Field trip to Ferrycarrig: a blast into Ireland's archaeological past

For my archeology class we went on a field trip to Ferrycarrig Irish Heritage Park. The park has different sites that highlights the archaeological history of Ireland from the pre-historic period to historic period (medieval and viking). History, according to my professor, in Ireland begins with the introduction of written work around the time of St. Patrick and the arrival of Christianity.

They have recreations of things associated with life in Ireland during the Mesolithic period (pre 4000 BC), Neolithic period (4000-2500 BC), Bronze Age (2500 BC - 700 BC), Iron Age (700 BC-400 AD, Medieval period (400 AD - 900 AD, 1100 AD - 1600AD) and Viking period (900 AD-1100AD).

The park is in Wexford which is about a 1 1/2 to 2 hour drive south of Dublin.

Approximately one more month of school left

There's approximately one month of school left for me. 9 more days of lectures and tutorials and then it's time to read and study for exams. I'll be done with exams on May 12th. After that I get to go on a crazy Mediterranean adventure through Greece & Italy with two of the most amazing people that I know (my sisters. =]). I'm quite excited for our little adventure.

I'm back Stateside on May 26th. I can't wait to go home to SGV and gorge on banh mi, pho, dim sum, Alberto's burritos, etc.

Being abroad has been a great eye opening experience. Before I came here I didn't know what I was going to do after I graduated and what not. I'm still not completely sure what I want to do but I've started to think about my future.

I didn't think about going to grad school but now I'm considering coming back to UC Dublin in a year or two to get my master's in Geography here. I haven't really looked into it but the program here seems like a choice I should consider when thinking about grad school. It's a one year program and one of the tracks is in Urban Studies which is something I've always been interested in. I have to look into programs back in the States but it's an option to keep in mind.

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.

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."

The Study in Study Abroad

One of the perks of studying in Europe is travelling around to places you've only either read about, seen pictures of, or heard about on tv. For instance, Ryanair has cheap flights to different parts of the continent. I mean whoever thought a round trip (or as they like to say here return trip) ticket to Scotland would only cost $50? Also, roundtrip bus to Cork cost me 2 euros (~$3). Amazing. However, a person must remember that studying must occur since it is STUDY Abroad and not Travel Abroad.