Submitted by Michelle Curtis on the 2017 summer session program in Ireland sponsored by the Department of History and the Department of Political Science and International Relations…
It is hard to believe that I’ve reached my very last week in Ireland! The time has flown by, especially this past week. We continued to bounce around to a different city each day which I really enjoyed even though it was a lot of traveling via bus. On our way to each city, we would stop in a town and grab a bite to eat along with seeing some attractions. My favorite places we stopped this week were Killarney, Cliffs of Moher and Galway. Killarney is where we stayed for the Fourth of July. Our itinerary worked out perfectly because Killarney is the only city in Ireland that puts on a Fourth of July celebration. This city had a BBQ, parade and fireworks all in honor of American independence. The coolest part was that myself and the other students on the program got to join in on the parade and help carry the flags for each state. This really added to our experience because we were able to display our American pride in Ireland.
The Cliffs of Moher was not only the highlight of this past week, but one of my favorite places on the entire program. These cliffs are Ireland’s biggest tourist attraction and now I understand why. The cliffs are about 400 feet tall and are absolutely breathtaking. Although I’m extremely afraid of heights, I did manage to walk on and around the cliffs to see their beauty from different angles. We visited the cliffs on a good day too, with little fog which added to their beauty.
Finally, we ended the program in Galway. Galway is a fairly busy city, similar to Dublin, but smaller. It’s a very lively city with its streets filled with restaurants and cafes and people everywhere. It definitely has the city feel just like Dublin did which is why I liked it so much. Overall, these past five weeks have been so incredible it’s hard to put it into words. I’ve seen so many places and learned so much about Ireland and its history. I’ve had such an enjoyable time and am so happy I made 11 new friends that I will see at school in the fall. This experience is something that I will remember for the rest of my life!