Attention: Whirlwind March is in full swing. Chaos and fun times whiz past.

Fr. Cregan, the President of Stonehill took us out to diner on the 8th. Most of the London interns and one other study abroad student besides myself met at Wagamama’s for an all expenses paid meal! It was nice to hear some Stonehill news and just hear about other people’s experiences thus far. Later that night Chm and I started planning our Spanish and French adventure. I can’t wait to have some warmer weather!

Amid the preparations for my travels, I celebrated my 21st birthday in a country where it essentially doesn’t matter. Chm and her flatmates took me out to dinner, paid for my meal and my first legal pint (if I was back in the US that is)! Dinner was great although the pub, sadly, didn’t have any fun drinks. Back at her flat I made my wish and blew out my birthday candles Mom brought the previous week. I had a full day of class so the night was short but relaxing with a good group…although, it was nothing in comparison to celebrating it at home with Jefferson girls. Thankfully, I only had to wait two more days to see some of them!

Going back to Galway essentially felt like going to another home. For one, I recognized the streets and little shopping areas from my trip there with Chapel Choir, and two, it was like I was living in Jefferson with some of my best friends for another weekend!

Thursday night, I traveled with Chm and Robert, a fellow Harrow student, on a train to the Gatwick Airport, on a plane to Shannon and then on a bus to Galway arriving at 2am on the dot! Robert was forewarned that it would be a weekend of Stonehill reunions and a lot of over excited girls who have been living in Europe without their best friends for about two and a half months now. The moment we stepped off the bus, Mara and Alyssa greeted us and the catch up session never paused. Going back to Mara’s home at Gort na Coiribe, we stayed up into all hours of the night just catching up and eating delicious birthday brownies!

Friday I was quickly reminded of some of the luxuries I take for granted…heat and warm showers! In Galway, both are tempermental, just like the weather. Chm, Alyssa, Robert, Mara and I headed into town for lunch. We went to McSwiggans. After walking up the steps I realized it was the very pub I ate a delicious (and hilarious) meal with Beth, Jess, Mark, and Micah when we were in Ireland my freshman year. It brought back some great memories. We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around town and to Salt Hill all while fighting the vicious wind and rain. Apparently I should have packed more than one pair of jeans and sneakers! We had a very special tour guide – a black dog that followed and lead us the entire walk by the Galway Bay. After hiding inside at the Quays for some tea to warm up we headed to the store and Mara’s to eat dinner and reunite with some other Stonehill visitors. At night we went back to the Quays and had a full out Stonehill reunion. Just about every Stonehill student studying in Galway in addition to all their weekend guests was upstairs at the pub! And to make the night even better, Beth finally arrived!

Sadly, the weather Saturday wasn’t to our liking. I had wanted to go on a bus trip to see the Cliffs of Moher since it was too foggy and windy to see them freshman year but once again the same thing happened. However, it was a very relaxing day hanging out with some of the Jefferson girls. We walked back into town for some shopping, got a tour of Mara and Kristen’s university—NIU Galway, went inside the Cathedral where we sang two years ago, and managed to escape the wind for the day. It was almost surreal walking around the Galway Cathedral. So much has happened in those two years yet it felt like I was singing upstairs in the choir loft just yesterday. If only a handful of the chapel choir kids were there…then, it would have been perfect. Back at Gort na Coiribe, we made tacos for dinner! Mmm! I don’t think that I can ever get sick of tacos and when other people cook them for you—even better! Later that night we headed to a pub to hang out and celebrate St. Patrick’s day (a little early) and my birthday (a little late)! At the Living Room I got what I would consider an amazing birthday drink. It was called mint chocolate chip cookies, consisting of ice cream and loads of chocolate, it tasted like heaven! Hanging out with so many friends from home was a great way to celebrate the end of my birthday week. Having people that you know and trust surrounding you makes all the difference in the world.

Sunday came all too soon. Alyssa had to leave really early for an entire day of traveling back to Italy. Thankfully London is so close we didn’t need to say goodbye until 4 o’clock. In the morning, Beth and I headed back to the Cathedral for Palm Sunday Mass. Ireland palms aren’t like American ones; they are more like Christmas trees. Before meeting everyone else for lunch, Beth and I did a bit of shopping and reminiscing. We both bought woolen booties to match our warm mittens! Walking around to find places from our last visit, we stumbled upon the Eddie Rockets that served fries really late, the barber shop where Tim got his hair cut, the great dinner pub, the Whole in the Wall, Eyre Square (which is no longer under construction and now looks great!), and the Victoria hotel where the chapel choir invasion started. We ended our stroll at the Kings Head where we met up with everyone else for lunch. After our meal and a lot of laughing, we had to say goodbye before heading to the bus station to begin our journey back to London.

Monday, well, Monday was an incredibly stressful day. I tried to contact my group for our park art project but no one was responding. It wasn’t until an entire day was wasted and it was 10:30 at night that I actually met up with the other girl in my group. The three boys, well, they were off for St. Patrick’s Day (ironic because they aren’t even Irish) and did nothing to help on the project. Starting at 10:30pm and ending at 3am, needless to say I was quite annoyed and upset with the entire group situation. In the morning after getting up early to write my speal for the for the 10am-5pm full day critique, two of the boys showed up but the third left before we even presented. I was more than annoyed but relieved we presented before lunch so I didn’t have to stress out during our break. Since there are only two Americans in that class, I probably rambled so fast they were confused with my accent but oh well. At least I knew what I was talking about in comparison with the others. All in all, group projects are never a good idea and should be illegal.

Last weekend was such a tease—seeing everyone for such a short time. I knew it was going to be a stressful week ahead and was counting down the days until we were once again reunited (with even more Jefferson girls this time) in Rome. So, now I’m off to eat yet another meal of pasta and study Kerry’s quick guide to the Italian language. Once I remember how to say ‘where is the bathroom’ and ‘how much does it cost,’ I think I’ll somehow be able to find my way through an Italian weekend.