twenty — edinburgh (or, hikes and heights)

In the past three days, Lis and I have flown around 250 miles, walked around 25 miles, and managed to hike all of the major high points in Edinburgh.

Edinburgh Castle is just one of those.

nineteen — the snare of britain

This weekend was, in short, delightful. You know how awesome experiences are better when shared with your best friend? Well, since Becky crossed the Atlantic to spend her fall break here in Ireland…

… study abroad got that much better.

eighteen – causeways and coastlines

in which Eileen, Lis, and I visited Northern Ireland and toured the coast.

Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge

seventeen – unexpected learning opportunities

This week, I:

• woke up to find my country’s government had, quite literally, shut down over night
• made friends with a lovely woman named Afolake, studying for her BSc in nursing, who needed help figuring out how to get a student bus pass
• plotted out the first draft of an itinerary of sorts for when Becky gets here in less than a week (!!!!)
• been reblogged by Kid President (…!!!!)
• received my first mail since making it to this country over a month ago! I couldn’t stop smiling yesterday. Thank you, Shirley & Clint, for an amazing care package!
• made an unexpected trip to the hospital (Ty broke his ankle; Lis and I brought him a change of clothes & a number of books to stave off boredom)
• almost fainted while in said hospital
• discovered The Head and the Heart’s new song, Another Story; proceeded to listen to it an embarrassing number of times
• decided that rosemary salt is the perfect garnish for chips. No, seriously.

… in that order.

also, Lis & I tried to make Irish friends at a breakfast the Hist held… only to meet more international students. We’re beginning to question the existence of these supposed “Irish” students at this supposedly “Irish” school…