Halloween, Galway and Arrows!

Well it's has been far too long since I wrote a blog and to be honest...I lost my password and username and wasn't able to log it for the past couple weeks. Until this evening I suddenly remembered it!

So what to update on? What not to update on!

My last post was more than a month ago after my Ring of Kerry Trip. For the next two weeks after that I stayed home on weekends to relax, work on homework and just hangout with my roommates. We had a few nights of drinking and usually watching scary movies. Classes were going along smoothly, I had my first exam on the 22nd of Oct. and aced it. Well maybe I did. I was graded a A1, which is a 75% or higher...I know what your thinking...Amber? 75% is a C? Not here! Yep, in Ireland they grade on a very very high "curve" what we call in the states. That 75% is equal to an A in this grading system. I think...

After the exam my roommates and I decided to go to Dunnes and I begged them all to buy pumpkins for carving. Now, I have two french roommates and one from New Zealand, as you know. They have NEVER carved a pumpkin before! This was the greatest thing ever! Because I was able to teach them how to carve and they had a great time.

 We bought four beautiful 4 euro pumpkins, brought them home and started carving. They weren't as large as we have in the states and we didn't go to a pumpkin patch but it was still a lot of fun to gather around the table together, put on some great music and carve away!

After carving our pumpkins we took part in one of the most interesting and memorable raves I've ever been too. Now, I've never been to a rave but if they are all like the one I attended on the 24th of Oct. then I wouldn't mind going to another!

 We got out outfits together that night, slapped on some gore makeup and took a taxi to the bus stop. We'd then be picked up and taken to an abandoned haunting mansion outside of Limerick City. We dressed as a zombie pirates and H dressed as a mime as you can see by the picture. 

I was a really fun party, though lots of drinking and random things I never want to see again but it was an experience. We got home about 2am and went home and fell asleep relatively quickly.

The weekend between Halloween and the Rave we went to, we piled with car full again and took a road trip to Galway, Ireland. 

 Galway-- the Music capital of Ireland. You can't walk any street, ally or building without hearing the traditional music playing in the crisp air. We were lucky, it was beautiful and sunny that day and the pedestrian streets were packed. H and E and I all walked the streets, Christmas shopping for friends and family and of course buying the amazing chocolate that Ireland supplies.

After we spent the day in Galway we took the car south back towards Limerick. But we stopped in a tiny little fishing village that a friend of mine told me to visit, because it was where he was from. And to be honest, Mark, I am so sorry I don't remember the name of this village, it was beautiful though. There was an amazing castle set just outside the village where banquets are held in the summer and spring. It was closed when we walked up to it but it was still fun to walk across the water to the little island with the castle built upon it.

I love the colours of Irish buildings. In this tiny fishing village each building was a different colour, why? I have no idea. Maybe so you can see the building your trying to find faster? "Hey! My shop is the bright Orange one on main street. You can't miss it!" Who knows but it's grand, really I it brings the villages alive among the grey background. In contrast to the green of the grass and trees, Ireland is by far one of the prettiest places I've been.



After Galway we had a relaxing rest of the weekend and course were going well. I finished a lot of essays as well as get ready for going home.

But enough of that...what happened next in my life?

 On Oct. 31st  Halloween was here, which just so happened to land on Archery night. The entire team dressed up and trained that day. We had red riding hood, vampires, pirates and even Robin Hood.

On November 3rd, the weekend following Halloween we had the Halloween shoot, where UL archery team invited archery teams from Cork and Galway to come compete in our hall. Most of the advance archers were asked to attend but they have four openings for beginnings. I was one of them. I competed in my first competition at the Halloween shoot. We shot 120 arrows, 4 rounds. I walked home with with a first place metal in barebow. With a total score of 791 out of 1200.

 The following weekend I was asked to travel with the the team to Dublin to compete in the DCU (Dublin College University) competition as the UL barebow beginner. DCU was very different than UL Halloween shoot. The Halloween shoot was laid back and fun, we had some great craic and laughs. The DCU was more intense but I still got a rush from competing again.

The last time I was in a competition was in high school for the Oregon State Band and Orchestra contest and State Solo. Since college began I haven't had the rush of competition, the nervousness that boils in your stomach nor the overjoyed feeling you get when your name is called at the end.
I won first place in barebow at DCU, as well as helped win two team trophies for UL. This was the first time I went to Dublin and I left with gold. :)

 

Above is the UL Archery Team that competed at DCU on November 10, 2012.

We won:

1st place in Compound

2nd place in Barebow

2nd place in Mix Team

6 separate 1st and 2nd place metals for archers on our team