As George said, "All things must pass." Reflections on my semester in Galway

Well here it is, the post I have never taken the time to think about but I dread it as I type these words. While I do not leave Ireland until May 22nd, I will be spending the last two days in Dublin and so I actually have only one more full week in Galway City. This will most likely be another long post. Keep your Kleenex nearby, there will be some sentimentality in the air.

On January 3, 2010, I arrived in Dublin far too early in the morning jetlagged but filled with anticipation and curiosity at the coming semester in Ireland. My whole life I have been surrounded by my rich irish heritage and have been told so many stories about ancestors and the country itself, from the politics to the world famous emerald green landscape. Now, for five months, I was actually going to live in Ireland, on my own.

Things moved so quickly and that Dublin orientation was rapidly in the past as I settled into my home in Galway City, the best city in Ireland. In this trend of quickness, I found a great group of friends that I have stuck with this whole five months and I am sure I will stick with them for many years to come. I am blessed to have found such great friends in such a short amount of time. Seeing each other at all of hours of the day, everyday, may have helped the relationships grow as fast as they did, but I won't complain. Over the next five months we, together, experienced the transition to a new school and academic environment, the new feeling of living far away from any family or familiarity, and took incredible trips around Europe that I will never forget. I saw Edinburgh Castle, Westminster Abbey, "Oliver" in a London theatre, ate lunch under the Eiffel Tower, kissed the Blarney Stone for the second time, stood awestruck at the Giants Causeway, ate sausage and drank beer in the Hofbrauhaus in Munich, walked under the Bradenburg Gate in Berlin, crossed the Charles Bridge in Prague, spent an evening on the beach looking out on the Mediterranean Sea in Barcelona, ambled through the Prado Museum in Madrid, hiked up a mountain in the Alps to Neuschwanstein Castle, and was moved by my unfogettable afternoon at Dachau concentration camp memorial. WOW.

Those are just the beginnings of the vast wealth of memories that I will forever hold in my heart and mind. Perhaps the greatest times occurred not in those various famous European cities, but in the living rooms of my friend's apartments here in Gort na Coiribe, drinking tea, eating cookies, and laughing for hours each night as we told stories and just truly enjoyed each other's company. Furthermore, I'll never forget the afternoons walking down Shop Street in Galway, spending nights drinking a pint or two of Ireland's finest Guinness in one of many Galway pubs, or just stepping outside in the evening and admiring the spectacular Galway sky as the sun began to set. I get chills just thinking about the experience I have had these past five months and I will live in a state of shock for the next week knowing that it will soon come to an end.

While I am very much looking forward to coming home to Pearl River and living the normal life again in that great house on the corner of Oriole Street and Sandra Lane, someone might have to pull me off the streets of Galway and drag me to Dublin airport in 8 days time. For five months, I have lived in an absolutely awesome city and have experienced a whole new and differnet part of the world. The Irish people have been my fellow residents and they could not have treated any of us American students any better. Their compassion, their charm, their sense of humor, and ability to always make you feel warm and welcome is something I will always treasure. Sure they may have a few too many pints sometimes, but they are incredible people.

Though I am only 21 years old now, I have seen myself go through so many changes over the past few years and this has just been another change for the better. I have learned so much about myself and other people and I am very grateful for that.

As I get on the plane next Saturday, destination Newark Airport, it will no doubt be the epitome of bittersweet. If my friends and I could stay another five months, I'm sure we would, but we can't. I will take what I have learned here in Galway, both in and out of the classroom, and apply it to the rest of my life as best I can. I am forever grateful to Galway City and all the friends I shared this experience with.

I'll end this post with one of Ireland's greatest writers: W. B. Yeats. His poem, The Lake Isle of Innisfree, tells the story of a man who dreams of the lake isle that he used to go to as a young boy and how that place brought him so much peace and happiness. For the rest of my life, Galway City will be my lake isle of Innisfree, and I'm sure I will dream of it often.

I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made:
Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honey-bee;
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.

And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;
There midnight's all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,
And evening full of the linnet's wings.

I will arise and go now, for always night and day
I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey,
I hear it in the deep heart's core.

Thank you to everyone who has been reading all these blog posts for the past five months. I really appreciate it and I have loved writing about my experience for you. I will see you all very soon and I can't wait.

Conor

Spring Break 2010 Pt. 2 (Munich, Prague, Berlin)

So after a long two weeks of traveling around France, Spain, and Portugal, while at the same time trying to outrun a hovering volcanic ash cloud over the skies of Europe, we all arrived home in Galway for a few days of rest and recuperation. However, after just three days, what did we do? Why, we hopped on yet another Ryanair flight and began another journey, this time only lasting one week. We arrived in Munich, Germany and discovered that we were staying in a hostel that might as well have been a hotel. Sure we stayed in a room with three sets of bunk beds, and it wasn't the most glamorous place, but it did have a huge lobby, an atrium room with a glass ceiling and numerous comfy chairs and hammocks to lay on. It also had its own bar/cafe. Fortunately, as nice as it was, the Wombats hostel was only used for sleeping and breakfast. During our days in Munich, we saw the massive English Gardens, apparently much larger than Central Park, and ate all kinds of traditional German food. We had sausage and pretzels, dabbled in some real German sauer kraut, and spent one evening in the Hofbrauhaus, the most famous beer hall in Munich, and maybe in all of Germany. There each of us in the group of five had a stein, one of those giant glasses of beer. One of the German favorites is called Radler, a mixture of beer and lemonade which is so good.

We took a walking tour of the city and learned a lot about the history of Munich. While walking around, we came to realize that Munich is spotlessly clean and it seems a little too nice in some parts. Everything is just very clean and neat all over the place. We went inside the church that Pope Benedict used to reside at and saw many different types of buildings and architecture. On the last night we were there, hours before we took a brutal overnight bus to Prague, we headed down to the Oktoberfest grounds and luckily for us, Springfest was in full swing. Springfest is like Oktoberfest Jr. and when we arrived at the famous beer hall tent, people were jumping up on tables and dancing the night away to a cover band that played some great 90's American music.

The most amazing two days of the trip, as different as they were, were our day trips to Dachau concentration camp and Neuschwanstein Castle in the German Alps.

First up was an afternoon at Dachau. When we arrived and walked up to the entrance of the camp, I got the feeling that it was going to be an intense and emotional afternoon. We took a guided tour of the grounds where they showed us the main processing building where there were displays and posters telling the history of the camp. Within that building also were the showers prisoners would use when they arrived, along with examples of some of the punishment devices that were used on them by Nazi soldiers. We moved on to see replicas of the barracks that prisoners slept in and then finally made our way to a secluded part of the camp where the gas chambers and crematoriums were located. Walking through that building and through the gas chamber room knowing what had taken place there 60 years ago was very overwhelming. The things that happened there will never truly be grasped by all of us, but being there shed just a little light on those dark days in our world's history only half a century ago.

The second day trip was a much more pleasant one and its a day that I will not soon forget thanks to the scenery that surrounded me. After a two hour train ride through the beautiful German countryside, we arrived at the foot of the German Alps in the small town of Fussen. From there we took a bus to the foot of another mountain, on which stood Neuschwanstein Castle, creation of King Ludwig II and the inspiration for the Sleeping Beauty Castle in Disneyland. With our tour guide, we hiked up the mountain and took another guided tour inside the castle. We couldn't take pictures inside the castle but letme tell you, the decorations were just incredible. The throne room, which has never actually contained a throne since Ludwig only spent about 170 days there in total, contained a tile mosaic floor with over one million tiles. The walls were painted gold and adorned with magnificent wall paintings. The best sites of all though were outside the castle windows. All around us were the breathtaking German Alps, rising high into the clouds, capped with blankets of snow. It was very surreal to be standing there overlooking the Alps. Just never imagined that I would be there in that situation, but I was, and I'm not complaining.

From Munich we traveled to another charming and elegant city, Prague, in the Czech Republic. Like Munich, Prague was very clean and almost seemed a little artificial. With Prague Castle on top of the hill overlooking the city, it all seemed like something out of Epcot Center in Disney World. We stayed in another nice hostel and saw all of the most famous sites in Prague on another walking tour. Since we began our travels, the Sandeman's New Europe Tour Company has been our best friend. We've taken so many of their tours and they've all been great ways to see the cities we have visited. We saw the famous astrological clock, a concert hall where Mozart played live, walked across the famous Charles Bridge, and ambled around the grounds of Prague Castle, the largest and oldest medieval castle in the world! Prague was a very charming city and one of my favorites that I have seen this semester. As for the Czech language, it's totally crazy.

The last stop on the European travel marathon 2010 edition was the capital of Germany, Berlin. As a history major, and as a lover of World War II history, Berlin was the place for me. They city is chock full of WWII history and 20th century history involving the USSR and the Berlin Wall. Once again we stayed in a great hostel and took one more Sandeman's free walking tours. We saw the Brandenburg Gate, the Reichstag, the former location of Hitler's bunker, the Berlin Wall, Checkpoint Charlie, the Pergamon Ancient History Museum, the Olympiastadion soccer stadium that played host to the 1936 Olympics (where Jesse Owens beat Hitler) and the 2006 World Cup Final (where Zidene made his infamous headbutt). But most important of all, was the Hotel Adlon, the most expensive hotel in Berlin and place where Michael Jackson hung his baby off of the top floor balcony. Sadly, I think I saw the most cameras come out when we passed that hotel.

On Monday we got a flight back from Berlin and arrived back in Galway safe and sound, just before that pesky ash cloud arrived back over Irish airspace, causing more travel trouble for some of my friends here. Shockingly, tomorrow marks just two more weeks until this incredible semester comes to an end. I'll have to write an end of the semester reflection sometime before I leave but it is starting to hit me and all my friends that we do not have much more time left here. It has flown by in a flash, but as they always say, time flies when you're having fun. This semester has been the best experience of my life and I'm gonna enjoy these last two weeks as best I can before I get back home for another summer in the town of friendly people, Pearl River.

I'm going to upload all the pictures from all my European travels to my other picture site so I'll let you all know when that happens. If you have access to my facebook page, they are all up on there already. I'll also post some on here later on.

Thanks for reading everyone and I'll be seeing you soon!

Conor

Spring Break 2010 Pt. 1 in Pictures

I Survived the Iceland Volcanic Ash Cloud! Spring Break 2010 Pt. 1 (France, Spain, Portugal)

Well it has been what seems like an eternity since I've posted on here and looking at the date of the last post, it actually has been. As you can imagine, being in Europe over the past couple of weeks, a lot of things have happened so I suggest you sit in a comfy chair while reading because this may be a long post.

On April 9th, my spring break travels around Europe began in the City of Lights, Paris. With my two friends Kiley and Brian, we spent four days in Paris seeing everything there is to see and then some. We stayed in a hostel room with an older guy from Quebec who we referred to as just that, "Quebec." He was nice but the only thing he ever said to us was, "What time is it, please?" Literally that was all he kept asking us every time we saw him. Anyway, that's not that interesting. Now I'll try and rattle off all the places I saw in Paris. On the first full day we were there we took a free walking tour and walked all over the city. We saw everything from Notre Dame to the 1,000,000 euro houses along the Seine to the Place de la Concorde and of course, the Eiffel Tower. We walked through the courtyard of the Louvre and saw the glass pyramid and strolled through Tullery Gardens on a bright sunny day. We walked past the Orangery museum and up the Champs Elysses to the Arc de Triomphe. At night we usually stayed in the Montmarte section around Sacre Coeur and ate a crazy amount of baguettes and crepes. As I'm thinking about it now, it really was basically an eating trip the whole time. As we ate our crepes sitting on the steps of Sacre Coeur overlooking the whole of Paris, it was a bit too surreal. I just spent a weekend in Paris! Paris was really everything I imagined it to be. Stunningly beautiful all over and luckily we had perfect weather. Even the French people were pretty nice which was surprising.

For our one day trip outside of Paris, we traveled to the Palace of Versailles. Let me tell you, you will never see anything as extravagant and amazing as Versailles. We took the tour of the palace and I was awestruck at the decoration and beauty of each and every room. The paintings and sculptures and pottery and adornment was just unbelievable. Out behind the palace the jaw-dropping scenes continued in the gardens that stretched on literally for miles with massive fountains and classical music playing. It was quite an experience.

After four days in Paris, we left for Barcelona to meet up with another group of friends. As a blackberry owner, I had the distinct honor of informing all my friends that a volcano erupted in Iceland. At first we all just shook it off and thought nothing of it. Then the news stories kept rolling in. European airspace was shut down and we were right in the middle of our travels. Madrid and Portugal were still on our list of future destinations but we had no clue what was going on. We received messages from other friends who were stranded in places like Greece and Italy and had no idea when they would be getting out. So began a lot of stress for a group of American college students who were just looking to have fun traveling around Europe for a couple weeks.

As for the sights that I saw in Barcelona, there were many. We walked up a very steep hill/mountain to Gaudi Park where we overlooked the city and got to see Gaudi's impressive and abstract park that looked like something out of Candy Land. We walked in and around La Sagrada Familia Church which has been under continuous construction for over 100 years I believe and won't be done for another decade. We ate palella and drank sangria and hung out on Barceloneta beach looking out on the Mediterranean Sea. The highlight of Barcelona for me was the trip to the Camp Nou, home of soccer team FC Barcelona. This stadium is one of the meccas of European and world soccer and I got to tour it. Such a cool experience. Unsure of the volcanic ash clouds future path, we crossed our fingers and thankfully got our flight from Barcelona to Madrid.

This is where the real stress began. Unfortunately, because we were constantly checking the Ryanair website and CNN.com, we probably didn't get to enjoy Madrid as much as we would have liked but it was a great city nonetheless. Our hostel was really nice despite the fact that we were in a room with some woman from San Diego who looked like a witch and would literally spend the day sitting on her bed saying strange prayers and mediatations. I think she might have been working on some spells or incantations but I can't be sure. In Madrid we went to the Prado museum, saw the big bullfighting arena, walked through the Plaza Mayor, and hung out one afternoon in an incredible park, the Central Park of Madrid if you will. We also ate some great tapas and drank more sangria.

Our final stop on the trip is a rather unique and perhaps obscure one: Porto, Portugal. After an 8 hour bus ride from Madrid to Porto which included a random roadside drug checkpoint in which the bus was searched by Spanish police and two of my friends were taken off the bus for random checks from huge K9 drug dogs, we arrived in Porto confused and exhausted. For the last three days we strolled around Porto and spend the evenings along the Duoro River eating some good food. The stress of the volcano continued to mount and came to its peak when we were informed that our flight home to Dublin was cancelled. After this deflating news, we created a plan that would continue our journey right into our spring break part 2 which actually begins tomorrow in Germany and Prague. However, just to make us all a little crazier, our flight was miraculously reinstated and by some strange miracle, we arrived back in Dublin on Thursday, just as we intended when we originally booked this trip. Don't ask me how it all worked out, I don't think I'll ever have an answer for that.

All in all it was an experience I'll never forget. The semester that I went abroad, and the two weeks that I took a spring break trip, a volcano erupted in Iceland and wreaked havoc across Europe, and I was there for it. It's certainly a story that I'm sure I'll tell a few more times in the future.

Hope you've all gotten to this point and have not fallen asleep yet. I'll make another post right after this with some pictures from the trip.

You may be shocked to know that I actually am still doing schoolwork and I'm just finishing up an essay now. It needs to get done today because tomorrow morning, bright and early at 5 AM, I take a bus across Ireland to Dublin Airport and depart for another week to Munich, Prague, and Berlin.

Hope all is well with everyone at home and I must take this opportunity to say Happy Birthday to Grandma! Hope you have a great day at Uncle John's with everyone. Wish I could be there.

Conor

Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about you.

Hello all!

Sorry for the big gaps in between posts but nothing too exciting has happened since the Aran Islands trip. Have no fear though, April is going to be non-stop adventures so stay tuned for tons of posts.

I'll give you a preview of the upcoming days and weeks in April:

As most of you probably know, the Goldens arrive in Galway this Wednesday. I can't wait to see them after over 3 months away from home. We're probably going to take day trips to the Cliffs of Moher and the Aran Islands and of course I'll be the tour guide around the lovely Galway City. From Galway they're going to Dublin and I might join them for a day or two before I need to get home and get ready for my own European adventures. There are two trips currently booked and planned:

From April 9th to April 22nd:

Paris > Barcelona > Madrid > Porto (Portugal)

From April 26th to May 3rd:

Munich > Prague > Stockholm

An Italy trip is also in the works and will probably happen mid to late May. I can't believe this is all happening and I will be going to all these amazing cities and countries. Can't wait to get started and experience it all.

Not much else going on here. My classes end on Wednesday and then I'll be hanging with the family for the next week after that.

Hope all is well back home with everyone!

Conor

Hanging Over Some Cliffs - Day Trip to the Aran Islands

Yesterday I made yet another little trip to another one of Ireland's most beautiful places: the Aran Islands. For some more info on the islands, visit my good friend, Mr. Wikipedia right here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aran_Islands. For our day trip, we visited the largest of the islands called Inishmore.

We were up early and got a bus from our housing complex at 9 AM. After about an hour bus ride we hopped on an Aran Island ferry and made another 40 minute trip across Galway Bay to Inishmore. It was yet another beautiful day of sunny skies. This past week the weather literally never changed from blue skies and sun; it was awesome. When we got to the island and off the ferry, we all rented bikes and began our journey along the coast of the 9 mile island. On our trip up the coast, we stopped to make friends with some horses, chickens, and cows, took plenty of pictures of the winding stone walls and farms scattered around the landscape, and eventually came upon a small beach. As a group of us laid down in the tall grass along some cliffs near the beach, we looked down and to our amazement, watched as two random men stripped down and ran into the water. Confused and a little disturbed, we decided it was as good a time as any to continue our bike ride.

Our final stop on our bike ride before turning around and heading back to the ferry was possibly my favorite thing I've seen so far in Ireland. I know that I've said that for about a dozen different things but if you see the pictures, you'll see why I am positive this time that it's my favorite. Dun Aengus (or Dún Aonghasa in Irish) is an ancient Iron Age fort that sits atop cliffs that are over 300 feet tall. After making a long hike up some steep hills, we got to the fort and once again were awe-struck by its size and beauty. We walked to the edge of the cliffs and realized that it was totally open, giving us the chance to just sit with our feet hanging over, looking out onto the Atlantic Ocean. We all sat together and didn't really say much as we were all a little shocked at what we were seeing. Below us was only ocean and some rocks jutting out from the water. Unfortunately, we didn't get to spend too much time there, but that half hour or so may have been my favorite half hour of all my sightseeing times here in Ireland.

Once again it was a great day. We had a great bike ride, saw some incredible scenery, and got to spend some amazing time at Dun Aengus. I don't know how I'm going to be able to contain all these memories in my mind once I get home in May. I think I'll find a way though.

Thanks for reading!

Conor

Traveling the UK: Part 2 (Scotland)!

So here is the second and final part of my two part series: Traveling the UK. This past weekend may have been my favorite weekend so far in Ireland. From Thursday to Sunday, my friends and I meandered through the streets of Glasgow and Edinburgh, Scotland. We stayed in the "Redrum" at one hostel, saw where Sean Connery was knighted, ate haggis and fried Mars bars, and may have seen a few ghosts in the Edinburgh graveyards. Let's get into a little more detail though, shall we?

First up on the agenda was Glasgow. Upon arrival, we made the long trek from the bus station to the Blue Sky Hostel. It was a really cool and funky place with spray paint on the walls and wacky themes for each room. Yes, we were in the room themed after "The Shining," complete with a huge picture of a crazed Jack Nicholson on the door and the words "REDRUM" painted across the bottom. When we walked inside, there was no surprise, the whole room was painted red. Don't worry though, we were all okay. Thankfully, our work to fun ratio tipped entirely to the "fun" side so we didn't go insane. (Lame joke, I know). So for one day and night, we explored Glasgow. It's your basic city. We headed into the center where all the shops are along with the City Hall which was really nice. We saw some typical red stone Scottish architecture and spent the night at Ashton Lane, a very cool little cobblestone street with plenty of cool pubs and restaurants. It was a brief stay but a good one nonetheless.

Friday morning we got on yet another bus and made our way to Edinburgh. I have to say it here and I'll probably say it again: Edinburgh is an awesome city. I mean really awesome. When we first arrived I could see all of the medieval architecture and knew that this would be a great weekend. Just thinking about the history of it made me giddy being the nerdy history major that I am. Edinburgh is kind of divided into the old town and new town. Thankfully, we stayed in the old town. But we didn't stay in some run of the mill youth hostel. We stayed in the Castle Rock Hostel, named for the fact that it sits at the bottom of Castle Rock. Outside our window, the magnificent Edinburgh Castle hovered over us. Off in the distance outside our hostel, we could see the snow-capped mountain ranges of Scotland. For the next two days and nights, we explored almost every inch of Edinburgh. Friday we were on our own as we walked down the Royal Mile, the main road in the old town, past all sorts of old pubs and tons of Scotland souvenir shops.

Saturday was the big though. We first had a big Scottish breakfast, complete with haggis (all kinds of pig innards cooked in a pig's stomach and seasoned with some spices). Honestly, it was pretty good. It tasted like sausage which is never a bad thing. From there we made our way to the starting point of a free guided walking tour of the city. Our tour guide was a totally cool young guy named Ronnie. He had a great Scottish accent and gave us a great tour. We walked up and down the Royal Mile, down the Grassmarket area where most executions took place many years ago, and saw some very cool Harry Potter historic spots. We stood outside the window where JK Rowling wrote the first Harry Potter book. Just around the corner from there is the castle off of which she based Hogwarts, and finally, we saw the grave of a man named "Tom Riddell." Now, although the name is spelt differently in real life, this was the inspiration for "He Who Must Not Be Named." (Again, lame). At the end of the tour we were told the story of the Scottish "Stone of Destiny." It is a totally wacky story and too long for me to write in here. I suggest everyone google it though! Saturday night brought yet another tour: the Edinburgh Ghost Tour. With our Jesus look-alike tour guide Alan, we walked through the Edinburgh night to various graveyards and monuments that are said to be haunted. We saw the grave of philosopher David Hume and stood atop a hill overlooking the city at night while Alan told us all kinds of ghost stories.

After a fun-filled day of touring Edinburgh, we were all exhausted and hit the hay pretty quickly. We slept in a very happily themed room this time: The Happy Days Room." Each bed had its own Happy Days character. My bed was Big Al. Wish I watched Happy Days more b/c I don't know who that is. Oh well.

Here it comes again: Edinburgh is an awesome city. Best city I've visited so far by a "royal mile." The lame jokes just keep on coming today.

Hope you're not bored out of your mind yet. If you got through all of this, I appreciate it. I really enjoy writing these and I hope you enjoy reading them.

I'll be heading to the Aran Islands on Saturday so another post should be coming soon.

Conor

Traveling the UK: Part 1 (Northern Ireland)

Well it has been a very long time since I've posted so first of all, sorry! I still haven't stopped moving and it's been almost two and half months! For the past two weekends I have crossed borders and the Irish Sea to see a few great cities and one incredible natural wonder of the world, Giants Causeway. Two weekends ago was Belfast and Northern Ireland, and I just returned from Scotland on Sunday afternoon. There was a lot of activity and sightseeing so get your seat belts on, this could be a long one! First up: Northern Ireland.

Our trip to Belfast and Giants Causeway was a trip sponsored by our program from Arcadia University. We paid 40 euro for the whole weekend which included almost all meals, transportation, and a hostel for the weekend; it was a great deal. Upon our arrival at the Belfast Youth Hostel, we were given one piece of rather frightening advice. Eileen, one of the chaperones from Arcadia stated, "One piece of advice that must be followed: Do not go into The Royal Pub. It is potentially unsafe and dangerous." So after those comforting first words in Belfast, we exited the bus and of course, our hostel was across the street from The Royal. Good thing they let us know before some of us naive Americans wandered in there unknowingly. So once we were settled in our hostel rooms we explored the city a little bit. Queens University Belfast was really nice and the area surrounding the university was very cool. When we got down to the city center, it was pretty underwhelming. In all honesty, Belfast was kind of a boring city. It was nice, and City Hall is a really cool building, but other than that, there's not much to see. We did stumble on a cupcake cafe that made amazing cupcakes though, so that was a good find.

Saturday morning, we boarded the buses early and headed even further north to Giants Causeway. In fact, it's as north as you can get in Ireland. As we climbed up some hills and winding roads, I caught my first glimpse of the coastline with the sun shining down and not a cloud in sight. It was the perfect day for this trip. We got a tour guide and headed down along the coast. She told us all the stories of Finn McCool and his family and adventures as a giant. She pointed out his house, his giants pet camel, and even his massive boot which he must've left behind. Finally, she showed us his most prized creation: Giants Causeway. We ventured up onto the hexagonal stones, perfectly shaped and stuck to one another. It was really a fascinating sight. After several pictures and some time staring out at the Atlantic pondering life's big questions, we continued the tour underneath the cliffs. Then came the fun part, climbing the winding staircase up those cliffs back to the buses. Once we reached the top, the panorama was breathtaking.

After a night out on Saturday at a few pubs, we went to bed and woke up Sunday for the last part of our weekend. First, we went to a presentation on the political murals around Belfast, given by a sociology professor at Queens University Belfast. The talk was really interesting and opened my eyes to further details of the longtime struggles in N. Ireland. After the talk we hopped on our buses once again and took a tour of the city. We traveled into "loyalist" territory and took pictures of some murals, and also spent some time in "nationalist" territory for some more photo-ops. One very special stop on the tour was the Belfast shipyards where we saw the Titanic's final resting place before she departed for her fateful journey. The dock in which she was built and designed is absolutely massive. It was incredible to think that 100 years ago, Titanic was sitting only feet from where I stood.

Overall it was another great experience. It seems I've been having only good experiences since I've been here so I can't complain at all. While Belfast wasn't my favorite city, the sights we saw were pretty fascinating and I don't think I will ever forget overlooking the ocean atop the cliffs at Giants Causeway. Just another memorable time in my semester here. I can't believe how lucky I am to be on this incredible journey.

Thanks to everyone for reading. Hope all is well across the pond!

Conor

Reflections on Ireland (so far)

Celebrating my 21st birthday in Galway! If you're wondering, that cake had a chocolate/Baileys sauce on top.

So as most of you know I turned the big 21 on Wednesday. The great friends I have made here threw me a great party with an awesome cake and even very corny party hats (as you can see above). It was a great time but it the day did make me sit down and think. 21 years old already? Now I know many of you adults would laugh at someone thinking that age is old, but to me it is. Time seems to have flown by since high school and college started and it continues to fly by here in Galway. Amazingly, I have already been here for about a month and a half, though it has felt like a week and half. Galway, and the people of Ireland, have made me feel very comfortable here and a day hasn't gone by where I haven't thought of how fortunate I am that I have this experience in my life. Each morning I wake up and I walk outside and I'm in Ireland. I walk up the road and I step onto campus at the National University of Ireland, Galway. Then I walk down into town and spend the evening or night in real Irish pubs having some "craic" with my friends and the Irish folks around us. It's all incredibly surreal each and every day. I almost forgot to mention the fact that I've already taken trips to Cork City, Connemara, and spent a weekend in London.

Now I'm not writing all this to get all you readers envious or jealous (by the way, I'm spending the next two weekends in Belfast and Scotland, sorry) but it just truly amazes me every day that this is really happening. For years I dreamt of embarking on this exact journey and now I'm living it. Throughout my life I have been blessed with many good things, and the blessings continue here in Galway. Like I've said before, I've met a really great group of friends who I see every day, multiple times per day actually. We all live so close to each other and haven't gotten sick of each other yet (and I don't think we ever will).

As for reflections on Ireland itself, well I could probably write a short novel on that. In this limited space though, I'll say a few things. First of all, it's just beautiful here. In the morning when I walk to campus, I look to my left and watch the sun shine over Galway City. The steeple of Galway Cathedral stands tall above the very short skyline and glistens in the light. To my right on my walk I can see the River Corrib running up into a sprawling Irish field with an abandoned stone house crumbling alongside the road. Typical Ireland, you might say. Like my newfound friends, the landscape never gets old either. The day in Connemara driving through stunning valleys and adjacent to towering mountains was really awe-inspiring. Likewise, the drive to Cork City where the farms and hills stretched on for miles and countless sheep and cattle munched on the lush grasses was another breath-taker. All those cliches about Ireland and its green hills and innumerable sheep are all very true, and I'm thankful for that.

One thing that really impresses me each night is the sky. In the evening, just before the sun sets over Galway, the sky transforms into a splash of some fantastic shades of pink, purple, orange, and gold. The clouds hover and the dwindling sunlight seems to hit them in just the right way. They look big and ominous, but in the best way possible. It just looks different here.

Lastly, some reflections on the Irish people. While some of the brogues are difficult to comprehend sometimes, you don't really need to hear every word they say to see the kindness and friendliness that they show. Almost everyone always greets you with a smile and wants to make you feel comfortable in this new environment. They're very interested to see if you're enjoying Ireland and what you've done during your time here. It's also always fun to talk to our Irish roommates or other Irish students and laugh with each other over each other's native "lingo."

So I still have about 3 and a half months left here, and I hope Father Time can slow it down a bit. So far I have had the time of my life. I'm extremely lucky to have found a group of friends that I can relate to and have fun with any day of the week. I have good roommates, a really nice house, and I've learned a great deal already in school. I also live 15 minutes from what most people believe is the best city in Ireland. I can't disagree with that! I'm really living the dream here.

Once again thank you all for reading. I know I haven't posted in a while before this but the posts will be coming more frequently in the coming weeks as I do some more traveling. Plans are also in the works for a big trip in April which might include some nice little cities called Paris, Rome, Barcelona, and Prague. Again, not intended to make you jealous at all...

Hope all is well back home for everyone!

Conor

Weekend in (not so) foggy London town!

Well this post might be a little long since the weekend was so incredible. Bear with me here.

So where should I even begin? First, our trip took place from Thursday afternoon to Sunday night and we were constantly moving and having a great time. There was a group of 7 of us who braved Ryanair and took the very short plane ride across Ireland and England to the amazing city of London. After arriving at Gatwick airport and traveling into the city center, I got to my friend's apartment at Queen Mary College where he is studying for the semester. After getting settled we headed down to the Covent Garden section of London which is the theatre district. It is right next to Picadilly Circus which is like London's Times Square (though it does not compare at all). So for Thursday night we explored that section of the city with all its shops, street performers, markets, and all kinds of other interesting places.

Friday morning was the ultimate tourist day where I took pictures of anything and everything. First on the agenda was Buckingham Palace and the changing of the royal guard. There were hundreds of people crowded outside the palace to see the changing of the guard and it turned out to be quite the spectacle. Royal marching bands came up the street leading to the palace and entered the gates with trumpets and tubas blaring. Along with the bands were men on horseback and soldiers in pristine uniforms walking in perfect time. For about an hour they marched to different commands and then played a mini-concert for the crowd which included two very regal hits, "Thriller" and "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band." That was really funny and unexpected. Other than those two less sophisticated moments (still awesome) it was a very royal ceremony and just what you would expect from an event at Buckingham Palace. After the ceremony we walked through the streets and made our way past Downing Street, the Cabinet War Rooms that Churchill used during WWII, and up to the intersection where our jaws dropped as we looked up at Parliament, Big Ben, and Westminster Abbey. I proceeded to take a ridiculous amount of pictures.

We got on line for Westminster Abbey and it did not disappoint. It was an absolutely fascinating and incredible place. The physical structure is enormous and so intricate with all its stone work, stained glass windows, and magnificent ceilings with all kinds of gold designs. The tombs and monuments and statues were totally mind-blowing with some dates going back a thousand years ago. After leaving the abbey we walked along the Thames River, past the London Eye, through a very cool street fair, and back across the river to the Royal Theatre on Drury Lane where we saw "Oliver! The Musical." We sat in the very last row of the balcony but we could see everything and the show was really great. The talent of all the children in the play was something else.

Saturday morning was yet another day of sightseeing and wandering around the city. London really is an amazing place with all it's history and charm, but it's also physically very spread out. Thankfully, they have the Underground, or "tube," to get you all over the city. It's a really efficient system and much cleaner than NYC (but I wouldn't trade those mutant NYC subway rats for anything)! So our first stop on Saturday was Harrod's Department store which is just totally insane. It's like Macy's in NYC but a billion times bigger. They sell everything there. There are huge food halls, clothing stores, electronics and appliance stores, antique shops, and so much more. I probably could've spent the whole weekend in there. From there we walked through Hyde Park to Kensington Palace. We saw the gardens there and then had some authentic English high tea at "The Orangery," a very nice fancy tea hall right next to Kensington. We ate cucumber sandwiches, mango tarts, scones, and drank some great tea. Our last stop for the afternoon was a very unique and special monument for all of us kids who are frighteningly growing up way too fast. On the edge of Hyde Park is the Peter Pan statue. We admired it, took some pictures, and then hopped on the tube back to the apartment of my friend's cousin. She married an Englishman and they live in a beautiful flat in Highbury, a very upscale neighborhood in London. You can see Emirates Stadium outside their back window. That is the stadium of Arsenal FC, one of the most famous soccer teams in England, and really the world. We walked around the outside of the stadium and now I can finally say I've seen an English soccer stadium in person. Saturday night we went on a pub crawl with my friend's cousin and her husband which was a great time. We heard some great music and were dancing and laughing all night.

Sunday morning we took it easy after staying up until 5 AM singing along to Tom Petty in my friend's cousin's apartment. However, Sunday afternoon was my favorite part of the whole weekend as we made the holy pilgrimage to Abbey Road. Yes, I took a picture walking across the crosswalk, and yes, one of my friends was third in the line and he was barefoot. I don't have that picture on my camera but I'll get it soon and post it up here. We walked up to Abbey Road Studios and wrote on the wall just like so many other people did before us. There were messages of thanks, Beatles lyrics scribbled in different colored markers, and even a big marriage proposal message in spray paint. How romantic. After that surreal experience we did our last sightseeing of the weekend. We saw Tower of London and Tower Bridge, both of which were very cool, just as I expected.

I'm sorry this was so long but the weekend was really awesome. I can't believe I just hopped on a plane and spent the weekend in London. The semester just continues to get better and better every day. I'm also glad the weather was kind to us again with blue skies all weekend in London until Sunday afternoon when the typical London fog rolled in. I guess you have to experience that too when you're there.

Thanks for reading. Hope all is well!

Day Trip - Tour of Connemara

Just a couple hours ago I got home from another awesome experience here in Ireland. A couple days ago we learned of an awesome deal - Tours of Connemara and the Cliffs of Moher for only 15 euro! You do the trips separately, but after you've done both, any time you want to take the tour again, it's free! Being the frugal students we are over here, we could not pass up that deal. So this morning at around 10 AM, we boarded a big tour bus with our great tour guide, Michael, and made our way up through County Galway into the Connemara region. Our first stop on the tour was a place called Famine Village, not too far from Galway City, up along the coast of Galway Bay looking out on the Burren and the Aran Islands. The name Famine Village is pretty self-explanatory. In this small part of Galway, the ruins of dozens of houses abandoned during the Great Famine in the 1840's still stand on the properties of many present day homes. Our tour guide told us that they ruins will never be destroyed by the people due to their deep meaning and significance in Irish history. Some of the thatched roof houses from that period have been repaired a little bit to include windows and such, but most has been left untouched. It was a pretty powerful thing to see.

After that we made our way to Coral Beach, a small stretch of beach that is covered in coral. From far away it seems like sand, but up close, it is easy to see that in fact small pieces of coral cover the shore. As with many other things, Coral Beach has a bit of a legend that goes with it. You see, if you take a handful of coral in your left hand and throw it over your left shoulder, you will be rich. On the other hand, if you take some coral in your right hand and throw it over your right shoulder, you will be lucky in love. Here's the catch: you can't do both! I don't know if I'll tell you which option I chose!

Following Coral Beach came a couple of stops along the winding roads of Connemara for a bunch of photo-ops. We stopped at the Leprechaun's Cottage, a very small house on the side of the road that is said to be the home of a leprechaun. I didn't see one, but as you all know, they're said to be very hard to find. Across the road from the cottage was a really nice waterfall and a hill that we all climbed to get an incredible panoramic view of the Connemara mountains. As a child, when you hear all about the beautiful scenery of Ireland, you imagine it to be something quite special. When you see it, it's so much more than special. The views and the peacefulness that goes with the landscape is really remarkable. It's a real privilege to be here and have the opportunity to see all these amazing sights.

After our failed search for the leprechaun we made our way to the big destination on the tour: Kylemoore Abbey. First, we had some lunch before taking yet another plethora of pictures. Unfortunately, it was a bit costly to get the full abbey experience, but we were close enough to get some great photos. I've said it before but I'll say it again, we have been so fortunate to have had great weather so far. This whole weekend was bright, sunny, and fairly warm. Today was the perfect day for this tour. Perhaps the most amazing thing about the abbey, which is still used as a girls boarding school, is the statue of Jesus that stands high up the mountain above the abbey. The statue, very similar to the one in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (though much smaller) was carried up the mountain by a group of Franciscan nuns, the order that still runs the abbey and school.

Our last stop on the tour was Killary Fjord, a large body of water that flows from the mouth of the Atlantic pretty deep into the Irish countryside. There we saw a salmon farm and some more spectacular views of the mountains and valleys of Connemara.

It was another great day here in Galway. Come to think of it, I don't think there has been a day that has been anything but great so far. Today marks one month in Ireland and I cannot believe the time has gone by so quickly. I hope it slows down because there's so much more to see and experience here.

As always, thanks for reading!

Conor

Classes for the 2010 Semester at NUIG

The title of this post is actually a tad incorrect in this Irish educational environment. See, here they call courses or classes, "modules." During orientation we were told to try and use the word modules as much as possible since that is the common word used at NUIG. However, I don't think that's going to happen. I love this school and all but I think I'll have to continue calling them classes or courses. No hard feelings, NUIG.

That's neither here nor there really when it comes to this post. I thought I would list the courses I am taking this semester just so everyone gets a taste of some of what NUIG offers to their students (both visiting and regular Irish students).

I have a feeling that Aunt Eileen might enjoy this list the most (two classes in particular)

1- EN284: Creative Writing
2- HI328: The Northern Ireland Problem
3- HI327: Early Irish Law
4- HI263: Government Policy & Economic Development in Ireland since 1922 (Very long course title, I know).
5- EN387: 20th Century Literature (really 20th Century Irish literature)
6- AR332: The Development of the Castle in Medieval Europe

So there you have it. No that's not a joke, I have to take six classes here in Ireland, more classes than I've ever taken at home. It's actually not bad at all though. So far they've all been very enjoyable; the material is interesting and the professors (or lecturers as they're called here) all seem to knowledgeable and friendly.

In other, much more exciting news, my first trip of the semester outside Ireland is booked and the destination is: LONDON! I'm going with a group of friends from next Thursday evening until next Sunday night. I can't wait to see London in all its glory. I'll certainly have a big post coming when I get back home.

Once again thanks for reading (even these less exciting posts). Hope all is well.

Conor

The Semester In Pictures!

http://conorspicturesireland2010.shutterfly.com/

Above is the link to a shutterfly site I created where I'll be posting all of my pictures. I'll have some in each post on the blog here but they'll be on the other site in their entirety.

Hope you all enjoy them!

First Trip of the Semester - Cork City & Blarney Castle

Sorry it's been a while since I've posted, not too many exciting things to report during the week.

Up above are a few pictures of my Irish breakfast, Cork City, me kissing the Blarney Stone, a few friends in front of the castle, and the castle from afar (my favorite picture I've taken so far).

This past weekend was the first trip of the semester to Cork City and Blarney Castle. On Friday afternoon we departed from downtown Galway for Cork City. Bus Eireann is a bus company that runs all across the country for pretty cheap (round trip bus fare was 20 euro). The bus ride took just about 4 hours from Galway to Cork which was a little annoying. The scenery on the trip however made it all worth it. We have been really lucky so far, following the big freeze, to have had good weather. Friday was no exception with the sun shining bright and not many clouds in the sky. As we passed through places like Gort and Ennis and Limerick on our way to Cork, I saw some incredible Irish landscape. We passed by the typical cascading green fields, through quaint Irish towns, and even some mountains too. When we arrived in Cork, we made our way to the Kinlay House Hostel. There were 7 of us on the trip and we got our own room. It was a big room with plenty of space and our own bathroom. After getting settled, we walked around the center of Cork City. As with many European cities, a river ran right through the town, the River Lee. Cork City looks kind of like a mini Dublin. It is much bigger than Galway. St. Patrick's street is the main shopping center with cobblestone streets and plenty of pubs, restaurants, and shops to check out. There are also many cool little streets with all kinds of markets and places to explore. Our first stop in the city was the Crawford Art Gallery where we saw a bunch of different exhibits, all of which were really interesting. After a couple hours in the art museum, we found a very nice pub for dinner. Most of us had our first authentic shepherd's pie of the semester and it was awesome. After dinner, we hopped from pub to pub and heard a bunch of great Irish musicians and singers. It was a great first night exploring a very interesting Irish city.

Saturday morning we were up pretty early for a breakfast at the hostel, and at noon we made our way onto a free shuttle bus that brought us to Blarney Castle. I know I was there with all of you on our great trip a few years ago (6 years now actually, wow) but on Saturday I finally got to appreciate what I first saw 6 years ago. When we arrived at the castle, a dense fog was hovering over the grounds, but as we walked up to the base of the castle, miraculously, the fog lifted and that beautiful sunny weather took over for the afternoon, just in time. We trekked the narrow stone steps and finally reached the top. All seven of us kissed the famous stone and were all given the "gift of eloquence" as they say here. I'm going to set up a website soon where all my pictures will be since at the moment they're only on Facebook and a few are on here, but there's plenty more. The view from the top of the castle was spectacular and we could see for miles out onto the Irish countryside. After our tricky descent down those narrow steps, we took a stroll through the Rock Close and the gardens surrounding the castle. There were all kinds of landmarks that harbored Irish folklore legends like the Witch's Stone and Druid's Circle. Legend has it, if you stand in the middle of Druid's Circle, no evil spirits can harm you. At the Witch's Stone, we all left coins. With our euro coins were American coins, British coins, and even some Asian currency. People from all over the world love coming to Ireland, and rightfully so. Once we left the castle grounds, we had lunch at a little cafe in Blarney and walked around the Blarney Woolen Mills before heading back to our hostel.

On Saturday night we went to a grocery store and all made our own dinners together at the hostel. After dinner we went to "The Craichouse," a comedy room at the LV Pub. We were entertained by 6 different comedians, all of whom were very funny and had us laughing for a couple hours. There was even an American comedian.

Sunday morning we had one final stop to make before heading back to Galway. We searched far and wide and finally found Zaks Restaurant where most of us had a full Irish breakfast. That meal is just too good. Eggs, bacon, sausage, beans, toast, fried tomato, potato wedges, and black and white pudding. I finished it all...except for the black pudding. I don't know if I'll be able to acquire that taste while I'm here. After breakfast we hopped on the bus and took the never-ending trip back to Galway. It was the same distance as our Friday ride but it seemed much longer.

Overall it was a great first trip. Cork was a nice city, our hostel was clean, and we had a lot of fun exploring a new place. Sadly, when I got home Sunday night I got to watch the Jets lose in the AFC Championship game but oh well, I'll have to get over it and enjoy the rest of my time here in Ireland. It's been 3 weeks so far and I've loved every minute of it.

Hope all is well back home with everyone in the family. Thanks for reading and commenting on my posts.

Homestay Weekend In Tuam

This past weekend, I had the very special opportunity to go on a homestay, where you spend the weekend with an Irish family, living in their house and seeing how they live. My roommate Brian was also with me at the Boyle residence. The Boyle family consists of John, Regina, and their two boys: Sean, 7 and Dara, 4. We arrived on Friday evening and immediately found the family to be incredibly welcoming. They live in the small town of Tuam, about 45 minutes outside Galway City. On Friday night, we watched movies with the two boys and had a lot of laughs as they asked us all about America and where we are from. Everyone is always excited to hear that you live near New York City and they always tell you that it is their dream to go there one day.

Saturday morning, after breakfast, we went out in the yard to play some soccer and admire the scenery. They live across the street from the beautiful Irish landscape featuring rolling green hills and an abundance of sheep and cows grazing in the fields. It must be pretty nice to wake up to that every morning.

The main event on Saturday afternoon was our trip to Knock Shrine. It was a very spiritual and peaceful little town that revolves around the shrine. I'm sure you all know about it. When we walked into the shrine, mass unexpectedly started which was nice. After a very abbreviated mass, we walked around into the two other chapels there. Unfortunately I did not buy any Knock holy water but I did use some in the church so feel free to shake my hand when I get back and become a lot holier (is that a word?) On the way back from Knock we also made a stop at the peat bogs and John explained to us how the peat is cut and transported to homes around Ireland.

We spent the rest of Saturday exploring the town. Actually, we spent about two hours on Saturday exploring the town because that is all you need. There are only a couple of streets surrounding the center of the town. Their nephew Dean was our Tuam tour guide. We played pool at one of the local pubs during the afternoon, and then meandered in and out of the many shops. After dinner we met up with their niece Amanda who took us downtown to a few pubs. First up was "The Brogue," then "MacDonagh's," then finally "Harpy's." MacDonagh's was by far the strangest pub I've seen so far. In truth, MacDonagh's is primarily a grocery store. However, at night, if you walk through the shop to the back room, a full pub is waiting. It was quite unusual but very enjoyable, even if we were packed in there like sardines.

Sunday morning was yet another bright and sunny day and after breakfast, guess what we did? Went to mass of course. The Tuam Parish Cathedral was another beautiful church. Sunday afternoon held another unexpected treat for us. We traveled over to the Tuam GAA Stadium for a gaelic football match between Galway & Sligo! It was such a cool experience and it was a good game too. Seeing as my ancestors came from both counties it was difficult to root for one side, but I had to go with Galway since it is my home for the next few months. Luckily for me, Galway won the match 10-5. The Irish people love their gaelic football and were screaming and cheering throughout, even if it was only a warm-up exhibition match.

At the end of the game it was time to head back to our houses in Galway. We said goodbye to the Boyles and thanked them for a great weekend. They live in a really beautiful house and they were very welcoming and helpful to us. They also fed us very, very well. Also, I have never drank so much tea in my life. It seems that tea never stops flowing in an Irish household. During meals, just after meals, morning, night, doesn't matter. The tea is always available. It's not a bad thing by any means, I just never drank tea back home. I guess I'll have to get used to it though.

Overall it was a great experience, albeit a very short one. Just when we were getting to know the family, we had to pack up and leave. They did tell us we could come back any weekend though. Might have to take them up on that offer for some more home cooking!

Hope everyone's enjoying the blog. Sorry the posts have been so spread out. Hopefully I'll start to do some traveling soon and the posts will be coming more frequently. Hope all is well with everyone back home!

The Legend of Keith

This post is about the legend of my new "friend" Keith. Who is Keith you might ask? Why is he a legend you wonder? Well, besides the slew of people who specifically told us, "Keith's a legend," he gave myself, and my group of friends here, the first taste of the unfailing compassion and friendliness of the Irish people, no matter what state of sobriety or drunkenness they may be in.

The other night a group of us were searching the city for a pub to hang out and have a pint. We crossed over the river and spotted Monroe's. When we entered, we saw that it was not very crowded at all, and we smelled that awesome scent of a wood-burning fireplace. After finding a table and ordering some drinks, one of my friends from Massachusetts saw a guy wearing a Red Sox t-shirt (I know, the story starts out with a Red Sox reference, which is not ideal, but it ended up being great). This Irish Red Sox fan, complete with bright red hair and a beer in hand, asked immediately if he could pull up a chair and talk with us. We welcomed him and for over an hour he had us laughing as he told us funny stories and jokes about various people, places, and TV shows in Ireland. Every now and then he would also get up and flex his muscles or sing the first few lines to a Dropkick Murphy's song, Shipping off to Boston. Now I must clarify that Keith had already had more than a couple drinks and was enjoying the night. Funnily enough, it turns out that he actually works at Monroe's on Friday and Saturday nights as a bouncer. As his day job he works for HP. By the end of the night we knew almost all there is to know about our new friend Keith.

Now, while this whole story is amusing and it was a great night with him, I'm not telling it merely to make people laugh or once again confirm the stereotype of the Irish drinker (true as it may be in some cases). This experience of a complete stranger coming up to you, sitting down at your table, and telling stories and making you laugh, doesn't happen in most places. Here in Ireland though, it does happen. Having only been here for 10 or 11 days now, it has been amazing to me just how great the Irish people are. Whether it is a guy like Keith in a pub or just someone on the street, anyone will help you and start up a little conversation in order to brighten your day a little. Back home on the streets of NYC, you just don't get that. Thankfully, I will be here for another 4 months and I know that many nights will pan out just as that one did the other night at Monroe's with Keith, and I'm very excited about that.

The whole experience, and my reflection on it, once again makes me proud of my Irish heritage. Throughout history, the Irish have always been known as a very friendly and kind people, even through their worst struggles. I hope it always stays that way.

Galway, "the best city in Ireland."

So following our three hour bus ride across Ireland, we arrived in Galway on Wednesday afternoon while it was bright and sunny. That was a rare time in between all the madness that has gone on in Ireland over the past week or so. We hopped off our bus at our new home, the apartment complex, Gort na Coiribe. It is a really nice complex where tons of NUIG students live while they're at school. My roommate, Brian, and I live in house 18. We have three Irish roommates: Sean, from Co. Clare, Jane from Co. SLIGO, and another girl who has yet to arrive. The apartment/town house is two stories, with one bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen/living room on the bottom, and three bedrooms and two bathrooms on the top floor. My roommate and I share a room and luckily we have our own bathroom connected to our bedroom. It is awesome. We also have a little balcony on the back of the first floor which will be nice once it gets a little warmer.

As for the surrounding area, including NUIG and the city center, everything is within 15 minutes of each other. It is actually really conveniently laid out in a big triangle. 15 minutes to campus one way, 15 minutes to the city the other direction. All of us lazy American students will be able to run marathons when we get home after all the walking we'll be doing. The walk to school is not the most ideal route since it requires walking on a sidewalk along a highway, but the Irish scenery is still there with rolling green fields and even the ruins of an old stone house along the way. As we walk to campus we can see the top of Galway Cathedral and a lot of our campus buildings which is nice. Not too far from our housing complex is Terryland Park, the home stadium of the soccer team Galway United FC! Their season starts in March so hopefully I can get to some games there.

The NUIG campus is a very nice place. The Irish students only arrived in big numbers yesterday and today so we've had some time to explore on our own. It seems quite big but after a few days running around trying to figure out where everything is, it has become much easier to manage and all of the main buildings are actually all pretty close together. Most of the buildings are styled in a more modern way, except for the quadrangle, or "Aula Maxima," as they also call it. At the moment I'm not able to connect my camera to my computer, but at some point I will add pictures up here of the campus. The quad, which is only really used for administration purposes these days, is a very cool place. It looks like something out of Harry Potter. There are plenty of places to hang out, get something to eat, and even a College Bar incase you feel like you need a Guinness in between classes!

As for Galway City, it really is an incredible place. Sure it's a 15 minute walk into the center but it's worth every step. The thing that has really impressed me so far is just the amount of places to go and explore. There are so many shops and all are in buisness and seem to be doing very well. There's pubs galore but there's also many Irish gift shops and many other shops that are common back home too. There's certainly an American influence with places like Tommy Hilfiger and Foot Locker, and even some knock-off American stores like "T.K. Maxx" and "Eddie Rockets" (apparently Johnny has an Irish cousin also). Shop Street is the main thoroughfare, which becomes Quay Street (pronounced "key") as you head down toward the River Corrib, which runs through the city. Now, back to the pubs. All nights of the week you can step into a pub and listen to great music. Since we've been here, we've tried to find a place that only plays Irish music but it seems that the Irish love American music too much. They love playing Tom Petty's "Free Fallin" and Johnny Cash songs, along with many other American classic rock songs. So far, we've spent nights at "The King's Head," "The Quay's," "Monroe's," and Garvey's Inn, where I happily watched the Patriots get spanked by the Ravens last night with a bunch of Pats fans. It was sweet. We've also spent some time in little coffee shops, and all the guys are planning on buying Irish caps soon to fit in as best we can with the locals. Galway is also a city filled with history. We've seen the Spanish Arch, created centuries ago, along with a monument to Christopher Columbus, a visitor to Galway back in the day. Also, Eyre Square, one of the main parks downtown, is actually officially named "John F. Kennedy Park" after Pres. Kennedy visited the city during his presidency, only months before his death.

All in all it has been a blast so far. While Dublin is obviously a great European city, and the capital of Ireland, Galway is much more Irish and much more warm and comfortable. The people here are so friendly and love to just sit and talk with you about anything and everything. Here in Galway, it's all about the "craic." While that's pronounced "crack," this is not a city of junkies. "Craic" means "fun," and we're having plenty of it.

Thanks again for reading, I'll try and do this as much as possible.

Here's a taste of just how freezing it has been, and a look at my room:

And So It Begins - Dublin Orientation

Well let's get this adventure under way, shall we? I've been editing this for a few days so sorry for the delay. We've also been busy non-stop.

After a long and exhausting overnight flight from Newark across the Atlantic, I arrived in Dublin early in the morning and was jet lagged from the start. I tried hard to fall asleep on the plane, but all I could muster were a few short spurts of sleep before I was awoken by either lights turned on or a knee to the back of my seat. Once we touched down I found my bags, passed through customs, and met up with a bunch of other people from my program. We were taken to the Abbey Court Hostel in the center of Dublin, right on the River Liffey, around the corner from the post office. It was quite surreal when we arrived and I was standing on the streets of Dublin as the sun rose. It was pretty cool to say the least. After setting up my room and getting some lunch, I wandered around the city with a small group of people and we had a really good time. Unfortunately, after too many short naps during the afternoon, I had the worst night of sleep ever. The jet lag was driving me nuts and I laid in bed for hours before falling asleep for two hours, then waking up, then two more hours, then waking up, until morning. Not fun at all.

Day 2 & 3 was the orientation process. We were told all about Ireland and how the country operates. We were also told all about our school, National University of Ireland, Galway (NUIG). After many interesting (and tiring) presentations, we explored Dublin by evening and night. We spent a night in the Temple Bar area where we heard traditional Irish music and actually stumbled upon the "Thunder Road Cafe," a restaurant/bar that is the epitome of cheesy American stereotypes. It was decorated with bright lights and chandeliers, Native American statues, Harley Davidson motorcycles, and TVs that played the popular American music videos.

There are some things I'm definitely going to have to get used to here. First of all, walking the streets of Dublin as a foreigner with cars driving on the left side of the road is a dangerous task. Every time you come to an intersection and look to the right with the intention of crossing the street, you're very confused to always find no cars coming toward you. Then you turn the other way and say a prayer that you didn't step into the street. The weather is similar to New York now which is fine, and there was no rain today. Patches of snow can still be seen in some grassy areas from a couple days ago. Watching the Irish people during this small stint of snow/ice has been pretty funny. Any sign of ice and the cars drive so much slower and every one's late to work. Schools have closed and sidewalks are not salted, they are small ice rinks that one needs to navigate very carefully. They have not gotten this much snow (not more than a couple inches) or experienced this much freezing weather in decades we were told.

On Wednesday morning, we were up bright and early for a three hour bus ride from Dublin to Galway. It was a smooth ride on one main road that was repaired pretty recently, making it much easier to travel across the country. We stopped halfway in a small town called Moate for a snack. It was a quaint little place with multicolored buildings and narrow roads, a very nice little Irish town.

But now I'm in Galway and ready to get started. The first day and night in Dublin was pretty overwhelming at first but thankfully I've met a lot of nice people and we've all stuck together as the group of "confused Americans" in a new land. We're slowly learning more and more as the days go by. It's been a lot of fun so far. Ireland is a very beautiful place, not only in its scenery but just in the mindset and attitude of the Irish people. Everything seems very calm and relaxed here. It's a real privilege to have this opportunity to study and play on the streets of Dublin and for the next few months, in this great city of Galway. We've been told numerous times by many Irishmen that Galway is the best city in all of Ireland.

I'll be making another post soon about the city of Galway and all that it has to offer, and my living arrangements. Hopefully I can include some pictures soon too.

Hope all is well with everyone back home. Thanks for reading!