Tag Archives: dungarvan

Leaving the Leprechauns

It feels like I’ve been in Ireland forever and a day at the same time.

In reality, it’s been nine weeks.

All of the schoolwork, tours, and activities kept me in the moment.

It wil be weird not walking by the old friary every morning on my way to class after picking up my morning coffee from JitterBeans.

I will miss walking by the harbor on my way to classes when I had extra time and taking evening strolls to watch the tides and sunsets.

Although I didn’t go out a lot, I will miss the pub atmospheres. I will miss knowing the bartenders and them knowing me. I will miss the comradery of the entire town.

I will miss the old stone buildings and churches. I will even miss what’s found in them.

I will miss the small shops owned and operated by unique people.

I will miss Dungarvan’s lively art scene as proved by the Storytelling Southeast Festival.

I will miss be able to adventure throughout Europe with my friends.

And, lastly, I will miss having such a lovely place to take pictures and grow as an individual.

Thank you for everything, Dungarvan.

My last night there, I had no wake.

I will return again someday.

Bonjour!

The evening before we left for Paris was wet, but had lovely light.

This prepared us for the rain and misadventures that my journey with my friends Brittany, Alex, and Allison would bring.

As we were preparing to land, our plane got stuck in a thunder and lightening storm. We tried multiple times to land and we ended up arriving a half an hour late. Since we landed in Paris Beauvis, it was easy to get out of and the bathrooms even had pink toilet paper.

Unfortunately, the delay and miscommunications caused our car service not to show up, so we ended up having to catch a bus to a station. There, we tried to catch a taxi, but we didn’t have the address, only the name, and the drivers couldn’t find the address once we gave it to them.

We arrived late at our hostel in Noisey Le Sec and had a cool room on the top floor. We left early Friday morning for the Louve, where we spent a lot longer than we had planned to, but enjoyed every minute of it. Even getting lost for hours at a time.

I found the views overlooking the city just as gorgeous as some of the art.

After the Lourve, we went to Notre Dame.

The fall views outside the church overlooking the river kept me looking in every direction for another breathtaking view.

 

Outside the church there were thousands of birds and people feeding them. The expressions of joy definitely worth stopping and watching.

Inside Notre Dame, there were countless candles. These were ones that popped out to me:

After the church, we took a short train ride to the Eiffel Tower.

We arrived just before sunset, which turned out to be perfect, because we saw the lights turning on and sparkling, which made the experience magical.

Here, my friends Alex an Brittany pose in front of the tower.

The next day, we visited Arch de Triumph, followed by hanging out in the tourist area. After some shopping, we found our way to what we think was the capital building as well as a science museum.

Although there were a lot of mishaps in Paris, I’m glad that I got to see the city and that the photos say otherwise.

Au revoir!

Dye Dungarvan Pink

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

To kick it off, the Mercyhurst University Ireland study abroad class coordinated with the Dungarvan town council and schools to dye the park fountain pink.

On the far left is Carmel Keith, a breast cancer survivor. Next to her is a local school teacher, followed by Mercyhurst class representative Larae, and another local teacher.

Here, Larae laughs with the teachers.

In the next one, a local girl smiles during conversation.

Lastly, Mercyhurst student Clair prepares to leave the event on bicycle.

Lastly, I encourage you to join efforts to raise money for cancer research and remember in your community.

Midterm Update

I had an amazing day!

We started with classes in the morning, followed by the tour of a church and graveyard on a hill, with rich history, called St. Mary’s.

Then, my class toured Nemeton TV studio, which makes movies and broadcasts all Irish. We viewed a film they made called Kennedy’s Cadets about the Irish guards JFK loved and who served at his funeral.

After the tour, we stopped for tea and coffee at a local boarding school called St. Agostine’s, where all classes and interactions happen in Irish.

The building was haunting yet lovely in the evening light.

Below, my friend Allison poses with her cup of tea.

As we walked in, students greeted us in Irish (one even nodded with his best American accent and said “Sup?”

While we were drinking, I took my camera to the window to take pictures and was surprised to find that students were curiously looking and smiling.

I cannot stop starring at this photo of three girls:

Here, my classmates pose outside on the lawn.

After tea, the headmaster gave us a tour of the area and we visited a famine cemetery, which was extremely solemn and moving.

Here are my classmates Clair and Chelsea posing at the harbor.

Below them, our bus driver John O’Brien waits for us to finish our history lesson.

Our day ended at the Marine Bar in Dungarvan with professors, guides, and classmates eating Mutton and potato stew. There, the owner played a set of songs and told about time time Brad Pitt visited when he was staying at a nearby castle. This was followed my friends taking over the microphone and the owner accompanying them on guitar.

Cheers!

I’m Studying Abroad!

This term, I’m studying abroad with my school in Ireland- more specifically Dungarvan- which is in County Waterford between Dublin and Cork.

Here I am on the harbor located right outside of the downtown.

Like I’ve seen in the movies and heard about, Ireland has tons of green fields and old castles and buildings.

There’s not many old buildings in San Francisco, since they get destroyed and burnt down during earthquakes, so this I’m always fascinated by the stone structures.

Another interesting aspect of the area is that there is a river with a harbor. Before the bridges were built, people had to wait until low tide to cross the water. If you look out at the right time of day, you can see boats in the middle of water sitting on silt islands.

The people here are all friendly and my school coordinates with a local named Tom that is our tourguide through the surrounding areas. The staff at the coffee chain, Bagel Bar, already know me and my order. Even places I visit every day back home haven’t learned mine yet.

As an introduction to the area (and to keep us awake long enough to set our sleep schedules), school had us spend the day after our flight at Kilkenny Castle.

Below are shots that I took right outside of the castle in the gardens, looking out into the nearby town.

I’m anticipating all of the adventures around Ireland and other European countries, which school has planned and we’re allowed to go out on our own for the weekends.

But I can’t forget that I am on a study abroad trip.

This term, I am taking European Literature and Film and Sociology at the Mercyhurst University building in Dungarvan, as well as taking a bus with my classmates to the Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) once a week for Irish Language, Culture, and History.

On our second visit to WIT, Cadbury visited campus. They had clowns riding around on all sorts of unique machines and handing out chocolate. Here is a picture of their bug that was parked outside one of the main buildings.

Anyway, I’ll leave you with more pictures from my new home.

Until next time,
Katie