June 19: Home

Wow.  Where do I even begin?  I have so many more blogs to finish, but there simply was not enough time in Ireland.  All of my blogs are started but it is going to take me a while to finish them and add pictures.  I have so much more to write about and so many pictures to sort through.

How am I feeling now that I am home?  It is sooooooo depressing not waking up to Lough Gill.  Rain or shine, I'd take the view of Lough Gill over my neighbors' houses any day.  It is so weird to be back.  Not just depressing because I am no longer in Ireland, but I spent so much time on a strict agenda that I do not know what to do with myself now that I have nowhere to be. 

I remember the center for global learning telling us about the different stages or levels of emotion we would feel while abroad.  I never thought I would experience anything significant because our trip was only two and half weeks.  Before we departed I thought the program would feel like a vacation, I had no idea it would be life changing. 

Being in Ireland made me appreciate so much more about life- especially the little things.  I am so envious of the way the Irish embrace their heritage, their families, things they are passionate about, nature, and so much more.  Anyone I met was so willing to just stop and have a conversation with me.  They wanted to know my name, where I'm from, what I'm studying.  I feel like they just have a whole different perspective on life- they genuinely care and value others.  I may be generalizing a bit, but it holds true for everyone I met. 

Not only did being in Ireland make me appreciate more about life, but it was also very fascinating to see the United States through someone else's eyes.  I loved asking people if they had been to the states or where they would want to go.  I got a lot of the same answers: Boston, New York, San Francisco, and the Grand Canyon.  Talking to these people also made me realize how large the U.S. really is.  I live in the U.S. and I have traveled a bit and yet I still have not seen all of those places.  It was a pretty crazy realization.  Also a realization that led me to create a bucket list of all the places I want to see.  Ireland was absolutely amazing- one of the best experiences of my life- but it is also just the beginning...

June 18:

June 17:

June 16:

June 14: Galway

Today we took had a day trip to Galway.  It was a lovely city. Kaitlyn and I basically just walked around town going in out of the little shops.  Most of them were tiny jewellery stores, but we also went in touristy shops, bookstores, and a small toy store. 

The toy store had the most beautiful spiral staircase- very cool. There were also handmade children’s books and I made a train with the letters of my name. 

One of my favorite things- well besides shopping- was that there were tons of people just playing music in the streets.  Every couple feet there were new people gathered together just having a good time playing their instruments.  At one point a couple bagpipe players walked through the streets.  It was definitely an experience I think I will never have in the states.  It also makes me kind of motivated to learn how to play an instrument.  Just the passion these people have for music is amazing!

It is still just so surreal that we are in Ireland.  In Galway Kaitlyn and I walked by the river for a bit.  We were trying to take everything in but it has honestly just been a life changing experience.   Words and photographs cannot capture the moments we have experiences here. The people are friendly and everyone is so willing to stop and talk with you.  Every new place and we go and every new thing we see we are still just so amazed.

June 13: The Rose of Innisfree

Instead of having class in the morning we went to the Yeat's memorial building in town.  We learned a lot (more) about W.B. Yeats and his association with Sligo.  My favorite part of the memorial building trip was hearing a poem read by Yeats.  His voice was surprisingly deep- definitely not what I was expecting.

After our trip to the memorial building we went back to campus for an archaeology lesson with Sam Moore.  He began to touch upon bog bodies.  Bog bodies were naturally preserved  bodies found in Europe- some of which right here in Ireland.  There are bog bodies on display in a museum in Dublin, but we did not see them during our visit.

After class and lunch we went back to town.  We were given a bus tour of Sligo by a local man who knew EVERYTHING about Sligo and it's history.  I did not really learn much though because Kaitlyn's foot began to go numb on the tour just as we were passing a podiatrist's office.  What are the chances of that?  So Kailtyn, Sylvia, and I hopped off the bus and bus and went to the foot doctor.  His receptionists originally said he was busy but after she went to talk with the doctor they took at her immediately.  They were seriously the nicest people ever and they never even asked for her last name. I could never imagine that happening back home.  Needless to say, Kaitlyn’s foot turned out to most likely be a case of bad footwear. After leaving the podiatrist we walked around Sligo.  We did a little bit of shopping- Kaitlyn had to purchase new shoes but then we ended up at McHughs- of course. 

By far the best part of the day though was going on the Rose of Innisfree.  It was a boat ride of Lough Gill.  The ride itself began at Parke's castle and continued to Sligo town.  It was amazing to see the lake and all of it's surroundings from the water.  It was definitely another moment when we all just paused and really tried to take in all that we saw and experiences we have had in Ireland..

June 12:

June 10:

June 9:

June 8: He remembers Forgotten Beauty

In literature class today we had to pick an Irish poem to read to the class.  As Kaitlyn said, “we had a great poetry session.” Just listening to everyone read Irish poetry and explains what it meant to them was absolutely mind blowing.  I chose the poem “He remembers Forgotten Beauty” by W.B. Yeats.

He remembers Forgotten Beauty

When my arms wrap you round I press

My heart upon the loveliness

That has long faded from the world;

The jewelled crowns that kings hurled

In shadowy pools, when armies fled;

The love-tales wrought with silken thread

By dreaming ladies upon cloth

That has made fat the murderous moth;

The roses that of old time were

Woven by ladies in their hair,

The dew-cold lilies ladies bore

Through many a sacred corridor

Where such grey clouds of incense rose

That only God's eyes did not close:

For that pale breast and lingering hand

Come from a nmore dream-heavy land,

A more dream-heavy hour than this;

And when you sigh from kiss to kiss

I hear white Beauty sighing, too,

For hours when all must fade like dew,

But flame on flame, and deep on deep,

Throne over throne where in half sleep,

Their swords upon their iron knees,

Brood her high lonely mysteries.

I have blogged several times about how Ireland is just so beautiful and reminds me of a fairytale.  This poem definitely resonated with those feelings.  It has a nostalgia kind of feeling. Most of the poems we read reminded us of our trip to Ireland.  Our literature instructor, Sonja, read us "The Wild Swans at Coole" also by W.B. Yeats.  She told us that we reminded her of the swans and by the end of the poem everyone had tears in their eyes.

The Wild Swans at Coole

The trees are in their autumn beauty,
The woodland paths are dry,
Under the October twilight the water
Mirrors a still sky;
Upon the brimming water among the stones
Are nine-and-fifty Swans.

The nineteenth autumn has come upon me
Since I first made my count;
I saw, before I had well finished,
All suddenly mount
And scatter wheeling in great broken rings
Upon their clamorous wings.

I have looked upon those brilliant creatures,
And now my heart is sore.
All's changed since I, hearing at twilight,
The first time on this shore,
The bell-beat of their wings above my head,
Trod with a lighter tread.

Unwearied still, lover by lover,
They paddle in the cold
Companionable streams or climb the air;
Their hearts have not grown old;
Passion or conquest, wander where they will,
Attend upon them still.

But now they drift on the still water,
Mysterious, beautiful;
Among what rushes will they build,
By what lake's edge or pool
Delight men's eyes when I awake some day
To find they have flown away?

June 7: The Bodhran

It is so funny because after being here for so long we are also starting to notice each other talking different.  I am by no means saying the ten of us are going to come back to the states with Irish accents, but we are definitely starting to mimic a lot of the words they say and how they pronounce specific things.  By far my favorite things to hear them say is “craic”, especially in a sentence.  It just gets me everytime. I also love how they pronounce the “th” sound like a “t” sound or a “d” sound.  Ah, so cute.

I mentioned earlier, when we talked with Eddie, how they use different words for some things here.  The more we talk to people the more differences we notice.  The police is called the Garda here.  Instead of working for a specific county or city or borough they are a national police force AND they are unarmed- crazy!  They also say things like “off-license” meaning liquor store, “chips” meaning french fries, “crisps” meaning potato chips, “supper” meaning lunch, “tea” meaning dinner, and so many more.

After classes today we got to go to the Museum of Country Life.  We got to tour a restored country house and then we got to look at some of the exhibits in the museum.

It was very interesting to see how the rooms in the homes looked years ago. Also, in the museum we got to see things like the types of clothing they wore, what some of the everyday household items looked like, and there was also an exhibit displaying a variety of jobs with descriptions that people in Ireland held.  Overall the museum was interesting but my favorite part of the day was out bodhran lesson!

After dinner a local musician named Peter came to campus to give us basic instruction in playing the bodhran- an Irish frame drum.  He taught us a variety of beats and he also sang while we played.  It was probably one of the most entertaining activities we have participated in yet.   Everyone loved the music and just looking around the room and seeing the smiles on everyones face made the night!

June 6: Parke's Castle

Ah!  I finally got to see a castle!!  My life is complete!  But for real, it was pretty awesome.  I, and everyone else, kept taking pictures and the tour guide said, "I see none of you have ever been to a castle before."  I told him all we have in America is Cinderella's castle and it just does not compare.

The 17th century castle we went to was called Parke's castle.  The castle, now restored, was built on the site of a 12th century castle previously owned by the O'Rourke family.  Apparently the castle was built on the shores of Lough Gill by Captain Robert Parke who inherited the land from King James of England.  The castle was eventually abandoned and the tour guide said that before the castle was restored it was not even recognizable.  The actual structure itself was a lot larger inside then it looked from the outside.  On the tour we learned that it was once four stories.   We also got to walk through the castle grounds to the edge of the lake where we saw a sauna.  It was basically just a small tunnel-like area cut out of the hillside.  People used to heat coals and put them in the tunnel and then either brush the coals out or lay straw over the coals so people could enjoy the heat the coals generated.  These saunas were always built into a hillside near a lake so people using the sauna could run into the cool water after sitting in the hot room.  Very cool to see, but the sauna itself was so tiny!  I could not even stand in it, I do not know how people could have thought that was relaxing.

After touring the castle we also visited and Dooney Rock.  Dooney rock sits on Lough Gill opposite ICC&CC.  The forest there was enchanting.  I felt like I was in a scene from Twilight. When we arrived at the location Kaitlyn and I started leading the group.  After walking for about twenty minutes on a path through the forest and still not finding this rock we decided to ask someone.  Turns out as soon as we got there we turned left when we should have turned right.  Needless to say we did not get to climb to the top of the rock and view the entire lake, but we did have a nice little hike through the woods.

Later, Kaitlyn, Ashley, Mike, and I ventured into Sligo town.  Our bus driver had us switch into a taxi since there was only four us and he wanted to save gas.  I asked him if I could drive because I am still fascinated that they drive on the other side of the road and that the front of their vehicles are opposite of American cars.  He asked me if I knew how but I did not end up getting to drive. Oh well, probably for the best!  It was pretty dead in town considering it was a holiday and people had to return the next day but it was cool to just walk around and relax.

June 5: Yeats's Country

Everywhere we go we see "Yeats".  They call it Yeats country because W.B. Yeats was apparently very inspired by Sligo and the surrounding area and he mentions local spots in many of his poems.  Our literature professor is doing an amazing job of helping and making sure we are learning and understand Irish literature.  Whenever we go on excursions we typically read a poem that references the site we are at.  Today we visited Lissadell, Drumcliffe, Yeat's Grave, Glencar Lake and Waterfall, and Lower Rosses area. 

Glencar Lake and Waterfall was enticing- probably my favorite place we went. W.B Yeats made the waterfall famous in the poem "The Stolen Child".

The Stolen Child

Where dips the rocky highland
Of Sleuth Wood in the lake,
There lies a leafy island
Where flapping herons wake
The drowsy water rats;
There we've hid our faery vats,
Full of berrys
And of reddest stolen cherries.
Come away, O human child!
To the waters and the wild
With a faery, hand in hand,
For the world's more full of weeping than you can understand.


Where the wave of moonlight glosses
The dim gray sands with light,
Far off by furthest Rosses
We foot it all the night,
Weaving olden dances
Mingling hands and mingling glances
Till the moon has taken flight;
To and fro we leap
And chase the frothy bubbles,
While the world is full of troubles
And anxious in its sleep.
Come away, O human child!
To the waters and the wild
With a faery, hand in hand,
For the world's more full of weeping than you can understand.


Where the wandering water gushes
From the hills above Glen-Car,
In pools among the rushes
That scarce could bathe a star,
We seek for slumbering trout
And whispering in their ears
Give them unquiet dreams;
Leaning softly out
From ferns that drop their tears
Over the young streams.
Come away, O human child!
To the waters and the wild
With a faery, hand in hand,
For the world's more full of weeping than you can understand.


Away with us he's going,
The solemn-eyed:
He'll hear no more the lowing
Of the calves on the warm hillside
Or the kettle on the hob
Sing peace into his breast,
Or see the brown mice bob
Round and round the oatmeal chest.
For he comes, the human child,
To the waters and the wild
With a faery, hand in hand,
For the world's more full of weeping than he can understand.

June 4: My First Trip to Sligo

Since the US is five hours behind Ireland and I do not have a clock I had to set my iPod for 2am so I could wake up at 7am.  The first thing I thought waking up this morning was "ah, is it really time to wake up!?"  I guess the flight effected me a little more than I thought.  No worries though because they second thing I thought was "I cannot believe I am in Ireland!"  Then I came to my senses and jumped out of bed.

I normally do not eat breakfast but the food here has been so amazing I could not resist!  I am glad I went because it was delicious!  There were eggs, tomatoes, mushrooms, "rashers", sausage, fruit, brown bread, custard, and croissants!  Everything was so good!  Sylvia also told us that over here they have breakfast, supper, and then dinner.  Supper (which occurs when we would have lunch) is similar to our dinner: salad, meal, and dessert.  We also have tea all the time!  I am hooked.

After breakfast we had our first history lecture: "Act of Union, Transfer of Power; Unrest of Rebellion; and Famine."  I learned a lot of interesting facts about the Catholics and Protestants and Ireland's constant battle with the British.  After the history lesson we had a short coffee break and then a literature lecture: "The Emergence of a Separate Entity."  In the literature lesson we talked a lot about Ireland's struggle to find its identity and the common stereotypes.  Our instructor, Sonja Lawrenson, shared a Declan Kiberd quote from Inventing Ireland with us:

"If Ireland had never existed the English would have invented it; and since it never existed in English eyes as anything more than a patch-work quilt of warring fiefdoms, their leaders occupied the neighbouring island and called it Ireland.”

Then after lunch we had our first archaeology.  It is amazing how many sites there are in Ireland, especially Sligo. I researched some of the sites before I came over here so I really enjoyed learning even more- especially from an archaeologist- Sam Moore. Every class we have had so far has been in some way related to history.  It is actually making me feel guilty for not knowing more of my own country's history.

We FINALLY got to go into town today.  After dinner we took a bus tour of Sligo and the surrounding area.  We stopped at one of the most spectacular beaches I have ever seen. 

Well, we didn’t exactly stop at the beach but more or less cliffs that overlook the water- simply breathtaking.  The water was a bright royal blue and feeling the ocean winds were so invigorating. 

 We also got to stop a pier a little bit down the road.  It was seriously like looking at a picture- there were small sailboat in the water and the mountain provided a striking backdrop.  We also climbed up on the rocks here.  I was waiting for a lifeguard to blow the whistle to make us get down off the rocks, but all we could hear were the waves crashing against the rocks.  We took so long taking pictures that the bus driver beeped the horn at us. 

The more of Sligo I see the more I feel like I am in some kind of fairytale.  There are small cottages, and green pastures, and small farm animals, beaches, and castles everywhere. 

Our tour ended in Sligo town.  We did not get to see a lot of the town because it was late, but we did get to enjoy a little bit of the nightlife.  It is so hard to estimate what time of the day it is here because it stay light until like 10:30pm and then it gets light in the morning close to 4:30am!

June 3: My First Day on the Emerald Isle

Wow!  Where do I even begin?  I suppose I’ll start with: why have I waited so long to come to Ireland!?  It is absolutely amazing- so gorgeous!  Words cannot even do this country justice!  I am not going to lie, I have a lot to say so this is going to be a long one...

The last time I blogged I was sitting in JFK airport slightly irritated with Delta; however, I have to give them some credit.  Kaitlyn’s mom was watching our flight status online and she told us that Delta explained on the internet what was going on with the delay at JFK and how although the flight was delayed, they did not want our arrival time in Shannon to be equally delayed.  So, basically our plane was flying at 35,000 ft at 587 miles an hour!

Flying to Shannon, Ireland was one of the coolest flights I have ever been on.  Not only did Delta feed us dinner, which I enjoyed by the way, but we also got to fly into the sunrise.  It was an amazing experience.  I was actually sleeping on the plane when Kaitlyn woke me up to look out the window.  Everything was pitch black but all the way to the right, towards the front of the plane, you could see the slightest sliver of light blue.  As we continued to fly towards the blue light the tiny sliver began to expand all the way across the horizon.  As the sun rose you could see a bright neon orange glow in the distance.  It looked like a fiery pit of lava in the middle of the ocean- so beautiful. 

The rest of the flight was pretty nonchalant until we began to approach Ireland. Ireland has a breathtaking coastline!   From the plane I could see the shoreline, various islands, beach cliffs, mountains, castles, old ruins, and tons of farm animals.  I also took more pictures- there was just green everywhere.  The woman sitting next to Kaitlyn and I on the plane turned to us and said, “now you know why it is called the Emerald Isle.”

We had a very smooth landing in Shannon.  Getting our passports stamped, finding our luggage, and going through customs was a pretty simple process.  We met Sylvia Rohr, our Carlow instructor, Eddie Lynch, a man from Innisfree International College & Convention Centre, and Aiden, our bus driver.  The bus ride from Shannon to Sligo was approximately three hours, but we made a ten minute stop at a gas station.  The gas station was pretty fascinating: there were loaves of bread, free samples of bread with butter, unrefrigerated eggs, a deli type counter, all sorts of interesting candy, drinks, and snacks, as well as everything else you would find at a regular gas station.  We also used the “loo”, which was around back.  During the bus ride we got to see so much of the Irish countryside.  I am not going to lie though, the whole driving on the other side of the road thing kind of freaked me out. I kept thinking we were going hit the cars, but it did not seem so weird after a while.  I just stared out the window the whole time.  All of the stone walls were amazing and there were just green pastures everywhere. I was definitely surprised at how close some of the animals were to the roadside.  As Kaitlyn said, everything was just so laid back.  We also got to see some ruins along the drive.  I think the old ruins and castles are probably the more enchanting sites for me- I cannot wait to actually explore them. 

During the bus ride Kaitlyn and I got to talk to Eddie a lot.  He told us so many fascinating stories about the people, recreation, and history of Ireland.  It was really intriguing to listen to him talk because even though we all spoke English, he used different mannerisms and slang terms.  For example, he said “you know” after almost everything he said and when someone would “ring him” he answered the phone by saying “what’s the story?”  I am just so enthralled with everything here! AH!

Innisfree International College & Convention Centre, where I am staying just outside of Sligo, is stunning.  The College sits right on a lake- Lough Gill.  Everything is just so serene.  We are staying in three bedroom apartments which share a common area, kitchen, and dining room.  We all have our own bedrooms and bathrooms.  As if that was not spoiling us enough, the food is amazing!  For lunch we had salmon, salad, potatoes, and strawberries and cream.  The strawberries and cream were delicious but the cream was definitely not what I was expecting.  I assumed it would be like whipped cream but it was not, it was not sweet.  After lunch we had a brief tour, a welcome, and Dr. Michael Roberts gave a short lecture on “The Cailleach of Sligo”.  During the lecture he talked a lot about some really fascinating Irish myths. Most of the stories he read came from a book he just wrote.  I am thinking about buying the book so I could read more myths and learn even more about Sligo.  After the lecture, we had dinner.  For dinner we had pork, vegetables, and more potatoes.  Apparently they also bring us tea and biscuits every night before bed!  I could definitely get used to this!

I have only been here a day and I am already obsessed, I cannot wait to learn and see more of the beautiful place.  In the mean time, I am going to enjoy the“craic”!

June 2: JFK airport

Well, I'm curretly sitting in the JFK airport. We've done a lot of waiting today! Our first flight from Pittsburgh to JFK was originally scheduled to depart at 5:36pm. Kaitlyn and I got to the airport around 2:00pm just to play it safe and check out the airport since she has never flown before. We definitely had a lot of time to kill because our flight was delayed an hour to 6:34pm. After we finally boarded the plane and took off the flight went well except we had to wait a little once we landed for a gate to open for us before we could unload. It was about 9:00pm or so and our flight to Shannon, Ireland was scheduled for 10:00pm. I was a little nervous we might not make or they would be boarding the plane already once we got to the right gate.  However, it is 10:30pm and were still waiting to board.

At first our flight to Shannon was delayed because they were still cleaning the plane but now we are delayed because there is something wrong with the oven on the plane. Regardless, we are told we will be on the plane soon and on our way to Ireland in no time!!! Yay!

June 1: Still Packing...AHH!

Well, it is approximately 10:30PM on June 1^st and I am still packing.  Once a procrastinator, always a procrastinator.  Not only am I still packing, but I cannot believe I am leaving tomorrow to go to Ireland for sixteen days!!  When I turned my application into the Center for Global Learning and got accepted into the program in March I was excited, when I learned I won a scholarship to cover the programs costs I was ecstatic, but describing my feelings as excited or ecstatic now doesn’t even cut it!  Above all, I am simply shocked.  I mean sure, I have traveled outside the United Stated to Canada and the Caribbean, but never to Europe.  I am curious as to if I will feel like I am just in a different state with more green and Irish accents or if it will really hit me that I am in an entirely different country.

 I can’t wait J Tomorrow!  Tomorrow!  Tomorrow!

So back to the packing: my mom always calls me a bag lady because I am always carrying a million bags and my friends tell me that I remind them of a mom because I am always carrying miscellaneous things like Band-Aids or extra drinks.  I took two giant suitcases on a seven day vacation; imagine my paranoia when it was recommended that I pack one medium size suitcase, which I should be able to carry, for sixteen days!

AHHHH! 

Surprisingly, I am doing pretty well.  I packed mostly everything in a medium size suitcase which I plan on checking once I get to the airport.   I am also taking a smaller carry-on suitcase with a few articles of clothing in case my larger suitcase gets lost (I probably just jinxed myself) and because I will need room for souvenirs!  Who goes to Ireland without bringing anything back?

Well, I should probably finish packing now.  I do not want to forget anything important like my passport or camera.  Hope you are excited to hear about the rest of my Celtic Adventures!!