When I left for Dublin I did not know what to expect at all, I only knew that I was in for the adventure of a lifetime.  I can only say I have been pleasantly surprised with everything I have learned about and seen in Ireland in my two months of being here, there are less sheep than I was led to believe but that is probably for the best.

 I was worried that my shyness would get in the way of meeting new people, but I have had more luck meeting new people here than I have anywhere else, I already know that I have made some lifelong friends that I have and will share very special memories with.  I am so happy that all the people I have met here are friendly and want to go out and do the same kinds of things that I do!  I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that we are all here for the same reason (the study abroad students at least), we came here to see and learn new things, and because of that everyone I have met is up for doing anything.  I think that being surrounded by outgoing people has made me much more willing to be outgoing myself, and that has allowed me to make the most of my time here.  I cannot believe that it is halfway over and I already know that I will be sad when it is time to go. 

I had no idea what to expect when I got here and I have to say it is a lot more like home than I thought it would be.  Not that that is a bad thing.  It is just enough different to be exciting, and just enough the same not to be scary which is exactly what I needed.  The experience of living here is something I will never forget, and I’m sure all the metric conversions I have gotten the hang of will stay with me forever too.  

There is so much left to see of Ireland while I am still here.  I have seen some beautiful places, the Wicklow Mountains probably being my favorite, but I still feel like I have hardly gotten out of Dublin.  I have yet to kiss the blarney stone, I feel like a trip to Northern Ireland is needed, and I have heard that Donegal is not to be missed.  And while I would love to spend the next two months traveling around Ireland I can’t pass up the opportunity to see other places in Europe while they are within my reach.  What can I say, I have caught the travel bug and I have caught it bad.   My trip to London last week was so much fun and I cannot wait to take the other trips I have lined up.  All my previous worries aside, I am extremely glad I took the opportunity to study in Ireland, because it truly is shaping up to be the adventure of a lifetime.