Galway

I just returned a few hours ago from my first weekend trip in Galway! The weather was about as nice as you could ask for in January and we really had a great time. Galway is about halfway up the coast on the west side of Ireland. It's about 90,000 in population, but really felt smaller in the city center where we stayed. The town had a laid back atmosphere with great shops, churches, and scenic areas. Our trip began early on Friday morning when we left our apartment and made the long journey to Heuston Station in downtown Dublin. Since we are so far out from the city center it took about an hour and half to get there, but we made it in time to catch our 9:10 bus to Galway. The trip took about 3 hours, but there was a lot to look at along the way and I wasn't bored. When we got to Galway it was about noon and we went straight to our hostel to check in. We stayed right off the city center in the Claddagh Hostel which turned out to be a decent place. The staff was very helpful and nice, but the room was the smallest thing I've ever seen. There were 4 of us staying in a room that wasn't large enough for all of us to stand at the same time...so getting ready was quite difficult each morning and night. Luckily, we weren't in the room except to sleep so it wasn't terrible. After checking in and dropping our bags off we decided to explore the main part of town and walk to the Bay/ocean. It was a very windy day so it hard to walk around on the coast, but there was no rain at all which made it fine. The coast was really pretty and there was a great walking path that we used to see a lot of Galway Bay. We got to feed some swans, go to the Galway Museum, walk on the beach, and do a little shopping downtown in the afternoon. Later that night we chose random pubs to walk into that were playing traditional music and we really made some good choices. At the Taaffe we got to see some fiddle players and at Monroe’s Tavern we saw a harmonica and an instrument close to the bagpipes. People were Irish dancing at Monroe’s and that was really fun to watch. After enjoying a few Bulmer's we were ready for bed and called it a night.

The next day, Saturday, we signed up for a 7 hour bus trip that took us around County Clare and County Galway. The main attraction was the Cliffs of Moher which were amazing. The view was clear despite cloudy skies and we were able to see a lot. The wind was of course intense and there was spray getting us wet from the ocean, but I think that it was the highlight of my trip to Galway. On our way to the Cliffs of Moher we drove through the Burren. I had never heard of the Burren or seen pictures so it was really surprising to me. It's about 250 square kilometers of rocky, hilly, and pretty desolate land. There were few houses and towns and most of the land was used for grazing sheep and cows. The land was pretty in it's own special way, but is definitely not typical Irish landscape that most people think of. As we went through the Burren we stopped at Aillwee Cave and took a tour there too. The cave was about a million years old and was formed by an underground river while the glaciers were melting. The cave tour went through some pretty narrow places and I ducked the entire time- claustrophobia would have been an issue if the tour would have been longer than a half an hour. I think it was worth seeing though. On the bus tour we also stopped in Doolin for lunch, at many castles and manors, and at an old tomb. I think the bus tour was a great way to relax, listen to the tour guide, and see as much as possible in one day.

On our last day in Galway we went to the outdoor market in the morning that had food, clothes, and touristy gifts. There was some great fruit and bread, but I couldn't buy anything to take back to Dublin because it would have been a hassle. After the market we found a little cafe and ate an Irish breakfast minus the black pudding. People in Galway were really friendly and I think it was great being there off season so it wasn't as busy. I think living in Galway would be really enjoyable, but I still liked coming back to Dublin. I think I may come back to Galway if possible, because I still have to go to the Aran Islands off the coast. The wind made it unreliable for us to go, because if the winds get too high they stop the ferry and you can get stuck out on the island. Needless to say, we didn't want to get stuck on an Aran Island so we decided to stick to the Cliffs of Moher and the Burren.

Hump Day

I'm glad to be half way done with my second week of class and I'm looking forward to a weekend trip to Galway, Ireland. It is a bit risky to take this trip so early in the semester, but people were planning a trip there and I decided it would be great to get out of the city this weekend and experience western Ireland. My tentative plan for Galway is to the see the Aran Islands, the cliffs of Moor, and see the city of Galway- which I heard is great! Weather is looking good for this weekend (well, as good as it gets here in January...). They are expecting a low chance of rain, 20 mph winds, 50's, and some sun- and if that is the case I'll be more than thrilled. We found a cheap, but decent hostel, in Galway and I'm really looking forward to the train ride across Ireland, which should be beautiful. Although Ireland is very small it takes a LONG time to get around the island. Roads are not good in the country and are usually narrow which makes bus and car rides not efficient. The train is by far the best way to get around and luckily you can get to most destinations in Ireland from Heuston Station in Dublin.

This week started out shitily, with my registration with the Garda National Immigration Bureau in Dublin's City Center. When I went through customs I was unlucky enough to be randomly chosen for a 100 Euro fine that any student can incur. So, I had one month to pay this fine and register for my student card. My roommates, Tessa and Maura, also had the pleasure of going to the Garda with me and we waited for over 3 hours in a stuffy building. Luckily, I got it all worked out and won't have to return to that building for the rest of my time in Ireland. I recommend if anyone comes through Irish customs as a student avoid this at all cost- it was a waste of time and money:-( After this fun day of waiting…classes were pretty great which made this week better for me. We’re really delving deep into the Northern Irish Conflict and I can’t believe how complicated it is. The more I learn the more confused I get, but I hear that’s the way it goes. Nothing is logical about Northern Ireland and I’m getting so excited to go there in February. The murals in Belfast and the black cab tours seem absolutely amazing! That’s enough on that tangent…

Tonight, the Temple Bar area Music Festival starts and we are going to head down there to listen to some traditional Irish music in the pubs. I'm really excited to go to the Temple Bar area for the first time even though it is a huge tourist trap. I hear that everyone needs to go at least once and why not go when they are playing some sweet music. I'm probably going to get soaked on my way there, but I hope it'll be worth it. The festival continues through the weekend and I'm sure we'll be going out there more than one night- I'll let you know how it is! Sorry for the boring post with no actual facts only plans...I'll get the details of my weekend trip and pub crawl later this week!

Day trip to Bray

Today I took the DART about 12 miles south of Dublin with Maura and Kayla. We left early in the morning and took the Luas to the city center, walked to Tara Station, and then took the DART to Bray, Ireland. Bray is a city that is situated between the Wicklow hills and the ocean. The weather was really nice today and we actually saw the sun:-) The good weather made the coast seem even more beautiful than yesterday and walking around was more enjoyable without getting soaked. The train ride to the south was beautiful in itself because we were able to see the coast all the way down. The coast had a mixture of beaches and rocky outcroppings and the variety was interesting.

When we arrived at Bray we walked through the city and found the beach area. The beach went on for about a mile and families were all over the beach. We were able to go down to the beach and touch the water which was really fun. The water wasn't as cold as i thought it would be, but I still don't have the desire to jump in. There were many dogs that were braving the water and it was fun to watch them splashing around. We walked down the beach and saw Bray Head, a 650 foot cliff facing out to the sea. People were walking up the hill so we decided to take a hike. The trails were not marked and there wasn't a map so we chose the nicest looking trail and walked along the coast for about an hour. We reached a sign that told us we could no longer continue due to danger...so we decided to take a trail up to the top of Bray Head. The climb up was really hard due to the mud and rocks, but we made it up slowly. We ate lunch on the top of Bray Head and looked out at the ocean, the city of Bray, the city of Greystone, and the countryside behind us. After looking at the beautiful views from the top and basking in the glory of our climb we headed back down on the muddiest trail I've ever been on and miraculously I didn't fall! After getting back to the city of Bray we rewarded ourselves with amazing ice cream. We walked along the beach one last time on the way to the DART station and decided to come back to Bray on a nicer day in April to experience it in great weather. This weekend was really great and I finally am starting to experience the more rural areas of Ireland and getting to see the coastal life north and south of the city!

Day trip to Howth

I can sum this weekend up with one word: rain. Although the weather has been really bad we still managed to have some fun around the city and actually ventured outside of Dublin for the second time since I've been here. On Friday we had our follow up orientation at the IES center where we learned about some volunteer opportunities and the Northern Ireland trip in February. I think some IES people are going to get involved in an organization that fixes up houses outside the city on the weekends and I'm excited about that. The Northern Ireland trip sounds awesome and I'm really excited that I signed up for it. I'm looking forward to having a trip where everything is planned out, all the meals are provided, and all the hotels are planned and actually nice. I don't know all the details about the trip yet, but it looks like we'll be going to the Giant's Causeway, Belfast, and a Whiskey distillery. After the follow orientation we all competed in a scavenger hunt around the city center which sounds pretty lame, but was actually fun. It was pouring most of the time so everyone got drenched and it helped us find our way around and see some lesser known attractions. The prizes for the hunt were really great so my group practically ran the entire time, but our efforts were not good enough and we didn't win. Afterwards, we met up in Duke's Pub off of Grafton St. and had some drinks and dinner and it was great eating a decent meal that was not prepared by me!

Today we took a day trip on the DART (train) up to Howth. I went with Tessa, Kayla, and Katie and we had a good time. After getting on the wrong train and getting a little delayed we finally made it up to Howth around 11 AM. Howth is a little fishing town just to the north of Dublin. It's on the peninsula at the top of the bay where Dublin is and the views from the town were great. The town is usually a summer destination so it wasn't busy at all. We walked on the pier, saw some sailboats, saw an old abbey, and went to the Hurdy Gurdy Radio Museum (wouldn't really recommend it), and finally got to see the ocean. Surprisingly, we saw a seal at the end of the pier, I guess I didn’t realize there were seal off the coast of Ireland. At the end of the pier there is a tiny island where a 6th century monastery is located. It was a pretty good view even in bad weather. After walking around the town, which is really hilly, for quite some time we headed down to where the restaurants were close to the harbor. For lunch we went to a little restaurant and got fish and chips- which was delicious. The DART was a pretty good way to get out of the city for a day and I think I'm going to go south on it tomorrow. It was also very cheap and if you pay attention it's not that hard to figure out how to use it.

first week of class

Classes began this week on Tuesday and ran through Thursday. This week we were encouraged to try out as many classes we found interesting and then we are finalizing our schedules later next week. I attended about 6 classes and found them all to be pretty interesting. On Tuesday morning at 10 AM I started with an Irish Art History course taught at University College Dublin, near St. Stephen's Green. We looked at artwork on slides and then walked to the Irish National Museum to look at early Irish artifacts. I really enjoyed this class because the teacher was basically a tour guide for us at the museum and this made it much more interesting to look at all the exhibits. The next class I attended that day was Intro to Northern Irish Troubles. i can tell this class is going to be a lot of work, but I'm basically starting from scratch on the violence in the North so I should find it very interesting. Later that night I went to Ireland in the EU, an economics class about the European Union. I think this may be one of my favorite classes because it relates to business more than the other liberal education classes. After that first day I was pretty burnt out because I spent about 10 hours at the IES center/the city center and I’m not used to having 2.5 hour classes!

On Wednesday I slept in until noon and went to a class that afternoon called Perspectives on Northern Ireland. This class is going to have guest lecturers come in each week to share their personal experiences with the conflict in Northern Ireland and I think that this might be the best way to learn the complex history of the area. We didn't have a speaker come in this week, instead we watched a movie about the IRA that our professor made for TV and basically talked about the basics of the conflict. Wednesday was probably my easiest day this week and after class I went to the Town Centre and did some grocery shopping and walked home in the rain (of course).

Today, I went to Irish Literature to Film, a class taught by the IES center director, Ashley Taggert. I wasn't thinking that I'd like this class at all, but decided to go with my roommates Maura and Andi. I was actually very surprised with how great this class was. Ashley had us watch a clip from 'A French Lieutenant' and we analyzed it as a class. After looking at how much work and thought went into this one 5 minute scene I can say I was interested in the topic. Towards the end of class we went over the Irish films we'll be watching this semester and they range from dark comedy's, to dark sad movies, to lighthearted love stories. I liked the wide variety of films so I think I'm actually going to take this class. Oh, we started watching 'The Commitments' today and I would recommend it to anyone who likes dark humor. It's a film that takes place in Dublin during the 1980's and follows some friends who want to start a soul band (pretty funny movie so far). After film, I walked with some other IES people to the European Business School to talk about possibly taking a marketing class there. Unfortunately, I can't fit the class into my schedule, but i did find out I can play squash and badminton with the European students on Friday for free which was good news! After walking quickly back to the IES center I attended Irish language and Irish Culture class taught by Siobhan and Regina. The first part of the class was really hard, not going to lie. Siobhan, an IES staff member who actually grew up speaking Irish at home, is teaching us Gaelic. No one in the class has ever experienced trying to learn a language like this and I find it so much harder than Spanish. So far I can only say a few phrases and I know some crazy grammatical rules- when I get better I'll try and write some in the blog! As for Regina, she focuses on Irish music, religion, traditions, and sports, and I found out that we are going to be doing a variety of things from attending a Hurling match to learning traditional Irish dance.

in summary, I'm happy with the classes I have taken so far and it seems like the workload will be pretty comparable to the U of M. I think that this semester will be fun, because all the classes I'll be taken are so different than Carlson classes. This weekend we are going to a pub as a group to listen to traditional Irish music on friday night in the Temple Bar area and then I'm going to take the DART north or south of the city to see the coast on either saturday or sunday (depending on the weather).

First few days in the city

Since it took me such a long time to figure out how to start a blog...I'm a bit behind. I arrived in Dublin early on Wednesday January 9th after a few delays in LaCrosse and a missed flight in O'Hare. After making it through customs and actually getting my luggage I took a taxi south of the city to Dundrum. Dundrum is a suburb about 5 km outside the city center and is connected to the city via the Luas, a lightrail system. Wyckham apartments where I live are located close to the Ballaly Stop on the Luas and very close to the Dundrum Town Centre, the largest mall in all of Ireland!

My first few days here were filled with orientation during the day and going to the pubs at night with all the IES people. There are about 45 of us here from all over the country and most of the students live in the Dundrum area which makes it easy to get to know people. The pubs I have been to lately have been AMAZING! the people have been really friendly and I've met some dubliners! I've had one guinness so far and it was pretty good, so far I prefer my Bulmers cider and I think I'll be having a lot of that while I'm over here!

During orientation we took a day trip to Glendalough, an ancient pilgrimage site south of the city. Glendalough was beautiful and the buildings were amazing. The weather was not ideal, but that seems to be a theme here in january. I think that the unpredictable, cold, wet weather is going to be the most frustrating part of the winter months here and I'm already excited for spring!

Tomorrow morning classes start and everyone is ready for them to start. I think for the first week I'm going to attend most of the classes offered to get a feeling for the classes, but as of now it looks like i'll be taking...
1. Intro to Northern Irish Troubles (tuesday)
2. Ireland in the EU (tuesday)
3. Marketing (Wednesday at the European Business School)
4. Perspectives on Northern Ireland (Wednesday)
5. Intro to Irish language and culture (Thursday)

as you can tell, I have a 4 day weekend which I'm super excited for! I think that this long weekend will make traveling great and just let me tour around much easier. Well, that is about all I have to say right now and i'll make sure to do some interesting things in the next few days!