Tag Archives: mitchell scholar

Surfing in Lahinch

I never understood why so many people loved surfing until last month. Growing up without access to an ocean, I went through the obligatory middle school phase of purchasing my first skateboard, riding around, and jumping off and onto sidewalks. … Continue reading

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Connemarathon

I always have difficulties with “reflections.”  Thoughts and images that seem so bright and flexible in my mind stiffen when I write them down.  On the page, heartfelt feelings become artificial. So instead, I’m going to write about the Connemarathon.  … Continue reading

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Blaze of Glory

So I feel like it has been a small lifetime since we last spoke. The second half of our year in Ireland started with a mid year retreat in Belfast. Earlier in the year, Stephen, Kyle, and I had met … Continue reading

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The adventure continues

As January comes to a close, it is hard to believe that we are already on the other half of our time in Ireland. It seems like only yesterday that I ventured onto a Dublin City bus headed for the … Continue reading

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No Longer a Tourist

Every evening these days, we get a knock at the door a little after dinner.  At the door often stand two people, sometimes older, sometimes younger, and they politely ask for a moment of my time.  Am I by any … Continue reading

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In Dublin’s Fair City…

An American, a Czech, two Germans, and a Kosovan walk into a bar…  This isn’t the start to a joke; it’s a Friday night in Dublin.  Though the Irish are said to have left the island in droves since the … Continue reading

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Bloody Sunday

Last Sunday, I attended the annual march to commemorate the events of Bloody Sunday, 39 years ago to the day when the British army shot unarmed civilians protesting for their civil rights in here Northern Ireland. As I walked up … Continue reading

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And Away I went

Robert Louis Stevenson said “I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake.  The great affair is to move.”  Those are words I have tried to live by in the second part of my Mitchell adventure. … Continue reading

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A Scattered Traveling Reflection

For the first few weeks in Ireland, I successfully hid my identity as a naval officer through my beard and hair. This was useful because there is a man in my program from Baghdad. Both of us are foreigners on … Continue reading

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Travel and thought

We are well into the second semester, and we’ve settled into an academic groove here in Limerick.  Last semester started slowly but finished strong with a grueling set of final examinations, lengthy papers and tough presentations.  Without a doubt, the … Continue reading

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Dublin Marine Corps Ball

I am in disbelief that more than half of my Mitchell year has already passed. Apart from a calm and snowy two week period in December, time spent on course work, with new friends, and with Mitchell Scholars has kept … Continue reading

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A New Home

What can I say that pictures cannot?  They describe family, friends, travel, and experiences that I can never hope to convey in words. Heather and I arrived in Ireland at the beginning of September and have loved every moment of … Continue reading

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