Author: Brian Leli

So now for the blog that you’ve all been waiting for….. Galway!!! It all started on Saturday morning as we started our trek up to Galway. We had a two hour bus ride then an hour stop to walk around Limerick(made me think of you Katie with your old stomping grounds;) ) then another 2 hour bus ride to get to Galway. We got there around 4 and met up with the other group from Drogeda which is a town by Dublin. There were 11 of us, 7 from Drogeda, and 2 from Cork. Our next stop was to find the hostel…..let’s just say that it had four walls and a roof and a great location in the town. It wasn’t actually too bad and we pretty much had the whole hostel to ourselves so we had the kitchen and sitting room for a hangout place. We went out and explored all the different shops and downtown Galway. Note: all Ireland towns have a similar look to them. They’re lined up on the sides with shops and you can walk everywhere. It’s strange especially for me because there aren’t towns like that in North Dakota anywhere. They also enjoy shops more than actual shopping centers(malls). They have malls, but they’re not full and popular like what we have in America. Sunday morning we woke up at 8 to go to the Cliffs of Moher. It was about a 2 hour bus ride with a few stops to different tourist places in between. It wasn’t, however, a 2 hour bus ride down the highway. It was winding, bumpy, and couldn’t have gone over 45mph. That description sounds like it was bad and that I’m complaining, but actually I enjoyed it. We stayed at the Cliffs for about an hour and a half before we went back to Galway. We made it back at about 5 to try and find a restaurant where we wanted to eat and that would take about 20 people. It really is quite difficult. We did find one but didn’t finish eating until about 9:30 so we went back to the hostel. The next day we walked around Galway and visited the touristy places a little bit. We went up to the big Cathedral that was beautiful. Then walked along the river and around the town to go shopping. On Monday night we all made different things at the hostel for dinner. I was part of the group that made spaghetti carbonara. I have to say that I didn’t help too much since I felt that the Italians knew what they were doing with pasta. On Tuesday we went to the beach and to the “central park”. We also stopped at Penny’s which is the best shop in all of Ireland. Ha! Wednesday we had to clean up the hostel and sadly leave our friends to come back to Waterford. We will meet up with them again either for St. Patty’s Day in Dublin or Easter break, which is 17 days long here. Thursday and Friday I was home alone for most of the day since the girls went up to their Nanny’s house and Paul and Eleanor had to work. I have to say that after being with 20 people all the time, the quietness was quite thrilling.Thursday night I was babysitter for a few hours so we did some hair…(see below)Tonight is Paul’s brother-in-law’s 40th birthday party so I’ll be out with the old folks in town 😛 Even listening to 80’s music! Well off to town for this gal so talk to you all later! 🙂

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! I must say I had a pretty good day today. I didn’t need to go to school so I was home by myself all day. A friend from Germany named Clara came over at around 9:30. She waked over and got completely drenched in the rain! She even had to borrow some clothes when she got here because she was so wet. I made some egg and ham crepes for our breakfast and then we were off baking…oreo truffles and peanut butter oatmeal bars. Last night I had made puppy chow and peanut butter chocolate bars to bring with tomorrow. Everyone was definitely intrigued by the puppy chow. As soon as I said I was making it they thought of dog food. I had to do a little improvising as they don’t have chex cereal but got something close. Somehow it did turn out and everyone liked it. The oreo truffles, as always, are the favorite and the most successful. I have a whole bag packed full of food to bring to Galway tomorrow. The Cliffs of Moher are closed as of now but we have our fingers crossed that they will open before we have to leave on Wednesday! I don’t have any school next week due to their midterm break. It’s real great I must say. I even got in an hour nap today with the girls gone. I haven’t mentioned this yet but I feel like I must… Eleanor is an amazing cook! I have home cooked delicious meal every night. She hasn’t made one meal that I haven’t liked. And note to mother ann: she was apologizing last night because I only got chicken nuggets and fries. I said that my mom would be telling us to thank her if we got that…:P I love you Mom! 🙂 Well I apologize for not having any pictures but I promise to have double the pictures after Galway!! Miss you all!! Have a great day and don’t forget to tell the people you love that you love them 🙂 <3

Hello again! I know I mentioned time going fast last time, but seriously now I feel like I just blogged yesterday. So this past week….well we made some good American food for the Super Bowl on Sunday night. A German boy named Flo came over to watch the Super Bowl mostly for the commercials that didn’t come on anyways… and I must say that I was severely disappointed in not only the game results but also not getting to watch the commercials in between. I almost felt the need to apologize to Paul, Eleanor, and Flo for how badly the game turned out. Monday was a little bit of a slow time for myself to say the least…. going to bed at 4 is really not my style. I also went to my first Irish Catholic mass on Sunday. It wasn’t that much different than mass at home. Eleanor’s uncle did conduct a band that was very good for St. Bridget’s day which was on the 1st. On Friday night I went to a German girl named Clara’s house to make food. An Italian girl named Ambra came over as well and we made a fully gluten free meal for her. Salmon wraps and brownies! Yesterday, I did the girls’ nails and hair. We all have Valentine’s Day nails now! Last night I met up with some Irish girls from school for a little while around town and then went to the movie, The Wolf on Wall Street, with some of the other exchange students. It was 3 hours long, but I really enjoyed it. After that we had some troubles finding a restaurant that was open and reasonably priced so we ended up eating at Supermacs. Today I went on a walk around a park with Sam(the dog), Emma, and Paul. Planning to relax the rest of the day and hoping that we can all still go to Galway next weekend as it is flooded right now! Enjoy your Sunday!

Hey! Sorry I’m late with this one it just feels like I was on here yesterdays but its actually already been a week! No matter how much I ask, time just won’t slow down for me. It actually keeps speeding up instead! Well the past week let’s see…. Sunday morning the whole family went out to Tramore to look at the waves. The water has been destroying the old wall that has surrounded the city for 1100 hundred years. I definitely liked seeing the waves though(strange, since we always can go down to the Beach from North Dakota….) Monday was back to school again with a few Monday tests! Not the normal test I wouldn’t say. They’re all short answer questions. There aren’t any multiple choice or essay. On Thursday I didn’t have to go to school because the new foreign exchange students had a orientation seminar for 3 hours so we got the day off. Grace has talked to her teacher and now Grace and her class are going to write letters back and forth with my Aunt Betty’s class in Bowman. It’s the same age group and from what I’ve heard, both classes are very excited to write one another. Yesterday, all of the exchange students, Bernie(the coordinator), and I went to Kilkenny. We were supposed to take the train but the tracks were flooded so we took the bus. It’s about a 30 minute bus ride so not too far at all. When we got there, we went to the Kilkenny castle which was very cool, but they don’t allow photography inside so you’re only gonna get to see the outside of it. After we toured the castle, we broke off into smaller groups to grab some lunch and do a little bit of shopping. When we met up again, we went bowling for an hour. And if you must know, the champion bowler is typing you right now! Not too much competition when nobody there had ever gone before. Apparently, besides my P.E. class, not too many schools go bowling during the school year. It also is much more expensive than what you can bowl for in Bowman. They all were amazed when I got a strike. Haha! We all had a lot of fun no matter what score we ended up with. And now today….Super Bowl Sunday….I’ve made quite the array of food. So far there is Rolo dessert bars, brownies topped with cookie dough frosting, Red Lobster biscuits(they all refuse to call them biscuits because when they think of biscuits they think of oreos), chile queso dip, and later will be pulled pork sandwiches(yeah be jealous brother Jaxson 🙂 ) and some smoked bbq weenies. There might be a Brazilian and German that come over to watch it tonight as well! All I know is that there aren’t any Monday tests going on tomorrow….. Have a good Super Bowl Sunday everyone! And again I must say…Go Broncos!!

Hellloooo everyone! Been a fun and hot week here! It was actually 60 degrees the other day and I walked around with a t-shirt and flip flops on of course. 🙂 I think that’s just a little bit warmer then it is at home…. 😛 Well on Sunday I went into town to meet the new boy from Sweden that just arrived. There were about 12 of us that showed him around and went for coffee and pizza. On Monday I went to Cork for a science observatory but I didn’t get to go anywhere else in Cork except the science place. The rest of the week I went to the gym after school, but it’s definitely not like the rec! There are some classes you can take or go lift weights. However if you want to use the actually basketball court you have to pay about 40 euros sooo I haven’t done that. On Thursday night I went to town with the other foreign exchange students again.(I’ll try to get some pictures sometime.) We had a last little get together to say goodbye to the 4 kids that left this weekend. This time there was about 18 of us and we went to eat at an Indian restaurant. Even though we are from all over the world, we were all at a loss with the food. In other words we just chose something that we thought sounded cool and ate what we got! I really enjoyed mine and had a lot of fun. Thursday was also Olivia’s birthday so we had a party yesterday for her. Minnie Mouse themed! 13 children running around! But it was fun! When the kids left and went to bed we played cards and I attempted to teach a few how to play rummy….let’s just say the concept was not grasped and we only played one round of it. I also pierced my cartilage yesterday for any of you who wanted to know:) Paul said the next thing in line is a tattoo but Eleanor said that I need written permission from my parents for that one! 🙂 Next weekend is Kilkenny and the Superbowl! We’re having a little party here and will watch it even though it’s not on until 11:30pm here….Go Broncos! I’m off to Tramore for a walk and some hot chocolate! Blog you all later!:) P.s. I’d love you forever if you sent me some hidden valley ranch packets! (none of them know what ranch is so obviously I need to show them) any donations of packets would be much appreciated 😀
Madison Fischer
40 Lower Grange
Waterford City, Waterford
Ireland

Hey everyone! Started school on Tuesday….it’s quite a bit different than Bowman High School I would say. For one thing it’s 3 stories high and it doesn’t do much for sports. Apparently everyone has too much homework after school to do anything besides it. I can say that I’ve been to school for 3 days and I haven’t brought anything home so I’m hoping that doesn’t change too much! I actually like wearing the unifrom cuz I know what I’m going to be wearing each day and it really lightens up my luggage! Everyone is flabbergasted by the idea that I already have my license and that I’ve already had it for 2 years. They all want to move to America now because they can’t drive until 18 or so and even then they don’t drive much and usually don’t have their own cars for awhile. They also can’t grasp the fact that I really live in the middle of nowhere. At least 1000 miles to the ocean is way too much for them tor handle. The first day of school everyone was pretty shy(apparently that’s how Irish people are at first) but yesterday and today were fun and I’ve met a lot of people. I always thought that I was good with names but not I’m thinking I’m not. I think I remember about 4 of them that I could put to the face and that’s about it for now. The school layout is already confusing enough! They don’t really have hallways like we do, it’s more like 3 floors with 2 circles on each floor. I literally walk in circles until I find my classroom. And PE! Oh my it is much different than what we are used to. I went yesterday and some people played badminton for fun but most of us just sat around and talked for the whole class. They said that sometimes they have to play a game. Seriously, game days are their bad days….
Even though class periods are only 40 minutes compared to the usual 50 minutes back home, class seems to go by much much quicker. We start at 9 and end at 3:30 with an hour lunch and a 10 minute break. They also don’t have time between classes. They can just walk in at any time they want and not get counted tardy. I think that’s what was meant by the school’s being laid back. They also thought it was so funny that for lunch we actually go through a line with a tray. They all bring sack lunches here with some soup or wraps served at school. Then there are designated classrooms for different grades to eat in. Well I feel like I’m rambling on about boring things like school. Sorry I don’t have too many pictures this time around!