Study Abroad in Ireland 2013: Exploring Ireland

After spending an entire week in Scotland, it was nice to be back in Derry for Easter and to have a chance to explore Ireland a bit for the second week.
On Monday morning, after being woken up by a fire alarm at 5:30am, Megan and I began our travels to Cork in the Republic of Ireland. We started off with a 4 hour bus trip from Derry to Dublin, then another 4 hour bus trip from Dublin to Cork. When we arrived on Easter Monday we were a bit surprised to see that pretty much everything in the city was closed for the holiday, but we explored anyway and got to see a couple of really beautiful churches and headed to the hostel to get some sleep so that we could spend all of Tuesday exploring before we got on the train to head back to Derry that night.
On Tuesday morning we woke up and went directly to Blarney Castle. Blarney Castle was the ideal picture of Ireland. We got to see the Castle, kiss the Blarney Stone, and explore the grounds of the castle. Kissing the stone was a bit more terrifying than I anticipated because (after we asked the people to sanitize the stone) we had to lay down and lean back over a gap in the stone walls that dropped 3-4 stories down to the grounds. After we gained the "gift of gab" we explored the grounds which are home to one of the most poisonous gardens in the world as well as fairy gardens and druid stones. Playing outside of the castle on the beautiful day that we were there was a blessing that fulfilled any preconception that I held about Ireland.
After a day of resting I went to Armagh with some Irish friends. While we were there we went to the planetarium and then headed to the cathedrals (which was why I was there!). Armagh is home to two cathedrals that are both called St. Patrick's. One of the cathedrals, the oldest and the one that is said to sit on the spot where St. Patrick established the Church in Ireland, is affiliated with the Church of Ireland. The other church, in typical Northern Irish tradition, is the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Church. We had a lovely day exploring another city and ended the day by teaching me how to play pool once we got back to Derry. It was a fun day and a great way to end another week of adventures in Ireland.
I realize in moments and days like these what a blessing it is to be here. Not only am I learning a lot from another culture, but I am learning about myself and ways that I function best. This time as I explore a bit of the world on my own is something that will shape and influence the rest of my life.