Home For The Holidays......Finally!

Hi All!

I have been back in the USA for exactly one week visiting family and friends.  What many of you do not know is that I almost spent Christmas in Ireland.  Europe has been receiving record snowfalls lately and it has caused many inconveniences.  During the week of December 20th,  airports all around Europe and the UK were closing and flights were being canceled daily.  I was scheduled to fly home for Christmas on December 23rd.  You have no idea how much praying I did during the week of December 20th.  I was checking the weather forecast every hour of every day up until the 23rd. All the forecast said it was going to be sunny, but I should have known better.
My flight was for 8:40am, and being the super prepared person that I am, I arrived at the Dublin Airport for 4:45am thinking no one would be there that early and I would be first in line for my flight.  When I arrived at the airport at 4:45am, the building was packed.  There were long lines, screaming children, and angry customers yelling at airport officials.  Since flights had been canceled and delayed all week, there was a backlog of flights still waiting to take-off.  After checking the monitors I was very happy to see the Delta flight I was scheduled for was on-time.  After waiting in line to check my luggage, I quickly went through security, USA Immigration, and then on to my gate.  At this point I was so happy I was giddy!  I had made it this far so the plane had to take off.  Waiting to board the plane I talked to many passengers, mainly students like myself, all anxious to get home for the holidays. 
 
We finally boarded the plane and you could hear everyone talking about family members meeting them at the airport in Atlanta and in other destinations that they had not seen in months.  All of our carry-on luggage was stored away above our heads and our seat belts were on.  All of a sudden, the announcement we had been dreaded happened. "Would everyone please quite down for a second, the captain would like to make an important message."  Everyone cringed, not knowing what to think; and then it happened. The captain came on over the speaker and said "I am sorry to inform you, but everyone needs to disembark the plane, the Dublin Airport and runways have been closed until further notice due to a heavy snowfall that happened an hour ago".

People were crying, there was a lot of sighing, and no one was laughing anymore.  The morale of the passengers had completely gone down the drain.  Not to worry though, the morale quickly improved once everyone was back outside the gate.  Some of my fellow passengers opened their carry-on bags, took out their duty-free alcohol (Jameson Whisky), and passed the bottles around. After about 30 minutes people were starting to laugh once again.  We kept peering outside looking at the snow falling and wishing it would stop.  Every time we thought it was starting to slack off the sky would turn gray once again and the snowflakes would become thicker and fall even harder.

After three hours of waiting outside the gate, the pilot came out and told us the runway was going to open for our flight and the other three transatlantic flights in one hour.  There was another snowfall heading towards Dublin and we had a one and a half hour window in which all four flights had to take off or the flights would be canceled.  He then told us to start boarding the plane right away so the airport workers could sweep all the snow off the plane and start the de-icing process.  After boarding the plane a second time, no one said anything.  We were afraid to!  We did not want to get our hopes up again.  With the snow swept off plane and the de-icing fluid fully covering the plane, we were set to go. Then.....the pilot made another announcement.

The runway was still icy, but safe enough (so they said) for the four planes to leave.  Parents were to hold their children on their laps and to strap them in tightly, but safely.  Even though the plane had a good grip on the runway, the pilot did not want to take any chances with people, equipment, or luggage moving around if the plane happened to slip on the ice.

At 1:21pm the flight to Atlanta finally took off from the Dublin Airport heading to Atlanta with passengers cheering and crying.  We were going to make it home for Christmas.  I can't lie; I had a few tears in my eyes too. 

If my flight to Atlanta would have been canceled and I could not fly home for Christmas, I had plenty of places to stay for the holidays.  I have many wonderful friends in Ireland who all opened their homes to me for the holidays and I cannot thank them enough for their generosity.

On the 24th of December I was watching the news with my family when there was a segment about how over 300 flights from Atlanta to the rest of the USA had been canceled due to heavy snowfall in Atlanta.  Some of those flights were to Lafayette.  My family and I looked at each other and our mouths dropped.  I could have been on one of those flights that were canceled.  If I would have left one day later from Dublin (if I could even get out) to Atlanta, I would have been stranded in Atlanta.  I like to think I had an angel looking out for me during my journey home for the holidays.  There were so many close calls, but every time something got in my way I barrelled through and kept thinking positive.  I was going home for the holidays and by golly I made it home just like I said I would! 

Love Always,
Amanda

The Story of Some Very Dedicated Students

Hi All!

As most of you know, today I had my last exam of the semester. My story does not start here though, oh no, the story I am about to tell you began last night while studying in the library, which closed two hours early thank you very much, due to heavy snowfall. For most people this would not be a problem, but I had an exam today so the library closing early was not good news.

Anyway, back to the story. As a student, I am constantly praying to God asking for help and confidence to do well in my studies. Last night some friends of mine got very creative with a prayer, asking for our exams to be canceled and such. The prayer goes like this....

Our Snow God
Who Art In Snow
Heaven Snowflake Be Thy Name
Let Our Exam Be Undone
In Smurfit As It May Be In Heaven
Give Us This Night
Our Severe Frosts
And Forgive Us For Not Studying
As We Forgive Those
Who Are Not Studying With Us
And Lead Us Not Into Ice
But Deliver Us A Peat Fire At Home
For Thine Is The Severe Cold
The Frost And The Snow
Forever And Ever
Snowmen

Now, you can just imagine all the snow dances we were doing, hoping our exam would be canceled. And yes, we were really dancing. I woke up around 6am this morning to continue my studying for the exam at 3pm. My friends and I were constantly checking the university web page seeing what was happening and looking for exam updates. We got an update all right. Exams were canceled, but only from 6pm tonight onwards. Humph.... Now just imagine, it is snowing so hard I can barely see out my window, yet the university expects me to hike it into the city center for my exam. All exams are held about 15 minutes away by taxi or 20 minutes away by bus at a huge concert hall.

When we realised the exam was still on we decided to call a taxi and have one bring us to the concert hall. But noooooooo, taxis were not running today because the weather was so bad and the roads were in horrible condition. Yet again, let me remind you, the exam was still on!! Then we thought, hmmmmm lets walk it into Blackrock and take the DART (train) to the closest station near the hall and then walk towards the hall. Sounds great doesn't it? We thought so too, until we heard on the news that some of the rail lines were down because the tracks were freezing over. At this point myself and the others just about lost it. How the heck were we supposed to make it to our exam on time, walk? We ended up not walking, thank God. We left our house two hours before the exam and were barely able to catch the train, but we did. And because of the weather conditions, the train had to go super slow.

Now, you might be thinking, at least she caught the train so she must have made it to the exam okay with very little stress. Well my friends, you would be wrong. Remember, the train only took us to the closest station near the exam hall, not right to it. Once off the train, the snow really began to fall. It was already snowing heavily before, but now it was worse. You could not see 20 feet in front of you. And to make matters worse, so much snow had piled up you could not see where the street and sidewalk met even with a curb. We had received that much snow in 24 hours. Once arriving at the exam hall every one of us looked like snowmen. Really? Even thought I had an umbrella, the snow was coming down at such angles I could not avoid it. We looked quite funny. Anyway, we did make it to the exam on time and now all my exams are officially over. Woooooohooooooo! I can finally start celebrating Christmas! I will be on that plane Thursday morning heading towards the United States so please say a few prayers for me that it takes off. I am very excited to be coming home for a few weeks to visit with my family and friends over the holidays.

Love Always,
Amanda

Final Exams and MORE SNOW!!

Hi Everyone!

As of today, I am three days and one final exam away from flying home to Lafayette.  And I will fly home!!!  Today, Dublin received about 5 inches of snow in a matter of hours and the airport closed down from what I have heard.  But, as I tell my study group everyday, "Think positive people, think positive!"  I am posting a video from youtube.com that one of the librarians at my university sent me.  Yes, I am friends with all the librarians at the UCD Blackrock Libray.  I spend enought time there.....and you know how I love to talk.  :)  Anyway, this video is a collaboration of photos of Dublin covered in snow.  The song from the video is called Fairytale of New York and it is performed by the The Pogues.  I cannot wait to see everyone when I return!

Love Always,
Amanda

My Irish 26th Birthday

For my birthday, my friends surprised me with a night out in the city.  I sort of kept my birthday a secret this year, not wanting too many people to know.  Little did I know, they all knew.  Below is a picture from Friday evening.

Love Always,
Amanda

 

 

More Snow??????

Hi!  Is it possible?  More snow??  As the Irish say, "yep" more snow.  Knock on wood though, there is no more snow in the forcast for this week.  As I write this though, it is 28 degress outside, so who knows.  :)
Enjoy!
Love Always,
Amanda

How Much Snow?

Hello From Snowy Snowy Ireland!

A few people have asked recently, how much snow am I actually receiving?   Well, to answer everyone's question I am posting more pictures.  Ireland has not seen snow like this since 1963 so this is a huge deal to everyone.  I have already had three days of class cancelled.   When I am not studying in my room, you can find me outside with a camera in my hand clicking away taking photos.  If I had to guesstimate how much snow we have received to date, I would say maybe half-a-foot.  Enjoy the pictures!

Love Always,

Amanda