Little Pleasures

Dear xAndra,

Happy Sunday! I hear you had an eventful weekend with the family! Hope all is well, and I can't wait to hear more about it. My weekend has been fun, though I have very few pictures to prove it.

Pencil in bed...??

Thursday was Arthur Guinness, which I'll probably write about over at SEDiva Abroad. Friday, exhausted and overloaded with work, I stayed home. I fell asleep around 6 o'clock and woke up around midnight. I proceeded to stay up until about 3 am getting some work finished (or theoretically got some work finished), and woke up the next morning with a pencil in my bed.

Secret garden across the street!

 Yesterday, Saturday, was the All-Ireland Hurling Final rematch. Cork played Clare three weeks ago for the title, but the game ended in a draw. Instead of settling it right there and then, as my beloved hockey would have done, the Gaelic Athletic Association set up a rematch between the teams (probably hoping to get another stadium's worth of cash for another match!). We were all a little exhausted, so we watched from our house with a few friends over. Cork lost (tragically, it was pretty close and a good game). And then, the boys wanted to go to town, so we got all dolled up and joined them. M and I were a little sad because we definitely wanted to curl up with tea and movies for the night, but we had lots of fun out in the city in the end.

 Another obvious highlight of my weekend was the cup of Irish dark hot chocolate I got the other day. As you know, I am a huge fan of the chocolate shops that seem to be an Irish staple. And you haven't lived until you've gotten the chance to choose exactly what combinations of gourmet chocolate will lace your hot chocolate or coffee beverage. I promise to treat you when you visit!


I managed to run off some of the ridiculous calories that were consumed this weekend with a new route that led me over the highway to the country. I live so close to the city and so close to the country, one step in either direction just takes you away!

The hills as seen from my Saturday morning run!

Anyway, I hope you're having a beautiful, fabulous, and spectacular weekend in PA with the grown-ups. Can't wait to hear about it. And here's a little #MondayMotivation in anticipation for tomorrow (I need it, too!)

Good luck!!
Slán go foill!
Love always,
SarleX

Happy almost weekend!

      Dear Sarah,

       Today I only had 1 class and it was at 1:00, so I slept in until 11:30 :) I'm so glad that tomorrow is Friday, as I'm sure you are also. Mom, Dad, Joseph, and Miryam are coming here on Saturday around noon to visit for family weekend. There aren't really any events planned for the weekend and there's not much to do around Latrobe, so this will be interesting :) I'll let you know how it goes. I know you only started classes recently..how are they going? I hear you're quite happy in Ireland which is fantastic. I wish you were coming this weekend, but I know before we know it, it will be Christmas and I'll see you then. Hope you'll post soon.
Miss you tons.

xoxo,

Xandra

TGIS

Dear Alexandra,

I'm just logging on to write a post on my lazy Sunday here in Cork, and I realized that you posted on Friday and I never even saw it! I'm happy to say that I spent a perfectly useless day here in the house, with every intention of doing productive-like things and failing miserably. I did go for a run this morning; I did manage to cook myself both lunch and dinner. But beyond that, I was lost in the folds of my duvet. I watched Hocus Pocus with a hot cup of tea and my Autumn Inspirations Pinterest board, of which I am very proud. I was trying to imagine what it was like exactly one year ago when I was in Virginia for the Fall. Ireland stays very green around this time of the year, and though it's getting to be lovely sweater weather, it's just not the same without the leaves exploding in color.

I also have a favorite spot to walk, well run really. It's a path that runs behind all the housing estates (in one of which I live) and along a new fly-over that just opened a few months ago. I'll take some pictures next time I'm out and about.

I've got nothing much to say today. And no pictures to share (I really need to work on that). But classes start tomorrow, so who knows...! And I do actually have some stories for the blog and for you, but right now, I'm just to tired to elaborate.

Always keep you guessing!
xx SarleX

TGIF

Dear Sarah,

I decided to post since I'm currently free and I haven't posted in a while. I was thinking of you today and wondering how your classes are going. Mine are going well..my Tuesdays and Thursdays are sweet because I only have 1 class...and it's at 1 p.m. :) It's extremely sweet. The bad part is that on Friday's I have 4 and I'm usually extremely tired at the end of the day..hence the 2 hour nap I took today. Things are quiet here in Latrobe. Most of my pod-mates have left for the weekend so there's not much going on. It's also very cold outside..55 degrees to be exact and just yesterday it was 90. What is up with that? Tomorrow I'm planning on going for a long walk to do some more exploring. It's supposed to be gorgeous and I'm not doing anything else. I feel like you would really like where I walk to. I recently recalled how just a month ago we were taking walks together and laughing. Oh, how things have changed.

Miss you love you bunches.
xoxo
Xandra

p.s. Happy Friday :)

Happy Birthday, Alexandra!!

Dear Alexandra,

It's your first birthday away from the house, but it's not the first birthday that we haven't been together. Just know that every year on your birthday I'm still thinking of you, still praying for you, and still telling every one I know a) that it's your birthday and b) several embarrassing stories of you. You're welcome! 

Love you bunches and miss you always,

Sarah Elizabeth

Move In stories-SVC

Dear Sarah,

My move in was pretty smooth. I didn't have to carry any of my stuff in which was incredible. Unfortunately, it took a couple of hours to unpack everything which was a pain. However, I believe I have everything I need now. For the past week and a half I've been chewed alive by mosquitos which is really awful. So on Friday night, my friends and I made a Walmart/Walgreens run to get bug spray and anti-itch medicine which I have been using non-stop. It's also been quite boring this weekend so my friend Jackie bought some board games and crafts.

Being at college is awesome and really weird. Sometimes I wake up confused, but then again it feels like I've been here for so long. The people here are so different to the people I knew in high school and my classes and professors are quite different too. I actually have free time now (amazing!) and people don't tell me what to do anymore which is quite nice. The only annoying thing is that people keep calling me Alexandria and they can't pronounce my last name :/ But I suppose over time they will learn.  Every day I walk to this gristmill which is about a 10 min walk from campus and I absolutely love it! It's so beautiful and peaceful and not many people know that it's there. My friends and I like to sit by the lake and just relax for a while. Thanks for the advice about the library-It's the ideal place to study and do homework. I also discovered this hallway in one of the buildings with a bunch of private rooms with pianos. I love to go and just sit and play. It's amazing! The only language barrier I'm having is that people around here say "Lay-trobe" instead of making the 'a' short. So I get weird looks when I don't say it 'the correct' way.

I'm not local, so I don't get it.
:)
That's all for now. Good luck continuing your adjustment/moving in period.

Miss you.

xoxoxox,

Alexandra

Move-In Stories

Dear xAndra,

So moving in is not my favorite thing. I hope your move-in was enjoyable, easy, fast, painless, like a vaccine. I hope you had to do very little, perhaps with cute, strong college boys to help with the lifting. I hope you didn't forget anything at home. I hope you had enough space for all you brought. But most of all, I hope that once you moved-in, it was over and you have nothing more in the way of moving-in still to do. No linens to buy, no dishwashing detergent to fetch, and no pictures to hang.

Even though it's standard practice in Ireland to have rentals fully-furnished (how much money would people save in NYC if this was the case?!), I'm finding a lot of money needs to be invested in a move-in. Sure, you can bring all of your clothes, underwear, coffee (which I totally did). But what about bedding? Pillows? Hangers? Where are you going to store all of that underwear when your fully-furnished room has no drawers? Will you hang it from a hanger, or will you arrange it prettily across the windowsill? I've considered all options, and I'm not sure which it's going to be yet. I've only been here three days. But by the state of my room right now, people are going to think I just got off the plane. Actually, scratch that. No one could have made this mess if they'd just gotten off the plane. It would take a few hours at least!

I arrived at the airport on Wednesday afternoon. My lovely housemate came and picked me up, and we had dinner and drinks on the town, in a last attempt to keep me awake until sundown to avoid atrocious jet-lag. It worked, in a way, I was only partially jet-lagged after that. Thursday, I got a hand running a million and one errands including, groceries, bedding, hangers, and beer. Friday, my friends had work, so I spent the day walking around my new neighborhood and trying to get my bearings. Luckily, I did so in my running shoes because after I got lost the third time, I was exhausted and just wanted to run the whole way home.

There are a few challenges with moving to a new place, and one additional one for moving to a new country. Please note all of them; it will be handy to be mentally prepared. I think it would be anyway. I can't say I was so I couldn't tell you.

1) STUFF. This is a big deal. Never underestimate it. You will need to make several, if not dozens or hundreds, of continuous runs to the shops to pick up more and more little but essential things that you perpetually forget.

2) NEIGHBORHOOD. If you're moving, you're probably now living in a place that you have not lived in before. Which means you're in a new neighborhood. You will probably get lost. Especially when you no longer have a smart phone with a handy GPS feature because you're living in a foreign country. At least carry a cab fare and know your address. Hopefully you won't need them.

Bonus: LANGUAGE BARRIER.
You'd be surprised what a big deal this is, even when moving to another English speaking country. For example, when my housemate wanted to get sheer curtains for the front room, her boyfriend tried to help her. But he had no idea what she was asking for. Because he called them net curtains. My nextdoor neighbor asked what I was doing in Ireland. I tried to tell her I was getting my graduate degree. She would've understood me, if I'd said postgrad degree. 

So I hope your move-in was easier than mine. I will probably be moving in for the next three years. Which is how long I intend to stay here now that I've invested all this money in stuff!

Let me know how yours is going! And if it's not as adventurous as mine, you'll have to come up with another adventure for us!

Happy adventuring,
SARLEx