier post
-Conan Ciunas Chris & I in ZamZam's
-Xhavid & Chris at the new hotel
-Curnán wearing Olga's gloves and playing Pida Hands on my face haha
-Curnán & I outside on Ciunas's 22nd birthday

Vaarwel!

talk to you after Amsterdam and many photos later (unless I get to an internet cafe of course)

oh also I found a floating Chinese food restaurant that has reasonably priced food so I request to go!!!


Okay well time to go!

Talk to you all soon!

Did you know

That there is a Doors cafe in Amsterdam? And I will go there.

Other possible things to do:

Artis Zoo: €17,70, but you also get admission to the Planetarium, Geological Museum, Aquarium & Zoological Museum
Torture Museum (as I have said many, many times)
Magere Brug ("Skinny Bridge") over the Amstel river
"the 9 streets"
walking along the canals
Leidsplein, Rembrandtsplein, Vondelpark
Prinsen Realen and/or Bieker islands
Blijburg beach
Tuschinski
FEBO food
De Groene Olifant restaurant
2nd hand shop "Miss Petticoat"
Proef Eetonwerp - all the food is served out of jars

I'd love to go to Ctaste. It's one of those restaurants where it's pitch black and all the waiters are blind, but its €40 per person so I think it's a bit too expensive which is really disappointing because I bet that would be an amazing experience.

I'm sure we will also think of more things once we acquire a lovely guide book when we are in either Dublin or Amsterdam's airport.


I've had a terrible backache today. It hurts so bad. I had Harris crack my back but it didn't help at all :(
I also have had a terrible headache. There was this little baby in here just now who would not stop shrieking! I thought my head would explode but luckily the parents paid their bill and they just left. Tanks.

Mazur's getting back from work at 11 my time, I hope I am still online so I can talk to him!
I'm super tired though.
And I need to start packing!!

longest weekend ever

seems like it anyway.

Today there were all these old vintage cars in town. They were pretty amazing. Unfortunately, I did not have my camera on me at the time when I saw them all pull out of the petrol station across from Ailsa's house. She gave me coffee and an easter egg though. Town has been quite busy this weekend, I don't really like it. I prefer town to be quiet, with no one there. Waaay too many people. This is the very start of tourist season I guess.

I've been putting together a digital portfolio of all the work for my photo project today. It has occurred to me that i only have about a month left, and i'm about to have a panic attack. Moving back to the states is going to be more like moving to a foreign country than it was when I got here. Hopefully all goes well with scheduling. I don't want to have to have 2 semesters left, I really need to graduate in December. Although that means figuring out what I am doing post-graduation even sooner. I wish I could go to Grad School here. or in AZ. one or the other. It would be nice to have more time to work on one project. Or get residencies. That would be nice too.

It was warm for two days but now it is back to being rainy and freezing. At least it looks like the temperature in Amsterdam should be a bit warmer. I met Morgan's two friends who will be with us in the 'Dam and they're really nice & funny.

Tonight, weather-permitting, Barry is letting me borrow some of his wooden masks that he made to use for photos. This week is going to be an incredibly busy one. My head is in a million places at once, and I really wish that it wasn't. All I want to do right now is sleep, but there is too much to do and too much to think about. I still want to go out west this summer after summer classes are over, if it's possible. I think it will do wonders to clear my head and make me feel better about being back in the states. I just need to figure out how much more expensive it is to rent a car if you're only 21. I'll figure it out though. I have no idea where exactly I want to go. I just want to go. I'll figure it out when I get there.

i found my mobile!

all is right with the world again.

Haha.

Spent the morning reading and dreaming of kinder maxi eggs. oh how i want one for easter, but we can't figure out where to find them. ashley ellis is going to look in dublin. they're like kinder eggs except instead of being the size of a normal egg with a tiny toy inside, they are 7.5"x4" and have a giant toy inside! and more chocolate, obviously! Sweet!

I can hear Pat yelling from the kitchen and it makes me laugh. Stooopid! haha.
Someday I will record him saying that. Then you will understand the amazingness which is Pat.

Lydnsey was going to come out to Monks with me tonight but she is still very sick. It seems like everyone is sick this week. I have been taking lots of Emergen-C so as not to join their ranks.

It was sunny today, but very very cold.
I can't wait until it gets warmer. It's so beautiful out, it would be nice to enjoy it without shivering.

Robbie got most of his stitches out yesterday (from his appendix) but he's still recovering.

Also, as a matter of interest, you may or may not be surprised to know that in Ireland it is illegal to serve alcohol on Good Friday. The hotel could serve to residents/people staying in the hotel itself, but to no one else. So Monks and Logues were closed in general and Hylands can only serve to their hotel customers as well. Isn't that strange? I don't think we have that law in the states. You could get arrested for serving someone a drink. Ha!

Ahh, the future

So I get to do my scheduling for next semester on 14 April, which is good. Hopefully I get the classes that I want. I will be taking Senior Thesis, Contemporary Directions&Practices, Documentary Film (literature elective) & Visual Culture In America (theory elective that focuses on Clint Eastwood as an actor, director & pop icon). Brilliant. That'd be deadly. I can't wait. I better get those electives! I sent out an email to find out about summer courses so hopefully that will all go smoothly as well. Also it doesn't interfere with my trip to Amsterdam, which is good.

Speaking of which, I leave the morning of the 28th, so I'll probably spend the night in Dublin beforehand. Then I'm staying on a houseboat until I leave the morning of 2 April to come back to Ballyv. I'm very excited. I'm going to try to get into Galway at some point this weekend hopefully so I can acquire a guidebook in order to plan even more things to do there
(besides the torture museum and haunted amusement park and canal cruises and the photo museum and possibly taking a daytrip into the countryside to see windmills and flower gardens and lots of cheese and Anne Frank's house etc.)

On a sad note, my phone has been lost to an unidentified place since sometime late last night so hopefully I can find it. Of course I have it on silent, so it does no good for anyone to call it to help me locate it. AHHH. It better turn up!
Well, I can never say life is boring!

I've been reading some really good books lately. "Documents of Contemporary Art-The Gothic" edited by Gilda Williams, and "Animus & Anima" by Emma Jung (Carl Jung's wife). Also I've begun reading "No Country for Old Men" -if you haven't seen the movie, go watch it!-. Chris has a signed first printing version. In plastic case and all that.

Ciunas and Curnán moved in with Chris since Shanalia and Joana moved out very suddenly to move closer to school. So this afternoon we made a hugeeeee feast. I have photos I will have to upload of it, but we each had:

-scrambled eggs
-rashers (bacon, sort of)
-sausages
-black pudding
-white pudding
-beans
-cooked onions
-cooked mushrooms
-cooked tomato
-buttered toast
-orange juice
-tea

i think i remembered everything haha

Then we watched Withnail & I, which is a really hilarious and amazing movie. It's from 1987, fittingly the year all of us (besides Ciunas) were born.

Oh I'm so excited, but I will be soooo disappointed if I don't get into that Clint Eastwood course. That would be such a brilliant class!

Ma sent me jellybeans for easter and I've definitely eaten too many today. Currently I am washing it down with blackcurrant juice. Mmmm

Saint Patrick's Day Weekend & Ciunas's Birthday

Several days of Irish fun.

We met a bunch of german kids on vacation in Monks. Conan played Rammstein on the stereo and apparently the one told Stu "Zis is our music! We understand ze text!"
St Pat's was pretty lowkey, but fun
We booked out plane flights finally for ze Netherlands.
Ciunas's birthday was great, it was really nice out and we all sat outside in armchairs in the lawn drinking Papa Smurf's (thanks Stu for your invention). We really ended up celebrating St Pat's that day instead.

Both Monday and Tuesday were sunny and fairly unwindy so it was very pleasant out.
Today we had another of the schoolwide crits, which took forever.
I've been swamped with school work and only just finished now (10pm) for the day.

Oh I met Buddha, this hilarious fat cat that hangs out outside of Spar and has a drooling/tongue sticking out of his/her mouth problem haha.


(Buddha, then Cassie, then Pushkin, then my early evening St Pattys day pint of water with various citrus fruits haha

some more photos from Berlin

sums it up

So school has been pretty hectic, post-Berlin. Olga and I've been going to the hotel earlier so I can bring my laptop and get work done/use the internet. I'm doing a research project I have to present on Tuesday for Martina that I've been needing the world wide web for. Chris started working at Monks as of Wednesday but Robbie had to get his appendix out the other day so he is still working at the Hotel until Robbie gets back. Jonnie started working at Monk's as well. Lot's of fun nights out with Olga, Chris, Curnán, & Ciunas. Sometimes Stu and Barry as well. Ciunas is hilarious, rather hard for me to explain his personality, but we'll say he isn't the quietest person ever and Ciunas is the Irish word for silence/quiet. Haha. Chris told me a story about how when they were in primary school and the teacher would should "Ciunas!" at the class, he'd say "He's not here!" or "Be Ciunas!" "I can't, he's over there." Haha. Stu is british, and also hilarious. The one night was really fun because we all sat around at Chris's house and played instruments together. I had a shakey thing with symbols haha, but there were wooden drums and a violin and tin flutes and acoustic guitars and a xylophone i think. It was great craic. I had a really good crit the other day, I'll have to take a photo of the drawing I did for it. There was a James Brown impersonator one night at the hotel for the owner's wife's birthday party. that was pretty cool. I'm going to put up some photos now so you know who I have been talking about.

p.s. i love mayo. it is so good. especially on chips and curly fries. mmmmm.



^Chris Attenborough with a Guinness 'stache


^from left to right: Robert Ellis, Curnán (aka Conan), Jonnie, Chris Ellis.


^Dorris the cat


^Olga & Chris


^Conan


^Olga & Stu


^we build things


^chris as seen through drew's empty guinness pint


^drew being silly


^chris doing his job


^Halloween??


^Curnán, Ciunas & Chris

my quest to visit one more country while in europe

I have made a comparison list:


PARIS:
-i've already been there, but i know the Republique area really well & metros are so easy to navigate
-street music
-i'm part french
-amazing food - beef carpaccio & beef tartar & dessert at Laduree
-Catacombs (didn't get there last time)
-actually go on eiffle tower
-Pere LaChaise (jim morrison's grave)
-Cimetiere De Montmartre
-155 year old taxidermy shop
-Parc de la Villette - free movie screenings
-Canal Saint Martin (Amelie)
-i miss it
-could visit Jen

AMSTERDAM:
-haven't been there, so it'd be a new adventure
-i'm part dutch
-they have windmills in their country. REAL windmills
-cheese, so so much cheese, i love cheese
-canals everywhere, right on the water
-torture museum!
-the Amsterdam Dungeon - some kind of amusement park/haunted house with rides having to do with the dark history of amsterdam's past
-Tuschinski - ancient cinema where you can see movies. balconies and velvet (i think?) seats and private boxes and all that
-wax museum
-photo museum
-Zoo!!!
-we could spend the weekend in a houseboat instead of a hostel. A HOUSEBOAT! how cool is that?!
-cheaper than paris
-Catacomb Studios - supposedly some club/bar in the crypt of an old church
-Morgan would be there at the same time and could visit her and her friends

in the meantime

I'd just like to note, that Ireland really loves to hail. I've never seen so much hail ever in my life.

Saturday Saturday Sunday Sunday

In the morning I got up early so I could go to Gort. Chris texted asking why I was up so early again and I told him because of Gort and buying cheap food at Aldi and he texted back -

"Aldi! How much fun could you get into one week!? Heh...I love the catfood there..Well my cat loves it ha Cant believe I just wrote that."

Harris and I exchanged country souvenirs - He got me a Paris Vogue magazine. Then Olga and I walked to the Petrol Station so I could top up my phone. I was very upset because my twister ice pop things were gone and I told her I was very distressed but then I went digging and found one all the way on the bottom, hidden. Harris was going to go to Gort but the bus was full so he gave me money and a list and I said Id get him stuff. I looked through Vogue on the way here. I bought a mother's day card in Keenes. Olga and I ate lunch and then went to Aldi and I got Harris's food and some things for myself and some kitty food for Pushkin and a toothbrush because I realized I forgot mine and some bobbypins in the hotel room in Berlin, but there are worse things I could have forgotten. I left Harris's groceries on the kitchen table in Blue Door because he wasn't there (was climbing up the mountain to retrieve the goat skull). Olga and I also bought a 2 disc set of Romeo&Juliet and Moulin Rouge for 5 eur total and we'll either take them home or donate them to the school or give them to someone when we leave.

After I showered, Olga & I got dressed up to celebrate our return back to Ballyv. It was pouring out but Chris got Robbie to collect us in his car. John was on a crutch due to a rabid chair that attacked him viciously. We told him he looked like a wounded puppy and he cheered up. I ordered chips and Olga got a stir fry. We held up leftover 40th bday streamers to bat at like cats and I gave Chris the food I'd picked up for Pushkin and a pack of gum with a slab of meat on the packaging that I'd found that was funny. Some BCA people showed up a few hours later and I talked to Kristen for a bit. Thane told me some about Paris (walking around in refrigerator boxes). Harris sent me a hilarious text saying "U still there? My pants are drying" which I thought was hilariously random. I tried to get Brian to visit while I'm still here. Chris gave Olga a Dr Suess book and then tried to take it back and give it to me but I said it was hers first so she had to keep it. He was going to photocopy it so we could both have one but all the little cardboard flaps in the pages would have made it too difficult. Xhavid made bird sounds with his mouth and had Olga running all around the room trying to figure out where it was coming from (she was not very amused when she found out). I got a great photo of Chris Attenborough with a Guinness 'Stache on his new facial hairdo. We eventually left and went to Logues becase it was the 21st birthday of someone Chris Ellis had gone to school with. It was croweded and pretty much everyone knew Chris. He Harris and I went out back and there was broken/breaking glass everywhere and some guys fighting/piling on top of each other. Then they took the metal door from the back of Logues and moved it to form a sort of barricade between the back parking lot and side alleyway which led to boys running and jumping into it. We left because Robbie apparently had Sweeney Todd. About 15 people cheered from picnic benches at front when Chris walked out when we left. We went to the hotel to get take away and Binny(?) the town drunk was there. Olga took a nap on the couch and eventually we left. Olga went home and Chris Robert Shannalia Harris and I went to Chris&Shannalia's and hung out in the living room and ate gummy bears. We never ended up watching Sweeney because we got in too much conversation and wanted to wait to watch it with Laura.



On Sunday I had breakfast with Chris at the Tea Junction (the previous night Olga just realized it's called so because it is at the T-Junction in town). The new woman working there apparently knew him since he was 2 years old. He left for work and I walked back home and listened to music while Olga waxed my arms. After talking to mom and wishing her happy mum's day, I walked to Harris's to check on the goat skull and bring him an extra toothbrush to clean it with (I had 2 in the pack i bought from Aldi). I talked to Franz while he made lunch and then watched some TV for a bit with them and Drew and Noah before 7th Heaven came on and we had to turn the telly off.

Thats where I stopped writing and I have been super busy all the next week so now I need to strain to remember everything that happened.

Berlin cont.

After I woke up I went to breakfast and ate with Martina, Mary, Rebecca and Olga. Because we want to go with Martina to photo galleries in the afternoon, Olga Josh Carra Annie and I went with the MFAs to see a residency - Künstlerhaus Bethanien Berlin. We took the bus there and talked about legally getting married and separating for 4-5 years in order to get a legal divorce in order to procure citizenship haha. The place was amazing. We got to see a really great slide show/history of the place. It used to be a hospital and was on the west side of the wall. the houses on the opposite side of the street that are viewable from the windows of the place were on the east side. it also had a protestant church attached which is now the main gallery space. Two of the older MFAs were going to a concentration camp in the afternoon. it's something i feel the need to see at some point, but not this trip. The place in general was amazing. After the slideshow, he let us take a lot of magazines and art books for free. We went to three of the artists' studios. The 2nd & 3rd ones were amazing. After we were done around half one, we went and sat outside of a nice cafe and ate on the street (really made me homesick for Paris!) I had a salad with two toasted baguette halves with melted goat cheese on top. Martina dropped her cigarette down a grate and had to pour water on it to keep it from catching on fire haha.

Martina Mary Chris Olga & I set off to find a gallery with Kandida Hopper paintings. When we were in the U-bahn on a certain line it was like paris, where the cars aren't separated and you can see down the line, Chris Attenborough started getting obsessed with it- "It's like being inside of a snake!" On the confused walk to find the gallery, we were in this giant square where they filmed the scene in the Bourne Supremacy where Matt Damon kidnaps Julia Stiles on the tram. We saw this statue and Olga said "I did that!" So I did a giant mosaic on a building nearby and Chris did the entryway. "How long did that take you?" "A long time coz it was all found objects." Okay, it was a lot funnier to us at the time. Like seeing this strange cafe with grey and brown blankets folded up by each seat. We decided it was a refugee cafe and started naming all the things we'd serve in our own refugee restaurant. Eventually we found it, and the photos were very good. Olga thought she lost the ring julien had given her and started to have a panic attack but I told her it would be alright and to just explain to him what happened and he would understand and probably get her a new one. Next we went to a gallery with a show on called "Mummy is Nasty." It was absolutely brilliant. I took photos/videos. We were rather museum'd out by the time we were done there and were supposedly near a street Martina's friends said had good vintage and second hand shops. We set out on a quest that Chris A soon left. I got a pendant of a silver and mirror handmirror heh. The woman spoke no english but we still managed to all communicate and it was really fun. There was a silver designer dress from paris that i wanted SO badly but it was over 100 eur, so no. I ended up hiding it in the middle of the rack so I didn't have to look at it haha. We walked up the street to another place and were carrying on till we found out the woman working was actually from L.A. and then felt slightly silly. However, she pointed us towards a 2 level vintage shop called Made In Berlin. We got there after asking many random people and stopping very quickly in another shop. Made In Berlin was pretty amazing. One floor each for ladies and gents. I found two pairs of boots and a long skirt. Olga got a beautiful green jacket with elbow patches. Mary left to go home and we darted into an Apotheke right as they were closing and I grabbed some stockings. We split up to get changed and met Martina back downstairs. Aoife Angel and Shannalia were going to a German food restaurant down the straße, but we weren't in the mood at the moment, so we returned to our sushi dinner place. I ate a ridiculous amount of food but it was absurdly cheap. We talked a bit over dinner and then I went home because I was very tired and didn't feel in top form. A whole crowd of Burren people were in the lobby so I sat with them for awhile before heading upstairs and having a heart-to-heart with Kristen.


I woke up atound 8 and got ready. Olga and I went out around half 8 and got strawberries and cold coffee beverages in Kaisers. We ate as we wandered and then meandered into the only store open, some oriental-ish place that smelled very good but was not very cheap. We ran into Rebecca and Steve and then went to check if the 2nd hand shop Kristen told us about was open, but no luck. So we went back up to the street we'd been on and got breakfast at a cafe. I got a rasberry smoothie in a sippycup and cake. While we sat outside Martina and Pam (i think it was pam) walked up and sat with us and had lattes. Chris and Dan showed up as well and Martina told us that the one giftshop we'd wanted to go in was open, so we walked back there and I got some souvenirs and a large luggage bag to bring everything back in. Walking back up toward the goth store (where I hoped to find a corset for photos), another vintage shop was open so we stopped in there and the man was very nice and funny. The woman, Julia was also very nice and helped us try on and find clothes and shoes. They cut their prices more than in half when they found out we were on the USD (they thought we were from London at first. YES! 2nd time!) We went to the goth shop and a sign said back in a moment (in german) but a woman outside saw us looking and talking about it and asked if we wanted to go inside because she just happened to be the store owner. I got my corset and by then it was 11.40 so we hurried back and got back in 10 minutes, I repacked everything and changed my pants so I could wear my new boots. We all met in the lobby upstairs and then went out to the bus. Noah, Drew Franz, Elizabeth & I got into the lift and Olga darted in as the door was closing and collided with it but got in. The bus was uneventful and I nodded off. In the airport, we got our boarding passes and went through security and all that. I finally found the Yves Saint Laurent "Cinema" perfume that I've been looking for since Paris in the Duty Free shop. As we waited to find out what gate we'd be at, Drew guessed it would be 7 and it was. I had a window seat (14A) and luckily my knee didn't bother me like it had on the way over.

The Berlin art scene seems to be a bit edgier than London or Paris and there are a lot of roads with multiple galleries one right after another which is nice. The nightlife in Berlin was excellent but everything opened fairly late in the morning. It seems like the opposite of London in that respect. London wakes up before dawn and sleeps early. Berlin stays up all hours and sleeps in. Like London, everyone had the very best coats and boots. The architecture was more colourful and varied than London but maybe less so than Irish towns and cities. The graffiti is unrivaled, however. It it did not have as much street music as in London Paris or Dublin. I think I only heard it three times the entire time. London had the most I believe, almost tied with Paris.

I made lists of everything I bought/drank/ate/galleries I went to/music I listened to on the way back. Luckily Drew's retractible fishing rod made it through checked luggage. As soon as we stepped out of the airport we were hit with the strongest possible wind. We stopped for food and then went home. I kept trying to see what people were doing but they kept changing their minds so I ended up staying in and falling asleep. Chris texted me after I already nodded back asleep that there were people over but I didn't get it till the next morning.

day 1 and 2

Olga and I sat outside while Martina went in to see if Angel Aoife and Shannalia were inside. Two guys walked by and said "Hallo!" and then something else in german which prompted some blank, but apologetic, stares from the two of us. They stopped and one said, "You speak English? Russian?" and Olga said excitedly, "How did you know?!" and started to speak to him in Russian. It turned out that he, Sasha, spoke broken English, Russian and German. His friend only spoke German. Olga spoke Russian and English and I (basically) only spoke English, so it was this weird 4-way conversation chain going on with multiple translators. It was cool though because Sasha mistook me for a Londoner. ("Are you from London?" - "No, but my coat is!")



Everyone came out and we moved across the street to this flamboyant bar we had spotted earlier. There was a giant red heart in the window and gold foil on the walls. Sasha went in and came back out and said, "Yes, that's a gay bar." The guys didn't really want to go in but they eventually were talked into it. Angel and Shannalia left, and then so did Sasha's friend. Martina and Aoife wanted to smoke so we moved into the back room they had with lots of chairs and couches. Well, by lots, I mean they had two. There was a group of people in there at first so we sat at 2 arm chairs and some uncomfortably high stools. Olga finished talking to Sasha out at the bar and came back and joined us. Martina made me laugh so hard making fun of certain people that I won't name to protect her interests haha, but it was so great. We also invented some new words - verbs and adjectives- that describe the person, but we can never use it in front of them unfortunately. She and Aoife had some great stories about them. The group of people next to us left so we took over the couches, from where I have some photos. The bartender started to come back to get us drinks so we didn't have to get up, which was convenient. His name was Otto. I forget where he was from, I'll have to ask Olga. At one point Olga climbed up on the couch and tried to nick a baby angel off of the wall. It was great craic. There was an amazing formica table between the couches that we were all obsessed with, and considered walking off with, but it would have been impossible, obviously. I had a very intense discussion with Martina about Animus/Anima and her past lovers and Finland and her dog Menla (and the story of how she got him, which I will write about separately). Olga and I told her how we think she is secretly a Nordic Goddess. We also talked about how she wants to go to Burning Man. Eventually we decided to leave and Otto told us where a good "heterosexual" bar was down the street and Aoife lamented over his being gay because he was so nice and handsome and it "really wasn't fair."



We went to the next place, Bar Nue, which was lit orange and you walked down the stairs and once through the door you had to walk through a black velvet curtain. It was a really chic place. The bartenders were both named Michael. One was larger with his hair slicked back into a ponytail and the other was a rather attractive black man from English with a great accent. Martina got his number/email by the end of the night. I had a mojito and then finished Olga's bloody mary because she left to go home early. Martina asked for an exotic drink that she could have in a martini glass, but she didn't want any gin, rum, vodka, or whiskey, so he created this concoction with some exotic liquor, and it was really good, but he made me the same drink with vodka and it tasted exactly the same haha. Oh, and mine came with 3 cherries, 2 of which Martina stole. (She also had 3 glowsticks she got from the bar we'd met Sasha outside of). We paid up after a bit and walked back to the hotel. I called Chris to see how Ballyv was making out (the only person I knew would be up at that hour) and then went to sleep around 3.

In the a.m. I woke up and talked with Kristen for a bit before we went up to eat breakfast. The complimentary breakfast was amazing! I had waffles mit cream cheese & nutella (sounds gross, but is DELICIOUS), a cheese/salami/tomato/cucumber sandwich on brown bread, & cereal with yoghurt. Coffee and cream & several small glasses of water. Tim handed out our 48hour U-bahn passes and we left to go to the first museum (the one in the train station, I have to look up the name). Once we got there I was sitting out in the main foyer with Olga, Aoife, Angel, Shannalia, & Steve and we realized no one else had come out of the coat check for the last 5-10 minutes. Angel peeked around the corner and apparently Tim was giving a talk on German Romanticism or Expressionism, but not exactly art wise. We just wanted to get our tickets because we didn't have much time in the gallery, and almost considered just buying our own. Aoife actually went into the coat room and stood in the center of the room with her hands out and an exasperated look on her face, but he just ignored her, so she came back and we took photos of each other on the benches. We eventually got our tickets and the gallery was amazing. I have many photos from there. I bought a couple books from their shop. After that we walked up the straße to this huge art building where there are tons of artist squats - i'll get some photos from Kristen. Olga and I ate a nice relaxed hour long sushi lunch and then met back up with the group. We had to split up in three smaller groups and our group immediately formed itself and moved off - Olga, Aoife, Angel, Shannalia, Pam & I went with Martina. We went into a lot of smaller galleries on Auguststraße. We also stopped in a bead store and then coffee shop. We eventually decided to go try to find boots/clothing but we walked by a hair salon that had haircuts for €12 so Angel, Martina Olga and Shannalia each got their hair cut. While they did, Aoife and I walked up the straße and ate a light dinner at a cute cafe and had tea. I got a baguette with mozzarella, tomato & basil and earl grey tea. So good. After we were done we walked across the street to a small toy store and I got a small chalk board and some small knick knacks. We went back and everyone was done with their new hairdo's. We stopped in one store on the way back and I got a sweaterdress. Then we found our way back to the hotel. We all got changed and met downstairs to go search out dinner. We found a Thai/Nepalese restaurant called Mount Everest. I just got a chicken starter with the delicious peanut sauce (I ate ALL of it, trust me). I realized that my phone ran out of credit, mid conversation, which was rather frustrating. I started to get really tired. After the food, some long waiting, mixed up platters and all - (but the food itself was phenomenal!) Aoife told us many stories, not the least of which was about how she once punched one of her sisters over "fancy paper" and how sometimes her sisters are DEMONIC! No, you don't understand, demonic! haha. Olga & I walked across the street to Kaiser to look for saline solution for her and a way to top up for me. No luck, but she got a glue stick and then we found an internet/call shop and I bought a 30 eur top up card. We went back to the hotel and as we stood outside in the one alleyway, I heard someone walking down the street saying " JA! Jaaaa! JaaA!" and Chris Attenborough walked around the corner with a very drunk Drew Dan and Noah. Drew was pretty ridiculous. I think he had a bit too much tequila. They had apparently gone into some strip club which they now all regretted haha. Drew kept trying to talk me into going back out to drink with them & some of the girls from my room, but I really wanted to shower. And he kept saying "Neigh! Nay! (one of those spellings)" and eventually I was like, "Drew, are you trying to say, Nein!"? And he was like ohhhhhh that's how you say No. hahaha. I got really frustrated because my German O2 cards wouldn't work at all, so I used Hillary's phone before they all left to text Chris and tell him my phone was out of credit and I wasn't just ignoring him. I took a shower after talking to Hannah for a bit about cell phone troubles. The shower was interesting because the water (luckily always hot) only stays on for maybe 10 or 20 seconds and then you have to press the button again, like a public sink faucet or something. But I bet it saves a lot of water! After I dried off I consolidated all my belongings in the room and went through all the flyers/postcards/books I had acquired throughout the day while listening to my ipod and letting my hair dry so I could straighten it. Chris somehow put 15 eur of credit on my phone for me, I think you can enter someone's number online and add credit. That was really nice of him. Thank you!



more soon!

Arrival

After school the Monday I last posted, Olga and I bought vanilla and strawberry ice cream to eat with our blueberries. we went home and she made chicken-honey-mango-cinnamon-rice stir fry and that was delicious. i also had some scrambled eggs and talked to mom on the phone while i quickly packed. I was going to go to sleep early but then Aidan texted and said that he wanted us to go to Whitethorn and have free dessert. So we told him to collect us in about an hour and I went and quick showered and got ready. Lydnsey yelled from downstairs if we had turned anything on and we said no, confused. we went downstairs and the light in the washroom had turned on by itself and the fan was smoking and smelt like electrical fire. The light popped off and we called Robert Wainwright and he said he'd be over at 9.25. Aidan texted and said his meeting ran late so he couldn't come get us. Olga and I moped around the kitchen, being all dressed up, and stood up haha. I texted (the other) Robert and Chris Ellis to see if they were working/where they were. Robert was in Dublin till Thursday. Robert got there and disconnected the fan and light, apparently it turned on due to wherever that leak was from. We told him about being bummed over being stood up for our dessert party and he said we could come out with him because it was his turn to do the lotto and he'd end up at Monk's. So we got in his car - Mazda 6 with red dash lights. He had Guns n Roses in the cd player. We drove around to several places getting tickets and we changed the CD to Red Hot Chili Peppers. Chris texted back after a bit & I told him we'd end up at Monks. We got there and Curnán was working which was nice. Olga sat with Robert and two other older gentlemen and I sat at the bar with Chris and Curnán. He started inventing drinks for us to try. My favourite was the soco & some kind of soda. Robert & Olga & everyone left and we turned off the lights & locked the door and hung out for a bit more at the bar and then they both walked me home.

Olga made omlettes and I got my backpack. The bus arrived (4.15) and we talked on the bus for a bit & eventually I fell asleep. We got to the airport (Dublin) and checked in. Security was tighter than the last time I had gone through but it was still fairly quick. We saw a guy who looked just like Philip's doppleganger. I had a bacon & salad sandwich & Bulmers and then we sat in the waiting area. Olga drew a picture of Noah & I that I have to remember to scan because it was really quite good. We decided that when we get back to the states we want to take a road trip up to Nova Scotia. I got a window seat - 27A. Flight 332 - Berlin SXF (Schoenefeld). Actually we are very lucky because apparently Aer Lingus was going to be on strike but they broke right before our departure date (over the weekend). Supposedly there were still some issues with air traffic controllers, but we didn't end up having any problems. I slept on the plane but my knee got really cramped and hurt. We got out, went through customs, got on our bus. The time change made it an hour later.

Random facts thanks to our sort-of tour guide:
-3.4 million people live in Berlin
-Our airport was in former East Germany, south of the city center itself
-15% of people are immigrants
-Many are Turkish, then Polish and Russian
-Many Polish Berliners only work there during the week and go back 60km to Poland on weekends
-Berlin is the 2nd largest country next to London
-Polish people used to be notorious for stealing cars there. They had a joke of a public service announcement that went, "Come visit us in Poland, your car's already here"
-she said she told that joke to a bunch of people from Poland and they laughed and said "Those were the good old days, now the Ukranians steal our cars!"
-15% unemployment
-Economy is recovering although not nearly as good as Celtic Tiger
-36% green
-7% water
-900 sq kilom.
-No closing hour for pubs/restaurants
-mostly no smoking, or separate rooms
-some pubs have "heating mushrooms" patio heaters to stand around outside
-to make new words they combine words to describe it, which is why many words are so long
-Prince of Monaco was there that day

It was raining a bit, but much warmer than Dublin was. I was excited that they apparently had a nightlife there, as opposed to London. A building to the right of the bus, steel concrete covered in limestone tiles, was built by the Nazis. Hitler wanted buildings to look like Roman ruins hundreds of years later.
The architecture in Berlin is so great because they had so much room to work in. Potsamer Platz (spelling?) was a desert from the war. They made a new city center there. The first traffic light in Europe was put there in 1924.
We saw an ad for Germany's Next Top Model - they were prettier than the american version

We got to our hotel and Kristen, Carra, Hanna, Raychel, Morgan and I settled in. Rayray, Hannah, Morgan and Carra slept. I looked through a bunch of cool handouts. We met upstairs at 6 to go on a walking tour led by Tim. Olga and Martina had found a sushi place and also Olga got an oriental dress that Martina said she'd kill her if she didn't get haha. We followed Tim to Checkpoint Charlie. There were a lot of architecturally amazing apartment and office buildings, many of which had red, blue or green tinted windows. We followed him around a bit more and then were too hungry so Martina Olga and I took the Ubahn back to our hotel's neighborhood. We saw Angel Shannalia and Aoife on the way to sushi. Olga and I successfully converted Martina into a sushi lover. Then we went to try and meet up with the other 3 girls...

and that is where I must leave you, in anticipation, to wait for the continuation of the story!

sorry everyone who has been waiting to hear about berlin

It has been delayed due to outside forces and I will start it as soon as I am able.

motorbike crashed on television

i'll post all the happenings from my last post till tonight about berlin when i get to school tomorrow.


i'm very comfortable on this couch.

talk to you soon.


happy mum's day, mum!