Search
Archives
Meta
Category Archives: Irish University
Ireland: ’tis awful shocking nice (trans: I love it here)
Ireland seems to run on inside jokes, playful self-deprecation, and good-natured resignation to whatever the future may bring. In other words, I have found Ireland remarkably similar to my upbringing – the casual familiarity, the nod of a head imbued … Continue reading
Posted in National University of Ireland Maynooth
Tagged Irish literature, Maynooth University, University of Notre Dame
Comments Off on Ireland: ’tis awful shocking nice (trans: I love it here)
New Traditions, New People
“What can I say—life is good.” This is the general go-to answer I’ve employed every time a friend asks me how my year in Ireland is going. It is a concise and fitting description most definitely. In the last couple … Continue reading
The First Day
Swinging open the door, I peeked my head in. A few older gentlemen and ladies peppered the conference room. I was early to my first class. I sat there quietly unpacking my notebook and looked around. I found my first … Continue reading
One Last Cast
I was exhausted. My arm burned from hundreds of futile casts. My feet ached from three days of stumbling on jagged rocks that on more than one occasion sliced up my hands. The violent, frigid waves continued to smash me, … Continue reading
The Power of Pink Bikes
Belfast is a city often divided by colors. Flags and painted curbstones mark the neighborhoods that are loyalist or nationalist, and colors can show your loyalties, whether it’s orange or green. However, this past weekend, the city came together under … Continue reading
Thoughts from Milan
It feels so strange to be writing my last blog as a Mitchell scholar. I got an e-mail notification that I’d been added to the Mitchell alum google group the other day, and I have to admit that my first … Continue reading
Posted in Class of 2014, University College Cork
Leave a comment
The pivot back to the US
This year I had time to think and identify priorities. I demolished books on American politics, leadership, and history, and dabbled (mostly unsuccessfully) in a few ‘classics’. I spent a lot of time reading about the US military’s constant appetite … Continue reading
Posted in Class of 2014, mathematics, University Limerick
Leave a comment
MATHletes
Fostering an emphasis on quality maths education is important for a variety of reasons. Math literacy promotes analytical thinking. Math is the language of science. Math, taught properly, encourages creativity and synthetic “outside-the-box” thinking. An emphasis on math, as part … Continue reading
Rough Transitions
The form that sat lifeless on my computer screen still managed to mock me in some subtle way. It symbolized the inevitable passing of time and the arrival of new things. My year in Ireland is coming to a close … Continue reading
Parting Thoughts
My apartment sits beside a grassy path along the Grand Canal – a slow-moving stretch of water that links Dublin to the River Shannon – where I go to run, bike, or to watch swans congregate and boats pass by … Continue reading
Something Irish
“Is it true that, in America, they think eastern Europe is like, just a single country? And they don’t know the difference?” I was in a hostel in Budapest yesterday and overheard (re: eavesdropped upon) a German girl asking a … Continue reading
Posted in Class of 2014, Trinity College Dublin
Leave a comment
Life and Donuts
I’m writing my fourth and final Mitchell blog on the CityLink bus. My stories regarding Ireland are pretty slim due to the fact that I have been in Ireland very little since our last blog. I spent most of the … Continue reading