Friday wrapped up the second week of regular classes and we had to have our final class selections by Tuesday. I am taking 2 core classes for my majors at Iowa State, Introduction to Management & Organization and Global Marketing Environment, and decided to take Recovery Approaches to Mental Health and Social Issues because it sounded interesting. I wasn't sure if I would know anyone in any of my classes, but I ended up having friends in all of them which is nice. Assessments and finals are also done a lot differently here. I don't have any continuous assessments for any of my classes, meaning no homework or exams. For two of my classes, my grade is solely based on a 1,500 word essay for each class due before final exams begin. I have a final in my other class, but that is also just an essay except that it is during finals week. At the end of the semester, we have a week break for reviews and then 2 weeks reserved for finals. Besides my 1 final, I will have 3 weeks free before I head home which will be nice to be able to get in some last minute traveling.
On Friday afternoon, Bridget and I headed out to Killarney National Park, the Dingle Peninsula, and the Ring of Kerry on an international student tour. They offer these tours at orientation and are a great way to see Ireland at a cheap price that includes transportation, accommodation, and all entry fees. We thought it was a great deal so we booked this trip and a trip to Northern Ireland for early October. Besides one other girl from New York, we were the only Americans among 40 Germans and a few from France and Spain. When we arrived in Killarney, we were scheduled to go on a bike tour through Killarney National Park. The weather was cold and the bikes were extremely uncomfortable, but the national park was definitely too big to cover on foot in a couple of hours. We were able to see the Muckross House and Abbey, the famous lakes of Killarney, and Torc Waterfall. After finishing the bike tour, Bridget and I found a restaurant in the city center and had dinner before heading to the hostel. After checking in, we headed to our room and found our friend's brother who we shared a room with in Galway. Turns out we had neighboring rooms in this hostel. The tour had organized events at nightclubs throughout Killarney that night, but we decided to stay in since we were both exhausted and had to wake up early the next morning.
On Friday afternoon, Bridget and I headed out to Killarney National Park, the Dingle Peninsula, and the Ring of Kerry on an international student tour. They offer these tours at orientation and are a great way to see Ireland at a cheap price that includes transportation, accommodation, and all entry fees. We thought it was a great deal so we booked this trip and a trip to Northern Ireland for early October. Besides one other girl from New York, we were the only Americans among 40 Germans and a few from France and Spain. When we arrived in Killarney, we were scheduled to go on a bike tour through Killarney National Park. The weather was cold and the bikes were extremely uncomfortable, but the national park was definitely too big to cover on foot in a couple of hours. We were able to see the Muckross House and Abbey, the famous lakes of Killarney, and Torc Waterfall. After finishing the bike tour, Bridget and I found a restaurant in the city center and had dinner before heading to the hostel. After checking in, we headed to our room and found our friend's brother who we shared a room with in Galway. Turns out we had neighboring rooms in this hostel. The tour had organized events at nightclubs throughout Killarney that night, but we decided to stay in since we were both exhausted and had to wake up early the next morning.
The next morning, we left early to head to the Dingle Peninsula. Our first stop was Inch Beach, famous for being the filming location of many movies. Our guide said that there is often surfing going on, but the weather wasn't great that morning so there was no one in the water. We stopped in the town of Dingle to grab a quick lunch at a grocery store where we ended up seeing our friend's brother again, Dan, with his friend Jay. Our guide kept driving us towards the peninsula and since the weather cleared up, we were able to see the Skellig Islands in the distance. These islands are a UNESCO World Heritage site and are where they are currently filming Star Wars. The filming has caused a lot of controversy within Ireland because the tourism to the islands is strictly monitored with only 180 people allowed daily with a large part of the islands being closed off to the public. The islands are very difficult to reach and have been shut down for weeks for filming. The most scenic part of the drive was the Slea Head Peninsula and the Blaskett Islands. There were times I thought that our bus was going to fall off the side of the cliff, but the views were worth it. Before heading back to the town of Dingle, our guide took us on a walk through Siuloid na Cille. We cut through a lot of barbed wire fences and farmland with sheep, so I'm not entirely sure if the hike was legal or not. The Atlantic coast was lined with huge rocks and we were able to sit by the water and relax before heading back. We had some free time in Dingle before heading back to Killarney, so Bridget and I decided to get Murphy's Ice Cream which is made and produced in Dingle and is said to be the best ice cream in Ireland. We decided to stop in a pub for a pint Tom Crean's Lager, something our tour guide said was a must while visiting the town. When we walked into the pub, there were Dan and Jay again. We might as well just coordinate our travel plans. After grabbing dinner back in Killarney, Bridget and I decided to find a pub with live music. We ended up finding a popular bar with 2 local girls singing acoustic versions of modern songs and ended up staying the entire night listening to them.
The next morning we checked out of our hostel and made our way towards the Ring of Kerry, a famous coastal route in County Kerry. It rained all morning and was foggy so we could hardly see anything. Our guide arranged a sheep dog demonstration for us, and although we had to stand in the rain for a 1/2 hour while watching it, it was really interesting. I never understood how dogs herded sheep, but they literally run up the hills of a mountain and bring the sheep down. The owner of the sheep has 4 or 5 different dogs that have all been trained for 18 months. They are trained with a whistle and each dog has different signals telling them to herd the sheep to the left, to the right, to herd the sheep faster and slower, and to line the sheep up so the owner can make a selection of the best ones. Every signal sounded the same to me, but one dog would always stop what he was doing when it wasn't his signal and another one would then begin herding the sheep. We had lunch in Waterville, a vacation spot for Charlie Chaplin, and were able to see his old house. We ended up not being able to stop at some main tourist spots because the fog was so thick that nothing was visible. Our guide made it known at the beginning of the trip that he would not be missing the Gaelic football game on Sunday afternoon. Gaelic football is an Irish sport basically comprised of football, soccer, and rugby concepts. This game was the all Ireland finals, which is like our Super Bowl, and was between Kerry and Dublin. We were in County Kerry the entire weekend and almost every business and house we passed had their green and yellow flags out supporting the team. Our tour guide's uncle was one of the most famous players in Irish history, so we had to make a pit stop in a small town and watch the game before heading back to Cork.
When looking into these international student trips, I would advise coordinating with friends before making a final booking because they sell out quick. The sites were great and I don't regret the trip at all, but it definitely would have been a lot more fun if more of our friends were able to come along. Most of the Germans already all knew each other and weren't very open to accepting 2 girls from America. Also, I have been taught in multiple business classes that if ever doing business with Germans to account for tardiness, but I never knew how accurate this statement was. Whenever we had a set time to leave somewhere, we always ended up leaving almost a 1/2 hour later than planned because they would always take their time getting to the bus.
When looking into these international student trips, I would advise coordinating with friends before making a final booking because they sell out quick. The sites were great and I don't regret the trip at all, but it definitely would have been a lot more fun if more of our friends were able to come along. Most of the Germans already all knew each other and weren't very open to accepting 2 girls from America. Also, I have been taught in multiple business classes that if ever doing business with Germans to account for tardiness, but I never knew how accurate this statement was. Whenever we had a set time to leave somewhere, we always ended up leaving almost a 1/2 hour later than planned because they would always take their time getting to the bus.