Home at last!
After over 24 hours of traveling (1 bus ride and 4 airline connections) and no sleep later I have arrived home, luggage and all! There truly is no feeling like coming home. Since I have been back in Omaha I feel like everything is new and exciting. I have already taken 4 showers because I love the water pressure so much and driven my car, which I thought was going to be a disaster. I think I have adjusted to the time difference with only minor issues (such as I had no idea where I was the past 2 mornings when I woke up). I feel like a whole new woman and I have never been so thankful for grandma's cooking!
Now that reality has set in I am off to work this afternoon and start graduate school as of Wednesday. I am excited though, bring it on MOT (masters of occupational therapy). I look forward to starting my summer tan tomorrow and getting reacquainted with the gym and catching up with all my friends. More than anything I am ecstatic to go home tonight and see my family. Thank you to all that have supported me throughout my trip! :)
Monday, June 4, 2012
Friday, June 1, 2012
#11 Wrapping up
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Dessert
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Tonight was the perfect night to wrap up our experience in Ireland. We were all treated to a
wonderful meal and drinks at Markree Castle. Such a beautiful place to spend
our last evening. The food was amazing. When I ordered a steak I had no idea that I was getting a good portion of an entire cow. Wow...so much food and silver wear! Honestly though, the most satisfying meal yet in Ireland and our last formal one!
Jen and Kaleigh
Appetizer
Main Dish
We spent our last evening in
style at our favorite, Garavogue. I cannot say enough wonderful things about
Jen and Kaleigh our other roommates. Too much fun!
#12 The End
Friday, June 1, 2012
Here it is! The final day…as
I sit at Chapters and reflect on the past three weeks I can’t help but feel so
bless and thankful for these experiences. First and foremost I would like to take
this time to thank my parents for making this possible. They have not only
provided me with the means to get here and be here, but also the tools to shape
me into everything I am today. Thank you mom and dad! I love you very much!
Also, thank you to all of my family (especially both grandparents) who have
been so supportive.
Chapters coffee shop owners
As a group we wrapped up our
week with our weekly breakfast and discussion seminar. It is clear that
everyone has grown so much through our work placements and experiencing the Irish
culture. I would love to bring my family back to this town someday. Sligo is a
place I could definitely call home except for all my loved ones at home that
would be missing in it. These are experiences I will never forget and could not
have been experienced in America.
As I leave Sligo and Ireland
I can confidently say it has been a grand time, quite lovely. We have had some
great laughs and much craic (fun), but goodbye Sligo for now. Cheers!
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
#10
Monday, May 28-May 30
Its official, I have finished
my last day at work! This week absolutely flew by…I guess time flies when
you’re having fun can be a very true statement.
Work went well this week and
I found it very enjoyable and educational. Monday I got the chance to work with
two young men with autism. Shawn, who I spent the most time with, came a long
way in the hour and a half I visited with them. It took about 20 minutes to
build rapport with him, but once he was accustomed to me we got so much
accomplished! This may have been one of my favorite moments of my entire
experience! I felt completely capable of creating my own assessment and
implementing it on the spot. It was such a refreshing feeling to know that I
actually have learned something in school! I went and visited Shawn today and
he looked me in the eye when he spoke with me, remembered my name and even used
polite manners like we worked on! So rewarding.
The final 3 days in my
classroom went amazing. Each of my ‘learners’ wrote me letters about what I did
with the program. Some of my favorite quotes from the letters include, "God Bless America, God Bless Jessica!" and "Jessica is from Nebraska and likes happy people." I am truly touched by the impact that they said I have had on
the group. They have been beyond accepting and embraced me into their
environment even though they are all older than me by quite a few years. My
experience turned out so different than I thought it would from day 1 when I
was disappointed about not having a pediatric rotation. Being a part of a
mental health rotation was an eye-opening and challenging experience that I
think has benefited me in more ways than I can state. I feel so blessed to have
this experience and to have met all the people I have. The community of Sligo
has made me feel at home. I am so flattered that I can go to different areas of
Sligo County and see people I have met and they remember my name and make sure
that I am enjoying my time.
We made our last visit to the
beach last night and indulged in my favorite meal so far. I mean it was pizza,
which has been a staple since we have been here, but it had all my favorites on
it and enough for lunch today. A few of the girls and I exchanged Irish words
we have learned in the past 3 weeks and found ourselves quite entertained. For
example, imagine a young lad about 8 years running up to his teacher saying,
“teacher I need more rubbers!” What would you think? Honestly…we all died laughing.
“Rubbers” is the Irish word for erasers! What were you thinking?!?
I look forward to my next 2
days of pure relaxation and finished up odds and ends, also known as running
errands. I have found the most brilliant coffee shop in all of Ireland and
quite possibly the World. It is nestled on the corner of Bridge Street (where I
work) and only opened the second week I started. It is called ‘Chapters’ and
honestly has the only good coffee in this whole country. Ailing is the owner
and she is just so lovely! Even the sign outside offers ‘Free Wi-Fi and Free
Smiles’ which is very fitting. I have found this to be my new sanctuary for not
only good coffee and Wi-Fi (of course) but also a place where I can reflect and
have time to myself (which is rare around here). Every time I go in Ailing
brings me free chocolates and sometimes brown bread (wheat bread). The best deal
you can get is a coffee and any paperback book in the upstairs library for just
4 Euro! I have yet to buy a book, but I can’t get over how brilliant the idea
is.
Some of the group
Yvonne
Tonight we were surprised to
find that our tea date at Martin and Mary’s was actually a 10-course meal! Oh,
did she feed us until our eyeballs and bellies were popping out. Mary made it
very clear that we should clean our plates and insisted that we not help with
dishes. After having 11 children of her own I guess I can see where it comes
from!
Tomorrow we all look forward
to a special dinner at Markree Castle and our last night on the town together.
We plan on hitting up our favorite local pub, Garavogue, which offers 2 for 1
drinks on Thursday and Sunday. We have failed miserably at seeking out every
pub in Sligo, but we have made sure our favorites had good business from us.
Monday, May 28, 2012
#9
Dublin
May 26-27
I have continued my stand in
that I definitely love the smaller towns better than bigger cities preference.
Dublin was nothing short of a very large city filled with lots of smoke, mean
drivers and large crowds. My favorite part about Dublin was our accommodations
at the very prestigious Trinity College. It was neat to be able to stay on a
college campus again and comforting to know the security of staying at the
college, especially in Dublin. A local told us on the way in to be very aware
of our surroundings and hold on to our purses tight. She also told us that New
York City was safer…that made me feel good. Overall, I never felt completely
unsafe or threatened.
Our first stop was Mercy
International, home of Catherine McAuley, the founder of the Sisters of Mercy.
This was an interesting tour that consisted of a video and tour of the home.
Crazy enough, our tour guide Mary Kay, is from Hastings, NE and was a teacher
and Sister at College of Saint Mary! Once again, small world!!
We spent the rest of our day
living out my dad’s dream of touring the Guinness storehouse. This was an amazing
self-guided tour! My favorite part was learning how to draft a Guinness by a
staff member. We all received certificates upon completion and a pint to enjoy that
we drafted ourselves.
The goal of our evening was
to hit up the famous Temple Bar(s), which luckily are only blocks from the
college. At first it was evident that they were pure chaos, but we managed to
find a variety of live Irish music and our first club since being in Ireland.
Lets just say it was an experience! Great time with the girls, but we
definitely agreed that Sligo is our favorite place in Ireland.
Sunday we got up and b-lined
it to the Jameson Distillery. This was such a neat tour! Unlike the Guinness
Storehouse, Jameson was a guided tour that was very interesting and concluded
with a drink at the bar. All of us girls opted for the cranberry and lime with
Jameson, which wasn’t too horrible.
Our dorms at Trinity College!
As soon as we got back to
Sligo we organized our rooms and lives for the upcoming week we also made our
last trip to the grocery store. I am happy to say that I hope that the 15 Euro
I spent will last me the entire week. The consensus around here is that
spending money really isn’t that much fun and America really is pretty awesome.
We all may or may not have started a list of all the things we take for granted
at home…and there are lots of things and certain people we really miss! J
6 more days!
#8
Friday, May 25
Belleek
Donegal
The drive to Donegal is
exactly how I imagined Ireland would look like! Beautiful rolling green hills
spotted with sheep. We visited the O’Donnell’s Castle (Donegal Castle) and
walked around the town. We were more amazed by the continuation of amazing
weather more than anything.
Mullaghmore
Seriously the most GORGEOUS
place on Earth I have ever seen! Mullaghmore is a beautiful seaside village
that has incredible beaches and beyond gorgeous views. We frolicked on the
beach for a good hour and were very surprised to find that the water was so
warm, the sand so soft and pretty and palm trees! Prettiest place I have seen
yet!
#7
Thursday, May24, 2012
Week two of work is done! Crazy how fast time has flown by! It was another successful week of work with my ‘learners’. My favorite assignment this week was to research (at the library) an assigned point of interest in Sligo and take us on a class tour and give a presentation on the site, like a tour guide. I think it was beneficial for both the ‘learners’ and myself to see the town and learn about its history. I think a lot of times we don’t even know some of the history in our own towns.
After introducing my supervisor, Yvonne, to Pinterest yesterday (huge hit) I thought she might enjoy Prezi as well. I gave her a presentation I created for finals about occupational therapy and autism in which she thought two of her colleagues would benefit from. I think it is safe to say that it went well also because they have invited me down to their rooms on Monday and Tuesday for a couple hours to observe three of their adult ‘learners’ with autism and offer suggestions to increase their success in the classroom. I am very excited to say the least! A nice change in the day schedule will be nice as well.
Even though it is summer here we have mostly experienced highs in the 50’s and rainy days…until this week. Summer finally made its way over the pond because today was a whopping 25 degrees Celsius (about 84 degrees Fahrenheit). On Thursdays the men go to special groups without the ladies so Yvonne and I spent the day on the town. We went grocery shopping, sat outside at cafes, went to lunch with the men after their group, took a tour of the river walk and played bocce ball. Educational enough for me…and I got a lovely v-neck tan line that really looks nice. I definitely never thought I would be getting sun burned in Ireland. I will say it is funny to see the sun come out in Ireland because literally everyone is beat red!
Yesterday was also a very traumatizing experience. We were given the option to get seaweed baths…Everyone I have talked to about this before has told me they are the most amazing and organic spa treatment in the World. They even say that people come from all over the World to get the seaweed baths. Well, I’ll tell ya what, it was the most stressful 50 minutes of my life and I will never go back. The initial first 5-10 minutes is nice in the steamroom, but the minute you step out and into the tub full of seaweed and hot water, it was game over for me. There is absolutely nothing relaxing about taking a bath with wild life…you might as well go jump in the ocean. The seaweed smells, the water in the tub is salty and there were even little snails in there, no thanks. I got one foot in the tub and a piece touched my foot and that was enough for me! All the seaweed went out of the tub and back into the bucket. I was so hot by the end of it that it took me an additional 20 minutes just to get my pants on because I was sweating so bad. And no, my hair and skin were not soft or “velvety”…I do not recommend it to anyone. Ever. The entire time I was wondering how I would explain this story to my mother who would constantly be rolling her eyes at me telling me I am being a drama queen…but you know what? It was warranted, absolutely awful. On a positive note the beach was gorgeous and the waves were big enough that all the surfer dudes were literally running to the beach.
After a long and exhausting week the absolute last thing I wanted to do after I got off work was climb another mountain. But I did it. We all hiked up Mount Knocknarea to bring a rock to the mauve’s grave (a legend about her tomb being at the top). The view overlooked the town of Sligo on the right and the ocean on the left. I will say it only took us about an hour and a half total compared to the four last time. There were lots of cows that we socialized with on the way down. The girls from Pittsburgh were thoroughly impressed with them, apparently they don’t have as many as Nebraska does.
Hey, look! It is like 'Nick Olson'! :)
The most BIZARRE part of my trip thus far was running into a fellow Lincolnite in a local pub tonight! Emily Carpenter (Southeast graduate and Chi Omega at Nebraska) was passing through Sligo! Needless to say we had a serious freak out moment that I’m sure was beyond obnoxious, but who cares! What a small world! She is studying in Dublin and making rounds around Ireland for the weekend. She also leaves Ireland the same day and also flies in to JFK first…crazy how it works out sometimes.
Sunday, May 20, 2012
#6
May 18-20
Friday, May 18, 2012
Today was a busy day, but we don’t work on Fridays so I can’t complain too much. We started off our day with breakfast made by our program director, Susan. Every Friday both houses meet for a seminar meeting to discuss our week of work, Irish culture, and any questions or conflicts we have. This was a great time to discuss interactions with clients throughout the week and learn about our peers’ experiences as well. And well, I love breakfast so that was a plus!
Looking back on week one has made me realize a few things:
- I really enjoy the tea/coffee breaks twice a day (America works too hard)
- I love not having any homework to do at night (too bad I have school all summer).
- The Internet is amazing (and so is Skype).
- Buses driven by retired Irish men make me nauseas.
- I will probably drive on the wrong side of the road upon my return home.
- I think I am getting an Irish accent (according to Nick).
- Spiders do live in Ireland too…in my bed no matter where I go.
- No matter where you live or what job you have, Mondays still suck.
Our first stop was the megalithic tombs of Carrowmore. This is the largest cemetery of megalithic tombs in Ireland with tombs ranging from five and half thousand to six and a half thousand years old. Over 60 tombs have been recorded of which 30 are visible. This was a neat sight to see, but it was very chilly.
Next, we headed to W.B. Yeat’s grave. Yeat’s is a pretty big deal around Sligo, but I have to be honest…it was just a tombstone. We all enjoyed the tea, desserts, and soup in the coffee shop much better! The most entertaining part of this stop was the sheep running loose through the parking lot.
Our last stop of the day was Rosses Point. This beach gives a beautiful view of Dartry mountain range and Sligo Bay. I drank my first full Guiness at a pub called Austies at Rosses Point. I actually loved it! I have a feeling my dad is feeling very proud about this. J
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Mt. Croagh Patrick
I am feeling EXTREMELY accomplished today! Today we traveled to Westport, County Mayo to climb Mt. Croagh Patrick. This mountain is best known for the millions of pilgrims and visitors that make the trek to the top to pray at the stations of the cross, attend mass, or just enjoy the amazing view. Our guidebook references this mountain according to Christian tradition that, “St. Patrick went up the sacred mountain at festival time in 441 AD. After fasting at the summit for 40 days, he banished all the snakes and demons from Ireland. The site quickly became an important place of Christian pilgrimage.” When we told people in town we were climbing this mountain they all did the sign of the cross and told us to wear hiking boots.
Halfway up the mountain, “Remember when we didn’t get hiking boots? That may have been a good idea.” However, we did make it to Tessco (local grocery store) to purchase gloves and the hats with the ears…best 13 Euro I have spent so far!
The terrain on this mountain was VERY steep with lots of loose rocks. The pictures do not do justice to the difficulty of reaching the top. We were blessed to have such a “nice” day with no rain or sleet. We made it to the top and back down in approximately 4 hours…and we were tired! All of us fell on the way down at least once, but with no visible injuries. We all feel too proud of ourselves to let the falls get to us. It is safe to say we got a total leg work out today and I have come to terms with the reality that I may not be able to walk tomorrow.
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Galway/Graduation day at home
Beautiful city! It was nice to have the entire day to roam and wonder as we pleased. We got some shopping out of the way and cute new dresses for Dublin next weekend. I still manage to hit sales in Europe, grandma would be proud once again that I hit a 25% off sale! Woo hoo!
Overall, today was nice, but I am extremely bummed out that we didn’t get to venture out into the countryside to see the areas that are displayed in ‘P.S. I Love You’ (the movie). I envisioned green rolling countryside and suave Irish men around every bend…that didn’t happen. I guess that Gerard Butler is only an actor and it is just a movie, too bad. I have decided that I enjoy the tastefulness of a small Irish community with friendly locals and sheep causing traffic hour. The bustle of the bigger cities is not my favorite way to experience Europe, or Ireland and the U.K. at least.
I got an email from mom or dad today stating that I officially graduated according to my family that was present at CSM graduation. Congrats to my cousin, Sara, for officially finishing nursing school at CSM! Yay! All of the CSM students with me on this trip decided that it would kind of be a bummer to make a speech at graduation this year and end it with, “Congrats class of 2012, we did it...see you all in class on Monday!” One more year…we CAN do it!
Tomorrow is Monday…Cheers!
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