Happy Thanksgiving ya'll!

  I thought this Irish Blessing seemed appropriate.  :)

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!  I am beyond thrilled that I am able to 'take off' today and tomorrow (but sad I am not standing in line at Target!) to celebrate and skype eat with my mom! I can now start watching Christmas movies and decorating my pink tree! I am truly thankful for this opportunity. I also received a lovely surprise this morning when I turned on my phone, as I had messages from the other PhD students wishing me a Happy Thanksgiving. Very thoughtful, and I am very thankful for them making me feel at home for the next 3 years.

Like in Dundee, I bought some Turkey Lunch meat, some GF rolls, veggies, mashed potatoes, and found some Thanksgiving-ish dessert (GF Dark Chocolate Maple Pecan cookies--they are a little too sweet, so I think I may be adding peanut butter to them from here on out).  And for breakfast I had some Gingerbread GF yogurt!  So good!  I love Thanksgiving.  I love the families we spend it with, the food we eat, and yes, I love standing in the line at Target for Black Friday.  I hate shopping, but there is something about Black Friday, I absolutely love!

Nothing major has happened...no more hiking, or anything that extreme.  I have already been lost in the next city over (didn't take long), and like Dundee, I switched doctors.  This one is closer and my first time walking back from them I got stuck in the weather I love!  I was soaked through my jeans and sweatshirt, and my backpack was soaked, and I was freezing.  But it gave me a good excuse to buy a bubble umbrella and a coffee on the way back from campus.  I love the rain and all, but not when I am being drenched in it...

I got to see my first UK Ice Hockey Game!  A 2nd year PhD student, whom I have been getting to know (and he has the same supervisors), went with me.  I love hockey, and honestly I didn't think I really understood all the technical stuff, such as slashing and hooking, but I did and I was explaining it to him.  My brother would have been proud.  Now, this game was definitely not a USA Ice Hockey Game.  For starters, there were no fights.  I was highly disappointed, and my friend got to see a side of me, I don't think many people get to see.  LOL.   Second, there was no National Anthem.  I was kind of looking forward to hearing, "God Save the Queen."  Next, every time Belfast scored they played this really catchy fun drinking song....sorry, but it is so much better than the NHL scoring "Na-Na-Na-Hey" song.  Lastly, they don't hand out free food tickets.  They hand out free food.  I'm serious.  Boxes of pizza, trays of cookies, a subway gun that shot subway sandwiches....  It was crazy.  If you come to one of these games, come hungry.  I am pleased to say Belfast won 6-3 over Edinburgh.  Belfast is top in their league, which in the first period I could see why.  Their goalie was on fire.  I really want to go back and see them play Dundee...and I really want to see some fights.  The Canadian guy that sat a few rows above me was just as disappointed as I was, but he was way more vocal about it.  There was one point where they were about to fight and instead they hugged.  I am not joking.  The two players, embraced in a hug near the goal.  It was the oddest thing I have ever seen at a hockey game.

Oh well, in terms of work update... I keep hearing I am making the other first year students nervous.  Good?  Bad?  I have sent in my proposal and waiting the changes I need to make.  It is basically done, but I know I will need to add/take away some stuff.  I have outlined my power point for Jan. 14 and started to outline my literature review.  I have exceeded my training credits that are needed for year 1.  Not sure why no one else is where I am.  Maybe because they all have families, or they are not going into the office every day, or maybe they just seemed shocked that I am where they are.  I don't know.  We have had 3 months now, I don't get it.  Oh well.

I probably will not update till the end of December, so until then....

Happy Hanukkah!
Happy Christmas!
Happy Holidays! 

Enjoy the Holiday season everyone! 

Ain't no mountain high enough...

Sorry it has been a while.  I have been sick, and beyond busy reading, writing, and going to training seminars.  So, I decided to have a little break.  On Saturday, I usually walk to a near by town about a mile away, however this past Saturday, Halloween, I did a little more walking than 2 miles.  I met up with an old flatmate from Dundee and she and I, along with her boyfriend headed up to a small seaside town called Newcastle to the Mourne Mountains.  Now, if any of you know me, I have a horrible relationship with rock climbing.  We are talking panic attacks, high anxiety, and just plain fear.  So, as much as I wanted to catch up with my mate, I almost let fear get the best of me.  Turns out, we were just going to walk around a few mountains.  (Sounds easy, huh?)  So, anxiety left and I was thinking bridges and rocks, fun, peaceful, simple... yeah, not so much.  
We pulled up to the mountains, and needless to say, my anxiety came back. 

   The view at the top of the mountain!  (550 meters).  I was in tears due to the wind slapping me in the face. But it was also tears for the accomplishment.  As I climbed higher the air became crisper and felt thinner.  My lungs were becoming colder.  However, I managed not to fall on the way up, which I was sure I would do.  I did manage to fall on the way down, twice, but I did manage to keep my face intact, so I am pleased.  :)  I wish I could post more photos, but the computer is not allowing me to do so.  :(  If you put yourself in this photo, to your right is Northern Ireland's Highest point.  It you care brave and climb to the top of it (which can be done), you can see Scotland from there.   Like the blessing pictures says...nothing is so bad that it couldn't be worse...It wasn't as bad as I thought climbing that mountain...but I know it would have been worse if I traveled up that highest mountain! :)  To the left, we continued to climb around the mountain before heading back down.  I am quite proud of myself.  I am not a hiker, a mountain climber, or an athlete...and I managed to climb 550 meters and then some.  It was wonderful catching up with my friend and meeting a new person.  After our hike, we went to the pub, so I got to go to my first official Irish pub!  :)  

As far as today, I am sore.  Not as sore as I thought I would be, but let's just say I wish I didn't live up 4 flights of stairs.  :)  My arms are sore, my back, and lower limbs are sore, but the worst part is this odd pain on the bottom of my left foot.  My poor left foot.  I have torn ligaments in it, twisted it in Scotland, and now something weird going on with it...this is when I am so glad I have a podiatry major for a flatmate!  :)   

So, Halloween was a wonderful day! (Which is a major holiday over here...I am talking about school children getting a week off for school and restaurants only serving alcohol at night, and the campus cafe dressing up).  I loved catching up with Amy.  It was nice talking about the fun times we had in Dundee.  She and Brian also pointed out some places in NI that I need to go and see, so those places are definitely on my list!  

I hope to post again soon, and hopefully I can figure out is going with the photos soon.  Until then, I have a busy month coming up, filled with seminars, training, and hockey games!  (Can't take me away from that wonderful sport...I hear they fight just as much too!)  Hope everyone had a wonderful Halloween...and Happy November!

Irish people are nice

Hello, Hello, Hello!  

Well, it is no surprise here...I have already moved to a new flat.  Those that know me know this seems to be a yearly occurrence, so no surprise there.  I now live with 4 other girls who are all Irish and are just lovely people.  Now, I cannot tell you their names or where they go home to every weekend, as their accents are really dense and they speak really fast.  So, it will be an interesting year.  At least they are nice, respectful, kind, and quiet girls.  

I have met 2 other students that have the same supervisors as I do, and again they are super nice people as well.  We have planned to get coffee at least once a week, go to dinner before Christmas break, and one has offered to drive me to the big Tesco.  :)  That will be super helpful, but I did learn tonight how to order food online...I feel British now.  ;)

I have met some really nice people who share an office with me.  I have been told that I am scaring the other first year students, since I have 70 articles already read and sent in a very rough draft for my first supervision meeting.  I have my first supervision meeting on Wednesday so we shall see how my very rough draft was, and all the formal goals set by my supervisors. 


Every Saturday, I take about a miles walk to and from a local town called, Monkstown.  And on the way people ask me how I am, smile, and say hello to me.  It is a little odd, but I do it back to be nice.  On the way to this town, I discovered St. Patrick's Church.  It is really pretty and a lot smaller than I thought it would be.  I have gotten use to the local people saying hello, but I do not know if I can get use to being called love, by random strangers.  It makes me laugh, every time I hear it. 

I have already been to 4 training sessions, and all of them have been very informative.  I have one on Friday, that is suppose to be one of the best ones and the two individuals leading it are known to make it fun.  We shall see how the all day training event goes, but I am quite excited and enjoy these sessions.  

The weather has finally began to get cold, and below 60F.  Which the days that are in the 60s, people seem to really thrive on that.  They love the warm weather.  I personally liked today's weather.  High 50s...cold, rainy...windy...and not a beam of sun in sight.  I love wearing sweaters and sweatshirts, and today I got to wear my new rain boots.  :)

I have been to Belfast a few times, and I have tried to get off at different stations to see which one I life best and the stores around there.  The York station is my favorite.  It's not a great train station like the Victoria one, but it has all the shops that I love right across the street.  I do miss the smallness of Dundee, but I guess it is something to get use to.  

Well, that is about all that has happened.  Busy week ahead, so I better get going.  I hope all of you are doing well.

I have arrived!

I arrived in Belfast yesterday with little food in my stomach, 1-2 hours of sleep, and the excitement was way off the charts to count!  



So the journey thus far...

Mom and I headed out on a re-memorable road trip to the airport. Let's just leave it at that.  We arrive at the airport and said our goodbyes. 

The plane ride was good.  I sat next to a lady who was traveling home to visit family who now lives in the USA.  Needless to say, she reminded me a lot of myself so it was great talking to her.  I kind of feel asleep in between our talks, but it was nice talking to her.  I listed to Hozier, and I tell you, his voice is amazing and so soothing.  And come to find out, Irish!  Then I arrived in Manchester, which if you ever have the choice between Manchester airport and London airport, I highly recommend Manchester.  Much more organized and easy to navigate.  The only downfall is there were no restaurants.  So, I got the only food I knew the ingredients of...a Bounty candy bar (for a pound) and vending machine coffee (for a pound). 


About $4 for lunch compared to the $17 for dinner (water, a KIND bar, and cashews) at the JFK airport.  Nuts!  And yes, it was amazing coffee!  Actually better than the 80p coffee I use to get in Dundee from the machine.  I then took a taxi to the campus.  The bus driver was super nice and showed me the areas around town, and even told me what buses to take!  :)  I was a happy person!

I arrived on campus around 3.  A RA from Greece showed me the way to my flat and helped me with my bags.  So I dropped everything, grabbed my shopping bags and maps and headed out on a 3 mile walk.  I do not do buses.  And everyone I have met seems quite surprised I walked 3 miles...I am a little confused.  It was not a bad walk at all.  One little spot didn't have a sidewalk so that was a little tough.  But I went with the intention of going to the mall, and to my surprise, I found Tesco and B&M.  So I was even more over joyed!  I got some food and some living supplies and the nice lady at Tesco phoned a taxi for me.  This taxi driver was just as nice and carried my bags to my door.  I then proceeded to cook dinner.  I had ground turkey, veggie root mash with garlic and onions.  Must say I was quite happy my mash was on sale!  :P  It was wonderful.  I think I am one of the only people who loves and prefers UK food to USA food.  For breakfast, I had some Udi's bagels (Super cheap here) and lunch consisted of tuna, pickles, onions, and mustard.  I haven't had tuna in years and it was so good.  The Tesco here also has a whole pickle section!  (I could never find them in Dundee)   For dinner, I am debating on leftovers, pizza, or fish and I know whatever I decide it will be amazing!  I just ate some watermelon and oh my was it good!  I had to give my favorite fruit up when I moved back home, and I got to eat this wonderful delicious fruit today with no issues.    

I had registration today and that was a little overwhelming as the campus is not what I expected.  It is one large building...one hallway with multiple hallways feeding off of the main hallway called the mall.  Its a nice building and again, the people are super nice.  

I only got a few pictures because the camera died yesterday and today its been raining.  So I promise more will come (Esp. when I get a phone and won't look so touristy)  

I signed up to go on a trip to Belfast with the international student group tomorrow, so that will be good as I won't have to figure out the bus alone!  So that is good, as all my favorite stores from Dundee, minus Savers! is located in the city!  

My room is tiny.  I'm talking 2 steps from the bed and there is the bathroom.  From the bathroom to the radiator is 11 ''feet'' (And by that I mean walking toe to heal).  (Pictures to come soon...as soon as I stop living out of a suitcase...i.e. have hangers to hang clothes!)  But I do have an amazing view.  I look at a brick wall, a heart shaped bush and a tree...No people!  I also saw a fox last night run in front of the window!  I hope to get a picture. 

Well friends, that is about all I have for now.  It is almost dinner time and I need to figure out what to eat and where to put some stuff.  Well, my computer keeps crashing every time I try to add a photo....So, photos will have to come later.