I found myself settling into a routine during my second week here in Ireland. The Rumball's place has finally started to feel like home, and I am getting used to Rathdown School. Between school and helping to prepare for the Rumball's dinner party that was held on Saturday I stayed extremely busy and the week flew by. I have also started running again, and I found a beautiful path from our home down to the harbor that is a little over four miles.
Saturday morning I woke up early and walked down to the beach. It was nice out, and very sunny, but still around 60 degrees. Nonetheless, there were several men in speedos out sunbathing and swimming. I went for a walk along the harbor then I took the dart into Dun Laoighaire for some sightseeing and shopping. My family's sailing school is in Dun Laoighaire so I stopped by the see the boats and watch them sail for a bit. I walked the piers which had beautiful views of the coastline and the city.
Saturday night my family hosted an extravagant party in which I was able to mingle with the Rumball's friends, many of whom were in the educational field. Sunday morning Muriel surprised me with a ticket to the Ireland vs. Australia rugby match in Dublin. These tickets are like gold and very hard to come by, so I was extremely excited to get the opportunity to go. The game was amazing, intense, and very bloody. In all honesty, it put football to shame.
I have made plans to teach lessons about Thanksgiving to the children at Rathdown since the holiday is right around the corner and Thanksgiving isn't celebrated in Europe. I have also begun to plan a trip with some of the other ASU students to travel to London next weekend, which I am very excited about.
Below you will find a few pictures of Dun Laoighaire, the entree for the dinner party, and the Ireland vs. Australia rugby match.
