The latter two photos were taken on my trip to Washington State. The first photo is from my first day in Dublin, wearing my new raincoat!
Since I’m majoring in Secondary Education Social Science, studying abroad becomes harder for me to fit with my coursework as I progress in my degree. Taking the “Geography of Ireland” trip was the result of lots of deliberation as to what would best contribute to my studies. This particular trip will analyze both the physical characteristics of Ireland’s geography and how those physical characteristics determine the flow of history. I’m really hoping to feel immersed in the culture that has been shaped by physical isolation and periods of conquest. Since I’m Catholic, I’m hoping to visit as many Catholic churches, large or small, as I can.
I’ve been anxious about packing for this trip; I’ve been instructed to pack lightly as we won’t stay in a single place for more than a few nights. Ireland is known for its wet and rapidly changing weather—chilly one moment, and balmy the next. I’ve bought a new rain coat specifically for this trip—it has an inner down coat layer for warmth, a feature I’ve never needed with Alabama’s dreadfully hot summer storms. My family recently went to Olympic National Park in the Pacific Northwest, so hopefully its brisk weather will have prepared me! I’m using my dad’s hiking backpack for this trip, since we’ll be doing a lot of long hikes to gain hands-on geography experience. I’m nervous about leaving my friends and family to go on a trip with total strangers—hopefully they’ll be looking to make new friends, too. My mom has been helping to cajole me, and she’s right: I’m excited for this opportunity, and that’s why I worked to make it happen.