Made for my follow-up project as a Benjamin Gilman Scholarship recipient. This blog was created to share my adventure studying abroad in Ireland with WHS students, EMHS students, friends and family. http://www.iie.org/en/Programs/Gilman-Scholarship-Program
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Tumblr Blog: Simple way to view places I visit
I know I tend to write a lot when I blog. For those who just want to see pictures of places I've been to, I created a tumblr dedicated to just pictures.
The tumblr won't be pictures of me and the place. Instead it will be photos of my pink bunny and the place.
Now I hope people continue to read what I write because pictures don't completely illustrate or describe my study abroad experience.
Enjoy.
http://pbandgbtravel.tumblr.com/
The tumblr won't be pictures of me and the place. Instead it will be photos of my pink bunny and the place.
The pictures are a fun and silly way for me to document my travels.
Now I hope people continue to read what I write because pictures don't completely illustrate or describe my study abroad experience.
Enjoy.
http://pbandgbtravel.tumblr.com/
School & Classes: UCD vs. UCLA
This week marks Week 8 at UCD. With almost 4 1/2 weeks of the teaching term left, I should mention the courses that I'm taking here. I'm also going to highlight the differences and similarities.
West Coast of Ireland: Cliffs of Moher & The Burren
This past weekend my sister came to Dublin. She's currently on her spring break so she flew from Florence to Dublin to visit me. We took a bus tour to the west coast of Ireland with my friend Emma and her friend, who is also on her spring break from her university in Rome.
One of the most common comments I got from Irish people was that I had to get out of Dublin and go to the west coast in order to experience the true Ireland. They were right. While the bus tour was long, I enjoyed the sites I saw and was happy I went on it. The Irish countryside was beautiful and experiencing it with my sister was an added bonus.
We decided to do an overnight tour with The Galway Tour Company. First we did the Cliffs of Moher and Burren tour on Saturday and then the Cong and Connemara tour on Sunday.
I'll talk about our Cliffs of Moher and Burren tour in this post and Cong & Connemara in the next post.
One of the most common comments I got from Irish people was that I had to get out of Dublin and go to the west coast in order to experience the true Ireland. They were right. While the bus tour was long, I enjoyed the sites I saw and was happy I went on it. The Irish countryside was beautiful and experiencing it with my sister was an added bonus.
We decided to do an overnight tour with The Galway Tour Company. First we did the Cliffs of Moher and Burren tour on Saturday and then the Cong and Connemara tour on Sunday.
I'll talk about our Cliffs of Moher and Burren tour in this post and Cong & Connemara in the next post.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Study abroad blues
If there is one advice I can give any person who is thinking about studying abroad is to do it before your final year or to do a program where all you need is for the credit to count. The reason I say this is because I am currently feeling very stressed out.
Being in EAP means that I am also enrolled at UCLA. Unlike most study abroad students, my grades at UC Dublin will affect my final GPA. Most students are in programs that will transfer the credit only. This means that the grade won't affect their GPA but they will still earn the credit to complete their degree. I chose EAP because it was the easiest way to transfer credit to UCLA but I do wish I explored different programs.
Studying during my final term freaks me out because what I do here will affect the outcome of my final GPA and what not. These classes are the last ones I will ever take as an undergrad (unless I decide to take summer classes) and if I do badly then my high GPA that I've worked very hard for at UCLA will go down the drain. Because of this, I wish I had study abroad earlier in my undergrad career. This way, if my GPA goes down, I have the chance to take courses back home to raise it up.
In no way am I trying to keep people from wanting to study abroad. It is a lot of fun and I have met so many new people and seen so many pretty places. I just wish I had gone earlier in my undergrad career so I wouldn't be so stressed about doing schoolwork right now. The combination of senioritis and being abroad is not good. Well I'm off to get my schoolwork done before this weekend.
"Fear of Failure."
Being in EAP means that I am also enrolled at UCLA. Unlike most study abroad students, my grades at UC Dublin will affect my final GPA. Most students are in programs that will transfer the credit only. This means that the grade won't affect their GPA but they will still earn the credit to complete their degree. I chose EAP because it was the easiest way to transfer credit to UCLA but I do wish I explored different programs.
Studying during my final term freaks me out because what I do here will affect the outcome of my final GPA and what not. These classes are the last ones I will ever take as an undergrad (unless I decide to take summer classes) and if I do badly then my high GPA that I've worked very hard for at UCLA will go down the drain. Because of this, I wish I had study abroad earlier in my undergrad career. This way, if my GPA goes down, I have the chance to take courses back home to raise it up.
In no way am I trying to keep people from wanting to study abroad. It is a lot of fun and I have met so many new people and seen so many pretty places. I just wish I had gone earlier in my undergrad career so I wouldn't be so stressed about doing schoolwork right now. The combination of senioritis and being abroad is not good. Well I'm off to get my schoolwork done before this weekend.
"Fear of Failure."
Spring Break
Since the 5th I have been on Spring Break. I don't have classes until the 21st. With such a long break (2 weeks) I decided to travel. From March 6th to 9th I went to Edinburgh and Manchester. I flew out of Dublin on the 6th and landed in Edinburgh, Scotland. The flight was only 1 hour. On the 7th I took the train down to Manchester. On the 9th I flew back to Dublin. The flight was also only 1 hour long.
I spent a day and a half in Dublin before flying to Brussels, Belgium on the 11th. There I met up with my sister, who is studying in Florence. We took the train and spent 2 days in Brugges and a day and a half in Brussels. I flew back on the 14th at night. It was great seeing my sister. I started to miss home and seeing her was sorely needed.
This weekend I will be going to Galway, on the west coast of Ireland. I'm quite excited.
Tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day too so it should be a quite exciting day.
I spent a day and a half in Dublin before flying to Brussels, Belgium on the 11th. There I met up with my sister, who is studying in Florence. We took the train and spent 2 days in Brugges and a day and a half in Brussels. I flew back on the 14th at night. It was great seeing my sister. I started to miss home and seeing her was sorely needed.
This weekend I will be going to Galway, on the west coast of Ireland. I'm quite excited.
Tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day too so it should be a quite exciting day.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Sig Fest 2011: Gaelic Football
This week was the Sig Fest. Sig Fest is the week of the Sigerson Cup which according to the UCD website is "the premier Gaelic Football competition for Third Level Institutions, named after Dr George Sigerson, who was Professor of Biology in the Catholic University School of Medicine/University College Dublin."
Gaelic Football is seen by some as the sport to play for Irish lads. There is a long history tied in with Irish nationalism and Gaelic Football. For a school paper I wrote about Irish nationalism, I ran into a lot of literature and readings that talked about how being a true Irishmen means playing GAA (Gaelic Athletic Association) sports, one being Gaelic Football. Bottom line: Gaelic Football is an important and popular sport here.
Today I decided to go and watch the last game of the Sigerson Cup since it was being played at my campus. I'm not sure who the two teams playing were, I think one is UCD since the boys were wearing the school's colors but I got there late and didn't stay until the end of the game to figure it out.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Bray & Dalkey
About 2 weeks ago, I went with my friends Juleah and Alex to explore cities the south of Dublin. We decided to buy a hop-on/hop-off day pass for the DART (€8.20). The DART runs along the coast and reminded me of the train rides I would take from Los Angeles to San Diego. It was a beautiful sunny day when we first left for Bray. However by the time we go to Dalkey (located between Bray and Dublin) the sky had turned cloudy and it started to drizzle.
I walked to the Booterstown DART station (25 minutes from UCD) and met Alex & Juleah at the Blackrock station since they live in Blackrock. We then took the DART to Bray in County Wicklow. Bray has a old-school boardwalk feeling to it. We walked along the beach, pebbly and not sandy, and then walked up a hill to get a view of the whole bay. The hill we were climbing is called Bray Head. We wanted to reach the summit where there is a large cross erected but I wasn't wearing the right shoes and the trail was too long.
After we walked down from Bray Head, we found food a small Indian restaurant. We then took the DART to Dalkey. Dalkey is a small medieval town. The main attraction is the Dalkey Heritage Castle. Since it was too late to do a tour we decided to explore the area. We tried to find a way to the coast but it was getting late and cold so we got as close as we could before heading back home. We did find a cool Abbey on the way.
I walked to the Booterstown DART station (25 minutes from UCD) and met Alex & Juleah at the Blackrock station since they live in Blackrock. We then took the DART to Bray in County Wicklow. Bray has a old-school boardwalk feeling to it. We walked along the beach, pebbly and not sandy, and then walked up a hill to get a view of the whole bay. The hill we were climbing is called Bray Head. We wanted to reach the summit where there is a large cross erected but I wasn't wearing the right shoes and the trail was too long.
After we walked down from Bray Head, we found food a small Indian restaurant. We then took the DART to Dalkey. Dalkey is a small medieval town. The main attraction is the Dalkey Heritage Castle. Since it was too late to do a tour we decided to explore the area. We tried to find a way to the coast but it was getting late and cold so we got as close as we could before heading back home. We did find a cool Abbey on the way.
Howth
Several weeks ago, I went with a couple of my friends to the city of Howth (rhymes with both). We met in the city and took the DART to Howth. The DART is similar to Metrolink back in Los Angeles. The ride to Howth took 30 minutes from the city centre and a return trip cost €4.60.
Howth is a small town with a harbor. While we were walking around the town, a stray dog started walking ahead of us. Every so often, the dog would stop, turn around, and walk back to us if we were falling behind. We decided to follow this dog since he seemed like he wanted us to. After following the dog up the hill, he lead us to this unmarked path down the hill. We wanted to see the coast and heard the view from Howth Head was spectacular so down we went. The dog ended up staying with us until we went to a restaurant and had lunch. After lunch we walked to Howth Castle. Sadly we couldn't explore the castle as it is a private residence.
Howth is a small town with a harbor. While we were walking around the town, a stray dog started walking ahead of us. Every so often, the dog would stop, turn around, and walk back to us if we were falling behind. We decided to follow this dog since he seemed like he wanted us to. After following the dog up the hill, he lead us to this unmarked path down the hill. We wanted to see the coast and heard the view from Howth Head was spectacular so down we went. The dog ended up staying with us until we went to a restaurant and had lunch. After lunch we walked to Howth Castle. Sadly we couldn't explore the castle as it is a private residence.
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