April 2023 – Journals from Abroad

April 19, 2023

Spring Break Sightseeing

Welcome back!

As briefly mentioned in my previous post, the University of Galway gives students two weeks of spring break… technically. The first week is labeled as spring break, and the second week is study week, or a chance for students to study for their end of year exams. However, because of my exam schedule, I was able to use study week as an extended spring break and do most of my studying this week. This two week break gave me the opportunity to check some sightseeing off of my Ireland bucket list.

The first stop on the bucket list was a day trip to Dublin, which I had yet to explore. I boarded the bus from Galway to Dublin’s City Centre, and 2 1/2 hours later I was there.

My first stop was at a boba shop to fuel up for the rest of the day’s adventures. I then made my way to Trinity College for a tour of their Old Library and The Book of Kells exhibit. The Book of Kells is a manuscript of the 4 gospel books of the Bible and dates from 800 AD. It is incredibly well preserved, and the library staff take great care to keep it that way, which means that photographing the actual manuscript is prohibited, as it can damage the book. The Old Library and the books housed within it are also consistently undergoing preservation work, which means that there was construction going on and about half of the collection missing when I toured. Nonetheless, the library was beautiful. My favorite part were the marble busts of famous authors, philosophers, and scientists lining the central walkway. Definitely a worthwhile visit as a bookworm.

a wooden bookshelf with a ladder in front of it. in the foreground is a marble bust of William Shakespeare — Trinity College’s Old Library

a young woman standing in a library. Her hair is partially pulled back and she is wearing a black mock neck shirt and dark wash jeans

an enlarged photo of an illustrated page from the Book of Kells — an enlarged photo of a page from the Book of Kells

a museum display case full of different colored pigments — commonly used pigments in early manuscripts

The rest of my day in Dublin consisted of wandering Temple Street, where I grabbed dinner before my main reason for venturing to Dublin that day: a Rainbow Kitten Surprise concert. While the band name seems odd, their music is amazing, and they managed to climb their way to the #1 spot on my 2022 Spotify Wrapped in the span of a year. Their concert was sold out, but I managed to find someone reselling their ticket online. They rarely tour the west coast, so I find it quite ironic that it was easier to see them in a different country than the US. The concert was such an amazing experience, and I met some cool people while waiting for the doors to open. Coincidentally, I had seen them earlier in the boba shop, which made for a nice icebreaker in conversation.

a marquee with the word "Academy" on top and the words "the academy welcomes, tue 04, rainbow kitten surprise ,sold out, dublin's biggest club every fri and sat" — Rainbow Kitten Surprise Concert

a performer on a stage, backlit by a red LED light

5 performers on a stage with a crowd of people below them. the stage lights are yellow and blue

My second bucket list item of spring break was visiting the Cliffs of Moher. Most of the other international students I know had visited them earlier on in the semester, but I was holding out for better weather. The morning of my excursion was cloudy and rainy, so I thought that ship had sailed, but by the end of my 2 hour bus ride south the rain had let up and it was sunny and warm.

The cliffs, famous for their incredible view of the Atlantic (and for appearing in movies like Harry Potter and the Princess Bride), offer a visitor center, a gift shop, 800 meters of paved paths, and access to the coastal trail, which runs north-south through the cliffs. I went in the afternoon on a weekday, so it was a bit less crowded, which was super wonderful. After exploring the paved paths, I decided to venture northbound on the coastal trail for a nice little hike, and the view was spectacular. The cliffs are also known for their puffins, but I went a bit too early in the season to see any.

a young woman poses in front of the cliffs of moher. she is wearing a pink bandanna, glasses, a pink jacket, a beige tank top, and light wash jeans. — my photo op with the cliffs!

the cliffs of moher. grey stone cliffs with patches of green grass bordering the Atlantic Ocean

a light stone monument with a grey stone wall behind it — a memorial commemorating climbers that died on the cliffs

the cliffs of moher border the left and foreground of the image. the right side of the image is the atlantic ocean — the sun was just starting to set as I was leaving, which made for an even more breathtaking view

a stone staircase with green grass on either side. the atlantic ocean in the background on the left side of the image — hiking along the coastal trail. Some parts, like this staircase, are more well maintained than others

My next excursion of break was an overnight trip to Derry in Northern Ireland. There’s a direct bus from Galway to Derry that leaves twice a day, with the first one departing at 6 AM. A 5 hour ride and a nap on the bus later and I arrived. I checked into my AirBNB room to drop off my bag and set off to explore downtown. I ate lunch in a little café and wandered the small shops before heading to the Museum of Free Derry, which focuses on the Troubles and the Free Derry/civil rights movement in the early 1960s from the perspective of the Irish nationalists that championed for greater rights and increased parliamentary representation for Catholic citizens of Derry.

a young woman takes a selfie with a mural for the tv show Derry Girls. The woman is wearing a teal jacket and a yellow shirt. the mural contains pictures of 4 girls and 1 boy in green school uniforms — A must have photo with the Derry Girls mural

various posters detailing slogans used by irish nationalists during the irish civil rights movement — Posters from the Troubles

a painted trash can lid depicting a scene from the Troubles. in front of the lid is a book with someone wearing a gas mask on the cover titled "The battle of bogside" — part of the Museum of Free Derry Exhibit

a white monument with the words" you are now entering free derry" on it — the Free Derry monument

a memorial dedicated to those that resisted british occupation of northern ireland. orange and green flowers are arranged around the top, left, and bottom of the memorial — a memorial dedicated to those that resisted British occupation of Northern Ireland

My next visit was to the Guildhall, which is Derry’s city hall. It also features an exhibit on the Ulster Plantation Era (which marks the beginning of British involvement in Derry) and one on the Good Friday Agreement, which was ratified 25 years ago and marked the end of the Troubles. Coincidentally, President Biden was visiting Belfast and County Mayo to commemorate this anniversary the same days I was traveling to and from Derry (which takes you through County Mayo). A few people I ran into in Derry asked me about it after realizing that I was American! Tangent aside, after a stop for dinner I headed back to where I was staying for the night.

a building made out of orange colored stone, with a tall clock tower and large stained glass windows — the Guildhall

a giant organ in a large meeting room — the meeting room in the Guildhall

a quote written on a wall that reads "the basis of peace and stability, in any society, has to be the fullest respect for the human rights of all its people"- John hume, nobel lecture, oslo, 1998 — a quote from Irish nationalist John Hume, when he was jointly awarded the Nobel peace prize for his work towards ending the Troubles

The next day I started bright and early with a walk through Brooke Park and by St. Eugene’s Cathedral, then up the hill to wander the Derry city walls, which have remained intact since their creation in the 1600s. This offered an incredible view of the city, and a chance to look at old bastions and churches like St. Augustine’s.

I then headed to my third museum of the trip: the Tower Museum, which gets its name from its location in a historic tower building downtown. The main exhibit outlines the history and prehistory of Derry, including time periods such as pre-colonized Derry, the Siege of Derry in the 1600s, the Potato Famine, and the Troubles. There’s also a secondary exhibit on the excavation of a sunken Spanish Armada ship and an interactive room geared towards children. After exploring the museum I grabbed a late lunch in a different café and bought some snacks for the bus ride home.

a grey stone cathedral with a tall spire. in the foreground is a tree and a grass lawn — St. Eugene’s Cathedral

a paved road on top of a city wall. the roofs of buildings border either side — Derry’s city walls

a wrought iron gate, behind which is a small church with a light colored wooden door and a circular window — St. Augustine’s church

a sign describing the golden age of Derry, in the first century AD. It includes pictures of gold artifacts — Even Derry dislikes the British Museum (a bit of museum studies humor for you, my dear readers) 🙂

a paper model of the early city of Derry, including paper walls and paper buildings — a paper model of early Derry

a room with a carpeted floor. the floor contains glass windows with artifacts recovered from a ship peeking through — Artifacts recovered from the Spanish Armada ship

Visiting Derry as someone who loves learning about culture was such a unique experience. It was Irish enough to be similar to the culture I’ve been immersing myself in for the past three months, but there were elements that felt more similar to my visit to London, which makes sense, given that Northern Ireland belongs to the UK. They still use pounds as currency, most of the road signs were written only in English (as opposed to the bilingual nature of Irish road signs), public transportation and infrastructure was more like that of the UK, and a lot of the architecture had British influence.

I rounded out my spring break by attending a professional women’s soccer/football match here in Galway. Galway has both a men and women’s pro team, and the stadium they play in is a 10 minute walk from my apartment. Galway United took the lead off an early match score from a corner kick, but the opposing team scored in the last 15 minutes of the match to tie up the game, which made for quite an exhilarating match.

a group of women playing professional soccer/football. the stands in the back have colored seats spelling "Gaillimh", which is Irish for Galway — the Galway United Women’s football match!

a group of women playing professional soccer on a green soccer field. a picture of a women wearing a red beanie with the galway united football club crest, glasses, a teal rain jacket, and a sweatshirt that reads "Linfield" in red letters

I have a little over two weeks left in Ireland before I head home. While I’m excited to see my family and friends, I am a little sad to be leaving such a wonderful country. But, my adventure isn’t over quite yet, so stay tuned for more 🙂

Talk soon!

Katie

April 17, 2023

Spending A Week With Charles Darwin

¡Hola desde Quito!

One of my absolute favorite things about Ecuador is its diversity of landscape! Here, I have the opportunity to explore the mountain range of the Andes, the rainforest of the Amazon, the wide-spread coastal range, and, most excitingly, the tropicality of the Galapagos!

Since the first week of April was Semana Santa, all USFQ students got a full week break from anything academic-related. With this break, I decided that there wouldn’t be any better way to celebrate it than to go to the Galapagos. I initially started planning this trip in early March, so I was beyond excited when the time finally came to experience this long-awaited trip!

For me, my journey began at 3:00 A.M. since I had to get dressed, get a taxi, pick up my friend Leena (who I spent the entire trip with), and complete our airport flight check-in. This part I didn’t mind too much since our early flight would allow us to arrive in Santa Cruz by 8:30, giving us the whole day to explore and adjust to the new environment. Another part I found really exciting was running into the various groups of international students waiting in the airport; a majority of the USFQ international student cohort decided to do the exact same thing and spend Semana Santa in the Galapagos. Upon boarding the plane, I learned that I got an emergency-exit seat, which meant that I had extra room during the plane ride; this trip was so far going great!

Pictured is me waiting in the airport to board my flight. In the photo, I am smiling, holding up my passport and a much-needed coffee. — Me waiting to board my flight

Pictured is my friend Leena and I. We are both smiling, as we just got off the plane and are in the Galapagos. — Leena and I very excited to explore the Galapagos

After landing in the Santa Cruz airport, the moment we stepped off the plane, we immediately felt the humidity and warmth of the climate; this was so nice, especially considering that Ecuador is colder due to its high elevation. Since the Galapagos is environmentally protected land, check-in at the airport was a bit tedious due to the required taxes, forms, and security protocols. Eventually, we made it through the TSA and were able to get to Puerto Ayora by 12:00, which is Santa Cruz’s main town center. In Puerto Ayora, we took it a bit easy since we were feeling a bit jet lagged. To revive our spirits, we spent the remainder of the day on a beach, where we swam in the ocean, sunbathed, and just had the opportunity to relax. I left the beach with some very fun memories, a scar from tripping over a rock, 20 bug-bites, and without my pair of $10 Walmart sunglasses.

Pictured is a beach in Santa Cruz. On this beach, there is sand with larger rocks within the sand. In the further background are island trees and light waves coming towards the sand. — Beach in Santa Cruz

Pictured is the early morning in a Santa Cruz port. The picture looks towards the boardwalk, with grey water and a greyish-pink cloudy sky in the background. — Early morning in Santa Cruz

Pictured is a bench in Santa Cruz with two sea lions on the bench. It is a mama and her baby sleeping on the bench. — A mama and her baby

The next morning, Leena and I woke up at 5:00 A.M to take our ferry to San Cristobal. When arriving there, I automatically fell in love with the island; it was a good mix of nature, nightlife, and animals. My absolute favorite part of San Cristobal was the immense population of sea lions! Throughout my three days there, I saw sea lions everywhere, including on boardwalk benches, kayaks, and rocks! They also sound very similar to sheep, which was a very interesting surprise. While in San Cristobal, we visited the Interpretation Center, which provides the environmental history of San Cristobal and Charles Darwin theology. Additionally, Leena and I had many opportunities to snorkel, where we swam with sea lions, turtles, sharks, and rays. This was very surreal, as I hadn’t seen any of these animals before, especially this close in their natural environment. Other sites while on this island include Kicker Rock (which appears as a boot or a sleeping sea lion, depending on the particular angle), fresh-water lake El Junco, Puerto Chino, and a tortoise sanctuary. Since the daytime could be uncomfortably hot, nighttime was our time to freely (and safely) venture around San Cristobal. Here, we even reunited with quite a few international students, which was very fun to see!

Pictured is a part of the Pacific Ocean and land that is covered in greenery. — Snorkeling center in San Cristobal

Pictured is a sea lion sitting on a grouping of rocks. In the phot, the sea lion has its neck completely extended back towards its back. — That looks uncomfortable!

Pictured is my friend Leena and I posing with three statues: one of Charles Darwin, one of a sea lion, and one of a tortoise. We are both smiling with a nice blue sky above us. — Leena and I with Charles Darwin himself

Pictured is part of Kicker Rock. From this viewpoint, it appears as two giant rocks in the pacific ocean. Both rocks are right next to each other with a small passageway in-between them. — Kicker Rock

Pictured is me in a boat next to Kicker Rock. In the photo, I am wearing a wet suit, as I had just got snorkeling next to Kicker Rock. — I had just finished snorkeling next to Kicker Rock

Pictured is the beach at night. The background sky is a dark purple with lights from buildings shining through. On the beach itself are a ton of sea lions laying down for the night. — A congregation of sea lions!

Pictured is me looking at El Junco, which is the fresh-water lake. The lake itself is a grey color, but with a cloudy sky above it. — El Junco

Pictured is a line of tortoises eating greenery. They are in a wooded sanctuary. — Tortoises having lunch

Pictured is me feeding a giant leaf to a tortoise. In the photo, the tortoise has the leaf in its mouth while I'm holding the stem and smiling at it. — Me feeding a tortoise!

Pictured is a turtle crawling out of a dirty pond. — He just took a bath

After our time was up at San Cristobal, we traveled to Isabela and stayed there for two days. I was very excited to reach land, as not only was it late at night and I was tired, but our boat got a little too tipsy for my liking. Overall, I very much enjoyed the quietness of Isabela, as it is mostly just nature with some localized buildings. Since Leena and I only had one full day here, we tried to make the absolute most out of it. All in the same day, we went kayaking, snorkeling, and bikes to El Muro de las Lágrimas. I was a little disappointed on the kayaking tour, as I really wanted to see penguins (which the Galapagos does have!), but didn’t see any since the climate is currently too hot for them. However, there was a very playful sea lion that kept everyone entertained. As for snorkeling, it was very cool to see the smaller fish that belonged in the Pacific, but I was a little confused since there was this one fish that kept biting my leg; maybe it was hungry? I found El Muro de las Lágrimas, which translates to wall of tears in English, very interesting. This wall was originally constructed about 70 years ago due to the wishes of the Galapagos government. This project forced many criminals into physical labor, which served the purpose of keeping them busy/draining all of their energy from committing crimes. Nowadays, the Galapagos utilizes this wall to represent/reflect on past abuses; the wall resulted in pointless injuries and death since it was never intended to have a functional use once completed – just to occupy the criminals.

Pictured is Leena and I in a kayak. We are taking a selfie while out in the Pacific Ocean. — Leena and I kayaking

Pictured are two sea lizards on a wooden walkway putting their arms on each other's backs. Behind them is a pond and greenery. — How Cute!

Pictured are 5 flamingos in a pond. They are looking for food and clean themselves. Surrounding the pond is a lot of greenery and trees. — Flamingos in a pond

Pictured is me on a dirt pathway with my bike. On the other side of the dirt path is a wild tortoise that I am admiring. — I found a wild tortoise!

Pictured is El Muro de las Lágrimas. The wall is made out of grey-black stone and continues horizontally until exceeding past the photo limitations. — El Muro de las Lágrimas

Pictured is a more-arial view of El Muro de las Lágrimas. From this view, the wall looks very narrow, but continues further back into the photo. Surrounding it are green trees and cloudy skies. — Another viewpoint of El Muro de las Lágrimas

After we said goodbye to Isabella, we spent one more night in Santa Cruz, which was very calm! The next morning, we went to our favorite gelato shop to eat breakfast, then headed back to the airport to catch our flight back into Quito. The flight back was very nice; once again, I was sat at the emergency exit, with the addition of having a window seat this time! Upon getting back to Quito, I went home, ate dinner, unpacked my luggage, and went to bed because I was so tired by the end of the trip. Overall, I am so grateful that I was able to have this experience! Plus, now I have a nice tan!

¡Chao!

Cassie Klagge

April 12, 2023

New Friends

In my Korean language class, I have been sitting next to the same girl for weeks. We have now become exploring buddies and we go out 2-3 times a week together. Going out with her makes me feel braver and we share places we want to go. This week we went to a mall, a dermatologist, and a cat cafe.

We first went to the U-Plex Mall in Sinchon which is 13 floors (not counting the 2 basement levels). Sephora was the first store we went into. The worker spoke English with me and helped me hunt down a new foundation. She was so nice and it made me feel more at ease. After our makeup haul, we went upstairs to the cafe. The cafe was called Rendejavous. I got a roll cake and a strawberry latte while my friend got an avocado yogurt drink. I enjoyed mine but was suspicious about the combination of my friends. She assured me it was good.

2 latte drinks and a roll cake — Shopping Break!

We then worked our way up the floors until we reached the 11th floor which was called “The Food Alley”. Together it was decided to go to a restaurant called “Little Cuba”. We shared a pasta dish made with shrimp which was spicier than I anticipated.

When we reached the 12th floor there was a beautiful bookstore. Korean book covers are so beautiful. Unfortunately, I am not proficient enough yet to be able to read them. I found a book in English about a fictional Korean family and bought that. We spent 5 hours in that mall and I was glad to finally rest my feet at the end.

On Tuesday Ruo-Ying asked me to accompany her to the dermatologist and I agreed. We decided to take the bus which is something I have not done a lot. When getting on a bus in Korea you must find a seat or hold onto something fast. Bus drivers immediately take off after the doors close. I was holding onto an overhead handle and still flew around a bit. I helped my friend navigate reception at the office and then waited in the lobby while she got her consultation done.

After all that, we decided to end the day by going to a cat cafe near my apartment. I paid $22 US dollars and we got to be there for 2 hours, get a drink, and 2 packets of cat treats.

Cat Sleeping. — Oh To Be A Cat Sleeping In A Cafe.

Midterms are this week and next, so I do not think I will do much but focus on class. However I am excited for the future adventures my friend and I will go on!

Gracie

April 10, 2023

Mindo y Baños

¡Hola desde Quito

After two very long weeks of studying, projects, and exams, I was definitely ready for some fun! As a way to reward myself, I decided to take two weekend-long trips to some of Ecuador’s most beloved towns: Mindo and Baños.

I have to say, I think that Mindo is my favorite place so far that I’ve traveled to! The best way to describe Mindo is a small-forest town that has a huge emphasis on nature and tourism. Not only did I enjoy the quiet serenity at all times (but especially at night), but also the comfortably warm weather. When planning this trip, I had a lot of guidance from friends and locals, as everyone had great insight and lessons to share from their experiences; with this knowledge, I knew exactly what I wanted to do and how to do it!

My friends and I kicked off this trip by first visiting a mariposario, which acts as a sanctuary for the varying species of Ecuadorian butterflies. Here, visitors are able to put a banana paste on their hands to attract and hold butterflies (of course with their consent and well-being in mind). This was both a cool, but terrifying experience, as I don’t like insects and the only butterflies I could attract were gigantic and moth-appearing. However, I felt very accomplished afterwards, which was the important part!

Pictured is an aerial view a butterfly sitting on shrub. The butterfly has blue, white, and black coloring while the shrub has green leaves and orange/yellow flowers. — My favorite butterfly

Pictured is me holding a butterfly on my finger tips. In the photo, I am smiling and looking down at the butterfly. This butterfly is big with brown/beige coloring, slightly resembling a big moth. — My butterfly and I

Pictured is my friend Dalton with two moth-like butterflies. One butterfly is sitting on his finger tips while the other is sitting on his face near his lips. — I still don’t know how Dalton did this

After spending some much-needed time with the butterflies, we did a Yumbos chocolate tour, which depicted both the fermentation and production process of chocolate. Since Ecuador has a well-adapted climate for cocoa growth, they have become one of the world’s leading producers in quality chocolate; one of these being the Lindt chocolate company. Throughout the tour, we were given varying samples of chocolate products, which was very much appreciated! Some of my personal favorites included their brownies, hot cocoa, and chocolate-mint squares.

pictured is a cocoa bean with big white seeds inside. Also pictured is a white coffee cup with Yumbos hot chocolate inside. — Yumbos Chocolate tour

Pictured is my friends and I sitting at a wooden table enjoying our Yumbos hot chocolate and cocoa beans. We are all smiling in the photo and looking at the camera. — Us enjoying Yumbos

Our next (and final) day in Mindo consisted of doing horseback trails and hiking waterfalls! I was extremely excited about riding horses, since I hadn’t been on a horse in at least 6 years. My horse, who was named Moro, was one of the most passive animals I think I’ve ever met; he just sat back and let the other horses, who were all dominant and wanted to be the “leader”, take the lead. Even though I did enjoy horseback riding, I think my favorite part of the experience was the drive up to the horse ranch. We were taken up by a truck, which allowed us all to ride in the cargo bed. The 20-minute drive was very carefree, as we were just having simple conversations while enjoying the surreal scenery and light breeze of the wind. I can confidently say that this experience has made it into my core memories abroad! My only regret from this trip is not staying longer in Mindo!

Pictured is me sitting on a brown horse. In the photo, I am looking very happy on my horse friend. — My new horse friend “Moro”

Pictured are my friends and I sitting in the back compartment of a pick-up truck enjoying life. — Taxis, but Mindo style

Pictured is a large waterfall that is slightly enclosed by rock walls and shrubbery. — Mindo waterfall

Pictured is another waterfall at Mindo. This waterfall isn't a direct drop, but instead appears more stream like with both flat and drop-off parts. This waterfall is also surrounded by rocks and shrubbery. — Another Mindo Waterfall

Now, onto Baños! The one thing I can say about this trip was that it was Chaotic! Thinking back, I definitely should’ve done more research on how to travel there (like I did for Mindo), but I do think my group and I still made the best of our experience. One thing I wish I had known before traveling was how spread out all of the activities are from the town-center of Baños. Due to the very long travel times, my group and I were only able to do two activities during our weekend getaway. In addition to the tourist system that is very potent in Baños, many of the activities had short time limits, which meant we had to be very strategic (and sometimes even pushy) about how we spent our time at each attraction.

When arriving at Baños, we decided our first task of the day would be to take a bus up to Casada El Pailón, which is a smaller hike that leads to a very popular waterfall. I absolutely loved this hike, as it was simple, but also contained some unique aspects. In order to get up close to the waterfall, we had to cross two wooden sky bridges, which looked over the tops of forest trees; I felt very close to nature during this whole process! Sadly, however, due to the time constraint we had on completing the hike and returning (40 minutes), we weren’t able to finish it entirely, but we did get some awesome photos!

Pictured is a selfie of my friends and I on the "party" transportation bus in Banos. In the picture, we are smiling, ready to take on Banos. — Us on the Baños “party” bus

Pictured is me sitting in the Banos party bus eating my first ever sugar cane. In the picture, I am in mid-bite — Me trying my first ever pure sugar cane!

Pictured is me on a hiking path. Behind me is a bunch of shrubbery, including a giant valley. — Hiking Casada El Pailón

Pictured is the side view of a waterfall. Surrounding the waterfall is various greenery, naturally-carved rocks. and a below water outlet for the waterfall. — Cascada El Pailón

Pictured is a nature scene from Baños. Pictured are two very close mountains with lots of greenery. There is also some fog present, along with a cloudy grey sky. — Some landscape of Baños

The next day, we decided that we wanted to see Las Manos de Dios, which is a mountain ledge that is “supported” by the two hands of God. As we were traveling to this site, we also had the opportunity to see similar ledge sites, which had some very good photo opportunities! Along the way, I also had the opportunity to try rambutan, which is a traditional Asian fruit that has become very beloved in Ecuador; Originally, I was going to buy this fruit, but the vendor actually gave it to me for free, which made me very happy! Once arriving at Las manos de Dios, we actually didn’t end up going onto the ledge. Instead, we waited to go on this swing that rests near a canyon (for photographic reasons, of course!). However, we didn’t end up going on this either because a group of 4 people cut in front, and because of this, we ran out of time.

Pictured is me sitting on a swing with colorful angel wings. Behind me is a far-away background of Baños, as I am near a mountain ledge. — one of many popular swings in Baños

Pictured is me with a giant structure of Fiona from Shrek. In the photo, we both have our arms around each other posing for the camera. — Ecuador REALLY loves Shrek lol

Pictured is me petting a large structure of Donkey from Shrek.

Pictured is me next to a gaint structure of Shrek. in the photo, shrek is standing with his arms extended while I am crouching underneath his hands looking scared.

Getting ready to head back to Quito was eventful and a bit interesting. As my friends and I were walking, a random Ecuadorian guy first comes up to tell me that I smell like blue cheese, and then proceeds to ask if I’m from France, which was such a weird conversation (In case anyone was wondering, I do not, in fact, smell like blue cheese). Then, for the entire duration of the bus ride home (which was 3 hours), these two Ecuadorian kids kept staring at my friend Ryland and I. It even got to a point where they would talk about us and take photos of us, which made the bus ride a bit unsettling. After getting through this bus ride, we were happy to get an Uber and head back to our host houses. This happiness didn’t last long though as we were scammed by our Uber driver, who said that we only imputed one stop and that we needed to pay more in order to all get home. Once I managed to get home, I was so physically and mentally tired that I just went to bed.

Although I had some very questionable moments in Mindo and Baños, I don’t regret going to either place and also do plan to revisit Banos just to spend a little more time there!

¡Chao!

Cassie Klagge

April 3, 2023

Getting Involved at the University of Galway

Hello!

Much like my brief hiatus from blogging to work on midterms, I have recently finished my finals-induced blogging hiatus and am back with another entry. Our semester at the University of Galway runs for 12 weeks of lecture/class, followed by a 2 week break and a 3 week exam period, which means my final week of instruction was last week.

While class is in session, societies and clubs on campus host events, meetings, fundraisers, and trips. There are over 60 societies (what we would consider the equivalent to clubs) and about 40 clubs (sports teams) on campus, so there’s no shortage of things to get involved with. At the start of the semester, all of the societies get together for an activity fair, and it’s an excellent way to meet people from different societies, hear about upcoming events, and sign up for email reminders.

Over the course of the semester, I attended events from the following societies: African & Caribbean Society (ACS), Lit & Deb, Dansoc, Galway University Musical Society (GUMS), International Students Society, Photography Soc, Granny Soc, and FanSci.

ACS hosts both weekly meetings as well as large-scale public events. The event I attended was their fashion show, which showcased clothing designed by African and Caribbean designers and featured music performances in the breaks between when the models walked.

rows of chairs set up for a fashion show. purple stage lights shining on the seats — ACS’s fashion show

a man in a blue jacket and black pants walking the runway a woman wearing a yellow dress walking the runway

Lit & Deb functions similarly to the speech and debate program back at Linfield (which I happen to be a member of), so I immediately knew I wanted to get involved. Over the course of the semester I attended weekly public speaking workshops and debate events, culminating in an end of year party the last week of classes.

a picture of a pizza box and a piece of paper, with students standing in the background — post-meeting pizza at Lit & Deb! Our workshop of the day was “Frankenstein poems”, where each person completes a different line of the poem

Dansoc, or Dance Society, hosts weekly dance classes and occasional workshops with professional dancers , has audition only competition teams, and puts on a dance showcase at the end of spring semester. I took a six week contemporary dance class, where we learned choreography for a song and performed it at showcase.

a dance space with wooden floors, curtains, and mirrors — Taking a ballet workshop with Dansoc! This is also where we met for weekly classes

a group of dancers dancing to Bollywood music — dance showcase! Performers could watch for free, but we also got the seats facing the back of the performance space

a hip hop dance group, wearing long sleeve white shirts and light blue cargo pants — the hip hop competition team

GUMS holds auditions for about two musical productions a semester. I auditioned for both, and, while I ultimately wasn’t cast, the audition process was still a lot of fun both times.

Katie. a girl with glasses and hair pulled half up and half down, holding a yellow water bottle — Me at auditions

International Student Society hosts events catered towards international students, both those like me who are visiting for a semester, as well as long term international students. They organized a bus tour to explore the Connemara region north of Galway and it was an amazing trip. We stopped in the village of Cong – famous for being the place where John Wayne filmed The Quiet Man – and Kylemore Abbey, an absolutely beautiful castle turned Abbey that doubles as a museum/tourist destination.

two girls in front of a waterfall. The one on the left is wearing a grey "Linfield Wildcats" sweatshirt, a teal rain jacket, and a purple beanie. The one on the right is wearing a grey rain jacket — My friend Franny and I posing in front of a cool waterfall

a girl wearing a grey "Linfield Wildcats" sweatshirt, a teal rain jacket, and a purple beanie in front of a castle — Posing with the Abbey

a river and a turquoise bridge — part of the Abbey grounds

kylemore abbey. a large stone castle across a lake — Kylemore Abbey

a statue of John WAyne holding a woman — The John Wayne statue in Cong

Photography Soc holds events like photo walks and film photography workshops, as well as partnering with other organizations to take professional quality photos. The campus also boasts its own darkroom for black and white film developing, which I was able to get a tour of. I’ve been taking photos this entire trip on a 35mm point and shoot film camera, and to get to learn more about the development process was very neat.

Granny Soc hosts events themed around crafting, and offers weekly knitting, crochet, or sewing lessons, as well as meetings to bring your own projects to.

a hand holding a purple crochet bandanna with a yellow crochet hook — working on a crochet project at Granny soc

Finally, FanSci, or Fantasy and Sci Fi Society, hosts weekly card game events (think Magic: the Gathering), as well as bi-monthly TTRPG (tabletop roleplaying games) or board game nights. These were some of my favorite events to attend, as it gave me the opportunity to learn more board games and meet new people.

the board game crokinole. a wooden octagon with circles inscribed in it and light and dark colored circular wooden game pieces resting on the board — the canadian board game crokinole! It takes inspiration from curling and shuffleboard

the board game wingspan. cardboard game pieces and a blue plastic tray — trying (and failing) to learn how to play Wingspan

The moral of this post is that there are so many ways to get involved on campus, and your level of involvement in any society could be as little as attending one event a semester or as big as going weekly and taking up a leadership role in the society. Especially going from a smaller university with a limited amount of clubs to one with over 60, there were so many more options when it came to getting involved on campus. Getting involved allowed me to explore new places, meet new people, and try new things.

While it may not be as exciting as a travel post, I hope you enjoy this glimpse into my everyday life as a university student in Ireland these past few months 🙂

Until next time!
Katie