Travel smart, Travel safe

So as the world has been reminded once again that at anytime, anywhere we can be vulnerable to acts of terrorism. But we can't allow the fear of terrorism hold us back from living our lives, that's ultimately what terrorists are hoping to accomplish right? To terrorize us into fearing them or the world we live in. I was in Paris just a few days prior to the attacks, in fact had dinner and stayed at a hostel within a 10 minute walk to where the shootings all happened, I am beyond grateful I returned to Ireland safe and sound. Not for one second while touring around Paris did I ever feel any level of insecurity, and I would return to Paris tomorrow and walk those same streets without fear. What we have to realize is it can happen anywhere at anytime, whether you're in New York City, Maine, Paris, anywhere in the world there's unfortunatly always a risk something bad could happen, but with this comes and even better chance that something great will happen. This has sparked many friends and family members questioning my travel plans, and I have told them all the same thing. I am not afraid, nor do I question my safety, and truthfully if something bad was to ever happen to me I can deal with that if the time comes, but I will certainly not let an act of terrorism hold me back from seeing the real beauty in the world. The fact is there is more good people than bad in the world, so why should I feel unsafe? 

But it is always important when traveling that safety is the most important thing. Always make sure to tell others where you are and how long you'll be there. Contacting your embassy and informing them of your stay incase something bad was to happen, and above all always be aware of your surroundings, try to travel in groups, keep your important items such as passport, wallet, phone close to you at all times and hard for others to get ahold of. Follow your gut, if you ever have a feeling things may not be good, go with it and find somewhere you're more comfortable, some risks aren't worth taking. Most importantly always be cautious and never naive. Explore, have fun, learn, experience new things, but always be safe. 

On that note off to Prague for the weekend with another trip offered by WSA. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone back stateside, eat extra turkey, stuffing, potatoes, and pie for me. 

While I have a free minute

The past couple weeks have been a bit chaotic between numerous assignments due all at the same times combined with traveling but here's a quick update!

For those who know me know that the mountains are my happy place, and if they happen to have snow I'm in paradise. So when thinking of where I could travel, the Alps where certainly a top of my bucket list. I flew into Geneva and took a 4 hour train ride into Zermatt which this little ski village in a valley looking up at one of the most distinguishable Mountains in the World: The Matterhorn which was purely breathtaking. I spent my time exploring the village, having genuine Swiss food (which basically consists of potatoes and fondu) or my new favorite dish I can't wait to make for people back home called Rösti. The weather couldn't of been any better made for an amazing experience of paragliding over the Gornergrat Glacier. On my last day in Zermatt I took the gondola way up to Klein Matterhorn which is 13,000 feet in elevation, this made for one breath taking view after another, the air was thin but the experience was everything and more of what I had dreamed of. After hiking over a mile to a further peak I overlooked the Mountains of France and Italy, a site so beautiful my eyes couldn't even believe it. The following day I took the train back to Geneva and had a night to explore Old Town which is an old Roman market place made up of tiny winding streets with cafes and shops lining them. Switzerland has left an incredible impression on me and I can't wait to return someday.

Becoming a "Yes man"

Living in the moment, trying to take a step back and really for once just live in the moment. As many Americans agree it's typically our culture to always be focused on the future, Go to school, get a job, get married, buy a house, have kids. Some call this the American dream, for most of my life I would have to agree this was my mindset, now I'm not saying having a plan isn't a bad thing, but we often tend to lose sight of what's actually happening at this current moment. So far this experience has taught me one crucial life lesson I will always hold close to me. That is to live in the moment, how am I supposed to make the most of my future if I'm not even making the most of my present? This is the key to getting the most out of my experience, By saying "yes". Say yes to everything, if someone offers you food, perhaps you've never thought you would try, do it, last week at a Brazilian BBQ I ate chicken heart for the first time.  I'm not the type of person who ordinarily goes out to the clubs or pubs often back at home, but I've learned to really enjoy going out with friends, anytime they ask even if it's on a Tuesday, Because each new experience leaves me with new memories, and stories that I can always hold on to. Pushing myself out of my comfort zone, and actually trying every new thing I can and each time becomes even better, everyday I can see myself growing into a happier, more confident person and I owe that to saying "yes". I never want to look back at this experience of studying abroad and think "what could I have done to enjoy myself more, or get more out of this time". Instead I want to look back each time knowing I took advantage of every opportunity in front of me, tried anything new I possibly could and using these experiences to shape the person I want to be for the rest of my life.

If I was to give one piece of advise to anyone planning on studying abroad it would be to mix and mingle every single day with every person you meet. It's great to have a solid core of friends who you can count on to be there for you, but DO NOT stick primarily in that group, any event or group trip you attend place yourself into another group of people. The more friends the merrier, especially being someone who is fluent in English you are a great asset for any group of international students, most of them come abroad to develop stronger English skills and they will greatly appreciate your time and friendship.

Building Worldwide Friendships

One of my Biggest goals in my time spent abroad is to build real friendships, with as many people from as many countries I possibly could. When I was interviewed for the George Mitchell Scholarship I was asked what was it that I could bring to Ireland? This was a very complex and difficult question, My immediate thought was food, my experience and passion for cooking and baking is one of my strongest characteristics, not to mention food is typically what I have on the brain. If their's one thing that everyone around the world has in common, other than the fact we are all human, would have to be our appreciation for food. (I won't lie one thing that I struggled with and stressed about the most when I moved into Eden Hall was not having the luxury of all my cooking gadgets I have back at home. But that is just apart of the experience, challenging myself to become more creative and making due with the resources I can get my hands on.) The link between different cultures and their foods might be one of the most distinct, yet powerful. This inspired the international residents of Eden Hall to create a International dinner party, at first we expected possibly 25-30 people to show up. Our expectations were greatly exceeded resulting in one of the greatest experiences of my journey thus far, with roughly 70 people participating, From Germany, Canada, Brazil, France, Poland, Switzerland, Italy, America, Finland, and more. All gathered together with food or drinks from our homes, exchanging stories and recipes of what we made. As well as future cooking lessons/parties to teach our techniques, and recipes to increase our learning experience.  To me experiences like this are some of the best souvenirs one can take away from such an incredible experience abroad. The true friendships you create and the international family you build. I couldn't ask to be with a greater group of people.

Embrace the opportunity to get involved

First I would like to apologize for the lack of entries recently, my goal is one a week, but the past two weeks things have been a little crazy, but I have also been working on gathering information for future posts. Some will involve things like Cultural differences in which I experience as well as other international students. I am also planning on having an entry based on Irish expressions and phrases most commonly heard, along with the comparisons between Irish English and American English.
So to update over the last two weeks A lot has been going on, I've been getting to know my professors and classmates which are all grand! Each one of them has such a personality that perhaps stands out more to me not being from Ireland, but not a class goes by without the professor getting a large laugh out of the class. For the most part the entire class has all there classes together and have all been together for the past 2 years, they have a great community and all help each other out. I was approached by the two class representatives welcoming me into the group and offering any assistance. I couldn't be more fortunate than to be with such a great class. The workload for most of my classes is much different than back in the States, instead of many quizzes, tests and projects, we typically only have one research project due midway through the semester, which is based on assigned readings and material we cover in class, as well as a final at the end of the semester. This tends to make it much easier for students to get involved in school Societies or sports clubs, Which CIT offers nearly 100 well organized options. It was a little overwhelming with so many options, but given such a great opportunity I signed up for all that I could, from the International Society which does trips each week throughout Ireland, to photography club, Rock Climbing club which takes place right behind our student apartments, Surfing Club, and Equestrian Club. So many great opportunities to get involved and learn new things with people from all over the world I can't wait till everything gets started with the clubs. This past Saturday the International Society took a trip to the Fota Wildlife park right here in Cork, it was a great day out seeing beautiful animals from all around the world. They just had a New Giraffe born at the park five days prior as well as some new Cheetah cubs, Kangaroos running around everywhere. This year the International Society has one of the Largest groups it's ever seen which makes all of these experiences that much better making friends from Brazil to France, Germany, Finland, Switzerland, Canada, Spain and everywhere in between.

Alright, it's officially been a week since I arrived in Cork. In these past seven days I have felt just about every emotion one can go through. When I first entered this new environment I was filled with excitement and curiosity (and quite a bit of exhaustion). After settling into my apartment life starting setting in. Before I even unpacked my bags I had a dozen obstacles to overcome, figuring out public transportation, where is the nearest grocery shops, and how to navigate this large city that has so much to offer, all of this while having no access to my phone due to not having WiFi. I've always lived in small towns where just about anything you needed you could find quite easily, Moving to Cork I anticipated I would have to throw away my small-town mentality and become a savvy city wanderer. Going to Target for anything I needed was no longer an option. I won't lie the first few hours of my time in Cork really broke me down as a person, facing many challenges in such a abrupt moment. Although I have traveled in Ireland twice on holiday, living and vacationing are much different and I underestimated that. So anybody who knows me knows i'm a planner, it's one of my strong qualities to have clear thoughts and a halfway decent plan for whatever i'm doing. So that's exactly what I did, made a list, jumped on a bus(wasn't even sure if it was the correct one) and went into the city, walked around for hours in and out of dozens of shops getting a feel for the city. Ended up finding a phone company which sold portable Wireless routers that you just carry in your pocket which give you WiFi anywhere you go throughout Ireland. You never realize how dependent you are on technology until you don't have it, this made life so much easier from that point on. Making it possible to stay in touch with family and friends back in the States as well as having the capabilities to search for things around Cork. By the end of my first day in Cork I was feeling much better and more comfortable. The following day I met my roommate Ryan, he's from our Northern Neighbors in Canada, and the first few hours he was in Cork where just about a mirror image of what I experienced the day prior, it felt great being able to walk him through the city and reassure him it would get much better by the end of the day. As the week progressed I met many other international students, majority from Germany and Brazil, which we all got together and went out to experience the incredible night life Cork has to offer this past weekend. My love and appreciation has grown tremendously for Ireland and Cork especially.  I can already tell this will be one of the greatest experiences of my life. I've seen myself grow a lot just after a week, I can't wait to see what's in store for me over the next few months!

Challenge yourself, push yourself.

A little fact about myself, I strongly dislike running, I've played soccer and other sports that involved running my entire life, but people who enjoy running down the road for miles and take pleasure in that have always left me shaking my head. With that said, as soon as I found out I was a George Mitchell scholar and that I would be spending the fall semester in Ireland, I thought to myself what an opportunity to really find new ways to challenge myself. The first time I ever came to Ireland nearly two years ago our group took a bus trip around the Dingle Peninsula. Anyone who has visited Dingle before would agree it's certainly one of the most beautiful places in Ireland, or even the world. The beauty found along the Wild Atlantic Way is simply inspirational. Well the first Saturday in September each year they Hold the Dingle Marathon, and half Marathon, people come from around the world to run along the worlds longest coastal route. So I would make this one of my first challenges which would test me both mentally and physically. Growing up I participated in a few 5k's which I even struggled with, long distance was not my thing. So late in the spring I got focused and determined to find a way to run longer distances and try to enjoy it if anyway possible. So the first Saturday in September arrived and I woke up at a small B&B right outside Dingle, realizing I must of been crazy to sign up for something I've never enjoyed.

 Once surrounded by 3,000 other people on the Bay of Dingle I realized it was one of the best choices I had ever made. Running those 13.1 miles was the most enjoyable, inspiring miles I have ever ran. To my surprise I finished the race in 2 hours and 14min.

My Journey to becoming a George J Mitchell Scholar.

A few years ago The idea of attending college seemed more of an idea rather than a possibility. I was one of those students who did just enough to get by in high school,  some summers I even spent in summer school just to make it to the next grade. This wasn't a reflection of my intelligence, just a reflection of my attitude towards school and lack of ambition to learn. I was young and immature and didn't realize how important school really was. I certainly regret not doing my best in middle and high school. 

Once graduated I pursued my passions of culinary arts by getting jobs in a restaurant, as well as a job in a bakery. After a long couple years of working hard but getting nowhere I realized I needed a change in my life. In order to have a happier more successful life as an adult I would need to attend college. It has been a dream of mine since I was young, to call Maine my home and when making the decision to attend college, Maine was the first place I had in mind. More determined than ever to create a new future for myself I applied to Southern Maine Community College, packed my bags and moved to Maine. Little did I realize how life changing this decision would be.

During my first semester at SMCC I had the opportunity to attend a Spring Break trip to Ireland held by Bill McClaren. I had always dreamt of visiting Ireland and what better of an opportunity than while I'm in College. The trip was incredible and eye opening to say the least, from that moment I knew it would only be a matter of time before I would find myself back in this beautiful country. Which a short time later I had been talking to other students about my trip when they mentioned the George J. Peace scholarship. After some research I found that I had already missed the deadlines for that year which was okay because that gave me more time to prepare myself for what would be my next academic goal. Over the next year I worked hard to improve my grades, and got more involved in the community through internships. I never would have thought I would be standing here a college student especially with good grades, nor a student to be selected for such a prestigious award that would result in me spending a semester abroad. I've learned with the right attitude and determination you can achieve anything. With such an incredible opportunity my goal is to accomplish the most with everyday I spend in Ireland, which I will be sharing on this Blog weekly.