The Long Goodbye

Well, this is it. The end of this blog and the wrap up of this whole grand adventure. 32 weeks ago today was my first post and what an amazing 32 week it was. My mom told both my brother and I that would study abroad at some point and really the only choice was where. The experience of living in another country is unparalleled anywhere, and as corny as this may sound, I am a better person now. I'm not concerned about flying myself and going to new places and not freaking out about getting lost. I really do feel like much more of an independent person and now can lead, even if I have no clue what I am doing (Fake it until you make it, right?). Even while I was in Dublin, and more so now, I am telling people to go study abroad. I have told them how important it was to me and how much it can be.
The past month has been a very relaxing yet eventful summer vacation. There have been some extreme highs and some deep lows, but has been interesting all around. Even if this one month was my summer, I would not be too heart broken about it, but there are some things I still need to do.
I just want to quickly thank a few people, because without them this blog would not have been as excellent. Lynda and Noah from the study abroad off, Rob, Stephen, Lilly, my family (parents and brother), and all of you who took the time to read this blog, some of you I know, and some I don't. I hope it was enjoyable and worth your time. For now, I don't see myself returning to blog world, but it was a learning experience while it lasted.

Love and Peace,
Scott

Closing Time

The trip to London was nice, even though it was short. I left my residence well before the sun rose, since that was the cheaper flight. After an uneventful flight to London, I made it to the hostel. I was slightly confused as to exactly how to get there, but the people I asked were so great and were able to get me to my hostel. I got to there and couldn't go into the room yet, so I dropped my bag and made my way over the subway station. I purchased a day pass and set course for the Imperial War Museum, which was recommended by Stephen. It was an excellent museum full of tanks, planes, and other war related items. Many of the exhibits were very nice, but my I was fairly tired so prevented me from fully enjoying it. Luckily, it was free to get in, so no money lost. After tracking down a local pub and something to eat, it was time for me to head back and crash in my hostel for a while. I took it easy for the rest of the day.
The next day, I went out exploring a bit more and stumbled upon the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. I didn't get the chance to see any of the actual "action" the guards changing, but I got to see people marching in and out. The video I have below is a video from the next day where there was a smaller changing of the guard at the royal stables. Very interesting to see up close and personal.
Other than seeing the changing of the guard, my time in London was spending navigating the subway, which I got good at, going to see museums, going to a few pubs, and plenty of walking. It was a pleasant time and low key enough considering the few weeks of classes to come.
After I got back to Dublin, it was full on crunch time. Projects and essays dominated my time during the weeks. As it happens with every semester, there are a few late nights, but the projects and essay get finished and turned in. The finals are studied for and then finished. On Friday, I had my last final and turned in my last essays and called it a semester. I decided to it was time to go relax at a pub and grab a pint.
A few of us current Champlain abroad students were asked to move to the apartments that the students are going to live in next year, since it would help out Champlain in saving some money on the lease in the apartments we were staying in. My apartment and the RA's apartment moved over. I am actually sitting in the room now and I can say it is a major upgrade. The rooms are cleaner, come fully stocked with dishes, pots, and pans, and the beds are much more comfortable. The rooms are located near Temple Bar, which means they are further from the academic center, but considering it doesn't as cold here compared to Burlington, it shouldn't be a problem. I will be excited to hear what the students think next year.
I head home on Wednesday afternoon and will be very glad to be home. I can't wait to see my family and friends. Chances are this is my last post from Dublin, I have to say this has been a great experience for me. I will have another post when I get home wrapping this whole experience up.

With Peace and Love,
Scott

"Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning." -Winston Churchill

Follow the Sun

This past weekend saw our trip to the west of Ireland. This was a trip which I was really excited about and it didn't let me down at all. We headed out on Friday afternoon with sunny skies. I was told that the weather in the west is very rainy, even more so that good old Dublin, so when it started to remain, I feared that it might last for the entire weekend. Luckily, by the time we got to our hostel in Doolin it had cleared up nicely. Since we were right on the coast, a small group of us took a walk before dinner to see the Atlantic Ocean. If we were to walk down the coast a bit further, we would end up at the Cliffs of Moher, which we were scheduled to visit the next day. After taking some excellent photos, it was time for dinner.

After waking up on Saturday, we headed over to the Cliff of Moher. It happened to be an almost picture perfect day and so the views were spectacular. There is a path that goes along the cliffs where it safe to walk, but then there is that place where the path ends - with a large sign basically saying that it unsafe to go beyond this potential 'Point of No Return'. I stayed on the safe side, literally. After lunch we traveled into an area known as "the Burren." It is an area where there are lots of exposed limestone rock and minimal vegetation, which makes for a very bleak landscape. We stopped at a few old stone houses and castles on our way over to Galway, which were excellent for photos. We got to Galway and had the afternoon and evening to ourselves as there was no group dinner or activities planned for that evening. I went out exploring the city and got some interesting photos, including an impromptu shot of some local jockeys. They asked if I was associated with a newspaper, which I replied I wasn't. Much to my surprise, a moment later, they were ready for a group shot. Galway seems like a nice place to visit, but I doubt I would want to be there for an extended period of time as it is quite small and we apparently experienced unusually good weather for the weekend.

Sunday consisted of visiting a few more castles and experiencing the nice countryside along the way. Like both days before, the weather was very agreeable and didn't rain. We went to the Connemara village of An Ceathru Rua (Carraroe), where we stopped at a beach that wasn't made out of sand but coral. It looked like a beach in the Bahamas instead of the west of Ireland. I got a video below of Stephen explaining how it might be possible to have a beach of coral and not sand. I know there is a lot of wind on the video, but there is some good info. We made it back to Dublin safe that night. As usual, I have lots of photos on my Facebook account if people want to see more.

On a final note, tomorrow I set off (with my old friend Ryanair) to London for Easter break - I will be sure to have a post after what I anticipate to be an exciting few days.

With peace and love,
Scott

P.S.- This post has a video double feature. The first one is the one mentioned in the main text of the post. The other is at an Irish soccer game we went to a week or two ago. I hope you enjoy both of them.

Stairway to Heaven

Spring break was a vacation which I both wanted and needed. While I felt that I needed a break from the academic demands of a semester abroad, I just wanted to get out of Dublin for a little while and get to some nice weather for a few days. Florence was just the location in which I could realize both of these goals. I booked my flight on Ryanair, which is a ‘no frills’ budget airline here in Europe. The thing about Ryanair is that you get what you pay for. The flights are undoubtedly cheap, however you are not assigned any particular seat and you only get to carry on one bag, or pay lots of money to check in any extra luggage. Another thing about Ryanair’s ‘no frills’ service is that any food or drinks you want don't come for free, and are in fact very expensive to buy on board the aircraft.. I managed to be within the weight limits for carry on baggage, and I didn't get anything to eat or drink on the journey, and so that saved a few Euro. Another reason that Ryanair is cheap is because they land at the smaller airports, and in so doing, avoid expensive airport/landing fees at the larger international airports Even though I was going to Florence, I actually landed in Pisa and had to take a bus to Florence, which meant a 30-40 minute drive on the highway. By the time I got into Florence, it was very late and I had some trouble finding the hostel. However, after some searching, I arrived at ‘Emerald Fields’ (ironic name as I had just left the emerald fields of Ireland) and went right to bed to be ready for the next day.
Although I visited Italy four years ago, I had never been to Florence and so, my first day in the city filled me with a sense of excitement and anticipation. I began the day with an early breakfast of croissant and cappuccino. Now people who know me well will point out that I rarely drink coffee, but the way I saw it, if I'm going to get a cappuccino, I might as well get it in such a famous city. Immediately after breakfast (and in an effort to avoid those seemingly never-ending lines) I set out to discover Florence’s most famous landmark – the Duomo. I casually wandered the streets with a map, using the Duomo as a point of reference, and when I eventually arrived at this magnificent cathedral, I climbed up to the top of the dome, stopping at a walkway along the inner wall to admire the fantastic paintings contained therein. The details in these paintings are absolutely amazing. I eventually arrived at the top of the dome where the views (and all 300/400 stairs) were well worth the effort of the climb. It was a perfect day and the view from the top was truly amazing. I could see the vast expanse of terracotta rooftops cover the cityscape and beyond into the distance. When I got back down to ground level, I explored the city – assisted by my most trustworthy friend - my map. After many hours of exploring and an authentic Italian gelato, it was time to call it a day.
My main objective of day two was going to see Michelangelo’s David. There are 3 versions of this sculpture in Florence - the original one and two copies. I decided to go and see the real one. If I didn't know where to look for the museum, I would have walked right past it on the quiet, unassuming Via Ricasoli, which is just a few minutes walk from the Duomo. I paid my entrance fee and proceeded into this very interesting museum, where I saw some exhibitions leading up to David. I then walked into the hall where the statue was. I was really impressed with the sheer scale of the statue which, I imagined, was going to be smaller than it actually was. I could have stood there all day admiring it and how excellent craftsmanship that went into producing it, but there were other things to see and do, and so, I continued to explore this ancient city.
On day three, I went to the Uffizi gallery. I could have reserved tickets for later in the day, but I only discovered this after standing in line for about an hour, at which point I was practically at the front of the line. I proceeded to explore the gallery which was really amazing. While many visitors could spend all day looking at the paintings in the Uffizi, I must admit that a whole day of religious art doesn't appeal to me. While I had traveled to Florence alone, I knew that some other Champlain Dublin students would be in the city at some point during the vacation, and sure enough, while walking around the museum, I bumped right into them. I talked with them for a few minutes and we moved on our merry way. I was tired by the time I had finished exploring the Uffizi and decided to take it easy for a while before my further exploration of Florence.
Day four brought about a day trip to Pisa. There really isn't too much to do in Pisa, or say about it. There is of course the famous leaning tower and a church next to it. I decided to go up the tower to say I went up the tower. I doubt it would be the tourist attraction it is if it was “The Formerly Leaning Tower of Pisa.” It doesn't have the same ring to it. After getting a bit of lunch, I decided to return to the comfort of Florence.
On day five, I took a trip to Rome – the eternal city. I visited Rome during my last trip to Italy, and so, I didn't feel the need to see all of the major sights again. I went to the Trevi Fountain and threw in a coin to make sure I get back to Italy. I went to the Sistine Chapel which had been ‘out of bounds’ the last time I was in Rome, as the College of Cardinals had convened there to conduct the election of the new pope. I wasn't overly impressed with the Vatican Museum, as I am not overly interested by lots of religious art. The Chapel itself was smaller than I thought, and I really wasn't overly impressed with the famous ceiling. I guess the bar was set much further up than David. I was ready to get back to Florence and just sit and relax.
I spent the remainder of my vacation in Florence. The spirit or ‘feel’ of city was just amazing. It is a city which is big enough to house numerous art treasures and wonderful sights, but small enough to avoid that “huge city” feel. The hostel where I spent these nights was excellent. I met people from all around the world, but there were mostly Americans. I flew back to Dublin on Sunday evening and embarked on a new week well rested. This was truly one of the best vacations I have ever had, and one which I will never forget – Bravo Firenze – che bella citta!

With Peace and Love,
Scott Miley

Breaking Away

It has been a busy week. This is the week before Spring break and my mom is currently visiting. It's a fun time, but I will have time to relax on my break.
My mom got here Sunday early. So far this week we have been going around Dublin and seeing the sights to be seen. When we go out to eat, we are making a point of going to place where I haven't been yet. One great place we went to is Bewley's on Grafton Street. It was recommended by Tom, the head resident here at the apartments. They have wonderful stained glass windows and it is very reasonably priced considering the location. Grafton Street is a reasonably touristy place (not as bad as Temple Bar) and the prices reflect that. We are going to Malahide tomorrow, which is a short train ride north of Dublin. We will also do the Guinness tour.
My mom leave Friday fairly early and then I will be heading to the airport later on that day. I booked my flights on the hostel in Florence, Italy. Oddly enough I am staying at Emerald Fields in Florence. I guess I can't get too far from Dublin in some respects. It is just me going on the trip, even though some of the other Champlain students will be in Florence. We don't have any plans to meet up and I don't mind too much. I will be there the whole time, which means I will be out of Dublin on St. Patricks Day. It would be cool to be here, but I'm not going to spend the extra time and money to figure out how to be here. I will shoot some video while I am there and post it. I just need to get some work done before I head out.
Below is a video from Ballintoy, the small town with 1 road and 2 pubs we stayed in when we were in Northern Ireland. Such an amazing sky.

With Peace and Love,
Scott Miley

Them Changes

It has been almost 2 months since my arrival here in Dublin (already?). When thinking back to when I arrived, I notice some changes for me personally and how I see the city itself. Let's break it down:

Language
When I first arrived, it was a bit of a challenge of understanding a person with an Irish accent. I could still understand them, but I would have to fill in gaps on what I thought they said. In recent weeks, I have become more accustom to the accent and can understand it no problem. I never thought that I would essentially have to learn a "new" language here in an English speaking nation. Also, some of the terminology takes a little getting used to. One of the big terms is "grand" which is used in a situation where Americans would say "great" (ex. "Grand idea" as opposed to "Great idea").

Getting Around
The whole driving on the other side of the road threw me off for about 2 weeks, especially if I am crossing the street. I went to London twice when I was younger, so I, in getting here, the concept of driving on the other side of the road was not a totally new idea to me. When I was on the Northern Ireland trip, I thought that I have gotten so used to the driving on the left side of the road that it will actually take a bit of getting used to when I get back, but I'm sure the adjustment period will not be as long as getting here. Having such an extensive bus and rail system is something that I really enjoy. When I was young, I loved trains (Thomas the Tank Engine was one of my favorite shows at the time). The concept of taking the train to where I need to go is great (or should I say grand?).

Money
I haven't really missed the dollar too much, but I could do without a bad exchange rate. It just makes things a bit more expensive in an already expensive city. Things here might be the about the same on the price tag, but then factor in the exchange rate and it just makes my wallet want to cry. When we were in Northern Ireland, I went out to a pub. Drinks were £2.50 (They use pounds, not Euro). You would be hard pressed to find a beer here in Dublin for €3. I have really become a fan of store brand instead of name brand items. When the store brand is significantly less expensive, it's hard to pass up. Also, I have noticed that the shelf where the sale items are is the first shelf I look at. I love the fact that 1 Euro and 2 Euro coins are popular. America has tried the concept of dollar coins a bunch of times, but each has failed. I would love if it did work.

Dublin and Ireland has really started to feel like home to me. When my dad was here, I noticed how much about the city I had learned. Mainly it was navigation, where stores are, and being able to talk about Dublin landmarks. I don't know if I will be ready to leave at the end of the semester or not, but I can tell that I will really miss Dublin when I am gone.

With Peace and Love,
Scott

"We are all born mad. Some remain so." -Samual Beckett

Only a Northern Song

This past weekend was busy as it was our group trip to Northern Ireland. We visited Belfast, Ballintoy (super small town) along the Antrim Coast, Carrickfergus Castle, Giant's Causeway, and then Dunluce Castle. This whole trip started really early on Saturday. We left the academic center at 8 AM. Luckily, I thought ahead and packed my bag the night before. Since I don't do well with thinking that early in the day, I figured it would be safer to pack the night before. I woke up at 7, put the remainder of stuff in my bag, did one last e-mail check, then left. The bus ride up is a few hours up, in which I did manage to take a quick nap. The interesting thing about going from the Republic of Ireland to Northern Ireland is that there is no border check, despite the fact that they are different nations. The only noticeable change is the fact that some of the road markings change and the road signs become miles not kilometers.

Once we got to Belfast, we picked up our tour guide. We rode around in the bus, getting out at the stops. We got to see many of the numerous murals in Belfast. There was some real artistic skill in the murals. I noticed that there were a few anti-George Bush murals, which I was surprised about. Not that I was surprised that people were anti-George Bush, but that they would put that in the murals. We went the the "Peace Wall" after. The Peace Wall separates the Catholic and Protestant sections of the city. They close the gates at night. It is a bit strange to have such a wall running through a major city in these days. Our tour guide told us that public feeling is that the wall should actually stay up, even though there is now relative peace. After, looking at more of Belfast, we headed out to Carrickfergus Castle where we had a tour. It was fairly interesting. We got to take a look at some of the weapons used when the castle was in use, but it wasn't much beyond the sword and some other tools. After that, we headed to the town we would stay in. We stayed a hostel at Ballintoy. When I say it is a small town, I am not joking. There is one road and two pubs. That's about it. I think there are more sheep than people.

We got up the next day for breakfast at the hostel. I took a few photos of the wonderul landscape shots from the hostel. After that, we made the short drive over to the Giant's Causeway. The causeway is a geological formation of rock in hexagonal shapes of all different hights. We were there for about an hour. It was very neat to climb on the rocks. I managed to grab a few cool shots while there. We took a stop by Dunluce Castle after the visit to the causeway. This castle was in far worse shape than Carrickfergus. It was bascially a ruin. The tour was a bit less interesting owing to the fact that some of the info on the basic castle building was already covered at Carrickfergus. Also, at this point, I was bit tired from walking a lot the past few days and not sleeping too well in the hostel. Our original plan after going to the castle was to go to a beach, but the weather had taken a turn for the worse while we on the tour of Dunluce. We made a choice to go on a tour of the Bushmills Whiskey distillery. The town of Bushmills was a short drive away from Dunluce. As sticking with the classic sterotype of the Irish, drinking is in fact a part of the culture, so seeing how an Irish whiskey is made is definately a part of understanding the culture. It was interesting to see the process of making a bottle of whiskey.

With Peace and Love,
Scott

P.S.- For those on Facebook, I posted a photo album of our tour. Feel free to comment.

Around the World

My dad headed home on Saturday (wicked early, so I didn't see him before he left). It was nice to have him here. We got to go see some cool stuff this week. Thursday, we took the train down to Kilkenny. My dad really wasn't too interested in seeing the inside of the castle, so we went around the town for a bit. I decided to bring a frisbee along in case we found a field to throw. Sure enough, behind the castle, there was a HUGE field. We got to throw around for a little while and I was happy. After, we wandered around the castle and then the town. Friday, we went to Howth. It was a much nicer day than when we were there for orientation. We went down by the water and walked around. While we were down there, I saw this girl and thought "Interesting, that looks like my friend Charlotte." Then I realized "Hey, that is my friend Charlotte." I haven't seen her in at least 3 years. We talked for a few minutes. She is working in France and happen to be visiting a friend in Dublin, who was in class all day. We both happen to be there on the same day at the same time. Small world ain't it? After we parted way, my dad and I walked around the trail. It was much nicer than when I walked it before. That night, we went out to dinner and then I went back to my room. I got a message that he got home safe. My mom will be visiting in a few weeks. Besides that, nothing else to report.

With Peace and Love,
Scott

Maiden Voyage

The big news here is that my dad arrived on Sunday. This is his first time in Ireland. Now I don't feel weird about doing "touristy" type things. Sunday, I showed him around the academic center, we went out to dinner, and chilled out in his hotel room for a bit. He didn't get much sleep the night before on the flight over (sound like a certain blogger a bit over a month ago?). Today, I had my Critical Thinking class and my science class. Luckily, they were early and back-to-back. After, we got some lunch and took a tour on one of the tour buses. These are the ones that you can get on or off at stops. We got off at the Guinness factory and took a tour there. It was nice. Seeing the process was reasonably interesting but it was nice to spend some time with my dad. After we went up to the Gravity Bar up on the top floor. We got our free pint and sat by the window. It was a nice time. My dad took a few pictures while we were hanging out. I will try to download them and share one or two. We missed the last bus after we got out, so we just took a cab back. We enjoyed some dinner here in the room. Matt cooked some good soup tonight. After, I went back and chilled out in my dads' hotel room and planned what we would be doing the next few days. Overall, it's been a fun two days having him here. Hopefully, we will have some more fun adventures (which I will blog about).

With Peace and Love,
Scott

"I've put in so many enigmas and puzzles that it will keep the professors busy for centuries arguing over what I meant, and that's the only way of insuring one's immortality."
-James Joyce

Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics

All is well here. The tea/orange juice method of keeping me healthy seems to be working. I happen to be on Youtube looking at some of my account settings and I happen to stumble upon stats on views and locations. I don't know exactly where people are (as in city or town), but it shows the country. There are some that seem obvious (highest percentage of views in the U.S., a good percentage of views here in Ireland that corresponds to me posting videos here) but then there are some stats that surprised me. The most surprising bit is not the number of views, but the location. Some of the countries that show up are China, Spain, France, Portugal, and less so Canada. Champlain has a study abroad location in Montreal, but the others, where did those come from? Did anyone go on any cool trips recently that I didn't know about (mainly China, Spain, France, or Portugal)? Got to love new technology and the tracking that goes along with it. Don't worry, I don't really care where you are. Al readers welcome on this bog.
In science today, we were tracking number on the flow of rivers. It was interesting that in something like data collection, numbers can lie. There are rivers that have dams on them. There is a noticeable and sharp change in the volume of the flow in the river. Just remember, there is a stat to support almost everything. We take numbers to be the truth. No crap, no B.S., just truth.

With Peace and Love,
Scott

"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics." -Samuel Langhorne Clemens

Down with Disease

Well, I'm not really too sick, but I want to keep it that way. A week or so ago, two roommates (John and Matt) were sick. I was determined not to get sick. I went into "Scott isn't going to get sick mode" which entails drinking a lot of orange juice and tea. It has seemed to work yet again.
We have finished our 4th week of classes. Part of me can't believe that we are already through 4 weeks and the rest of me is thinking that it's only week 4. It was a busy 4 weeks at that. Let's break down what I have done:
4 or 5 quizzes
1 test (Art class today actually)
6 or 7 field trips
2 presentation (both for the same class)
For my science class (Enviormental Earth Science) and my history (Modern Irish Social History), I have already selected my topics for my final essay. It really looks like a busy time, doing all this work, but I have been able to head out to pubs to enjoy a few pints (Guinness mostly).
On a program note, we have a trip to Northern Ireland February 28-March 1. I will be sure to have at least a post about that along with, hopefully, a few videos.
Here in the apartment, we have a little system set up where one person will cook dinner one night (I'm usually Tuesday night). Anyway, we had to trade around nights this week, so I cooked up Penne with Pesto sauce. It was suggested by Lilly that I should put chicken or something of the sort in. I think the pesto would have been just fine, but I went for beef. Put some salt and pepper on it. All in all, it was a great meal (Thanks for the advice Lilly! Got to give credit where credit is due). It's actually a great thing to have going since 4 nights a week (Monday through Thursday) dinner is cooked for. Honestly, I would have put my room as last as setting something like this up. It's good fun. I hope everyone has a great weekend.

With Peace and Love,
Scott

P.S.- For those Boston Red Sox fan readers, Happy Truck Day! For those who have no idea what I'm talking about here is a link to look at from the Boston Globe: http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/extras/extra_bases/2009/02/truck_day_is_he.html

Mom and Pop Art

It would be hard to leave Ireland without hearing some good old fashion Irish music. Considering I have a video camera, I would have to post it. The TradFest was this weekend. My friend Kira, my roommate John and I went down to the Temple Bar and wandered around. I saw this group of students playing some traditional Irish music. I got some video and posted it (see below). Afterward, we went to get some Gelato. Gelato is an Italian ice cream that is much lighter than ice cream in America. It was very good, comparable to the Gelato in Italy when I was there in 2005.
We got some snow here in Dublin. It is considered a big deal here in Dublin. We don't get feet upon feet of snow stuff that I am hearing about back in Burlington.

With Peace and Love,
Scott

Stepping Stone

Well, this is a video I wanted to get earlier, but I am just getting around to it. I will let the video do most of the talking. I was in the room while all the roommates were out and decided to give a quick tour. While I am in a quad, most rooms are doubles. In the video, I forgot to mention that we are across the street from the Australian Embassy. I almost want to go over to see a Kangaroo, but I doubt they would have one there. I hope you enjoy it.

With peace and love,
Scott

Breaking the Habit

Last night I stepping in the weird world of dog racing. I was reassured of the fact that I have no idea what I am doing when it comes to betting and should stay out of betting all together. I got a video of the first race of the night. I put €2 down on a dog and never saw that money again. Stephen assured us before we left that the dogs are actually well taken care of. The dogs stay in homes and have a nice place to stay as opposed to the cages the dogs would stay in back in the U.S. It was a fun night despite my significantly less than stellar record on betting.


With peace and love,
Scott

"Arguments are to be avoided; they are always vulgar and often convincing" -Oscar Wilde

He Shall, From Time to Time

This is one of the few occasions where I will actually talk about politics. As I said in my first post, which was on election day, I will only talk about politics if it comes up in my experience here in Dublin. Well, here is one of those times. We had an Inauguration party here in Dublin. The academic building stayed open late to show the Inauguration live. Luckily, my last class ended at 4:30 and I went up to the top floor to the lounge and made it in time. It is great to be able to see such a historic event live from an ocean away. Isn't technology great? I got a video of most of the group hanging out watching in the lounge (see below). I was back home for the whole election cycle, but the people who work here weren't. I enjoyed listening in to what they thought of the election and President Obama.

With peace and love,
Scott

The Man with a Movie Camera

I finally got around to uploading some video from Howth. I wanted to upload the video from the academic building since the wireless in the residence hall is slow and sometimes cuts out randomly.

As for the video, it was shot on the trail that goes along the ocean. I hope you enjoy it!

With peace and love,
Scott

Free

Ah, the first week has ended and what a long week it was. It seems like a month ago that I was all excited about starting classes. I'm taking 5 classes this term and all seem good. My science class is Environmental Earth Science. It is taught by the Program Director Stephen Robinson. He understands that none of us will be scientist and therefore he does not expect us to become scientists. We will take some field trips this semester, which sound like a lot of fun. The English Literature class I am taking will focus on Anglo-Irish writers like Oscar Wilde. The reason I specify Anglo-Irish writers is due to the fact that here in Ireland if I were to talk about Irish writers, I would be talking about Gaelic writers. A slight but important difference. The Modern Irish Social History class gave us a cliff notes version of early Irish history just so we get some context on what we see (like the conflict between the Catholics and Protestants). Art (Irish Culture through the Fine Arts)will be fun. This is the class I had today (Friday). The great thing is that we went on a field trip to The National Museum, on the first day of class. I'm trying to think the last time I went on a field trip. We talked a bit about the general topics we would cover during the course, then walked over to a gallery where there were tons of artifacts. There were mainly things like viking and early Irish culture. I thought it was time well spent. The final class I am taking is Critical Thinking. Basically this is a Philosophy class. We are starting out with basic logic (seems like a logical place to start). All of the professors appear to know their stuff and are very accommodating.

As for other news, earlier today, I went with my roommate John down to Grafton Street to get cell phones. I finally picked one up. The big reason I waited until now to get a phone is the reason that there was a phone for €29, but those were out of stock. I waited. I waited. I waited. John and I decided that it was indeed time to get a phone. We ended up getting a Nokia phone, but ended up costing us €49. Ouch on the bank account. It's good to have a cell phone on me now. Now I just need to get phone numbers.

With Peace and Love,
Scott

"Nothing is impossible to the willing mind" -Books of Han Dynasty

Who'll Stop the Rain

The clouds have taken their usual spot here in Dublin, overhead. There has been raining or at least cloudy here in Dublin most days. One big thing is that when it cloudy, it doesn't always mean rain. Back in the states, there is major rain storms. Usually it is short in length, but heavy in intensity. Here, there is a little rain for a little while. It stops. Sometime later, it rains a little more for a little while. Seeing the trend? We don't get significant more amounts of rain, but it just looks like it's going to rain. It is mildly depressing, but being in a new city is out weights that. I know I mentioned I will post about classes, but that will be tomorrow. I have yet to have my Art class, I will have a full reaction to classes tomorrow. I will say now that classes will be busy with projects (I already have one due next week!). I promised I would post some pictures from Howth. Since I am in the academic building now where the internet is much better than the residence hall, here is a few pictures. The first one we see is actually from here in Dublin. It is in St. Stephens Green not far from the academic center.The second shot is the Howth cliffs (my roommate John is in the shot).

With Peace and Love,
Scott

Day Tripper

I going to try and keep this reasonably short. Basically, I'm going to try to do a highlight reel of the past few days. So, let's begin. When I get to my room, I realize that there isn't a bed for me. Tom, the head resident, said that they were supposed to have them in yesterday or earlier that day. He said he would get on it. Besides that, our room is nice. There is a decent amount of space in the bedrooms and the living room. The bathroom is alright, but the amount of hot water is limited, so I'm happy I take quick showers. The kitchen is decent. I'm sure it will do the job. I didn't really do too much that first day except head down to Grafton Street with some friends. For those who are familiar with Church Street in Burlington, VT, basically Grafton is Church street on steroids (like Barry Bonds...zing!). Thursday, orientation started. We got to check out the acdemic center, which seems nice. That night, we went out to dinner. It was a place called Porterhouse. I was able to get a pint. They didn't have any Guinness, but I got some other beer that was good. After, we went out to a bar where there was a decent traditional Irish band playing. I got some Guinness there and it was very good. As Tom said, when pouring it into a glass, it takes forever. I had to wait for a few minutes just for a pint. When I did get, it is so much better. I understand what they say about the Guinness in America being not so good. The next day, we took a tour of Dublin. We took a stop by the Trinity campus. For those who don't know much about Trinity, it is basically like Harvard or Yale. The tour guide mentioned that the harp that is the symbol of Ireland (the same harp on Guinness). Trinity gave the rights for Guinness to use the harp, but for a fee. In the dining hall, there is Guinness on draft for free for the students for as long as Guinness is still brewing (grad school at Trinity anyone?). We got to see some other sites around the city including the oldest parliment room. It is the old House of Lords. It was supposed to be destoryed, but then the British just forgot about it. Now the building is Bank of Ireland. Yesterday, we went to Howth. It is a fairly quick train ride north of Dublin. It has a very stunning "classic" Irish coast line. It has very high cliffs and plenty of wind. I will try to post a picture soon. For those on Facebook, feel free to take a look at the pictures I have posted. I will post a video of the coast line. I just have to download the video from my camera. Classes start tomorrow. I'm excited for them. I will have a post later this week on how those are going.

With peace and love,
Scott

"Love may not make the world go round, but I must admit that it makes the ride worthwhile."
-Sean Connery

Born to Run

(Note from Scott: This is part 2 of my adventure from the Boston area to the residence hall in Dublin. See previous post for part 1)

We pick up our hero in distress in London. Actually, I wasn't in too much distress yet. So, I don't think I need to pick up my bag in Heathrow. I'm not sure if I need to go through customs and all that. I would soon find out. After a few minutes of following some signs for connecting flight, I ask a very nice British fellow, who said that I would not need to pick up my checked bag and that I need to head over to Terminal 1. Heading over to Terminal 1 from Terminal 3 means going through customs AND security (despite going through security in Boston, whatever). Since Heathrow is SO big, there is a bus that goes over to Terminal 1. Once I get into the building, there is customs waiting. I sort of find where I need to go, but then asking another nice British fellow to help me get into the right line. (to go off topic, I really like the British accent, especially when there are many people around you speaking it. I kept thinking Michael Cane was around). I wait in the line for a good solid 10-15 minutes. Then I get to the customs guy. I hand him my passport and my packet of study abroad papers. After a few minutes, my passport is stamped and I go through no issues. I would later find out when I get to Dublin, that they could have stopped me there, taken me aside, and grilled me on why I was there. The reason being that I have paper to get into Dublin, not London. I head on to security. I have to take off my shoes, but luckily, I don't have to take my laptop and other electronics out. I just sent my backpack right through. After I breezed through security, I go check in at the Aer Lingus counter. I have no idea which gate I need to go to, so that would be good to find out. I check in. I find out I need to go to gate 84 or something in that region. I am not kiding when I say that the walk could have been a half mile (have I mentioned Heathrow is HUGE?). I was power walking like nobodys business down there. When I arrive, people are in line to board the flight. Go me! I get on and it is almost enitrely empty. I take my seat. On the flight, I hoped to get some sleep, but I am to pumped on coffee and power walking that I am too excited. There were some real Irish looking people on the flight, but thats to be expected. I was happy to find that it would take less than an hour to get to Dublin. During that less than hour, they passed the cart through with variouse things for sale a number of times. It was mildly unsetteling. After a nice comfortable flight with plenty of space, we land in Dublin. I get off and start following the baggage claim signes. I make it to the customs line again (didn't we just do this? yes, we did.). When I get there, there are two people in line in front of me. I only have to wait a few minutes. I get called over to an agent. His accent was a bit thick, but still understandable. I hand him my passport, mention that I am study abroad here, hand him my papers. He looks at the papers and asks me a few questions. The computer system seemed to be very backed up at this point. While waiting, I look back at the line and it almost enitrely fills the rope line they have. I mention it to the customs guy, in which his reply with his good Irish accent is "Yep, missed a nice big queue." (Queue is a what people say in this area for line.) I get through just fine. I walk to the baggage claim area, find where I need to go, and find a spot within the people. I am standing there for no more than a minute and I see my bag. I pick it up and walk out. I recived an e-mail a few days earlier saying that there would be somone waiting for me at the Vodaphone (a phone company here in Ireland). Sure enough, I see the program director Dr. Stephen Robinson. I end up taking cab back to the residence hall with my friend Kira, who arrived shortly before I did. The Irish drive on the other side of the road and the wheel is on the other side of the car (basically a mirror image of what we do in America.) I happen to sit in the front passengers, which is where I usually drive. It was messing with my head. The guy driving was a nice Irish guy. It was actually sunny when I got to Dublin and the driver said "You better get a picture of that bright thing in the sky. We don't see to much of it." We end up getting to the residence hall in reasonable time. We meet Tom there, who is the Head Resident here. Kira and I get the low down on the dorm and head to our rooms. I basically just do some basic unpacking, but not too much. The rest of the day, I just end up seeing people who are around and doing some basic exploring of the area. We are on the south side of the city, which is the richer part of the city. The good thing is that the academic building is near by. It isn't that bad of a walk. I will have mroe details on the dorm life and the academic building later.

With peace and love,
Scott

"I am an optimist. It does not seem too much use being anything else." -Winston Churchill

Celestial Navigation

(Note from Scott: Due the length of the story, this is part 1 of my trip over to Dublin. It will cover leaving home to touching down in London Heathrow Airport. Part 2 will cover going through London Heathrow Airport to the arrival at the residential hall in Dublin All times listed in both posts are local times.)

Well, for this trip, I was expecting to get held up in many places. Mainly delays in Boston, London, or even Dublin itself. When I was leaving home on Tuesday, it was a nice wonderful day and it was going to look that way all the way through when I took off. From what it sounds like, if I was leaving the next day, I would have issues with snow/crappy weather. My mom and I got organized and mostly packed Monday night. Then, on Tuesday itself, I woke up early (9 am) in hopes of being tired for when I get on the overnight flight to London. I finished up packing that day, after watching some TV and surfing the net. Once my mom got back, we both made sure I had everything and zipped up my bags. My dad arrived back from teaching school and then we all drove down to the airport. My mom warned me in advance that she would cry a bit when they would drop me off. We were a bit early to the airport after I checked in, so we found a few seats and I ate most of a not so great salad from Starbucks. When I checked in, the woman at the counter put the ticket on the bag. I asked her if I needed to pick it up in Heathrow and basically check in again. She told us that the bag would go right through, even though I was changing airlines. Good news for me. She also mentioned that I would not need to go through customs and all that. I got even more excited that my connection would be easy. Nothing like some good old fassion easy travel. I got through security just fine with no issues and waved bye to my parents. I was going to sit down and blog here on details to this point, but the wireless internet decided to be lame at Logan so I didn't. I went down to the gate where my flight was leaving out of, took a seat and listened to my Ipod for a bit. There was this very cute little baby who seemed very excited. The dad said that travel doesn't really seem to bother the baby at all. Which is a good thing I guess is a good thing. They were heading out on the flight leaving for L.A. in the gate next to mine. I got onto my flight shortly after and was sitting next to a guy who was from England but now lives in New Hampshire. We somehow got on the topic of soccer (oh, wait, it's called Football here in Ireland). It was aparent he knew more than me (not hard thing to do considering the topic) and so I was asking the questions mainly. The flight was fairly uneventful. There was a fair amount of turbulance early on in the flight with little bit later on. Nothing really interesting to say about the flight itself really. Since it was an overnight flight, I would arrive in London on what would be the next day (just before 7 AM), I wanted to basically get some sleep as to help with jet lag. Well, I was sitting right next to the window and my seat was not far behind the wing, so engine noise was loud, and sitting in coach, space was very limited. In a few attempts to get some sleep, usually didn't work as well as I had hoped. I may have gotten some level of sleep, but it was really hard to tell since there was noeasy to see clock. Once they started bringing breakfast around, I decided that any chance of sleep for a while was gone. I got bit of coffee (I am basically a tea drinker, but considering the situtation, I went with coffee). As the flight got in, I asked the guy sitting next to me, if I would need to go through custums and all that. He told me that if I needed to go to a different terminal, I would. We were landing in terminal 3 and I needed to get to terminal 1. So, there goes the super wicked easy way to travel, but luckily I had a good amount of time ahead of me. There were screens that were showing where we were. At around this time, we were over Ireland. It was still dark out, but I could see little pockets of light. They might have been towns or shopping areas, but I wasn't sure. Once we getting into London, there was some seriouse fog (anyone else hear of this London fog stuff?), but once we actually landed, the fog was cleared. As we got off, I said bye to the guy sitting next to me and started into the adventure that was London Heathrow Airport.

With peace and love,
Scott Miley

(Part 2 will be published later today. It will have from Heathrow to arrival in residence hall in Dublin.)