Leaving my footprint in Ireland

After a long day studying at WIT yesterday, my roommate and I decided to take advantage of the nice weather and bike to the beach! We took the 12 mile route and then enjoyed some time on the beautiful sea side. The ride itself was great because the path went through literally every type of terrain! We rode through farm land, mountains, and a bridge over the sea. That was definitely the first bike ride I have ever taken when I saw cows, sheep, horses, and a peacock!

Once we made it to the beach, we climbed over rocks and simply enjoyed the cool, fresh breeze. It was one of the most relaxing moments I have had here! After we walked by the water, my roommate and I took some time out of our hectic schedules to just sit on rocks. It was the perfect view of the sea and the mountains!

Festival of Food!

Today was the famous Festival of Food in Dungarvan! I've never been to a food festival before, so I was not  sure what to expect... but I can easily say that the day surpassed all my expectations!

I headed over to the festival at 10am to volunteer for a two hour shift. A friend and I stood at garbage cans to remind people to recycle and make sure all garbage is thrown in the appropriate bin. After that, we received a free t shirt and lunch from the town!

Once our work was over, it was time to explore the festival! The entire town square was closed down to cars and was PACKED with tents of food vendors. My friends and I walked around for over an hour getting free samples and checking out the Irish food. It is really cool how the majority of the food here is grown locally. All of the fruit and vegetables are incredible fresh and the desserts are super tasty  I even had my first crepe today and loved it! As much as I miss American food, the food in Ireland is way better.

Waterford Tour

Yesterday was another one of the famous Tom Keith Tours! This time we headed to Waterford to see many of its well known sites

1. St. Augustine's College
The day began with a stop at St. Augustine's College in Dungarvan. The faculty here were so generous and gave us the traditional Irish welcome! We were all treated to a cup of tea with scones and fruit. They explained to us how the school system works in Ireland while a few of the students had breakfast with us. No matter how long I live here, I will still always be amazed by the hospitality we have received!

2. Waterford Crystal Factory
Next was the crystal factory! We took a tour and learned how the glass is made there- from blowing to cutting to the finishing. It was so interesting! I even get to hold a fireman's helmet that is being made custom for Mariano Rivera! All of the glass made here is beautiful... it is giving me motivation to somehow get rich so I can actually afford it

 

 

 


3. Waterford Museum of Treasures
A short walk across the street is the Museum of Treasures. This museum focused on medieval Waterford and had many artifacts from that time period. My favorite part was going into an underground wine cellar that was built in 1440! They also had an exhibit which held vestments from medieval times.

 

4. Dunbrody Famine Ship
The Dunbroady Famine Ship is a recreated ship of one used during the famine in Ireland. We were able to walk on it to see what life would have been like sailing across the Atlantic. The ship was much smaller than I would have imagined, and the living conditions were awful  It was extremely tight under the deck where the passengers would sleep and eat. There was also no bathrooms! I cannot even imagine the smell and disease that would have been in there. This tour was definitely an eye-opener.
Before we even got onto the boat, we were all given a "ticket" with a passengers name, I practically got chills when I saw that my surname was Rodgers, the same as my Grandpa! It was very strange!

 




5. Good Council College
The afternoon was spent at another College in New Ross. This school has very close ties with Mercyhurst because a lot of our international students attended. We were told we would be having dinner there, so I was expecting small sandwiches and a quick tour of the school. Instead, we walked into a cafeteria and we're served a three course meal! I was absolutely in shock at all the school did for us! In addition to the soup, chicken, and cake, they also gave each table two bottles of wine. The school went so out of their way for us and I am so appreciative of it!
We all had a very interesting experience, however, before we had our dinner. This is an all boys high school, so you can only imagine all the looks we got when 30 American girls stepped off a bus and walked across the campus! We were laughing so hard while these boys were standing up in classrooms to get a look and try and figure out who we were / why we were there!

6. John F. Kennedy Arboretum
The last stop of the day was the JFK Memorial in New Ross. This statue was set up in honor of JFK and to remember the speech he gave there only shortly before he was shot.

 

Berlin- Spring Break

It's taken me awhile to write this, but Berlin needs its own post!
Mercyhurst University planned a trip to Germany for our spring break from April 1-5. They had all the arrangements made, including our flight and hotel. They even included a 3 day Berlin pass which gave us free entrance to just about every museum in Berlin as well as free transportation passes

Day 1:
- Air Lingus flight from Dublin to Schoenefeld
- check in at Hotel  Edem Am Zoo
- tour of Berlin
     - Brandenburg Gate
     - Reichstag Building
     - Berlin Cathedral
- dinner at Brauhaus

Brandenburg Gate

Reichstag Building

Berlin Cathedral

Day 2:

- Nazi Tour of Terror Walk

     - Topography of Terror

     - Berlin Wall

     - Fuhrer Bunker

     - Holocaust Memorial

     - Checkpoint Charlie

- Checkpoint Charlie Museum

- Anne Frank Museum

- Historical Berlin Museum

- dinner at La Piazza

Holocaust Memorial

Anne Frank's Diary

Day 3:

- Pergamonmusum

- Deutsche Guggengeim

- Bauhaus Archive

- Postdamer Platz

- dinner at Maredo

Pergamonmusum

Postdamer Platz

Day 4:

- Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp

- Alte Nationalgalerie

- East Side Gallery

- dinner at Garnison Brau

Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp Pictures:

East Side Gallery Pictures:

 

 

Berlin was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. I did not know what to expect when I first heard that we would be spending a week here, and to be honest I knew basically knew nothing about the city. What I learned while I was there, however, was more than one could ever be taught in a classroom.
Berlin has had a past that I feel no other city can compare with....

One of my favorite museums was Checkpoint Charlie. The museum showed all the different methods and machines that people made to get over the Berlin Wall. These machines were crazy- everything from cars with hiding spots to hot air balloons! The Wall is still standing in certain places, but it didn't seem real once you were standing next to it.

I also loved the Ann Frank Museum. It was small, but it told her story and was very interesting. The museum even has her journal on display! Getting to the museum was also an experience in itself. We had so much trouble finding it, but had a ton of fun getting "lost" in the city. It gave us a chance to talk to locals and see the non-tourist parts of town. The city itself is beautiful! All of the buildings have such a rich architectural design to them, and just about every building has some story behind it.

Visiting a Concentration Camp is also an experience that I will always remember. I cannot wrap my head around it. The mood of the camp was very quiet as we walked around it and read the informational signs.

Overall, I loved Berlin! The city itself was incredible and I had a ton of fun exploring it with my friends! We even managed to work around the language barrier (there was no hope in pronouncing ANY of those street signs correctly). I'm proud to say that I have successively conquered Berlin!!

Poor is the Man That is Without Music

It took me awhile, but after 6 weeks of living here I finally saw some live traditional Irish music!!

Every Sunday evening, the Park Place Hotel has an Irish band play in their pub. I went with my friends this week to get some dinner and enjoy the music. I am still amazed by how upbeat and fun this music was! Many of the bands here have no set songs or practices, they simply improvise when they are live. I honestly wish we had more bands like this back home! I am in love with Irish music, and it reminded me of all my family parties where we either play Irish CDs or my cousins would get out their instruments! If only I was somewhat musically talented....

Tuesday night was another memorable evening of Irish music. The students were invited to "The Local" pub to see a different live band. This one had very traditional instruments including a violin, banjo, Irish flute, guitars and a keyboard. The talent this band had is beyond words. We all sat in the pub in complete awe watching the violinist! I have never seen anything like that! The band was great, but it was the atmosphere that added so much more to the experience. The audience was clapping along and "whoohoooo-ing" to all of the fast-paced music

Saturday's a Rugby Day

18 girls had the chance to step onto a muddy field in the pouring rain and learn how to play some Irish Rugby! We did mainly drills involving the rugby ball in order to get a feel for the ball and how to communicate with your teammates. It felt so nice to be playing a sport again! The rugby practice made me miss soccer like crazy.

Rugby is basically a combination of soccer and American football. The object of the game is to get the ball to the other side of the field and "touch it down." What makes it different from soccer is that you can run while holding the ball, and you MUST pass it backwards. No forward throws are allowed. It differs from football because once a tackle is completed and a player is down, the game does not stop! Another player picks up the ball and continues down the field. This keeps the game moving much quicker.

One of my favorite drills was tackling. We had a few body bags when we ran into while holding the ball and then passed it off to someone else. This created a "ruck." But one small detail, you couldn't throw the ball until you were on the ground! After this drill, we were all practically covered in mud!

I never in a million years thought I would be trying rugby... and liking it so much!

Welcome to Germany!

Spring break has officially begun as we landed in Berlin today! Our day began at 3am when we left Dungarvan and headed to Dublin to fly to Germany. It was an extremely long day, but so far this city is way better than I had expected! We had a brief tour of the city as well as an authentic German meal for dinner. I cannot even express in words the beauty of this city! All of the architecture is unreal, and there is so much history for us to learn about throughout the next few days.
The culture of Germany also seems great. We had a three course dinner tonight which included cucumbers, potatoes, carrots, beef, and a chocolate moose for dessert. We were also able to sample four of the beers that the restaurant had on tap. It was really cool to get the German experience on our first night here! Looking forward to a day full of tours and museums tomorrow :)