Leaving Colorado; Flying to Ireland

So, I'm leaving the Colorado sunsets behind for the rainy greenery of Cork, Ireland. I definitely will miss the more-than-majestic Colorado Rocky Mountains, but I'm pretty excited for a new side of the world (and what I hear has some of the most stunning scenery in the world).


The day ahead:

• Beginning (and finishing packing)


• Food


• Leaving for the airport at 4:30 pm, MST, hopefully arriving by 5:15-ish.


• Check in with British air and confirming my seat (let's hope it's a good one)


• If all goes to plan, my plane leaves for London at 8:15 MST.
  

The Flight:

• 8h, 55m, direct to London-Heathrow Airport. Should arrive there around noon London time on Tuesday, 20 August (that's 5 AM MST).


• Two hour layover in London, most of which will be spent finding/getting to my connecting terminal


• British Air flight to Cork, leaving 2:15 PM London time.


• I should be in Cork by 4 pm their time...9 AM Denver time!


• I'll hopefully check into my accomodations, after a 15 Euro taxi ride, by 6 pm

The Vitals of my stay in Ireland (my own research, after discovering word-of-mouth was way off...sorry for my earlier misinformation):

• Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland (second to Dublin), but it is nowhere near the population of Denver.


• I will be living 10 minutes walking-distance from campus in some pretty sweet digs (visit farranleahall.ie)


• Cork is in Southwest Ireland; day-trips to Killarney, Blarney Castle, and the Coast are not unheard of.


• Murphy's, not Guiness, beer is the most popular drink in Cork pubs (Guiness is still a favorite)...and there are plenty of pubs where I'll be living.


• I will begin Orientation for my Eary Start program on Friday, 24 August.


• I am connected, for now, via Skype...an internet calling service that pretty much rocks. Skype to Skype calls are free, and so if you get the service (which is free to download), look me up at mary.jean.omalley


• I also have a webcam, so may I'll be video-blogging at one point. Here's a screen capture from my new Logitech device:

I am surely excited but super-nervous about flying alone and arriving at Farranlea Hall. The good news is, I will have internet access when I do arrive and all of the appropriate connecting cords, so I can immediately call home and feel better about whatever I had to go through to arrive in Cork.

And, it's all setting in that I am leaving behind everything familiar. I will definitely miss my friends and family. I hsd a good two weeks home, and I'm ready to leave, but the time went by all too quickly.

It's hard to describe just how I feel about leaving and what I will miss most, but just know that this is one of the hardest things I've had to grapple with so far in all of the planning and preparation.

I'm sure it will be fine, but it is very difficult to think about.

See you in Cork,

~MJ

The pictures are from my camping excursion I went on last week with the best friends a girl can have.
Thanks Sam; Thanks Rande.