March 2005 Reflection

Posted on March 1, 2005 by bthibodeaux05

I’m back!! As I sit down to write this journal entry, I am amazed at how much time has passed since I first arrived on this island. Northern Ireland has affected me in more ways that I can conceive. This weekend the Mitchells had our semester get together in Limerick. The weekend was absolutely amazing. The Cliffs of Moher are really high and a great way for one to overcome their fear of heights. I am proud to say that I survived crawling to the edge and snapping a few pictures of the cliff wall. It was great to see all of the Mitchells again and Mr. Pendergrast. It was a fun weekend. Let me just say that I am convinced that there is a distinct difference between weather in the Republic of Ireland and in Northern Ireland. It is a most fascinating dichotomy that this Cajun from Southern Louisiana strives to understand.

Since my last journal entry, I have finally taken up another life long passion. I know in Ireland I keep taking up life long passions. For so long, I saw people who could play an instrument and said to myself that I wish that I could play an instrument, any instrument. Well, I finally bit the bullet and took up the piano. My teacher is very patient with me which is great because I am an extremely uncoordinated and slow learner on the piano. I really enjoy it and am glad that I took the leap. Ireland has added another skill to my repertoire. Though I will admit that is the only splurge in my itinerary since this semester began.

I am still a dedicated hill walker. A few weeks ago, we scaled the highest mountain in County Donegal-Mount Errigal. It blew my mind because as we approached the summit this white stuff started hitting my face at 60 km/ph. It was snow. Yes, I know that it was February and those things happen, but not on the bayous of Southern Louisiana. It was a new experience for me. I even got to make a snow angel and have a snowball fight on the summit of Errigal. If anyone comes to Magee, I emphatically endorse the Hill Walking Club. It is a great way to see the countryside and to get over any fears of heights.

However just like my first journal entry in November, most of my time has been consumed with working on all of the papers and assignments for the semester. I have become quite close to the library staff at the Magee Library. It is like a home away from home. Like the November journal entry, I make a promise that now that all of my assignments are completed, I will become a more interesting Mitchell again. I will admit that I do get a little obsessive and a little compulsive when it comes to schoolwork.

Though speaking of work, my research work with Ilex-The Urban Regeneration Company for Derry/Londonderry has been extremely interesting. I am still working on the first project about footpath cafes. When I was first handed that assignment, I thought that I would have it done in three weeks. I turned in my first draft and since then it has just been one addition after the other. I find it very rewarding to prepare work that is actually being used in the work to rejuvenate Derry/Londonderry. On a high note, a businessman in Derry/Londonderry read my preliminary report and has agreed to be a guinea pig of sorts in the development of footpath cafes in Derry/Londonderry. On a low note, I have discovered the mounds of legislation that were enacted during the Troubles and they are proving somewhat difficult to overcome. I always did like a good fight, so this job is great and keeps me busy.

You know, Derry/Londonderry is a unique place to study peace and conflict. Right now, the peace process itself seems to be tested. With the McCartney murder taking center stage and the Northern Bank robbery still making headlines, I wonder what is the next step in this whole process. I feel privileged to be here experiencing it with the locals and getting their opinions and their views on the whole situation. It is a first hand experience that could never be replicated. Not until this weekend, did I fully realize how much the Peace and Conflict Program has taught this economist from Louisiana. Sure I disagree with my classmates and professors on a daily basis, but it is from those debates and disagreements that I am learning more than I thought I would. The spring semester has been really interesting because everything we are studying is contemporary. I am really excited because in a month my program will be taking our class to Belgium for a week to observe the European Parliament and visit World War I and II battle sites.

Well, I am sure that I have bored you enough with my quiet little life in Northern Ireland. I promise that I will strive to make the remainder of this semester much more interesting for your next read.

Posted in Class of 2005, University of Limerick | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on March 2005 Reflection

March 2005 Reflection

Posted on March 1, 2005 by zkcoelius05

It has become apparent as I read the journal entries of my other compatriots here in Ireland that I am the slacker in the class when it comes to these updates. No news there, the fall was a pretty rough time for me and the last thing I wanted to do was burden any unfortunate soul with my laments just because they happened to make the mistake of reading my journal entries.

These days things have certainly brightened up significantly. Other then a couple quick stops in Ireland for my exams and a sailing regatta in Galway, the past two months have seen me virtually constantly traveling. After my time in Morocco with Kesav and my wonderful interlude in Seville, I decided to hit the slopes. First I made a quick stop in Italy to once again savor one of my favorite countries in Europe, fabulous. Then I arrived in Chamonix just as almost six feet of wonderful powder fell. Joy. For ten days we frolicked under the craggy majesty of Mont Blanc in what was one of the most enjoyable ski vacations I have ever had. Then it was back to Italy before returning to Ireland for the Super Bowl as we all gathered in Galway and a sailing regatta at the same time. It was a wonderful confluence of two of the things that have made my experience here enjoyable, the fun loving Irish Sailors and the constantly amazing other Mitchells. Then it was back to the States to tie up some loose ends that refused to be dealt with from a distance.

Getting off the bus and walking up the Limerick driveway last week I felt reinvigorated. Now it is time to get things done. Right now I am working on determining what I am going to do when I leave here. I am finding it to be a wonderfully challenging question as to what I should throw myself into next. Coming to Ireland has created a separation with a lot of the endeavors I had been involved with such that my context of viable opportunities has broadened exponentially. Should I go to grad school, if so which one, should I get a real job, go into government, continue in the non-profit world, sail around the Caribbean for a year (this is fall back plan and it has got me pretty excited). The decision has gotten me to do a lot of thinking about where I am going and what I want; certainly a good thing. At this point I am taking a hard look at the internet world. Currently I am doing a survey of recent startups to see if I can find a company whose business fits for me. If I can find the right company that also wants me I would love to get back into the hectic energy and insanity of a start-up, there is truly nothing more exciting as far as I know. I am very curious to see where I end up. I could find myself just about anywhere if the right thing grabs my fancy and leads me off into the next chapter.

Otherwise I am also in the process of getting my thesis finished so I can leave in May. I am looking at the role of the internet and connectivity (text messages, etc) in changing societies and the effects on governments. I see the recent demonstrations of people power in Lebanon, Ukraine, Georgia, the Philippines, and parts of China as one of the most exciting example of what happens when governments are no longer able to control the flow of information and the communication of people. To see the hundreds of thousands of people using the power of email and texts in Lebanon to take control of their political system is to watch the beginning of a revolution. No longer will governments be able maintain power by making every citizen isolated and scared by the appearance of powerlessness. As people are free to communicate through texts and email without fear of government reprisal, and as the power of viral networks converge with a pent up desire for change, there becomes a revolutionary opportunity for change. As I am sure you can see I am excited by it. Now the trick is going to be getting this idea into some sort of useful format for the thesis. It should be a fun challenge. Hopeful this is a spring of lots of fun challenges.

Posted in Class of 2005, University of Limerick | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on March 2005 Reflection

March 2005 Reflection

Posted on March 1, 2005 by rhanley05

If seeing more of Ireland is not a viable pastime, then my efforts these past two months have certainly been in vain. I continue to check off the places I’ve visited on the large map of Ireland I have hanging in my room (now equipped with highlighted borders of the counties, as not many Irish will take you seriously if you don’t know where their home county is located. As I try desperately to become increasingly Irish, the acceptance of the natives seems a prerequisite to my eventual success). The beginning of February brought the Mitchell’s out for that refreshing burst of America, as we all met in Galway for the Super Bowl — yet this time, sadly, without the interludes of multimillion dollar commercials. A few weeks later brought me to Sligo for a weekend Ultimate Frisbee tournament. Apparently I don’t understand the rules of Ultimate. As multiple teams pointed out to me, often without much patience, any body contact at all during a match is a foul in Ultimate. I did not like this rule. I chose to ignore this rule.

To my great joy, our Mitchell trip to Limerick a few weeks later coincided with the beginning of salmon season on the River Shannon. Armed with a single fly rod, our army of eager fishermen braved the treacherous banks of the “man-eating” River Shannon in hopes of catching that night’s dinner. Mr. Buckley, Coelius, Thibodeaux and I seized that river by the throat — that is, it almost swallowed me whole — and pulled out eight of the largest salmon Ireland has ever seen. But because we had decided that 110 euros was too much to pay for a fishing license, we begrudgingly threw back all of our prize catches. We’d of course show you all the triumphant pictures, but our cameras naturally self imploded.

The week after Limerick gave me the opportunity to travel the northwest of Ireland, County Donegal and beyond. Having my brother arrive in for a week vacation awarded me great company on this trip, especially since his “real-world” job financed our rental car. The highlight of our trip was sharing pints with Dr. Philip Murray, an avid collector of Ireland’s most famous literary masters. An impromptu stop at his residence left me speechless as I fingered through signed, first-edition prints of the likes of Heaney and Beckett. I just hope Dr. Murray thinks he merely misplaced his signed copy of Waiting for Godot.

Although my knowledge before I arrived of the Northern Ireland Peace Process inclined me to believe that progress was consistently being made, I have become cynical of it its development. Namely, recent actions have reinforced the notion that transparency of political parties in Northern Ireland is still a distant hope, at least for Sinn Fein. Although it seems much of their actions have simply veiled a continued agenda of organized crime and intimidation, I have particular disdain for Sinn Fein’s unethical offer to the McCartney family. A positive of this transpiring, however, may be more attention paid to the peace process from Washington.

I look forward to heading home next week for a quick respite with friends as we spend the weekend in Camden, South Carolina for their annual horserace, the Carolina Cup. The sure to be fun weekend will be focused on the memory of Chris Elser, a great friend who called Camden, as well as its race grounds, his home.

Posted in Class of 2005, Trinity College Dublin | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on March 2005 Reflection

March 2005 Reflection

Posted on March 1, 2005 by dbuckley05

My darkest demon has been exorcised: I can ride a bike. Just when I thought the Mitchell program couldn’t do anything more profound to impact my life, it outdid itself. On a beautiful February day on Inishmore, the largest of the rugged wild Aran Islands, I officially joined the ranks of all those six year olds who take off their training wheels and ride into their first taste of freedom. Under the watchful and patient tutelage of Misters Hanley, Gale, and Mulcare, I stumbled, wobbled, and finally peddled (sort of) across the breathtaking terrain. That virgin voyage ended prematurely in a mildly traumatic encounter with a stone wall, but nonetheless provides another unforgettable chapter to my Ireland experience.

It’s been interesting to watch in the past weeks as the local politics of Belfast again find their way into the mainstream American press. The brave McCartney sisters find themselves the toast of Washington on St. Patrick’s Day because of their calls for justice for their murdered brother, and the IRA is facing unprecedented criticism from within the republican community. Living here for a time has taught me that predicting Northern politics is a near impossibility, but one certainly hopes that the leaders who had the skill and courage to craft the Good Friday Agreement will now recognise that violence needs to be removed forever from the politics of this land. The people of Northern Ireland deserve better than what many of their leaders have offered them.

My day-to-day work in Belfast has gravitated to two poles: my dissertation and my work with ECONI. In a major piece of progress, I have a dissertation topic, and have even managed to cobble together a bibliography and what seems to be a coherent outline. I’m examining how political elites maintain their legitimacy in stateless peoples, with particular concentration on Yasser Arafat and the Dalai Lama. They seem a most unnatural pair, but a good many of their leadership strategies have common ground, and their differences tell even more about the multifaceted and contested nature of political legitimacy in conflicted societies.

Work with ECONI continues to be the highpoint of my time in Belfast. The past month has been spent in preparation for a major change, as ECONI becomes the Centre for Contemporary Christianity in Ireland. The change reflects the changes of Northern Ireland since Good Friday. Churches and politicians need to talk to each other about more than peacemaking. They need to discuss racism, water charges, schooling and all the other mercifully normal issues that should dominate local democratic politics.

As always, my road has gone beyond Belfast on a number of occasions over the past couple of months. I made my first foray to Wales to visit a good friend teaching there, and in the process discovered an accent that even beats Ulster for, shall we say, uniqueness. A long weekend in Rome started with inauspicious snow, but wound up including churches, ruins, and gelato, that trinity of la dolce vita. This past weekend was Limerick with the Mitchell crew and Dell, bonding over the lavish breakfasts of the Castletroy Park Hotel. My personal highlight was revisiting Glenstal Abbey, a Benedictine community that I called home for a brief time two summers ago, and that still felt familiar in spite of the time that has passed. If there’s a more peaceful smell than incense at a Vespers service, I haven’t found it.

The final bit of travelling that I need to mention wasn’t to some grand European destination. My grandmother died this past month, and I suddenly found myself on a plane to St. Louis for the funeral. It was a bit of an exhausting trip, but one I wouldn’t have missed for the world. It’s humbling to rediscover that amid strolls through the Villa Borghese, fly fishing in the Shannon, and studying dynamic global conflicts, what moves one most profoundly is simple memories of departed loved ones and getting to spend time with those who understand why those people were so special.

Posted in Class of 2005, Queen's University Belfast | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on March 2005 Reflection

March 2005 Reflection

Posted on March 1, 2005 by rmulcare05

Since my last report in January posted on the US-Ireland Alliance site, life in Galway has moved on. I wish it hadn’t, but it has, as it must. Or so I was told it must. I’ve wandered through many of the foreign places that I had been hoping to visit, including the Scandinavian/Nordic countries, Spain and Morocco. And my economics classes have progressed, such that I now often find myself behind in work (a position to which I had become accustomed at Princeton).

But I would like to focus my words on a Galway event of epic proportion, the Galway Mitchell Scholar Reunion Event (GMSRE), February 4 – 6, 2005.

The GMSRE was patronized by 11 of the 12 Mitchell Scholars, from every corner of the Irish nation – from the banks of the rolling Shannon, to the rolling cars on the bustling streets of Dublin, to the rolling hills of Derry (I don’t know if there are hills in Derry, but I will take the liberty. I don’t actually know what is in Derry, but I’ll be visiting shortly, so stay tuned).

The first night, a Friday night, brought all the Scholars together under the roofs of Michael and my respective dwellings in Galway. We engaged in insightful social debate, followed by numerous cultural experiences at Galway’s pubs. In point of fact, the very essence of Galway thrives in the pubs along Shop Street, and so I feel justified in categorizing this Friday night as a cultural experience.

Nevertheless, we all survived Friday night, and we all awoke on Saturday, some sooner than others. The group walked around downtown Galway – downtown Galway is not large, so that took only a half hour or so. But the Saturday market was out in full force, so we crowded into the stalls alongside St. Nicholas church, where we bore witness to… a horrible biking accident!!

Actually, it was just a joker pretending to have fallen off his bike, but fellow scholar Cindy screamed and tried to help him, being a good samaritan. From the market, we wandered up Corrib River, and into the massive Cathedral. And from there, to the University, and then back again. It was on this journey that I just kept gawking at the beauty and serenity of the town – though I’ve seen it many times before, you realize how lucky you are to be in such a place when showing it off to other people.

At night, the main event was a trip to the dog tracks, 15 minutes outside the city. Galway Greyhound Racing was a surprisingly sophisticated operation. The actual races are nearly impossible to follow, but everyone bets, and it feels as if some of the spectators spend the better part of their lives at the tracks. Needless to say, I won a negative amount of money, but other scholars were more successful, perhaps owing to insider information on the dogs.

Sunday, we visited the Aran Islands. Four of the scholars took to the minivans for the tour of the island, and four took to the bikes. One of those bikers was David Buckley, who had never ever ridden a bike before in his 22 years. True story. So of course, we did the sensible thing and attempted to teach him how to bike. David was a surprisingly good learner, and within 30 minutes he was ready to hit the Aran Island roads at full speed. David is a tall, lanky character, and while peddling precariously on his bike, his long scarf flapping behind, he looked startlingly like Ichibod Crane. He doesn’t bear physical resemblance normally, but ask him to ride a bike, and you will see what I mean.

So of course, with a brand new biker, we once again did the sensible thing and headed for the most hilly, narrow, death-defying paths that I could find on the Island. David survived these traps with a mixture of fortitude, good spirit, and a willingness to ignore his own injuries. We made it as a group out to Dun Aengus (what I consider the most beautiful natural sight in Ireland), and revelled in the successes of our newly bike-enabled comrade, who then took the minibus back to port.

Sunday night was the Superbowl, and we congregated with approximately five hundred other Americans in a miniscule bar called Fox’s, which was showing the game. This game was primarily notable for our discovery of how many people can fit in such a small area, and/or how a pub changes character when dominated by Americans rather than Irishmen. Not necessarily for better or worse, it’s just different.

In this brief recounting of the Galway Mitchell Scholar Reunion Event, the important point is that we had a great time together. The Scholars came together like old friends, and made the best of a great opportunity to enjoy ourselves and experience some more of what Ireland has to offer. And it gets better, because we meet up again in three days in Limerick (March 11), so the story goes on…

Posted in Class of 2005, National University of Ireland Galway | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on March 2005 Reflection

March 2005 Reflection

Posted on March 1, 2005 by mgale05

In the early part of the 5th century, the Niall of the Nine Hostages kidnapped one Maewyn Succat from his town in Scotland. After years of tending to swine and then a clerical education, he would become to be known as St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland who would go on to convert Ireland to Christianity and even drive all snakes from the island (will not go into the biogeographical inconsistencies of this at present). Yesterday I celebrated the holiday in his honor for the first time in the country of his renown. For years on every March 17th, my primary focus of the day would be advertising my green attire and keeping an eye out for those who failed to honor the garment decorum of the occasion, who would then get pinched. In later years, I came to view this custom as nothing but sheer assault and have for some time worked to educate people about the true nature of the holiday. Celebrating the holiday in Ireland was supposed to be the ultimate experience in commemorating all that for which St. Patrick would want to be celebrated. It was so much fun but really different from what I had expected.

I woke up eager for the day’s holiday celebrations. Adorned with a bright, green shirt and a brown, suede jacket with a breast pocket full of fresh shamrocks, I walked out into the beautiful sunlight to meet a friend to watch Galway’s St. Patrick’s Day parade. The festivities were yet another reminder of the eclectic differences between American and Irish cultures. I was mostly thrown off by the little things: bands of children playing whistles instead of traditional band instruments, political messaging in many of the floats, and a darker sense of humor to the costumes and themes. As an example, the finale of the parade was a float titled “Fallujah Square,” which was satirizing the disorderly state of the construction of Eyre Square in Galway. I appreciated the joke, albeit the ten seconds it took for me to get it, and yet some sort of ingrained proclivity invoked a deliberative hesitation. Something about this did not seem “right.”

This same feeling has been a routine part of my interactions with most, but not all, of my Irish friends. For example, the relationship between my house mates and I has been largely built on them “taking the piss” at me for being too “politically correct.” Whether I am commenting on one of their sporadic racist comments or discussing a particular social justice issue, I am always seen as a “politically correct American,” and never as an individual with a progressive system of values that is constructed to advance equality and undermine prejudice. Living in Ireland has helped me appreciate a more abrasive sense of humor, which is often an amazing tool for grounding people in the day-to-day reality of an issue. However my Irish companions’ failure to realize the broader social implications of their words and actions represents a serious problem I have with the Irish mentality. One of the greatest challenges about living here is facing this and the social hypocrisy of living in a nation embracing liberal European attitudes and yet still struggling with centuries of anger, oppression, and struggle for power and recognition and all of the prejudices that come with that package. As a good friend of mine succinctly put it, “It’s interesting how the Irish love hip hop music but hate black people.” Yet, fair play to Ireland for being more progressive on a wide variety of social issues than Americans and for their propensity for wanting change. For example, according to the Galway Independent, one of the prominent local newspapers, Galway is to become the world’s first anti-racist city. I am not really sure what that exactly means, but the notion is quite exciting even though I guess it insinuates that every other city in the world is either pro-racist or neutral about the issue.

The most surprising part about living for such a long time in a different country, despite a general anti-American political sentiment here, has been how much more patriotic I have become. Interestingly, this feeling culminated watching Superbowl XXXIX with my fellow Mitchell Scholars, where most of whom had come to Galway to celebrate. I remember looking up at the plasma screen seeing alternating frames of Alicia Keys singing, performers marching about, and people in the stands cheering, crying with all their hearts. The sight was so extravagant, diverse, and lively. The grandeur and character of the spectacle represented something that is honestly beyond the possibilities and cultural capital of the Irish psyche. I turned to one of my friends and said, “This is why I love America.”

Outside of the Superbowl extravaganza, I spent an entire weekend with my Mitchell class in Limerick. I had attended a conference in Limerick last June (where I got to carry Dr. Jane Goddall’s luggage: coolest experience of my life), and I was glad to be in the city once again. The gracious Castletroy Park Hotel hosted us, which is where the “big-wigs” at the conference I went to stayed. I felt out of place yet greatly appreciative that now I was staying in such a lucrative locale. I did however almost miss the weekend from a case of tonsillitis that I was still getting over. My tonsillitis also put an onion in the ointment with my performance in a play for DramaSoc in college. Luckily days before our first performance I got my voice back (I had not been able to speak for about three days earlier) and the show went very well. The past few months are actually somewhat void of exciting tales of adventure and delight. I did spend a loving weekend visiting some friends in Oxford, England where I had the most amazing proper tea ever with porcelain dishes and fresh fruit. The most exciting part of my time here I believe is coming up. This week I am leaving for a two week stay in Japan to visit my brother who lives there with a stop over in Dubai. I have never been to Asia or the Middle East, and this trip should drastically alter my preconceptions of that part of the world. I am sad to be approaching the end of my incredible journey here in Europe, but I am excited to bring back the changes and experiences I have had to my home country with a new and exciting outlook on the possibilities of opportunity and the meanings of culture.

Posted in Class of 2005, National University of Ireland Galway | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on March 2005 Reflection

March 2005 Reflection

Posted on March 1, 2005 by cromero05

Although I definitely feel settled in Belfast as my home and most days are spent just enjoying the company of good friends, enjoying this semester’s classes especially one module on international security in which the professor brings a refreshing historian’s perspective, and trying to delve into my dissertation, I felt that in light of all that’s been going on politically, it’s hard to not indulge in an open writing space to throw in some of the ideas that have been occupying my thoughts for the past few weeks.

While reading for my dissertation, I recently came across some interesting insights in the introduction to Mary Kaldor’s book New and Old Wars: Organized Violence in the Global Era. In that passage, she discusses the tensions that are forming on a global scale in modern-day societies that find themselves in the midst of clashing values between an increasingly globalized environment and the identity politics of their local communities. Kaldor describes what we’re witnessing as an “emerging political cleavage between cosmopolitanism, based on inclusive, universalist, multicultural values, and the politics of particularist identities.” Reading this, I began to think about it naturally in the context of living here in Northern Ireland. I think that with the recent political scandals and pressure under which the IRA and Sinn Fein have come under, it is becoming increasingly more apparent that people really want to just move forward and are no longer willing to condone the type of criminality that will get in the way of progress. According to the A.T. Kearney/Foreign Policy Magazine Globalization Index of 2003, the Republic of Ireland is first as the most globalized country in the world. People in the South especially are just not as willing to be bogged down in the identity politics of Northern Ireland when they’re too busy reaping in the economic benefits of the Celtic Tiger, particularly in Dublin, the most obvious manifestation of this new globalized cosmopolitan outlook. There’s a definite sense of difference going down to Dublin and feeling like everything that seems politically tinged in the North has just disappeared the moment you cross the border. Although I have to say, I had the best St. Patrick’s Day of my life in Belfast where the bars were full of people just having a good time without any sense of restraint or political tension.

A few weeks ago I helped out a friend in my department with her election campaign for student government and definitely came out of it knowing a lot more about the political environment on campus as I realized how oblivious I’d been for the past months to such issues. Unfortunately the politics on campus is entrenched in the same sectarian divisions and debates that occur at the governmental level. As I heard the perspectives of some of my classmates who have spent both their undergraduate and graduate years at Queens explain their frustration at the identity politics that seeps into campus politics, I couldn’t help but feel disillusioned. Isn’t college supposed to be a time of rebellion where you leave the comforts of home and everything you knew growing up in order to challenge your old conventions and preconceived notions of the world? Isn’t it a time to become an atheist, a communist, a postmodernist, a feminist, anything as long as it’s as unfamiliar and radical as possible? They say that education leads to a broader perspective of the world and with that your conception of your own identity becomes more complex, more nuanced, less clearly defined by labels. Unfortunately, although that may be the case for some and maybe even most students, the politics of identity, and the political baggage of the outside world, seeps into campus politics, leaving students no choice but to engage in the same debates on campus as that of politics outside the university gates. As a student representative of my department, I was invited to a dinner in Stormont a few weeks ago and had the incredible honor of hearing Nobel laureate John Hume deliver a speech in which he stressed the importance of education as a way of moving beyond sectarianism in Northern Ireland. Yet, I can’t help but feel that the university level might be too late a stage so as to be the first time that students in Northern Ireland are exposed to integrated schooling.

At the same time though there is definitely a more optimistic perspective in Northern Irish society. In fact the overwhelming majority of perspectives I’ve encountered offer a more positive outlook for the future. The look on the face of my friend’s mother who despite a fairly strong unionist perspective cringes as she remembers the years of the troubles and somberly states that most people in Northern Ireland will agree to just anything before going back to those times. Hearing the opinions of a friend as he writes a “Northern Irish” identity and says that despite setbacks he is determined to stay in Northern Ireland working for years to come on cross-community NGO work. Hearing the perspectives of many classmates and friends as they harshly criticize the criminality of the paramilitaries of both communities but usually coming down harder on those paramilitaries from their own community. It seems more and more that as in the case of the McCartney murder, people from all communities and political opinions in Northern Ireland have become increasingly critical of those who endanger the safety and rule of law of the members of their own community. For the most part the young and the hopeful in Northern Ireland are eager to move forward and put the past behind them. There’s no time like right now to be witnessing what seems to be a fundamental shift in Northern Irish society and hopefully the beginnings of a break in the stalemate towards a more optimistic political future.

Posted in Class of 2005, Queen's University Belfast | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on March 2005 Reflection

March 2005 Reflection

Posted on March 1, 2005 by mbell05

The months since January have been so busy that I’ve barely been able to keep up. In my world, hectic equals happy! Haha. I started off the new term in my wonderful Equality Studies program with a bang, having class sessions on everything from the ongoing debt crises in developing nations to the definition of marital consummation under the court s interpretation of the Irish Constitution. No matter what ups and downs I’ve had over the course of my time in Ireland, the Equality Studies students and lecturers have been a constant source of comfort, friendship, and intellectual stimulation, for which I am very grateful.

I am usually not grateful for the Irish weather, but even that has taken a turn for the better since the dark days of December. It has gotten so nice, in fact, that I can go walking outside now instead of doing walk aerobics in my room or hitting the treadmill. Walking into town is also a constant source of pleasure and allows me to save a whopping 1.50 euros. Being economical is important, especially when you’re living in Dublin. I also highly recommend the baguettes at Centra, which cost only about 2.75 with sweet corn, cheese, lettuce, and tomato. Now that’s a meal worth eating.

Another meal worth eating was prepared by fellow Mitchell Zach Coelius for some of us who were in town at the end of March. He did a great job, and it was certainly nice to eat something other than beans on toast that day. A really nice thing about our Mitchell class is the abundance of chefs (or wannabes like yours truly.) I think it speaks to the rise in gender equity that the most male-heavy class aims so highly for culinary excellence.

There have been many wonderful Mitchell times since January. Our trip to Limerick with Dell of course springs to memory, the Cliffs of Moher were perhaps the most beautiful sight I’ve ever seen, and the conversations were eye-opening. I feel very privileged to be a part of a group that can discuss something like tort reform with such knowledge and passion. The ideological diversity of our Mitchell class is astounding. Even though the comments of some of my new friends burn my progressive ears sometimes (as I’m sure I do to their conservative ones), the conversations I’ve had have been challenging and enlightening. It has been great, because in the real world, as I seek to effect positive social change, it will be necessary to understand all viewpoints. The wide range of ideological perspectives in the Mitchell community has gotten me started on this path ahead of time. The “unofficial” Mitchell gatherings have also been awesome times.

These few months have also been a time of traveling and hosting travelers. I took my first trip to Brussels early in the term, where I fell in love with gaufres de Liege (Belgian waffles made in the Liege style.) I made sure to eat at least one every day I was visiting. Manneken-Pis and Janneken-Pis made me laugh. I like Brussels because it’s a bit quirky, just like Ireland and South Carolina. I have also been to England another couple of times as well as exploring Ireland a bit more. One of my most fun Irish trips was to Cork, where a friend of mine took me to a Five Rhythms Dance workshop and I stayed in my first hostel (yes, I know.) Over the St. Patrick’s Day week my good friend from back home came to visit, and we really lived it up. It was great to have her visit, not only because I enjoyed seeing her, but also because seeing Ireland through a newcomer’s eyes reminded me of all the things I’d started to take for granted. Going to the Guinness Brewery was great, but it was nothing compared to grabbing pub food at the Trinity Arch Hotel, strolling around Grafton Street, or having tea in Temple Bar. Those kinds of moments make up the bulk of my experience in Ireland, and it was great to share them with other folks.

I’ve also been doing a lot to prepare for life after Ireland. After returning to South Carolina to work for the summer, I’ll be attending Yale Law School. I’ll also be munching on brown bread, beans, and soups and using sentences such as, “I quite like it” and “He’s kind of dodgy, like.” As they say, you can take the girl out of the South, but you can’t take the South out of the girl. You can take the Mitchell Scholar out of Ireland, but you can’t take the Ireland out of the Mitchell Scholar. And if you take the Southern Mitchell Scholar out of Ireland, you have a cornbread-loving, pecan pie-eating woman who likes a spot of sugar in her tea and her Irish cream on ice.

Posted in Class of 2005, University College Dublin | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on March 2005 Reflection

March 2005 Reflection

Posted on March 1, 2005 by njohnson05

find that in my own history, March is so often burdened with a need to atone for the sins of February. Though certain poets might disagree, I am convinced that February is the cruellest month. It is not just about weather; indeed, when I checked the Internet a few seconds ago to confirm Eliot’s spelling of “cruellest,” I found a site from Australia which corroborates those of us in the February camp. February in Australia is unbearably hot, apparently. There’s no winning the battle in either hemisphere.

No, it’s not just the weather. I have investigated many possibilities over the years, and while I have found many people who agree with me, none of us have met with success in articulating this phenomenon. I do not attempt to do so here, as March is a far better subject. The only point that needs to be made regarding February and its positives, however, is that growth is impossible without destruction. Ask any gardener or any therapist about the value of a little trimming. Winter is still my favorite season for this reason — to love the creation that follows, you have to love the empty canvas. But all this is just philosophy; let me be the first to admit that I am grateful that spring has come around.

March in Washington, D.C., the fair home of the US-Ireland Alliance, is notable primarily for the early blossoming of daffodils. Here in Dublin, we have seen the first purely sunny days in months. The daytime heat has gone up to 12, even 13 degrees (Celsius, friends, the way of the future). And that indescribable pall of winter which keeps heads down, eyes averted, and bodies bundled, has slowly begun its thaw. Spring changes people in the same way it changes the other parts of nature; something very deep within us is aware that it is time for growth.

Whether we were called by the shifting season I can’t be sure. But the new growth is eminently visible in the Mitchell class, and I see my own changes reflected in the people around me. We have just returned from another group trip, to Limerick, the Glenstal Abbey, Doolin, and the Cliffs of Moher. We had long conversations about the year thus far, fiery debates on politics, enormous meals with ample drink, and the obligatory poker wars. My awareness of these incredible people who surround me, my respect for them, and my trust in them, has deepened without my noticing. I have come to rely on them more than I have been able to express.

We are brought into the scholarship program with a grand mission that speaks in terms of the future: future leaders and future Irish-American interests. This should not obscure the fact that in the Now, as our lives move prosaically on, we are spending time together and doing one another good. We get each other through February. We are each threshing out our own ideas and our own futures, but we are also planning and creating with each other. We are a curious and disparate assemblage. As I read the pick of Scholars for next year, it seems clear that this is the intention. I do not think that the trust and friendship that evolves among us is a side benefit of the grant — I think the human element is at the core of it.

Vitally, we are not here in a vacuum. The human connections that we are bound to make extend far beyond the twelve of us. The Alliance puts enormous effort into opening doors for the Scholars, whether to give us a Thanksgiving dinner with a wonderful family, facilitate an internship with friends of the Mitchell, or even wrangle twelve seats for U2. There are reasons to do this that make good organizational sense — but the will to do it comes from good common sense. The ability for us to be here in the first place comes from the Alliance, so everyone I have befriended here is part of their gift. I am just beginning to understand how much more can be accomplished here than getting a degree — the answer is, more than you think.

I worked on two more plays this winter, and found myself ensconced in one more community of brilliant and talented people. Collaborations have also proliferated within my postgraduate program, as I’ve grown close to several colleagues, one of whom has joined me in starting Trinity College’s first ever Finnegan’s Wake reading group. I will be performing professionally in a new one-man show at the Dublin Theatre Festival this September, and plots are already being made for the fall theatre season at Trinity Players. I will remain in Ireland to finish my degree beyond the term of the Mitchell. But my life in that second year, even though I will no longer have the financial support from the grant, will be radically different for the experience of this year. This network, which seems more like a family, has already done its job.

Posted in Class of 2005, Trinity College Dublin | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on March 2005 Reflection

January 2005 Reflection

Posted on January 1, 2005 by zkcoelius05

I am sitting in the Seville Starbucks. A bastion of generic American corporate culture no different then my Starbucks outside the University of Minnesota or the Annapolis Starbucks I escape to when buffeted by the occasional storms of my parents home. Normalcy, I traveled half-way around the world to Europe, the last three weeks of it across Morocco and now Spain; and I sit in Starbucks. Something about it makes me want to think it is sad. Not sad like the laments of Ella Fitzgerald that waft through the room bemoaning the injustices of life. Not sad like the sorrow of lost love. Sad in the way that an old man always idealizes the cars of his youth, never able to fully appreciate that which is new on the same level. Our history swallows us and reshapes the world as we observe it, and as that glass grows thicker and more tinted, what we see becomes less and less like that which is (brief pause, I just found a copy of the Sunday New York times lying on a chair-a source of rhapsodic pleasure I have not enjoyed in far to long. I take it all back this is not sad, it is bliss!).

Two hours later…

The joys of the Sunday Times, there are few things as grand. To immerse myself in the trails and tribulations of the Vikings, the latest furor over executive compensation, or the magazine’s cries of foul over the Chinese pirating of intellectual property; the sheer thickness of thought so soothing. Yet, when I step out the door of my American enclave, I will be returning to the enchanting streets of Seville with its twisting alleyways, delectable tapas bars and singular architecture. And with the gust of wind around a stone corner and the click of horseshoes on the cobblestones, the world around me will be new, wondrous, and clear, piercing the sameness of Times, the Starbucks, the music. This is why I travel. In Morocco, as Kesav and I stood on the dunes of the Sahara and marveled at the undulations of sharp sandy ridges, the complication of life – not so much unlike that sargasso of ridges and hollows- that countless, days, nights and in betweens had left, was wiped away by the strangeness of it all. In a moment it was clear that in the enormity of the world I both knew naught and it would always be so.

Posted in Class of 2005, University of Limerick | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on January 2005 Reflection

January 2005 Reflection

Posted on January 1, 2005 by rmulcare05

My New Years Resolutions, 2005…

REPEAT 2004 CHRISTMAS IN 2005 ~ Galway is decked out wonderfully over the Holiday season. Over half the city energy supply seems devoted to Christmas lights on the cobblestoned pedestrian walkways. Truly spectacular. Despite exams held throughout December, the pubs are still filled with students and the mood is noticeably jolly (also despite the weather, see below). I returned to the United States on December 20th for the 3 week Christmas break, and spent time in Boca Grande, Florida, Philadelphia, Princeton, New York City, and my hometown of Greenwich, Connecticut. It was enormously relaxing and provided the chance to wrap-up some projects in the US.

MAKE NEW FRIENDS ~ I returned from Christmas break to find my world in shambles (not really). Most of the study abroad housemates who have doubled as my travel-mates over the past semester have returned to their respective countries of origin. A new crop has arrived in my apartment complex. And so a whole new set of opportunities awaits.

MAKE OLD FRIENDS ~ I have become increasingly better acquainted with the Irish students in my economics classes, to my significant benefit. I have been surprised by their familiarity with the United States, as most have spent at least one summer across the pond. At home, they are often as insightful in matters concerning the Galway pubs as in economics. And they are very inclusive in inviting me (being the lone international character) to their social outings. We had a wonderful end of the semester dinner after the December exams that lasted for… not one… but four hours. Although that was not due to any initiative of our own, the conversation did not suffer for lack of food. Many of these Irish colleagues plan on emigrating to London to work in the finance, so in that sense they are identical to economics students in the United States, if one were to substitute New York for London.

VISIT MORE COUNTRIES ~ On the itinerary so far for this second semester…. Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, Switzerland, France and Spain. I have previously stepped foot in four of these eleven destinations, but I feel a bolder tourist now than ever before. In addition, I will spend 1.5 weeks driving through Dublin, Belfast, and around the northern coast in early April, covering the major territories of this beautiful island that have yet to reveal themselves (to me). Plus events with the other Mitchell Scholars, and it all makes for a spectacularly exciting four months.

LEARN SPANISH ~ It might seem strange to attempt to reinvigorate my Spanish in a country such as Ireland, but I’ve always wanted to do so and so this year I shall try.

RUN A MARATHON ~ The obesity issue does not seem as ubiquitous in Ireland as in the U.S. That is amazing, because most cities seem to have more McDonalds per block than buildings. But I have always sought some goal for my exercise since my athletic heyday (at the age of eight), and so a marathon amidst the preternaturely slim residents of Ireland seems a natural fit.

UNSUBSCRIBE TO THE WEATHER CHANNEL ~ If “I’m Dreaming of a Wet Christmas” were a song, it would probably be purchased by Gallwegians (residents of Galway). Such a song might fail without their support. And an appropo song it would be, because the wind is so strong in Galway that roofs are often involuntarily deconstructed, rendering wetness a common theme both inside and outside. The local hockey rink was housed in a tent, the tent was blown away in one of the storms that battered the western coast, and the hockey rink is now open air (and closed). So in 2005, I resolve to ignore the weather entirely, since what I don’t know can’t hurt me.

For anyone interested, pictures of some of my experiences so far are posted at:

www.mulcare.smugmug.com

Feel free to take a look!

Posted in Class of 2005, National University of Ireland Galway | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on January 2005 Reflection

January 2005 Reflection

Posted on January 1, 2005 by kmohan05

Part II: The Discovery

The outcome of the American election has left many in Ireland in shock. There seemed to be an unwritten understanding among the Irish I interact with that Kerry was going to win. I spent most of the month leading up to the election debating American foreign policy, and was surprised at how many people think that American dominance in world affairs will slowly decrease over time. Many of the people I talk with are already looking to China to be the next superpower. It will be interesting to see if they are right.

I spent the first part of election night at the Guinness Storehouse, where the American embassy threw an election night party. The party was fantastic – an excellent opportunity to interact with classmates and friends. It was the perfect venue to talk politics, although the more I discussed, the more I realized that I knew too little. The night ended early, but I came back to my apartment and glued myself to a television until the early morning.

After classes ended, I traveled to Morocco over the Christmas holidays with Zach, a fellow Mitchell. It was my first true foray into a Muslim country. It was full of interesting and diverse experiences, many of which served to remind me that as much as globalization has promoted standardization, there is still a world of difference among national cultures.

On Christmas day we found ourselves riding on camels (painful) into the Sahara (wonderful). I realize there is a reason why none of the Moroccans actually ride the camels and save them for the tourists. That reason has to do with the unique vertebral structure of camels and the limited availability of working saddles in Morocco. Camels, adhering to the stereotype, also spit an incredible amount of fluid, which, conveniently, they store in their humps before a long journey.

To those of you who may have a romantic notion of the Sahara, let me say that it is the world’s largest sandbox, overflowing with many, many, many granules and not much else. It is also one of the few locations I have visited that I find I cannot define adequately, hampered as I am by my meager command of the English language. A poor attempt would be that the Sahara is truly ‘nowhere’ and I have never been so grateful to be ‘nowhere’ because 1) I realize how valuable all the ‘somewheres’ are 2) and now, whenever anyone mentions sand dunes, I can merely grin. The Sahara is one of the natural wonders of the world that served to remind me of how small I truly am.

Also, at night it is absolutely freezing.

One of the highlights of our trip was a race through the medina, defined as an ‘old walled city’, of Fez. The Fez medina is one of the oldest in the world, and is reputed to have over 30,000 streets in a very small area (a couple of square kilometers). There is no official map of the medina, which makes exploration all the more fun and potentially dangerous. The medina is full of people haggling in small stores, and is exactly the kind of place where I imagine the adventures of Aladdin took place.

Our race was simple. We started at one corner of the medina, and bet on who would reach the other end first. Zach went with Jen (our host – a resident of the medina, who was on no account allowed to help Zach) and I went with Francis (a friend traveling with Zach and I). The race was hilarious. Francis and I walked around the same Mosque approximately eight times. I am happy to say that Zach was just as lost as we were about 95% of the time (I know this because we were lost, and we ran into him and Jen multiple times), but eventually Zach won.

Francis and I are convinced that Zach cheated. We are probably right, but have no proof, so alas, we lost the bet.

On the thesis front: I have chosen a thesis topic, and will research how the International Criminal Court will be affected by the Dusko Tadic case, the first of its kind that appeared before the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal of Yugoslavia. I am excited, as I will begin to delve into one of my true passions, human rights law.

But now, on to exams. Two more weeks until freedom…

Posted in Class of 2005, Dublin City University | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on January 2005 Reflection