Study Abroad in Ireland - Arlyn

Global citizenship and the of civic engagement is very important. I feel as though if more people were aware of what was going on over seas they may be more willing to work with other countries. I think civic engagement is something everyone can work on. Although I do still think it is important that people keep their own countries best interest in mind because it is easy to be taken advantage of. 

After studying abroad in Ireland I feel like I have a good idea of how important it is to be globalized. That bring said I feel like have a nationalist view point is important. I agree that the world view should be taken into account, but I also think that you need to keep your own countries need and values in front of others.

During this class in Ireland I have experienced and learned so many new things that I did not originally know. While I prepared for this class I told many people and they all warned me about the Anti-American sentiment. Although, I was really excited for this class I was a little worried because I was afraid people were not going to like me or be mean to me simply because I am American. Throughout this trip I met many people born and raised in Ireland and they were absolutely amazing to me and my friends. They were genuinely happy to help us at all times which I was not expecting because so many people warned me about this. sentiment. I am pleased to same all the Irish native people I met were extremely accommodating and nice when I asked for directions. Due to the generosity I experienced from all the people of Ireland I would revisit or recommend anyone I know to visit Ireland! 

Today we visited Heineken's bottling facility and it was really fun. I have been looking forward to this field trip because my dad and I like Heineken, in fact Heineken is my dad's favorite beer. Throughout the tour we learned a lot about the business. Heineken is the number one lager in Ireland and I found that really impressive. We also learned that it take 28 days to brew Heineken from start to finish. This is something I found shocking because I assumed it was a much quicker process than that. Although, it does not take that long to fully make every beer they brew in that plant. It depends on what you are making to determine how long it takes. I also learned that Heineken launched a 0.0 beer last March. I found this extremely interesting because I had no clue 0.0 beers existed. So I thought that was pretty cool, although I did not enjoy it as much as a regular Heineken.  Another thing I really liked about this company is that they want their employees to be safe before anyt

One of the things have valued most from being abroad is the experiences and different ways of living. The place I have realized the most differences from the USA and Ireland is the bathroom. The thing I find most interesting is the sink, so in the USA we only have one faucet for both hot and col and in Ireland they have two faucets for the hot and cold water. Although, both work perfectly and neither is right or wrong. I do prefer the faucets in the USA to the ones in Ireland because I find it more useful when washing your hands because you do not have to go from one extreme to the other. Another thing is find interesting is that the toilet paper is different. In the USA you will always have a roll of toilet paper, but in Ireland I have found that the majority of the time it is set up more like a tissue paper situations. Although, this does work I still prefer the way we do it at home.

Today we visited the Aran Islands and specifically Inis Mor which stands for big island. Essentially, the Aran Islands are made up of 3 islands that are just off the coast of Ireland. This island is so beautiful and extremely remote! Thought the tour we saw all kind of things, but what I find most interesting is that the walls they have that cover the entire island are not held to together by anything. They were placed so perfectly together that they just stand on their own with no help from any kind of assistance. We also found out that these "fences" do not necessarily mean you own that area or the animals inside them. Throughout our tour we saw some beautiful places but I loved the "fort" are the best called Dun Aonghasa. The view from the top of the hike were absolutely breathtaking and one of my favorite locations thus far. The Aran Islands are also know for the famous Aran sweaters and they are known keeping people very warm! 

Trinity College more formally known as  College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth is the College of Dublin. We visited this college and took a guided tour throughout this tour we learned all kinds of cool things. One of the things I find interesting us that Trinity college was originally opened in 1592 making it extremely old. Trinity college is also home to one of the largest libraries beaning out Cambridge by 30 cementers. Within this library there is The Book Kells which is a very old book written in Latin and is on cafe skin. This book is so old people are not even aloud to take pictures of it and it contains the four Gospels. While on our tour we found out that Trinity College essentially has not paid for there building because one of the original architects published his plans in the newspaper. Overall Trinity College is extremely beautiful and I am sure they have wonderful students who attend and receive a great education.