Homestays and Activities 28/9 to 3/10

The first weekend after classes started, I had a homestay in Navan. It wasn't the ideal homestay, but it was still interesting to see some sites. We went to Trim Castle (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trim_Castle) and the Hill of Slane (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hill_of_Slane#The_Hill_of_Slane). Both have intensely long histories and unbelievable stories related to them. I learned lots of random things, like you have this hole in your room if you're really rich and/or really important which turns out to be a toilet. So you'd go to the bathroom there and then at night, you'd hang your clothes over it. The methane from the waste would waft up and kill the bacteria in the clothing. This is why they still call a bathroom a "wardrobe closet." Interesting, right? Also, all the stereotypical castles weren't brick on the outside, but had a flat white plaster covering the bricks.

Me, Lyndsay, and our two host-brothers in front of Trim

The Hill of Slane and the vast landscape