Cash or Laser? Uh....

      OH. MY. GOODNESS.

        Folks (as they say here in IE), i'm officially moved in at Waterford Institute of Technology. Never in a million years would I have thought the place I love so dearly ,thanks to a chick flick {duh-P.S. I love you!},would become my home for five weeks.

 
 According to my slightly delirious calculations I have been awake for 32 hours. Thanks to the beautiful views of the ocean lit up by the rays of the moon--of the cheesiness of that line--, I just could not sleep!
 Around 6:00 a.m. we received a warm welcome to Ireland by both natural light and the obnoxious plane lights. If you ever have the chance to find yourself in between the clouds...soak it all up. I felt like I was in a blanket of God's creation with beams of light bursting at the seams.

 Alright, on to the part that all of you so wonderfully gathered here to read. This is going to be jiffy as so much happened today and most of which was a blur due to lack of sleep. First stop- moving into waterford. Check out this apartment ya'll, there is no doubt about it that we are being well taken care of here. The staff is amazing and welcomed all of us with warm arms and open hearts. (praise!)

Next we headed to the dining hall here to get some lunch to ease our bodies into the time zone change

First lunch in Ireland- lasagna and veggies!

Next came guided tours through the Waterford Medieval Museum and Reginalds Tower.  I will include a few pictures in this post. To see the rest, check out my facebook album! :) Click Here!

Medieval museum relics

entry way to wine volt



I would like to share a rather embarrassing-but well learned "tourist" moment today. I had some difficulty figuring out this whole euros thing and deciding which form of payment to use on my grocery purchases. At the first store, my only option was euros (no biggie it was a magazine and yogurt). The next challenge came at my solo visit to a local Aldi. After selecting a handful of fresh fruit and snacks I made my way to the register....then I heard those dreadful words..."cash or laser?" Ok, first off what in the world? Laser? No...card...Lasers are fiery beams of light that burn holes into things. After falling into a flurry of confusion I was finally told by the store managre that American cards were not excepted. By the grace of God, I literally had the EXACT amount of euros needed to pay for my goods. After a small giggle to myself, I headed out the door-goods in tow. Of course, its pouring rain and 50 degrees (woohoo! June!); my bag rips and yogurt goes flying-more so splattering- all over the place. Even in that moment I called on the Lord for peace and He delivered me with a feeling of confidence to pick my things up and keep going. There will be bumps in the road, but sometimes you just have to step over the gooey yogurt and head on your merry way.

***Also, i'm super proud about my clean dinner made of some fresh goodies :)
                           

I know that most of this was rather bland for a first day post. Please excuse my exhaustion and lack of enthusiasm. It truly has been a remarkable first day in Ireland, and I know that each day has even more to offer! Until then, stay grand!