Saturday, December 17, 2011
Arrived in Edinburgh today! our hostel is one block from the main street of the city (the Royal Mile) which is so handy! Today we walked around the main shopping streets, hit up the Christmas market and got a great view of Edinburgh Castle. Tomorrow, Sunday, we are hiking up Arthur's Seat for an incredible view of the entire city. Monday we are walking from one end of the Royal Mile (starting at Edinburgh Castle) to the other end (Holyrood Palace). This is one of the most incredible cities I have ever seen. So beautiful and full of incredibly old but still-in-tact buildings. Not sure I ever want to leave. Oh and I forgot to mention were hittin up the cafe that J.K. Rowling wrote Harry Potter at on napkins and whatever paper she could find! Pretty cool. It's called Elephant House! Oh and we tried Haggis tonight at a local pub while watching my favorite rugby team Leinster play against Bath!
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
The Big Trip!
Finally finished with the massive amount of work I had to do - I'm even a month ahead on one of my papers! Dan, my boyfriend, gets here tomorrow at 7 am and then we leave for our trip around Europe on Saturday. I'm sure I will have so much to post about once I get back! Happy Holidays!
Sunday, November 20, 2011
End of the Semester
So we're nearing the end of the semester and things are getting down to the wire. I have finished 5 of the 8 major projects/papers that I had to do by December 16th (the end of first semester - known as Michaelmas Term here at Trinity). All that's left to do is three essays - one in American History, one in Globalization and Development, and one in Race, Ethnicity and Identity. Then I will finally be able to focus on my trip around Europe! YAY!
I'm a HUGE procrastinator and the way the system at Trinity works makes this tendency of mine to put off work until the last minute even easier. I have had literally no work to hand in this semester until now. You do usually have weekly readings, but it is sometimes very hard to find the incentive to do them - just kidding Mom and Dad! It's not that the information we're studying is not interesting - it definitely is - it's just that when you're forced to do something without making that decision to do it yourself, you find it more unappealing. That made very little sense but hey - it's almost 2 am and I'm tired.
We work on a trimester system although they like to say that we have only two semesters. The truth is that we have Michaelmas Term in the fall, Hilary Term in the spring and Trinity Term at the end of the year. The semesters are shorter here and classes run for the full year. This means no exams before Christmas Break - WOOOO!!! But most classes do require you to submit an essay. Trinity term is our exam period. We have 4 weeks of studying and then 4 weeks of exams. Not too bad eh?
As confusing as it was at the beginning, mostly because it seemed too easy and flexible compared to universities at home, I much prefer this system. The subjects are less rushed. In addition, there is no such things as "core requirements" like back home. When you get into university here you stick with your course(s) - what we call a major - which can be two subjects. You study that course for the next four years. This allows for total immersion and specialization in a subject which makes much more sense than the American system of taking a science class even when you future career lies in the arts. I suppose that both systems have their pros and cons. For example, our system allows for an "all-around" education and makes it much easier to change your mind half-way through college. Plus its pretty common for someone to major in Psychology and not become a Psychologist. I suppose that one could experience the best of both worlds in the US by attending a normal undergraduate college and getting the all-around experience until they know exactly what they want to do and then go on to graduate school where they can focus on one subject.
I'm a HUGE procrastinator and the way the system at Trinity works makes this tendency of mine to put off work until the last minute even easier. I have had literally no work to hand in this semester until now. You do usually have weekly readings, but it is sometimes very hard to find the incentive to do them - just kidding Mom and Dad! It's not that the information we're studying is not interesting - it definitely is - it's just that when you're forced to do something without making that decision to do it yourself, you find it more unappealing. That made very little sense but hey - it's almost 2 am and I'm tired.
We work on a trimester system although they like to say that we have only two semesters. The truth is that we have Michaelmas Term in the fall, Hilary Term in the spring and Trinity Term at the end of the year. The semesters are shorter here and classes run for the full year. This means no exams before Christmas Break - WOOOO!!! But most classes do require you to submit an essay. Trinity term is our exam period. We have 4 weeks of studying and then 4 weeks of exams. Not too bad eh?
As confusing as it was at the beginning, mostly because it seemed too easy and flexible compared to universities at home, I much prefer this system. The subjects are less rushed. In addition, there is no such things as "core requirements" like back home. When you get into university here you stick with your course(s) - what we call a major - which can be two subjects. You study that course for the next four years. This allows for total immersion and specialization in a subject which makes much more sense than the American system of taking a science class even when you future career lies in the arts. I suppose that both systems have their pros and cons. For example, our system allows for an "all-around" education and makes it much easier to change your mind half-way through college. Plus its pretty common for someone to major in Psychology and not become a Psychologist. I suppose that one could experience the best of both worlds in the US by attending a normal undergraduate college and getting the all-around experience until they know exactly what they want to do and then go on to graduate school where they can focus on one subject.
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Northern Ireland
I know, I know...I've been terrible at posting in the past few weeks. My bad! Anyway here's a little update on what I've been up to.
I went on a trip to Northern Ireland in late October with my study abroad program, IES Abroad. We took the train from Dublin to Belfast and immediately went to lunch at a well-known restaurant called the Crown Bar where my two friends and I were dared to eat an entire scoop of mashed potatoes...which we did. I'll include a photo of it for you to see! After lunch, we went on a Black Taxi Tour of the Belfast Murals and the Peace Wall. It was an extremely fascinating experience (I had done it once before on my first trip to Ireland) and the drivers will give you an honest answer to ANY question. The taxis took us to the Titanic Dock where we saw the site where the Titanic was built and stored before it sailed off to England. The Bus picked us up and we took off on a 2 hour bus ride to Portrush, a seaside town. We stayed at the Port Hotel which was a very small but extremely convenient place to stay as it was a short distance from all major sites along the coast. We had dinner at a delicious place in Portrush called Coast Restaurant which had extremely cheap options and AMAZING desserts!
The next day we had breakfast at the hotel and left for the Carrick-A-Rede Rope Bridge - my favorite place in ALL of Ireland. We then went to Bushmills Distillery for a tour of the whiskey factory followed by some whiskey tasting! After, we ate lunch at The Nook restaurant right near The Giants Causeway which we then went to - definitely one of my other favorite spots! We were given the night off so of course we went to the same cheap, but delicious restaurant from the night before and then headed back to our hotel for a night of karaoke at the hotel bar.
On our last day, we ate and headed off to Dunluce Castle, the ruins of which sit right on the edge of a cliff! Our last spot was the Glenariff National Park for a walk through a valley with waterfalls. We had hot lunch at the Glenriff National Park restaurant and made our trek back to Dublin. It was an awesome trip and a reminder of how beautiful the countryside and coast of the Emerald Isle can be.
On November 4th, IES organized a trip for us to a local Rugby game! It was right in Dublin and a short walk from city centre. We had front row seats for a match between Leinster (the provence of Ireland in which Dublin is located) and Munster. It was awesome!
This past week is what Trinity calls "Reading Week" and we had no classes. It's supposed to be a week of studying and preparing any work that you have due between now and the end of the semester, but a lot of people - especially those studying abroad - take it as an opportunity to travel. I decided, the good student that I am, to stay home and work work work! I also need to save money for this massive trip through Europe I'm planning! Which is almost officially all booked - just a few hostels to reserve in London, Rome and Amsterdam and then were all set!
I went on a trip to Northern Ireland in late October with my study abroad program, IES Abroad. We took the train from Dublin to Belfast and immediately went to lunch at a well-known restaurant called the Crown Bar where my two friends and I were dared to eat an entire scoop of mashed potatoes...which we did. I'll include a photo of it for you to see! After lunch, we went on a Black Taxi Tour of the Belfast Murals and the Peace Wall. It was an extremely fascinating experience (I had done it once before on my first trip to Ireland) and the drivers will give you an honest answer to ANY question. The taxis took us to the Titanic Dock where we saw the site where the Titanic was built and stored before it sailed off to England. The Bus picked us up and we took off on a 2 hour bus ride to Portrush, a seaside town. We stayed at the Port Hotel which was a very small but extremely convenient place to stay as it was a short distance from all major sites along the coast. We had dinner at a delicious place in Portrush called Coast Restaurant which had extremely cheap options and AMAZING desserts!
The next day we had breakfast at the hotel and left for the Carrick-A-Rede Rope Bridge - my favorite place in ALL of Ireland. We then went to Bushmills Distillery for a tour of the whiskey factory followed by some whiskey tasting! After, we ate lunch at The Nook restaurant right near The Giants Causeway which we then went to - definitely one of my other favorite spots! We were given the night off so of course we went to the same cheap, but delicious restaurant from the night before and then headed back to our hotel for a night of karaoke at the hotel bar.
On our last day, we ate and headed off to Dunluce Castle, the ruins of which sit right on the edge of a cliff! Our last spot was the Glenariff National Park for a walk through a valley with waterfalls. We had hot lunch at the Glenriff National Park restaurant and made our trek back to Dublin. It was an awesome trip and a reminder of how beautiful the countryside and coast of the Emerald Isle can be.
On November 4th, IES organized a trip for us to a local Rugby game! It was right in Dublin and a short walk from city centre. We had front row seats for a match between Leinster (the provence of Ireland in which Dublin is located) and Munster. It was awesome!
This past week is what Trinity calls "Reading Week" and we had no classes. It's supposed to be a week of studying and preparing any work that you have due between now and the end of the semester, but a lot of people - especially those studying abroad - take it as an opportunity to travel. I decided, the good student that I am, to stay home and work work work! I also need to save money for this massive trip through Europe I'm planning! Which is almost officially all booked - just a few hostels to reserve in London, Rome and Amsterdam and then were all set!
Below are some pictures from Northern Ireland:
The Peace Wall in Belfast
Titanic Dock
Rope Bridge
Rope Bridge
They were filming Game of Thrones at the Rope Bridge!
Bushmills Distillery
Giants Causeway
Giants Causeway
Dunluce Castle
Dunluce Castle
Friday, October 28, 2011
Halloween!
Halloween is HUGE in Dublin. Apparently it's just as big as St. Patrick's Day. I needed to go cheap for my costume this year but I also wanted something creative. So with that I decided to be Prince Charles. I bought a cardboard mask in London, as you can see in my pictures from that trip, and it's basically the one in the picture below. I have a green hunting coat with a fur lined hood and big riding boots so I'm gonna be the Prince when he goes for a hunt! The only thing I'm missing is a fake gun...
And this is why I came to Ireland...
Despite how cliché this video may seem, it is everything I love about this country. Especially the awesome old men sitting out on the street enjoying a beautiful day in Ireland. It has so much going on and every day I spend here, I find something new and incredible to love about this amazing country. Definitely worth spending some time here and soaking up everything it has to offer!
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Root Canal
The reason it has taken me so long to post again is because I was dealing with more dental issues...that's right MORE dental issues.
I was having really bad pain in my gums and originally I thought it was my wisdom teeth, but then I started getting pain near one of my other teeth. I was going to put it off but realised that was not smart. Luckily, my study abroad program set me up with an appointment at a local dentist because they're awesome like that! It turned out the filling from the one and only cavity I have was hitting my nerve and I need to have a root canal done.
One week later, the procedure is done and I am pain free! Thank god I had my study abroad company and the insurance they set me up with otherwise I would be 600 euro poorer...and that would not be fun.
P.S. I did go to Northern Ireland this past weekend and have lots and lots of pictures to post and stories to tell. I'll be putting that up soon!
P.P.S. Not sure if you noticed but my spelling is starting to transfer over to British English - hence the "realised" not "realized." I'm a changed woman...
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