Study Study Travel

The last few weeks have been a blur filled with papers, presentations, and more papers. I've seen very little of Galway besides the walls of the NUIG library. The end of the semester crept up quickly. This is the last week of classes (I have one more to go!) next week is study week, and then the week following that is when exams begin. I only have one exam for my psychology course on 9/12 (that's December 9th not the 12th like I originally thought). I've been here three months and still can't figure out the date never mind the time. 18:00 is not something my mind can comprehend. In addition to writing four papers (two more to go) Caroline, Ben, Dennis, and I have been intensely planning our "Euro 2k14" trip. Next Monday the four of us depart for a week long adventure through Europe. We start with three days in Paris, France followed by four in Italy. In Italy we're hitting Bologna first. Not sure who's more excited to see Phil there: Caroline or Ben. Actually, I think it's pretty clear that Ben is more excited since all he can talk about is "party Phil." Anyway, after a night in Bologna, we'll take a train to Florence for a night. Our final destination in Italy will be Rome where we'll stay for two nights. We'll also take a quick pitstop in Pisa (just for that classic photo) on our way to Rome. We fly back to Dublin Monday night. It's been a difficult task pulling together a trip like this in just a couple weeks. If it weren't for my mom's incredible planning skills and impressively improving viber skills, the four of us would be sitting in the Dublin airport for seven days. My main concern at this point is how I'm going to be able to fit a weeks worth of stuff in ONE backpack.
I'm definitely missing being home for Thanksgiving. Although, my mom did tell me that it snowed so I'm not too sad about not being there. Caroline's parents and brother (magic JAMO) are visiting this week. They are taking us out to dinner tomorrow night to celebrate the American holiday and also Abby's last night here. My Mom and Grandma will be here in less than a month. I can't wait to see them and show them where I've spent the past semester. I've never gone this long without a mom hug and I'm not sure how much longer I can go. Once my last two papers get written I'll be able to focus on the crazy amount of fun this next month is going to be. My next post probably won't be until after I return from France and Italy so until then, cheers!

Prague

What an incredible city. This weekend the three stooges (Caroline, Abby, and I) set off on our next adventure. This time to Prague, Czech Republic. Although my first plane ticket was mistakenly booked for Thursday, 95 euros later, we did in fact depart on Friday.

We arrived in Prague late afternoon. After taking out crowns (besides Abby who decided she'd just go with pounds), we got on a bus and then transferred to the metro eventually arriving at our hotel. I'm still impressed with our navigation skills seeing as it took us about two hours and an expensive cab ride to go .2 miles from the bus to out hostel in Barcelona. The hotel we stayed in, Pension Brezina, was extremely inexpensive but was perfect for our short stay. Our room was spacious and clean which is all we really needed since we didn't spend much time in it anyway. Caroline's friend Annie, from HWS, was our savior this weekend. She is currently studying abroad in Prague and showed us around the city, taking us to all the best spots. She lives in an apartment with two other HWS girls who had five other HWS girls visiting. Needless to say, there was a lot of William Smith spirit in the city of Prague this weekend.

Friday night, after getting situated at our hotel, Annie met us there and brought us to a typical Czech bistro for dinner. We then went back to her apartment, which puts our apartments in Gort to shame, and enjoyed the exciting nightlife Prague had to offer.

Saturday was a packed day, as it was our only full day in the city. We started the morning with a hearty brunch before exploring Prague Castle, the John Lennon Wall, Charles Bridge, and much of the rest of the city. We had perfect fall weather. I had forgotten what the sun looked like since living in Ireland, so that was a plus. Prague is a gorgeous city, with tall architecturally appealing statures, detailed bridges running between different sides of the city, and long cobblestone streets.

We finished the afternoon with a coffee and snack in Old Town Square. We watched the street performers and obviously took lots of pictures. By the end, Abby and Caroline were in major foot pain from all the walking. I, on the other hand, was in major knee pain from all the falling. Cobblestone cities are a serious hazard for me. I thought it was just Ireland that made me clumsy but apparently it's a European thing.  

Exhausted from the days events, we took a power nap before dinner at Katr. We went to Annie's apartment after dinner again and later headed to an ice bar with the whole Hobart crew plus a smaller Union crew including three of Abby's friends who were also visiting Prague for the weekend.

After another fun night we hit the hay. Sunday was a looooong day. After another delicious brunch, we went to the Petrin Tower. A rough replica of the Eiffel Tower, we got a wide, but foggy, view of the entire city. What can I say, most of the attractions we hit are the one's with the best pictures. We gotta keep our instagram game strong. We had a 5:30 flight out of Prague followed by a three hour bus ride from Dublin to Galway. We finally arrived at home at about 1:00am so our 9am class the next morning was more than a struggle.

It looks like the next few weekends will be spent in Galway. With the amount of papers I have to write, it should be very productive. Classes here end on the 26th of November. There is a one week study period during the first week of December and then exams are between then and the third week in December. I only have one exam so the month of December will include some more European travel up until we leave December 20th (but I refuse to think about leaving so that's not happening).

Foroige

As I've mentioned before, part of the Ireland study abroad program through HWS/Union is the element of a service learning experience. This was one of the reasons I was drawn to this particular program in the first place. On campus, I've taken several classes that had a service learning component. This means that, for example, in my education class about children with disabilities, I worked with a program each week for children with learning disabilities. I was then able to use my experiences in my placement to further my understanding of classroom material and vice versa. Here, we are required to complete 25 hours during the semester in addition to writing four journal entries about our involvement.  I go every Tuesday night from 6-8 along with Aileen, Dennis, and Ben. We will be there just a few more weeks through the end of November. While the service learning is not directly in combination with a class we're taking, the psychology class I'm taking here is Applied Behavior Analysis with a focus on autism. I am able to relate a lot of what I'm learning to my volunteer work. Following spring term registration yesterday, I got into 3 of the 4 classes I wanted. The one I didn't get into was a class in the Education Department: Understanding Autism. After emailing the professor and informing her of all the reasons I am a perfect candidate for the class, I was able to get added as an overload. This class will be a perfect continuation of all that I am learning here in Ireland. In addition to that course, I will be taking Cognitive Psychology, The Arts and Human Development, and Rethinking Families. For the first time in my 3 years at HWS, I got all the classes I wanted! Not without severe anxiety prior to, during, and following registration, of course. Then again, if you're heart doesn't beat out of your chest during registration, you're doing it all wrong. Now that that's out of the way, I'm just awaiting the OK of the Individual Majors Committee regarding my revised proposal. Cross your fingers for me. Anyway, I decided to attach my most recent journal entry which outlines the work I have done so far at Foroige.

            I have been working with Foroige for about two months now. I am working with a specific GAP program at the youth organization for 14-18 year olds with autism on Tuesday nights. At the first meeting with our program director she explained that all the teens who come are on the autistic spectrum with varying levels of functionality. I have previously worked with students with autism but I had only worked with preschool and middle school aged students in mixed classrooms. It had been a bit challenging so I was feeling slightly anxious about working with 15 in an age group I was not familiar with. Despite my nerves, I was excited to start and eager to see what the program was like.

The first time we went was pretty chaotic. It felt as though we were thrown into the situation with no training or direction. Now that I have been there for a month, I know that is just how the program operates, and it works that way. There is very little structure to the program but that system of flexibility is necessary and supportive for these teens. In the beginning I felt as though I was wandering around looking for a task or someone to work with. I did not feel like I was making myself useful enough but I was unsure how I could change that. I talked to our program coordinator and she helped direct me with a specific student. That helped, but now I see that simply having a conversation with one of the teens is making myself useful. She also brought to my attention the focus on unstructured learning that the organization encourages. I was unfamiliar with this approach, which I believe is the reason I was uncertain of it at first. I think I have found my place within the program more securely having realized that.

Many of the students we are working with are incredibly independent. Most of them have a particular interest whether it is Legos, video games, music, etc., and that is what they like to focus on during their time at Foroige. As volunteers, our main job is to engage with them as much as we can and encourage social interaction amongst the group. A common characteristic of those with autism is having difficulty understanding social cues and how to act in social situations. This is why our presence as volunteers is especially important. This is also what makes our job challenging. Many of the teens do not want to engage and do not want to be bothered while focused on their music or video game. I understand that it takes time for them to get comfortable with me so I have found that it helps to identify a common interest. Finding something to talk about or an activity to do helps bridge that gap and makes both of us more comfortable. I think that level of comfort is something that I will continuously be building with the teens over the course of the semester. There have been instances where a teen simply says “no” when I ask if I can watch the video game with them. It is hard to not take it personally but I try to think that if I were in “the zone” working hard on something that I enjoyed, I probably would not want someone sitting and watching me either.

I have been really connecting with the one girl in the program for the last few weeks. She is high functioning and really enjoys just sitting and talking. She asks questions and tells me about school, family, etc. I sense that she does not always love being the only girl in the group so having me to connect with seems to be a comfortable fit for her. Each week she seems to attach herself to me a little bit more. This past week when we paired up for a walk around Galway, she asked to be my partner. I’m glad she feels comfortable enough with me to do so. I am excited to see how that connection flourishes over the next few months while also getting to know the other teens.

I am studying education and psychology with a particular focus on child development and learning disabilities. Throughout my studies I have learned a lot about Autism Spectrum Disorder particularly in the psychology course I am currently taking at NUIG. I think this has given me a useful foundation for working with this program and interacting with the teens. However, I think it is important for me to remember that not every person with autism fits this prototypical image. Not everything I have learned in the classroom is going to be applicable but what I learn at Foroige is really valuable knowledge and offers me an additional perspective.

There are about seven volunteers on the nights I go. Three of them are also from the HWS/Union program and the three others are all Irish college students. The teens are very accepting of the volunteers and the fact that we are American does not seem to have any effect on that. The program coordinator and the other volunteers have all been extremely nice and interested in getting to know us and learn about where we are from and what we are doing in Ireland. They offer suggestions and tidbits about Irish culture and we are able to do the same about American culture.

After speaking with Chan Healey, our program coordinator, I have grasped a better understanding of Foroige’s role in the Galway community and its purpose as a youth organization. The space creates a safe environment for youth to engage socially in a number of different activities including art, music, outdoor sports, media, drama, entrepreneurship, etc. The main issues facing Galway and Ireland at this point in time are financial. This has a direct impact on Foroige, which operates on a low budget as a result. That means that their resources and facilities are limited and paid workers are difficult to have in large numbers. Therefore, Foroige relies heavily on volunteer participation. With open, friendly, and reliable volunteers, the organization runs smoothly. Without them, the organization would not be successful, for the volunteers are responsible for running the workshops and everyday clubs. For Chan, she sees volunteers reach success in their position when they find their work enjoyable by engaging with the young people in order to develop good relationships. She sees her role in a similar light. Having grown up doing volunteer work and getting involved in her community, she is constantly motivated by the youth she works with. She is “inspired by the development of young people [she] works with in self esteem, social security, and engagement in [their] projects. She is a dedicated worker at Foroige and is a great example of community involvement I think we are all, as volunteers, hoping to mimic.

Northern Ireland

This weekend, for our final program excursion, we traveled a lengthy distance to Northern Ireland. For those not familiar with the Northern Ireland/Republic of Ireland history, Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom. Following the Partition in 1921, Northern and Southern Ireland split. Northern Ireland was mainly concentrated by unionists (those who wanted to remain as part of the United Kingdom under British rule and predominantly protestant). Southern Ireland, which became the Republic of Ireland in 1922 when it was freed from British rule, was concentrated by nationalists (those who wanted a state free from Britain and predominantly catholic). More recently, Northern Ireland is home to both nationalists and unionists, with a strong majority of unionists. This difference led to what is referred to as The Troubles, which lasted from roughly the 1960s to the 1990s. It was a period of intense violence that resulted in the deaths of over 3,000 people. The peace process has since ceased the violence but the divide between nationalists and unionists is still present and was more visible than I anticipated. The history outlined above is primarily what we have all been learning here. With that background, we were really able to understand what we were looking at across the sites we visited in Northern Ireland.

We started off the weekend with a stop at Carrowmore Megalithic Cemetery. It is the largest, and one of the oldest megalithic tombs in Ireland, much older than Newgrange, which we visited earlier in the semester. Since it was a wet day out in the open grassland, our tour guide kept it fairly brief and to the point.

We took a quick stop in Sligo for lunch before continuing our long ride up North. That night we arrived at our hotel with enough time to eat and hit the hay. Who knew sitting on a bus for 6+ hours could make someone so tired. We were about 45 minutes outside Belfast so there wasn't much around for us to do anyway.

On Saturday we hit the road again bright and early, heading toward Belfast. We picked up our tour guide, an exuberant middle aged woman who offered us a historical timeline of the city as well as her own humorous remarks. Although I certainly didn't enjoy it as much as the Game of Thrones fans in the group since her knowledge of that and its filming in Belfast nearly surpassed that of her knowledge of the city, she was a great tour guide. Stops included Belfast Castle, Shankill, the Peace Wall, and Wall Murals. Our tour guide pointed out the gates that divide the nationalist areas from the unionist areas. All the gates are closed at night and on the weekends except for the main one. Nearly every street and building is lined with murals shouting political and religious statements. They scream with pain of the divide and troubles that this area once violently faced, and still faces to a minimal degree. We all had the chance to sign the Peace Wall, which was put up to divide the two groups as part of the peace process.

Separation gates

International wall of murals

Peace Wall

Left my mark on the Peace Wall

We had some time to explore Belfast and get some food before hopping back on the bus for another few hours to get to Derry, where we stayed the night. Our accommodation has gotten increasingly better for each excursion. This one was no exception. We had real people sized showers! A nice dinner was provided for us by the hotel. We finished the night off in the lounge listening to some sub-par music and pool with Thomas, our program director.

Sunday we headed into the city of Derry for a walking tour of the Derry City Wall. Derry is the only city in Ireland still completely walled in. The walls were built in the early 1600s as defense walls that are now used as a walkway around the inner city. Derry is also known as the location that The Troubles began with the Battle of the Bogside. Again here, we saw a lot of murals on the sides of buildings. However, rather than spitting out political proclamations, the majority of these are used as memorials for remembering those who lost their lives during the devastating times.

Bloody Sunday Memorial

Can you guess what we did after that? If you guessed a bus ride, you'd be right. 3 hours, a quick stop at Yeats' Grave in Co. Sligo, another 2 hours, and then we arrived back in Galway. Needless to say, I'm happy I won't be getting on that bus again partially because Ben doesn't seem to understand the you get half the seat and I get half the seat thing. Not to mention Danny's snapchats of me sleeping are less than flattering.

Northern Ireland was a very different kind of excursion than the rest. Rather than spending our weekend gazing at the luscious greenery of the country, we spent it taking a real look at the struggle and conflict that has consumed all of Ireland not just in the past, but to this day. I may not have had as much fun as on previous excursions, but my knowledge of and appreciation for the place I'm living and seeing has grown tremendously. Overall our program excursions to the Aran Islands, Dublin, Co. Cork, Co. Kerry, and Northern Ireland have been great experiences. I'm really glad we had the chance to see so much of Ireland. With that said, I'm excited for another weekend excursion outside of Ireland. Abby, Caroline, and I are headed to Prague this weekend!