Week One: The Grass is Greener

Did everyone have the most stressful couple days leading up to their departures?! After my car getting towed, delaying my flight because of my lack of a passport and visa, and almost having to cancel my trip all together, I am finally in Dublin. If you get to know me at all over these next few weeks, which I hope you do, you might start to figure out that I am not a nature lover. By that I mean I prefer a street over a trail and air conditioning over wind. So why did I choose to spend 5 weeks in a city filled with green landscapes? While I still might be trying to figure that out, the simple answer is that when else will I ever be able to.

So after a frustrating journey to Ireland I have now been here for just over a week. During the cab ride to the apartment I was surprised by the lack of green in the city of Dublin. Instead of hills and well, nature, I found myself driving through a city filled with cobble stone streets, coffee shops and pubs. So many pubs. While Dublin is an urban environment for the country of Ireland it is very different from what we know to be considered urban.


Street in Dublin @lexieberg



After spending time in Ireland, or the correct term, The Republic of Ireland, the school took us to Northern Ireland which is part of The United Kingdom. Here is where I came across the typical green landscapes that I had been expecting to see. As the locals say, "the grass is greener on the other side of the border." Stopping in Belfast, Derry and Donegal via bus, we were given a true scenic and historical tour of multiple cities. Cities that look straight off a postcard.

 Slieve League Cliffs @lexieberg

 

As previously mentioned, I have pretty strong feelings towards nature and having to hike miles to be able to see such incredible views. So while I did hike to the top of almost every hill, below is a more realistic photo of me sitting and enjoying the view rather than hiking it. Basically I was living up to every Europeans idea of Americans being lazy. But hey, I am still hoping I can blame it on the jetlag. My hope is to have a different outlook on such activities by the time I leave so I will keep everyone posted and photograph my progress along the way!

 

 Slieve League Cliffs @lexieberg

Northern Ireland vs. The Republic of Ireland

I 've been in Dublin for a few weeks now, and it just keeps getting better! In my classes we are learning about the cultural, economic, and political history of this country. The history of a country may sound boring, but it is actually very interesting. The majority of my classmates are either irish-­american descendants or outsiders. Which was very interesting when everyone found out that the island of Ireland was split up into two parts. The shorten version of the historical reason is because the United Kingdom wanted to conquer the land and became greedy. The United Kingdom of Great Britain is composed of multiple countries: England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. For those who knew I was struggling to get my student visa to participate in this dual program (Dublin + London). Now it is clear why Ireland/The Republic is not part of the United Kingdom, and why I needed a student visa to study in both countries! FYI, don't go to into the Irish customs saying you are  staying in the "UK" for ten weeks. Funniest mistake I made, but a great story to tell. All the anxiety is gone, even though I received my visa on the day of my flight.

The Republic of Ireland:This is where the major cities of Ireland are located: Dublin, Cork, and Limerick. It is considered the free state, since Northern Ireland is still under UK rule. Below are images of the museums, cathedrals, nature and Guinness factory.  Sadly I'm not fond of a pint of Guinness, even if it is fresh, it just a heavy beer! I'm a total fangirl over this Irish cider called Bulmer, which is called Magners outside of Ireland & Northern Ireland. The Cliff of Howth was the first excursion I went on in Ireland (more info). One particular museum (National Museum of Ireland: Decorative Arts & History) has great historical significance, since it was part of the Irish Military Barracks (Click Video).Northern Ireland:As I mentioned that this portion of Ireland is still under UK rule, we learned about the conflicts between Catholics vs. Protestant, and the Republic vs. North.  Northern Ireland is full of history, and going to the places made the learning experience come full circle. Surprisingly, the Titanic was constructed in Belfast, but aside from that occurrence the city of Belfast is still a split city divided between catholics and protestants. One of my classes is called peace & conflict, and surprisingly we also have to blog about Ireland's conflicts. Here is the link to my other blog which talks more about the conflicts (Click Here). Northern Ireland has the best natural phenomenons I ever seen! Just a few places to check out if you are ever in Northern Ireland: Giant's Causeway & Carrick-A-Rede Rope Bridge.