Week of 03/08

Now this post is well overdue, but I’ve taken the last week to decompress and take in what happened in my last week in Ireland. After the Northern Ireland trip we were all exhausted and loved having no class on Tuesday to sleep in and get our blogs written. On Wednesday we had our literature class. After class, I received a care package from home with some letters and pictures. Also, I Facetimed my sister’s fifth grade class in Lexington and they got to ask me questions about my study abroad experience. I didn’t know it at that time, but due to schools closing that was my last time I got to her kids who I actually gotten close to. 

I decided to not volunteer at the nursing home that afternoon due to having a cough. Hannah and Jordyn came back only 10 minutes after they left and said that the nursing home was shut down to outside visitors due to the coronavirus. This wasn’t surprising but made us all realize that the virus was getting pretty serious. That night however, some of our group watched the movie Titanic in the hotel since after we went to the museum a lot of us had been wanting to rewatch it. On Thursday we had our culture class where we had another tin whistle lesson. I dreaded it since this is one instrument I can’t seem to get the hang of. After class, Jane Marie came and said that all of Ireland’s schools, colleges, and public offices were set to close that night.  I was planning on going to Scotland with some other girls that weekend and at the time were planning on leaving in the next hour. After we received the information about the nation practically shutting down, we decided to not go. UNK eventually told us later that we couldn’t go, so it was good that we already decided to cancel the trip last minute. Sometime throughout that morning we also saw that President Trump put a travel ban on Europe that was effective that following Monday. I had a lot of my family members reach out to me in regard to it, since when his first statement came out it was very vague. We soon realized it didn’t’ include Ireland, but it was still nerve-wracking to see the President completely ban travel from non-American citizens in Europe. That day some of us decided to go into Galway to do some souvenir shopping and get some groceries. No one said it, but we all knew we would be going home sooner rather than later. In the grocery store, Hannah got the email from UNK that said we had to go home immediately. Their email was very vague. Once we got back to Park Lodge, we had a meeting with everyone in our group. Marta notified us that we had to book our own tickets and UNK would refund us. The next few hours were very stressful to say the least. Many of us had booked tickets with IcelandAir and to rebook through them we had to call their helpline since they shut down everything on their website due to high demand. We only had two phones for thirteen students. Lex was on hold with IcelandAir for over two hours. After a few email exchanges between me and the director of the study abroad program, UNK notified us that they would be booking our tickets home. This made the most sense and let us all be at ease since we would all be traveling together home. That night we had everyone over and reminisced on the things we got do and the memories that were made. The next few days we all scrammed to get everything packed up and take in the beautiful country. We were notified that we were on a plane set for Sunday and would leave on a bus Sunday at 3am. Saturday a few of us went back into Galway and got tattoos to remember the trip by. We also enjoyed one last Orchard Thieves at our favorite bar, The King’s Head. We also had one last lunch meal of fish and chips. 

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For supper we had a potluck supper to try to use up any leftover food we had. My cottage had a ton of food, so we all cooked a wide variety of things. That night John Paul opened up the bar in the hotel for us and we all enjoyed everyone’s company. Most of us stayed up till 3 and enjoyed our last few legal drinks for quite some time. Sunday was a horribly long day. We had a four hour bus ride to Dublin and then stood in line for our tickets and customs for another two hours. Thankfully, Dublin has US Customs in their airport so we got to get that done with before we even left. At one point, I was lucky enough to be selected to go through extra screening and got the full pat-down experience and my luggage torn apart. At another point, we got asked where we had traveled in the last two weeks and if we had just been in Ireland, we got to go through a shorter customs line. The other line was for those who had traveled outside of the country and they had to go through a more intense screening. This caused some families to split up during customs. Our pilot decided to delay our flight until they could get as many families back on the flight together as possible. We were originally supposed to fly out at 9am but we were stuck on the plane until 12:30 pm. After we took off, I decided to buy WIFI to notify my mom that we would most likely miss our connecting flight and to wait to head to Omaha to pick me up. We did miss our connecting flight in Newark, New Jersey. Thankfully we all got on a flight that left Newark at 9 that night. During our layover, Jordyn and I enjoyed eating Qdoba and being able to use our data and not crappy WIFI like we had been over the past month. We got into Omaha around midnight. I normally don’t mind traveling, but Sunday was a horrible day. I think it was because none of us wanted to go home. It was bittersweet getting greeted in the airport by my mom and my dog Ruby. I wasn’t supposed to see them for over a month. I immediately went into self-quarantine with my mom. I haven’t left my house since I got home. I am really anxious for next Monday when I can see a few of my friends in O’Neill and leave the house. I have to take my temperature twice a day and report it to my local health department. I don’t have any symptoms yet, so hopefully I didn’t contract the virus in the airport. As much as I don’t want to be home, things are getting crazy with the virus and I am so thankful that I am home instead of in another country. I fully intend on visiting Ireland again in the future and am so grateful for the time I was able to spend there.

Week of 03/01

This past week was very busy!! On Monday we had our history class in the King’s Head Bar in downtown Galway. At the bar we had a debate on the ruler Oliver Cromwell. My group who was against him won the debate and our teacher gave us free St. Patrick’s Day socks. After class, some of my friends and I walked around Galway and ended back up at the King’s Head for a few rounds before heading back to our cottages. On Tuesday we enjoyed our culture class with Jane Marie and got to learn how to count in Gaelic. After class, Jordyn, Hannah, and I went to the local nursing home and talked to some residents there for a while. We met Olive who was born in Ireland but lived most of her life traveling and teaching to the less fortunate. I asked her what her best life advice was, and she said to explore the world and take advantage of every opportunity given. We also visited with a man named Tim who lived in Boston, Massachusetts and worked as a construction worker for a few years. Once we got back, some of us played a game of basketball and we all walked to the shore and watched the sun set. It was very pretty, and we were all excited to have great weather that day. 

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Wednesday morning we got up early and made our way to Northern Ireland. Our first stop that day was the Lissadell House where we toured the house and walked a little bit on the property. After we crossed the border into Northern Ireland we went to the Ulster American Folk Park which showed the journey of immigration into America. We ended the night at our hostel in Belfast and ate dinner as a group. Friday morning we went to the Crumlin Road Gaol in Belfast and started our troubles tour with our guide who was once an ex-loyalist prisoner. He walked us around Shankhill and showed us how his side was affected by the troubles. Then, he walked us to the peace wall and handed us off at the gate to an ex-republican prisoner where we heard his side of the story. The gate closes at 7pm every night and doesn’t open until 7am in the morning completely dividing the two neighborhoods. Prior to this tour, I didn’t know a lot about the troubles in Northern Ireland and this part of the tour was very educating and really opened up my eyes to the atrocities some places in the world still face today. After the troubles tour, we then toured the jail and got to see the conditions that those imprisoned had to face. I don’t think touring any jail will ever get boring for me as I love the history it contains. In this jail we got to the execution room where 17 prisoners were hanged. The rope hanging was the original rope that they had used on the prisoners. The room had a very eerie feeling to it, but it was very interesting to know how they spent their last few minutes alive. After the jail, we got to tour the Titanic museum. Personally, this was one of my favorite things from the whole weekend trip. I have always been very interested in the Titanic and to see where the ship was built and sent off on its voyage was indescribable. The museum itself was very interactive and my favorite part was a movie that took you through every level of the ship so you could really see how big and elegant it was. After the Titanic museum we headed back to our hostel for the night.

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The next day we went to Ballintoy and walked across the Carrick-a-Rede bridge and got to explore some of the small island that the bridge took us to. The bridge was a lot bouncier than expected but still a lot of fun! After that we went to Giants Causeway which is the result of an ancient volcanic fissure eruption. Everyone had a lot of fun exploring the rocks and taking some fun pictures! We stayed in Ballintoy that night and got up early the next day to tour Derry. We did a walking tour of the wall that surrounds the city in the morning and in the afternoon, we did a tour of the Free Derry Museum. The troubles in Derry were also something I didn’t know a whole lot about, but it was interesting and satisfying to see justice finally being served for those involved in the Bloody Sunday murders. The next day we met up with our history professor Jackie at the Famine museum where we learned more about the thousands that died and thousands that immigrated during the potato famine in Ireland. This trip was very long, but a lot of fun! This weekend I am going to Scotland, then we will celebrate St. Patrick’s day and then spring break starts! 

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Week of 02/23

Another week, another blog post! After Dublin, it was nice to spend most of the week in the cottages and hang out with the students that I’m here with. Classes this past week were good and they went by relatively fast. On Thursday, a lady from the Spiddal community came and taught us how to the play the tin whistle, which is very popular here in Ireland. In high school I played the French horn and trombone, but for some reason this is something that I can’t play for the life of me. However, the teacher was very nice and it was fun to learn something new even if I am bad at it. Friday morning we got up early and left for our weekend trip. Our first stop was the cottage of Patrick Pearse who was one of the leaders of the Easter Rising in 1916. It was very interesting to see where he made his home and where he thought up most of his poems and books. After we visited this cottage, we decided that since the weather was nice that afternoon we would hike Croagh Patrick. Croagh Patrick is a mountain in Mayo, Ireland and was where Saint Patrick climbed to the top and fasted for forty days in 441 AD. This hike is very hard and was unlike any other thing I’ve done in my life. I made it halfway up and got to see some pretty cool views. The wind was insane and made the hike a lot more difficult in some places. On Saturday we made our way to the Country Life Museum also in Mayo county. The museum showed the history and way of life of Irish settlers years ago. After the museum we got back to our cottages and the owner, John Paul, of the hotel I’m staying at opened up the hotel bar for us and brought in live music. It was a really fun night and we got to hear to some great music! This past week not a whole lot went on, which is good since we leave on Thursday for Northern Ireland! 

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Week of 02/16

It’s crazy to me to think that this Wednesday I will have been gone from O’Neill for four weeks. This trip has already gone by super-fast and I anticipate the rest of the trip will fly by with our weekend adventures around Ireland. One thing that has been super easy to adjust to while here is the academic life. Like I said last week our classes are relatively laid back and more about experiences than doing homework. On Monday our Irish History class is taught by a professor at the University of Galway named Jackie. She has been a lot of fun and makes the three hours seem like 20 minutes. On Tuesday our Gaelic language and culture is taught by Jane Marie who helps run the hotel I am staying at, Park Lodge. She is going to bring in different people from the community throughout the few months to teach us different cultural things. Jane Marie is also teaching us Gaelic. It is fun learning the new words; however, I feel like I add a Spanish and Australian accent to the words instead of an Irish one. Hopefully by the end of the trip I will be able to speak at least the basic of Gaelic and communicate with the locals. Wednesday our literature class is taught by Dr. O’Brien who is also a professor at the University of Galway. Dr. O’Brien is very knowledgeable and mature. His class I am most nervous for, but hopefully I’ll learn a lot! The academic life compared to UNK is somewhat different. The professors here are more laid back but the information is presented in the same format. This past weekend we went to Dublin and stopped at different sites along the way. Our group left bright and early on Wednesday and stopped at Newgrange in County Meath. Newgrange is a 5,200-year-old passage tomb that was also used as an ancient temple. The architect done on this mound is amazing considering their resources that they had over 5,000 years ago. We got to go inside the mound but couldn’t take any pictures since it is a temple. The main thing that surprised me with inside the mound was how small it was. Our tour guide said that the temple only goes about 1/3 of the way inside of the mound. Another thing I thought that was very impressive was how the temple is completely watertight, so inside there is absolutely no damage from the elements. After visiting Newgrange, we made our way Trim Castle. Trim Castle is the largest Anglo-Norman castle in Ireland and was built in 1176. We got to go inside the castle and explore outside of it as well. Our tour guide explained how those who once inhabited the castle lived during those times. In one room particular she explained the plumbing that they had. Basically, it was a hole in the floor that dropped to the outside and they would hire someone to clean up the feces. They also on average would only shower 3-4 times a year and would hardly ever wash their clothes. To keep them clean, they would hang them by their “bathrooms” so the ammonia from the feces would rise up the hole and kill off any bugs off of their clothes. All of this makes me very thankful for the times we are living in now! After Trim Castle we traveled into Dublin and made it to our hostel. That night we ate at a barbecue pit and went out for a few drinks. The next morning we went to the Guinness storehouse where I learned lots about how they make the most iconic beverage in Ireland. Our tour concluded with a pint of Guinness at the Gravity Bar which gave us an amazing view of Dublin. I can’t say Guinness is my favorite drink, but it’s not horrible. After the Guinness storehouse we ate lunch at McDonald’s which was a good taste of home. A few us went to an Irish Whiskey Museum which was very fun and I learned a lot about how whiskey was started and made in Ireland. In Ireland they call whiskey “uisce beatha” but pronounced ishka baha.  Something I found very interesting was how Ireland today still uses America’s barrels that we make bourbon in to make their whiskey. This gives the whiskey a more caramelized flavor and incorporates flavors from the bourbon into the whiskey. At the end of the tour we got to have a whiskey tasting which was interesting to say the least. We tried four different whiskey’s and got to take home a shot glass. After the Irish Whiskey Museum, we met back up with the rest of the group and toured the National Gallery with our professor Dr. O’Brien and his wife. The National Gallery had tons of different paintings from artists around Ireland. Dr. O’Brien took all of us to a play that night at the Gaiety Theater called “The Lieutenant of Inishmore.” It was a very funny play, even though sometimes I couldn’t understand what they were saying since the actors talked heavily accented and very fast. On Friday we toured Dublin Castle. From the 1200’s until 1922 it was the English and later British rule in Ireland. It was also built on top of an underground river that we got to see. Dublin Castle also had a beautiful church on their premises. The castle is now used as an Irish government complex. One of the rooms we visited was actually the room that all of Ireland’s presidents are sworn into service in. After touring the Dublin Castle Jordyn, Marissa, Hannah, Regan and I went and ate lunch at a very cute café. We met up with everyone else in our group at the Leinster House later that afternoon for a tour. The Leinster House is the seat of the parliamentary of Ireland. It was very interesting to compare Ireland’s government to the United States. Later that night some of us went out on a bar crawl which was a lot of fun! Bar crawls are very popular in Europe and are basically where you meet up with a bunch of different people staying in other hostels and guide’s take you out to different bars with drink specials. It was fun to meet new people and get to see more of the true side of Ireland. 😉 On our last day in Dublin we toured Kilmainham Gaol which is a former prison in the county of Dublin. This jail is most famously recognized for executions of the leaders of the Easter Rising. It also has had quite a bit of movies and music videos shot on its premises. One story that stuck out to me was how when the jail first opened, they thought that by isolating every prisoner they would become free of their sins. They also didn’t use any window covers because they thought that illness was caught from smell, so they had the place aired out 24/7 even during the winter months. Thankfully they stopped using both of those practices after they realized they both caused more harm than good. After our tour at Kilmainham Gaol we traveled to Clonmacnoise Monastery. This monastery was founded in 548 and was a major center of religion, learning, craftmanship, and trade due to the river nearby. We learned about Clonmacnoise in our history class, so it was very cool to see exactly what our teacher was talking about. For example, Clonmacnoise was attacked quite a bit by Vikings due to books that were being written there by the monks. When Vikings attacked, the monks would climb into the very tall building with a door on the fourth level using a ladder and then pull the ladder up to serve as some protection from the Vikings. After Clonmacnoise, we stopped in Galway and got groceries and then came back to Park Lodge Hotel. I was very happy last night to get home and get unpacked again. It was a long few days, but very informational and fun! I haven’t been taking as many pictures as I have been videos, so hopefully this week I won’t procrastinate and get some of my vlogs posted!!

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Week of 02/09

After being in Spiddal for a little bit over a week it has been nice to get into more of a daily routine. We had our first week of classes last week and they were very interesting and got me excited for the rest of the semester. On Monday the class we take is Irish History which was very interesting. I always love learning about history so I think this will be one of my favorite classes. On Tuesday the class we take is Gaelic and Irish Culture. Gaelic seems easier to learn than Spanish and our teacher makes it very interesting and easy to understand. Our class on Wednesday is Irish Literature and we read a play that relates to the play we are going to see this Thursday in Dublin. This class intimidates me a little bit since I have never taken a literature class, but hopefully it will go well! After classes, I usually get any homework I have done. I’ve gone into Spiddal once which was fun! The walk roundtrip was about 3 miles, so it’s really good exercise too. On Thursday our group traveled into Galway and did a walking tour of the city. It was really interesting and cool to see how the city has changed over the years. Some of us stayed and went out to some bars that night since it was RAG week at the University in Galway. RAG stands for raise and give, so it’s a week that is dedicated to community service, however, a lot of the students go out to the bars at night. It was a great opportunity to meet some of the local students and get closer to others traveling in our group from Kearney. I stayed in mostly the whole weekend since Storm Dennis was coming through. It was very windy and poured rain on and off all day Friday and Saturday. On Sunday however, some of us went into Galway and explored the city more. My small group went to a few malls and did some shopping. There is a clothing store here called Penney’s that is very similar to a Forever 21 but is half the price. We also got a few more groceries to get us through the next few days before we head to Dublin on Wednesday morning. So far the trip is going well, and it’s been nice getting into a daily routine with the other people living in my cottage. One thing before coming on this trip that was stressing me out was cooking since I absolutely hate it. Thankfully one of our cabin mates, Korinne, is a very good cook and has been making us very good suppers and teaching us a thing or two while she’s at it. We’ve figured out it is best to all sit around in the living area to conserve heat and use plenty of blankets at night to stay warm. In America I would take a shower at night usually, but since there’s four of us staying and the water only heats up twice a day, I have to shower in the morning. This has been a good thing for me though because I have to get up earlier and can’t just roll out of bed. Hopefully this a routine that I will bring back to the states. One thing I was not expecting was how fast food goes bad here. We’ve gone to the grocery store Aldie’s twice now and have gotten more accustomed to shopping here. The food here is very cheap and so by all of us cooking together, we save even more money.  I will hopefully be getting my vlogs of Iceland and the first week here at Ireland done and posted here. 

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First Post

Hello! My name is Emma Krysl and I am a sophomore at the University of Nebraska-Kearney. This spring semester I will be studying abroad in Spiddal, Ireland. While studying abroad there, I will get to explore the country as well as travel to other parts of the world. To start out my trip, I spent a long weekend in Chicago with some of my family. My aunt and her family live there so I try to go as often as I can. We went to Wisconsin to see a snow-sculpture competition and spent the rest of the time hanging out with everyone. My cousin Addysen and I got up one morning and took the train to downtown. There we went to the WNDR Museum and took a bunch of photos; it was a lot of fun!! The next day I had to say goodbye to my family that headed back to Nebraska and prepare for my long trip ahead. I met my travel buddy Jordyn who flew from Omaha to Chicago in the airport. We then flew to Reykjavik, Iceland where we spent four days getting to travel the country and explore Reykjavik. The highlight of our trip was the Blue Lagoon. The Blue Lagoon is a geothermal spa in a lava field. We did this right after we landed, and it was a perfect start to our trip. After the Blue Lagoon we spent the rest of the day finding our Airbnb and exploring Reykjavik. The next day we went on a Golden Circle tour of Iceland that showed us a waterfall, geysers, and a national park situated between two tectonic plates. Unfortunately, the weather was especially not good that day and we couldn’t see the waterfall completely due to fog. Our Northern Lights tour got cancelled that night and we tried going out the next night, but it was too cloudy to see anything. Pretty much the rest of the trip it was raining and super windy, so we didn’t explore much beyond the city center of Reykjavik. We did go see a Lutheran parish church called the Hallgrimskirkja situated in the middle of the city. We took an elevator to the top and the views were stunning. After Iceland we made our way to Spiddal, Ireland to start our study abroad. Classes start tomorrow and I am super excited to explore Ireland and experience a difference way of life.

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