Catch-Up Time! Last Program Week!

Ok, so it's been precisely 2 weeks since I've last updated. My apologies! And in all honesty, I was going to just give up all together until Mom pressured me to update everyone about our week long travels through Southern Ireland. So, I'll catch you up on my last week in the program in this entry, and then get into the stuff where jet-lagged Donna stays out until 2 a.m. in Dublin on the Mother/Daughter pub crawl!

I believe I last left off on Thursday, June 17 when Quinlan and I went to Guinness and then out with Andrew Mann, our favorite Irish musician! The next day, we woke up semi-late for no particular reason... ;) and went to watch the U.S. match at Sinnott's. I don't even remember who they played anymore, but I know they tied that match. (And honestly, who cares anymore after that big upset this past Saturday... I don't wanna talk about it!)

But, before we went to the bar, we went to the Street Performer's World Championship in Merrion Square. It was definitely awesome! It was basically this huge festival of street performers and from Thursday through Sunday, they put on shows and get people to vote for them to win money! We saw this really funny guy juggle knives while balancing on a ladder. Pretty ridic! And then we got our faces painted with the good ole' stars and stripes! Only, Kelsey couldn't because she was going to a play later with her family, so we got her a ridiculous balloon hat! Which she actually wore to and inside the bar! Haha!

Impressive!

Tracie, Rachel D, Kelsey, Me, and Rachel Q with our USA pride!

What better way to watch a USA match in Ireland than with a painted face and an ice cold Coors Light!

On Saturday, I woke up feeling like absolute crap with a sore throat. I had inadvertently slept for 12 hours, woke up for 1, then slept for another 5. I basically slept my Saturday away. I felt faint and weak all day, but then I had some fruit and felt surprisingly better. Then, I realized I hadn't eaten a single piece of fruit in an entire week. Awesome. On Sunday, we all went to a watch a hurling game! It was INTENSE. Hurling is like literally every sport combined... and it went by so fast! It's apparently the fastest field game ever played. We saw Dublin play (actually, more like get dominated by...) Kilkenny. Kilkenny has been National Champs for like the past 2 or 3 years.

We sat in the third row. NBD!

(That means "No Big Deal," Dad.)

The next week consisted entirely of working on our project for the HSE, sleeping and hanging out. We worked on our project every day and sacrificed a few nights to stay in and perfect it! And I must say, I think we nailed it. I really enjoyed working with my group, had a lot of fun, and learned a lot of valuable PR tidbits along the way.

We also squeezed in another tour with Garbhan, our tour guide from the first tour! This tour was mostly about music and old Irish stories. It was really entertaining! If I could remember or pronounce any of the old Irishmen he told us stories about, I'd try my best to phonetically spell them for you, but alas, I cannot!

On Friday, we had our farewell dinner at the Arlington Hotel. We ate dinner and watched some Riverdance performers! It was seriously amazing. I don't know how they do it! Flawlessly in sync! Then that night, we were all going to go out together, but I was still sick, and half of the group had early flights the next day. So a few of us called it a night and headed back to pack.

I hate goodbyes. And I know we'll all be back in Austin come August, but it will be sad not seeing all of these amazing people everyday!

I seriously cannot thank my parents enough for allowing/paying for me to study abroad. I haven't even been home yet, but I already know how special and rare this trip has been for me. When the hell else will I be able to say I worked on a communication plan for the Health Service Executive of Ireland to help them launch their campaign for the HPV vaccine? Yeah, NEVER. This has truly been a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me. I can't imagine experiencing this past month with a better group of girls (and Sly!) or a better professor, either. B. Love's awesome, and I can't wait to take his Campaigns class in the fall!

Here are just a few more pictures from the end of the trip... enjoy!

St. Patrick's Cathedral

Wall of Fame in Temple Bar!

That's U2 on the left!

Oh, Quinlan. Thanks for keeping me in line, love!

One of our last nights out :( Me and Tracie!

That Irish boy, Brian, and me! :)

One more for kicks!

That concludes my Maymester in Dublin. I will NEVER forget this amazing trip and all of the incredible people I met. (SHOUT OUT TO GAVIN CAULFIELD, what up gent?! Haha!) Be on the lookout for my next entry about my adventures in Ireland with Donna Jean... I don't know if y'all can handle it! Mom's navigational skills + driving on the left side of the road = absolutely terrifying.

From Ireland with love (and until next time!),

Hillary