p.s. i am in ireland and no, i haven't seen any leprechauns

i am terrible at blogging. sorry.

my first year of law school is over. THAT IS CRAZY. my second batch of exams was not as good as my first, and it kind of kicked my butt. i dont want to feel that again, so i am feeling motivated to stay more on top of things in the future. (don't worry guys, i still did pretty good.)

i am currently in galway, ireland, coming to the end of my second of six weeks. i am taking summer classes at the national university's irish centre for human rights, which is awesome. i am learning lots about international law, treaties, human rights movements, and the sneaky ways countries get around all of it. it is interesting, but intense. over the next week i am going to have to write 18 pages of exams- yipes!

ireland is a pretty cool place. literally, it is cold. today is a typical day- rainy and gray. but the irish people are hilarious and gracious and wonderful, and it really is as green as they say.

i have to be honest, i am struggling a bit with some things. physically i cant keep up with everyone as getting around means walking walking walking walking. its embarrassing to have to take breaks or go slow, and i dont want to inconvenience anyone else. so i have kind of been keeping to myself. i have made some understanding friends, which is encouraging, and i have been a little social. but i am pretty sure this is my breaking point, and when i get home i have to make some changes. i know this is ridiculous and i am not really old and blah blah blah, but i am genuinely almost 30 and i want to enter my 30s being healthy. clearly, i have been unable to do this alone, so i am going to have to just suck it up and open myself to community to help me stay on track, physically, emotionally, and spiritually (i'm looking at you, kim and sivyers). so that has given me some anxiety here and made me question if i should have come at all. but i tend to do that, so i try to ignore myself.

i have been posting photos on facebook, so people who actually read this (if anyone! i have no illusions) are most likely my "friends" and can see them there. tomorrow we are going to the cliffs of moher, so hopefully if i can keep up, dramatic scenery pictures will follow.

bail o dhia ort. slan leat! (that means "the blessing of God on you. good bye!" in irish. it is a crazy, crazy language. dont even try to say it, none of the sounds are pronounced as they look. a lot of people actually speak it in this part of ireland.)