Ireland, Harry Potter, and Hunger Games Oh My!

                Wow! I haven’t posted in such a long time and for that reason, I have a mountain of things to talk about. At the end of October, we had a week off from classes called “reading week,” which is supposed to be used for reading, but most of the study abroad students used for traveling. I used it for both, as my friends and I went to Ireland and I did some assignments.

Me and My Leaf at Blarney

                We were there for two days and during that time we did some sightseeing in Dublin and went to Blarney Castle. Our first day was in Dublin and we started off by going to Trinity College, home to one of the most beautiful libraries I have ever seen. It was full of books from every genre as well as artifacts that dealt with literature. I could’ve spent days in that library, but as we were there for only a limited amount of time, I couldn’t. After that, we went to a fifties diner that served American food and in all our time in Europe, we all agreed that it was one of the best meals we had ever had, and as the day went on, we found that Ireland was full of great food (there were some great pot pies there)!

                After lunch, we went on a train bus car tour and it was awesome because we were the only ones on it and we got to listen to some authentic Irish music as we drove through the streets of Dublin. We got to see many great sites like the Guinness Brewery, the Millennium Needle, the Oscar Wilde Statue, the Ha’penny Bridge, and all the colourful doors of Ireland that were painted so that people in the 1800s’ knew what door was theirs after a rough night at the pub. It was a cool place to see and I can now check it off my bucket list.

                My favourite place in Ireland by far was Blarney Castle. My friends and I filmed ourselves exploring castle and we had a great time doing it. I also found a giant leaf, the largest I have ever seen, and got great pictures with me and it outside the castle. After the exploring the grounds, we wandered into the castle and up its steep and narrow stairs to the top where the infamous Blarney Stone was. My friend Caitlyn was the first to go and it was a bigger drop than she realized and it was quite a traumatic experience as you have to lay upside down, over a hole, at least a hundred feet of the ground, and kiss a stone. Her reaction was understandable and mimicked by the next person to go, our friend Regina. When I went, it was pretty easy, as my height was a help and Liz handled it pretty well too. It was a fun experience and it definitely helped my luck (more to come on that later). Following our exploring, we got some more delicious food, a piece of chocolate cake and ice cream for me, at a bar where a children’s Halloween party was being held, which we found to be funny.

                Ireland was a beautiful place to visit. When we took a train to Blarney, we got to view the countryside and it was most vibrant green that I have ever seen. I loved the people and the culture, as they were all so friendly and the food was absolutely wonderful.

                My entry about Ireland would not be complete without one final story about our ride to the airport. We had a flight at 8:45 on Halloween morning and for that reason, we had to leave our hostel at 6:20. We had booked a shuttle to the airport through our hostel and as we were waiting in the alleyway outside, multiple cars drove past, including a taxi who offered to take us to the airport and truck that sat idly with the driver in its seat, but not a one was our shuttle. That all changed when a black van drove down the alleyway bearing the words “mystery bus?” on its side. A man with an accent that sounded either vaguely Polish or Ukranian got out and asked for six euros for the shuttle ride as he pulled out his Ziploc bag full of money. We gave it to him, gave him our bags, and got in the van, realizing as we pulled out of the alleyway that this was the beginning of Criminal Minds episode. Obviously, we were not murdered (unless I am ghost typing this from the great beyond) but it sure makes for a great story.

                In other news, when we returned from Ireland, Caitlyn and I hit up Platform 9 ¾. To say the least, it was amazing, and despite the long line it was worth the wait. We also got to go into the Harry Potter gift shop located at King’s Cross, and we both got shirts that had the platform number on them and said that they were from London, which we found to be pretty cool.

Me and Caitlyn in Weasley's Car

                While on the topic of Harry Potter, the next week Caitlyn, our friend Sydney, and I went to the Harry Potter studio tour and it will forever be one my favourite things that I have done. It was an hour and a half away from where I go to school, so after two trains and a bus, we arrived at the studio and I was probably at one of my most high levels of excitement ever. Right away, we got our pictures taken with some chess pieces from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and then after, we headed in and

got in line for our tour. The tour was amazing and I may have cried more than once. The tour had everything I wanted to see and more! We got to see the Great Hall, Harry’s first Hogwarts robes, the Gryffindor bed chambers, the common room, the Mirror of Erised, Hagrid’s hut, Dumbledore’s office, the Potions classroom, Number four Privet Drive, the Knight Bus, Aragog, Hogwarts, the Burrow, the Ministry of Magic, Diagon Alley, the Weasley’s car, and so many more items from the movies. As I walked around, my butter beer in hand, meandering through Privet Drive, I felt as though I had come home to the place where I had always wanted to be. I hated to leave, but at least to go to back to school with my very own authentic Weasley sweater.

                In another instance of pure fan-girling, last Monday, my friends Molly and Nadira, and I went into London for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part One World Premiere. Since I found out I was going to be studying abroad in London, I had been hoping to be able to attend the premiere of this movie, since I knew that they would be holding one here. When I found out where it was going to be and what date, I made sure to tell my friends so we could clear our schedules. Originally, there was going to be more of us going, but when Molly and I decided to go with Nadira, and another girl from study abroad into London early to see the poppy display at the Tower of London in

Nadira, Molly, and Me at the Poppies

remembrance of World War I, we decided to get to the premiere even earlier, and while our friends said they were going to meet at it, it never worked out, as there were a great number of people there and they wouldn’t have been able to get a spot, since we couldn’t save any.

Josh Hutcherson

Me and Sam Claflin

                After seeing the poppies, we got to Leicester Square, where the premiere was taking place, at around 11:30, and saw all the people already waiting around. My hopes were not high for getting to see any of the stars or even getting a place, but we got the wristbands needed to get in anyways, ours being numbers 725, 726, and 727 out of over 1000, and we waited for our numbers to be called so we could get our places along the barricades. We were placed at around 3:00, and originally, we were farther back and were told that we most likely wouldn’t be able to get autographs, but it a moment of pure luck (it must have been the Blarney Stone) all the people with wristbands were told to move to the front, and we got a place right against the barricade.

Liam Hemsworth

                The premiere didn’t start until 5:30, so we waited around in the elements, mostly the rain and the cold, and tried to deal with the people already pressing into us to get closer. Still, despite our position, I was not getting my hopes up that I would get to see the stars, but when the premiere began, I found that I should’ve, because our waiting had paid off. At 5:30, the premiere began and the energy was high. Along the lines, cameramen walked, telling us to cheer (I later found out that this was for the live stream, and when I watched it back, I saw myself on there, which was both entertaining and embarrassing). There was a lot of cheering and even more when the cars full of the stars drove past us. One of the first people to get out was Jena Malone (Johanna Mason) and she made her way down by us right away and started doing autographs. I had bought a book especially for the occasion, so when she got to me, I had my book ready and she was able to sign it. I was so excited, and back home in the US, my mom was watching the live stream online and saw it happen, and she too got very excited. That night, she told me how happy she was that I had gone to London, and that I had made the right choice in going, and I agreed with her.

Me and Jennifer Lawrence

Me, Nadira, and Sam Claflin

                As the cars drove up and the stars got out, I was totally fan-girling. I was taking tons of pictures and trying hard to get autographs, which paid off, because I got Liam Hemsworth’s (Gale Hawthorne), Sam Claflin’s (Finnick Odair), Josh Hutcherson’s (Peeta Mellark- love!), and Jennifer Lawerence’s (Katniss)! I was so excited and I couldn’t stop smiling. My happiness increased when I was able to get some photos with Sam Clafflin, which now are basically my screen on everything. It was such an amazing experience and all the stars were incredibly nice. They made sure that they got to do as many autographs as possible and were running back and forth between that and taking pictures to do so. Even now as I think about it, I still break out in a smile and I cannot fully believe my luck. The odds were definitely in my favour and now I am even more excited to see the film, which I am going to on Wednesday of this week.

Me and Jena Malone

So far, this trip has been absolutely amazing, and while I am still acclimating to the educational system when it comes to assignments, I am having a wonderful time and doing things that I never dreamed that I would have the opportunity to. Next week, I will be heading off to Amsterdam with some friends over Thanksgiving, where I will go to the Anne Frank House and do some more fan-girling at The Fault in Our Stars bench. It should be exciting!