3.5 weeks and counting...

I am officially 2 weeks closer to being a doctor (roughly 258 weeks to go). I'm not going to lie, there have been some moments in the past few weeks where I have wondered what on earth I've signed myself up for. All in all though, things have been good and I am happy to be here. I am really enjoying my classes and am slowly getting to know my classmates. The lecturers at this university have so far been really, really great! They have been really good about teaching all of the basic science material in a very applied way which helps to make it interesting and motivating to learn. There's no doubt though that the next 5 years are going to be a lot of work.

The last couple weeks have given me the full experience of what Irish weather can be like. My first two weeks here it was beautiful. Many day of sunshine and blue sky with only occasional rain. This past week, we were getting weather from the tail end of hurricane Gordon and it was CRAZY!! The rain was coming down in ropes for 4 days straight paired with really strong winds. I would get to class soaking wet and be that way most of the day. In order to help with this problem, I've purchased my first pair of Wellies rubber boots (brown with pink flowers of course).

Outside of school, I have been keeping busy with running, biking, swimming, studying, and learning my way around the area. Clubs day took place at the unversity the other day. They don't have sports teams or intramurals organized by the university here; instead, it all happens in the form of clubs that are student organized and operated. There are a million options from darts to archery, to martial arts, to video games, triathlon, irish football, rowing...etc. I had the thought that while here by myself, I would take advantage of the opportunity to learn something totally new. I signed up for Tae Kwon Do because I was really impressed by this guy running and doing a flying kick over four crouched people to break a board on the other side. Unfortunately, my membership in that club lasted only about 2 hours until I got home and remembered that I hate fighting so joining a club that involves learning to fight might not be the best choice for me. Really dumb idea. I'm no longer in the club and have decided to stick more or less to what I know. I joined the mountaineering and surfing clubs, both of which seem more like my speed.

Last Saturday I went on a my first bike excursion to a town called Oughterard (roughly pronounced 'oocht-er-ard'). It is a very small town northwest of Galway. I chose to go there because it is located on the edge of Loch Corrib (Corrib lake), the biggest lake in Ireland and it is the start of a popular walking trail called the Western Way (crosses the Maumturk mountain range). My plan was to take the quick route to Oughterard on the highway so I could explore the lake and ride the first 15 km of the Western Way once I got there. According to my map, Oughterard is a straight shot 27km up the N59. No turns or junctions. Easy. Good thing because I forgot my map. For the first 3-5 km there was a wide shoulder that was perfect for riding. Then...it abruptly ended. I had to stop and gather the courage to keep going. I finally made my move out onto the road and then pedalled like mad. After about 3km of riding on the highway, I was ready to go home. The speed limit is 100km/hr, it's 2 lanes and the "shoulder" is about an inch wide (just enough space so they don't any grass or leaves in the yellow line paint). The bail-out option should a car or bus come too close is generally a stone wall covered in blackberry bushes. Not good choices. The other really awesome thing about the highway is the puddles. Since it was raining, each car or truck that went by where there was a puddle gave me a head to toe shower in mucky water.

The end of the shoulder

Totally drenched, I ducked off the highway at my first opportunity and since I didn't have a map, asked a local farmer for directions to Oughterard via the back roads. "Take your first left at the lights and follow the road until you reach the highway. It's a good long way and all up hill but nice and quiet for biking". Okay. Off I went in the rain. The road to Oughterard was very quiet and scenic; mostly small farms and two golf courses. After a couple of hours (he was right about the uphill part), I reached the highway. Dead end. I had no choice but to get back on it and ride it into town. Luckily, town limits were within a couple kilometers of the junction and the speed slowed to 60km/hr. I was really happy to see that sign. Unfortunately, it was not Oughterard, but a town called Moycullen. Oughterard was still another 15km down the highway....
First stop in Moycullen: The bookstore to buy a map so I could take the backroads to Oughterard. Thankfully, this country is very well covered with small country roads. The map showed I could make my way to Oughterard with only about another 2km of highway riding and a lot of weaving.
When I got to town, my 27km ride had turned into 55km but at least I was alive to tell the story and I had a very beautiful ride along the lake. From town, I continued along the lake for 15 km to the end of the road section of the Western Way. I was right at the base of the Maumturk mountains which was really spectacular. I can't wait for Chris to get here so we can head into those mountains together and see the rest of the Western Way. The lake itself is long and narrow with many little islands throughout. The islands and surrounding are are very lush and green. I rode through some forest reserves that reminded me a lot of the west coast of B.C. There are also church ruins on some of the islands that you can hire a boat to visit. I didn't see much for wildlife other than rodents, birds and fish but I sure do enjoy the farm animals. I visited with lots of donkeys, horses, dogs, cats and sheep along the way. A few fun stories:

I stopped and had my lunch near a really cute little donkey. He ate more of my carrots than I did then reached through the fence to give me a nuzzle on the cheek.

I stopped near a field of horses to check my map. The horses immediately came to the fence to check me out and gave my bike a thorough inspection. It was all fine until one of them bit my handlebar and wouldn't let go. He ended up biting through my grip tape.

Horses inspecting my bike

This horse would make that face each time something touched it's lips.

(There's a prize for the person who can come up with the best caption for the picture)

I was chased my many large (and small) angry dogs. Dog bylaws are new to Ireland and it doesn't seem that the local farmers have bought in to the program yet. The dogs are simply doing what they've been trained to do...protecting the heard. Biking guidelines suggest that you don't ride away from a dog that is aggressively chasing you as you stimulate its chase instinct. Therefore, I had to repeatedly defy my own instincts to pedal like mad and instead stop to 'face the dog sqarely, make eye contact and appear dominant' as they growled, barked and showed me their teeth. A couple of the dogs looked especially mean and determined to attack me so I thought I should maybe yell at them. I don't think my 'yells' sounded very dominant. Eventually, the showdown would end and I could slink away without being chased. I survived the day with all four limbs but I'm sure the graph from my heartrate monitor would show some pretty dramatic spikes.
After nearly 90 km of biking, I was very tired and ready to catch the bus home. I had a great day and saw some beautiful countryside. Ireland is like a well designed garden path- it always keeps you moving forward to see what's around the next bend. Here are some more pictures from my day:

Loch Corrib

Country Road

Loch Corrib

Loch Corrib with the Maumturk Mountains in the background

I am loving living by the ocean and try to take advantage of it as much as possible. I might have mentioned this already but Galway has a number of "blue flag" beaches (designated that way because of the clean water). One of them (Blackrock Beach) is just 1.5km from my house. I go there as often as possible to swim. The water is cold (about 15 celcius right now); it takes your breath away at first but is nice once you're in and there's a nice firm sandy bottom). I also enjoy going for walks or runs along the 'prom'. This city feels really alive all of the time. Any day of the week, morning or night, you can head down to shop street or the Spanish Parade and there are people everywhere. There are many buskers that also help make the atmosphere great...anything from musicians to human statues, to people giving sermons. The weekend market is also really fun. It is right downtown and there are stands selling everything including clothes, jewelry, pottery, paintings, bread, meat, cheese, produce, jam, incense...you name it. I go there every weekend to visit the guys who sell olives, artichokes, hummus and feta cheese...yummy!!

Blackrock Beach

Musicians on Shop Street

One man (and some stuffed toys) band

Anyway, that's all for now. Thanks again to everyone who's been posting comments, e-mailing and calling. Love Kell