Hi, I'm back! At the request of my dad, I'm writing a travel blog again to record my trip to Europe. So, where am I going? I'm going to Europe! I leave on Friday, August 10 from Cleveland-to-Detroit-to-Amsterdam-to-Basel... *phew*... we will arrive in the afternoon on Saturday in Basel. Why? Michael, my lovely boyfriend's parents, have relocated to Basel, Switzerland because of Michael's dad's job. What? We will be visiting Switzerland (Yes... THERE'S A SOUND OF MUSIC TOUR!), Paris, France, and Germany. Basel, Switzerland is located right where Switzerland, France, and Germany meets. Highlights of trip: The Lourve, the Alps, FC Basel game, Swiss chocolates, French bread, FASHION... um. Who? Well, Michael and I are traveling together. We will be visiting his parents. I also get to visit ... read more

Friday- Flight home We left the hotel at 7:15 am for a 9:00 am flight out of Shannon, Ireland. I went through Immigration, customs, and security with no problems. Now, I'm on the plane to Newark, New Jersey. I'm really excited to use my cell phone again! We have just over a thousand more miles until we land. I can see land outside my window, we're passing by Newfoundland and Labrador at the moment. I can see the water. It's -16 degrees Fahrenheit outside. I think I also see ice caps in the water. I'm on the lookout for a whale. It's pretty clear outside. I'll see you in the U.S. I'm not looking forward to my body being five hours ahead of the Eastern time zone.... read more

Thursday We left Sneem very early, because we had two school visits to do in Killarney. First, we visited a secondary school. The children were doing their exams, so we didn't really have a place to be. The principal talked to us for like 45 minutes in the hallway while we stood. We then went to a school called St. Oliver's which was probably my second favorite school that we visited, after St. Michael's in Sneem. The principal was awesome. He had a great vision statement for the school. He talked about how he believes in instilling worth with children. He mentioned how the church lost sight of it, and that's what the scandal occurred. If you've been following the Ryan Report, a nine-year report in the making, about the abuses in the Irish Catholic Church, ... read more

I'm actually in Sneem, but Kenmare is the closest village/town that is listed. We toured the Southwest of Ireland on Saturday. I got to sleep in today... wonderful. I'm going to go get ready for church, an Irish Catholic service. I'm also going on a mountain hike today in the Kerry Mountains. I'll blog tonight. Ishmael- I bought another suitcase because I've bought so much cool stuff here. I 3 the fashion here. Also, I bought some souvenirs for family and such. You should try REAL Irish coffee. (There's no actual coffee in it. Haha.)... read more

What's the craic? I'll tell you my craic: Day ?- Galway Galway is the cultural center of Ireland.If you walk the streets, there are musicians playing everywhere. They play traditional Irish music, pop music, Brazillian music, African music, etc. We had a full day in Galway yesterday. In the morning, we visited the National University of Ireland at Galway. It was an interesting college. I am so jealous of the universities in Ireland, because they are mostly built around and with ruins of castles, churches, monasteries, etc. Hmm... graduate school? I am really enjoying that most people think I am a native-born European. I guess I don't seem like a tourist and I think that's great. (I've also been picking up on the fashion... haha) Yesterday, different people asked if I was French, Irish, or Swedish. ... read more