Exploring the town and Irish culture lessons

Yes. McDonalds. Jeanette (a friend, also from Concordia) and I had McDonalds for dinner last night.  But, hey, we we're cold, totally soaked, and looking for a fast, cheap bite to eat.  Also, we found out that frech fries, as we know them, are called chips in Ireland.  And, when one asks for a hot coco, you get laughs and a correction: "It's hot chocolate, love."
The rain. The wind. Even worse than the day we arrived--it poured and the wind blew the rain straight at our faces.  It was quite the ruckus, but at least we're experts at the worst weather Ireland can dish out at us.




Yesterday started out a bit later than I expected; travel day took a lot of energy from me and without an alarm clock to wake me up, I slept until after 1pm! That's probably why I was awake in the middle of the night, unable to sleep.  Or maybe it was the wind I could hear tearing at the window.

It was still a productive day.  I was able to buy a much needed Aero bar! Nothing like ducking into store after store, trying to get out of the Irish monsoon (it felt like) and snacking on some minty chocolate to ease a starving stomach! Later on I purchased some groceries to get me by for the week.  Interesting how, although the foods at the markets here are very similar to those in the US, the subtle changes are enough to make me flummoxed (puzzled).  I was looking for marinara sauce and I came across something that looked similar called Bolognese.  Looked it up, it's just a French version of a meat-based pasta ragu sauce, with a little tomato concentrate.  I ended up finding the sauce I was looking for, but I may branch out and try some new things in the following weeks.
A shout out to all those world travelers out there reading this: any great, cheap, easy food suggestions!? Comments are welcomed!

Today, on the other hand, was great craic (great fun, also another Irish spelling of crack).  After a long day of Orientation, I traipsed around the famous alleys and streets of downtown Galway and Shop Street.  I even got to see a bit of the bay and some crazy rushing water from the river! The Corrib is quite angry, rushing so violently that supposedly "there are stones and rocks that'll kill ye if ye fall in," said our student tour guide, Emmett, as we followed him around NUI campus.

Such a perfect, picturesque Irish landscape Galway has.  A nice balance of the city and a true small Irish town feel to it.  What a night, walking around the brightly lit alleys, still all decorated in Christmas lights and garland.   The Front Door pub is where we hung out tonight.  It's intriguing watching the Irishmen and women going about their after-work stop by the pub to grab a drink, swapping stories and quick jokes, said much too fast for me to catch.  Their accents are so rich and musical; with the little Gaelic/Irish language I've heard so far, it seems as if most people switch almost seamlessly between English and Irish phrases. More stories and updates on my learning of the Irish culture for later.  Any suggestions? Comments, again welcome!

 Cheers!