A Cork in Cork

2.15.14 Yesterday we left for our cork trip. We had to be there at 815 AM. That meant getting up at 705...ugh. Well, getting out of bed at 730. Anyway, Karolina messaged me and was like make sure you’re not late because they will leave without us. So, I got there at like 750 to her apt and texted her and she didn’t get it and I waited for like 10 minutes. So much for that. Well, we went to the bus where we waited for some girl for an hour for and at 900ish we decided we should leave without her and then here she can and we were off in the rain, driving. I couldn’t see much but I talked to john about my internships I’m nervous about and how I’m not sure what I should do. Then, tried to take a nap. No one realized to come to the back so I sat in the middle of the 5 seats...I had all 5 seats to myself and most of the front was occupado. I literally lay down like a bed. The first stop was for lunchish. I got a fruit salad and they had unwrapped bananas and apples so I took one and put them in my pocket, I don’t think they were meant to be sold and didn’t know what to eat unless I wants a sandwich or crepe or bacon. I was basically screwed. Our next rest stop was at a castle. It was the most still together in Europe I think. That’s a bad way to say it but I can’t remember the exact phrase. Anyways, there was not much to see but we watched a lame video I almost fell asleep through. And, surprisingly, they had working toilets in the castle. Hah. Back on the bus to the blarney castle. Once we got here, we walked together to get our tickets etc. etc. I talked to Leigh a little about our spring break trip. It started raining so I broke out the emergency rain poncho. I already got a compliment on it. What what. We continued and got to the blarney castle part where we had to walk up to the top. These stairs were so steep and ad in a circle. Just up and up till you hit air. Then it was pretty pretty. We were all in a line waiting and Karolina's and john were more behind but I hate waiting. I took my picture while kissing the blarney stone, which is supposed to be like lucky or something what you do is lie on you back stretch and kiss the brick wall. While I did that, my favorite purple headband fell off to the ground. It was actually kind of funny because it’s almost like a horror story, that something would fall that far. Well, turns out, it’s easy to grab. Once you kiss it, you're supposed to head down I, didn’t. I jumped the not so gated chain and met up with Karolina and john to try the blarney stone again and get some pics just in case. Now, we actually headed down. We were walking and talking and the entire farm looking thing was all misty like a scary movie. It was like the botanical gardens. I was over it quite fast, though because the one in Chicago is so much better. Now, I wanted to check out the biggest wool store in Ireland which was not that big, I wanted to get some wool stuff, but it was either really expensive or pretty lame. I went so interested, so I went to Supervalu to get some tuna and bananas. We came back to eat at the blarney cafe. I had 3 cans of tuna, perhaps not something to eat before going on to a bus. Once we arrived at the hotel, we were split into rooms of 14, 16, and 18. That’s kind of a lot. Me, john, and Karolina had like a little side off of 4 and only took up 3 spots. Our own little nook. We set all of our stuff down and decided to go exploring in the city. I was excited about this but when I explore, I do it the Sher way. When I explore with other people, they do it a different way. Like Karolina was into taking pictures everywhere and I definitely joined in, but once she saw what she thought was everything, she didn’t want to go any farther and it was just annoying. She’s not a good explorererer. Around 730, there was a pub crawl but it was 10 euro and I definitely did not have that kind of money. I decided not to go, also because it wasn’t something I could handle at the moment, Karolina didn’t want to go and I don’t think john really cared, he’s so lenient and easy going its great and funny. He simply just says yes, and doesn’t think about it more than that. I asked more people if they were going, like Leigh, and they wanted to but didn’t want to pay the 10 euro. I talked to her the next day and she said that she ended up going and just not paying. Now, I was jealous. That would’ve been perfecto. Karolina and john wanted to eat somewhere cheap. Karolina was thinking like pizza, but I feel like even in a restaurant compared to a carry out, it’s relatively the same price. Well, we ended up at Uncle Pete’s which was a tiny sit down, maybe Italian, restaurant. Karolina got a classic baguette and john a bowl of spaghetti. The place was really cute and a nice place to spend Halloween. It was about 8 and I passed some pub earlier and it was playing live music at 10 and I wanted to go see that. We went into a pub with a bunch of old men, so it quickly got too small. So onto the live music. Me not liking beer, I wanted to try the beer, Murphy’s that was made at the pub. The bar tender, a cute little dindly looking guy with a lot of energy, said I wouldn’t like it and let me try a different drink, rebel red, I got that with the last 3.10 euro I had left, it was really good. We sat there for about 2 hours watching a rugby math and talking. I got pretty tired pretty quick; I also got pretty tired of Karolina pretty quick. She started saying something, which is always and its loud and never stops, and I wanted say something small and chime in and she’s like no...Let me finish and I was like you’re ridiculous. It hurt my feelings because anything she says is the only thing that matters and nothing else. I let it slide but on the way home she did it to me so I did it to her, and I think it made things awkward but I was over it so fast. We got home around 1030 while everyone was still pub crawling, and I changed and put in headphones to try to fall asleep because I had a feeling that was not going to work out well, especially when everyone else came back. I ended up staying up till 12 because I as messaging Adam and Karolina wouldn’t shut the freak up. But it’s like if you have OCD and have to sleep and wake up at such a strict schedule, then go to sleep. And you’re not the only person in the room, just because you’re not sleeping doesn’t mean everyone is awake

2.16.2014

This morning we were allowed to sleep in until 1030 in the morning...is that what they call sleeping in? Well, I decided, instead of following Karolina, who probably was going to take pictures and walk around the normal city like a terrorist, I would make my own adventure and get to know the city on a run. But unfortunately, I passed the kitchen first. Breakfast was included and it was bread. I thought it’d be something like that but most of the people I was with said at the last hostel they cooked beans and eggs and bacon for them. Then I realized, I think we were a little scammed. Well, I hadn’t had bread as a meal in like 5 years, so I decided perhaps I try it. I felt so dumb after. It was kind of nice in the way that I really like the strawberry jam but I really didn’t feel like it made a dent in my stomach. I am kind of happy, because I will continue to not eat bread and this will make me feel better later with feeling bad now haha. Oh, there were the Belgium girls, Selene, one I already met, that together had like an entire loaf! It was like a joke, or a movie, but quite ridiculous! Well, because it barely affected me, I decided to continue with that determination to run. Last night I asked where I should go running and the guys at the front desk said there was some place about a 15 minute walk, a park. And I thought that’d be cute but I need something farther. I don’t know why but I went the wrong way, kind of. I guess there really isn’t any wrong way, but you’ll find out later. O, here I continued down the river to the harbor and where most of the transportation happened in cork. I passed the ford general motors Europe division. Ford was Irish. There was a lot I passed but it was a little industrial and I like more grass. So I had to run all the way back the same way but whatevaaaa. I ran into a woman with a collie and a husky, I missed husky Lilly a little bit, well mostly just doggies loving. I talked to her and asked where to go and she said the city, but that’d not that fun haha which made me feel better and then go to the park and up to university college cork. Just like the other guy recommended, so I ran back, then went up this hill near our hostel and looked out. It was so cool. This hill was huge and above almost the entire city. So when I got up there, I smiled and that’s when I reaized I can go abroad by myself and enjoy myself. All I have to remember is do stuff the Sher way, adventurous and daring. Not like anyone else. I looked down and noticed the beautiful city I would’ve never seen. I decided to run down and try to make it to where the people recommended or at least attempt. I only had 20 minutes and was told they would leave without us at 1030. But again, we are Sher's. People wait for us, we don’t wait for people. So I kept running and up a hill through some weird alleys and ultimately back to our hostel. I grabbed my purse and a jacket and at 1030 I was out but needed to get to the bus still. I ended up being 3 minutes late; according to Karolina...when we got on, I was so excited about my exploration. But then there was 1 more girl, Ellie we were waiting for. Ellie wasn’t picking up her phone and no one knew where she was. We gave her 10 extra minutes. So he started pulling away and as we did someone saw her and she was running and we kept going because he couldn’t stop on the narrow streets and I felt so bad because she kept chasing us every time we stopped and ya ta ta. He circled and came back and we got her...adventurous right? I loved it! But Karolina absolutely did not. "If I am here on time, she better be too. I don’t feel fucking bad at all". She was so pissed and didn’t give half an ass because she has OCD. Whatever, I like Ellie so I tried to be positive. So, as we kept going, I had, again my 5 seats in the back row, and Ellie came back by me thinking she wanted to join me and because she wasn’t an Indian or an Asian, why not? Nope, realized why she was back here with me. She needed to puke. Yup, there she went. Disgusting....there went 5 perfectly comfortable seats all to me. But I met these other girls from BU and they were all really freaking chill! And they were also all in a sorority so they were excited I was too. We bonded and they’re going to Italy the second week of break and missing St Paddys day eeeeeeee. Anyways, the girl I was sitting next to, Laura, very nice, also started feeling sick. I was getting lucky today. At least I didn’t care much. It was actually pretty funny how this all worked out. Anyways, our first place we stopped was Kinsley. This place was a cute little town on a harbor. There were some boats on sand because it seemed like there was not enough water running. I went to the tourist office and she said the only thing to do was go see he fort. So that’s exactly what I did. Karolina was OCDing hat we wouldn’t be back in time so decided not to go. Well, the day just got better because I still did. I went on this road that I don’t think anyone else did and just kept walking to find the fort, ruins. The houses here were so beautiful and each one was called something else. It was hard to capture through photographs but I was able to see the entire town where everyone went and did the norm, and then I saw a big fancy bridge, another island across, and the fort was huge, not to mention the sun and sky were just about perfect! The way everything was hitting watch other was just altogether perfect. I walked into people’s backyards and took some photos also. I couldn’t make it to the fort though because it was too far. I had to head back. I had 10 minutes to spare, so I went to buy food at a place called spar. It’s a huge chain of food stores. I bought some mushrooms and bananas and walked back with a huge smile on my face :) next stop, FOTA. This was the biggest outdoor zoo in Ireland. There was a big open field for zebras to roam and another for buffalo. This place was just really exciting. I’ve seen most of all the animals but it looked so much better here, there was a small little bear looking thing called the red panda I thought was really cute. We finished kind of early so Karolina, OCD, wanted to head back on the bus but I went on and got off again. Didn’t need to be on the bus any longer than necessary. I walked off and went to get some more hot water and roam around like usual. It was so nice out. Then, finally the stupid smelly (like barf) bus.

            At this point, I was starting to get really cold but we had another stop. The Jameson distillery. I was really excited about this one. I learned that every drink of Jameson has to go through this distillery. We started off watching a video, which I think I fell asleep during. We went through each room, but most were kind of outside. I talked a lot to Ellie, the girl that threw up on the bus. She is such a sweet heart but can go hard. It was nice to get to know other people other than hanging with Karolina and John, the typical. Then, the last place we were chosen to be the certified Jameson taste testers. I and 7 other people were chosen. We sat down at a table, while everyone else got their free mixed drink of Jameson, and we were given 3 shots of Jameson: scotch, smoked whisky, and Irish whisky I think. And then, a mixed drink. These were so legit. I felt so official, especially after they brought out the certified preprint Jameson credentials. This is where I met Jen, who is friends with a girl in my sorority. She goes to BU and she is so nice. I don’t know why but she actually like contacts me and asks me to do things. It is kind of nice. Well, we took our shots, which were not the greatest, and then took the Jameson glasses, and then headed to the gift shop. I didn’t need the gift shop no mo because I got myself a girt fo free!

            I was ready to peace out and go home. At this point, my feet had been wet all day and I was sitting in the front of the bus because I couldn’t handle the stench of the barf(is). I talked to Chels, and then got off the bus. At this point, I lost my headphones and don’t know why…I am still freaking out about this. I was ready to run to Dunnes Stores, get me some parsnips for dinner and go home. I was freezing and hungry. Ready to go home and not spend money and then go out. Instead, after telling Karolina and John about the top of the hill in the city and how it overlooked a beautiful view of the city during my run, they wanted to see it. Almost perfect timing because it was dusk. Then, we headed to Dunnes, which was closed. And then trying to find Tesco! Tesco is saving my butt here. It is like Jewel. I love Tesco. Cheap food and has all the essentials. We walked in and I really wanted beets and I don’t know why. The first thing Karolina saw was a baguette for 1 euro. Snatch. She was game. It was like 2 ft. long. Then she got a small package of ham and cheese. John did the same. This ended up being around 3 euros and was good for 2 meals for her haha. I got myself the beets and parsnips I wanted and carrots, because they were a euro. I think we did really well. I felt like my mouth was blue and I was ready to head back. So, we finally got back and all I had been saying was how much I wanted to shower. Well, I ate dinner, which took a lot longer than planned, but I loved it. I missed that food. It was absolutely perfect. John stayed with me and talked. He is so casual and such a nice guy. Goes with the flow. He was probably amazed at how much and what I ate. OMG such a good dinner. Then, we noticed I had like 20 minutes until we were supposed to meet up again to go out with the group. I still had to shower but ew who wants that. So, I ran into the shower. It was lukewarm, had only 2 of the 3 parts of the door, and you had to hit the knob to get the shower going and then it would only stay on for like 10 seconds, literally. Well, what are you going to do? Just shower and peace out if you can. So, I did that, got ready and off we went to Old Oak Pub in Cork. The ESN people taking us had no idea where it was but that was fine because Karolina and John did, but no one really listened to them either. From the outside, it looked a lot smaller but then after walking in, we found out they had like 5 rooms and even an upstairs! The night went on. I didn’t want to talk to just John and Karolina all night so I talked with the girls I met from Belgium (one of them, Selene, I ran with on Monday with running club and some other girls). They were all very nice and I had a good time getting to know all the others. Then, I wanted to get an Irish coffee but didn’t want to pay 5 euro for it so decided against it. But while I was waiting at the bar with the other girls, I met a girl from Indiana that goes to Purdue and she let me try hers, again, people here are so nice.

            We went back and I still was there chilling out. We were able to go upstairs if we wanted and it was more dancing and like a club but no one was really going. Then, we met a French guy who was actually really funny and nice! Actually, I met the French guy and invited John over and then Karolina came. This guy was hilarious and really funny. One joke I remember, “What is the difference between a zit and a priest?” At least one of them waits until the kid turns 12 to squirt white stuff all over their face. I didn’t think it was that funny, but everyone else did. But ya, this guy was really funny. His name was Remi and the first French guy not a really annoying or mean person. Around 12 we started to head home because we were tired and nothing was really happening. John, Karolina and I went home and Karolina talked again for a while, but this time I didn’t have head phones to tune her out. Luckily, she didn’t really talk as much as last night, the hour and a half. But I did talk to Adam, like always, I like talking to him before bed. It is nice.