You Only Live Once

I cannot even put into words what I experienced this weekend. Probably the most exhilarating/ scariest thing in my life.

To many people...its just a normal outdoor adventure to me it goes somewhere on my list of amazing things next to meeting the president or standing next to the Eiffel Tower.

 While everyone else in our KU group (consisting of more than 20 people) decided to go to Cork this weekend me and a girl named Claire decided to be do something different. We booked trains to Waterford, Ireland for the weekend (2 1/2 hours away from Dublin).

Although I have traveled on my own before never have I had to worry about where I was sleeping or how I  would get around (seeing that renting a car over here is out of the question). I must admit it was a bit scary and nerve racking. 

After we got settled in Waterford we caught a bus thirty minutes away to a town called Dunmore. Thirty minutes later we arrived at our destination the Outdoor Adventure Center.

Next thing I knew, we were strapped in wetsuits and sitting in our kayaks.

Hugh, our instructor, was super nice but that didn't take away from the fact it took me an hour to get completely comfortable with the fact we were sitting on plastic and floating above water. I was super nervous and Claire could tell because she persistently kept reminding me 'this was your idea'.

 But after an hour of staying near the beach I decided to paddle my way into the ocean and let the waves guide me.

The  instructor asked me what made me decide to go kayaking and I told him "this is something I would never think about doing but you only live once , so why not risk your life."

When our session was over Hugh pulled me aside and said that he has never seen someone so nervous about kayaking pull through it so nicely and put their heart into it.

In my head I was just trying to survive.

For some reason, I think he was telling the truth though. I think that has been the story of my life. Every time I am introduced to adversity I have a severe melt down only to end up beating whatever the situation was against all odds.

YOLO!

We went inside a cave climbed up rocks & made a wish inside this fountain!

Me & Hugh!

Me & Claire!

I finally got the courage to swim away....

Top O' The Morning!

Finally...after days of rain & coldness the sun decided to come out on the third day of my internship.
I even woke up thirty minutes early.

The bus system is getting a lot easier. I made it to my internship fifteen minutes early and got to read some of the entertainment magazines so I could get a better idea of the entertainment industry in both Europe and Ireland.

The work environment in Dublin is a lot different than the work environment in most parts of the US.

Example being early to work is being toooooo early...being on time is being early & being late is being on time (if that makes sense).

Very few corporate jobs start at 8 A.M...most start at 9 A.M or later. It is also perfectly fine to store a bottle of wine in the work fridge. :) :)

Something else I thought that was interesting is that a large company in Dublin consist of 6 to 8 people compared to over 100 people in the US. A small company is 2-4 people (I work for a small company).

And the Irish treat tea like coffee...but in my opinion nothing beats a hot cup of coffee!

But all in all, I'm really liking my internship so far. This week all I have been doing is editing the actresses profile and sending out emails letting them know to update their summer schedule with the dates they can't make casting calls.

There has been a lot of name dropping this week....Shia LaBeouf, Colin Farrell (Dublin Native) and director Jim Sherridan , who directed Get Rich Or Die Tryin' and Brothers just to name a few.

Here is a link to where I'm interning....http://ingoodcompany.ie/

Don't forget to look at the photos page....I'm heading back to work...adios!

So glad I captured this, this morning!

What I've been doing this week!

Lost In Translation

Wow so I today I finally had to use those several years of Spanish Ive been afraid to use...my roommate found two lost girls that were from Spain and she barely could speak Spanish and they only knew a few English words so for two hours I was their tour guide and translator along with this guy named Simon who was really good at Spanish and he told me I was better then I thought!

Scary!!!

I could only imagine what they were going through...coming to Ireland to learn English from people with thick accents and for the majority of the locals Spanish isn't their second language. I thought it was super frustrating for me to get around in a place where people speak English but what if I was barely familiar with the language it would be chaos.

What was really funny was we went to the mall & there was a Subway sign and they thought their was an actual Subway Station in the mall. I explained to them it was a sandwich shop.

But now we have somewhere to stay if we go to Spain! lol

The Fourth Day Is A Charm

They always say the "third time is a charm", but I'm not sure if I believe that anymore. I'm not sure because yesterday (my fourth day in Ireland) was simply amazing. After finishing homework a group of us KU students headed to the City Centre (better known as downtown) to actually get a better feel for what downtown Dublin truly had to offer. We figured out which bus to hop on and off and found a really good pub called O' Doyles to watch the Euro Cup and get shelter from the rain. I've never been a  fan of professional soccer so it was interesting to see what the fuss was about.

 At 7 P.M we went to the Merchant's Arch where we were treated to dinner and music hosted by EUSA, the international internship program that places students with internships in Dublin. The music was provided by the Irish House Party, a band that plays traditional Irish music and dance in an intimate setting. I never thought I would be able to listen to live music without words...never will I say never again. The show was wonderful....afterwards we found the famous Temple Bar and watched Ireland Vs. Spain in the Euro Cup.

Sadly, Ireland lost but  that "fun, friendly,pride" environment along the streets that day made me feel like I was in Lawrence,Kansas during football or basketball season.

So I must say team spirit is universal. Yesterday was great!

My dinner fish & chips

Kelsey was the only brave soul at our table to try the corn beef...it was good!!!

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Elyse, Becca & Lauren were so lost and confused!

10 Random Things I Learned After 3 Days in Dublin

Today was an adventure and nightmare all in one but luckily I made it. Yesterday was a little tough for me mainly because I hadn't really slept and the culture shock started to hit me. Although I love being in a new place I have never been to a new country.

Everything here is different the accents, the food, the buses, the malls but the weather is definitely the same as Kansas (bipolar). Anyway today was much better. I somewhat figured out the bus system and made it to the interview for my internship. I met up with one of my friends who came to visit me and she told me things would get better (She has been studying abroad in Italy and visiting Paris and Ireland for 6 weeks).

Oh...and I am officially a public relations intern for In Good Company, which is an agency in the entertainment industry that cast mainly celebs and up-and-coming stars of tomorrow in movies and commercials in both Ireland and the US. 

But enough of that I wanted to share with you the top 10 random things I have learned after being in Dublin for 3 days...

1. Pedestrians DON'T have the right-of-way!
2.The locals are just as bad at directions as me
3. It's probably best I left 3 hours early to find the location of my interview
     (It took me 2 hours & 45 minutes to find the place)
4. The locals agree Ireland is expensive
5. A lot of people drive Fords (Go America!)
6. Big glasses & a big bag downtown for a tourist probably isn't the best idea
7. Pedestrians DON'T have the right-of-way!
8. Bus 13 DOES NOT take me home!
9. "There are very few street signs or the signs are on the sides of the buildings"
      - words from the bus driver
    "You figure out where your going by landmarks"
      - words from Dan, the cab driver...that helps me not at all!
10. People will step in front of you in line at stores if you don't make it known that
       your next  -words from experience

.....p.s PEDESTRIANS DON'T  HAVE THE RIGHT-OF-WAY

Example of what I mean about the street signs.

Where I'll be interning!