Category Archives: Irish University

January 2009 Reflection

Watching the New Year’s Eve fireworks illuminate Edinburgh Castle with my boyfriend and fellow Mitchell Scholars Vicki and Lara, I reminisced on the year 2008. In the past year, I had graduated from college, visited with my adoptive mother for … Continue reading

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January 2009 Reflection

December was a month of pilgrimages for me: one to Rome and two others to Bushmills, Northern Ireland, and Middleton, Cork County. Before the pilgrimages began, I wrapped up some work at UCD where I am learning more and more … Continue reading

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January 2009 Reflection

I am currently on the training camp trip with the UCD Boat Club in Seville, Spain. Since I have said that I would be doing some thinking, I thought I would share some of those thoughts instead of a travel … Continue reading

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January 2009 Reflection

Ireland came to a standstill last week, and Cork was no exception despite being on the southern tip of the island. This country has struggled through a national famine, centuries of oppression, and in the face of every major challenge … Continue reading

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January 2009 Reflection

t has been said that the brain makes thousands of calculations while the body walks on cobblestones. Slight adjustments to the ankle in fractional degrees otherwise unnoticed keep students, tourists, teachers, and the smallest toddler ‘afloat’ in Trinity’s Front Square. … Continue reading

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November 2008 Reflection

I had an unusual undergraduate experience. Ok, that’s an understatement. I went to the Naval Academy, a school that was 80% male, required me to wear a uniform daily, and only let me venture outside the walls on the weekend. … Continue reading

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November 2008 Reflection

When I arrived in Cork, the first thought that came to mind as I stepped off the airplane onto the tarmac was, “Is this really what Cork looks like? Or is this some big landscaping project that was performed to … Continue reading

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November 2008 Reflection

I was terrified to leave Maine. The weeks before I left for Ireland, I busied myself with cleaning clothes, packing, and sewing up all the little tears in my shirts and jacket and in the quilt my Nana made years … Continue reading

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November 2008 Reflection

There’s a perfect way to pour a Guinness. Although I’ve heard the nuances of the craft vary from bartender to bartender over here in Ireland, the general rule of thumb is to pour two-thirds of a pint, let it settle … Continue reading

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November 2008 Reflection

As I walk through the old campus of the National University of Ireland, Maynooth, I pass beneath gray stone buildings dripping with bright red ivy and accented with arches and towers. Overtaking the ruins of Maynooth Castle at the college … Continue reading

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November 2008 Reflection

Two days ago, I finished the 2008 Athens Marathon at the exact same hundredth of a second as two fellow Mitchell Scholars, Erin and Vicki. Before embarking on my year as a Scholar, I never could have imagined I would … Continue reading

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November 2008 Reflection

A little over two months ago, my wife Kacey and I embarked on an adventure here on the Emerald Island. The two of us enjoyed living the 9 to 5 in Washington, D.C., but the thought of a year of … Continue reading

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