SHU In Ireland

Unexpected Joys

It seems that this week I can pleasantly report that not much has happened in Dingle.  I've spent some time relaxing and taking things easy, which is incredibly nice.  I really need some down time every once in a while to reconnect myself.  At least I'm getting to adjust to a new way of life, and maybe I'll even come out the end a more spontaneous person, rather than having to know for weeks in advance exactly what I'm doing.  It would be nice to go less crazy when unexpected things pop up, and I think that an entire semester of unexpected joys will help that. 

We were meant to climb Mt. Brandon today (which technically qualifies as a "hill" but it's still quite large and seems like an intense hike) but the weather was a little bad and all of us "chickened out" on the walk, so we didn't go.   I can't wait to do the walk, but I was absolutely not feeling up to it this morning. 

Next week we have midterms, but they don't seem too intense, so all should be well there on that front.  The classes are really enjoyable, so it isn't a huge trial to have to take a test or write a short paper.  What better place to suffer through school work than in a town as beautiful as this anyway? 

Mary H

February Break

    During our first break Kate and I went to Athens for seven days and spent the remaining three days in London.  Athens is an incredible city, and it was different from anything that we have seen, and being two New Yorkers we assumed we would know what to expect from a city.  We got to see almost all of the sites in Athens, including the Acropolis and the Parthenon, and of course no trip would be complete without doing a bit of shopping.  We found a bunch of flea markets where we were able to get some good deals.  Also, because the climate is considerably warmer there, they already have fresh fruit for sale that wouldn't be in season in New York until June.  Everyday we got at least one kilo of strawberries and thoroughly enjoyed every one.  We also tried some of the local cuisine in the form of gyros, but being the picky eaters that we are we got ours plain, so it was chicken and a pita.  By far though, our favorite food was the crepes!!  Chocolate and banana crepes are the best invention ever, and we're just upset because we don't have creperies at home (there is one in Dingle however that reopens in March!).  The only problems we found with Athens was the lack of food variety (which is important to two picky eaters) and the language barrier.  We had to resort to a lot of pointing in order to make it clear what we were talking about.  On our last day in Athens we did a half day sunset tour to Poseidon's Temple.  This was right on the water and absolutely beautiful!!  I could not think of a better way to end our trip than with this tour.  It was incredibly beautiful and definitely worth every penny.  
        Then we moved on to London!! once we finally found our hotel and knew where we were we got a late dinner and then went back to the hotel to get some sleep because we were exhausted!  The next day it was off to see the sights!  We saw the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, and Big Ben to name a few.  We also went to Madam Tussuad's Wax Museum and had a great time taking pictures with wax celebrities.  They have a haunted part of the museum in which you can't take pictures so i put mine in my back pocket, knowing i would want to take more pictures after the haunted section.  However, at one point i got so scared i actually fell and landed on my camera and broke it.  That night we got to go see the play Chicago and it was awesome!  The next day we were able to meet up with the rest of the group (who had spent their entire trip in London) and see some sights with them.  That night Kate and I got to see Wicked which we had been dying to see.  It was absolutely phenomenal!!! It was the best way to spend the last night of our trip.  
      Overall we had a great trip, but we realized how long 10 days is to be away from Dingle!!

Jessica

A drabble about London.

Steph S. here. Last time I posted on the SHU Ireland blog I rambled on about the program so far and how I've been adjusting to Dingle. Since I have to write yet another blog entry I figured I ought to write about London.

How to begin...

I was lucky enough to stay in a hostel in Kensington which was an absolutely gorgeous part of London (not to mention ridiculously wealthy). It was so nice to fall asleep to the sound of a passing train and to walk out of my room in the morning to see nothing but beautiful architecture for blocks. The nearest Tube stop was a five minute walk at the most and I got to walk through the nicest neighborhood. In essence, my sleeping arrangements in London were superb. Every stranger who shared my hostel room was quiet and friendly (well, except for one guy who snored, but that was only one night) and I really couldn't have asked for a better place to stay.

For those of you who haven't been to London, my Tube stop was Gloucester Road (Google a Tube map if you like) which meant I was right on the Piccadilly line, a line that runs through all the best places: Leicester Square, Covent Garden, and Piccadilly Circus. I spent four nights out of the seven I was there going to shows in various theaters around the West End. It was a great way to spend time in London (especially if you're theater nuts like Rachel T. and I).

I also did a lot of shopping on Oxford Street which you can get to from the city sightseeing tour (which was worth the money I paid for it) or by taking a different Tube line from Leicester Square. I spent a good share of the money I had on Oxford Street (mostly on shoes and sales) and everytime I went there to shop it was absolutely mobbed. It was a nice change of pace from Dingle; it was bustling and busy. The only thing I didn't like was the fact that London shuts down at midnight. The Tube stops running and there are only infrequent night buses that can be used to get around. So a word to the wise if you visit London: unless you want to take a cab home, don't stay out past midnight.

My friends and I also took a few day trips from London. Rachel T. and I made a trip to Bath (it was like a pilgrimage for us since we both love Jane Austen) and all five of us that went to London traveled to Salisbury to see Stonehenge and Old Sarem. Becca W. and Kyle L. went to Dover and then took a ferry across the Channel to Calais, France, and Becca, Kyle, and Rachel all took a train to Wales to visit Cardiff Castle. Besides the day trips I saw Parliament, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, the West End, Tower Bridge, the Tower of London, and a bunch of other stuff that I have to rack my brain to remember.

All in all the week was a great experience (if a little blurred) and I had so much fun. My advice to you is that if you do decide to be a part of this program and you can afford the exchange rate, go to London. I've been hard pressed to find anyone who doesn't like London.

Steph S.

Rachel T - A Whirlwind Tour of the UK...abridged

One of the best parts about this experience was that we have been given two week-long breaks, giving us the ability to travel wherever we want in Europe. For my first trip, I went with a group of four others to the United Kingdom (you’ll probably get bored with hearing about it soon, but since five of us shared the experience and yet all had other experiences, well…you’ll have to deal with us only for a bit longer). I’ve been to the UK before; when I was in high school, I went with a group from my AP Literature class to London and Scotland. It was the reason why I fell in love with travel in Europe, and the reason why I tried for this program to begin with, so it was almost like a homecoming of some kind.

Edinburgh was lovely. It’s also a really old city – we were actually staying in the Old Town part of the city, which seems ominous at night. I kind of wish we had had more than one full day in Edinburgh but I don’t think I would have changed it for the world. A few of us got the experience of walking down the Royal Mile from Edinburgh Castle to Holyrood Palace. It wasn’t the walk that was the experience – a mile downhill– but the experience was  actually getting to go into Holyrood. When I was in Edinburgh three years ago, I only got to stand outside Holyrood because Prince Charles was in residence. This time, no one was there, so we got to go through and go on the tour. Well, most of the tour; we basically got kicked out because they were closing, but we got through most of it and everything we saw was gorgeous.

I could have spent eternity in London. I’d be dirt poor, but I could. It was amazing and I wouldn’t change it for the world. If anyone goes to London, I highly suggest the double-decker bus tour. Even if it’s freezing outside, sit up top. You see everything, get amazing pictures, and it’s honestly worth it, because then you have an excuse to buy yourself Starbucks. And you don’t have to pay for the Tube, which gets expensive without an Oyster card. You can see a ton of shows too for a very cheap price if you’re into them – I saw Wicked, We Will Rock You, Avenue Q, and Chicago; it was the best thing to do during the nights and was great entertainment. London’s a great jumping off point too – I went to Cardiff (gorgeous, by the way, but a very small city), Stonehenge (kind of something every tourist to southern England has to do), and Bath (oh, my god…I want to live in Bath, it’s gorgeous and looks like a movie set, and if you are a fan of Jane Austen or even if you’re not it’s definitely worth a visit) from it, and it was a wonderful home base, instead of having to pay for hostels everywhere.

It’s not that everything was peaches and cream. You have to be prepared; you’re going from tiny little Dingle to a huge city. I wasn’t completely phased -  I mean, I live in a tiny town at home, a town nearly as small as Dingle, and I go to New York City all the time with my parents (it’s a trip for us, three hours in a car for a day trip to see shows). But it’s still an experience after being in a small town for so long, especially one as safe as Dingle. I hadn’t seen an accident in such a long time, and I was suddenly part of one. Well, not me, personally. The tour bus I was on. In the middle of London, we were cut off by a motorcycle. The bus basically ate it because it couldn’t stop fast enough. It was probably one of the most amusing parts of that day, if not the week. It still brings into perspective that Dingle is like a little safe haven. Still, I wouldn’t have changed it for the world.

Attached is a picture of the wall still up of Holyrood Abbey. It was the most fascinating part of my trip, next to Bath, at least for me. I was absolutely in awe of Holyrood if you couldn't tell - I'm not ashamed to say I almost cried...okay, maybe I'm a bit ashamed, since after 3 years you think I'd be able to deal with finally getting in to see the Palace, but I'm a big believer in British History, and I'm majoring in British Literature, so to see such a large part of British history astounded me.

The Latest from Dingle

One day in anthropology class, Brid was telling us about place names, and how most of them have some kind of historical or cultural significance – there’s normally a story behind them.  She mentioned in particular that the word “rath” is basically a reference to a faerie fort.  I gathered from her explanation that it is basically a place where the faeries hang out, and that it is a place that is in general avoided because nobody wants to be taken by faeries.  So that night I had a dream that I was walking around an Irish field, and I came upon a landmark that looked something like Brid had described (having never seen a picture or anything, I’m sure my imagination did the best it could), only it was smaller.  I actually nearly stepped in it, because there wasn’t exactly anything to call attention to it except that there were tiny, tiny glittering, glowing people sitting in the middle.  I am almost entirely sure that the faeries of Irish legends don’t really appear that way, but I think my subconscious was trying to mix together Irish folklore and American myths.  It was interesting, anyway.

The bakery across the street from the Diseart is absolutely amazing, and the guy who works there (who is also apparently a poet on the side, and has mentioned that at some point he’s going to come speak to us in class) is really friendly (although I have yet to meet anyone here who’s not).  We’ve been going there at lunchtime for desert-type foods, because we all seem to be craving chocolate like crazy.  The other day I got something that looked like a small slice of chocolate cake.  They don’t really know how to do bakeries in Arkansas, God only knows what I’m going to do when I get home.  Of course, no one here – including the other American kids – really understands barbeque, or fried catfish and hushpuppies.  It doesn’t balance out – I’ll take this bakery over Porky’s any day.

This past Sunday four of us helped with a church service for St Bridget’s Day, the first of February and the beginning of spring.  At some point I had to step outside to use my phone, and I exchanged greetings in Irish with people who were coming in for the service.  I was very proud of myself.  We handed out crosses and ripped up sheets together, and everyone was very friendly and very concerned that we at least get some of the mantle to bring home for protection.  I was really glad that I got to participate.

 

Program Excursion to Dublin

It was the second time I had ever been in Dublin, which was the city that made me decide to apply for a study abroad program in Ireland. I love Dublin, for all of its bustle and busy-ness and attempts at being international (that are mostly successful, truth be told). I was able to find new jeans in Dublin, as well as dress clothes and various other items that I was unable to find in Dingle.  The black taxi tour in Belfast was pretty cool though; I didn't know that Belfast was still going through all that stuff.

It was so great to get back to Dingle even as much fun as it was traveling and getting to see lots of new things. I've now been to Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Spain, and France. In Europe at least.

-Becca

First Few Weeks in Dingle

Having both a love of history and a passion for religious studies, being in an archaeology class on the Dingle Peninsula is easily the coolest thing ever.  We have been on a few walks to older sites, including one to see an Ogham Stone on our first full day in Ireland, and another to see an old monastery, church, graveyard, and standing stones, during our class.  Being able to walk up a street and see four historical sites is incredible (not to mention the fantastic view of the harbor on the way!).  I have been completely blown away by the location of the SHU program, and it has proved very much to our advantage during classes.  If you want to see the historical sites we mention in class, all that one must do is walk outside and look around.  History is truly everywhere in Dingle, and I am loving every minute of it.  It seemed as if every turn in the road our archaeology teacher took us down there was a new artifact or site to see. 

Participation in the traditions of the area has been another very rewarding aspect of my trip.  Our first week in Dingle we attended a meeting of a bunch of singers from the Sean-nós tradition of the area.  The tradition consists of people singing traditional Irish songs unaccompanied and mostly solo, sharing their craft with one another.  We were even encouraged to join in with whatever songs we knew, “Except American Pie.  Unless you know all the words.”  Before I knew it I had admitted to knowing all of the words to the parody by Weird Al Yankovich and was singing them for the entire group.  I have never since seen some of my group members laugh as hard as they did then.  We’ve also learned Irish set dancing and there may or may not be plans for us to join in dancing at a pub in town in the near future, but I am very excited!  I get such a thrill twirling around the floor I can almost not wipe the silly grin off of my face.  This trip has been so rewarding already, and I’ve only been here for barely three weeks.  I cannot wait to see what the rest of the semester will bring!

-Mary H.

The Brazen Head!

    The first week in February we went on a school sponsored trip to Dublin and Belfast.  We spent two nights in Dublin and one in Belfast.  We got to do a lot of different things during our trip, the only downside was that sleep was the thing that was compromised in order to fit everything in.  Despite the sleep deprivation everyone had a great time on this trip.  The most memorable part, for me, was when we went to The Brazen Head.  This is the oldest pub in Ireland and we got to get dinner here on our second night in Dublin.  This place had a truly great atmosphere and we enjoyed it so much that we stuck around after dinner to have a few pints and listen to the band.  Sean Pol and Becca even got to sing a few songs with them.  Overall this pub had a great atmosphere and band and we truly enjoyed our time here.  After this we went to Flannery's pub.  This was more like a pub mixed with a club, which was perfect to satisfy everyone.  It had the pub atmosphere with club music and some room to dance, if you so desired.  Our whole last night in Dublin was very enjoyable and well worth the lack of sleep before Belfast.

Jessica

The SHU in Ireland experience: week seven.

Hey guys (whoever you may be)! Stephanie S. here for SHU in Ireland. I'm amazed at how much I already sound like I'm plugging this program. Basically what I'm supposed to do on this blog is tell you all the stuff I'm doing over here in Ireland and how great this program is.

I consider it a huge blessing that I don't have to lie about the awesomeness of either. :)

To start from the beginning, I've been in Ireland for... oh, six or seven weeks now. I won't lie and say I loved it here from the start. I was very upset when I first got here. I was jet-lagged and sleep deprived for about four days and it was really hard for me to adjust. I'm very close to my family and to be so far away without them was more difficult than I thought it would ever be but slowly, I adjusted. I started getting more sleep at night, I went out and adventured a little more, and I connected with the people in my group. I can't tell you how nice it was to know that I wasn't the only one who really missed home those first few days.

Week two ended with a trip to Galway for three days and when I came back to Dingle, I was so grateful to see the cottage I lived in, to sleep in my own Dingle bed, and to see Díseart when I went to class on Monday. In a surprisingly short amount of time I'd managed to be both ridiculously homesick for New York AND ridiculously homesick for Dingle. It goes to show you how quickly this place and it's people manage to grip your heart.

Since I've been here I've done an absolutely obscene amount of traveling. Our group was taken on trips to Galway, like I mentioned, as well as Belfast and Dublin, and we have an overnight trip planned to Killarney during our next break. Besides the program-included trips, I just got back from a week-and-a-half long break that was spent in Edinburgh and London.

The picture above was taken in front of the fountain at Buckingham Palace and is (from left to right) Jess C., me, and Becca W. It not only shows where we've been but how we've all grown close over the short weeks we've been in together. The trip was absolutely amazing and I saw and did so many things that I never thought were in the works for me. This program has opened my eyes to the possibilities before me and it really does change your entire outlook on life. I know I'm shamelessly plugging this right now but it really is an experience.

It isn't always sunshine and rainbows. There will be times when you're upset and will want to leave. There will be times when you miss your family so much you think you've made a mistake. Trust me, though: it will all pass, and those times will be far outweighed by the fun you having traveling the world and making new friends.

In essence: Ireland's mad awesome, yo. :)

Steph S.