Here’s an update on our final week in Killarney.

On Monday a group of us hiked Carrauntoohil, the tallest mountain in Ireland. On that day it was cold and windy and we hiked (bouldered is a better term) up the steep, icy incline of the Devil’s Ladder.

From there, we still had about a 40 minute hike to the summit. Unfortunately, the visibility was too dangerous for us to be comfortable getting all the way to the top, but the feat of climbing the ladder and the beautiful view from the top made our 6 hour hike well worth it.

Tuesday was our only “true” day of class this week as Wednesday and Thursday were occupied with day trips, first around the Ring of Kerry and then the Dingle Peninsula the next day. These were beautiful sunny days and we were so happy to have that change in weather. Around the Ring of Kerry we stopped at Ring Forts in Cahersiveen which are dated back to 800BC-400AD. These were built with dry masonry meaning they were constructed without mortar…they are solid only through gravity. Around the Dingle Peninsula we stopped at a white sand beach in a town called Inch and Dingle Town where many of us delighted in Murphy’s Ice Cream. My new favorite flavor combination is sea salt and chocolate.

Other than those tours, I had an exciting event of my own. While I’m here in Ireland, I’m conducting research for my Senior Inquiry in Anthropology. I conducted my FIRST INTERVIEW for my SI with a local barman by random, wonderful luck.

Truth be told, I was sad to leave Killarney. I loved the park, the mountains, the coast. That being said, I’m really excited for Ennis and for Galway. Ennis is supposed to be a wonderful place for music and Galway is rumored to be a younger city with a lot to do. I’ll try to post more while I have internet.

Til then,

Cheers!

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. Our hotel in Killarney has only limited WiFi in the lobby, so accessing the internet is rather difficult. Also, we’ve been incredibly busy so finding time to blog…with limited internet…in a room where everyone is trying to get on the internet is just not a top priority. Sorry about that.

On to more exciting things.

We’ve been in Killarney for a bit over a week. I love Killarney….not so much for the town centre that’s about a 10

Yew Woodland

minute walk away, but for the National Park that is about a 20 minute walk in the other direction. Killarney National Park is about 26,000 acres of protected woodlands, wetlands, grasslands and mountains. And it’s beautiful. This past week we’ve visited Ross Castle and Muckross House; two large “estates” that were donated to the park. From Muckross we had the privilege to travel through a cave into the Yew Woodland, exactly what it sounds like. It’s a densely wooded area where the trees and rocks are covered with mosses. Some of the plants are edible and some will act as an anesthetic (which some of us had the misfortune to find out).

View from the Devil’s Punchbowl

On Friday a group of us took a very cold boat trip out onto the lakes of the park. A trip across Lough Leane (Lower Lake) took us to Innisfallen, an island where there are ruins of an old monastery and to the “Queen’s Cottage” a now-ruined cottage that was built when Queen Victoria visited Killarney.

Yesterday an even smaller group of us hiked Mangerton Mountain to the Devil’s Punchbowl, a crater lake at the summit. The view was amazing even if the temperature dropped to below freezing.

So Happy Easter all! We’re all safe and happy here even if parents worry about a lack of communication. This week should prove busy as well. We’re taking day trips to Cahersiveen on Wednesday and the Dingle Peninsula on Thursday. Then Friday we leave for Ennis. I’ll try to post more, but I can’t make any promises…I might be stuck on a Mountain

Cheers,

Hannah

This last weekend in Dublin has been an eventful one: St. Patrick’s Day weekend.  The city was flooded with people from all over the world.  I’d heard that St. Paddy’s Day is more of a big deal in the States than it is in Ireland.  While that may be true for most places in Ireland, Dublin was THE place to be.  The city held a festival Thursday through Sunday, including traditional Irish dance shows, Irish music and a carnival.  The most memorable part of the weekend is definitely the parade.  Thousands of energetic people, wearing a wide variety of green/Irish-themed clothing, lined the street with an excitement that even the cold air and rain could not stop.  First came the People’s Parade at 11 AM, in which various countries from around the world and organizations marched the street.  Around noon, the real parade finally began.  The floats and costumes were extremely colorful, highly decorated and fascinating, though some were quite bizarre.  It was such an amazing experience to have spent St. Paddy’s Day in Ireland.

Now to go out and enjoy my last day in this beautiful city until May– cheers!

And now for a brief recap.

On Monday our profs had grand plans for us to visit the Dublin Castle, but as we soon found out, the castle is currently being used as the seat of the European Union, so it’s closed to the public. This meant, however, that we had the rest of the day free so we just explored the city.

Tuesday was our first day of class…which ended up being about 8 minutes of each of our 3 classes so that we could go tour the National Museum of Ireland (it’s specifically an archaeological museum) and the National Gallery (art museum). On Wednesday we (actually) had class in a tiny conference room of our hotel. Lucky were those who scored chairs for our 3 hour/3 classes marathon. For McDowell’s literature class, we ended up leaving the hotel to follow the path one of the characters of The Dubliners and then ended the afternoon with a tour guided by some classmates to see some of Dublin’s many churches and cathedrals (including the Christ Church Cathedral).

There have been two particularly notable moments the past two days.  On Tuesday, the first day of class, we went to the National Museum of Ireland and received a guided tour on “Bog Bodies.”  Our very knowledgeable guide, Jennifer, informed us that the water-logged Peat bogs found in Ireland have the ability to preserve organic materials due to a lack of oxygen, insects and bacteria in this soil.  The most memorable (and slightly eerie) displays featured four human remains at varying levels of preservation.  Everyone definitely was excited about this tour.

Another notable moment occurred while I was reading a short story for our Lit class,  James Joyce’s “Two Gallants.”  The story details two men conversing and walking about Dublin.  As I read, I realized that I not only knew the location of the streets and places mentioned, but I had walked them hours earlier while exploring and shopping with friends.  It was such a neat and satisfying recognition that I was able to vividly picture the scenery of the story because it is mere blocks from where we are staying!

Tomorrow morning we are going to the Natural History Museum of Ireland.  The afternoon is filled with group  meetings for anthropology and, hopefully, some more wandering around and relaxing in  Dublin.  With St. Patrick’s Day this weekend, the city is about to become super crowded and busy.  We are all so excited to be able to join in the festivities!  Cheers!

When we arrived in Dublin on Saturday, the city was preparing for a rugby match against the French.  The streets were so crowded with rugby fans and on our way back to the hotel in the afternoon, we walked past a crowd of fans waiting for the Irish players to exit their hotel.  Local teens lined the streets flying their team’s flags.  The high-energy was infectious, which was nice having slept only a few hours on the plane the previous night.  Last night, several of us went to a local pub to listen to some traditional Irish music.  It was so fascinating to go to a truly Irish place, instead of a pub made to attract tourists.  The pub was bustling with locals chatting and enjoying the great music.

Classes start tomorrow and the idea that we are actually here to learn is setting in.  Most of us have been starting to work ahead on our readings, and I am thrilled to learn more!  It is such an amazing opportunity to be able to learn about the history and culture, while being able to live in it.  We are going to the National Museum of Ireland tomorrow and the Natural History Museum on Thursday, so it seems that we have a great week of classes ahead of us!  On that note, I need to prepare a little more for tomorrow and get to bed. I’ve added a few pictures of some Augie students on a bridge in St. Stephen’s Green Park and of a Viking Egg on display that reminded me of Augie! Cheers!

Yesterday was a fantastic day to arrive because it was the day of a huge rugby match between Ireland and France. So everywhere you went you ran into large green Irish flags waved by excited fans, or Frenchmen in red, white and blue afros. As you passed pubs you could hear crowds singing when the doors opened. All of the nearby ATMs were fresh out of money because of all the fanfare and walking down the sidewalk was like navigating a sea of people all headed the opposite way. Ireland and France tied the match, 13-13…but I don’t really know how that happened, rugby is a confusing sport.

Cloudy view from our hotel room this Sunday morning

Our hotel is wonderful (for all you mothers out there wondering in what conditions we are living). We are treated to large dinners (3 courses last night!) and breakfast buffets…and the food is amazing, so it’s a good thing we are walking everywhere. This morning we woke up to cold weather, but no rain yet. This afternoon and tomorrow we’ll tour around Dublin City Centre, ourselves being the tour guides so we’ll see how that goes. Then Tuesday we’ll start classes!

Cheers!

Nick Rudy, double major in business marketing and music, is interning at radio station 99.3 FM in Sydney, Australia. He appeared on-air on Feb. 4.

Life has been good. We’ve been able to do so much out here it’s unreal. Things I never thought I would that’s for sure. I guess that is what traveling and studying abroad are all about; experience and living.