After arriving a day later than planned, with a sore back from my backpack and completely exhausted, I am glad to finally report that I am safe and sound in a cute little apartment in Cork, Ireland. My first night in Cork was spent how I am sure many study abroad-ers find themselves once they arrive in their new home country– dazed and confused. Armed with three new friends I had met in the airport, we decided to head out on the town to find something to eat. This all seemed easy enough seeing as it was only 8 o’clock and we were all starving, but as soon as we walked down the road from our apartment, it became clear that we were completely clueless with no real plan on where to go. After walking into two different pubs and being told that they didn’t serve food, 45 minutes of walking later, we finally found a restaurant where we could have a meal. While it had taken us much longer than planned to arrive at a destination, it did give us the opportunity to see some of Cork at night. All of the row houses packed tightly together, leading us down narrow cobblestone streets, to a river near the city center, was the first sample of picturesque Ireland that we were now living in.

University College of Cork is home to over 400 international students this semester alone. This morning, we all sat in a giant auditorium to listen to a number of speakers explain both the academic aspect of school as well as all of the clubs and different opportunities that will be available in the coming semester. All of this information, while extremely overwhelming, was also extremely exciting and I look forward to all of the adventures that this semester will bring to me. But for now, I am in desperate need of a nap and a Guinness.

Cultural side notes:

~Everyone here speaks extremely fast, and a variety of different accents, which is making me feel a lot less alone in the fast talking category.

~If you want to quit smoking, Ireland is the place to go. There is a €3,000 fine if you are caught smoking in a place that is not designated as a smoking area.

~The pub to restaurant to barber shop ratio in Cork is very bizarre. On our night trip to a restaurant, we could barely find one compared to the large number of pubs that did not serve food. As for the barber shops, on our 15 minute walk to the grocery store in the city center, we spotted at least 8 barber shops, we couldn’t even find that many restaurants the night before.

That’s all for now, so as the Irish (used to) say, slán!

I have finished my first week at Ireland and feel as though I can already relay loads of advice to anyone who wishes to come and visit. While some advice is more philosophical than others, the main piece of advice I can give you all is that there is one thing you must accept if you have curly hair– it will never look good. As someone with VERY thick and curly hair, I have grown up being told again and again how Irish my hair looks (no it’s not red but the curls are enough). So when I embarked on my trip to Cork, I loaded my suitcase up with hair product. Deep down, however, I had this hope and prayer that the majority of people in Ireland have curly hair, so there must be something about the air and water that allows curls to always look salon finished. I was very wrong. Every night I would wash my hair, go through my hair product ritual, but it would never work. The constant moisture in the atmosphere never seemed to allow my hair to dry and when it did, it was simply a frizzy mess. I have yet to completely give up on having a decent hair look, but a fellow curlier haired friend and I have simply adapted a catchphrase “hoods up for curly hair” which means that pretty much every time we are outside and we feel just one raindrop, hoods go up. Definitely not a full-proof plan, and it is a a sure way that we stand out as tourists, but it is only an uphill battle against the fight of frizzy curly hair, and our hoods seem to be our only weapon.

After a paragraph like the one above, dedicated to hair, you may think the only thing I do in Ireland is get ready to go out, go out, and then have my hair ruined. But I have been exposed to a number things in my week here. As a USAC group we went on a scavenger hunt of sorts in the city center. We broke up into teams of 6 and took pictures of various locations around the city. My team came in first, thanks largely (if not all) in part of one of my suite mates, Casey, who we simply call the human GPS. Our prize was a €10 gift card to Tesco (the grocery store) and when I received said prize, I was definitely more excited then I should have been. I have seen a lot of the city so far, been to a number of pubs, eaten at a number of restaurants (yes I have had fish and chips), and walked up and down so many hills in this one week then I think I ever have in my whole life.

 

 

I have also begun classes here at UCC. The way international scheduling works here, it that we can go to as many classes as we would like the first week and then register by the end of the second week. This gave me the option to visit a number of classes before picking my final schedule. I will be taking Introduction to Traditional Irish Music, Aspects of Irish Folklore, Irish Politics, and Northern Ireland Politics. So it is safe to say that I will be a bit of an Irish expert at the end of the semester. All of my classes seem incredibly interesting and all of the professors seem so excited to teach their courses. This leads me to believe that going to class will not be a drag, especially because I get to go to class at such a beautiful, very green, campus.

 

 

My final note for this post must, of course, discuss my seemingly terrible luck when it comes to weather. Yesterday, it snowed in Cork for the first time in over 5 years. The last time there was any significant snow in Cork was back in 1976. Needless to say a lot of my West Coast suite mates were extremely excited to see the snow. But my 2 fellow Loyola friends and I simply groaned, we had assumed that we would not have to see snow ever again (or at least until we returned to Chicago). This snowfall was of great excitement to the Irish students as well, who posted all over Yik Yak (an anonymous social media site) how they were going to go out and have a snowball fight. However, seeing as the snow barely stuck and turned into rain for awhile, I don’t see how it would be possible to form even one snowball, let alone to have a full out fight. The snow and rain did leave me with yet another gift, a terrible cold. I am attempting to cure myself with an IV of tea and honey, and will hopefully be better by Thursday which is one of the main nights that all of the college students go out. But alas, it has been raining for hard for 5+ so my odds of fully healing are bleak.

More later!

Cultural notes:

~Whenever an Irish person asks where I am from and I say Chicago, 9 times out of 10, their response is, “Oh the Windy City! Barack Obama!”

~You have to flip on a switch every time you need to use an outlet. I vaguely remember it being like this last time I was in Ireland but I can’t remember if it like that in the rest of Europe. Normally, I remember the switch no problem, but two nights ago I turned on the stove, sprayed the pan, and cracked an egg onto it. It took me 3 minutes to realize why the egg was not cooking whatsoever.

~ Most UCC students, go home on the weekend so the biggest night for students are Tuesday and Thursday. Leaving the weekends open for travel for all of us international students. This weekend, maybe Blarney?

One of the main reasons why I chose Ireland to study abroad, is because of my family background. Both sides of my family stems from Ireland and I was so excited to become enriched in a culture that my family both values and reflects. Since being in Cork, I have begun to notice sayings or traits that remind me both of my family and myself. The most recent one was introduced to me by my Politics of Northern Ireland professor. She was explaining the background on some Irish history and she said to the class, “One thing you must know about the Irish is that if you ask them to do something, make them seem as if they have a choice, they will bend over backwards to try to accommodate you. But if you make it sound like a demand or don’t ask, they will refuse to do anything you say.” This made me smile because I felt like that 100% applied to both me, and a number of family members. Now whether that really is some Irish blood that is being passed down, or just a coincidence, little things like that make me feel as though I have a true ancestry here. The connection of going back to my roots is something I hoped to experience and hope that I will continue to do so. Plus, there is always the bright side of seeing my last name in true Irish form around the city. And yes, two different Irish people have told me that I am pronouncing my last name wrong.

 

 

Since I have last written I have had the wonderful experience of traveling to Blarney. Where, of course, I saw the Blarney Castle and kissed the Blarney Stone. For those who don’t know, it is believed that if you kiss the Blarney Stone you will receive the gift of gab. Now, I don’t think I necessarily need the gift of gab, but it could never hurt. However, one thing I didn’t know about kissing the Blarney Stone is that it is easier said than done. To reach the Blarney Stone, you have to climb to the top of the Blarney Castle (don’t worry there are stairs, but they are very narrow and winding), once you reach the top there is someone there who will help you actually reach the stone. In order to kiss it, you have to lay on your back, scoot back out into a gap between the castle wall and where you are laying, and lean back and kiss it. Now this is made easier by the building of rails to hold onto and the guy who helps you back up, but it is definitely a bit more terrifying than I anticipated. But it was worth it, and both the Blarney Castle and the gardens were beautiful.

 

 

Classes here at UCC have been fantastic. My favorite one right now is my Irish Politics class, both because the subject is extremely interesting and my teacher is fantastic. It is crazy to really look in depth about why there is a Republic of Ireland and a Northern Ireland, and to hear about the process, time, fighting, and legislation it took for Ireland to become its own nation. It really puts into perspective how much “easier” it was for the United States to become its own country when compared to the conflict that lasted so many years in Ireland and the turmoil and unrest that is still prevalent to this day. I look forward to learning more and more about the current political system here since most of my classes so far have dealt with the history and background of the country. This class complements well with my Politics of Northern Ireland course so by the end of the term, I should be able to explain to anyone who asks why there is both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland and why it is not as simple as some preconceived notions may have you think.

Lastly, one thing you can count on if you come to Ireland for longer than a week, you will most likely develop a cold. It seems as though all of my friends and roommates are contracting a runny nose or cough that will hopefully go away at some point. The amount of moisture that is constantly in the air, and the fact that it rains on a daily basis, is the perfect combination. However, nothing can bring us down, and we have another group trip planned for Cobh this weekend and a pub crawl tonight.

Stay tuned for more!

Cultural notes:

~You WILL hear Fresh Prince of Bel-Air played every single time you go out. Whether it is a club or a pub, you will hear (and sing along to) this tune.

~ The greatest shopping store you will discover is called Penneys, which is a super cheap clothing and home goods store that will save you a bunch of money. A few of us went on a quick Penneys run the other day and the store was swarming with middle schoolers who had just gotten out of school. Apparently Penneys must be THE PLACE to hang after school is released because there was a large number of kids just running around and hanging out.

 

Things Making Me Feel European: 

1. Grocery Shopping— No, it is not the fact that I have to be a self-sufficient human and shop for myself, it is the process that is grocery shopping. I have begun to develop a bit of a routine to buy my groceries but it still is much more of an ordeal than in the States. There are 3 (sometimes 4 if you are feeling fancy) main stops you must make in order to stock your pantry and fridge. First, there is Sean B. Murphy’s (the butcher) where I have pretty much just been buying chicken every week but I may be branching out soon. Next, is Con’s (the produce stop) where you can get your milk, eggs, and any and all fruits and vegetables. It is a cute little stop, just one room, that is super well priced. Finally, the real trek, Tesco. Both Sean B. Murphy’s and Con’s is about a 2 minute walk from my apartment. Tesco, however, is down in the city center and at least a 20 minute walk. Tesco is where you can by your cheese, spices, pasta, pasta sauce, frozen pizza, ect. Normally that’s all it takes, unless you want some real goodies. Then you need to stop by the English Market in the city center as well, where you can buy realllllly good bread, meats, cheese, pastries, ect. So after all of those stops, you finally have your kitchen stocked, and will go through all of that food in one week easily, and will be back shopping soon. While this is a bit of a process, and when it is raining I don’t exactly enjoy it, I do like the feeling that you are mostly shopping in little mom and pop shops and are really buying and eating high quality meat and produce.

 

2. Drinking Tea— I drink some tea at home and school, the occasional cup, which I am more likely to drink when my mom is the one making it. However, nothing can compare to the amount that I drink here. I easily drink 1-2 cups a day, which has been helping keep me warm, but has not helped me get over my sickness. The tea is delicious, and just one fun fact (although not so fun) is that they do not have strings for their tea bags, it’s just a little bag of tea. I am sure most people take the tea bag out with a spoon, but I am always too impatient (and I don’t want to have to wash a spoon) so I pick the tea bag out of the mug and hope I don’t burn my fingers too bad.

3. Walking up Hills— You know the saying “back in my day, I had to walk uphill both ways to school” well that is how I feel (although not entirely accurate). Going to school and to the city center is fairly quick and easy, the walk back, however, can be a bit brutal. I am talking some steep hills on the way back. Having class 4 days and week, and going into the city center at least 4 days a week, ensures that I am getting my fair share of hiking. Every time I come back from the city center I am amazed that I make the same walk back to the apartment on nights when I am wearing heels and not exactly 100% sober. I have yet to fall so far, and hopefully that will continue.

 

Things That Are Harder Than They Should Be: 

1. Laundry: The first time I did laundry was just embarrassing. In order to be able to do your laundry you have to go to the front desk and buy laundry tokens (in order to do one load it costs 5 Euro aka a rip off). This seems easy enough, but the guy who works the front desk only works until 2:30 everyday and I normally have classes during that time, and he doesn’t work on the weekends. So as soon as I purchased my tokens, I made my way to the laundry room where the laundry machines looked extra foreign and took me a solid 5 minutes to read the directions and put my clothes in. Finally, a little number pops up on the machine which I assume is the time of how long it will take to wash the clothes. However, when I returned 25 minutes later, the machine then read 35 leaving me very confused until a roommate explained to me that those numbers was the temperature the water is in the machine. So I am still clueless as to how long it actually takes to do laundry, a mystery I am not sure I will ever have the patience to solve.

2. Thinking Of Meals To Cook: I would say I am fairly confident in my cooking abilities. However, I only seem to make the same 4 meals (or variations of them) day after day. I will either eat pasta (with chicken or other meat), some form of a sandwich, eggs of some kind, and chicken and potatoes. That’s pretty much it. When I then get hungry later I just eat toast and Nutella or yogurt with granola. I can’t seem to come up with any other things to cook, and am feeling especially uncreative. I did buy a frozen pizza to mix it up a bit but I don’t think that is exactly the change in diet I need. So if anyone has some few-ingredient meals they want to throw my way, feel free!

3. Walking Up Stairs: Sometimes the stairwell is just a free for all, and there is no clear direction. Yesterday, Marypaz and I were walking to our Irish Politics class, and it became clear that we were in a foreign land when we were directly running into people on the stairs. It took me a few seconds to remember that their way of traffic is not the same way of traffic that we have which explained why we were clearly walking on the wrong side of the steps.

 

Questions Everyone Is Asking:

1. Do You Even Go To School?: Yes and no. Yes I do attend all of my classes, although total hours I am at school every week is only 8 hours  and I don’t have class on Fridays. Classes here are very different, I don’t have any little assignments or even assigned readings every week. Instead, I have an average of 2-3 essays due throughout the semester and that’s about it for my final grade. I have no complaints, although the few weeks when all of my essays are due may be a bit of a pain. This schedule allows for a very relaxed atmosphere and encourages extra time for me to do things that I normally don’t have time to do, such as make weekend trips, see the city, and even just read some novels that have long been on my “to read” list.

2. Have You Made Any Irish Friends?: It is harder than it seems. I have met some Irish people who are super friendly and nice (a bartender at a local pub, my friend Kristen has two Irish roommates, and one or two people I have met at a club/pub). However, to truly make an Irish pal is a bit more difficult for a number of reasons. One, most of my classes are all visiting students or if there are Irish students it is very segregated, Irish students in the back, visiting students in the front. This is because the way the courses work here, it when you go in seeking a degree in a subject you only take the classes for your degree, so many of these students have been in the same classes for a number of semesters and have their pals all situated. The second reason why it is harder to befriend the Irish is that when we go out, we have a group of about 8+ people, clearly American, which can be somewhat off putting when we are in pubs and clubs. This hasn’t stopped everyone, but as we tend to dance or talk in our own, not so little, circle it doesn’t leave much room for others to join in. Lastly, the students here go home almost every weekend and have a much heavier course load than us, which limits their free time during the week. Sometime it is just simply harder to make the time to see people. But I have become close with one of Kristen’s roommates who is French and a German student in my Irish politics class, so it’s not all Americans!

3. Have You Met A Cute Irish Boy?: See answer to number 2. That and (prepare yourself for a bit of a rant). I did not choose to study abroad in Ireland to meet and marry the man of my dreams. I decided to study abroad to become a more independent person, to experience new things, see new places, learn to think differently, appreciate new cultures, and more. All of this I can do by myself or with some friends. While meeting a cute Irish boy would be an amazing experience, it is in no way a priority, or something that will hold me back from having the time of my life. So no, I have not yet met the cute Irish boy that my mom will love, and that doesn’t mean that I won’t and it doesn’t mean that I want to. All I want is to soak up as many experiences as I can that I will remember for the rest of my life. Rant over.

 

Things I Am Looking Forward To In The Next Week:

1. Tomorrow, we will be heading to the Jameson Experience where at the end of the tour I will become an official whiskey taste tester (my dad will be so proud)

2. On Saturday we have a day trip to the Rock of Cashel but unfortunately we will not be able to see the Cahir Castle because it is under renovation. This is supposed to be one of the must see castles in Ireland so we will maybe return on a later date to check it out.

3. On Sunday we are having a big Super Bowl meal followed by going to a club where they are showing the game.

4. On Monday we might go on the night tour of the Cork city jail which will be cool and spoooooky.

That’s all for now!

Cheers!

Cultural Notes:

~The pharmacist is called the chemist. A super sweet woman has been my knight in shinning armor this week when I finally decided to take some medicine to get rid of my 2 week long cold. At the chemist you just walk up to the counter, tell the person your symptoms, and then they give you options for medicines you can take and advice on which one is the best. Not only are they SUPER helpful, but the cost of medicine is ridiculously cheap. One friend bought cough medicine for 2 euro and I bought a decongestant medicine for only 5 euro. Yay for cheap healthcare!

~Convient stores are a huge place for people to go grocery shopping or pick up something to eat. Back home, I know I would never go to UDF or 7-11 for some lunch let alone actually shop there.

 

It seems as though weeks have gone by since I last blogged. Not because I have been particularly busy, but I have done and seen so many things in just a week and a half. Last Friday, a group of us went to the Jameson Distillery which is about a 15 minute train ride away. The distillery is located in Midleton which is a small town in county Cork. We were able to tour the old distillery where some of the buildings dated back to 1795. After the tour (which was much chillier than anticipated due to old drafty buildings) we were able to warm up with taste testings of whiskey. The taste testing consisted of a half a shot of Jack Daniels, a Scottish whiskey, and, of course, Jameson. In comparison to the other two whiskeys, Jameson was much smoother, most likely as a result of being distilled three times. The end of the taste testing resulted in me receiving my own certificate as a whiskey taste tester– something I will be sure to put on my resume.

The next day, we woke up early, climbed on a bus, and headed to the Rock of Cashel. This trip, provided and organized by USAC, was a fantastic look at one of Ireland’s oldest castles. The castle was gorgeous and one of the few projects that are under Ireland’s preservation work, so it was in excellent shape. We toured the castle which during its time was used as the seat of the kings of Munster and later on the head of the Archbishop of Cashel. The tour was both outside and inside the castle but when we ventured outside it brought be right back to Chicago. Not only is Ireland a bit windy naturally, but the Rock of Cashel sits on top of a hill resulting in extremely strong winds hitting the tour group as we moved in and out. After the tour of the castle ended we had lunch in the town and then went and visited Holy Cross Abbey. The church is still in use today and was a perfect little stop to end our day trip.

After our exciting adventures, we spent the next day gearing up for the Super Bowl. While one of our friends, Eric, is actually from Boston and was intent on watching the game and rooting for the Patriots, the rest of us had one thing in mind– food. As a group we planned and cooked a feast consisting of wings, chips and guacamole, burgers, fries, crepes, cookies, brownies, and more. After thoroughly stuffing ourselves with as much food as possible we went down to a bar that was showing the game. The game didn’t start until 11:30 and to my great dismay, they didn’t show any American commercials. While this makes sense in hindsight, the sorrow I felt after the first commercial break was extreme. We left in different groups throughout the evening, others lasted much longer than I did, but I went home not even before the end of the first quarter. My excuse was that I was waking up at 8:30 the next morning, but to be honest, if there wasn’t going to be fun commercials to watch, then why stay?

The week passed quickly as usual, and I even had to complete a homework assignment*gasp*! But a 1,000 word article review couldn’t bring me down, as the girls and I planned for one thing to keep us going– treat yo self. For all you Parks and Recreation fans out there you know what this means, and for those who don’t, all your questions will be answered if you just watch this video. Our treat yo self day was in honor of us all no longer being sick and was just what we needed. Since we didn’t have class on Friday, we began our day with brunch at Soho, where we drank champagne cocktails and ate waffles, we then spent all day shopping where I splurged on a purchase of a leather jacket (but that’s ok because treat yo self), we then ate some Mexican food (which was surprisingly delicious) and drank sangria, and ended the day with face masks back at our apartment that we had bought for 1 Euro at H&M. The day was fantastic but at the end we remembered that treat yo self can only happen once and we are now having a save yo money month.

Finally, 5 of us spent all day yesterday in the BEAUTIFUL Dingle Peninsula. I had stayed in Dingle the other time I had come to Ireland when I was 12 and knew I wanted to go back. We booked a Paddy Wagon tour, which put us on a bus with 20 other tourists from around the world as we drove all over the countryside of Ireland and stopped throughout Dingle. The day was too perfect to describe. There was no rain, not even a cloud in the sky, and everything I saw I felt like I was seeing in HD. The tour started in Cork, stopped in Killarney, then went to Dingle where we visited Inch Beach, Coumeenole Beach, and the town of Dingle, as well as taking a number of photo stops along the way. It was a perfect day in every way imaginable, complete with wonderful scenery, a wonderful tour guide, and of course wonderful company.

Up next is AMSTERDAM! T-minus 4 days until my first out of the country trip and I cannot be more excited. Until next time…

 

 

Last weekend, I had the amazing privilege to spend Valentine’s Day weekend with some of the most amazing friends I have met here in another amazing city– Amsterdam. This was my first time in the Netherlands and while there is a lot of hype surrounding Amsterdam, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. However, any expectations I may have held were completely blow away by the beautiful city. Our group landed in Amsterdam around 7:30pm, navigated the crazy airport (well not that crazy but it was the first reminder that I wasn’t in an English speaking country anymore as all of the signs were written in Dutch), managed to figure out the bus system so we only had to pay 5 Euro for a bus ride instead of a 70 Euro cab ride, and finally walked to our hostel in the dark with our walk being lit by streetlights that cast shadows on the amazing architecture that the city has. Our first night in Amsterdam was our friend Colin’s birthday (the reason for the trip in the first place) so we went to a nice restaurant called “Bazar” where we stuffed ourselves with delicious middle eastern cuisine. We then went out to the city center and hopped around a few different bars until we realized that it was 2 am and we had to be up early the next morning.

Friday was most likely my favorite day in Amsterdam. We woke up, ate breakfast (which consisted of a Belgium waffle smothered in chocolate) and headed off to the van Gogh Museum. Going in, I had basically zero knowledge of van Gogh apart from knowing 3 of his paintings and the fact that he cut off his ear. However, the museum was INCREDIBLE, not only was I able to see most of his works, but I also felt like I knew him as an artist. The museum went in chronological order of his life so you were able to see his paintings develop and towards the end there was a large exhibit of the letters between him and his brother. Theo, his brother, helped finance Vincent (yes I am on a first name basis with van Gogh because I have learned so much) and was also the one who paid for his stay when he was in a mental hospital towards the end of his life. It was sad to watch the progression of Vincent’s talent and passion of his work never fade but his mental health deteriorate which eventually caused his suicide. Some amazing note about van Gogh was that in the final months of his life he painted 75 paintings in just 70 days (how????) and it was also his sister-in-law (Theo’s wife) that pushed for the recognition of van Gogh’s artwork. Theo died six months after Vincent did, so it was his wife, Johanna, that pushed for Vincent’s work to be recognized.

After van Gogh we spent the day wondering around the city where we took cheesy pictures of the I AMsterdam sign, walked uptown and gazed at the beautiful architecture and the canals that run through the city. We spent the night out in the city center again at a giant club where we danced until our feet hurt and finally made our way back to the hostel after stopping for a late night burger. The next morning we tried to wake up early again and went to the Heineken Experience. In general what was most impressive wasn’t the beer or how it is brewed, but the marketing aspect of most of the tour. There was games, pictures, and commercials that made you crave a Heineken (even if you never had one before).

After Heineken our group broke up and my friend Kristen and I were on a mission– find and ride bikes. Our friends were a bit hesitant to rent bikes with us for obvious reasons, biking in Amsterdam is on a whole new level. The bikers ride ridiculously fast, weave in and out of traffic, and have their own lane right by the street. However, Kristen and I figured we had what it takes to ride with the best (not really but we wouldn’t die) but while we may have had the determination to ride the bikes, we did not have anything it took to rent them. Our first stop was a bike shop that the receptionist at our hostel recommended but when we arrived they wanted a copy of a credit card to have on record, and both Kristen and I only had debit cards. Instead, he said, we could leave our ID and 50 Euro, but if we were not back in exactly 3 hours we wouldn’t get our money back. The issue with that plan (apart from obvious reasons) was that we wanted to return our bikes at the downtown location which was where we were meeting our friends later, and we didn’t think we would have time to ride there and back in 3 hours. So we went to a different bike shop where the guy not only wanted 50 Euro, but he also wanted our passports to hold onto while we rode the bikes– a big no no. So at last, we gave up and walked to the other part of the city. We did get to see more of the beautiful city as well as a protest (all on bikes of course) for climate change and getting rid of fossil fuels.

We met our friends at a World War 2 monument that was in the heart of the city. After dinner we did a quick walk through the red light district– don’t worry it was at 7pm and there was a group of 9 of us– but I couldn’t go to Amsterdam and not have at least taken a peak at the infamous area. After a little bit of wandering and shopping, we headed back to our hostel and spent the night laughing and playing cards against humanity since we had to be up at  6:30 for our flight the next day.

After arriving back in Cork, and taking a 3 hour nap, I began to mentally prepare myself for the week ahead– RAG week. RAG week (which stands for Raise and Give) is a week long event at UCC where there are new things going on every day to raise money for a large number of different charity organizations. While that seems fun and easy enough, there is one thing you must understand– the students go crazy. People who do not even attend UCC come for the week to take place in all of the crazy events. The bars on campus open every day at 12:30 and all of my classes for government were cancelled, with the excuse that it was “reading week”. I will be sure to go in depth about everything that has been going on and will continue during RAG week, but for now, I must nap and prepare myself for what continues to lie ahead.

Last week at UCC was the best week in the academic calendar– RAG week. RAG week, which stands for Raise & Give, is 4 days that are crammed with a number of events that all raise money for different charities. Events normally start around 10am and run until 4pm that any and all students can participate in. The on campus bars also open at 12:30 everyday and are packed with students from open to close. Walking into New Bar on campus, is just like walking into a night club– dimmed lights, blasting music, swimming with people, and flowing drinks– all at 1pm. This makes the general tone of the entire campus like a party. Some students participate in as many activities on campus as possible and some just use RAG week as an excuse to drink 24/7. But no matter which way you spend RAG week, it is for a good cause, so drinking that pint at 2 isn’t as bad when you throw a Euro into a bucket for charity while you drink it.

It is also important to note that Cork City is largely a college town, this means that it’s not just the campus that goes crazy when RAG week comes around– the whole city does. People who don’t attend college at UCC will come for RAG week, practically all of the pubs and clubs have some kind of drink deals during RAG week. We went into the city on Monday night at 10:30 and the line to a popular club was already around the block and the club didn’t open for another half an hour. The whole city seems to go crazy for RAG week, the week before RAG week we were in a cab and the cab driver spent half of the time talking about how people from the country come into Cork for RAG week. Each apartment in the complex that I live in received a letter from our landlord reminding us of some of the apartments rules and threatening serious consequences to tenants who break these rules, such as throwing eggs out of the window or at other buildings, tampering with security cameras and fire extinguishers, and so on. There would also be a security guard on the premise during RAG week instead of our usual night wardens. This letter made me wonder what has possibly happened in past RAG weeks to prompt this type of letter.

So how did I survive RAG week? Did I even survive RAG week? Yes and yes. I actually only had one class all week of RAG week and that was my music class on Monday. My two government classes were cancelled because it was reading week. My folklore class had a story-teller guest speaker for one class and the other was just cancelled. This left me with a week for free time to enjoy this crazy cultural phenomena that is RAG. On Monday I shot clay pigeons with two other friends. I was horrible. I did not hit a single pigeon thus embarrassing my gun-loving American stereotype. On Tuesday, we watched some of the ‘iron stomach’ competition which consisted of the contestants taking off one of their socks, putting it over a carton of milk, and drinking the entire carton. Wednesday, my roommate and I woke up at 12:15 and some how made it to the color run at 12:30. Thursday, we went to the on campus bar again to watch some student karaoke. And Friday, I did not leave my bed. RAG consisted of a lot of dancing, borrowing roommates clothes, laughing, and a relaxing feel-good atmosphere that never really seems to be missing in Ireland. It was a week that I will never forget, and my liver will never forgive me for.

Sadly, the end of RAG week brought me back to the harsh reality that I am in Ireland to go to school. As March approaches, I have major, assignments for all of my courses due. With papers and projects due every week, it is time to buckle down and get my study on. There are many silver-linings to a month of hard-work. The major one being that after April 2nd, I will have only one more paper due (a paper in my music class due on the 24th) and then I will be completely finished with class assignments. No finals for me, which means I will have practically 2 months to fully enjoy my time in Ireland and abroad. With many trips planned on the horizon, all it takes is a positive attitude, and lots of cups of tea, to get me through this month of work and to the end of the tunnel.

I should be quick to note that this month of work will definitely not be only work. This weekend I head up to Dublin with some friends and leave with one of my roommates from Loyola. My roommate, Alyssa, is visiting me over her spring break and I cannot be more excited to show her how I have been living here as she has been experiencing one of Chicago’s coldest February’s ever. Once she leaves, I have a weekend trip to Kerry planned as well as a weekend in Glasgow. The end of March also means a visit from a Rome-center friend, Allison, whose plans we are still trying to iron out. With so much work and play in my future, it is crazy to think how I will ever adjust back to life at home. It is safe to say it will be a more difficult transition home then it was to get here.

Thats all for now! More later!

With a stuffed backpack and bus ticket in hand, (and by in hand, I mean on my phone because it still takes me way to long to figure out the printer on campus) I headed off to Dublin on Thursday afternoon. While I was extremely excited to visit Dublin, I didn’t have much on my list to see, I had tickets to see the Book of Kells and go to the Guinness factory, but apart from that, I was just ready to explore. Luckily, I had the best tour guide sitting right next to me on the bus ride down. My friend Marypaz, had actually interned in Dublin for about 2 months a year and a half ago. While she didn’t have the city completely memorized, she did know what places to hit up, Irish friends to meet up with, and was ready to share it all with me.

Thursday night we arrived in our hostel where we quickly realized how spoiled we were in Amsterdam. In our Dublin hostel, we had no table or chairs, the wifi wasn’t that awesome, but the most awkward thing of all was that there were 3 strangers in our room with us. However, we chatted with them for a bit when we arrived, it was a French couple and a guy from Brazil who is currently living in Amsterdam, so we learned that they were cool, aka we could leave our backpacks in the room and not lock them up. That night we met up with two of Marypaz’s Irish friends, Shane and Conor, who brought us to a more local Irish night club where we were able to dance the night away (literally the night away since Savannah and I left ‘early’ at 3:30). We also were able to snag a Captain Morgan t-shirt that a worker was handing out and make the walk back with no trouble whatsoever.

We woke up early on Friday, and while the rest of our group went to the Guinness Factory, Marypaz and I went all around Dublin. We went shopping on Grafton Street, visited Trinity College, Saint Stevens Green, the Dáil Éireann (the house of Parliament), the National Museum of Ireland, Dublin castle, and Saint Patrick’s Cathedral. During our activities we were also able to squeeze in a lunch in a cute cafe and drink a cuppa in Dublin Castle. My favorite stop of the whole day was probably the National Museum where we were able to look at bog bodies. Bog bodies were bodies of people who have been thrown into the bogs in Ireland usually as a sacrifice of some sort. The bodies we saw were from 200-400 BC and yet, you could still make out the fingernails on their hands because the bogs are able to preserve the bodies so well. We even saw their hair. It was super cool and I took pictures at the beginning, but in the end, I felt a bit queazy and had to stop. Marypaz and I also wanted to tour the Dáil but we missed the tour times, so we could only stand outside and stare at it. However, everything else we did was very fun and exciting and after we met up with the rest out our friends, we geared up to go out to Temple Bar. Note: Temple Bar is not just one bar, it is a street of many different clubs and pubs, and it is also very touristy, it’s not exactly a place that the locals hit up on the weekend. We did have fun though and made it back to the hostel in one piece so we could be up and ready for another busy day.

Saturday was equally as busy. I woke up and went to Trinity College to see the Book of Kells and the old library. All I can say about that exhibit is WOW. It sounds cheesy, but it was so beautiful and impressive I was seriously blown away both by the artwork of the book and the history behind it all. One of the most interesting things for me was that the Book of Kells was made around 800 AD and in 1661 the book was given to Trinity college by the Bishop of Ussher. To me, it was amazing to think about how in 1661 the importance of this book was recognized and at such an early time, and the steps were made to ensure that it was preserved all the way until now. But not only was the Book of Kells magnificent, but the old library in Trinity college was mind-blowing. Fun fact: the library in Harry Potter was actually modeled off of the old library in Trinity, so that should give you an idea of how beautiful it was. I think that if this was the library I could actually study in, I may complete my homework in a timely manner.

 

 

After the Book of Kells, I was able to take a different tour of Dublin. Savannah, Marypaz, and I actually took a bus to the outskirts of Dublin to a place called Howth. Marypaz had previously said that her favorite place in all of Dublin was Howth so I knew that was definitely going to be something to check out. When we arrived, we met up with Shane, who was going to be our tour guide for the rest of the day (tour guide being taken very lightly). We looked out into the coast at Howth and walked around for a bit before the rain caught up with us. Luckily for us, Shane had managed to borrow his dad’s car for the day so we were able to be chauffeured around to see all these little suburbs outside of Dublin. We were able to see a castle in Malahide, try Nandos (a super good chicken place that isn’t in Cork), drink a couple of pints, and relax with great company.

 

My final day in Dublin was exciting because at 9am I was able to see my roommate and Chicago buddy, Alyssa. Alyssa flew in and arrived early on Sunday so as soon as she dropped her stuff off at the hostel I was staying at, I had to fill her up with an Irish breakfast, and then go to the Guinness factory. Pretty much ensuring she would be aware that she was in Ireland within the first few hours (plus it rained half of the way there, in case she wasn’t sure).  After the Guinness factory, we stopped in a little pub for lunch where we were able to watch the start of the Ireland vs. England rugby game (Ireland won btw) before we had to head off to the bus station.

Overall, my weekend in Dublin was fanatic. One interesting aspect about Dublin though was when I was at Dublin Castle and Trinity, I noticed pig statues all around the place. For all of my Cincinnati readers, you will know why I thought this was so funny. But for everyone else, in Cincinnati there are statues of flying pigs all over the city (the Cincinnati marathon is even called ‘The Flying Pig’) so I saw a little connection between my home town in Dublin. Another realization I came to when I was in Dublin was how happy I am that I am studying in Cork. Visiting Dublin was extremely exciting and it reminded me a bit of Chicago– both major cities, but because of that it made me recognize how safe Cork is. Cork is much smaller and more centralized, and while I have never walked home by myself in Cork, I would feel completely safe doing so. That means for people who say that Dublin is so much better than Cork, have you even been to Cork? Both cities are very different, but I am happy with my choice.

Finally, Marypaz and I are already planning a trip back to Dublin. I didn’t realize how much there was to see in Dublin until I was there and leaving. We hope to go back again in April and have a political tour of Dublin. We want to try to tour the Dáil, go to Arbor Hill cemetery, Croke park, and any other place we can squeeze in. Hopefully this happens because the more and more I learn about Irish politics, the more I want to visit all of these historical places. I also have to mail my postcard from the GPO which I was unable to do this past weekend (and yes the postcard is written to me, so it can wait to be mailed, I’m not going to be home anytime soon).

That’s all for now! This coming weekend– Kerry (aka I better get to hold a lamb)

p.s. look at this super cool picture of me touching the bullet holes on the GPO (great post office) where shots were fired at the 1916 Easter Rising. I was probably way too excited than I should have been.

I apologize in advance for the short and potentially choppiness of this post. I am currently in the middle of writing a 2,000 word essay on the root causes in the Northern Ireland conflict, booking flights and hotels for spring break, and packing to leave for Scotland tomorrow at noon. Please bare with me.

The month of March off to a crazy and busy start already. I was able to spend this past long weekend on a true Ireland adventure. Thursday I took a Paddy Wagon Tour (which I would highly recommend for anyone if they were to ever come to Ireland because it’s just fantastic) with my roommate from back home, Alyssa, to the Cliffs of Moher. When I arrived I definitely had a fear that I would simply just fall off the cliffs by either the wind or me just tripping, however, it was a bit safer than I had thought. There was a stone wall that provided a small barrier from falling to my death, but I would be lying if I said that I stayed behind it the whole time. Alyssa and I ventured all over the cliffs, and pretty close to the edge, but I was more worried about her falling over the edge than me, but we both survived and took some pretty killer pictures.

The next day I woke up and embarked on a three day long trip of the Ring of Kerry. This trip was “paid for” by USAC (yes I’m putting that in quotes because technically “we” paid USAC when we booked my semester abroad (yes I’m putting we in quote because I really didn’t pay those fees)). The best thing about this trip was that we were staying in a hotel for the entire weekend and all of our food was paid for in advance. I do not think I can properly articulate how much bread I consumed in that 3 day period, but it was a lot. We arrived in Caherciveen, where our hotel was, just in time for a delicious dinner. After dinner we sat in a back room and sang some traditional Irish songs (think Galway Girl) and then participated in a trivia contest. The trivia contest was for teams of 5 and luckily it was the 5 of us girls who were in Kerry this weekend so we immediately formed a team and proceeded to dominate. Luckily the combination of the 5 of us provided us with a bizarre arsenal of random facts and information from major river’s names, the president of Ireland, movie facts, capitals of countries, and more. We were also the only team who seemed to be having fun and laughing the entire time, and add the one pint of beer on the table, everyone (including the Irish moderator) thought our team was drunk. So it was especially satisfying when we came in first. Our prize was two coasters made of Valentia Slate, so it was well deserved.

The next day we woke up bright and early and spent the entire day roaming around Valentia Island and other small Kerry towns. We saw baby calves, walked up crazy high hills, saw the location where the first transatlantic cable was connected to Europe, ate more good food, and sang happy birthday to Kristen (who turned the big 2-1) three times throughout the day. That night the group received lessons in Gaelic football and Irish dancing. We learned dances to four traditional group Irish dances, which brought back memories. I definitely remembered most of the dances, and I was even complimented on how well I did, however my calves still burn.

Sunday was spent doing the full Ring of Kerry, and the highlight of it all was getting to hold two, 3-week old, baby lambs. (Yes I made a number of Silence of the Lambs jokes and my friends definitely wanted to feed me to Hannibal Lector by the end). The Ring of Kerry was simply gorgeous. It was beautiful rural Ireland, that we saw while driving through a number of small towns, and stopping at a number of locations. We saw so much in these three days, and they even gave everyone a flyer that laid out everything that we saw:

 

Crag Caves, Castelisland

Cahersiveen

Transatlantic Cable Cite, Valentia Island

Geoghan Mountain & Fogher Cliffs

Valentia State Quarry

Skellig Experience

Ballycarberry Castle

Daniel O’Connell Memorial Church

Stone Forts– Cahergal & Leacanbuaile

Cumakista Pass

Derrynane House & Beach

Ladies View, Ring of Kerry

Torc Waterfall

Killarney National Park

Muckross Castle

 

Overall, it was a fantastic weekend. So many sites and experiences crammed into one weekend. I arrived back in Cork throughly exhausted but completely content. Now, time to pack and get ready for a weekend in Scotland!

I know it has been awhile since I have last been able to blog but I have been slammed with both schoolwork and other crazy events. When I last checked in I was about to head off to Scotland. Scotland was 10 times more fun then I ever expected. To be honest, I had zero expectations for the weekend and I was completely blown away from my visit. The trip started with a scare, the scare being that I sat next to two Scottish businessmen on the plane and I could barely understand a single word they said. Both tried to make a joke with me and I laughed (hopefully appropriately?) and then they had to ask me about 3 times before I could understand that they were just wondering where I was going and how many of us there were. Getting off the plane, I turned to my friends and told them that this weekend would be a bit rougher than expected. However, as the next few days went by I realized that while I still had trouble understanding some words, those two men must have the thickest Scottish accent on this earth.

The reasoning behind the trip to Scotland was because our friend Kristen actually has two friends who live in Glasgow. As a result of this great luck, one of her friends was nice enough to pick us up from the airport and drive us to our hostel. My expectations for hostels has also officially sunk over time. When we arrived at our hostel we were a bit worried seeing as a Buzzfeed article had been published about the hostel and it’s not so great living conditions. Upon arrival, our hostel check in was actually across the street from where we would be sleeping. The room had 4 bunk beds, and since there were 7 of us we would only be living with one stranger–an upside compared to Dublin. However, I cannot begin to explain how wrong we could possibly be. Our roommate, who we named Pitbull because he was fat, bald, and annoying, was quite possibly the worst person you could ever share a room with. He snored louder than I have ever heard a person snore in my entire life. I don’t think he was breathing for part of the time. He would not only snore continuously and loudly, he would also shout in his sleep and make other disgusting noises. I maybe slept 3 hours the first night.

However, a bad nights sleep did not prevent us from having a fantastic first full day in Scotland. We woke up bright and early on Friday and took the train from Glasgow to Edinburgh. It was a quick 40 minute train ride and we arrived with the whole day ahead of us. We first went to the Edinburgh Castle, which I once again knew nothing about, and was a little irritated when I found out I had to pay 16 pounds to get in. However, I was completely wrong as the castle was INCREDIBLE. It had about 6 mini-museums throughout the castle so I was able to learn about the history of Scotland’s military, the history of the castle, go into rooms where POWs were held, walk through a few war memorials, tour beautiful rooms, and see the crowned jewels (which later sparked the debate about whether you would rather have a scepter or a wand). We spent a few hours wondering around the castle and taking a number of photos. The castle also provided a gorgeous view of Edinburgh which has a perfect mix of both new and historical buildings. But just when you thought the day couldn’t get any better, something glorious happened– Harry Potter.

After lunch, where everyone in our group tried and actually enjoyed fried haggis, we ventured around Edinburgh to find a cafe called Elephant House. I am glad some people in the group were prepared because little did I know, but Elephant House is actually the cafe where JK Rowling first wrote the beginning of Harry Potter, on napkins. After wandering around a bit we found the cafe where we all sat down with a cuppa and pretended that we were as brilliant t as JK (we’re not). The coolest part of the cafe is actually the bathroom. Inside all of the walls, people have written notes to JK or quotes from Harry Potter. It was the first, and probably last, time that I took about 8 pictures of bathroom walls. Marypaz and I even wrote a note ourselves on the bottom of a wall. Some of our friends may have been embarrassed by how much Marypaz and I were fan-girling, but they were nice enough to not make it obvious.

Our day in Edinburgh ended with us shopping around and not buying anything because the pound is way too expensive. We went back to Glasgow and had a nice dinner and quiet night out at a local bar that had a live band. We went back to the hostel and tried to fall asleep (before Pitbull returned) so we could be energized for the following day. The next day we spent walking around Glasgow. We looked in a few museums, toured some outdoor sites, shopped, ate, and drank. It was a nice relaxing day and we were able to see all that the city had to offer, a special thanks to Kristen’s friend who was able to show us around. We left Glasgow the next morning, bright and early, to head back to Dublin then Cork, and reality.

The past week and half has been crammed with school work and days of fun. Saint Patrick’s Day was obviously exciting and Cork had a huge parade in the center of town with food stands all across the city center. Classes were cancelled for the day, as St. Paddy’s Day is considered a bank holiday, so we had the whole day open for drinking, I mean adventuring. While St. Paddy’s Day is very exciting in Ireland, it is important to understand that it really isn’t that big of a deal compared to St. Patrick’s Day even in Chicago. While there was a huge parade and downtown was packed, no one wore an obnoxious amount of green or Irish gear. It is instead a day of celebration but much more calmer than stereotypes may have you think. We woke up and ate a huge Irish breakfast, courtesy of chef Casey, and mimosas before we headed down to the parade. We were able to sit at a nice rooftop bar for a few hours during the day, since it was exceptionally pretty out, and just relax in the good atmosphere. We went out later that night and had a blast, but we did have class the next morning and real life waiting for us.

After spending the next few days writing a number of papers, I was able to take another day off and go up to Dublin to visit a friend. Allison, a friend who is studying at the Rome center, was in Dublin for 2 days so I was able to spend the day with her and show her around. Although I am no expert, only having gone to Dublin once before, we did do a lot. We walked through Dublin Castle, Saint Steven’s Green, ate some pub food, and, of course, went the the Guinness factory. I could only stay for a day so I headed back that night. It was, however, a nice break from school work.

Finally, two of Marypaz’s friends from Dublin, who we met last time we were up there, came down to Cork to visit. They arrived on Sunday night so we went out to dinner and then to a bar and tried to prove to them how fun Cork is (Dublin people aren’t the biggest fans of Cork). They seemed to have a fun time and we are in the works of making future plans to visit them again in Dublin in April. Since they’ve left, it has been a few days of heavy school work. This is the final stretch as I am trying to complete all of my papers before my parents arrive on March 31st. Super excited to see them and super excited to be done with all this work. As my mom said, it is rude that school is interrupting my 5 month vacation.