galway girl

ahh...galway. i love galway. it's a much smaller city than dublin, less cosmopolitan and the people are oh-SO friendly. we got off the bus around 1pm on friday, found our hostel quickly, and asked the man (who we promptly nicknamed "sexy jesus") for a lunch recommendation. he sent us to food 4 thought, a quaint and delicious cafe where we ordered paninis and sandwiches and pie. a glorious start to our weekend.

from there, we wandered throughout the city for a few hours. alissa was named impromptu tour guide, as she had researched a walking tour that led us to many historical monuments (st. nicolas' cathedral, the spanish arch, galway cathedral, the salmon weir, and more!) we quickly got acquainted with the city and its many side streets, buskers, and tourists. it was too much fun. we ducked into a couple vintage stores and i made my first unnecessary purchase of the trip--an adorable plaid sleeveless top, which i promptly wore out on the town.

at the hostel before dinner, we met a fellow american named joey, who will be starting his fourth year at the naval academy (anne, if you're reading, he knows you from summer boot camp.) i don't remember his last name. he had planned out a big british isles trip before settling in kiev doing a research project for the remainder of the summer, but was stuck in galway waiting for his bags to arrive. we invited him to dinner.

that night was a long one and ended with me forcing myself to keep my eyes open before heading back to the hostel. in the morning, we woke early to grab the bus to the ferry to the aran islands. we had planned this trip before leaving dublin, so we were hoping to smooth sailing. the hour-long bus ride took us to the hour-long ferry, and when we arrived at the island we were told that we weren't, in fact, getting off on inishmann (the middle island, not as touristy as inishmore and the site of some pretty interesting things), but had arrived at inishere. this smallest island of the three, inishere had nothing to offer but a pub, some houses, and a shipwreck. we hiked for most of our four hours and i ended up taking a nap near the beach. it turned out to be incredibly irish, but not necessarily what we were hoping for on our day trip. alas, we were happy to have found such a treasure. 

back in galway, we hurried out to kelly's, a local pub and restaurant, to grab some food and watch the us-ghana game. as you can imagine, we were sorely disappointed with the turnout of the game. i was exhausted by 10pm and opted to head back to the hostel for some much needed rest while the other girls (bianca--my clustermate, alissa and netta--two other girls from um, and abby and jamie--two girls from madison) headed out on the town with joey again. i had a good night's sleep but the others were a bit groggy by the time we woke up to get to the cliffs of moher in the morning.

we hadn't planned our cliffs of moher trip and spent some of the morning debating between just taking a bus eireann out or taking a planned tour. in the end, we opted for the plain bus. it was a two-hour bus ride and left us with an hour to hike the cliffs, which were absolutely magnificent. i was blown away by the sheer beauty and height of the cliffs and, of course, the colors of the water were breathtaking. the wind was a bit much, but all in all the four hours on the bus was well worth it.

upon our return to galway, we hurried to grab a bite to eat before boarding our 530 bus back to dublin. the four-hour bus ride was spent intermittently sleeping, listening to music, and playing solitaire. so fair, i've spent so much time on coaches! my ipod even played busted "year 3000" for me while rolling through the irish countryside, which reminded me even more of my ptp trip and lovely girls. 

i hit the hay early last night to prepare for my 10am lit class. now, i have about an hour before history. tonight, our group has planned a traditional irish ceili for us to participate in, and tomorrow we have an all-day archaeological field trip planned. so much to do, and so little time to finish laundry! i'm running out of clothes quickly and am hoping that my box from home will arrive soon (thanks a million mum!!) 

all in all, my first weekend trip in ireland was glorious and i can't wait to share more!

xxx

galway

inishere

cliffs of moher

getting into the swing of things

first week of classes is over! and, might i say, it was a hectic one indeed. lots of classes, lots of outings, lots of alcohol, and not much sleep. oops! i can sleep when i'm dead, right?

monday after classes, we met up with two local actors who work for the "literary pub crawl." we met at the duke, where we were promptly greeted with a scene from "waiting for godot," samuel beckett's most famous play. throughout the night, we went to four other pubs of literary import and, at each, were entertained with recitations, acting, historical references, and camaraderie from our fearless leaders. they recited things from oscar wilde, james joyce, jonathan swift and more. it was an incredibly fun evening, and the group ended up at o'neill's afterwards for some live music and dancing.

tuesday, we had film class in the morning (which should be fun and interesting...we have weekly journal assignments in this class, but otherwise it should prove just as easy as the rest.) in the afternoon, we were taken on a tour of trinity's campus and to see the book of kells and the old library. the old library houses some of the oldest books in europe, including that beautiful book of kells. it was glorious. on tuesday night, most of us stayed in to recover from monday night's revelry.

wednesday was a full day of classes once again, with a 2.5 hour block of visual culture in the morning (which was incredibly engaging, surprisingly), followed by history, critical issues (lecture on ireland in the EU), and drama (which i skipped in favor of getting some last minute book shopping in). afterwards, we went to the theatre to see the world premiere of bookworms, a fantastic new irish play. it was hilarious and creepy at the same time, and getting to see the abbey and to see more of the city was amazing nonetheless. (bookworms review) afterwards, a big group of us went out to a pub close to campus called the porterhouse, which happened to be having ninety's night as well as cocktail specials. this has proven to be my favorite bar so far, with cheap prices, house brews, and the most delicious strawberry beer i've ever tasted. while there, we were bombarded by italian and french men who seemed to be very intrigued by our study abroad program. more likely story? they wanted to get in our pants. it was fun nonetheless, and with drink prices the way they are, we can't complain about getting a couple free ones. 

today was another full day of classes. literature (more yeats) and gaelic culture (origins of the irish language) in the morning, film in the afternoon. in between, we had a local travel writer come visit us to tell us what we shouldn't miss while in ireland. he was very intrigued by the opportunities we're being offered during this summer school, because the caliber of professors, guest lecturers, speakers, and other guests is second to none. apparently, we're very lucky to have such a wonderful program ahead of us!

after class, a group of us made some last minute reservations in galway, so that's where we'll be headed for the weekend. there seems to be high contingency from our group visiting galway this weekend, so it should be fun. we'll hop the bus tomorrow, hang out in the city for the day, head to inishmann on saturday, and to the cliffs of moher on sunday. so, an action-packed weekend to be sure, but lots of pictures to be taken!

this week in pictures 

map of trinity 

important buildings to note:

goldsmith hall--where i live

the hamilton--where i eat breakfast

the gmb--where i go to class

the arts building--where i go to film class

front gate--where i go in and out of campus

xoxoxoxo

back to school, back to school...

ahhh. after a mere three days' break (during which i had to finish two papers for the previous semester...), i'm back in the classroom again. i'll give you a rundown on what my day looked like today:

-8am alarm

-9am breakfast, consisting of a hard roll, granola with yogurt, an orange, coffee, and orange juice. i grabbed a scone and some butter for lunch, to go. breakfast is included in our program, but lunch and dinner are not. since everything here is so incredibly expensive, i've gotta make my euro stretch!

-9:30am plenary with the advisers from my program, going over last-minute class info and answering questions. we also received our completed program itinerary, so i know exactly what will be going on every day throughout the program.

-10am literature. today, we had a lecture on yeats.

-11:15am drama. an overview of irish dramaturgy.

-1:30 history. an overview of irish history from monolithic times until today.

-2:45 critical issues. an economic overview of where ireland stands in the eu and beyond. this class will also encompass politics and current events.

-4:00 gaelic culture. a brief overview of the irish language. this class will also consist of irish folklore and popular culture.

--mondays are the longest day of the week. each class is 75 minutes long, with an hour break for lunch at 12:30.

the other options for courses are visual culture and the resident director's course, irish film. visual culture will encompass archaeology and other visual arts.

we are required to take history, but the rest of our schedule is up to us. as of right now, i plan on enrolling in literature, gaelic culture, and the rd's course. i'm hoping that i'll be able to get english credit for gaelic culture, but we'll see... i also plan on auditing the rest of the courses, as they all seem far too interesting to pass up! gotta take advantage while i can.

we met in the graduate memorial building in the premier debating chamber at trinity. a pretty historic room, if you ask me. instead of moving rooms, the different lecturers came in and out while we stayed in our seats. we will also have different lecturers in each class throughout the semester, most of whom are world-reknowned in the subjects they lecture us on. all in all, it feels incredibly like some six-week-long conference. very interesting, but not at all bad.

tonight, most of the group is taking part in a literary pub crawl where, apparently, some actors take us around to some pubs that are known as the haunts of some of ireland's best writers. sounds like a swell time! 

there are many other group outings like this planned throughout the semester. generally, we have two or three outings a week after classes and they all coincide with what we're learning in the classroom. wednesday, we'll head out to the theater. there are also guest lecturers, seminars, concerts, etc. so much fun! and then, of course, our weekends are free after 5 on thursday, which works perfectly for travelling. 

all in all, it seems to be a well-organized and intense program, with lots to look forward to and lots to learn. i'm really excited! of course, i need to start geting used to being in lecture for 6 hours straight...

school tomorrow...

it's been a hectic weekend. ups, downs, ins, outs, with barely any down time. i am tired. i am very tired. and i really don't like having to walk fifteen minutes across campus to starbucks in order to access wifi. shoot son. this is really knocking me out of an extreme routine. which is probably good, actually...checking facebook, twitter, flickr, my mail, etc five-thousand times a day is not necessary, nor is it healthy. i can deal with being a bit disconnected. a BIT.

yesterday, we spent the day in a bus touring the countryside surrounding dublin. county wicklow is known as the garden county and for a reason--it is beautiful! however, i don't remember being this tired on the coach during my PTP trip. i fell asleep every time we got back on the bus. we checked out powerscourt estate, glendulough monastery, and avondale house. powerscourt has the most beautiful gardens in the county, according to aine our tourguide. glendulough monastery is the very first monestery ever started, founded in 462 by Saint Kevin. avondale house is the home of charles stewart parnell, the irish's biggest hero.


today, we wandered around dublin and stumbled upon the street performers world championships. it was insane! jugglers, breakdancers, magicians, and people people people from all over the world came to perform and spectate. there were so many people about!

the last few days have been beautiful and sunny, blue skied and breezy. pretty much perfect, if you ask me. ireland hasn't seen a summer so spectacular in ages, so i'm glad to be able to take part in it.

and tomorrow, classes begin. it's gotten late and they're kicking me out of starbucks, so i'll update more tomorrow.

xxx

dublin!

wicklow!

day one. dublin.

such a lovely city, this capital of ireland is. today, we had orientation, a full city tour, and a reception. here's what i learned:
-jonathon swift is actually buried in saint patrick's cathedral. which is funny, since he disdained religion of all sorts.
-james joyce is a national hero.
-oscar wilde was born in dublin, lived in london, and is buried in paris.
-classes start on monday.
-we're going to the mountains tomorrow. wicklow. home of wicklow gaol. where i went once with ptp. ooohhh sweet irony.
-most of the castles in ireland are believed to be haunted.
-reverting back to a tiny nokia is one of the funniest experiences of my life.
-everything in dublin is more expensive than i would like it to be.
-starbucks has free wi-fi. which is just the price i'd like it to be (so, scratch my previous comment.)
-i love everyone on this trip, with the exception of some super obnoxious soriety girls from michigan. they're giving me a bad name just by being from the same school as me. gross.
-ice cream from the ice cream man is way better here than in america.
-the last two irish presidents have been female, but they're merely figureheads. and the prime minister is male.
-most irish boys are really cute. REALLY cute. and some irish girls make me want to take creepy pictures of them, just to admire their outfits.
-georgian architecture is super.
-not having wi-fi in my room is inconvenient...and weird.
-i probably should have brought my backpack, instead of a silly shoulder bag.
-i'm still exhausted, but i'm going to have my first pint TONIGHT.

so, that's that. my life is good. great. i have three clustermates whom i adore, two bathrooms which is a beautiful thing, and i have been making lots of friends. orientation was great, not only because of the cute boy who works in the accommodations office, but because i got a lot of information about classes, dublin life, and our group schedule for the next few weeks. the bus tour brought a distinct feeling of nostalgia...riding around on a coach listening to some accented lady speak over a microphone sound familiar to anyone else? but we got to run around saint patrick's and phoenix park, which was superb. we were dropped off at the national gallery, where we were served wine (not guinness...to my disappointment) and hor d'oeuvres and got to mill about and chat with other group members and faculty. kinda fun, but we were all exhausted.

my feet hurt. i should be able to post pictures on sunday, after spending the day in wicklow tomorrow. off to grab a pint!
xxx

observations throughout my travels

-transatlantic flight with 30 people to people student ambassadors. were we this ANNOYING?

-when in rome is a stupid movie. don't anyone watch it ever.

-ginger babies are yummy.

-ginger babies with accents make me want to DIE.

-HEATHROW AIRPORT IS A LABYRINTH, AND ONE I NEVER WANT TO EXPERIENCE AGAIN. good thing i had a three-hour layover. i think i went through security four times.

-clear skies in london. beautiful.

-nun saying the rosary at the gate before dublin...yes.

-cloudy and overcast in dublin.

photographs of my living sitch

xxx

ladies and gentlemen...

my favorite thing about airports are the automatic plastic covers on the toilet seats. i'm only ever a germaphobe when i'm waiting for a flight. strange?

welp, guys, here i go. taking off on this adventure that i've been waiting...oh...about my entire LIFE for. i've always planned to study abroad, and decided, after visiting ireland in the eighth grade, that dublin was the only place i want to be. seriously. i've never been more excited.

and how do i know i'm excited? i'm calm as hell. calm, cool, and collected and ready to hop this nine-hour flight. i'm not even worried that i don't yet have a boarding pass for my flight to heathrow. i'm breathing easily. i am ready. phew!

yes, i've been preparing for this for awhile now. the application process was ridiculous, as was the wait until today. june 16 has been on my radar for quite a long time. i just never thought i'd be THIS ready.

so far, so good. i think it's a sign that i'll be traveling with about 30 people to people student ambassadors. was i really that young? did those polos and lanyards really look THAT bad? ugh. but, if i hadn't gone then, i wouldn't be prepared for this trip now.

yes indeed, what an adventure. leaving the country, the continent, the hemisphere on a gigantic jet plane in t-minus one hour. wish me luck! send me kisses! skype me! (erin.bernhard1) i'll be missing you! xxx