Parties

People just collect at my apartment. I love it! It is just like at 340 Stonemill. Sometimes I will go into the kitchen and find 4 lads on their computers or watching TV without any of my roommates around. I think that a lot of it has to do with the fact that some of them live pretty far off campus and do not want to walk all the way home between classes. Also, we have neighbors who have a very messy apartment so they come over to escape the mess. One day Ryan was here from 10-6 just on his computer and hanging out. It is a good thing that I bought my fan for white noise because the apartment is noisy with all the activity. What a good 15 euro investment. Yer man at the store did not know what a fan was. "Like a cooling fan?" He had to go to the back storage to get it for me. Then he asked if I was sure that I wanted it for use in Ireland and where I was that was so hot that I needed a fan. I said I needed it for noise and he suggested that I get a "bad-ass sound system." Oh, the Irish.

Since I have been here we have had a party each week. That adds up to a lot of
mess and trash. But it has been great! We had a very successful surprise birthday party for Ryan, who is very surprised in the picture, where he got 18 kisses and two songs in addition to Happy Birthday. It was a fun different tradition. I met most of the people I hang out with now there. We played twister and when "Stacy's Mom" came on they lifted Patsy, the legend, (if you want to know more visit patsyland on Facebook) up in the air and sag Patsy's mom has got it going on. I am not really sure why they do it. I think mostly because it rhymes and because Patsy is a legend.

Since then we have had another surprise birthday party for Alan, who was not surprised because somebody gave it away. Oh well, it was still fun. We have had two other parties since but they have been lower key. Tomorrow we are having a "kick off rag week party." Rag week stands for Raise and Give and is a week for raising money for charity. Well in actuality it is a week of day drinking. I am not so sure what I think about this. Apparently everyone skips class all week and goes to the events that are held. Usually there are activities each day like carnivals and concerts in the Student Union and bungee jumping. This year they have changed the name to Charity week because RAG week has such a bad connotation. RAG week goes on all over the country. All of this is sponsored by the Student Union, which I think is so strange. We do not have anything involving alcohol sponsored by UD. But that is the difference with the drinking age and the culture here. For instance, a couple of weeks ago, there was jelly (KY style, grody!) wrestling at the SU bar. This is one of the most degrading things for women to do, go in their bathing suits to wrestle each other while men watch and yell at them, but it was a school funded activity!

Anyway, this year they are having just one big event on Wednesday and not much else for the rest of the week. The event is The Gathering, a huge concert from noon to midnight on campus. Classes are canceled and there are three stages. There are about 10 bands coming, all of which I have never heard of before coming here, but I bought a ticket because everyone else seemed so into it. I was sad to see my 30 euro go, but hopefully it will be a good time. There will be an oxygen bar there, where you get pure oxygen hookah style, which I do not plan to take part in. Some are very excited about it though. One of my teachers is livid about her class being canceled. She was talking about holding it in a hotel down the street in rebellion. She is Professor McGonagall from my post about classes and definitely a hippie boycotter. To say the least, this next week will be interesting.