Ballyvaughan

So the last few days have been pretty busy so I'll split up this blog into two just to make it easier for ya'll to read. On Saturday, the 8th we had a tour of the town we're staying in called Ballyvaughan. (For those of you who live in the valley and think Holtville and El Centro are small, think again. Ballyvaughan has a population of roughly 350 people). HA! Anyway it's a beautiful, small little town. And we all experienced our first Irish rain. Halfway through our tour it started pouring, plus it's freezing, plus it was windy which made it even colder! At least we experienced it right off the bat, so it can't get any worse. Anyway everything here is so beautiful and everyone is so incredibly nice. We visited Monk's Pub which is a really famous pub throughout all of Ireland with really amazing seafood (too bad I'm not a huge fan of seafood). Although I did have their fish and chips for dinner and it wasn't too bad.  I still haven't taken good photos of my school or housing, but I promise they're coming soon, so here are some photos of around town for now!!

town sign, obviously, with the church behind it

i love this church

front yard of my housing. quite gorgeous wouldn't ya say

one of Ballyvaughan's piers

pier ground, ground pier, ground of the pier, pier,pp-p-pp-pier

the car and house were matching

Irish fairy tree. The Irish are very superstitious about these trees. They believe that fairies live or congregate in these trees and if anything is built around them or if they are cut down bad things happen. There is apparently an abandoned house outside of town that is built on fairy land and every night the whole house would be torn apart and things thrown everywhere so no one lives there now. There is another fairy tree a ways from this one and nothing is built in between. It's just an empty field because no one will build anything there, the cattle don't even graze there (I don't think). 

Ballyvaughan's famous signs

horsey that lives next door to the church. poked his head over the wall to say hello!