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This weekend I took a trip to Portugal! This was my first time in Portugal, and a friend and I were looking for a place to go for the weekend, that would be different than some of the other European countries we were planning to visit.
We arrived in Faro on Thursday, and spent the day relaxing at the beach! It was about 70 degrees, which was a much-needed difference from the current Irish weather (although it hasn’t been too bad here, not too much rain!).
I Love Faro!!Me at Ihla Deserta
We stayed at the most amazing hostel in downtown Faro, Hostelicious, and had the BEST time there. It was so beautiful, and my friend and I were able to have a room for just the two of us. The hotel was so helpful with recommendations. It was clean and located in a great spot.
We spent the whole first day lounging on the beach and reading, which is my ideal perfect day. We also walked along the beach and visited some of the local restaurants along the ocean side. That night, we ate at a local sushi restaurant and had an amazing meal, for much cheaper than you would find at home! To finish that night, we had to visit an Irish pub down the street from our hostel to see how it compared to the ones in Galway. It was a fun experience to see how other European countries bring Irish culture into their towns!
The beach we stayed at the first dayOur sushi dinner
The next day, we shopped in the local markets and found beautiful hand- crafted goods. I bought a few pieces of jewelry, and some other items. After our shopping, we took a speed boat to an island off the coast, called Isla Deserta, where we swam in the ocean, read some more, and hung out for the day.
This was one of my favorite parts of the weekend, because we truly were so relaxed the whole day. We finished our last night trying authentic Portuguese tapas for dinner, including mackerel, açorda (a Portuguese fish and bread mixture), zucchini, and pork dishes. It was really cool to be able to have an authentic Portuguese dinner, and experience something new!
Me at the market!My friend and I on the speedboat!Me after swimming in the oceanThe speedboat we took to Ihla DesertaThe zucchini we ate for dinner
We had to leave on Saturday morning, but we both would have loved to stay longer. It was one of my favorite places that I’ve visited and I would love to return!
This week was Halloween! I was really excited to see how Ireland celebrates Halloween because it is one of my favorite holidays. I had heard that Galway has a really fun Halloween, and that everyone dressed up and celebrated together. A lot of people ended up going to Dublin for Halloween events, but my friends and I wanted to stay in Galway to see how they celebrate.
Faythe (another Linfield student) and I dressed up for Halloween!
Throughout the week leading up to Halloween, there were tons of events and costume parties throughout the city, including a Halloween parade on the Sunday before.
We saw Alf the Newt, which was a large Halloween float that moved around the city on Sunday night.
Alf the Newt at the Halloween Parade
On Halloween night, my friends and I dressed as the Men in Black, and went out into town. There was a lot going on – each pub was packed, and there were hundreds of people dressed up.
I mainly just enjoyed walking around, looking at everyone’s costumes and listening to live music throughout the night!
Me and my friends dressed up as Men in Black and aliens!
Overall, I would say Halloween is pretty similar to how it is celebrated in the U.S. The main difference for me, is that Galway has such a small community feel to it, so a lot of the celebrations felt more exciting and larger because so many people were participating in the same events.
This week we also had the Galway Races, which was on the Bank Holiday in Ireland. It was student day at the races so everyone dressed up and went to watch the horse races in Galway! It was a beautiful day, and overall, a fun way for my friends and I to be able to get together and dress up!
After more or less a full 24 hours flying from Honolulu to Los Angeles, then Panama City, and finally Quito, I have finally arrived in Ecuador!
The approach into Quito
The Galapagos program, which I am participating in, is structured very differently from a typical study abroad program. Taking classes like any other student, we pick a “track” with a focus on a specific subject (mine, for instance, is focused on ecology and evolution). Each track includes five intensive three-week-long courses, taken one at a time with three hours of class a day.
Basically, it’s like five Jan Term classes all strung together. In addition, since the university here in Ecuador (Universidad San Francisco de Quito, or USFQ) doesn’t have any student housing, we don’t live in dorms or apartments but with host families who the university assigns us to.
In any case, my host mother picked me up from the airport and drove me into town. Host families seem to vary pretty widely in terms of size, income, and location, although as far as I can tell most of them are in the same neighborhood as the university.
I was lucky enough to live quite literally a block away from campus, so it might as well have been campus housing! My host mother lives alone but her children and grandchildren visit often, which I think is a good combination – you often meet other family members, but can still have peace and quiet if you come home after a long day.
Having arrived on Friday, I had the weekend to get to know the area before orientation and classes began on Monday. The university is located in Cumbayá, a neighborhood located about 30 minutes from central Quito. One of the highest-income areas in the city, it is very safe and has many malls, stores, and restaurants as well as many gated neighborhoods.
A view of Cumbayá at sunset
I had happened to arrive the day before Ecuador’s Independence Day, August 10th, so when Saturday came around my host mom took me with her relatives to observe the festivities. It was a good opportunity to see downtown Quito and try out the public transportation, although the streets were insanely packed.
The festivities of Ecuador’s Independence Day in Quito’s old town
After the weekend, classes and orientations began. While our courses were each three weeks long, our first week was a standalone Spanish course to ensure everyone could at least do some basic communication. The classes were split based on the results of placement tests we took prior to arriving, so everyone was in a class that matched their skill level.
We also had several orientations concerned with the rules of the program and life in Quito. We were given a tour of the campus, which is probably a 10th of the size of Linfield, taking up about 1 and a half city blocks. Despite this, it has nearly 5 times as many students, so it is extremely densely packed!
Overall, though, it is a great campus in an exciting area, in my opinion, and I am excited to get to know it better!
The last few weeks here have been full of traveling and meeting new people!
My friends and I went to Dublin over a weekend and stayed in a hostel for a night. We took the train and bus to get there and back, and overall the trip was really easy and so fun!
We explored Dublin, saw the nightlife, shopped around, and tried lots of food.
Me and two of my friends from NUIG on a bridge in Dublin, this is the leather jacket I just bought!
I bought a nice leather jacket for winter, had the best fish and chips, had a Taylor Swift-themed drink, and saw the New York to Dublin portal!
The New York to Dublin portalMy amazing fish and chips and my Taylor Swift themed drink
The next weekend, we took a trip to Paris! Paris is one of my favorite cities, and it is so much easier and cheaper to travel while living in Europe, so I had to visit!
We spent the weekend there, and had the best time! While we did all the touristy stuff, we also spent a lot of time walking around, sitting by the Eiffel Tower, tasting amazing food, and exploring.
Me and the Eiffel Tower!
My favorite part was probably sitting under the Eiffel Tower eating a baguette and cheese while reading my new Jane Austen that I bought at the Shakespeare bookstore.
Me reading in front of the Eiffel TowerThe Sacre CoeurThe Eiffel Tower at night
We finished the weekend in Paris at my favorite restaurant, having steak frites and getting all of my friends to try escargot!
The escargot, and other delicious startersOur dinner!
Overall, 10/10 trip to Paris!
I am looking forward to many more weekend trips, and also fun weekends here in Galway!!
I had an interesting experience getting to Germany, it was simultaneously exciting and yet boring at the same time. During the entirety of my long travel day from Seattle to Frankfurt, I kept thinking about the excursions that I had taken in the last ten years, which ultimately weren’t very many in retrospect. I was reflecting on my few domestic journeys and even fewer international ones and comparing how I was feeling between each, to the program I was currently on. Normally the anticipation of a journey hits the week leading up to a trek, but this time it was different, causing even more nerves. For some reason every time I travel, whether it’s domestic or international, I feel this unusual anxiousness before I depart. I didn’t have that feeling before leaving for Germany even the morning of, which made me uneasy for a different reason. The idea that I’m embarking on this new journey and I’m not nervous about it like I normally would be, gave me this odd feeling which I didn’t particularly like. Ultimately, I wasn’t anxious; more nervous that I wasn’t nervous.
As mentioned before, it was exciting and dull at the same time. Thankfully my dad was traveling with me, to help me settle into my new environment. Had he not come with me, I probably would have been curled up in a ball rocking back and forth. Not only being a much more experienced traveler, having to fly to the office every week to Anchorage, Alaska for probably ten years, but he more importantly brings a calming and reassuring nature that is beneficial for travel.
It was one of those days when everything was going fine, but slightly off the rails. Once we finally checked our bags and went through security, it ended up being more complicated than we had anticipated. We finally made it to the gate and then onto the plane. The flight from Seattle to Amsterdam was surprisingly painless, which is always what you want for a flight. The food was respectable, leaning more towards good than bad. I don’t usually happen to be averse to plane food, especially on international flights. I spent some of the time thinking and browsing through the immense movie and TV options, watching a couple that I hadn’t seen yet. It was peaceful, the calm before the storm.
Where it became complicated was the transfer from Amsterdam to Frankfurt. Entering into the EU, we had to go through passport control, which raised our heartbeats quite a bit. We all had to wait in this long line that formed and the longer we were waiting in line, the more of them seemed to appear out of nowhere. It was absolute, utter chaos. It was baffling the inability of these grown adults to follow simple instructions, there was one main line for everyone, and a second for EU passport holders. The number of people that got into the shorter line, specifically designed for EU residents, not realizing what it was until it was a little too late was extremely frustrating. To some people’s credit, they did go to the back of the line, but most either cut into the longer line or just created their own line.
By the time that we were all funneled into a single file line, there were probably six different lines. As juvenile as it sounds to complain about something as adolescent as line cutting, for over an hour that we were standing there, it made me genuinely contemplate the mindset of people in a stressful environment and their ability to adapt to a situation doesn’t have overly clear instructions. It’s stressful just thinking about it after the fact. After finally getting through the passport control, we made it to our gate to our second from the last connection to Nürtingen. The flight from Amsterdam to Germany was beautifully uneventful; unfortunately, the same can’t be said for the train journey. The train was confusing for people unfamiliar with German train travel and didn’t speak German. After somewhat figuring it out, and not having to transfer from one train to another a couple of times, we were finally able to rest until we arrived at Nürtingen.
Although we arrived late and following a tiring journey, we could tell it was a beautiful and charming little town. We were both excited to explore the small town, but probably more excited to finally be in one spot and rest!
Beautiful view from flight to Amsterdam
View from flight from Seattle to Amsterdam
Stadtkirche St. Laurentius, right outside apartment in Nürtingen
My name is Mei Wilson. I am currently a junior at Linfield University studying accounting and international business. I will be embarking on a new academic journey in Nürtingen, Germany at Nürtingen-Geislingen University, NGU or HFWU, as they refer to it, Hochschule Für Wirtschaft und Umwelt Nürtingen-Geislingen. It did confuse me when I first started the process of applying and registering, as they very rarely refer to it as NGU like we do at Linfield, preferring the latter name, which after some light research, translates to Nürtingen-Geislingen University of Applied Sciences for Economy and Environment, which makes sense. There are two campuses, one in Nürtingen and the other in Geislingen. Each campus has its focus of study. The Nürtingen campus concentrates predominantly on economics and business with a particular emphasis on sustainability and the Geislingen campus delves more into humanities.
In my two years at Linfield so far, I have focused on the business core and accounting requirements, and this is the first step in working towards my international business degree. I am excited to look into some of the courses that I have already done at Lindfield with a different perspective. I tried to pick classes that would, not only help with my degree requirements but also help me gain that additional outlook. The specific courses that the university offers for exchange students are a bit more restricted in their options than the ones offered to their students, but they do have a good range of subjects including:
Accounting and Finance
Management, Innovation, and Sustainability
Marketing
Economics
International Business and Management
German Society and Culture
Business English
Landscape Architecture
Real Estate Management
Within those subjects, I was able to select what I hope are interesting courses. Two of them are subjects that I have already completed at Linfield and the other two are ones that a brand new to me. Applied International Economics and Marketing and Sustainability are the classes that I have some familiarity with, but they both have aspects that I have not studied specifically the international and sustainability aspects. The other courses, Cross-Cultural Experience and Strategic Management in an International Context, are going to be new and interesting.
I cannot wait to embark on my trip, and I look forward to what new experience it will bring!
It’s been about three weeks of living in Ireland! We just finished our first few weeks of classes, and I have started to feel like I am learning my way around town!
When we arrived, we started with orientation, where we learned about the resources the school had for us, how to register for classes, and we learned about all of the different clubs and societies that are active on campus. After orientation, we had a couple of days before we registered for our classes, to decide what would be a good fit for each of us. I am registered, and have taken three marketing courses, and an Irish studies course!
As a senior marketing major back home, it was important for me to still be able to find some courses that I could use for credits and electives back home, so I am taking the equivalent of 2 marketing electives at Linfield, while I am here in Ireland! They had quite the range of business and marketing courses, so I landed on Cases in Marketing Strategy, Customer Experience and Design, and Media and Marketing Communications. All three of these classes mainly consist of international students, and each lecture is huge! There are about 100 students in each (which is big for me), and each lecture is usually once a week, for 2 hours. I am also taking Festivals, Rituals, and Commemoration, which is an Irish Studies course. All together, these are 20 ECTS which is the University of Galway’s version of credits, and that translates to 12 Linfield credits.
In my few weeks of courses, I have been able to meet a lot of other students, and learn a lot about the Irish school systems. So far, it is pretty similar to the U.S., more specifically Linfield, but there are a few differences, like course length, they only meet once a week typically, and they typically just have one big exam at the end of the semester.
Outside of classes, I have met a lot of really fun people as well! Two girls from Australia and I have been exploring the city, the campus, the pubs, and figuring out our way around town. There is a lot of walking here, which is slightly difficult for me as someone with a prosthetic leg, but I am figuring out what works best for me, and learning and adapting!
In the Latin QuarterStreet art I found while walking around!Me and two of my friends at a jersey themed night!
For the most part, everything is around 20-25 minutes away by walk. My walk from campus takes me 20 minutes depending on the route I take and the walk into town is about 25 minutes. The nice thing is that the walk from my apartment to the grocery store is only about 10 minutes, so much quicker than walking into town.
A river I pass by on my way to classOn my walk to classMain river on my walk to class
We’ve started to explore the town, and find fun pubs (most pubs here are really fun and interesting) and restaurants that I liked! I found one cafe that I am obsessed with called the Jungle Cafe, where I have already gone to 4 times. This week, I went to a silent disco with some friends and luckily they played a lot of Taylor Swift, which really made me feel at home. We also have gone to the student bar on campus, which was very fun!
Me and my friends at the silent disco
I am hoping to take a trip into Dublin, or somewhere else around Ireland soon, but for now, I am making my way around Galway!
Hello! I am Annie Flood, a senior at Linfield University studying marketing and journalism and media studies. This is the first post of many that I will be making about my semester abroad in Galway, Ireland. Before making the decision to study abroad, and even after I had already made the decision, applied and had been accepted, I had so many questions. I wont be able to answer all of my questions yet, because I have only been in Ireland for a few days, but I will be walking through what getting prepared for a semester abroad looks like!
For starters, making the decision that I wanted to apply for a study abroad program was a very difficult decision to make. I was nervous about being away from family and friends, campus, and taking a new version of classes. However, I knew it would be an experience I would most likely not get again, so I talked with family, professors, advisors, and students who had previously studied abroad, and ultimately, made the decision to apply. I then had to decide what program I wanted to apply for. Because I wasn’t a language major, or going for a certain program, I had some of my options narrowed down for me, but needed to learn more about each, and after doing my research, watching a TON of YouTube videos on each country, and talking with family, I landed on Galway! I was drawn to this program by the familiar, homey environment that I had heard so much about, and knew I would have an amazing time.
Once I had settled on Ireland, I completed the application process and waited until I had heard back from the International Programs Office (IPO). The wait had further confirmed for me that I wanted to study abroad, because I was so excited and nervous to hear back. And finally, I had received my acceptance letter from IPO and was going to get to study abroad in Galway!
From here on out, I started planning, packing and asking questions. Some of my main questions being, how long is the program? When do classes start? How many classes will I take? What will my living situation look like? And shortly after being accepted, I was able to gain more information and answer many of my questions!
These are all questions that I will be able to answer in the near future, for both myself, and future Wildcats studying abroad.
One question I almost immediately (shamefully) had, was how could I possibly pack for 4 months?! With a lot of strategery, sad goodbyes to some of my favorite outfits, and packing cubes, I completed the potentially most impressive game of Tetris ever. With two checked bags, a carryon, and a personal item, I fit 4 months worth of clothes, reminders of home, toiletries, and much, much more. Although the actual packing was one of the last things I did before I left, I created the most detailed packing plan, that I knew would set me up for success.
Once I had locked down my packing plan, I was set to focus on less important things, like my passport. Just kidding, that was definitely the first thing checked off of my list, due to my own anxiety over the potential of not having a passport, and IPO’s impeccable organization. Truthfully, IPO was on top of everything “stressful” from passport help, to detailed packing lists, I was set with constant help and support from IPO.
Because I am studying abroad in the fall of 2024, I was put in a unique position, I needed to register as an absentee voter in the presidential election for 2024. Luckily, the process was pretty simple, through websites like vote.org, and many others who had resources for situations like mine, to ensure our right to vote was still exercised even while abroad.
Another pre departure question I had was about my phone plan, and while I am still sort of in the process of figuring it out, I have many more answers now than I did at the beginning of the summer. First, AT&T is my phone provider, so I learned I needed to payoff my phone to “unlock my SIM card.” Without this step, I would not be able to use an international SIM card, and my phone would be shut off after a couple of months. (I do not think this is the case for most providers luckily). So, I paid off my phone, which cost me roughly a couple hundred bucks, and then I can purchase an international SIM card here in Ireland. I am still doing research on which is the best for a 4 month stay, and will report back at a later date with all the deets.
With my phone figured out, I had a few more tasks to complete before I could call myself fully ready. Here’s a quick speed-through of some other tasks that turned out to be pretty easy work, but important to do before departure and with plenty of time in advance.
Dental check (just to make sure nothing is needed to be done before departure)
For me, I wear contacts so I needed to get enough to last me my entire duration
Contact credit card company & let them know you’ll be out of the country
Necessary vaccinations
Order a couple things on amazon (sheets/ pillow (University of Galway housing asks you to bring your own), packing cubes, adapters, anti-theft money pouch, and anything else I may need)
Get cash to exchange for Euros. I am still not sure what the best way to do this is, but I have both cash and cards for exchanging USD to get some Euro cash.
With all of these tasks checked off my list, I was able to focus on spending my last few weeks with my family and friends, and cherishing every moment before I took off on my unforgettable journey!
I am looking forward to writing more, answering all of the questions I had prior to leaving, during, and after, and sharing my journey with you al!
My time in Australia is coming to an end. I’ve spent my final two weeks here squeezing in some last-minute local bucket list items, saying goodbyes to friends, and getting ready for travel back home.
This has been an amazing experience, and I am so glad I got the opportunity to take part in this study abroad experience. I’ve enjoyed my time here traveling and seeing all the sites and local gems around the city, meeting and bonding with new friends and roommates, and immersing myself in a new culture. As great as it has been, I’m excited to return home and reconnect with my friends and family.
I’ll include some of my favorite pictures from my experience below before I sign off. Thanks to those who have followed along on my journey through these blogs, and a special thanks to Linfield IPO for making this dream experience a reality!
Me and NelsonLoch Ard GorgeMemorial ArchSurf lesson at AngleseaView of the Mornington Peninsula from trail on Point Nepean
Over the weekend I went on a tour of the Great Ocean Road led by a group called REAL Australia. Our tour guides, Luke and Nash, had led the tour of Philip Island at the beginning of the trimester. My friends and I really enjoyed that tour, so we signed up for this two-day road trip with them as well!
Great Ocean Road lookout
The van picked us up at the University early Saturday morning. We drove towards the Great Ocean Road, picking up a couple other groups of people along the way. Our first stop of the day was at Anglesea, where we did a surf lesson. This was really fun and a nice day out in the water. Our instructors were very nice and helpful as well.
Surf lesson at Anglesea
We continued driving down the road, stopping at the Memorial Arch for a quick picture. Then we loaded back up in the van and headed for lunch in a town called Lorne. The town was super cute and right along the beach. This was more of a quick stop to grab a bite, but we had a bit of time to walk around and experience the town before heading out.
Memorial Arch
The road trip continued on as we headed to our final destination for the day, Apollo Bay. We made a few stops at lookouts along the way, as well as a stop at Kenneth River Koala Walk. Here we got to take a walk through a bunch of eucalyptus trees and try to spot wild koalas. As we approached a tree with koalas, I watched as one of the branches snapped and the koala almost fell. It had to climb back up the snapped branch to safety. We made sure the koala was safe, then headed back to the van to continue our trip. We reached Apollo Bay where we stayed in a hostel for the night.
Koala sighting
Our first stop the next morning was a hike in the Otway Rainforest. In was a very nice and easy little hike. Beautiful rainforest views the whole time, and a nice waterfall lookout to stop and take in. We loaded up and kept driving to our next stop, the famous twelve apostles. We also stopped at Loch Ard Gorge. These were both beautiful sites and lookouts, even in the pouring rain.
Waterfall in Otway Rainforest12 ApostlesLoch Ard Gorge
Overall, it was a really fun experience. Our tour guides were great people and were very easy-going. They made sure we got to see everything we wanted to. It was a lot of driving, but the views were beautiful the whole time, so it was most definitely worth it.
