Sunday, September 27, 2015

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.








Monday, September 14, 2015













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!

Saturday, September 5, 2015

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.





Tuesday, September 1, 2015

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.