Week one: An accidental paradise.

When Hofstra decided to offer a study abroad trip to Ireland, I don't think they realized that when we signed our names to the registration page, we would also be signing up our patriotism for a ritualistic cult suicide.

Don't get me wrong, I love my country. America is indeed quite pretty, and we are very fortunate to live in a state of decent comfort with many freedoms not afforded to all.
BUT with that said, America pales in comparison to the paradise I now find myself in. (Or, in a more blatant way, The US f**king sucks, Ireland is the most amazing place on Earth. Happy fourth of July, everybody!)

Everything here is...sensational. When I eat, I feel like I'm being introduced to food for the first time; every flavor that glides over my tongue is among, if not the best I have ever experienced in my short life. The air is in a constant state of absolute freshness. I have been here just shy of a week already, and I have yet to smell any kind of pollution, even when standing next to a clearly heavy loaded factory. I have yet to be in a place, even in my admittedly small room, where I could not find something exquisite to look at (The Corrib Village reception was kind enough to put a few Picasso prints on my walls, and they're quite lovely.) And all around me I hear and truly feel utter kindness emanating from every living creature I've come across.

Ireland is a haven of beauty I never thought could actually exist outside of a human psyche.

I wish I could prove my humble opinion to you in more than mere words (alas, the blogspot photo uploading is not co-operating with the Corrib internet connection, though you can view them by clicking here ) though I will be updating again tomorrow when my first week is complete to give it a try.

I am exhausted from our weekend excursion to Dublin, so if you all will excuse me, I must go dream of the day when I will live in this paradise.

I'm going to Ireland!

Yes, Ireland- a land of fun and adventure, where all the vegetables come pre-wrapped in bacon and where it's ok to have a Guinness at every meal, because hey, you can always find a new liver (especially if you connect with the small sector of Irish Jews. Of course, the liver will probably be from a chicken and chopped with boiled egg and onions, but trust me, you're gonna want a little nosh after drinking all that beer.) A land where no one will be suspicious of you if you yell "going to have some crack tonight!" in public and where you're likely to see a midget punching a tourist below the waist because said visitor called him a "leprechaun" (I'll take seeing that over a pot of gold any day.)

It's a land of stories, some real, some exaggerated, but all incredible. And folks, I plan on coming home with enough tales to fill a small U-haul.

"But Steph, you can't take a U-haul to Ireland! I'm pretty sure if you did, you'd get charged for two pieces of baggage, and you don't really want to spend a ton of money on things besides beer and fries, do you?"

Of course not, do you think I'm dumb? I know those bag rates are ridiculous. That's why I'm keeping this *FREE* elec-a-tronic blog! You curious readers can see my zany Ireland antics, I can have a way to remember all the amazing things I'm going to do, and neither of us have to give up our booze money! It's genius!

I don't leave for a couple of weeks, so tune in later for the crazy adventures!