Wow, I have been so busy. Since the last week in September, my schedule has been as follows: a week-long travel break, cramming a month of work into two weeks, and repeat. It’s awesome that my program gives us three weeks off to travel, but boy is it stressful. There really isn’t any room for procrastination. Anyways, I need to highlight my trip to Dublin and Belfast with my Core Class!

Day 1

The first day was a little rough because we had to be at the airport by 6:10 on a Sunday morning. For many, this meant two hours of sleep even if their plans didn’t include gallivanting around the city. Our flight to Dublin was a little rough, but I somehow managed to sleep for most of it. After arriving in Dublin, we dropped our bags at the hotel and went to lunch, where I experienced a traditional ulster fry for the first time at The Winding Stair. YUM. We spent the rest of the day on a walking tour of Dublin with a local historian and learned to Irish dance.

Did you know: The harp is the emblem of the Republic of Ireland. Guinness trademarked the harp symbol in 1876. Therefore, the harp used by the government is facing in the opposite direction.

Okay, let’s have a little conversation about walking tours. DIS loves walking tours. I’m surprised our classes aren’t in the form of one giant walking tour. Expect more walking tours.

Day 2

We had to wake up way too early, but this day marks the introduction of the best breakfast buffet I’ve ever had.

After breakfast we headed to a lecture about Irish identity and their obsession with the past with Dr. Katherine O’Callaghan. We spent the time analyzing James Joyce’s works, trying to gain insight into the cultural act of remembrance. The premise of our trip was to get a closer look at the Troubles in Northern Ireland, so it was quite interesting to apply these lessons to the learning process.

Later that day we went to the Google Headquarters, where we, of course, toured the freethinking work environment and got a speech about how Google can change the world. I was definitely impressed with the facilities, but not necessarily with the content. We met with two Danish contacts that work within advertising, so this may have been the issue.

That night we had a delicious dinner at Gallagher’s Boxty House and went on a “musical pub crawl” which I am just realizing is called something else on the itinerary––Traditional Irish Music Walking Tour. DIS is always so quick to call something a walking tour.

Did I just write an academic report? Ugh.

To Be Continued …