In National Treasure: Book of Secrets, Ben Gates is set on clearing one of his predecessors’ name of the possibility of being involved in the Lincoln assassination. To do this, he and Riley Poole, his partner in historical puzzle solving, travel to London to find a clue hidden in the Queen’s desk in Buckingham Palace. After finding the clue, they are discovered by the bad guys and, of course, enter a high speed car chase.
Upon arriving at their car to flee from the bad guys, Riley shouts “I’ll drive!” and hops into the left side front seat of the car, which would have worked had this car chase taken place in America. London, however, is in Europe. Meaning the driver sits in the right side front seat because they drive on the left side of the road. Cut to a side shot of Riley sitting the front seat with his hands poised to grasp the steering wheel that isn’t there.
I channeled my inner Riley one day when Jane Marie, one of the hotel owners, offered to drive some of the girls to Spiddal to go to the bank. Because there were more of us going than could fit in the car, we had to get creative with the seating arrangement. I was voted front seat. Needless to say, when Jane Marie got to the car ready to go, I was standing in front of the driver's door instead of the passenger's door. I was too embarrassed to do anything but apologize and walk around the car and get in the right (and by right I mean left) side.
The driving isn't the only thing we've had to get used to since being here. We don't even get to drive, so that was minor compared to adjusting to the living situation. Having limited paid-for electricity is becoming a struggle. As we've gotten more comfortable, we've gotten slack in conserving energy. We ran out of electricity for the first time last Wednesday, and it was a wake-up call for all of us in the cottage.
Below are a few pictures of the cottage. The first is my half of the bedroom (literally, that's all the space I have), the second is our living room (featuring my cottage-mate Stacey), the third is our kitchen (with the exception of the full-sized fridge, which I had to stand in front of to get the picture) and the last is of our dining area.
Upon arriving at their car to flee from the bad guys, Riley shouts “I’ll drive!” and hops into the left side front seat of the car, which would have worked had this car chase taken place in America. London, however, is in Europe. Meaning the driver sits in the right side front seat because they drive on the left side of the road. Cut to a side shot of Riley sitting the front seat with his hands poised to grasp the steering wheel that isn’t there.
I channeled my inner Riley one day when Jane Marie, one of the hotel owners, offered to drive some of the girls to Spiddal to go to the bank. Because there were more of us going than could fit in the car, we had to get creative with the seating arrangement. I was voted front seat. Needless to say, when Jane Marie got to the car ready to go, I was standing in front of the driver's door instead of the passenger's door. I was too embarrassed to do anything but apologize and walk around the car and get in the right (and by right I mean left) side.
The driving isn't the only thing we've had to get used to since being here. We don't even get to drive, so that was minor compared to adjusting to the living situation. Having limited paid-for electricity is becoming a struggle. As we've gotten more comfortable, we've gotten slack in conserving energy. We ran out of electricity for the first time last Wednesday, and it was a wake-up call for all of us in the cottage.
Below are a few pictures of the cottage. The first is my half of the bedroom (literally, that's all the space I have), the second is our living room (featuring my cottage-mate Stacey), the third is our kitchen (with the exception of the full-sized fridge, which I had to stand in front of to get the picture) and the last is of our dining area.
Another thing to get used to is not being close to what we used to consider everyday places, such as the grocery store. The nearest grocery store is in Spiddal, which is a 25 minute walk away (I timed it just last night after making a chocolate and Dr. Pepper run). Now, this raises two problems. Problem number 1: if it’s stormy or cold and windy (as it was yesterday) the walk can be miserable if you’re not dressed correctly (meaning a hat and scarf are necessary). Problem number 2: the walk to Spiddal makes you hungry, so you stop to eat a snack. THEN you shop because if you shop hungry, you’ll buy everything in the grocery store’s small selection. Of course, the walk BACK from Spiddal makes you hungry too. So you eat everything you bought and have nothing left and have to repeat the process again tomorrow.
Classes are also something to adjust to. While we only have one class a day Monday through Thursday, each class meets for 4 hours. We do get small breaks and an hour long lunch break, but 4 hours is a very long time compared to our longest class in the states, which is a whopping 75 minutes.
Monday we have our "Gaelic" class. While the Gaelic language is a major part of the course, it also provides us with knowledge of the culture of Ireland. Last Monday, we spent an hour learning traditional Irish dance. That was the most fun I've had in a class in a long time. Later that afternoon, a guest speaker took us out to the car park to let us try our hand at the two traditional Irish games: Gaelic football and hurling. So not only can I now tell you about the weather in Gaelic, I can also solo down a football pitch (not really).
History class is on Tuesdays, and I'm lucky if I can focus on what the professor is saying. He's really smart and throws some stories in the lecture to keep it "interesting", but I find myself spacing out way too often. Literature on Wednesdays isn't as bad, but Monday is still my favorite day of class. Thursday we have our class with our UNK professor, Dr. Carstenson. Because we haven't taken a field trip yet, there's not much to tell about that class other than that it usually only lasts a couple hours (which earns a few extra points in my book).
I look forward to taking our first field trip this weekend to the Aran Islands, so keep an eye out for my next post detailing that adventure!
Until next time!
Classes are also something to adjust to. While we only have one class a day Monday through Thursday, each class meets for 4 hours. We do get small breaks and an hour long lunch break, but 4 hours is a very long time compared to our longest class in the states, which is a whopping 75 minutes.
Monday we have our "Gaelic" class. While the Gaelic language is a major part of the course, it also provides us with knowledge of the culture of Ireland. Last Monday, we spent an hour learning traditional Irish dance. That was the most fun I've had in a class in a long time. Later that afternoon, a guest speaker took us out to the car park to let us try our hand at the two traditional Irish games: Gaelic football and hurling. So not only can I now tell you about the weather in Gaelic, I can also solo down a football pitch (not really).
History class is on Tuesdays, and I'm lucky if I can focus on what the professor is saying. He's really smart and throws some stories in the lecture to keep it "interesting", but I find myself spacing out way too often. Literature on Wednesdays isn't as bad, but Monday is still my favorite day of class. Thursday we have our class with our UNK professor, Dr. Carstenson. Because we haven't taken a field trip yet, there's not much to tell about that class other than that it usually only lasts a couple hours (which earns a few extra points in my book).
I look forward to taking our first field trip this weekend to the Aran Islands, so keep an eye out for my next post detailing that adventure!
Until next time!