Work is boring.
Discuss!
Friday, November 30, 2007
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Much-delayed Update
Wow, it's been a really long time. I'm really sorry for anyone who got annoyed with the lack of updates. I've been really busy with school and travel and everything.
So when I left off I was about to go to Ireland.
Ireland was really really great. I went to Dublin, Galway, Sligo, Derry, and Belfast. The theme of the trip was Irish Literature, so many of the places we visited were related to some Irish author or another. Dublin was by far my favorite of all the places we went. It's such a lively, young city that it's hard to not fall in love with it. We began and ended our trip there, so I got to visit it twice, in a way. While there we visited the Book of Kells (at Trinity College) and the Dublin Writer's Museum, the James Joyce Tower/Museum, as well as the Guinness factory. My favorite day, however, was the free day we had. During that day I visited both major churches as well as the national museum and this small museum called "Dublinia" (I think), which was a rip-off (unless you have kids, who may enjoy it more than I did). I also go the chance to walk along the canal (which was amazingly beautiful with all of the fall colors, etc) and eat Chinese food (it's been a while, I miss it a TON). Another place that stood out on the trip was the Northern Coast, with the Giant's Causeway. The scenery is so beautiful, if you have a chance to rent a car and drive along it I think that would be a very interesting and enjoyable trip. I also had a unique experience in that our class got to meet Ivan Cooper. If any of you don't know who he is (I have to admit I was not familiar with him before preparing for this trip), he is a politician/activist from Northern Ireland. He planned the peaceful protest that turned into Bloody Sunday. It was incredible to see him talk about how that day got out of hand and how he still greatly believes in the powers of peaceful resistance. After the official talk, I and several other classmates (as well as our professor) got the chance to speak with him over drinks in the hotel bar. It was really interesting to get so many different perspectives in various current social issues. Our table had two Irishmen, one American, one Ecuadorian, one Slovenian and one Indian. This was the kind of experience that seems to be typical of the Academic Travel program here.
After this amazing trip, there were a few hectic weeks of various projects, papers, tests and readings to be done. I guess that isn't the greatest excuse, but you'll have to bear with me, as it's all I have...
Then along came Thanksgiving break. I went to Romania! Specifically, I flew into Bucharest, stayed overnight there, took a train the following day to Brasov where I stayed the night and returned to Bucharest for the next day/night, leaving the following morning. Romania is quite different from anything I've ever experienced before. This is not to say that it was a bad experience. It was actually really great and interesting. It's just hard to get used to at first. Bucharest feels very much like a soviet city still (I think it's mostly because of the architecture, but also it was very gray and foggy the days we were there). There are lots and lots of stray dogs, but they were harmless (at least to us); one even "lead" us to the bus station when we were a bit unsure of where we were going. The second time we were there we visited the Palace of Parliament which was insanely huge (it's the second biggest building in the world after the Pentagon). I wish I knew more Romanian history, it would have made the trip much more interesting/informative. The last night in Romania we went to the opera (and payed about $3.50 for the tickets, I might add). The show was "Samson and Delila", and it was quite good. Brasov is amazing and quite pretty. While in Brasov we took the bus to Bran Castle (supposedly "Dracula's Castle"). It was a pretty little castle, but kind of a waste of time. Unfortunately Peles Castle (another palace located near to Brasov that is supposedly very pretty and worth a visit) is closed the month of November, so we didn't get to go there. The city itself was interesting because it is a medieval city, with walls, gates, towers and all. It's a nice place to walk around and our hostel was really great. If anyone were to ask me about what to do in Romania, I would tell them to focus more on Brasov and that area; Bucharest is nice for a day or two, but no more.
So that's what I've been up to! Pictures will be posted on Flickr at some point, I'll keep you posted...
So when I left off I was about to go to Ireland.
Ireland was really really great. I went to Dublin, Galway, Sligo, Derry, and Belfast. The theme of the trip was Irish Literature, so many of the places we visited were related to some Irish author or another. Dublin was by far my favorite of all the places we went. It's such a lively, young city that it's hard to not fall in love with it. We began and ended our trip there, so I got to visit it twice, in a way. While there we visited the Book of Kells (at Trinity College) and the Dublin Writer's Museum, the James Joyce Tower/Museum, as well as the Guinness factory. My favorite day, however, was the free day we had. During that day I visited both major churches as well as the national museum and this small museum called "Dublinia" (I think), which was a rip-off (unless you have kids, who may enjoy it more than I did). I also go the chance to walk along the canal (which was amazingly beautiful with all of the fall colors, etc) and eat Chinese food (it's been a while, I miss it a TON). Another place that stood out on the trip was the Northern Coast, with the Giant's Causeway. The scenery is so beautiful, if you have a chance to rent a car and drive along it I think that would be a very interesting and enjoyable trip. I also had a unique experience in that our class got to meet Ivan Cooper. If any of you don't know who he is (I have to admit I was not familiar with him before preparing for this trip), he is a politician/activist from Northern Ireland. He planned the peaceful protest that turned into Bloody Sunday. It was incredible to see him talk about how that day got out of hand and how he still greatly believes in the powers of peaceful resistance. After the official talk, I and several other classmates (as well as our professor) got the chance to speak with him over drinks in the hotel bar. It was really interesting to get so many different perspectives in various current social issues. Our table had two Irishmen, one American, one Ecuadorian, one Slovenian and one Indian. This was the kind of experience that seems to be typical of the Academic Travel program here.
After this amazing trip, there were a few hectic weeks of various projects, papers, tests and readings to be done. I guess that isn't the greatest excuse, but you'll have to bear with me, as it's all I have...
Then along came Thanksgiving break. I went to Romania! Specifically, I flew into Bucharest, stayed overnight there, took a train the following day to Brasov where I stayed the night and returned to Bucharest for the next day/night, leaving the following morning. Romania is quite different from anything I've ever experienced before. This is not to say that it was a bad experience. It was actually really great and interesting. It's just hard to get used to at first. Bucharest feels very much like a soviet city still (I think it's mostly because of the architecture, but also it was very gray and foggy the days we were there). There are lots and lots of stray dogs, but they were harmless (at least to us); one even "lead" us to the bus station when we were a bit unsure of where we were going. The second time we were there we visited the Palace of Parliament which was insanely huge (it's the second biggest building in the world after the Pentagon). I wish I knew more Romanian history, it would have made the trip much more interesting/informative. The last night in Romania we went to the opera (and payed about $3.50 for the tickets, I might add). The show was "Samson and Delila", and it was quite good. Brasov is amazing and quite pretty. While in Brasov we took the bus to Bran Castle (supposedly "Dracula's Castle"). It was a pretty little castle, but kind of a waste of time. Unfortunately Peles Castle (another palace located near to Brasov that is supposedly very pretty and worth a visit) is closed the month of November, so we didn't get to go there. The city itself was interesting because it is a medieval city, with walls, gates, towers and all. It's a nice place to walk around and our hostel was really great. If anyone were to ask me about what to do in Romania, I would tell them to focus more on Brasov and that area; Bucharest is nice for a day or two, but no more.
So that's what I've been up to! Pictures will be posted on Flickr at some point, I'll keep you posted...
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