Study Study Travel

The last few weeks have been a blur filled with papers, presentations, and more papers. I've seen very little of Galway besides the walls of the NUIG library. The end of the semester crept up quickly. This is the last week of classes (I have one more to go!) next week is study week, and then the week following that is when exams begin. I only have one exam for my psychology course on 9/12 (that's December 9th not the 12th like I originally thought). I've been here three months and still can't figure out the date never mind the time. 18:00 is not something my mind can comprehend. In addition to writing four papers (two more to go) Caroline, Ben, Dennis, and I have been intensely planning our "Euro 2k14" trip. Next Monday the four of us depart for a week long adventure through Europe. We start with three days in Paris, France followed by four in Italy. In Italy we're hitting Bologna first. Not sure who's more excited to see Phil there: Caroline or Ben. Actually, I think it's pretty clear that Ben is more excited since all he can talk about is "party Phil." Anyway, after a night in Bologna, we'll take a train to Florence for a night. Our final destination in Italy will be Rome where we'll stay for two nights. We'll also take a quick pitstop in Pisa (just for that classic photo) on our way to Rome. We fly back to Dublin Monday night. It's been a difficult task pulling together a trip like this in just a couple weeks. If it weren't for my mom's incredible planning skills and impressively improving viber skills, the four of us would be sitting in the Dublin airport for seven days. My main concern at this point is how I'm going to be able to fit a weeks worth of stuff in ONE backpack.
I'm definitely missing being home for Thanksgiving. Although, my mom did tell me that it snowed so I'm not too sad about not being there. Caroline's parents and brother (magic JAMO) are visiting this week. They are taking us out to dinner tomorrow night to celebrate the American holiday and also Abby's last night here. My Mom and Grandma will be here in less than a month. I can't wait to see them and show them where I've spent the past semester. I've never gone this long without a mom hug and I'm not sure how much longer I can go. Once my last two papers get written I'll be able to focus on the crazy amount of fun this next month is going to be. My next post probably won't be until after I return from France and Italy so until then, cheers!