Week 6: Baby Lambs in Dingle

This week was full of highs and lows. I definitely have hit a slump in my study abroad experience, and this week I was in the thick of it. On Monday my best friend’s mom came to visit me when her tour bus stopped in Galway (you are my friend too Mrs. Burke!) It was so nice to see someone from home and talk to someone outside of my very small program. We had a wonderful lunch of fish and chips and I gave an abridged walking tour of Galway City. It was a great start to a week when I was feeling pretty homesick!

Tuesday and Wednesday were dedicated to holing up in my flat writing essays and doing other homework. We get out of school at the beginning of April, so all of our schoolwork is compressed into three months. I’m in the throws of midterms right now. (I guess I actually have to study while abroad, what a novel concept!)

On Thursday morning I video chatted with my friends back at UP during after mass social. It was the highlight of my day to see the Kenna community again! I took myself to a movie in the afternoon in order to intentionally work on self care. I saw Green Book which was so good! There were so many quintessential “American” moments in the movie that made me feel at home in the theater. I was nervous to go to a movie alone, but it definitely was something I needed at the end of a hard week.

On Friday morning we left Galway and headed to the Dingle Peninsula for a weekend excursion. The first place we stopped on the way was Coole Park, home of Lady Gregory, the patroness of the famous Abbey Theater in Dublin. The grounds were gorgeous. It was relaxing to breathe fresh air and take a walk through the woods again. (We did end up getting lost on the path and had to sprint back to the bus, but other than that it was wonderful!)

We stopped at Bunratty Castle and Folk Park next. Bunratty is an old medieval castle complete with a dungeon. After touring the castle we walked around the restored medieval town, houses and animal pens. The place was so big that there was a whole section we didn’t even reach. My favorite animals were the 2 year old Irish wolfhounds named Meabh and Saoirse. We hopped on the bus after two hours there and finally headed to Dingle. We hit traffic on the way so the neverending bus ride took a toll on all of us, but we made it ok. We dropped our stuff off at the lodge and went to dinner at a place called Danno’s where I got the best fish and chips I’ve ever had.

Saturday was jam packed full of activity and was one of my favorite days I’ve spent in Ireland. I started the day with a belgian waffle, so that was already a win. We boarded the bus and started our day long tour of the Dingle Peninsula by stopping at a standing stone then going to a farm with archaeological remains of “beehive” houses from a medieval settlement. This farm was not just an archaeological site, it had BABY LAMBS. Our program paid for us to HOLD these lambs. I held the baby boy lamb and rocked him back and forth because he was freaking out with the people that went before me. He calmed down and started to nuzzle me. He was so soft and cute and I cried tears of joy. I am now a certified lamb whisperer.

After that we went to Coumeenole Beach and the Blasket Island Center. The beach was wild and the air was so clean to breath in. It was also a filming location for Star Wars: The Last Jedi! The Blasket Island Center was really interesting as well. They had an entire wall of stained glass with each panel representing a different part of life on the islands. There was also a beautiful exhibition of old black and white photography of the islanders when the Blaskets were still inhabited. We stopped at a boggy cliff to eat our lunch and look out at the sea. The area we were in was where they built one of the other sets for Star Wars. I ate my lunch of soda bread, fruit and cheese while listening to the waves crash. It was perfect.

We visited three different monastic sites after lunch then were dropped back at the lodge in Dingle. I went with a group to Murphy’s Ice Cream (a famous spot!). I got a double scoop of Cinnamon on top of Kiernan’s Cookies. It was lovely! After ice cream we watched the sunset over the water of Dingle Harbor. It was so incredible. The sky turned teal and orange with a green tint just above the horizon. It reminded me of the sunsets I watched this summer with my family in South Haven, Michigan.

The rest of the night was relaxed. We ate dinner, took some chill time in our room then went stargazing for a bit. The sky was glittering.

On Sunday morning, we went straight back to Galway with a quick pit stop in Adare. I absolutely loved this excursion. The views, lambs, food, sunsets and lambs were much needed after a week of homesickness. I’m grateful for the growth I’ve experienced so far here, and this week I want to slow down and focus on self reflection.

(See my photos from Dingle in the Ireland section of my site.)