Keeps getting better

Just when I thought I have reached Cloud 9 in Dublin, I was thrown to an even higher cloud after my trip last weekend to Scotland. On Friday my friends and I took a very early flight to Glasgow, Scotland where our adventure began. I visited Scotland before when I was 13, but I knew that this would be a much different experience.

Glasgow was so beautiful and modern. There was a brightness to it that really excited me. The most simplest of things were so beautiful..The Apple store looked like a museum with stone pillars and high arches; it was unreal. We spent Friday and Saturday in Glasgow and were lucky enough to stay with friends who were studying abroad at the University of Glasgow which is the inspiration for Hogwarts. It was incredible and I hate to admit it but I kind of pretended to be Hermione...shh don't tell anyone that.

On Sunday we took a train to Edinburgh, which completely blew me away. I felt like I was in a painting, the scenery was too beautiful for words. I had an amazing day, we walked all over Edinburgh and walked up the Scott Monument..I thought I was going to die in there of claustrophobia but it was worth the 3 pounds to say I did it..all 287 steps worth.

On the train back to Glasgow I was just looking out the window and my friend Claire and I started talking about how lucky we are to be studying abroad and traveling to these amazing places. I am such a lucky girl and this trip has made me feel even more grateful to be alive but to actually live. I could cry thinking about it because I am just so happy..I really don't think I've been this happy ever but I am happy that I have found happiness in such a great place and among some beyond amazing people.

Coming from New York, its hard for me to slow down and enjoy the moment..I am always running around thinking about the future and whats coming next and what I should look forward to but honestly   I haven't appreciated where I am in the moment at all. Right now I am going to enjoy the moment..my life is great right now and yea, my future and next semester and even next month are going to be great BUT today is amazing and I want to soak in every second and every experience possible.

Cheers
xxx

Two weeks or two years?

My two week mark is coming up and I can NOT believe how quickly the time is passing. The time is flying but I also feel like I have been here for years. I am definately becoming more comfortable with my surroundings and the people I have met on this trip. I wish i could slow time down though, I don't want this trip to end but I guess its true that time flies when you are having fun and I am having an absolute BLAST!

Okay, okay so partying is grand (Irish slang..I can't imagine really using that word for real haha) BUT i did come here to study..just a little bit....My first week of school began on Tuesday and will end tomorrow. My schedule is pretty relaxed, I have 5 classes but each day I am only in class for 2 hours at most so I have plenty of time to hit up the gym and run off those thousands of calories I am consuming from the Bulmers and Guinness. The work for each class isn't bad at all, its completely manageable, which I am very happy about so that I could experience Ireland instead of setting up camp in the library every night.

The group of girls that I became friends with rather quickly are starting to plan trips and I am so excited to start traveling! I have a pretty big list of the places I want to visit but money does come into play so I'll see what I can afford(HOPEFULLY ALL OF IT) I haven't been shopping which is VERY weird for me..anyone who knows me well enough probably would have guessed that I already bought a whole new wardrobe but I'm really trying to budget my money for traveling..I guess I finally got the hang of budgeting my money while studying abroad..THIRD TIMES A CHARM, or maybe its the Luck of the Irish!

Ireland really is amazing though..in every way its just perfect, especially for me. I really do feel like I fit in here and I really do appreciate the culture and people and how welcomed I felt when I came to Ireland. After studying in London last summer, I kind of thought of London as a home and look back at those memories and feel so elated. I really discovered London and fell in love with the city and to me thats special because its hard for me to fall in love with a city other than New York. From the moment I got to Ireland I knew that Dublin would also be a city that I would also fall in love with. I was on the bus from the airport to our school and I took a breathe in and got chills from just looking out the window. That is the exact feeling that I felt in London last summer  and its the exact feeling that I experience in NYC when I walk the streets and look up and the buildings and walk past thousands of people who I will probably never meet.

Home is New York for me but home is also where the heart is and a good portion of my heart is in traveling and experiencing the world the most I can. Nothing can never match the feeling of falling in love and I am grateful to have fallen in love with another beautiful city. I know Dublin will be in my heart forever, but for now I'm not going anywhere...Dublin you are mine tonight! <3

Cheers,
Ruby

Ruby in the Emerald City

Oh what a week it has been! For starters I left my life in America and my American ways all to start this journey in Dublin, Ireland for the next four and a half months!! Many may think I'm nuts for studying abroad and leaping in to the unknown, but traveling and moving to different cities and countries constantly is somewhat normal to me and in a way comforting.

I started my travels very young with my family however, my independent travels began when i was just thirteen where I went to London, Scotland, Ireland and Wales on a student ambassador program. I did not know anyone going on the trip, but I knew that I needed this experience to make me an independent individual especially to start off my teen years. It was a great experience..I mean I did cry like a baby because I missed my Mom but overall, this trip sparked something inside me. I get such a thrill out of traveling and experiencing new places and cultures..I guess you could say its one of my hobbies.

My craziness continued through highschool when I traveled to Italy and Paris with the Passport Club. Both were amazing trips and taught me a lot about the different people of the world. I also became OBSESSED with anything Paris related. This trip even pushed me to take French in college (I regret it completely..IT IS SO HARD) I continued my travels in college, actually my first semester of Northeastern, when I embarked on a study abroad experience to Thessaloniki, Greece. Another experience that was bittersweet, more so sweet. I made my best friends, traveled to Germany, Spain, England, France, Turkey, Corfu and Athens, ate some of the most amazing food I have ever eaten and just overall completely grew as a person. The bitter part..well I obviously gained 20 pounds from the food but other than that, communicating with the locals was tough since I did not know they language (I tried my best to learn Greek..How I got an A in Greek is beyond me) But yeah this trip was tough for me because it was my first semester of college and the transition was kind of tough but I would not trade it for anything.

So between all of this traveling and going from Boston to New York to go home from school I am used  to moving around. I kind of like it and get bored when I am in one place for too long. I have never studied at Northeastern for more than one semester consecutively. Between CO-OPS, internships, studying in London this past summer..I can for sure say that I have not experienced the "typical" college experience but you know what I am so happy about that. The places I have seen and the people I have met have really made me the woman I am today and I believe that traveling and being independent has really made me a stronger person. I'm not going to lie..I get homesick and scared and nervous but thats life. Playing it safe will leave you no where so i guess my philosophy is to go with the most risky and extreme choice. Hmmm stay at Northeastern this semester or go to Dublin with your best friend for four and a half months..OPTION TWO PLEASE!

So I am here in Dublin..I'm calling it the Emerald City (I don't know if thats a real nickname..I just like it because its so so green and I'm OBSESSED with the Wizard of Oz). Dublin is absolutely amazing..it is so beautiful..it sort of looks like London and Boston combined. I have adjusted very well. I made Chelsea (my bff that I met in Greece) stay up over 24 hours with me to beat the jet lag and it worked!! So far we have done a walking tour, a bus tour and today we went to Causey Farm where we played the Bodhran (Irish drum), did some Irish set dancing, milked a cow(almost got kicked), played with the cutest puppies in the world, walked through the bog and made some brown bread which Chels and I had no problem devouring! It was a great day and its been wonderful so far.

The people on our program, although from different parts of the US and all come from different ways of life and backgrounds and such great people. I am very happy with the people of the trip and of Dublin. Irish people have to be the nicest people in the world hands down. I am so excited for this experience and the friendships that I will have after this program. It will be grand<3