Well I had my first couple classes in my ‘History of Ireland’ course- which have all been fabulous! I’m so excited to get to experience taking a college course in a different country. I’m interested to see what kinds of similarities and differences I see between the American and Irish teaching styles. Also, I’m interested for the overall subject matter. But even more than that, I’m interested to learn the history of Ireland from an actual Irish perspective. (But mostly I’m interested in finding another word for interesting because I just said that one about five times!) Anyways, I’ve obviously taken history courses on other countries and regions before but they’re still always from the foreign, American perspective so it’ll be cool to take this Irish history course in Ireland!

The first thing to note is that in Ireland college “professors” are called ‘lecturers.’ The term professor is saved for someone who is truly accomplished in the academic field and is not tossed around as much as in America. My lecturer is great and she really makes all the lectures interesting. Plus, she always ends with a full-class debate/discussion where she really works to get everyone involved, and I really love this. The first day she addressed how many mixed abilities there were going to be in the room because everyone was from different colleges, different majors, and different ages. I liked this because catering to mixed abilities is something we talk about so often in my education classes. So to hear this Irish lecturer address the issue was actually kind of cool. So far I think she’s done a good job of catering to the different abilities. Although I’m a history major I don’t find the class too easy and I think it is probably a great level for those that haven’t taken history in a couple of years.

We recently had our lecture on the Irish potato famine, which led to a great discussion on if it was misguided policy or passive genocide. I tend to lead towards the former of the two. We also watched a bit of Irish Riverdancing, which I loved! The first week of July the history class is taking a walking tour of Dublin while the music class is going to see Riverdance. Well the history class is now really interested in going to that also, so some of us are going to look into how much it would cost for us to go!

Outside the Natural History Museum of the National Museum of Ireland. (Please note: This picture was taken from the internet and not by me.)

Some of the things he brought up seemed so weird to me. For instance, in Ireland it’s customary to ask a question three times, because once just isn’t enough apparently. So if I were to ask someone if they wanted a cup of tea- I’d have to ask it three times if they say no the first time. Because apparently chances are they really do want the tea but it’s polite to say no two times first. So do you want some tea? No I’m good. Are you sure, it’s no problem. Oh no thanks. Oh come on, how about you have some tea with me? Okay, that sounds nice. I thought that was pretty funny when he told us about it!

He also talked about how the Irish are less direct than Americans. So in the past they had an intern who was listening to her iPod at work and the boss said, “You really like your music, don’t you?” The intern assumed he was just making conversation and said that she did. Apparently, what he really meant by that was “Turn your F’ing music off” and the intern was let go after that! Crazy!

So I was pretty nervous going into my interview- but it wound up going great! I talked with the ‘keeper’ of the Natural History Museum for over an hour and a half! He gave me a tour of the museum, which is currently closed for renovation.

The building is supposed to reopen in September but with only the first of the three floors opened. Apparently to bring the second and third floor up to code is still going to take another five or ten years! So they figure in the meantime they’ll open up the first floor. Which means they now have to decide what exhibits to bring down to the first floor and display, and which to not display at all.

Inside the Natural History Museum of the National Museum of Ireland. (Please note: This picture was taken from the internet and not by me.)

It sounds like I’ll have quite a few tasks throughout the summer, including cataloguing items and assessing exhibits. The keeper, Nigel, is really big on the idea that I’m free labor, which means he’s very open to whatever I’d like to do. He said that if he has me on a task but I see another one that looks interesting to just tell him and then I can do the other task! He also said that he could get me into the other museums for a couple of days if I want and other areas as well- such as their educational programming department and preservation of artifacts. FYI there are four branches of the National Museum-- Natural History, Archeology, Decorative Arts & History, and Country Life.

I start Monday and I can’t wait! It should be such an amazing experience!

written by  kmr788 on June 4, 2009 from Dublin, Ireland
from the travel blog: Dublin, Ireland
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Yesterday was a “Bank Holiday” in Ireland so we didn’t have class or internship things to do. It’s amusing because no one here actually seems to be able to tell me what a ‘Bank Holiday’ is other than the fact that the banks are closed. Most people describe it as a Sunday because the banks are closed, and most places open late.

It turned out to be another great weather day so some of the girls decided to head to the beach again.

Dalkey Shoreline

The town was gorgeous! One of those little towns that you just have to fall in love with immediately.

The town of Dalkey

It was a bit of a walk to the beach, but we enjoyed seeing more of the town and all the houses.

When we looked up Dalkey on the Internet to find this beach it read that Dalkey is the “Beverley Hills of Ireland!” Haha, too cool.

Dalkey is said to be the "Beverly Hills of Ireland"- after seeing some of the houses we understood why!

We finally got to the beach and had to walk down a bunch of stairs and through a couple paths to get to the water.

Heading to the beach in Dalkey.

We later found out that the beach we stopped at was not the one the locals had told us about. (At first I thought they just told us about the nudist beach so they could get a big laugh out of it!) But it turns out that the beach we stopped at was an informal beach before the other one.

Shoreline at the beach in Dalkey.

Although it was a beautiful day out and I got lots of sun, the water was absolutely FREEZING!!

At the beach in Dalkey.

So I jumped in the water… My lungs immediately closed up… And I wet into a massive asthma attack! There are a couple of places where you really don’t want to go into an asthma attack and I would say that the water would be at the top of that list! So I’m now in this freezing water, and I can’t breath, nor can I easily swim because I’m too busy not breathing. To really top it off, my breathing is so bad and my lungs are so tightly closed that I can’t even scream for help! I was literally doing my hardest not to drown (seriously!) and I’m desperately trying to get gasps of air as I kick to stay above water!

People on the beach began to notice that I was having trouble and somehow I was able to spit out that I was having an asthma attack. (Why I didn’t just scream ‘help’ when I could actually get breath to talk, I don’t know?!) Well luckily I hadn’t swam too far from the coast (mainly because I didn’t have any time to before my lungs closed up and I stopped breathing) so I was able to pull myself out of the water!

Of course because I’m the biggest idiot in the world I didn’t have my inhaler with me! (And I know Mom, it is now permanently in my purse and will not leave there and I know I’m a big dumb-dumb for not having it with me!!- Trust me, you’re voice was in my head the whole time!) Luckily there was a guy there that had an inhaler and I didn’t have time to think about whether I should take it or not, because I knew I needed it!! So I took two quick puffs of the inhaler and once I sat down and was out of the cold water, my lungs were able to open up and it was much easier.

It was seriously one of the scariest situations of my life. Because like I said, not only was I fighting the fact that I couldn’t breathe but I was also fighting the fact that I was literally beginning to drown! OMG!! I swear just thinking about it makes my lungs close up again!

After leaving the beach the other girls decided to walk around the town a bit. But once I got up and started walking I felt like my lungs were going to close on me any second, and since I didn’t have my inhaler with me I just wanted to get back to the apartment. So I headed back, completely exhausted, and did absolutely nothing the rest of the night! It was actually great- because after spending the past four nights out late at the pubs, I knew my liver (not to mention my wallet!) needed a break!!

Earlier today we had our first class at Dublin City University- it was great! But I’ll write more on that later… right now I have to head to some internship meetings!

written by  kmr788 on June 2, 2009 from Dalkey, Ireland
from the travel blog: Dublin, Ireland
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After our orientation meetings we went down to City Centre for a “treasure hunt” where we split into groups and had to walk around the city answering questions. Before heading to that though a couple of us started off at this place and had some drinks and all talked for a bit.

Great bar we grabbed some drinks at before our afternoon orientation on Friday.

Monument to James Joyce?

Remembrance Park.

After the treasure hunt Amy and I split off on our own to get cell phones and do some shopping to get some things for the apartment and what not.

Another side street in Dublin.

We headed back to the apartment and grabbed some dinner, then around 9:30p went back down to City Centre for the night.

Standing on a bridge in City Centre looking out over the river.

We met Jahna and Megan at a bar down in City Centre but it was a little too quiet for most of us, so we left there and headed down the Temple Bar District. So this is the best part- we didn’t really know where we should go so one of us decides we’ll “stalk” this group of guys in front of us and go wherever they go. Well I guess one of them heard us say that so two of the guys stopped and turned around and was like, “Are you stalking us?” Haha. So we wound up talking with those two- James and Michael. But they were both from England and it was their first trip to Dublin so they couldn’t help us much on where to go. Still, they wound up hanging out with us the rest of the night!

We finally wound up at a place called “Doyle’s”, which I loved!

One of the pubs we went to our second night out.

At some point I decided to go outside and get some air, so I was standing outside the bar sending a text on my cell phone when this guy behind me asked if I was okay. I just gave him the brush off because I didn’t wanna deal with it but then he said I looked upset or something, and I was like nope, I’m fine (which I was.) Well I have no clue how, but somehow he actually got me talking. And we wound up standing out there for like a half hour talking. His name was David and he was a native Dubliner and freaking adorable! Haha. He’s a photographer and I was telling him that I wanted to be a history teacher and he asked what type of history I was into. When I said American history I found out that he’s actually really into the American Civil War. I thought this was so cool- because I’d never met someone from another country that was interested in our history and stuff. I don’t know, it was just really cool. He was wicked smart too- he knew more US state capitals than I did, he had me quizzing him! I actually felt a little stupid after talking to him! Haha.

The best part was when he spent twenty minutes trying to guess Chicago’s football team because he couldn’t remember what it was! First he kept saying the Chicago Braves and I was telling him that A. the braves are baseball and B. that’s the Atlanta Braves! Then he said so confidentially, the Chicago Bulls!! And I laughed and said except that’s our basketball team! He did know the Cubbies though, which made my day! Finally I had to tell him the Bears because he couldn’t remember!

So you know in movies when the girl is in a different country and she starts talking with someone and then out of nowhere one of the guys girl friends runs up and starts talking really fast about whatever drama is happening in her life, and then they stop their rambling to turn to the other girl and say hi and introduce herself, and its just all so funny. Okay, maybe you think I’m making this up but I swear in like every movie where some chick winds up in England or something, that’s what happens. And that’s exactly what happened while I was talking with David. One of his friends came up and was going on about how she got locked out of her house, and something with her ex-boyfriends bike being there and her roommate is out of town and now she has to spend the weekend at her ex-boyfriends family’s house or something! Haha, I don’t know but she was so adorable!

The bar was two floors and after talking outside for a bit David and I went to the second floor where I met all his other friends.

Finally the night dwindled down and I made my way back to campus with the girls. By now it was past three and I’ll omit how many drinks I’d had (though I will say Denise and I did a couple of tequila shots throughout the night!)

written by  kmr788 on May 31, 2009 from Dublin, Ireland
from the travel blog: Dublin, Ireland
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The weather has been great since we got here and all the locals tell us how lucky we are to have such great weather.

Coastline at Killiney.

At the train station before heading down to Killiney.

Killiney is about a thirty-minute train ride south of Dublin and is sooo beautiful! At first though we got on the wrong train (Apparently the rail we were on had both a commuter train and then the one we needed to take- The Dart). Luckily we got on the commuter rail and a local told us where to get off and which train to take to get to Killiney. So we wound up stopping in Dun Laoghaire

Okay- Amy and Jahna just knocked on my door and want to head to City Centre for some shopping so I’m gonna head down there with them! I’ll finish this up later!

Alright- I’m back. Shopping turned out to be not so much fun because I was so bloody tired. But anyway, back to what I was talking about…

The day at the beach was great, though I wound up with a bit of sunburn. I didn’t put any suntan lotion on because I stupidly didn’t think I’d need it.

Hanging out at the beach in Killiney.

We wound up at a great bar called “The Auld Dubliner,” which was two stories with live music on the second floor.

On the bus before heading out our first Saturday night.

Oh my gosh, it was the greatest- I started laughing my head off!! Well remember they got separated from their bachelor party the other night, well they were actually at the Auld Dubliner with that party so we got to meet all their friends. We actually wound up hanging out with their party the whole night, and we were basically the only ones on the second floor so it was actually a lot of fun.

The bachelor was adorable too (or as they call it in English- the Stag.) We were talking for a bit and comparing slang dating/hooking up terms in American and Britain, haha. We were talking about what 1st base, 2nd base, etc are in Britain- I forget exactly what he said, but he said a “homerun” was something silly- ugh, I wish I remembered! And then we were talking about how “making out” in America is “snogging” in Britain and a bunch of funny things like that. He was actually a really great guy- he reminded me of one of the boxing coaches where I workout back in Boston actually with some of the things he said, and his whole positive, life-is-great attitude! It was just a fun night overall. We hung out there until around 2 or 3 and then made our way back home for some major SLEEP TIME!

written by  kmr788 on May 31, 2009 from Killiney, Ireland
from the travel blog: Dublin, Ireland
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We took the bus down to City Centre and then wound up at a place for drinks and dinner.

The first Dublin bar we hit up on our first night in Dublin!

It was a pretty chill bar and we were able to take up a corner of it and all sit and talk. We wound up staying there to grab some dinner and I had a burger, which was delicious! Ooh, and yummy onion rings too! That combined with another drink made for a pretty amazing first Dublin dinner. After dinner we asked the waitress if she could split up the bill for us. Her reply? “It’s already been taken care of.” My reply? Um, what?! So naturally every head turns to Bobby with a questioning look. He claimed he didn’t take care of the bill, that would be crazy wouldn’t it? Another suitemate of mine, Jahna, asked the bartender and found out that yes, Bobby was the one who paid the bill. Okay, we are talking about TEN people who each had at least two drinks and everyone had dinner. So 5 euro a drink, 10 euro for dinner (and that’s on the low estimate) we’re still talking about 200 euro!? Crazy!

After dinner most people went home because I guess they were tired but Megan, Jahna, Bobby, and I went to another couple bars. The first was a great little place that had an acoustic guitarist who sang a song for Bobby’s birthday! Haha. We only had a drink or two there and then moved onto a different, pretty laid-back bar. By this point I knew I’d reached my limit so I didn’t drink anymore (see, don’t worry, I’m a smart gal!) Bobby had also reached his limit a couple shots of whisky ago, but he’s a guy so of course he wasn’t going to admit it and he ordered another beer. But by the time he had a couple sips I think he realized his limit was reached. Jahna and Megan had moved elsewhere in the bar so it was just Bobby and me as he sat with his head down holding the beer, looking like he was about to pass out! I stood with him for the next twenty minutes or so to make sure he was okay- I guess I was the ‘babysitter’ for the night! Haha, but no worries – still so much fun! Every once in a while Bobby’s drink would begin tipping forward in his hands so finally (after much coaxing) I convinced him to just give me the damn drink!

I motioned to Jahna and Megan that we should go because Bobby wasn’t doing too well and they said we’d leave after the next song – but of course that song lasted like ten minutes, I swear! So we finally got Bobby down the flight of stairs (of course we had to be on a second floor bar! Wth!) with Megan on one side and me on the other. So we get him downstairs and Jahna turns to him and says, “So are you ready to go to the next bar?” My thought process: Are you F’ing kidding me? He can barely stand up, I’d been with him for the last half hour, and I’m pretty sure he actually passed out/fell asleep at some point! I tried to talk some sense into him but like I said before, he’s a guy (!) so its not like he’s going to say no. But thank god on the way to finding another bar he admitted that we should probably go home. So then began the fun drama of finding the bus back to campus!

We weren’t quite sure which number bus we had to take so when one pulled up to the curb I ran to ask the driver which bus we should take. Well somehow (and I’m still not quite sure what happened), I completely (!) wiped out! Right in front of the bus! So embarrassing (but luckily I was in no state to actually be embarrassed). I now have this huge bruise on my right leg- but luckily that was the only harm done! Finally we just decided to take a cab home, which I tired to pay for but when I handed the cab driver my money Bobby took the money out of his hands, gave it back to me, and then paid for the cab! (Oh and did I mention, he paid for all our other drinks too!) Now here’s the real kicker- we paid 60 euro (!!!) for that twenty-minute cab ride. And why did we do that? Because we were drunk and didn’t know how much it should be and the cab driver was well aware of that. And what should we really have paid? According to the locals I’ve talked with, about 20 euro (F!). Kind of made me glad I didn’t pay for it! Haha.

written by  kmr788 on May 29, 2009 from Dublin, Ireland
from the travel blog: Dublin, Ireland
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"A Hundred Thousand Welcomes to Ireland"

I write this latest blog from my dorm room at the Dublin City University! We arrived in Dublin around 9am and got to the apartments shortly thereafter. I unpacked my things and then went with Megan, Lindsay, Tara, and ‘Cornell’ (still need to find out her name!) to get some coffee. We were also joined by one of my suitemates, name not remembered, who is really great.

The apartment is as follows (see the pics too!) We have five bedrooms connected by a long hallway.

The common area.

My bedroom.

We got a chance to see a bit of the university on our quest for coffee and we talked some more about what types of side trips we’re all interested in. My suitemate (Why can’t I remember her name?!) and I are both interested in taking a day or two in London. Megan wasn’t interested in that trip but its something ‘Suitemate’ and I may do.

Megan, Lindsay, ‘Suitemate,’ and I all want to go down to western Ireland as well. Megan has been to Ireland twice before and she knows some great places down there. All of us want to go to the touristy places too, such as the Blarney Stone. We were thinking of staying in hostels to save on hotel fares- plus we know this would be a much more ‘real’ experience than staying in some hotel. Plus who doesn’t love saving money?! A couple of us also talked of side trips to Scotland and Paris. But I’ll be the first to admit that my bank account funds are currently pretty low so my trips will have to be kept to a minimum. :(

Given my lack of sleep I’m actually pretty awake right now- though that’s no doubt due to the coffee and excitement currently in my system! We have some type of meeting at 2p but then I’m not really sure what else we have to do today. My guess is that most of us will probably be going to bed pretty early since we basically skipped right over Wednesday night because of the time difference.

I sent out an e-mail to my sister earlier telling her to go online if she got the e-mail relatively soon. Then I realized it was only 6am her time even though it was noon here!! So I had to send her another e-mail saying, “Never mind, you’re probably asleep!” Like I said- it will take a bit of getting used to.

(Wooh- I just found out that ‘suitemates’ name is AMY! Yay. Now I just need to figure out “Cornell’s’ real name!”) Oh and I just saw some of the other girls rooms and mine is a lot bigger- yay! Haha.

Okay- done for now I think. I’ll write more either tonight or tomorrow. Don’t worry, once classes and the internship start up I won’t have as many blogs up each day to bore you with!

written by  kmr788 on May 28, 2009 from Dublin, Ireland
from the travel blog: Dublin, Ireland
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Before leaving for the airport.

Before I left for the airport I ran into two of my good friends and was glad I was able to say goodbye. One of them, Kristen, will be attending Trinity University in Ireland in the fall for her PhD. so she may take a week to come visit this summer, which would be tons of fun! It wasn’t until I said goodbye to my friends and walked into my newly emptied apartment that it really hit me… Starting a new adventure is great, but it also means saying goodbye to the people and places that have been my home for the past school year. The only thing that comforts me is knowing this it is not a permanent goodbye. Yet before I even left Boston, I already felt homesick for it, however I was comforted to know I would only be gone a short three months.

But still as the cab pulled away from my apartment building I felt the urge to scream to the cab driver, “Wait! Slow down- you’re driving too fast and I need more time to say goodbye!” I know that I’ll be back in three months, but I also know that I will be coming back to a completely new environment in the fall. I will no longer live in South Campus, many of my friends will be spread out across the globe at new universities, and I have yet to find an apartment for September.

When I was in the sixth grade I went on a weekend school trip to Camp Maclean. When I returned, just a mere three days after having left, I found that the 7-11 that once stood behind my house was gone. It’s windows were boarded up, its sign taken down, a small piece of my childhood lost. This was just one of the instances where life took me by the shoulders and shook me hard saying, “See! Things change, nothing is forever.” And so I left Boston this morning with a sort of sweet sadness- knowing the adventure waiting for me on the other end was well worth whatever I may have to say goodbye to at my university home, but missing it all the same… It’s the same feeling I get every time I must leave my real, true home in Chicago.

I arrived at the airport and found three other girls that were also part of the Boston University trip. We sat together and talked before boarding the plane and it was comforting to know that when the plane’s tires hit the tarmac 3000 miles away, over 6 hours later, I already had new friends to join me in my adventure.

As the plane pulled away from the gate at Logan International Airport and it’s tires lifted from the runaway to glide through the sky, I said goodbye to Boston once more and I said hello to the possibilities I had waiting for me on the other end of my flight. As my dad told me before the plane took off: This is a once in a lifetime experience- enjoy it.” And I can’t wait!

written by  kmr788 on May 27, 2009 from Boston, United States
from the travel blog: Dublin, Ireland
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