Traveling around Ireland

Ireland, the emerald island. A place that rains 90% of the year making the green landscape visible in space. Where lamb run free around rock walls that date back to the late B.C. era. A place where I lived for about 6 weeks studying international marketing and Irish pop culture. Learning new Irish culture every place I visited.

I decided to break down my adventures in important geographic locations in Ireland, kind of like a location-based narrative that I mentioned in my last blog post. So sit back, read, and enjoy how I learned to be an honorary Ireland native.

1) Dublin, Ireland: My home and classroom. This is where I spent the majority of my weeks in Ireland, living in an apartment with three other girls navigating our way through bustling

River Liffey, separating the North and South sides of Dublin

streets and swapping notes over Shepard's Pie. Where my morning commute began with a freshly squeezed orange juice and scone from Manning's Bakery & Cafe and ended with my classroom located in the heart of Dublin's City Centre. My apartment was located right across the street from the Guinness Storehouse and right next to the Guinness Distillery. Some nights when the wind was strong, the smell of the bitter hops filled my apartment from the opened windows.

2) County Cork: The big college town of Ireland, with the University College Cork right in the center of the southern city Cork, with their open and green campus, this is the hottest

Kissing the Blarney Stone

university of Ireland for students looking for a fun and relaxed learning environment. This is also the place where the Blarney Castle sits, waiting for you to kiss the Blarney Stone to see if you have the gift of eloquence (spoiler alert: everybody has it, they will not let you fall to your death if you "don't"). Walking around the grounds of the Blarney Castle is probably my favorite thing to do in Ireland.

3) Galway, Ireland: Another college town, also the town where you will find the most Irish speaking natives. Irish (or like most Americans call it "Gaelic") is listed as the primary language in Ireland, but only certain areas around Ireland really speak it fluently, you'll find that most people just speak English. But Galway is mostly recognized by the

The Galway Bay leading out to the Atlantic Ocean

British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran when he released a single called "Galway Girl". And the place where my roommates and I sang with locals down Quay Street.

4) Belfast, Northern Ireland: Now if you want a town full of history and conflict, Belfast is the place you need to put on your itinerary. I came to Ireland with no plans on going to Belfast, but found myself there one day. I learned more in this day in Belfast than I did in my classroom in Dublin. Now I'm not knocking my classes in Dublin, but I will say that learning about the conflicts in Belfast should be mandatory in American

Painted moral in Belfast about the Conflict

classrooms. The stories of hatred and sacrifice in these people (which is still going on till this day) is so educational. 10/10 highly recommend a trip to Belfast.