Category: Ireland

“Tír gan teanga, tír gan anam. A country without a language is a country without a soul.” 

― Pádraig Pearse

Dearest Readers,

Here is my St. Patrick’s Day recap! I’m sorry for making you wait, this month was crazy!

To start, what a weekend! I have to be honest, I thought I was pretty adept at celebrating St. Patrick’s Day. It’s my mom’s and my favorite holiday and we always go all out! Oh boy was I wrong? No one, and I mean NO ONE does this holiday like the Irish. Think about the most outrageous St. Patrick’s parade and multiply that by a hundred. Now add some genuine community interaction and you have my favorite holiday! 

We started the day with an adorable parade that consisted of mainly primary school children chanting their school spirit. The firemen from all over the county participated as well, along with a distinct group of cultural displays from each of the cultural minorities here in Galway. There were two Chinese dragons, a Bollywood dance display, and even a Cambodian singing group interspersed throughout the hour-long parade. It was a wonderful way to start the holiday, even if it was quite crowded. 

By the end of the parade, we were famished and tried to find a pub to grab a pint and some delicious pub food. Unfortunately, we forgot to think about the insane crowds and were unable to find somewhere to eat in the city center. Instead, we went with the old faithful:  Subway.

It so happened that the Saturday market that is present every week carried over to this magical Sunday. There were tons of food and art vendors, and I had some of the MOST divine cheese I’ve ever tasted from a local cheesemonger. Something about Irish dairy is just untouchable compared to the US. We browsed for about an hour and perused the streets taking in the decorations and overall spirit of the day. Eventually, we decided to listen to some music and managed to squeeze into our favorite pub, Tig Coili (Tih-coilee).

As per usual, the music was mind-blowing. There was only standing room, but that meant that we got to dance and sway to the lively trad session. We ended our night by going to a dance club that is normally cowboy-themed. Instead of being for one day only, it was decked out in gold, green, and white making us feel very patriotic.

I feel so incredibly lucky to have been living in Ireland during this holiday.  These memories will always stay with me. Stay tuned for some day trips that I will be sharing soon!  Do me a favor and listen to the band Celtic Women, there are songs in Irish and English and it’s breathtaking! 

Until next time!
Abigael LaBuhn

Hello from Ireland!

As I have progressed through this these past two months of adventures, I feel I have changed in subtle, positive ways. There are things about myself that I have learned to love as I have navigated studying abroad and leaving my home country for the first time. I am a person who does a lot of self reflection. I journal in my notes app, meditate when I have time, and love my weekly check-ins with myself. I wanted to share a few of the changes I’ve noticed in the hopes that it encourages other people to step outside their comfort zone. 

1. I am much more confident in myself and my identity. There is something intrinsically unique about living outside of your home country with a bunch of strangers. Back at Linfield, I was very comfortable in my routine and my friend group, and I didn’t really tend to branch out, since what I knew was comforting.

   However, those friends and routine are not here in Ireland. When I first arrived here it felt a lot like freshman year. I felt awkward, and so nervous to meet new people and learn how to live with different people, that I was constantly thinking about how other people were perceiving me. It was exhausting! I feel very lucky to have landed in the apartment that I have with some of the most wonderful people I’ve had the pleasure to meet. We are constantly adventuring, chatting, pushing limits, and overall challenging each other to really take in our study abroad experience. Not to say that I don’t miss my friends back home. I DO. I can’t wait to reunite with them this summer and catch them up on all the experiences I’ve had while here! I’m excited to show them how much I have grown into myself and how comfortable I am in simply being myself without the fear of others judging me.    

   

2. I’ve learned my limits on social interaction. I am an incredibly social person. I love meeting people, going out to the pubs, listening to music, and talking about my day. Sometimes though, I need my space. I have gotten so much more skilled at communicating when I need a moment, or what someone else can do to help me be comfortable. This is a skill that you really do need when you’re studying abroad.

   There are endless opportunities to go on weekend trips, parties, and explorations, and the FOMO (fear of missing out) is very strong when you turn something down. When I was leaving the country, I was given the advice to “never say no to an adventure.” I have found this to be true to an extent. There have been times where I just want to lay in bed watching Derry Girls and not talk to anyone, but my roommates are asking if I want to see a landmark like the Cliffs of Moher. Nine times out of ten, I’m going to push myself to go and have the adventure and nine times out of ten, I am so grateful and happy that I went. There are times where I instead stay home, but when it means that I am enjoying time to myself and allowing myself to have space, it’s a healthy habit to practice. Knowing yourself and your limits is part of growing up, and despite what many think, you are still growing in college!

   

3. The people are so friendly in Ireland!  If you travel to Ireland (especially Galway) and only have time for one or two nights exploring the town, talk to people. People will approach you and ask if you’re studying there, or if you’re on holiday (vacation). Some of the most fascinating and meaningful interactions I have had here are random people at the pub!

   

I feel like I’m always smiling here. I will carry the experiences I’ve had and the people I’ve met, close to my heart for many years to come.

In short, Carpe Diem! Seize the day, and look for the small adventures around you every day. Until next time! Keep an eye out for an update on St. Patrick’s weekend!

Off on my next adventure,
Abigael LaBuhn

 

Dearest Readers,

This past weekend I traveled to Budapest, Hungary! I could write a thousand blogs and never quite manage to capture the experience, but one will have to do for now. I traveled with my roomate and it was by far the easiest but longest travel day I have had for a while. There is no airport in Galway so we took a three hour bus to Dublin to then take our flight to Budapest. Even though they reside in the same country a mere three hours apart, Galway and Dublin were incredibly different. Galway is small, it has this very unique and cozy atmosphere that continues everywhere you go whether it be a cathedral, pub, or just strolling through the streets. Dublin is bustling and alive, it is truly a city that lives up to it’s reputation. We were only there for a few hours before our flight, but I was already exhausted by the sheer size of Dublin. 

I don’t think we slept more than 4 to 5 hours a night the whole weekend we were in Budapest. We stayed at the Vitae Hostel (I was told this meant the Hostel of Life) and I met such a vivacious assortment of people from all around the world. I had never stayed in a hostel before and it felt akin to summer camp in all the most important ways. We slept on bunk beds and had communal showers and kitchen area. I loved it honestly!

 On day one we explored the city and I was absolutely blown away by the architecture and the history that was present everywhere you went. Everyone spoke English, and the best pizza I have ever had in my life was on amost every corner you could turn. Thin, crispy, cheezy, I think about that pizza everyday. Sadly I didn’t get any pictures of it! But I did get plenty of shots of gorgeous architecture.

The second day we were in Budapest was by far my favorite, since we visited the two sides of Budapest. I didn’t know this before we traveled there but Budapest’s name comes from the fact that the city has a Pest district (pronounced ‘pesht’) and a Buda district. On this day we first visited a replica of Draculas’s castle in the Pest district. I was blown away by this castle. It was not only immense, but also so charming. There were multiple stands with mulled wine, and chimney cakes lining the castle and the streets. The air smelled like Christmas time with notes of orange, apple, cinnamon, and fresh baked bread. We the visited the Square of Heros which was dozens of statues of heros both real and mythical. There were Hungarian political heroes as well as Greek and Roman. 

After a brief lunch we made our way to the Buda district to see the caste. I can confidently say that I never want to see another stair in my life. We climbed stairs for close to 15 minute before we finally reached the castle. The view of the city took my breath away. You could see the ferris wheel at Dracula’s Castle, the Parliament building, even the other side of the city entirely just from how high we were in comparison.  

Overall, Budapest was one of the most unique experiences I have ever had. I’m in awe that I was able to go for under 100 USD, and explore such a culturally rich and beautiful city. I loved it, and I can’t wait to have more adventures on this journey of mine. 

Until next time!
Abigael LaBuhn 

 

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.

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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.

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

 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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

When an American study abroad student finds herself with the capability to purchase a €20 plane ticket to London, what better idea than to take a whirlwind, 24 hour trip? This was my exact thought a few weekends ago, and I’m here to take y’all on the journey with me 🙂

My day started with a 1 AM alarm to walk to the Galway Coach Station for the 2 1/2 hour bus ride to Dublin Airport. Security was a breeze (they let you keep your shoes on, which is a mindboggling level of leniency compared to strict TSA guidelines in the states), and, after a short flight, I landed in London Stansted Airport, which is 45 minutes north of downtown London.

After arriving downtown, I quickly realized that the best way to navigate London is via the London Underground, or the “Tube”. The Underground is one of the most expertly laid out public transportation systems I have ever seen (NYC Subway please take notes), and is very easy to navigate. A few stops later, I arrived at my first destination of the day: the Victoria & Albert Museum.

Most museums in London offer free general admission, and the V&A is no different. With 4 floors full of different exhibit rooms, I could’ve spent multiple days there and still not seen the full collection. Unfortunately, I had to play a game of museum speed-run, so I picked the exhibits I felt would excite me most, namely the theatre & performance wing and their temporary exhibit on African fashion.

After my museum perusing, I grabbed lunch nearby and hopped on the tube to head towards my second stop of the day, but not before making a quick detour to see Buckingham Palace. I then arrived at the Harold Pinter Theatre to watch Sam Steiner’s Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons on London’s West End (Broadway’s British equivalent).

By the time I finished the show, it was already dark and most of the museums were closed, so I killed time before my next scheduled stop by watching a movie in a nearby cinema and grabbing a quick bite to eat at a Japanese/Asian fusion restaurant nearby.

My last stop of the night was the concert hall at The King’s Place downtown to watch a performance by the vocal group HOWL. They performed a mix of original choral compositions and British/Scottish folk songs, and it definitely ranks among the top live performances I’ve seen. I was also met with an unexpected surprise at the performance, as one of my favorite music artists had stopped by to sing the closing number (a piece he had composed) with them.

Link to HOWL’s Instagram page for any curious readers 🙂

My 24 hours came to an end much the same way it began, only in reverse order. The tube to the train station, the train station to the airport, and the airport to a bus back to Galway, where I promptly fell asleep.

I may have ended my trip to London catching some z’s, but it was far from a snooze-worthy adventure. I hope to travel more domestically and internationally in my remaining time here. But, for now, I bid you farewell 🙂

Talk soon,
Katie

 

Hello! Long time, no talk. I am back after a midterms-induced hiatus to bring you yet another blog post.

5 years ago, a high schooler from Denmark found his way to my high school in Oregon for a year abroad. In the years since, Johan and I have managed to keep in touch over Snapchat and other forms of social media. So, when I knew that I would be spending a semester in Europe, he was one of the first people I told.  We quickly crafted a plan for him to come spend a weekend in Galway, and I got to hang up my tourist cap and become the tour guide.

We spent most of Friday and Saturday exploring downtown Galway. We went to the cathedral, strolled down Shop Street, stopped at an adorable café, walked the nature trail that runs by the University of Galway, popped our heads into Akumacon (the anime and manga convention held at the University every year), and eventually found our way to the Galway Museum and its accompanying visitor’s center. At the visitor’s center, we asked about fun things to do and the employee pointed us to a pamphlet about the Aran Islands.

24 hours later, we were on a bus headed 45 minutes west to the town of Rossaveel to catch a 45 minute ferry to the island of Inis Mór (Inishmore), the largest of the three Aran Islands. Upon arrival, we headed to the only supermarket on the island to grab sandwiches and coffee. What we should’ve grabbed in addition to our lunchtime spread was cash from the ATM, as many of the stores on the island only take cash, and the supermarket closes early on Sunday. But, hey, at least we know for next time!

On the way out of the supermarket, we were stopped by a man running a bus tour offering us seats. As the only other method of island transportation was to rent a bike on a windy, cloudy day for the same price, we happily obliged. This was perhaps the best decision we had made that day. We were able to bounce around the island faster than by bike, were given opportunities to get out and explore sites at our own pace, and got to learn history and current events about the island from an Aran Islands local.

Some of my favorite fun facts from the tour include the following: Inis Mór (and the Aran Islands in general) is one of the few remaining places in Ireland with native Irish speakers, and all schooling on the island is done in Irish; that the islands iconic rows of stone walls were built simply because there were so many rocks on the island that nobody knew what else to use them for.

Our main stop of the tour was at Dún Aonghasa, a semi-circular ring fort located at the top of a hill overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. At the bottom was a visitors center, detailing the site’s history and excavation efforts made by archaeologists. Dún Aonghasa dates back to 1100 BCE, and, as an anthropology major at Linfield with an interest in material culture studies/archaeology, it was perhaps my favorite stop of the day.

As with most places where tourism makes up a large portion of an area’s economy, the Aran Islands have many a shop for tourists to visit, including cafés and restaurants, bigger stores selling Aran sweaters and touristy knicknacks, and small shops selling handknit/crochet pieces and art from Aran Island locals. We visited in what is considered the tourist off-season on a Sunday, which means that many of these shops were closed, but it also gave the entire trip a more “authentic”, cozier feel. We ended the day with dinner at a bar, accompanied by the two other people on our bus tour from the day, who were university students studying abroad at the University of Glasgow in Scotland.

Being able to reconnect with an old friend and experience this little corner of Ireland together has been one of my favorite parts of my study abroad experience thus far. But, there is still ample opportunity to make even greater memories in my time here. So, this blog post is dedicated to the “ghosts” of study abroad experiences past, present, and study abroad experiences yet to come. Dickensian puns aside, I can’t wait to see where this adventure takes me next 🙂

Until next time,

Katie