Ireland
Blog 1
Beginning-
February 5, 2015
Kelli
Monheiser
Like most of the others that signed
up for the trip to Ireland, I was very excited for the new adventure. Although
Ireland was not my number one choice, I was told that I would appreciate the
beauty, culture, and people in the country. The first step I took when planning
for the trip was the application. I spent quite a lot of time going through the
requirements wondering if the trip was really something that I wanted.
Once accepted, I was very excited.
I was anxious to see something new. When the first meeting was held, we were
introduced to some of the other people that were going on the trip together.
Although her and I were not the best of friends, my friend Jordan and I had
originally planned to go together. As I sit here and right this blog, I will admit
that it was nice to have someone to plan with, but I wish I would have come
into the trip with an open mind and made myself more available to make new
friends.
After all the paperwork was taken
care of, and our plane ticket was booked, we played the waiting game. I found this time to be greatly of the
essence. To start off, I was applying to nursing school and my application was
due the day after we left. Considering that my acceptance was the most
important thing at the time, I made it a priority. I ended up submitting my
application on the 15 of January.
Another big task that needed to be
done pretty fast was getting my passport taken care of. When I went home for
thanksgiving, I went to the local post office and filled out the application.
Thinking that I had plenty of time between November 22nd and January
31st, I didn’t worry about the processing of my passport. However, a
big lesson that I learned was not to trust anything unless you do it yourself.
When I got home for Christmas break on the 18th, I opened my mail
and they had sent me my paperwork back telling me that because I was still a
minor, I had to finish the other application. I went to the post office only
days later and fixed the mistake, however, at this point, time was a little
more scarce. I remember calling about every other day to check the processing
on the passport. I ended up receiving the piece of mail on the 17th
of January. I was then able to make copies to keep on file. I was told that it
is a good idea in case I was to lose my passport.
Before I
left, I made sure that I talked to my insurance company and took the full
coverage off of my car so that I was only paying fifteen dollars for insurance
over my regular ninety-dollar expense. I
also set up online banking so that I could pay off the charges I make to my
credit card as I go.
Before leaving, banking was another
project. There were quite a few things that I had to clear up with my bank
before I could leave for three months. First of all, I was told that credit
card companies began putting security chips in the cards for better fraud
protection. I knew that going over to another country that would be wise. So I
had to order a new credit card. Secondly, I had to call my credit card company
to make sure that they knew I was leaving the country from February 1st
until April 27th. And lastly, I was told that it would be cheaper
for me to order euros from the bank so that I wouldn’t have to exchange them
when in Ireland. So I ordered 700 euros. At an exchange rate of 1.20, it cost
me about 840 American dollars. I guess we will see how far that gets me.
When beginning school back in the
fall of 2014, I got a job at the nursing home in Kearney. However, leaving for
three months isn’t very ideal to an employer. They understood when I told them
that I was going to be leaving and luckily, they didn’t fire me, but only if I
promised to send them a post card. I had to file for a three-month leave of
absence.
One of the last and probably the
most comical processes of the planning for me was running the trip through my
family. We are a very close family, so when I told them that I was going to be
leaving for three months, they began running all the possibilities through their
heads. My older sister made out a list of things for me to do and although they
seemed silly at the time, it may come in handy for me at some point during this
trip. First, she made me call my insurance company to make sure that I am
covered over seas. Much to my surprise, I was as well as, when applying for the
study abroad, we pay fees that also insure us over seas. She also wanted to be
sure that if I die, that my body would be extradited back to America. Andddddd
it is. She also advised me to call the United States Embassy to make sure that
they know I am over seas. Through this process, I went to the embassy’s website
where I followed a link to a Smart Traveler- STEP process. Through this, I
filled out a small application explaining when I will be out of the country.
That way, if something were to happen in the country that would put me at
danger, they would send forces to come and get me out of the danger zone.
Although I may overthink it now and laugh at her, it may come in handy at some
point during this trip. I hope not, but better safe than sorry. I also had to
make sure to file for an extension on my taxes because being gone; I would be
unable to file.
I would say that for a majority of
the planning for this trip, I was not excited. I looked at it more as a hassle
than an adventure. There was so much to do and such little time that many times
I considered backing out. If it not for my scholarship, plane ticket, and had
already told people that I am leaving, I do feel like I would have stayed home.
It took me till the Thursday, a week and
a half before leaving, until I got excited. However, when getting to this
point, I had no second thoughts. I was excited to go and feel like I had the
right mindset when leaving.
I went through security and was
pretty comfortable with the small airport size.
Denver International would have been closer, but it was worth the money
we saved to drive a little farther and get through a little faster. When
waiting to get on the plane, I was a little nervous until Kate, Brittany, and
Sierra came walking up. Something about having more people is a little more
comforting.
I would say that the flight was
easy. I had flown before but never had two layovers heading out of the country.
It was a very good flying experience. I made it appoint to sleep a little when
we were just sitting. I think this helped me to not be so tired after the
7-hour time change from my hometown. When
arriving to Shannon, it was dark; kind of a bummer because I was told that
coming off the airplane and looking over the green land is a beautiful sight. For
me, the drive over was very worth it. Everything was green and wet. A Colorado
farmers paradise. I notice that the way
of life was a lot more conservative. They built lives out of the things that
they have, whereas we built lives with new things and threw away what was used.
We idolize the newest brand and the newest items. They seem to want to hold on
to their past. A neat idea to me.
When getting to the lodge, it was
cold. I planned to get out of the cold, only to go somewhere colder. When they
pointed us in the direction of our cottages, I thought that it wouldn’t be so
bad. They looked nice and cozy, but when I walked in, I thought a little bit
different. We got the smaller double room and there was nowhere to put my
clothes. A very big problem to a twenty year old. When getting settled in and
after a small nap, we went over to the lodge for lunch where they introduced us
to Jane Marie. A great woman. Veryyyyy helpful. The first meal in Ireland was
pretty American like. During lunch, they briefed us about the area, the types
of people, the classes we would be taking, the laundry, the cottages, and more.
When we went back to our cottages, a group of us walked to the town of Spiddal.
We visited the ocean, and the small stores. We didn’t walk in to any stores,
just kind of explored the town. It is a very small town but very pretty. We
walked back and the five girls in our cottage got to know each other a little
bit. At about 9:30, we went to bed and day 1 of my Ireland Adventure was in the
books.
Day two consisted of waking up and
going to our first Gaelic class with Jane Marie. We were only in class for
about an hour or so and we learned a few words to help us get to by on the
streets of Spiddal. After class, we had an hour to go back and get cleaned up
and then go to lunch. At about 1:30, we met at the classroom for a tour where
we were going to walk down to Spiddal and learn about the small village. My
first take on the small classroom was that it was very old. It reminded me of
the old school houses that we learned about in third grade. A chalk board and
small desks with wooden chairs. The modern pieces of technology stood out to
me. The TV cords with clusters of wires and the projector set up on the table
that we had to tilt our head to read.
The camera in the corner also stood out to me; probably the most modern pieces
of equipment that this room had ever seen. The tour of the small village was a
nice way to get to know the little town and how important it is the few people
that still remain. After the tour, we stayed around the pubs and got to know a
few of the locals. A great opportunity to be told what Ireland has to offer.
So far on the trip, some thoughts
that I have are about our location. It is nice to be in a more remote area
where we are secluded from the town, but as young students in another country,
it would be nice to be in an area where there was more for us to do. Where we
are, entertainment, resources, and food are out of the way. I do feel like this
may be a problem for the rest of our trip when we are all wanting something to
do. So far, the country is beautiful, the people are very nice and the time
spent is well spent.
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