A Brief Catch Up!

Hello everyone and welcome back to my blog! 

Semester 2 has begun here in Missoula and I am loving being back here!! I apologize for not uploading my last two weeks in Missoula from before Christmas break. Once I got to New York I thought I would have had time to post it, and I didn't. And then once I got back home to Ireland it was non stop going! This post is just going to be a catch up of everything so it's going to be a little bit of everything that happened between my last two weeks in Missoula, to my time in New York, to my 4.5 weeks at home, and my travels back to the states again. It's going to be a long one, but the pictures are worth it



Missoula
Basically to sum it all up, my last two weeks in Missoula was spent studying for my final exams, preparing presentations and writing papers. In two nights, I wrote two separate 14 page papers, pretty impressive I know! About two weeks or so after getting home I got my exam results, A, A- and B. I also passed my Hunter Check Station class, would be hard not to when my paper turned out to be at 14 pages right?! I got a B in my Vertebrate Design and Evolution class which was pretty incredible considering how I was doing in that class at the start of the semester.. Got an A in my Wildlife Physiological Ecology class so YAY, and the A- was in my Wildlife Habitat Conservation and Management class. So overall, I'm a pretty happy camper! We had our farewell dinner for Elliot and James during this week also. The last supper of the Bison Bunch...for now....


New York
Christmas break was just brilliant. First I was in New York for a couple of days, my Dad brought me to see the Radio City Christmas Show - brilliant! And then we wandered around Manhattan so I could get to see 'Christmas in New York'. VERY different to the New York I'm used to seeing every summer when it's blazing hot and you can't walk a few steps without wanting to pass out from heat stroke.. I got to see the famous Rockefeller tree which was gorgeous! And we also took a walk into St. Patrick's Cathedral. That night I got a message from one of the guys in my college course saying he had a 13hr (I think) layover in JFK airport between his flights home and he wanted to meet up and see New York. So at about 9.30 am I met Tadhg in Times Square and we walked to Central Park, Times Square (of course), Brooklyn Bridge, Grand Central and also the Rockefeller tree too.

Radio City Christmas Show :D

The famous Rockefeller Tree.

I forgot to mention meeting Tom Vaughan-Lawlor, the actor who plays Nidge from Love/Hate while we were strolling around Times Square. Also, if you're Irish and don't know this man, shame on you!

Brooklyn Bridge :)

Grand Central Station -  a lot quieter now than in the summer time.

Ireland
My flight home was the next evening.. Mom and Aisling collected Dad and I from the airport.. Everyday / night while I was at home, I was doing something different with family / friends / cousins. The reunion between me and my dog though was probably the cutest thing ever. He couldn't stop smiling and also following me around everywhere that I went for the first week. I think he was afraid I was going to leave him again :P Every night we were calling to somebody else's house and having food/drinks or card games. Between my Mom's side of the family and my Dad's side, it really was brilliant! Especially having the American cousins home for the Christmas too :D

Got to spend a week in Cork with all my college friends while I was hopping from one house to the other, thank you to my hosts, Nicole, Av and my sister, Aisling, for putting up with me! I got to speak to some of my lecturers when I got home and they were delighted to hear from me and get some feedback in person. Seeing everyone was SO good especially when it had been like 7 months since I had seen most of my college friends (madness!). Nic, Av and I went to see Into The Woods one night in Cork and Meryl Streep did such a fantastic job in that movie! Another night, we went out in Cork after predrinks at Dave's house for his birthday/going away party.

 I forgot how expensive it is to go out in Cork after being here in Missoula and also going out in Killorglin a good few times over the holidays. On the night's out in Killorglin, I was with my cousins, sister and her friends and literally so much fun and such an absolute laugh was had! It cannot be put into words how much I thoroughly enjoyed my Christmas break at home. But I'm on a serious liver detox for a while! It was so nice to get to see everyone again and those who made the effort to see me or do something over the break, it was greatly appreciated (even if it was only like 5 mins)!!

If this picture doesn't sum up how happy this dog was to see me, I don't know what does. Oh, he also REALLY like this new jumper I got him here in America haha.

Christmas Eve in the Foley Household - note the matching Olaf jumpers.

Foley family Christmas selfie of 2014.

Onesie night on New Years Eve with the Foley girls.

REUNION! Girls night out in Cork for cocktails (+meghan).

My last night out in Killorglin for Gavin's 21st birthday with these beauties. Making Christmas all the better. Love them <3

New York
Flew from Dublin to New York on the 19th of January. Got home from the airport, very hungry and very tired. The next morning, I was meeting Fiona in Flushing after all her travels over the Christmas. We came back home, relaxed for a small while, and then headed into Manhattan. Our first day we wandered all around Central Park discovering some new statues I had never seen before. Our second day, we ate lunch in the restaurant I used to work in - Phebe's, and then we went and did Top of the Rock (it's an observation deck on the top of the Rockefeller Center). And the views were just incredible! I could have happily just stood up there and admired Manhattan for days on end.

Reading with Hans Christian Anderson

Playing Hide 'n' Seek with the Three Bears.

The view of Manhattan from Top of the Rock.

Chillin out with Alice in Wonderland.

Missoula
Our flight to Missoula left on Jauary 22nd from JFK. We had connections in Boston and Minneapolis, neither of the planes had any tv's in them so I got to finish off one of my books I bought at home - Girl Online by Zoe Sugg, a British YouTuber. My Missoula Mom, Shannon, collected me at the airport and she brought me some homemade soup and also homemade oatmeal cookies - YUMMY!! The next morning I unpacked my bags and found my Cadbury's chocolate had melted I'm assuming due to the underfloor heating in my bedroom. I wasn't impressed but at least they'll still taste nice! So I popped them into the freezer for a while and they were (almost) as good as new! I was no longer back when , I was dying with the flu. So in order to be a good patient and rest up - I started watching Game of Thrones. By the Sunday night I had finished Season 1 - hooked is an understatement!


Surprised by the lack of snow we arrived back to here in Missoula. But it's been a pretty mild enough winter apparently. This weekend is just going to be a lot of rest and recuperation after my hectic Christmas at home and also my busy two days around Manhattan.

Sorry this went up so late, I literally had another post typed up and ready to post once I got to New York but I was having too much fun and kind of forgot about it for the longest time (not a bad complaint really?!).

Thank you again to everyone who reads this blog! I was incredibly surprised by the amount of people I haven't spoken to in a good while that told me over Christmas they read it. I like doing it and once this year is over (can it never be over?!) I'll have something to be able to look back on and read what I did during my time in Missoula, Montana.

Thanks for reading,

- Shannen.