Highlights.

This week was full of beauty. We had our last overnight trip - a six day adventure in the west of Ireland. We traveled everywhere and stayed in three different hotels. I saw more cows and sheep than I ever have, I ate dinner at the best Italian restaurant, and I saw the most amazing landscapes in the whole country.

Here are some of my favorites from the trip:

Kissing the Blarney Stone






Boat ride to the Gap of Dunloe, with a challenging 3 hour hike to follow





The Muckross House, beautiful decor and furniture inside!



The Dingle Peninsula, better than any other site in the country



Cliffs of Moher



The mint chocolate chip ice cream on the Aran Islands



biking around Inis Mor Island



and one of the more thrilling experiences - looking over the cliff at Dun Aengus

This is where I'll be living in two months.

Ireland Ireland Ireland

Jordan and I are leaving the States on January 28th to study abroad for our spring semester. It still doesn't feel real yet, probably because we are too busy to even think about anything other than schoolwork right now. But the thought of living in Ireland just seems like a wonderful dream come true.


All the students in the program (a total of about 20 so far) stay in a conference center located in Greystones, County Wicklow, which is a seaside community 20 miles from Dublin. The best part is, we each get a DART train ticket for unlimited trips into Dublin!

The classes we're taking are: Irish History, Irish Literature, Contemporary Ireland, Celtic Christianity, Living Cross-Culturally, Hiking, and Irish Dancing & Drum!

The program emphasizes non-classroom learning, which means part of our coursework is traveling the entire country while attending the concert hall, the theater, a rugby match, and a hurling match. We will also be there to experience the Irish festivals and the extravagance of St. Patrick's Day.

I am so blessed to have this once in a lifetime opportunity. I can't wait to be in one of the most beautiful places in the world with the love of my life.