Nasty outside...good thing I've got lots of MAIL!!! :)

The weather is not very happy lately. I know it rains over here and the random showers we've gotten each day are fine...but lately...goodness! It hasn't really let up! Just rainy and windy and very loud on my window (especially when I'm trying to sleep at night)! I walked to class today with my hood pulled practically completely over my face because with the combination of wind and rain you aren't safe with just protection from up top. The rain goes sideways most of the time (hence it attacking my window...and my face). Class SUCKED today. I don't really mind my sociology class most of the time but today we had a new guest speaker who was a girl and she was very monotone and completely just read what was written on her PowerPoint. I really considered not going to class this morning (because of the weather...well and because I was tired) and now I really wish I hadn't gone! I got nothing out of it that I couldn't just get from printing off the slides. Oh well...I would have had go onto campus a couple hours later for the seminar anyways. Between class and seminar I chose to stay on campus and just go to a library computer to waste the hour. Usually I come back to my room but with the sucky weather I chose to stay dry for an extra hour.

When I came back from class I stopped off at the place where we pick up our mail and to my surprise I had FOUR LETTERS AND A PACKAGE!!!! I love being this far from home in the fact that people find it necessary to shower me in mail. :) If anyone feels like sending me love I always appreciate it! My mailing address is at the top of my blog off to the right above the picture of Robert and me. :) But anyways...three of the letters were from Kay and had tons more fun pictures in them! I tried to be creative on my wall with them this time haha.

My walls are looking so much better than when I first got here! Such a depressing thing to have four very sad white walls hahaha. Now my walls are getting filled with letters and pictures from my favorite people! :) The other letter than I got in the mail was from Felicia and then my package was from my mommy and daddy! :) It was a very fun care package!

- I'm already wearing a pair of the socks...very nice. :)
- Candy is ALWAYS appreciated...the skittles were already open and half gone though...someone got hungry on the way to the post office!
- Kleenex are always good...especially these travel ones that you can put in your coat pocket. When the air is cold outside I tend to get the sniffles haha.
- The band aids are post its as are the items above the band aids...love post its!
- iTunes...yay!
- Vitamin D. Found out that my parents only meant to send me one bottle and that the other bottle was supposed to stay for them but they each packed one and then searched the car for the other hahahahaha.
- Strange big cow paperclip...can only be the workings of my mother. :P
- The gold purse thing unzips to be a reusable grocery bag!!!
- A folder...which is funny that it says Jam and not Jelly. My friends and I were discussing different foods during seminar (we may have been supposed to be talking about Durkheim...nonetheless we discussed our "red cup party" and the differences in the foods in Northern Ireland and America) I mentioned peanut butter and jelly they all went "EEWWW." Found out that here they only call jelly "jam" and "jelly" is what they call jello. Peanut butter and jello I would go ew too.
- Red cups for my Irish friends "red cup party"that they are so excited for...I think it's rather funny!

Anyways, yes as I just mentioned our red cup party we have decided to do it on Thanksgiving and also have a Thanksgiving (which they have never done) because that is apparently Thursday's are their day they have no class. I'm supposed to come up with a menu of things for us to make and I came up with a list of the main things that I usually have at Thanksgiving:
- Turkey (except we all discussed the fact that we like ham more...so we will be having Ham)
- Stuffing
- Mashed Potatoes and Gravy
- Green Bean Casserole
- Deviled Eggs
- Rolls
- Pumpkin bars (I like making those more than pumpkin pie and Aisling said she has tried pumpkin pie before and did not like it. They are very put off by the idea of pumpkin...it isn't something eaten over here. I told them they will probably like my pumpkin bars. They're also going to make some different Irish desserts too.)
- Maybe the pink salad I make every year for Thanksgiving..but we'll see. Our list is already quite long.

I was originally planning on going to Dublin for the weekend of Thanksgiving but I think I'm not going to do that anymore (the train website must have known I was going to change my mind...really glad you couldn't purchase tickets so far in advance). My main reason for wanting to go was to get to see my Dublin friends but I'm going to be seeing them the two weekends before Thanksgiving weekend anyway. Plus...how often do you get to show your friends from a different country how to celebrate a holiday from your own? Also...it would be nice to just have a weekend where I don't go anywhere. All but one of my weekends coming up will be away from here and it would be nice to have a little break. I know I'm only here for so long and that I should get done all the traveling I can but that weekend was going to Dublin and I will have already visited and seen Dublin two times before that. It will save the money it would cost to get there and be there too...more money for other traveling weekends!

Jessi and Rachel and I got together tonight and talked about Scotland. Sounds like we are going to go Dec. 9-12, which is a Friday to a Monday so I will just have to miss Monday's class which is no big deal. I don't plan on missing any other days and I will let my professor know I'll be gone...but one day is really not a problem. We want to fly Belfast to Edinburgh and then halfwayish through the weekend take a train to Glasgow and end up flying back to Belfast from Glasgow! I'm really excited and think it should be a lot of fun! :)

Tomorrow is my online exam for politics and I have not been able to force myself to study any more today...oops. I'm really not so worried about it though. My professor and seminar leader both said that it should not be hard and is more to award points to the students who have attended lectures and seminars. I also can study a little in the morning if I feel like I need to...it's only a half hour test and will be open to us from 9-3:30 so I have all morning to study and then take it if I want.

Back when I said I was going to watch Snow White the other night...it didn't happen I just fell asleep. So, today I watched it and of course it was so cute (I've seen it before...but forever ago). Next on the list is Pinocchio. I've got it all downloaded onto YouTube so I'll be watching it sometime in the near future. :)