Getting Involved

Classes are good, there is only one class I find even a bit boring. Most of my professors are energetic and enthusiastic. For one of my classes, I have to come up with a business idea in my team (with other students) and create a complete business plan. The project will take up the entire semester, but it will be a really good experience. I am also taking an Irish history course, which is very interesting and necessary.

My internship is at a place called Young Social Innovators (YSI). It is a nonprofit organization that organizes advocacy projects in high schools and colleges all over Ireland. The students work all year with their teachers to try and advocate/change an issue in the community, such as homelessness, depression or even world issues like genocide. I do a lot of data analyzing and graphical compilation, and I enjoy working in my office in the heart of Dublin right by Trinity College. My coworkers are even teaching me the Irish lingo, for example, they call sweaters 'jumpers' and call cookies 'bikis' which is short for biscuits. It is a great experience. If you would like to see the company's website: www.youngsocialinnovators.ie

I also found out the most exciting news yesterday at my internship: I get to meet the President of Ireland!!! I will be meeting her and taking a tour of what is the equivalent of the White House. I cannot believe it!

I joined the choir at Dublin City University, which is a fun time and a great way to meet people. Over the weekend, I spent most of the day in the city seeing the Christ Church Cathedral and 1,000 year old Crypt inside it, touring Dublin Castle and the Chester Beatty Library.

Above: Christ Church Cathedral
Below: Inside the Chapel at Christ Church Cathedral

Above: The Crypt beneath Christ Church Cathedral
Below: Wonderful shot of Christ Church thanks to the lighting.

Above: Me at Dublin Castle

The West of Ireland

This past weekend I went on a trip to the West of Ireland and visited Mayo, Westport and the Aran Islands. I thought that Dublin was an amazing place, well let me say that the countryside of Ireland blew my mind away. It is the most beautiful and most green place I have ever visited in my life. The pictures below show a few of the scenes I actually experienced, and though they look photo-shopped, these are all real pictures I took this past weekend!

We learned a lot on our trip about Irish history, especially about the Potato Famine. It is quite interesting hearing all the stories then actually seeing the places where they took place. It was emotional, even, seeing all the beautiful scenery where so much bad took place. They call it the "Terrible Beauty" of the countryside.

The Aran Islands were outstanding, I got to walk around a monastery from the 7th century, made up entirely of stone which still stood on its own. It was called the "Seven Churches" and I felt blessed to be able to see such an amazing thing, and touch stone walls build over 1500 years ago. The Aran Islands are made up completely of limestone, which makes the scenery even more interesting.

My 21st birthday was also great fun. I got to celebrate it with a wonderful group of friends, and even received gifts from loved ones back in Washington. Thank you to everyone who made it so special.

I have been making travel plans to see Europe while I'm here; might as well take advantage of Ryan Air and their cheap flights around Europe! I have already booked flights to see Paris (end of November) and Barcelona (end of December)! I'm so excited.

Above: Cliff in Aran Islands
Below: Me in the Seven Churches

Above: Jen and I at a beach, sitting on Limestone in the Aran Islands.
Below: Me sitting on limestone in the Aran Islands

Above: The group of Americans in my Study Abroad group which I traveled with
Below: Me in the typical country side scenery in Westport

Above: Me placing a stone on the memorial of an event which took place during the famine.
Below: The Seven Churches in the Aran Islands (7th century)

Getting Settled In

I'm loving Dublin. This past week I've become quite close to the group of Americans who are all in my study abroad program. I am feeling like a student now, and not a tourist. Classes begin next week, and I am excited to meet other students (especially Irish students!). I also will be going to visit the place I will be interning at in Dublin. I don't know much about my internship yet, so I'm nervous and excited to go and meet with the company.

We have done a lot of walking these past two weeks. Its all I do here! If I were in Seattle I might complain about the amount of walking...but because I'm in Europe I don't mind at all!

All of the food tastes so different here. And there is no decent Mexican or Italian food anywhere! That is something I definitely took for granted in the States. I'm also surprised at the amount of interest the Irish have in American politics! With elections just around the corner, U.S. politics are at the forefront of the media here, as well as the financial crisis going on in the U.S. .

My 21st birthday is in just a few days...but its not such a big deal here, because the drinking age in Europe is 21!!! Still exciting though.

Below are some pictures of places I have been this past week. My favorite was the Kilmainham Gaol Jail. This jail was build in 1787 and is filled with Irish history and culture.

My First Time Outside of North America!

Planning my trip to Dublin for over one plus year could not have prepared me for the experience I have had the past week; Europe is more amazing than I had ever imagined.

My flight to Dublin was crazy. I went from Seattle, to Denver, to Chicago, to London and finally to Dublin. However, the 12 hour layover I had in London was well worth it. I took that time to go visit Windsor Castle; and let me tell you this is my first castle and because of this I just might be disappointed in every other castle I ever see. It was amazing, and I learned quite a bit of England's history with the help of my electronic tour guide. The people in Windsor and around the area were all so kind and helpful, without them I could not of figured out how to ride the city bus to Windsor Castle from the Airport!

Then, finally, I arrived in Dublin. It was dark when I arrived and didn't get settled into my hostel until midnight, or as they would say here, 24:00. When I asked someone about the weather in Dublin for the week, and they told me 14 degrees, I was shocked. That was below freezing temperature! They kept insisting that 14 degrees was fair weather, and I thought they were crazy. Then, about twenty minutes later, I realized that they actually meant 14 degrees Celsius...which is a big difference. With the combination of jet lag, never having traveled outside the U.S. and being thrown into a new and exciting world, many occurrences like this one have happened.

Its weird because there are many things which are familiar here, like the smells or the laughs of people. Yet its so different from anything I have ever experienced. The hostel i stayed at housed mostly younger people from all over the world. I've had conversations with people from France, Israel, Spain, England, Ireland, Canada, the United States, Australia and Afghanistan. I am in awe with the beauty in diversity that exists in Europe. My favorites though would have to be the Irish.

After doing much tourist activities, like seeing the Dublin Castle, the Christ Church Cathedral, the Book of Kells and Trinity College, and street fairs in Dublin, I decided to try and go meet some locals. So me, two girls from Boston and an English girl all went to a "local" pub. This was the most fun I had since I'd been here! The Irish are so animated, and excited in the way they speak. I do admit its a bit hard to understand them at times though. I will be moving into my apartment on the campus of Dublin City University today, and I'm quite excited to be out of traveling limbo.

Above: Standard city building in Dublin.

Below: Windsor Castle in England.

Above: Windsor Castle in England.

Below: Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin.

Above: Dublin Castle

Below: The Liffey River in Dublin