A Cheeseburger and an Art Gallery

There is nothing quite like 'flying by the seat of your pants'. Elizabeth and I only have a 2-hour microbiology lab on Fridays with a great 100% strong Irish-accented professor named Paddy. He has to help us with nearly every lab experiment that we perform because 1. half the time we totally miss what he is saying due to his ever-so-thick accent 2. we are not yet advanced in the skills necessary to perform simple KOH, oxidase, and gram stain tests (although we are getting there), and 3. I think we over-pay-attention, because this guy can be a jokester, and we just take everything that he says so seriously...so we miss what he really means for us to do in our labs. All in all, a few hour-long after-class sessions with Paddy and his amusing stories of historical scientists and their discoveries (he knows dates, names, origins, nearly every detail of these scientists and their biological/microbial findings) will set us on track. We just love his accent..."These gram positive cocci which can cause M.R.S.A.".. (they say the letters here...not MRSA (one word) like we say in the States). Microbiology is just more interesting with his accent...

Later, our stomachs growling, and after a class with a 100% Irish-accented man...we thought "why not go out and increase our heme iron stores with a 100% Irish hamburger?" Allow me to explain our reasoning... We pass a restaurant called 'Bobo's' on our walk to school everyday. The smells seeping through the walls of this little establishment have tempted us since the first day we walked into D.I.T. We have set many dates for lunch at 'Bobo's', but for one reason or another...these dates get cancelled. Their burgers are amazing. I think I like 100% Irish beef...Mmm...Elizabeth loved hers too...

With our bellies full, we were very eager to begin the trek to the IMMA (Irish Museum of Modern Art). We had planned to attend quite some time ago...and Friday seemed fitting. The art was pretty interesting. When you hear the word 'Modern' in the title of any museum, it is imperative to enter the building with an open mind for art. My favorite piece we read actually involved occurrences in Marion, IN in 1939. It was such a great piece of work..I cannot even describe it other than that it had 2-dollar bills all over it.

Our last siting was the formal gardens of the museum. They were beautiful....just like 'The Secret Garden'. Marie, it was nearly our dream come true. Funny thing...I turned on our televison the next day, and on one of the four channels that we get, was the actual movie 'The Secret Garden'. It seems like the timing in everything that has occured in Ireland is near perfect. I don't know what it is about this island...(Just look past those eye-sore cranes)Inside the labyrinth....like 'Harry Potter' or 'The Shining'.

This trip was pretty amazing, but we are on to planning our next trip which will be this coming Wednesday and Thursday: Scotland. (We don't have school). I originally wanted to study in Scotland, but my program was not offered in the country. Fortunately, I am happy right where I am.