I can still remember when the plane landed on the tarmac at Dublin Airport back in May. I stepped off the plane knowing that the experiences I was going to have this summer would leave me changed forever. I suppose I realized that the person stepping off the plane at Dublin Airport in May would not be the same person stepping back on it in July. Part of that feeling left me a little scared I’ll admit. It’s always scary to change because you’re not always sure who you’re changing into. A better person, a worse person, a stronger person, a weaker person? I’m still not sure I can say exactly what type of person I’ve been changed into but I hope it is for the better.

I made friends more easily than I ever expected going to Ireland. By the time I’d landed in Dublin I’d already met two of the people I would hang out with the rest of the summer. When someone lands in a new country by themselves it only makes sense that they are going to gravitate towards those people who are in the same position as them and hold on for dear life. So that’s what I did. And by the end of the summer I had a group of girls that I spent the last eight weeks of my life with. I know I will always look back on them fondly because it was these friendships I created that made this experience not only easier, but also so much more enjoyable.

I think it would be hard to have an experience like I’ve had this summer and not remember the people who were around me as I was experiencing it. All the people I’ve met on this trip, whether they’re the group of girls I regularly hung out with or the random stranger in the pub, will have a lasting impact on my life because they were there when this summer changed me. They have a unique view of me that no one else will have because they saw these changes occur as they happened. I left my family one person but came back another. The people in Ireland, however, have been able to see this small transformation as it was happening. Though, I’m still not completely sure who I’ve been transformed into.

It’s not just Ireland that’s changed me though; it’s the travelling outside of Ireland too. Travelling is such an eye opening and life-affirming experience that I feel it is impossible to do so without it having a great impact on your life. Especially when it’s in a foreign country so far from home.

Of course the trip that had the most impact on me was Dachau. I feel that visit changed me more this summer than any amount of pub hopping or site seeing in Dublin will. It amazes me to think I spent eight weeks in Ireland yet I think the eight hours I spent in that camp will change me far more. Of course, spending the time in Dachau wouldn’t have been possible if I hadn’t come to Ireland to study abroad. Maybe that’s what Ireland really was for me- an entranceway to newer and greater possibilities.

Of course my internship also had a great impact on me! I feel like everyday I had an experience there that changed me. Sometimes it was the silliest of things too, such as getting to hold a book from 1846. Something so random for any other person and yet so meaningful for me.

Also, I always felt like I was leaving my mark on history when I was working in the museum. I was opening up exhibit cabinets that hadn’t been opened in a hundred years and then locking them back up where they probably wouldn’t be opened again for another fifty years. It’s odd, and somehow powerful for me, to walk past one of those display cases and know I was the person who handled the specimen and affixed its registration number to it. I can go back in five years, ten years, twenty years and stand at that same specimen remembering back to when I picked it up and held it in my hands. The little experiences like that are actually what I feel impacted me the most and will stay with me the longest.

Actually maybe its not that those little experiences impacted me the most I think instead it’s that those experiences are the easiest for me to see the impact of right away. Maybe because they are so simple and small. It’s the bigger experiences that will take me a little bit longer to process. Even just thinking about all the great people I got to work with this summer and all the different tasks I got to do. I think a few years from now I’m going to look back on this internship and say, “Wow! I actually did that?!” In fact, I think that sums up this entire summer- wow, I actually did do that!

There are still times when I can’t believe I actually spent my summer living in Dublin, even while I was still there. Even now, eight weeks after getting to Dublin and a day after heading home, I can’t believe that I actually lived in another country for a summer. It’s something that I think will take a while before I can ever fully process it.

And then it was time to head home- that was a whole other experience in itself. It’s all so bittersweet too because while I was so excited to be heading home and seeing my friends and family, I was also sad at having to say goodbye to Dublin, which has become my home these past eight weeks.

This feeling of sadness is probably the best indicator of how much Ireland has changed me and I think it shows how I’ve been changed for the better. If I had a poor time while here or thought it had negativley changed who I am then I’m sure I would have felt more relief at leaving. Instead I wanted to continue the amazing expereinces I had in Dublin and that means that I was sad to have to say goodbye.

So what did I get from my time in Ireland? Memories mostly, memories of a summer when I was twenty that impacted the rest of my life. Experiences too, I have lots of those. Experiences of a new culture so different from my own that became my culture for a short period of time. The biggest thing I got from my time in Dublin though is the new person I have become from these memories and experiences. A person that I may not fully understand for another five, ten, or twenty years.

I’m still not sure if I wrote the type of paper that my professor wanted for my personal project on how Ireland impacted me. I could have talked about the differences in the Irish and American workplace or the differences in our culture- but most of that I talked about in the weekly entry journals I also had to submit. I could have made up stuff about how this experience has changed me instead of fully admitting that I’m still not sure yet of its impact. I could have done all that and maybe it would have been what he wanted. But that’s not me, this is. And this is me admitting I still don’t fully know what this summer has meant to me… but I sure can’t wait to find out in the years to come.

Thanks all for sharing this summer with me and taking the time to read my blogs and look at my photos. It really was one hell of a ride…]]> Sun, 26 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=7310 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=79090 0 41.85 -87.65 I sit here in my Dublin apartment with a cab coming in less than an hour to take me to the airport where I will fly back to Chicago… I’m not quite sure how I feel about that yet. This summer has been so amazing in so many ways that I’m saddened to have to leave Ireland. At the same time I can’t wait to be back home and see my friends and family.

My last night in Dublin was pretty amazing though, which I guess is fitting considering how great the rest of my summer was! Let me give you the cliffnotes to help you understand: I got home from the night at 7am = awesome night! I leave for the airport at 8am = rough morning! Luckily I had just enough time to get home, jump in the shower, and sit here to write my last Dublin blog.

We didn’t get downtown until nearly midnight last night. U2 is playing in Dublin right now and the concert had just gotten out so O’Connell Street was a mess with 80,000 people emerging on it at once! We went straight to Palace Bar, our favorite in Dublin, and spent our night there. The bar was open until two, though it normally closes closer to twelve; I think with the U2 concert most pubs stayed open late.

We met some interesting characters last night and at one point Meghan and I had a gentlemen come up to us and ask us back to his apartment… in case he wasn’t clear enough by this gesture he clarified further, “You know I’m taking about sex, right?” Yeah, we got that. Thanks. Shockingly enough we kindly refused his offer, but hey we did get a free drink out of it… and a lot of laughs too! I swear the pub was filled with all of Dublin’s creeps last night and they all seemed to come up to me! Eh, I guess it made for an interesting last night, haha.

Although they made the last call a dozen times after closing at two most of the people didn’t actually leave until past three. Since we had been there so much throughout the summer we knew all of the bartenders and stayed past closing to hang out with them for our last night. After everyone left around three Willie, the owner’s son, asked us we wanted to have a nightcap of some Jamison. Although we tried to decline he wouldn’t let us, “When is the last time the five of you are going to be sitting at a pub together in Dublin?!” And he proceeded to pour us our whiskey, haha. Followed by another one later in the night of course. He also gave me a ‘Palace Bar’ t-shirt, which I was very excited about!

We had a fun time just all sitting around talking about whatever it was we talked about. Of course every time I looked at the clock I though, “Okay now I have four hours before my cab comes, nope three hours, sweet two hours!” But I would much rather have had it that way because it really was a great night!

Around 6am we ate “breakfast” in the bar, which consisted of another Jamison and a quarter of a bar sandwich- yummy! Finally around 6:30am we realized that we should probably get going since some of us hadn’t even packed yet! We said goodbye to our lovely bartenders and in turn said goodbye to Palace Bar and downtown Dublin… aw, I miss it already!

Well now my cab is going to be here in about twenty minutes and I have to finish throwing the last of my things (including this laptop) into my suitcase. I’ll put up one last blog tomorrow when I’m back in Chicago to properly wrap up my summer. But I guess this will be my last blog from Dublin… can we give one big “Awww!”
]]> Sat, 25 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=7310 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=79089 0 53.3330556 -6.2488889
Me, Blair, and Rory. So we took an early afternoon tea break and were able to all sit together and have some tea and cake to celebrate Blair’s and mine last week. They really are amazing- all these people I got to work with. It was a pretty relaxed workweek overall and I think it was a really great way to end my internship.

I did a couple tasks for Matthew this week, especially on Monday. I still wasn’t feeling the best Monday from my small case of pneumonia and Matthew (and everyone else) was so good about making sure I was feeling okay. I was working on the computer in the breakroom typing up some manuscripts for Matthew and he kept poking his head in to make sure I was feeling okay. He kept telling me I could go home if I didn’t feel well and he would even drive me back to DCU if I wanted. Although I did feel really sick, I actually felt better just knowing that everyone here was looking out for me.

I really wish that Matthew had been our supervisor throughout this whole summer instead of Nigel. Especially because in most ways he basically was! I barely ever saw Nigel and never really worked with him, plus he was gone three of the seven weeks we were interning and was even gone for our last week. He always seemed too busy to be bothered to deal with Blair and me and so the two of us were often on our own in finding tasks to do. But Matthew took us under his wing and always made sure he had work for us to do over at Beggars Bush. He was always so grateful too! Even when I was doing something as simple as typing up a manuscript he would tell me how much he appreciated it, how important it was, and how much it was helping him out. I think a task, any task, is so much easier and more gratifying when you feel like it’s actually helping someone and you’re a benefit to the organization. That’s what Matthew does, he makes me feel like I’m really valued here and that’s something I never felt from Nigel.

Alice, Rebecca, Me, and Emir... I miss them already!

Alice is moving to Chicago at the end of October and I gave her my contact information so we could get together when I’m back home for Christmas. She said she definitely wanted to get together for a drink so I really hope we do.

Alice, Rebecca, Emir, and Me in front of the Hippo!

I ended my internship at Beggars Bush where I took more pictures and said some more goodbyes.

Rebecca and me on my last day :-(

Leaving this internship behind is by far the hardest part about leaving Dublin. I thought leaving the actual city, leaving the pubs, leaving the sites would be the hard part. But instead it’s leaving behind this museum and these people. Saying goodbye- that’s definitely the hardest part. When I left the musuem and then Beggars Bush for the last time I was surprised at how emotional I felt at having to say goodbye. But in the end I was grateful- because I’d rather be sad at having to leave because it was such a great internship than glad its finally over because I had a bad time there.

I guess it just all goes back to that old saying- don’t cry because its over, smile because it happened. And I’m definatley smiling.

Smiling on my last day as I leave the museum because it really was an amazing summer!

]]> Thu, 23 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=7310 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=78029 0 53.3330556 -6.2488889 I was actually a little worried about my birthday because I wasn’t sure how it was going to be away from home without my friends and family. Especially since it was on a random Tuesday night and we all had work the next morning I wasn’t sure who would actually want to go out and celebrate with me. Plus without my friends and family it almost didn’t seem like there was a point in actually celebrating my birthday. Then there was the whole anti-climactic part of not turning 21 in America and having been able to legally drink since I got to Ireland in May. Luckily though I’ve met some great people here in Dublin and they made it an amazing birthday for me!

Monday night I went out to some pubs with Denise and Jahna and we ended the night at our favorite pub- The Palace Bar. They gave me a free shot at midnight to ring in my first legal drink (of course we’d already been drinking since ten but it was the symbolism behind the drink that mattered! Haha).

My first drink as a legal 21-year-old!

Tuesday morning my supervisor let me and the other intern, Rory, come into work late so we could go out to breakfast for my birthday! We ate at this great little crepe restaurant that was delicious.

Walking to Beggars Bush after my birthday breakfast... we got soaked!

Work was good and they let us go a bit early so Rory and I walked around in City Centre for a bit before meeting up with the rest of my friends for dinner. I’d been craving Italian food since I got here and Rory knew of a great Italian restaurant so that’s where we went for dinner (it didn’t compare to Spaghetti Warehouse but was still delicious). I had some delicious brushetta with the most amazing fresh tomatoes and some yummy ravioli along with tiramisu for dessert of course. A couple people couldn’t make it to dinner so it was actually pretty low-key with about six of us.

Rory and Me at dinner... with the huge birthday pin she made me wear! hehe

Ellie, Meghan, Me, Lindsay, and Kelsie at dinner for my 21st birthday!

We listened to some music at the Palace and had a bunch of drinks and shots of course! Since we know all the bartenders we stayed past closing and hung out for a bit. After that we walked over to Doyles and had a couple shots there as well- (I’m not sure whose idea tequila shots at two in the morning was but somehow even with that the next morning wasn’t too brutal.)

We headed home around three and I was dreading having to get up for work this morning but it actually wasn’t too bad considering. It also helped that I really didn’t do much at work, haha, but more on my last week in a later blog.

Now I can’t wait to get home and continue my birthday celebration with my family and friends!! I guess in the end I realize now that I get the best of both worlds- turning 21 while in Europe and then coming home a week later to celebrate with everyone back in Chicago!! Can’t wait!]]> Wed, 22 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=7310 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=78028 0 53.3330556 -6.2488889

The cafe we had crepes at our first morning in Paris!

The café was right by Notre Dame so that’s where we started off our day.

The doors at Notre Dame.

Standing in front of Notre Dame- one of our first stops of the morning.

After Notre Dame we walked around a bit as we made our way over to the Louvre.

The main entrance to the Louvre... down through the glass pyramid.

Kelsie, Lindsay, Ellie, and Me at a fountain at the Louvre.

We took some pictures of the museum and the girls then seemed satisfied to go to our next location. I couldn’t believe they didn’t want to go inside! I may have passed on Notre Dame but I wasn’t about to pass up on the Louvre- it was one of the main things I wanted to see in Paris!! So I told the girls they could do whatever they liked but I was going to spend sometime in the museum, at least a couple hours. “A couple hours?!” It was sort of funny how much shock they had at my wanting to spend time in the museum… but I am a history major, right? It was 11:45 so I said I was going to stay until about 1:30 and then grab lunch. Ellie said she wanted to see the Mona Lisa so her and I went into the museum while Kelsie and Lindsay went off on their own for a bit.

Two hours was not nearly enough time to see it all- which I knew it wouldn’t be! But I got to see the main highlights of what interested me. Ellie was great because all she really cared about was seeing the Mona Lisa so she let me direct us through the museum to the areas I was interested in.

I got to see the Venus de Milo, which was amazing of course!

Venus de Milo... at the Louvre.

On the ceiling in one of the rooms at the Louvre- amazing!

The coronation crown worn by King Louis XV.

Probably my favorite room in the Louvre- gold was everywhere!! Literally floor to ceiling (and including the ceiling too!) so beautiful!

Of course our next stop was the Mona Lisa!!!

Lots of people in the room with the Mona Lisa.

The Mona Lisa!! So much smaller than I realized, hmm...

After the Louvre we met back up with Lindsay and Kelsie and made our way to the Eiffel Tower.

Notice the Eiffel Tower in the back!

No explanation should be needed. :-P

At the base of the Eiffel Tower.

Kelsie, Lindsay, and Me... the background should need no explanation, haha

The Eiffel Tower at night (though with the flash it doesn't look like it).

Ellie, Kelsie, Lindsay, and Me at the top of the Eiffel Tower!!

The night ended rather early, around 1am; I figured I should take it a bit easy given that I’m still trying to get over this ‘pneumonia’ bug! All in all it was a pretty great weekend and I’m glad I had the chance to go to Paris. I was telling my parents though that it’s not really a place I’d be interested in visiting for a long period of time. I wouldn’t take a trip to Europe just to go there like I would to Germany or Italy. Instead if I ever head back to Europe I may take a couple days and go to Paris in between wherever else I visit so I can spend more time at the Louvre and see more of the sights. But really, I wouldn’t be interested in more than three days or so.

I’m also happy to report that the French weren’t nearly as mean to us Americans as everyone said they would be. We actually met quite a few nice Frenchmen that helped us out along the way. That had actually been something I was worried about because I didn’t want to deal with that rudeness, but luckily we didn’t have to!

It’s hard to believe this is my last week in Dublin, I’m going to be so sad to say goodbye to it on Saturday! (Even though I’m stoked to see my family and friends back home!) I’m especially excited to be able to celebrate my 21st birthday at home with my friends next week. Even though my real birthday is tomorrow I feel like it’s going to be rather anti-climactic and I’m pretty sad that I can’t spend it with my family and friends back home. I guess I’ll just have to settle for celebrating it twice: once in Ireland and once back home in Chicago!
]]> Mon, 20 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=7310 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=77287 0 48.8666667 2.3333333 After the dust started to bother me though I worked with Leona on topping up the IMS jars. Which basically means we poured a preservation solution into all the jars with specimens in them, such as the fish. At first I was really grossed out by having to look at all these gross fish while I refilled the jars but after a while I realized I’d grown used to it.

Another day I worked with Leona and Rebecca as we switched out the insect traps they have all throughout Beggars Bush… fun. Really though it wasn’t too bad because it was another experience where I was really opened up to the little tasks that have to be done to make the museum work and really to keep the specimens safe. Leona explained the importance of monitoring the insects and bugs in the museum and storage facilities because infestations of certain bugs can cause a lot of damage to the specimens. It was something I had never given much thought to but once she mentioned it I really began to think about the kind of damage that could be done if this type of care wasn’t taken.

The beginning of the week was pretty hard on my breathing with all the dust we were working with but I thought it was just allergies so I didn’t worry about it too much. But by Tuesday afternoon my breathing was pretty bad and I hadn’t even been working with dust for a while. I wound up leaving work after lunch and went home so I could get some rest. When I still felt bad on Wednesday I decided to go to the doctor in the morning and just head into work late. And what did I find out? I have the beginnings of pneumonia! Of course, only me. First strep throat and now pnemonia?!

I went back to work after visiting the doctor and the first thing my boss said to me when he saw me was, “Go home.” Apparently I looked as bad as I felt. I told him that I didn’t want to because I felt bad that I’d already missed two days from strep. But when he asked what the doctor said and I had to reply ‘pneumonia’ it really wasn’t up for discussion anymore. In fact he even gave me a ride back to campus, which was so much better than having to take the bus! I was going to go in yesterday but he suggested that I take another day of rest and just come back Monday (since we don’t work on Fridays.) Again I told him I felt bad for having already missed work because of my strep, but like he said, there’s not much you can do about being sick!

I slept basically allll day yesterday, which meant I felt the teeniest bit better today. But still my wheezing was pretty bad so I went back to the doctor- especially since I’m going to Paris tonight!! The doc basically said that my lungs don’t sound worse but they also don’t sound better so she put me on some more meds. She said Paris will be okay I just have to take it easy and go to a doctor out there if my lungs get bad, but I think I can make it through the weekend- at least I hope I can! Lol. We leave tonight at 8 and I’m supppper excited! Look for my next blog about my trip with lots of pics!!

(Oh and Nigel sent Blair and me an e-mail earlier today to tell us he read our signage report and found it very good and also very useful. He asked that we send him an electronic copy of it so he can make some suggestions and then sign off on it. He plans to submit it to the ‘front of house’ group that will be meeting in August! I was so excited to hear this because one of my worries was that the project would just wind up on somebody’s desk and not be valuable to the museum. Instead it looks like its at least being taken seriously and hopefully some of our suggestions will even be implemented at Collins Barracks!)

((Double oh- I guess I have a lot to say for this blog- but anyway I had my final for my class today so the class portion of the trip is at least over. I think it went pretty well, in fact I think it went really well- oy, I hope I didn’t just jinx it! I was a little worried because with being sick and all I didn’t have a lot of time to study. But it was just two essays we had to write and I think I did a pretty good job with both of them so I guess we’ll see. Okay, done now… off to Paris! hehe))
]]> Fri, 17 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=7310 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=77281 0 53.3330556 -6.2488889

My new tattoo!

Kelsie and Lindsay had been talking all summer about getting a tattoo so I told them I’d go with and get one also. I didn’t talk about it much throughout the summer though because I was set on what I was getting and where I was getting it. (Where as they talked non-stop about it trying to decide where to put it and what to get.) So I think they were actually a little surprised when I actually got mine since I didn’t talk about it much but that’s only because I was so sure about it.

I kept joking with them all summer that I’d be the only one to leave the tattoo parlor with a tattoo… and I was. lol. They both backed out when they couldn’t decide exactly what they wanted, which I guess is the best thing to do. With something as permanent as a tattoo you sort of have to be sure about it! Lol (Oh and the neck, definitely hurt worse than my wrist or ankle for those wondering. But still, it wasn’t too bad considering.)

A couple different people had told me that tattoos in Ireland are expensive (like everything else here I suppose) so I was trying to decide what my spending limit would be. I decided I would go up to 120 euro (about $170), which I’ll admit was still probably way too much but oh well. That’s what the guy at the tattoo place told me it would be so I figured I would splurge (I’m only in Ireland for this whole summer once, right?). But when I went to pay he only charged me 80 euro (about $110) so it really wasn’t much more than I probably would’ve paid in the states. And now I can say I got it in Ireland! hehe

Anyway Saturday night we went out for Jahna’s birthday and ate at this great Lebanese Restaurant, since she’s Lebanese herself.

Jahna and her brother, Saade, on Jahna's 21st!

Jahna had been in the restaurant once before so they knew her there and knew it was her birthday. We asked for the check but still hadn’t gotten it after a while.

Jahna being surprised on her 21st birthday by yet more delicious treats from the waiter... and 'Happy Birthday' over the restaurant loud speakers! haha

At the Lebanese restaurant for Jahna's 21st birthday!

After dinner we wound up going to the thai restaurant I went to for Rory’s birthday on Thursday. Jahna knew the owners there (she really is one of those girls that makes friends everywhere she goes, I love it!) and so we went to have a few drinks at their bar. We each ordered a couple cocktails that were delicious! And what made them even more delicious was that they were on the house! Considering they were 10 euro (nearly $15!) cocktails we saved quite a bit! Lol We ended the night at the Palace Bar, one of Jahna’s favorite pubs in the city. Jahna knows all the bartenders there really well (of course!) so we stayed past closing and had some drinks.

Sunday was one of the final games for Gaelic Football so we went back to the Palace Bar to watch the Dubs play during the afternoon. (We won of course!) Before that though Jahna and I stopped off at Cassidy’s (another favorite pub) and watched the first half of the game while we had some lunch, which was a lot of fun.

After the game Jahna, Meghan, and I walked around the city for a bit while we waited for Saade to meet up with us (he went rock climbing at one of the local colleges for the day). We grabbed some dinner and then headed back to Palace Bar to finish off our night. I got tired pretty early though so Saade and I headed back to campus around 1a before everyone else. Considering I had work this morning I didn’t want to stay out too late and make it too brutal of a day (all in all work wasn’t too bad though!).

This weekend was actually probably one of my favorites of the trip! Obviously it was great finally getting the tattoo I’ve wanted for so long but I also just had a really great time for Jahna’s birthday. Sitting down for such a nice meal was a lot of fun too and Sunday was a blast. Next weekend we head to Paris, which I’m sure will be amazing as well! Then the weekend after that I’m home… how crazy is that?!
]]> Mon, 13 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=7310 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=77278 0 53.3330556 -6.2488889 We got to spend most of our week over at the storage facility at Beggars Bush, which was great because we hadn’t been able to do a lot of work there before. The first two days I worked with the new intern, Rory, as we re-shelved the small library that’s held there. Although there wasn’t a whole lot of educational value that went into this task I still really enjoyed it.

The library in Beggars Bush that Rory and I reshelved.

Having some fun while re-shelving the library... "Who ya gonna call?" "Bookbusters!"

She’s also from the United States (a small school in Maryland) and also an educational history major so we already had a lot in common. I told her all about my trip to Dachau last weekend and since she’s also a history education major she understood what I was talking about when I started discussing how I could use that experience of mine in a classroom. It was just nice getting to talk to someone that was on the same ‘level’ as me. She had also visited the camp when she was much younger so we got to compare and contrast our visits, each occurring at such different times of our lives.

I also got to spend some time cleaning bones this week! I felt like I was an archaeologist from Jurassic Park or something, haha. Sitting there in my white lab coat, with my gloves and dust mask… and of course my paintbrush for wiping away the dust! Rory and I worked on a skeleton together that we originally thought was a dolphin, then someone said it was some type of big cat (puma, lion, or tiger), it was later changed to a deer and we finally found out it was a seal!

Working on cleaning Bubba Odysseus.

Blair and I also took this week to finish up our report on the signage problems at the History Museum- I don’t remember if I talked about it in previous blogs. But anyway it was basically just a report on what problems we found with signage in relation to the ease of navigation at the museum and what we thought could be done to remedy the situation. It came out great and with all the appendices and results wound up being ten pages! I’m actually rather proud of it, haha. We were even able to add graphs by using the data we complied from some visitor surveys we did- it looked quite spiffy if I do say so myself.

Last night was Rory’s twenty-first birthday so I went out with her and a bunch of her friends to this great thai restaurant. (First time having thai and it was yummy!) It was a really cool atmosphere and the food there was great! I actually only ordered an appetizer because the food was kind of expensive. But then one of Rory’s friends realized the meal he’d ordered had shrimp in it, which he’s deathly allergic to, so I told him I’d switch if he wanted to. So it was actually a pretty sweet deal- I got a main course for an appetizer price, hehe.

After dinner we went to a pub called The Porterhouse and had a few drinks there. I couldn’t really afford to stay out too late since I had a quiz this morning in class (which went okay I guess). It was kind of funny because one of Rory’s friends wanted to go home after dinner because he had to be up early. Well we convinced him to come to the Porterhouse with us for an hour then when Rory and I were leaving at one he still wanted to stay out! He said since he was out he was going to stay until closing, which was at 3! We gave him a hard time since he was the one that hadn’t wanted to go in the first place but he said it was all or nothing and now that he went out he was staying until 3… because that makes a lot of sense! Haha

It was cool getting to hang out with a group of kids that aren’t the normal people I’ve been hanging out with these past six weeks (even though I love hanging out with all of them.) Some of Rory’s group were from Seattle, others from Ohio, and a few from Rory’s school in Maryland. Overall it was just a really fun night! Jahna’s twenty-first birthday is tomorrow so I’m sure we’ll be out late for that and having tons of fun!! Stay tuned…
]]> Fri, 10 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=7310 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=77181 0 53.3330556 -6.2488889 Words can never express the depth of emotion I felt on Saturday morning when I took a trip to that small town in Germany, to that camp…

Amy, Lindsay, and Kelsie wanted to take a tour of some castle in the Alps (apparently it’s the one Walt Disney based his Sleeping Beauty castle off of). Although this sounded like fun we only had limited time in Munich and I didn’t fancy spending four hours on a train to go see some castle (it was two hours both ways just to get there and back!) Also, I was interested in visiting Dachau, especially given my background in history and particular interest in World War II.

Amy had found an all-English guided tour that brought us from the train station in Munich to Dachau and then gave us a guided tour of the camp- overall the tour was over five hours! Though it was only about a ten-minute train ride to Dachau and then another ten-minute bus ride. So the three other girls went to look at a castle and I went to see where Hitler’s “final solution” truly began.

In the days leading up to my tour I spent some time trying to mentally prepare myself for what I would see and feel once at the camp. As we took the short train ride to the camp I prepared myself for the rush of tears I was sure would come once I stepped foot in the camp… once the true emotion of what happened there hit me. Our tour guide immediately pointed out how the camp is just off the main road of Dachau- He posed the question, “Did the locals know the camp was here?” “Yes, they couldn’t have missed it.” But he also explained how well the Nazi propaganda had led the locals to believe it was something completely different from what it was. How the SS Soldiers had actually invited them to see the camp as they set up mach portrayals of the camp, basically using the prisoners as actors. Still I had to wonder- did these townspeople really not know what was going on there?

The original building that served as the main entrance into the concentration camp.

I expected to step through those gates and immediately burst into tears… but I didn’t. In fact though there were times when I cried some, there was never a point where I really bawled like I honestly expected to. At first I didn’t understand… How could this not affect me- am I that cold a person, why am I not crying?

One of the statues in the Museum that is at the site.

We walked through the gates and entered the prison and I suddenly became very aware of the ground I was walking on… because I suddenly began to think of all the prisoners who had walked on that same ground.

The main square of the camp where roll call was taken every day. The camp was originally built for 4-5,000 prisoners, by the time of it's liberation it held nearly 40,000 men.

There were originally about thirty barracks but after liberation they were knocked down. When the camp became a memorial they rebuilt a set of barracks to show the visitors what they were like. They actually did a good job of showing the transformation of the camp from 1933 as a prison for political prisoners to the full-blown concentration camp it was by 1945. The barracks were set up so that each room represented a different period of the camp’s time.

At the beginning the barrack rooms actually provided a lot of space for the prisoners with about fifty men in each room... by the end 500 were crammed into this same sized room.

By the end the barrack rooms that were supposed to house 50 men now held over 500.

After the barracks we were taken to the prison cells in which there were about 140 in a row. Before heading into that building though we stopped in an alleyway type of space between what used to be the main building of the camp and the prison cells.

The courtyard between the main building and the prisons... the place where punishments and executions were carried out.

The prison cells at the camp. Used mainly for punishment and then to house "high profile" prisoners.

Illuminations they put on walls of certain prison cells with quotes from survivors. "Around two o'clock in the morning the key rattles in the lock of the first cell door at the other end of the corridor. We're all awake at once. The unlocked metallic f

After seeing the prison cells we watched a twenty-minute movie about the camp that basically relayed everything our tour guide had told us but this time with actual footage and pictures from the camp. In this darkened theater is where I cried for the first time. After the movie we took about a half hour to spend in the memorial’s museum, which was set up in what used to be the camp’s main building.

It was actually very emotional being at the camp on Fourth of July- obviously such a notable day back home in America. As our tour guide mentioned the camp’s liberation by U.S. troops, and as I read about it in the museum, I was never more proud to be an American. Yes, we were not the only ones fighting in the war. Yes, it was not solely us who made the liberation possible. But yes, it was American troops who walked through the camp’s gates in 1945 to bring liberation to the camp that had been open for twelve years. Standing in the museum, reading about the camp’s liberation and first-hand accounts from both the liberators and the prisoners being liberated, I began to cry again.

After visiting the museum our guide spent some time discussing the camp’s actual memorial.

The memorial: the statue in the middle is to represent the twisted bodies of the dead, the pillars represent the fence that kept them imprisoned in the camp, the gravel in front represents where the prisoners had to go each day for roll call.

Part of the memorial- the sign reads "Never Again" in five different languages. This is the main theme throughout the memorial.

The colors of all the different triangles represent the different countries present in the camp, they're connected to represent the solidarity between the prisoners, the chain that links the three circles together represents their imprisonment in the camp

We then walked down the long road that used to house all the barracks to the back of the camp. The walk only took us three, maybe five minutes.

The walk from the last barracks to the front where roll call took place each day. For us it was a simple three minute walk- now imagine being starved and sick and having to complete this walk...

At the end of the camp are four different memorials. One for the Catholics, one for the Jewish, one for the Russian Orthodox, and one for the Protestants.

The protestant memorial at Dachau. The architect purposely avoided right angels because he said the prisoners constantly had to live in that rigid 'right angle' atmosphere.

Our tour guide showed us a re-creation done of the security measures on the camp.

A re-creation of the 'security measures' at the camp. If any person stepped on the grass they were immediately shot from the guard tower- many stepped onto the grass as an act of suicide.

The last part of the tour was by far the hardest. We walked over a small bridge that went over a small stream of water and it was so peaceful you almost forgot where you were for a minute. Then you continued walking and you hit the sign: “Krematorium.” Right, I remember now.

We saw the old crematoriums first, the one’s held in a small shed that only had two.

The 'new' crematorium that was built after there were too many bodies for the original crematorium.

Our guide explained how the gas chambers worked- he showed us where the chemicals were put in and where the soldiers looked through to see if everyone had been killed.

The mechanics behind the gas chamber. Some claim the gas chamber was never used at Dachau, however others believe this is unlikely.

The gas chamber at Dachau- I literally thought I was going to be physically sick upon entering this room. By far the saddest, hardest part of the tour.

I walked to the next room, the room where the dead bodies were brought after being in the gas chamber. I walked past that to the ‘new’ crematoriums and then I walked to the final room where bodies were piled when there were too may to be burned. The sick feeling, though not as intense, came back.

Our tour guide explained that after liberating the camp the U.S. troops were so angry at the local townspeople for allowing this to happen that they brought them to the camp to see the bodies. During the film we saw the locals being brought into this same room where bodies were piled in the corners- the look of pure shock and horror as they left that room was a sight I will never forget. I feel as though every person who leaves that room has that same look in some very small way.

Men in the barracks at the time of their liberation by U.S. forces.

A few years ago they decided to dig up the mass graves that lay behind the camp in an effort to identify the bodies. Between the two mass graves there were nearly 7,500 bodies- only 200 could be identified.

As I left the concentration camp I knew that those five hours spent within its walls would leave me changed forever. I looked at the pictures I took and tried to think how I could use this experience in my future classrooms. I tired to think how I could explain my experience here, how I could make others understand and I realized I couldn’t because even I don’t understand. Even now I don’t believe the full depth of everything I saw and felt at the camp has hit me, I’m not sure it ever fully will or ever fully can.

I left the camp proud to be an American, proud of our soldiers who liberated the camp sixty-four years ago. I left the camp thinking of those 30,000, 41,000, 120,000, people we were too late to save.

Liberated April 29, 1945; Memorial dedicated May 3, 1992. Bless those who liberated this camp and those who we were not able to save.

I also left the camp ashamed, ashamed to be a world citizen who allowed such an atrocity to occur. I left the camp thinking of those 30,000, 41,000, 120,000, people we were too late to save and I prayed it would never happen again. Then I thought of the atrocities currently happening in the world and I wondered if we would ever learn from our past…
]]> Mon, 06 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=7310 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=75380 0 48.2666667 11.4333333 We had to leave for the airport pretty early because our flight to Germany left around 9:30. We flew into a small town called Memmingen about an hour and a half outside of Munich. When we landed I think we all had the same obvious realization- ‘F! We don’t speak their language!’ Luckily enough people at the airport spoke English that we were able to find out the best way to Munich was a train and somehow me managed to get to the train station and get a ticket to Munich.

Amy showing off her German coke on the train from the Memmingen Airport (which has a whole four terminals!) to Munich.

Our good start went downhill, however, after we arrived in Munich and it was pouring rain. And I’m not just talking rain here; I’m talking crazy loud thunder and huge streaks of lightening with torrential downpour rain. Luckily we found another English speaking person and found our way to the tram that would get us to our hotel.

Amy, Kelsie, and Lindsay as we head to the center of Munich for our first night out.

Finally we made it to our hotel and our first order of business was dinner! We ate at the hotel’s restaurant where we all ordered pizza. Yes, we flew thousands of miles to Germany to eat pizza- but it happened to be the menus cheapest and also sounded the yummiest! For dessert though we got Bavarian apple strudel, which was a.m.a.z.i.n.g. It made me laugh because whenever we go to the German restaurant in Disney World about the only ‘German food’ I like is their apple strudel! This actually turned out to be the only ‘German’ food I ate during the trip, not counting their soft-baked pretzels that seem to be very popular (though I’m not sure that actually counts as ‘German’ food, but yummy all the same!)

Where should we go next?!

Amy and Me on the way into the Munich city centre for our first night out.

Munich's town hall.

In the gardens of the Residential Palace area.

At the Hofbräuhaus in Munich!

I'm on the right ten minutes after getting my beer, Kelsie is on the left!

What happened to my beer?! I just got it ten minutes ago!

It turned out they were from Austria and I forgot their names once they said them since I couldn’t even begin to pronounce them! We had a good time talking to them especially once we stopped being frustrated by them having their side conversations in German. We realized we were basically doing the same with our English since they couldn’t understand us when we talked fast to one another. It was amusing though because every once in a while we’d be talking and they’d have to stop and say, “Wait, how do you say [insert German word here> in English?” as they were trying to explain something to us.

One of the streets in Munich.

At a fountain in Munich.

After the beer garden closed the guys wanted to go out for aonther drink, which Kelsie and I were completely up for.

Outside the Residential Museum (I think, hehe).

By Tuesday I was feeling a little bit better but I worried that if I went to work I would push myself and just feel sicker the next day. So instead I gave myself another day of rest and watched “Pride and Prejudice” for about the billionth time… yeah, it was rough!

It was sooo annoying being sick though because here I am in beautiful Ireland, stuck inside with strep throat! And of course both Monday and Tuesday were gorgeous outside!! Plus by that point I’d really been cooped up inside since Saturday so I was actually pretty glad to get out of the house and make it to work Wednesday. The weather wasn’t as nice out yesterday but I wore a dress anyway- I’ll be damned if I’m gonna be stuck in jeans and a t-shirt my first day out in four days! Hehe.

After work on Wednesday I went to the pub with some coworkers because one of them was actually leaving the museum and it was her last day. I actually had a fun time and talked with Alice (the adorable English girl I may have mentioned before). She’s moving to Chicago at the end of October so I had a blast talking to her about that. We also actually got into a really good conversation too about Pearl Harbor, 9/11, and the London subway attacks too- random, I know. But it started with my discussing wanting to be a history teacher and my interest in WWII and somehow it just evolved into this really great discussion.

Today Blair and I went back to the museum at Collin’s Barracks to finish working on our signage project. Unfortunately my two-day absence has put us a bit behind so we’ll probably need to work on it next week as well. Luckily my boss is really understanding and was fine with it.

Here’s where it really started to suck though… remember my museum stalker? Well heee’sss baaaccckkk. Crap.

I had told Blair about him before and how he would just magically appear in front of me when I swore he was in a different part of the museum. She didn’t believe me until she saw it for herself! We were in one of the exhibits when he came up to me and exclaimed, “I’ve met you before!!” Yes, yes unfortunately he had. Luckily Blair realized he was my ‘stalker’ and she got me out of the situation pretty quickly. But then two seconds later we turned the corner and suddenly he was in front of us again! Finally Blair understood what I meant when I said he would come out of nowhere. We had to work the rest of the day to avoid him and luckily we were rather successful. Now I just have to hope I don’t see him again next week when we’re back at Collin’s Barracks!!

Well it’s getting late and I leave for GERAMNY tomorrow so I should end by update here! So excited to be heading to Munich. Though my sister brought up a great point when she reminded me I don’t like German food: “Kelly, you’re going to starve.” Crap. Well I’m sure I’ll be able to find something that I like… hopefully!

(Oh and can I just add… it’s JULY?!?! How the hell did that happen!?)
]]> Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=7310 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=75249 0 53.3330556 -6.2488889 Friday night I went out with Jahna and Meghan down to City Centre where we went to a bunch of bars. We started off at a place called Palace Bar that Jahna and Meghan go to ridiculously often and then went to some club that was filled with mainly all gay guys! Apparently this weekend was a bunch of gay pride parades and all the gay guys decided to go to this one club! Haha. Well Jahna decided to get a martini and we were sitting at the bar when this one very gay guy walked past us with a feather boa… Jahna looked at him and told him he looked fabulous (which he did)! So he proceeded to stop and buy us all drinks! We all did jaggerbombs and then talked for a bit. He gave me his feather boa too, which I was pretty stoked about! It’s the color of the Irish flag (Green, White, and Orange) and will be a great (free!) souvenir to bring home!

In order to get into that club you had to let them put two streaks of red face paint on your cheek. Whatev! We didn’t really care but then after the 'gay' club we went to another bar that looked cool and were told they were “too classy” a bar for face paint. Seriously?! A 'classy' Irish Pub- isn’t that an oxymoron!? But again, not a big deal, we just moved on to the next pub! Hehe

We wound up at the Stag’s Head but they were closed. Luckily, Jahna is our sweet talker and she got the bartenders to give us a bottle of beer. We stayed there for a bit and talked to the bartenders as they closed up, and they actually wound up giving us a couple of free beers so it worked out well!

On our way to the next pub we ran into two guys from America and one of them was from Chicago! It turns out he’s from the Barrington / Schaumburg area!! Small world!! We talked to them for a bit and then headed to Doyle’s to hang out there, plus I think Jahna wanted to dance a bit. Around this point Meghan had gone home and it was just Jahna and me. We wound up meeting two Irish girls there and went back to their apartment for a couple of drinks, which was a lot of fun. It’s amazing how friendly the Irish are! We hung out there for a bit and then finally got back to campus around 5am… yeah, it was a looong night! But so much fun… until the next morning that is!

I counted it up when I was talking with my mom and it turns out I had eleven (!) drinks Friday night… luckily I only paid for about three of them so little harm came to my wallet. But I woke up Saturday extremely sick! I’ll save you the gross details but in the words of my dad, I spent most of the morning ‘praying to the porcelain god.’

I assumed I was just hungover but at the same time found this odd because normally I can hold my liquor and rarely actually get sick from it! Plus I didn’t have any other hangover symptoms, like a headache or anything. It wasn’t until about 7pm last night when I was still feeling sick that I began to realize something must be wrong. I began to notice that my throat was hurting really bad, which again I had just put off to being hungover and sick. But once I looked in the mirror I realized I had strep throat! I went to a clinic that night, which only confirmed what I already knew!

Unfortunately the pharmacies were already closed so I had to wait until this morning to be able to go and get my meds. Of course if I had realized earlier in the day that I was sick and not hungover I probably could have caught it sooner… but oh well! I was just glad to know that I can still hold my liquor after all! ;-)

I’m going to take tomorrow off of work because I’m still contagious and don’t want to get any of my coworkers sick. Also I don’t want to push myself too hard and just make it worse, missing one day certainly won’t kill me! I was just glad that the strep came this weekend and not next weekend when I’ll be in Germany! Oh, have I mentioned that yet? I’m going to Munich, Germany next weekend, which should be TONS of funs!! I’ll make sure to take lots of pics and update my blog once I get back… Hopefully I’ll be feeling much better by then!

Still though being sick in a foreign country so far from home certainly isn't the greatest thing in the world! Whenever I'm sick it obviously just makes me miss my parents and family even more, especially my dad! You know when you get to that point of being sick where you should eat something or it's just going to make you more sick (about the point I'm at now) but you don't want to because it either hurts to eat (owie, my throat!) or you're afraid it will make you more sick? Well I don't know how he does it but whenever I get to this point my dad is the only person that can ever get me to eat something! It's like a talent, hehe. My mom will tell me over and over that I need to eat something or I'm just going to get more sick and I never listen because I'm too busy thinking about how sick I currently feel. But somehow my dad will start talking to me and before I know it I'm eating the scrambled eggs he's made for me. Yummy, scrambled eggs! Anytime I'm sick and away from home all I wish is that my dad was there to make me scrambled eggs! Or when I got my wisdom teeth pulled a few winters ago and I wouldn't eat anything- my dad made me mashed potatoes I think three times a day for a week! My dad makes the best mashed potatoes!!

Anyway, being out on my own means that being sick on my own is just one of the many things I have to manage through... Like I said, hopefully I'll be feeling much better soon! Until then, I'll just imagine the mashed potatoes I'm eating were made by my dad (even though I know if that were true they'd taste much better!)
]]> Sun, 28 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=7310 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=73832 0 53.3330556 -6.2488889 So we talked with Nigel and now Blair and I are going to be heading up a type of focus group. Mainly we’re going to be going to the main Museum at Collins Barracks where we’re going to walk through it and see how ‘user-friendly’ it is, particularly in regards to signage and navigation.

We headed over there Wednesday and it was kind of cool because Blair walked through the whole museum trying to find all the different exhibits only asking people for directions and ignoring all signage. I, on the other hand, walked through the museum trying to navigate with only signage and a floor plan and wasn’t allowed to ask anyone for directions. This allowed us to assess how easy it would be for a map-illiterate person to walk through the museum versus the ease for someone who may not speak English and thus must go strictly off the map.

It was actually frustrating at times because I found there were some exhibits I couldn't easily find, and all the maps seemed to have incomplete data and contradict each other. At one point I was standing at a point where two walls meet and on each of the walls was a floor plan map and then I also had a floor plan in my hand- and all three of the maps said something different!

We later found out many of the map troubles- such as the floor plan and wall maps being different, and certain exhibits not being on the map at all- were due to lack of funds. I found out the floor plan I was using was over two years old! Which meant it didn’t have many of the recent exhibits the museum had opened.

So now it’s our job to try and figure out how the museum can make navigation easier when they don’t have the funds to do the easiest thing- which is print new maps! Next week we’re going to walk back through the museum and come up with a list of what we’re calling “cheap fixes.” Basically it will be simple things the museum can do to make navigation easier for its visitors. In some cases it’s as easy as printing out a laminated sign and posting it to the wall to give direction to an exhibit or whatnot.

Oh man, yesterday when we were walking through the museum I had a museum guard stalking me! Sooo creepy! I was on the third floor walking through the exhibits when I had this younger security guard come up to me and we had the oddest conversation as follows:

Him: Where are you from? (No hi or how are you- simply this blunt question!)
Me: America.
Him: What are you studying?
Me: History.
Him: What type of history?
Me: I don’t really have a focus yet, but mainly American history.
Him: Have you studied the Indians? (What is he talking about?!)
Me: Yes.

An awkward goodbye occurred and he went on his way. I continued walking through the third floor but ran into the same security guard in a different exhibit. So I’m walking past him to the doors to head to the next exhibit when he stops me…

Him: How long are you here for?
Me: Until the end of July. (At this point I’m trying to figure out why I keep answering truthfully!)
Him: That’s a long time. Are you studying here?
Me: Yes, at DCU.
Him: Oh. (Brief pause) I’m an artist (Okay, random!)

At this point I nod and smile and continue on my way. So I get into the hallway and breath a sigh of relief as I walk towards the next exhibit because at least now I know he’s behind me… or so I thought. I continue into the next exhibit and all of a sudden he’s standing in front of me! I honestly have no idea how he got there! I swear he should have still been in the room behind me… creepy! Once again he approaches me…

Him: I have a book launch here in July do you want to come? (What?)
Me: Um, when is it? (Why did I not just say ‘no’ and walk away?!)
Him: Sometime next month.
Me: Um, I don’t really know what I’ll be doing next month. It’s here?
Him: Yes, it’s at the museum. I’ll be here just come back.

I nod and smile, miss out on the rest of the exhibit and whatever else is on that floor, and then proceed to run down the stairs to the Café to meet Blair for lunch. And that is the story of my creepy museum stalker. I’m praying I don’t see him again while I’m working there these next few weeks- especially since I don’t want him to think I’m there to see him!!

We ended our week with the signage project I talked about above. The beginning of the week though we helped one of the museum workers (I can’t remember her name) catalogue… SPIDERS! Ick. Katie would have hated it! We had to open up their cases and lift up these huge, ugly spiders so we could put their information into the computer for later cataloguing. The woman asked if we would help her because she really hates spiders. I said they didn’t bother me as long as they were dead but once we got up there I realized those things were too creepy to deal with even if they had been dead for a hundred years!! Luckily Blair was less squeamish than me and she picked up any spiders that needed to be. The more we worked on them though the easier it was to deal with them. Still, all I could think about was how much my sister probably would’ve freaked out at them- Seriously, Katie, gross!

The beginning of the week was also a bit rough because I woke up Monday with a bad chest cold. Blair had strep throat last week so I’m really hoping I didn’t catch it from her! I went to the pharmacy though and got an over-the-counter decongestant to hopefully break up this cough before it gets too bad. Although I’d love to go out tonight I’m going to give myself one more night of rest and then I should be good for the weekend. I’m already feeling better from Monday so hopefully the meds I’ve been taking have been working!
]]> Thu, 25 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=7310 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=73831 0 53.3330556 -6.2488889
Welcome to Galway! Our original plan was to rent a car and drive, mainly for the sheer adventure of it. Of course, no car company in their right mind would actually rent a car to a bunch of 21 year-old American tourists so we were forced to go with Plan B and take a bus instead. (Much less fun!!)

When we got there we took an hour bus tour of Galway- because the three hours we’d just spent on a bus from Dublin apparently wasn’t enough for us! Hehe.

Eyre Park- the center of Galway City.

One of the many cathedrals in Galway.

"St. Mary's College"- An all boys secondary school... freaking huge!

Since we knew we wouldn’t be able to make it to Sligo this morning we figured there was really no reason to stay overnight in Galway because there wasn’t anything we were going to do there during the day today.

Galway Bay

It was still really early though at this point- only about 7pm. But we hung out there for a while and had some drinks and eventually the place got busier and we were able to mingle with some other people. We met one group that was there for their friend’s birthday and we talked to them for a while. Ellie and I talked mostly to Connor, who was the birthday boy, and his friend Kyle who was adorable. At some point in the night they left though and I joined Jahna in talking with this guy Paul.

Well Paul decided that he really wanted to go dancing and he wanted us to go to a nightclub with him (even though I repeatedly told him I don’t dance! Haha). Jahna and I kept trying to explain that we had all are bags so it wouldn’t really work. So he suggested putting our bags in his car while we went to the club. Okay, can you say shady!?

At the end of the night in Galway as we get our things from Paul's car! haha

So the five of us that went to Galway put our stuff in Paul’s car and then went to a local nightclub- Central Park I think was the name, or “CP” as they called it. Haha. We actually had a pretty good time there and I even danced! Shocking, I know! I think as long as the place is dark, really crowded, and I’m with friends then I actually don’t mind dancing because I feel a little less self-conscious about it. I think it’s more when we’re just hanging out in a bar and there’s only a little bit of dancing going on where I feel really uncomfortable!

Claddaugh (like the ring!)- an area by Galway Bay close to the center of Galway City.

Well anyway, we didn’t stay at the club very long and then we went to Paul’s car and got our stuff. He stayed at the club so we just got our stuff from his car and left the keys in the front seat for him! Haha. We had some time to grab some food then- greasy fast food is always the best when sobering up! Then we took a 3:45am bus back to Dublin.

The bus ride back was actually great, I basically fell asleep the minute I sat down and when I woke up it was suddenly three hours later and we were in Dublin. We caught a cab ride back home (the buses weren’t even running yet) and then I collapsed in my bed and got some more sleep. I could probably easily still be sleeping right now but I purposely made myself get up after a couple hours or I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight. I’m hoping I still will be able to!

The Galway group in front of Galway Bay (L-R: Ellie, Me, Kelsie, Jahna, Lindsay)

]]> Sun, 21 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=7310 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=72477 0 53.2719444 -9.0488889 Twice while we were working with Nigel the Museum's fire alarms went off so we had to exit the building for obvious safety reasons. One of the times when we exited Alice came with us. Alice is this adorable women, probably mid-twenties, from England. She came to Ireland about a year and a half ago and is actually moving to CHICAGO at the end of the summer with her boyfriend who's going to be working at the planetarium. Anyway, were all standing outside and in her adorable accent Alice looks at the building and says: "Is the building really on fire? Because that would be a shame." Haha, too cute! Luckily the building wasn't on fire! but the alarms did take up about ten minutes each from our work day!

Tuesday was a lot of fun because Nigel took us to the museum at Collin’s Barracks for a meeting they were having there. About ten of the “bosses” got together to walk through the museum and look at the signage- what worked well, what was confusing, what was too wordy, what had too many colors. We spent over an hour just looking at the signage and only made it through two areas of the Museum. It was really nice though because they also asked Blair’s and mine opinion so we were really able to contribute to the meeting!

Blair was sick on Wednesday with strep throat so it was just me and Nigel for the day. We went back to Collin’s Barracks where they were hosting a school class that had one some kind of contest, which gave them a day in the museum. It was fun to get to see Nigel and some of the other people work with this group of ten year olds. I could really tell that Nigel had his own children and grandchildren because he worked with them so well. Matthew, the museum geologist, on the other hand was obvious that he didn’t often work with kids! Still though, he did a really good job with them. Katherine was also there and she’s the head of the Museum’s educational programs so obviously she worked great with them also!

It was funny because once I spoke they could obviously tell I wasn’t Irish. At lunch I saw a bunch of girls whispering around their table and then finally one of them came up to me and asked if was American. I said yes and she skittered back to her group where they whispered some more. Than another girl came up and asked where I was from. Once they realized I was open to asking questions about seven or eight of them came running up to me asking me all sorts of things. It was actually a lot of fun- they were so adorable!

We spent most of the conversation talking about the differences in our language. Such as the Irish calling it “toilets” while we call them “bathrooms.” The kids were really perceptive too and noticed things that I had missed. For instance, they always call stores “shops” while we often say “store” – I’m heading to the grocery store.

Our day ended around two-thirty and Nigel knew I had class that evening and normally left early anyway so instead of having me head back to the Natural History Museum for an hour and a half he just let me go home, which was really nice. This gave me some time to catch a nap- the only problem, however, was that I woke up from my wonderful nap with a wonderfully awful migraine!

Class was pretty brutal and I had to force myself to make it through the first half of class, which was the lecture portion. Luckily the second half was watching a movie and when Caroline (our lecturer) saw how sick I looked she told me to just go home and get some rest.

I was hoping to knock my headache out overnight but I woke up this morning to find it was still there! I forced myself to go to work but we were cataloguing all day and looking at a computer screen for hours on end wasn’t exactly conducive to getting rid of my migraine. I actually wound up leaving for the day around one and came home to nap. My headache’s probably a little bit better but I’m definitely not heading down to City Centre tonight! It’s just so annoying because obviously I don’t want to be cooped up inside when I’m here in freaking Ireland!!

I have class tomorrow morning but no internship, which is good. I’m hoping one more good night of sleep will be enough to knock this headache out for good so I can at least go out tomorrow night and enjoy my weekend! Here’s hopin’!

]]> Thu, 18 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=7310 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=72136 0 53.3330556 -6.2488889 I should probably note that things never really go according to plan for us, which meant we never did actually make it to Galway! Haha. It turns out the tour we booked went to Cork instead of Galway (though I still say they had it listed wrong on their website!) In the end it didn’t really matter since Cork was also a place we wanted to visit at some point… plus this mean we got to kiss the Blarney Stone! I guess you should be worried- now that I officially have the “gift of gab” this blog could go on forever!!

Well we woke up the next morning completely awake and refreshed! Okay, that’s a lie. Let me rephrase. Well we woke up the next morning to a freaking bright room all suffering from too much sleep and a major hangover! Yes, that’s more accurate. I did actually have to wake up around 4am though to let the rest of the group in because we only had one key to the hostel’s main door, which Meghan and I had taken when we headed home early. So the girls called my cell phone and after about the third ring it finally woke me up and I very sleepily made my way down the stairs to let them in. The more I though about it I was kind of annoyed that we had to leave the pub early the night before. But I knew if I had been in Meghan’s position I would have appreciated someone leaving early with me, so in the end I know it was the right thing to do. And lord knows there will be other nights out in the pub!

So that was my first hangover of the trip so I guess I should at least be proud that I was able to go that long without getting one. It really wasn’t too bad, just a bit of a headache. And once I was able to get a bit more sleep on the bus I felt much better!

We visited a couple different places yesterday- the first was a waterfall in Killarney, which was beautiful!

Waterfall in Killarney area.

At a waterfall in the Killarney area.

After the waterfall we had about an hour and a half drive to Cork, which was a perfect time for us to grab a nap and really hammer out that hangover! At Cork we visited Blarney Castle where we got to kiss the Blarney Stone! Yes ladies and gents that means exactly what you’re currently terrified of- I now officially have the gift of gab!!

At an entrance to some cellar areas / small rooms of Blarney Castle.

Blarney Castle- home of the Blarney Stone.

For those of you that don’t know, kissing the stone is a bit of a feat in itself.

At the top of Blarney Castle where you kiss the Blarney Stone.

Blarney Castle- come get your gift of gab!

After the stone we had some time to grab lunch in town so we went to a little café and all got breakfast. Most of the group got the traditional Irish breakfast but I went for some traditional pancakes and eggs instead… sooo good!

We actually had pretty good weather for most of the trip, and although the rain came down pretty good at times it always happened to be when we were in the bus travelling to our next destination, so all in all we were pretty lucky!

After Cork we made our way back to Dublin and were supposed to stop at two rocks along the way (see, we already hit the waterfall and the stone, now it was time for the two rocks). We stopped at the side of the road to get a picture of the Rock of Cashel, which is where the kings of Munster County sat for hundreds of years.

The Rock of Cashel- where the Kings of Munster used to sit.

Even though we’d only been gone for one night it felt like we had been gone for days (!) and it felt great to get into my comfortable bed! I went to bed about nine and so I was able to get lots of rest after our great weekend!

]]> Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=7310 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=72135 0 51.8986111 -8.4958333 Throughout the summer there are three school-sponsored trips that you can go on that will take you throughout Ireland. One to the North, West, and South (and then we live in the east!) The problem is they’re 200 Euro each and my friends and I knew we could do the same thing but cheaper! So that’s what we decided to do!

At the burren. (L-R: Amy, Lindsay, Kelsie, Me, Jahna, Meghan, Ellie).

Our bus driver was great! And he told some great, funny stories throughout the day that kept us laughing. One of the first places we went on our tour was The Burren,

Standing out on a rock at The Burren.

Ellie standing out on a rock ledge at The Burren.

At some point in the day we switched bus drivers and moved onto a smaller bus for the overnight portion of the trip. Here we picked up a new bus driver and were now on a small bus with only about seven other people (plus the seven from our own group).

Meghan and Jahna at The Burren

After switching buses we headed to the Cliffs of Moher, which were absolutely amazing!

At the Cliffs of Moher.

Amy and me at the Cliffs of Moher.

Sitting at the Cliffs of Moher.

Oops- we must've missed the sign! :-O

The whole while I was up there all I could think was how beautiful it was… and how much my dad and grandma would have hated it! We were sooo far up and when you look over the edge it’s just a straight shot down to the rocky waters. Dad might have been able to make it took look out a bit, but I’m not sure Gran-mi-ma would have made it as far up as we did!

We headed to our hostel after visiting the Cliffs of Moher, which for a hostel actually wasn’t too bad. It was in the town of Killarney, which was a pretty small town with most of the main pubs and shops on just one little road. Five of us were able to stay together in one room at the hostel and then Kelsey and Lindsay staying in a different room with three other people from the tour. The only downside was that their hot water wasn’t working so they could only put it on for an hour at night and an hour in the morning. Which mean very cold showers! Us smart ones just decided to shower when we got home the next day- but Meghan and Jahna braved the cold water and we could literally hear them screaming the whole while they showered! No thanks!

That night the fourteen of us from the tour met at a local pub for dinner, along with our bus driver. It was nice because the tour we used (Paddywagon Tours) goes there often so we actually got a deal on our drinks! Always a plus! After dinner then our driver took us to another local pub to hear traditional Irish music and then at 11 a live band came on.

This second pub was actually a lot of fun. We also wound up running into three (!) different bachelor parties! We love our bachelor parties because it’s a whole group of guys out looking to have fun… it meshes well with our whole group of girls out looking to have fun! Hehe. Oh but I forgot, here they’re not called bachelor parties they’re called “Stagdoos” because the bachelor is a “stag.” We learned that from our first stagdoo way back in our first week- remember that? Oh, good times!

While we were there Kelsie caught the eye of someone but was having a bit of trouble breaking the ice! He’d come over to talk to us for a bit but then the conversation sort of broke off. So when I saw him and his friend were up at the bar I pulled Kelsie up there to get them talking. It turns out I’m actually a pretty good wingman, hehe! I got the conversation going and then sort of passed him off to Kelsie so they could talk as I talked to his friend. He turned out to be Scottish and though he was adorable, there was something about his accent that actually made him less cute to me when he talked! Haha…. I guess I prefer those Irish accents. Anyway, he turned out to be not so exciting after we actually talked to him so we moved on to other people throughout the night… though I did get a free drink out of them!

I spent the rest of the night with Meghan talking to a guy named Shane; he was also with a stagdoo! We had a good time but at one point he said he had to ask my age, even though you’re never supposed to ask a woman that, and I think he was a little unnerved to find that I was only twenty-one… he was twenty-nine. Oh well.

I actually wound up having to leave the pub early because I went to the bathroom at some point and when I came back Meghan was somehow about to punch the “stag” from the party, who had been bothering her all night. I didn’t want to leave because I was still having fun talking to Shane but you gotta put your girls before your boys, ya know? So I got her the heck out of there and we headed back to the hostel a bit before everyone else.

The bed was the most uncomfortable thing in the world… but by the time I hit it at past 2am- and with too many drinks and shots in me to name- it basically felt like the best thing in the world!

]]> Mon, 15 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=7310 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=72133 0 52.05 -9.5166667
In front of the castles door in Malahide. We started off the day with class from 10a-1p where we had a quiz- it was pretty basic and I got a ten out of ten on it! Then we took the Dart (the local train) north to Malahide to spend some time in their town there. We went on a walk to a local castle there that was beautiful. On the way to the castle though we got a little distracted by a playground we found! Yes, a playgound! And it was seriously the coolest one ever! Hehe. It had a HUGE slide

Lindsay going down the slide at the park in Malahide.

Fun swinging, cable, contraption thingy! hehe

The park was great- it was as though we had all suddenly turned five years old again! We were all joking around that here we were, a bunch of twenty year olds, on their way to a castle but getting distracted by a park instead!

Oh to be five again!

Well we finally did turn back into grown ups and we made out way to the castle.

A castle at Malahide.

Yeah no big deal- just me chillin' in front of the castle! hehe

Lions, and Tigers, and Bears... oh my!

The beach at Malahide.

Tomorrow we’re heading to Galway for a two-day trip that I’m uber-excited about. The only downside is that the bus leaves at 7am so we have to leave the apartment by 6! Oy, I think the only thing that’s making us all feel better is the thought of sleeping on the bus! Well since I have to be up early tomorrow I guess I’ll cut this blog short!

In front of the castle at Malahide. (L-R: Ellie, Amy, Me, Lindsay, Kelsie, Jahna, Meghan).

]]> Fri, 12 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=7310 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=71529 0 53.4508333 -6.1544444 First we went to the Museum of History at the Collin’s Barracks and got to see some of the “behind the scenes” stuff. The Museum is always closed on Mondays so we got to see a lot of the internal work that goes on. We went past the conservation room and saw them repairing some old furniture, and then saw the small Natural History exhibit they had there (since the main Natural History Museum is closed) and met some of the people who are working on cataloguing all the Museum’s specimens.

Next we went to one of their storage facilities, which is massive! There are so many boxes of specimens and artifacts there that Nigel (the Keeper) told us some of the crates that they acquired as far back as the 1960s still haven’t even been opened! Crazy! It was amazing to realize that the “small” amount of artifacts and specimens the Museum has on display is really only one small portion of all that they really have.

We got to see one area where they were working on cleaning different bones they had gotten and a store room that was filled with animal bones, such as huge antlers and whale ribs and what not. I don’t think I ever mentioned too that when I went in for my interview and took a tour of the Natural History Museum I got to see some of Charles Darwin’s actual collections that he himself gathered and labeled and then donated to the Museum. I LOVE working in a place that has so much amazing history! Even the building itself holds tons of history with it being over 150 years old.

Tuesday we worked a little bit in the galleries helping to catalogue specimens. It was amazing- we were opening cases and handling specimens that literally hadn’t been touched in a hundred years! Then we closed up the cases that probably won’t be opened again for another hundred years! It’s just amazing for me to look at some rare coral specimen and see the record number on the side of it’s base, knowing that I was the one who placed that label there! Hehe.

We also had an opportunity Tuesday to take a tour of the Archaeological Museum, which is just down the street from the Natural History Museum. I was actually a little disappointed in this Museum- I had been so excited because I’ve always been interested in archaeology, but I was actually a little bored with it. Plus the tour wasn’t very good. Instead of giving a tour of the expanse of the museum they really just focused on ten or so key items and really went in depth with them. I would have rather the tour been highlighting more items and not going as in depth.

All my coworkers are really nice and really good at including us in on tea breaks and whatnot. Oh, that’s the other thing I love! The Irish LOVE their tea breaks! Which means not only do I get an hour lunch, but also a half-hour tea break around 11a- it really helps to break up the day. They’re all really chill and relaxed here too. We were asking how long our lunch break is and they said they at least take a half hour, but normally an hour or two! Then they said if we ever wanted to take a three-hour break or something to go have lunch with a friend in town then that would be fine! The other day we all went to the café in the Archaeological Museum and had an hour tea break! Hehe

By the way, when I keep saying “we” I mean Blair and I. I’m not sure if I mentioned before that there’s another girl from the BU/Dublin program who is also interning at the Natural History Museum with me. But Blair doesn’t actually go to BU but some small liberal arts college in North Carolina (?). It’s kind of nice having someone else there with me as we experience all these new things together.

Wednesday and Thursday were much less eventful as we basically spent the entire day cataloguing and archiving old museum correspondence. This is fun for the first couple hours, but then gets pretty boring after that. I’m currently working with the correspondence between 1966 and 1970. So what I’m basically doing is reading all the letters that were sent to and from the museum during this time period and then writing up the key information (date, sender, receiver, letter summary) in an excel spreadsheet. Nigel says the point is basically so if some family member of a contributor ever comes and wants to get a specimen back that their great-grandfather or whatever gave to the Museum, we can easily find the correspondence showing the grandfather actually donated, not lent, the specimen to the Museum.

A lot of what we read is people wanting different things identified though, or scientists looking to borrow different specimens for their research. Some of them are pretty interesting though- I got to read one letter from Charles Darwin’s great-grandson! My favorite by far though is the person who sent in a spider asking for it to be identified. The Museum proceeded to send him a letter back saying they couldn’t identify it given that it was actually a fake ‘joke’ spider from a toy store! Haha. I laughed pretty hard at that one! Imagine how stupid that guy must have felt when he got that response back!

After work on Thursday Nigel said we’d be working on some different things next week to help diversify the day a bit- so hopefully next week will have a bit more variety!
]]> Thu, 11 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=7310 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=71346 0 53.3330556 -6.2488889 Today, I really just want to lay around- do some reading, writing, maybe watch a movie. Everyone is always so shocked when you say you just want to relax and not go out- “But you’re in Ireland!!!” Yes, and I’ll be in Ireland for another seven weeks! Lol.

Ellie and Jahna at the racetrack.

At the racetracks.

We went to Captain America’s after that, haha, and got some drinks and dessert. Then we made our way to Cassidy’s where we met up with a bunch of other people. They have a really great acoustic guitarist there and we spent most of the night listening and talking with him.

Jahna and the Hugh Heffner wannabe at Cassidy's

Dancing at Cassidy's

Yesterday we went to Glendalough, which used to be a monastery. It was a monastery about 1400 years ago! And I think was one for about 900 years.

The Round Tower at Glendalough- one of the tallest in Ireland!

There’s also a cemetery there with graves ranging from 1400 years ago (!) to today!

The cemetery at Glendalough- some graves are 1400 years old!

The cemetery and cathedral at Glendalough.

This is a picture of the monastery’s cathedral.

The cathedral of Glendalough's monastery.

"Inside" the cathedral of Glendalough's monastery.

"St. Kevin's Kitchen" - really it's a church though but was originally misnamed!

Looking down at the lake at Glendalough.

Beautiful waterfall at Glendalough- little dark because my flash wasn't cooperating.

Pretty stream in Glendalough.

Looking down at the monastery from a couple miles up.

(Oh and our good weather has finally left us- the cold came in yesterday, and the rains began today. Welcome to Ireland!)

]]> Sat, 06 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=7310 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=69621 0 53.0109619749617 -6.32632255554199