Listen, Learn, Smile

Settling back into my home

2012-01-20T15:47:00.000-08:00

I am back in Ireland after a month of traveling and family time. I am currently listening to the inspirational music of movie soundtracks like Gladiator and The Last of the Mohicans. It's good to be back in my bed. Guess I am comfortable being a nomad by now but a rest is nice, especially when I am surrounded by such wonderful Irish friends! Yesterday we cooked a huge feast and sat in each others company for hours. I absolutely love long drawn out meals with friends. And I have friends already here this semester! What a blessing :) This weekend will be a quiet one, possibly some hiking and a bit of microbiology. Peaceful. Tonight I appreciate this peace especially as my brain is going a million miles a minute. Plans for future change daily, medical school? Life as a travelling gypsy? ha. Its hard to be a student sometimes when all I want is to obtain a set of skills asap to really help people.

I am going to Glasgow next weekend with the Traditional Irish music society, it should be a good time. As of now I am simply a wandering student seeing what chance brings my way but someday I hope to bring a little more to the table. Lofty dreams may not always be a bad thing.

Tis the season

2011-11-27T09:11:00.000-08:00

This semester has flown by. I have loved my experience so far. Little things add up and I am beginning to realize that I have changed since I arrived. I have started to use phrases like “whats the craic” and “good man yourself” without feeling like a weirdo. Irish tv and films like The Guard and Father Ted make more sense and the humor is brilliant. My favorite line of Gaelic is (excuse my spelling) “Ish brailam cocamillish”- I love sweet cake. I am starting to look the “right” way before crossing the roads. Dublin, Ulster, Cork, Connact and Donegal accents are differentiable. Sunshine rain no longer surprises me. I am eating a lot of potatoes. The list goes on.

The past few weeks I have stayed in Galway for the weekends and hung out with neighbors having movie nights, Wii dance battles (my skills are limited to “Viva Las Vegas”), going to the all you can eat Star King Chinese buffet (regrettable), hitting up the Skeff bar for hot chocolate, attempting to study for exams and having a piece of pumpkin pie in honor of Thanksgiving. Now we are gearing up for Christmas by admiring the Eyre Square Christmas market with twinkling lights, a carousel and all the sweets you could ever want; along with searching for the perfect Christmas onesies at Pennies and Dunnes.

One week before exams, slightly nervous I’m going to bomb them… then I’ll be off the Paris to visit a few French friends I met in South America. Back to Galway in time for celebrations and hopefully some ice skating before I head to California for Christmas with the family. I can’t wait to catch up with everyone and congratulate Andy and Sarah (soon to be sister!) J I am also planning on pestering my grandparents with questions about Croatia and Serbia, tentative destinations for the spring.

Happy Christmas,

Maria

Sweden and Life

2011-10-10T14:55:00.000-07:00

Central Market with mushrooms and pomegranate. Fall is here.

Gramla Stan across the bay.

I guess you could call me the catch up blogger. Not very good at writing regularly I apologize. This past weekend I spent with Sanna in Sweden. I was so impressed with Stockholm it’s gorgeous! The long delays with Lufthansa and 3 hour bus ride from Dublin to Galway were totally worth it. I spent Friday just wandering as I waited for Sanna to be done with a meeting. I am a total supporter of aimless wandering and observation to get a feel for a place (as long as it’s a fairly safe area). I went to the old town Gramla Stan and walked between magnificent buildings and happened to end up at the Royal palace as it started to drizzle. I figured the tour of the Royal apartments would be a little more hospitable than the rain in a pair of thin TOMs. Btw TOMS are probably the most useless shoes for Irish weather. The palace was so beautiful and well preserved. I like Stockholm compared to other European cities such as Berlin because Sweden was relatively untouched by the world wars and is very authentic. After touring the royal apartments with my mouth open in disbelief at the art, gold leaf and chandeliers, I went to have tea in a café. The cafes and restaurants of Gramla Stan are all decorated with candles adding a magical feeling to the place. In addition to the wonderful warm Swedish style, I must say the Swedes really know how to make their desserts. It's probably better not to bring too much money to avoid the danger of buying whole cakes for yourself. Sanna was such a good host and it really helped to have someone who knew what the heck the Swedish signs meant. She also took me to this amazing Photo museum Fotografiska where we heard a lecture by my new hero, Nick Brandt. His photos are so inspiring and I love his mission check it out http://www.biglifeafrica.org/ Whats even more crazy is he doesn't use a digital camera or photoshop!

So Sweden was a big success and I can't wait to get back there. I felt very at home seeing all the three crowns everywhere :) just like good ol' GAC

Back home in Galway now and feeling cozy, it's good to be out of the never ending rain. Tomorrow, Botany, Oceanography, a lecture by a medical herbalist, Photo society, India volunteer meeting, Pinata party in college bar, Traditional music society at the Crane Pub and CP's club for "Take Me Out" with the girls in my flat. (Tuesday is my busy day but I like to try and make it to a bit of everything) Upcoming weekend Belfast!

Spent one Sunday exploring the Aran island Inis Mor on bike. Stunning sea, cliffs and Celtic/early Christian ruins. Very peaceful. I could spend forever exploring the coast.

Home for now

2011-09-16T14:28:00.000-07:00

Galway, Ireland. A day passes very quickly here. I wonder at how blurred the past 2 weeks have been (and it's not on account of the pints.) I have neglected my blogging duties but I have good excuses. Trying to get classes set, making new friends and exploring (to find cheap groceries) are priorities right now. Last weekend I had a homestay in a village called Corofin. I stayed with an older married couple who were a little hard to understand, they were super friendly and had some sheep and a beautiful house. I walked the sheep field in the rain feeling very soggy and finally realized what people meant by "wet" Ireland. Lately, I have spent some afternoons drifting in and out of shops in the city center, some getting into british soaps that my flatmates watch, joining societies and clubs and attending lectures.
Working with lecture timetables is not fun. It's similar to sudoku but less fun. I really took for granted Gustavus' nice simple online registration process. After struggling to fit spanish into my science dominated schedule I finally had to give up and take all science courses. I'm happy though because Microbiology, Aquatic Plant science and Oceanography seem interesting, different experiences from any marine science courses available in the landlocked MN. (Although the length of labs doesn't seem to be any different than GAC unfortunately)
At night during the week homework isn't really a priority here... two words clubs and pubs. My flatmates have been really welcoming and I have met many friendly Irish students already. One highlight of the week was listening to traditional Irish music at the Crane pub with a classmate. Yesterday I played ultimate with the NUIG frisbee club, it was a bit of craic. Tomorrow I'll watch the rugby match (ireland v. australia) in Taafes pub, hit up the farmers market with Caoimhe and Kathleen and possibly go to the cinema. So far so good, I'm loving Ireland.

Day in Dublin

2011-08-29T17:14:00.000-07:00

Right now I am sinking into the couch on the second floor lounge of the Abbey Court Hostel in Dublin, Ireland. My eyes have the slightly glazed look of the jet lagged traveler. It hit me today, my second day in Dublin. But I faithfully powered through, staying fairly alert during the morning orientation meeting (with only a few head bobs.) After the meeting me and new friends jumped on the touristy hop on hop off bus to see all that Dublin has to offer. We ended up spending most of our time at St. Patrick's Cathedral and the Guinness Factory. Both differ quite a bit but interestingly enough are linked because the Cathedral owes its main renovation to Guinness dollars.
My favorite part of the Guinness factory was the incredible view of the entire city on the seventh floor (along with the free pint on the seventh floor.) I had a flash back to one of my last days in Saigon high up on a new skyscraper getting a similar 360 view of the city. The stark difference between the cleanliness and organization of Dublin and the bustling and packed Saigon really hit me as I walked about with my pint this afternoon. Back in January, Saigon had given me the impression of a place that could swallow you whole while so far Dublin seems like more of a friendly pat you on the back kind of city. Every Irish person I have met reinforces this notion of warmth and hospitality. Dublin may be the picture perfect capital... except it costs an arm and a leg (and possibly a first born child) to live here : /
Anyways I will write later about the slang, pubs, music, and Gaelic football- all very plentiful here. So far it has been just lovely :)

The Title

2011-08-23T09:31:00.000-07:00

As my first official travel blog I kind of wanted a title better than "Maria's Blog." I was pretty stumped but the book I read by Mother Teresa this spring called In the Heart of the World popped into my head. Her thoughts on compassion really helped me as I traveled Ecuador and Colombia this summer. Often I felt really powerless in my volunteer position at the Baca Ortiz Children's Hospital. Faced with crying children who had no money for the necessary medications I felt useless and pretty frustrated giving out free diapers and a few lunch tickets to parents. When I felt especially low I would refer back to her words "We will never know how much just a simple smile will do." Even with my slow Spanish, attempting to make the children smile and laugh was something tangible, something I could manage.
Sometimes you only have enough time to make a tiny impression on another person (especially when traveling) why not leave a smile? Listen, learn, smile : guess that's my travel philosophy.
(BTW In the Heart of the World is really insightful even if you aren't Christian, its a good read)

The Start

2011-08-23T06:17:00.000-07:00

Wait time. It's always the same. A bit of torture, a lot of excitement and some scrambling to finish last minute errands.
Packing. It consists of me circling a mixed pile of items and trash in my room as though an intense stare will miraculously tidy the whole mess up. Work from the outside in I say to myself but I lack stamina and I end up collapsing on my bed after my short lived effort. I give up and day dream about my upcoming eight months in Ireland. Most of the time I don't like predicting things or planning much because I've learned the best experience never follows a set path.
(packing pump up song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2vk_IqVMNk Caribou Sun Remix)

What I do know for sure. I will be studying at National University of Ireland in Galway for my Junior(3rd) year of college. I will be taking biology courses. My roommate is named Olivia. I will be bringing my hiking boots. Yep, that's about it. But that's how I like it.
Why I chose this. Unfortunately I am pretty addicted to traveling. Not good for the checkbook but a great form of learning and making friends. NUI Galway will give me a chance at traveling Europe, taking Biology courses and enjoying Irish culture for more than one short semester.