Category: 2021-22

With my semester abroad coming to an end, I figured I shouldn’t leave without exploring more of the country that has hosted me the past four months. So for one last hurrah, I took a trip up north. I ended up in Belfast, Northern Ireland; technically Ireland and yet, encompassed by the United Kingdom. 

I traveled to Belfast by bus and it took around five hours. As soon as I arrived I started exploring the city. I came across the Salmon of Knowledge, the Beacon of Hope, City Hall, and a popular outdoor mall downtown. 

Once again, I eventually met up with Jakob who was on his last leg of traveling for his spring break. We had two full days to explore Northern Ireland, and half a day to spend in the city before making the trek back to Galway. 

We spent the first day hiking at the Giant’s Causeway, a World Heritage Site. This is a famous tourist attraction known for its green, scenic cliffs and irregular stones. Legend has it that the causeway was formed by two fighting giants! 

After exploring the area and missing our bus, we decided to walk to Dunluce Castle. This castle is known as the most scenic castle in Northern Ireland. You have to pay a small fee in order to gain access and walk through it, but we opted to take in the view from the hillside. 

The next day, we set out to hike in the Mourne Mountains. We ended up choosing a route that would lead us to the summit of two mountains. The hiking was beautiful, scenic and grew more strenuous with each mile. We summited Slieve Commedagh first after a tiresome uphill battle. We celebrated our summit with a lunch break at the top, looking out across the ocean.

The clouds came in as we hiked back down, which left us debating whether or not to hike the second mountain, Slieve Donard. This particular mountain happens to be the tallest mountain in Northern Ireland, and while only a couple hundred feet taller than the last, the title itself made it seem more daunting. 

Once we reached the base, we ultimately decided we had to hike it since you can’t come face to face with the tallest mountain of a region and not climb it! 

It was chilly at the top and the view was cluttered by clouds and fog, but of course it was still worth it. From there we hiked all the way back down and explored the little town beneath the mountains until our bus picked us up to return to Belfast.

We spent our last day walking around Belfast on a self guided tour. We saw Queen’s University, the Botanic Gardens and visited the Ulster Museum. By dinner time, we were on a bus back to Galway.

Overall, we had a super fun time in Belfast and I’m glad I was able to see more of the island I have been lucky enough to call home. 

Best,

Laney Green

 

Hello from Galway, Ireland! 

This month we have been focusing our time on our final essays for our classes, but since it is also our last full month in Ireland, we have been going out to explore as much as possible. County Galway is actually a really vast area to explore with lots of cool history and nature around us. Our classes this semester focused a lot of the archeological background and sites of medieval Ireland, and since we have been hearing about these places in our lectures, we wanted to go out and see them for ourselves. We recently visited Clifden and took a beautiful hike to Clifden castle.

One thing that turns people away from exploring around Ireland is the weather. It can be extremely windy, cold, and rainy even in the springtime. Whenever we have taken our trips, we have usually been given really nice weather, or we have planned for days when it was supposed to be nice out. When we took our trip to Clifden, it was misty, gray, and cold outside but we decided to go anyway. We found the experience with the weather to be even more delightful, and so incredibly Irish.

We took a bus to Clifden in the early afternoon and about an hour later we arrived. The castle was about a 40-minute walk away from where the bus dropped us off. When walking to the castle we saw lots of really cute cows, donkeys, and sheep.

The Irish landscapes looked beautiful in the gray mist, and the green hills reminded me a lot of Oregon. The castle itself was an amazing experience. Because we came on such a gray day, we were some of the only people at the site.

We were able to walk through the old structure and look at the stone walls, and rooms up close. The castle was taken over by vines and the earth around it which gave an amazing effect of man-made structures mixed with natural beauty.

After exploring the castle for a couple of hours, and taking lots of pictures, we headed back into town by the sea. The day was so perfect for a walk by the stormy ocean.

We grabbed dinner at an amazing restaurant and caught the bus back to our apartment. It felt really nice to be able to take a break from finals and look closer at the sites we were studying. 

Best,
Isabel Brown 

If you’re curious about how students studying abroad are able to pick up and jet off to dreamy destinations on a whim, I’ll fill you in on how it’s all possible.

Flights around Europe, once you’re already across the pond, are cheap. And I don’t mean a couple hundred dollars cheap. We’re talking only 14 euro if you can manage traveling with one backpack that fits under a plane seat. Accommodation is also very affordable if you book a hostel or split the cost of an Airbnb with travel partners.

With a two week break before finals officially commenced, I bought a ticket and packed a backpack. My first stop was in Nottingham, England to visit Jakob, another Linfield student who’s studying abroad. I was only there for two days before we both set off for a day trip to London. While the weather continuously shifted from blue skies to downpours, it didn’t stop us from catching sight of Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, the London Eye, Tower Bridge, and a city view from 35 floors up.

We spent the night in a hostel before catching a train to the airport at 4 AM for a flight to Croatia. The rest of our holiday was spent in Croatia between two cities, Split and Zadar.

Both cities were breathtaking in their own ways. The atmosphere in Split became especially magical as we watched the sun rise over the terra cotta roofs, and then disappear into the ocean as it set.

From both locations we took day trips and even ended up visiting three national parks! The first park we reached was Krka National Park, known and recognized by its impressive waterfall. This park was gorgeous and very family friendly, but lacked the hiking excitement we sought.

We also went to Plitvice National Park, an area filled with waterfalls and complemented by incredibly clear turquoise water. This park was also less adventurous than anticipated, but again, beautiful and accommodating. We were able to create more excitement by renting a paddle boat and exploring the area further by water!

The last park we visited was Paklenica National Park. This was my favorite park out of the three as it provided us with some great hiking! It was really fun to be immersed into the Croatian mountains, summit a peak, and look out across the whole mountain range.

The rest of our time was filled with a bit more hiking, a visit to Ugljan island by ferry, and just some quality time in each city amongst locals and other tourists.

Spending my holiday in Croatia was more fun than I could have hoped for, and I’m glad I took advantage of visiting while I live so close! 

Thanks for following along on my holiday abroad!

Best,
Laney Green

 

Hello from Galway, Ireland! 

April here has been focused on our finals since classes ended April 1st. One of the cool things about our classes here in Ireland is that you have a lot of time to prepare for finals after classes end, and for my classes specifically, I only have essay finals. Between writing our final papers we have been able to adventure more around Ireland in the last few weeks. We were able to start off the month with a beautiful hike pretty close to home. We went to Rosscahill woods about a 30-minute bus ride away from us.

The woods themselves were beautiful and we had a wonderful time exploring the forest full of mossy trees, cool rocks, butterflies, and amazing flowers.

Since it was a pretty secluded location, we ended up waiting for the bus back for hours in what felt like the middle of nowhere, but overall, it was still a beautiful hike that was worth the bus wait.

One of the cool things about studying abroad is that you get to volunteer in your new community. My roommates and I have been on the hunt for volunteering opportunities in Galway, and this month we were able to volunteer at two different places. At the first volunteering opportunity we helped to build a raft for terns in order for them to be studied on their migration paths.

The raft building was from a local conservation group, and it was wonderful to see the group gather to volunteer to help their environment. For our second volunteering opportunity this month Haley, Zell, and I signed up to help with the Cuirt International Festival of Literature here in Galway. The week of the festival we all had different time slots to help at a variety of really interesting events. I helped out venues holding chats with authors, poetry readings, meet and greats, and more.

We also helped to pass out flyers and spread the word about the festival to the people of Galway. This experience has been one of my favorite ways that I have been involved in Galway because it was such a fun week getting to come together with people who were passionate about literature and the arts to make something beautiful happen.

I met so many amazing people who were also volunteering for the festival and made lots of connections to people in the community. The coordinators of the festival also made sure that the volunteers got discounts at local places, free access to the events they were not helping with, and even hosted celebrations every night at a bar to say thanks for all the hard work.

I had a blast getting involved in the community more this month, and I can’t believe we are almost done with school now.  

Best, 

Isabel Brown 

My number one tip for anyone studying abroad is to take classes outside of your major. If you’re studying in a new country, why not take the opportunity to fill your head with some fascinating country specific knowledge to word vomit back to everyone in the states?

This is the approach I took when making class selections for my semester at NUI Galway. While three out of four of my classes are pretty random, I’m still able to get Linfield credit for them! So really, I’m having the most culturally enriching semester of my university career, and I’m still on track to graduate on time. 

With that being said, my favorite class this semester has been The Development of Castles in Medieval Ireland. Not only was it fun to attend lectures about castle history in Ireland, England, Wales and Scotland, but we got to go on a field trip as well! 

The field trip took all day and in total we visited three different castles: Pallas Tower House, Cloonburren Motte and Bailey, and Dunamase Castle. 

Pallas Tower House was our first castle of the day. It’s located about an hour away from campus in what appeared to be someone’s backyard. The castle was still in mint condition for having been built in the 15th and 16th century. It was accompanied by a bawn wall and the remains of a house. We were able to climb all the way to the roof of the five storey tower to enjoy the view. 

Our next stop was Cloonburren Motte and Bailey in County Roscommon. While surrounded by livestock, farm land, and the Shannon River, it is also positioned right behind someones house. 

Mottes are a unique type of castle as they appear as a hill or even just a lump in the ground. However, the height of a motte is what makes it a naturally defendable site. We were able to hike to the top and imagine what it may have been surrounded by back in the 13th century. 

Our last stop of the day was at Dunamase Castle, located east of Galway toward Dublin.

Dunamase was probably the least aesthetically pleasing in photos, but it was definitely the most impressive castle of the day. It’s the largest castle in Ireland which meant the entirety of it couldn’t be captured in a single picture. In person it was absolutely magical, especially since we explored it as the sun began to set.

Dunamase is positioned on a tall limestone outcrop and while in ruins, you can still tell this castle would have been just as impressive on the inside in its late 12th century heyday.

This field trip was something I’ve been looking forward to since I registered for classes in January. In the end, it lived up to my high expectations and was an amazing experience. 

In the next two weeks I plan to travel outside of Ireland during the break before finals. I’m really looking forward to visiting two new countries and sharing my experiences here. 

Best,
Laney Green

Hello from Galway, Ireland! 

March here has been a whirlwind of activity from everything like assignments, celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, a dance showcase, and many local adventures. When it came to celebrating St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland, I was a bit lost on what to do for the holiday. We asked our roommates from Ireland what the day usually consisted of, and they filled us in on all things Paddy’s Day. We started the day out by donning our green clothing and set out for the parade through the city center.

The Parade was packed with people celebrating and displayed a beautiful blend of cultures who had Irish pride. We got to see some traditional Irish musicians play on floats, folk dancing, and all of the cool clubs and businesses that participated in the parade as well. After the parade we headed to a place to grab a bite to eat before the night got busy and exciting.

Later that night we went out to a couple of different pubs to celebrate the holiday with drinks and dancing. This exciting day had everyone in a festive mood and allowed us to feel closer to Irish culture by getting in on the celebration.

Another fun thing that happened in March was the dance showcase. My roommates and I dance back at Linfield in the showcases that are put on every year, and this semester we were missing the feeling of being a part of something like that. Zell found that open classes were offered through NUIG, and we signed up right away. When we went to the classes, we found out that they were holding a showcase at the end of the four weeks. This month worked hard on learning our routines and participating in dance at NUIG.

I unfortunately was not able to perform due to an old injury acting up, but I was able to watch Zell and Haley perform in the showcase and have a wonderful time working with the other dance students. It was very cool to still be able to do something we love from Linfield while we were abroad.

Lately the weather around Galway has been wonderful, and we have been filling the days with walks to the beach and studying outdoors.

Finals are in our near future now, but we have had the best time this month in Galway.  

Best, 

Isabel Brown 

I survived Saint Patrick’s Day in Ireland! What I learned from the experience is that most Irish youth would describe St. Paddy’s Day as just a reason to drink all day. So truthfully, it wasn’t that much different from the celebrations in the states, except that I could partake. 

Most of my roommates went to spend the first half of the day in Dublin, but McCall and I opted to stay and enjoy the festivities that Galway had to offer. We started off the holiday by attending the annual parade in the city center. It was the first parade in two years due to the pandemic and we could definitely feel everyone’s excitement for its return buzzing all around us. 

A surprising amount of people were dressed up in green and sported fun, gimmicky props which made the day feel even more festive! As for the parade, it mostly consisted of marching musicians, youth sports teams and local advocacy groups. Overall, it was just exciting to people-watch both the parade participants and those in the surrounding crowd.

We continued celebrating later that day by hanging out at a pub and beer garden. McCall and I were joined by one of our roommates, Kieran, and also Gabbie and Nathan, two of my friends from the states who had arrived in Galway that day. We spent the rest of the night meeting and befriending locals, a few of whom have even studied abroad in California!

This past week I finished some of my classes and started working on my final essays; so crazy, I know! In my free time throughout the week I was also able to show Gabbie and Nathan around Galway. 

To cap off this month, I will be going on a class field trip to three different castles. I will highlight that trip and the castles we visit in my next blog! 

Best,

Laney Green

 

It feels like so much and so little has happened this month and it’s only and already the third week. I guess that’s the magic of Ireland, or just my inability to keep track of time while here. Either way, it’s already been quite the month and the main event (Saint Patrick’s Day) has not even happened yet. Nevertheless, I will take you through this month’s adventures so far.

The last weekend of February and the first week of March my family came to visit me. It was pretty crazy that all three of them made the trip out here and it was such a fun experience getting to show them around my new temporary home. I gave them a walking tour throughout Galway which included a trip to campus and the Salthill beach and diving board.

My parents rented a car for their time in Ireland, so we were able to drive to the countryside of Connemara and hike Diamond Hill. I have completed this hike once already with my roommates in the pouring rain, but this time around it was clear and sunny which made for an entirely different hiking experience. In comparison, I preferred the blue sky over the wind and rain, but the landscape is beautiful regardless.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Also within the first week of March McCall and I played for the NUIG Ladies Club team in the National League final. We went into double overtime and eventually penalty kicks before we came away with the trophy!  It was so fun playing soccer with such a welcoming group of women, and I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to be a part of a first place victory for our school.

Other than more school work and some local exploring around Galway, that pretty much sums up the first three weeks of March! I’ll be back to report on my full Irish St. Patrick’s Day experience soon. 

Best,

Laney Green

P.S. Mask restrictions have lifted here (as did Oregon’s soon after) and it is so weird! 

 

 

Hello from Galway, Ireland! 

This month we have been doing a lot more exploring around Ireland including a trip we took to Dublin for Zell’s 21st birthday. We were able to get a hotel room in Dublin and train tickets there to have a fun long weekend celebration. The first thing we did when we arrived in Dublin was check into our hotel.

After the hotel we headed straight to the museum of archaeology. We were delighted to find that the museums in Dublin are completely free, and we spent all the time we could exploring and learning about Ireland’s diverse archaeological background. It was cool to see the things we have been learning about in our Irish, medieval, and Viking archeology classes in person. We got to look at the famed bog bodies, Viking age materials, and many intricate pieces of jewelry among other artifacts.

We found a wonderful place to eat that night and then crashed at the hotel. The next day was Zell’s birthday, so we headed out to Dublin Zoo! The zoo was amazing, and it was well worth the hour walk to get there. There were many really cool animals, and we were blessed with great weather for our entire trip.

 After the zoo we headed to the art museum and wandered around until it closed for the day looking at artwork, furniture, and clothing from all around Europe.

We found a perfect place for birthday drinks, dinner, and dessert that night to end Zell’s 21st.

The next morning, we checked out of the hotel and visited Trinity college to see the book of Kells in all its glory. The library was stunning and seeing the book of Kells up close was a surreal experience.

After the library we took a long walk back to the train station where we read our books until it was time to board out train back to Galway. We had an amazing adventure packed weekend in Dublin, and we are already planning our next visit there for a concert we are seeing in April.  

Best, 

Isabel Brown 

 

Hello from Galway, Ireland! 

Yesterday my roommates and I traveled to Limerick, Ireland which was about an hour and a half on bus. We had decided to do some more exploring around Ireland because we have been spending a lot of time in Galway lately.

When we arrived in Limerick, we started by wandering around and seeing the adorable Saturday markets they had set up on some streets. Then we made our way to King John’s castle which was about a 30-minute walk from the bus station. We paid for student tickets to enter the castle and museum where we learned a lot about the history surrounding its building and life in the castle afterwards. We were also able to learn about Limerick’s history and the different occupants of the city.

The castle was extremely interactive and supplied many opportunities to get involved in learning about its history. There were areas where you could pretend to be one of the workers in Limerick and help to build the castle, games where you matched up shipping exports to their respective towns, and drawers you could pull out to look at recovered artifacts from excavation on the site.

The self-guided tour also allowed you to travel down under the museum to see the actual foundations of the castle. The tour then led up to areas where you could explore the turrets and main courtyard of the building, and this area had many fun games to play with your group.

There was horseshoe, tug of war, archery, see saws, and a part where you could go into an armory and dress in chainmail and helmets. We had lots of fun messing around with the games, and even got laughed at by a security guard watching us on the see saw.

After we tired ourselves out with the castle, we headed to some food carts and got some great food from local places. Then we were able to explore Limerick on foot and checked out some local shops, and I was able to buy an Irish tarot deck which is something I was looking to buy while visiting. After checking out the shops we headed back to the bus station to return to Galway.

We had a wonderful time checking out more of Ireland, and we hope to visit Limerick again to do more in the area.  

Best,
Isabel Brown