"The utterly impractical, never predictable,
Sometimes irascible, quite inexplicable, Irish.Strange blend of shyness,
pride and conceit,
And stubborn refusal to bow in defeat.
He's spoiling and ready to argue and fight,
Yet the smile of a child
fills his soul with delight.
His eyes are the quickest to well up with tears,
Yet his strength is the strongest
to banish your fears.
His hate is as fierce as his devotion is grand,
And there is no middle ground
on which he will stand.
He's wild and he's gentle,
he's good and he's bad.
He's proud and he's humble,
he's happy and sad.
He's in love with the ocean,
the earth and the skies,
He's enamoured with beauty wherever it lies.
He's victor and victim, a star and a clod,
But mostly he's Irish—
in love with his God."
Sometimes irascible, quite inexplicable, Irish.Strange blend of shyness,
pride and conceit,
And stubborn refusal to bow in defeat.
He's spoiling and ready to argue and fight,
Yet the smile of a child
fills his soul with delight.
His eyes are the quickest to well up with tears,
Yet his strength is the strongest
to banish your fears.
His hate is as fierce as his devotion is grand,
And there is no middle ground
on which he will stand.
He's wild and he's gentle,
he's good and he's bad.
He's proud and he's humble,
he's happy and sad.
He's in love with the ocean,
the earth and the skies,
He's enamoured with beauty wherever it lies.
He's victor and victim, a star and a clod,
But mostly he's Irish—
in love with his God."
I guess I should say a little bit about myself and what I will be doing over in Galway. To start off, I am a business major at Villanova, so you will have to excuse me if my blogging is a bit sporadic... I tend to write as I think and have a hard time organizing my thoughts properly. Anyway, once in Galway, I, along with 22 other students from Villanova, will be taking classes at the National University of Ireland in Galway. I am hoping to take five different courses: Global Political Economies, an upper level Theology, a Management course, a Marketing course, and our required Irish Studies Seminar. I'm so excited to be taking classes in another country. I feel like that is the type of experience that will help define who I am and set the path for where I want to go in my life.
I hope that while I'm in Galway I will be able to enjoy the culture around me. I have been reading up on the city and it seems like the perfect place to go! About 80% of the population during the school year is students, so there will be lots of people to meet and lots of fun things to do. They also have lots of festivals this semester including the Festival of the Oyster, which I definitely plan on attending. I'm also intrigued by their love of poetry. Growing up, I always found comfort and inspiration in poetry. Although I cannot write poetry for the life of me, I certainly love to read it and listen to it!
Of course I will have to travel! That is part of the reason I chose to go to Ireland. It has such easy access to Europe that I simply cannot pass up the opportunity to go to places like Paris, London, Spain, and Italy. Hopefully I'll be able to make lots of trips and really make the most of my time abroad. I'm really quite excited for the whole experience of traveling abroad. Not just being in the foreign country, but also getting there. Everyone talks about Ryan Air and Cheapo Air in Europe. I've heard some crazy stories, so I have a feeling that you will be reading some interesting tales of my journeys on these airlines.
The part of this adventure that I am most excited for is my living arrangement. I will be in an apartment complex (that looks more like a condo complex) called Gort Na Coiribe. Here's where it gets exciting. Two of my condo-mates are female Irish students and my direct roommate is an international student! I know absolutely nothing about them yet, but I cannot wait to meet them! My hope is that they will be super helpful in showing me around Galway and be great resources as well as great friends. I feel that this is what makes it a true study abroad program... being with students from other places of the world. That's what it's all about, isn't it?
Okay, well I need to go finish packing all of my things! Yikes! Keep checking back for updates and new stories. I'll try to write as often as possible.
"May the road rise up to meet you,
May the wind ever be at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
And the rain fall softly on your fields,
And until we meet again,
May the Lord hold you in the hollow of his hand."
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