Week 6 was a long one.
In the span of three days, I was in Scotland, Ireland, and Northern Ireland. As this is my first time in Europe, I made it a goal to travel as much as possible, and I have been doing just that.
I can’t say that traveling to Scotland in the dead of night after a long night was amazing, but my tour of Scotland made up for it. A group of us participated in a bus tour where we were driven all around Scotland and got a boat tour. Yes, the scenery and architecture are beautiful, but everyone knows that the highlight of Scotland is the Highland Cows or Coos. Our bus driver, Charlie, kept a secret bag of carrots for us to feed a group of 5 cows. One cow was particularly greedy, literally almost taking down the fence.
Our group got back to UCD late that night, but lucky for us, we had to wake up at seven the next morning to go to Belfast. Belfast was a pleasant surprise! We learned about the political and religious climate in Northern Ireland between Protestants and Catholics through Black Taxi tours.
Afterward, we also saw the city where most people live in harmony. One of my superiors at work lives in Belfast and says things are improving every year.
For lunch, I had some of the best seafood ever: white wine mussels, seafood chowder, and a cute pink Cosmopolitan!! That night, I introduced Kayla to Judge Judy while we had a much-deserved chill night in.
The next day, we went to the Carrick a Rede rope bridge and Giant’s Causeway. I loved the small walk and the rope bridge. You can even see Scotland from where we were standing! My favorite part of Belfast had to be Giants Causeway because of our lovely tour guide, Mark. Mark is the most precious human being I have ever met. His family has lived in Northern Ireland for centuries, and every generation has provided tours to visitors. He laughed with us and truly made us all feel welcome. With a shaky voice, his final comment was, “I hope that you all are as lucky as me to find someplace to call home.” Thank God for sunglasses because a few tears fell from my eyes.
Studying abroad has made me a better person by allowing me to interact with many different people from all over the world. I can’t believe that my time is almost up, but I know that I will savor every last second of this trip.
Hi Stella! I am so grateful that we are friends and that we got to travel to Scotland together! I really like how in your blog you integrated photos about your experience with the greedy cow. I can really see how this cow was so eager for a carrot. The tour guide Mark also left an impact on me, and the beautiful, poetic way you write about him brings me back to the emotions I felt when he was teaching us about his home. From your blog post I learned that you are eager for an adventure, to learn as much as you can, and experience the culture of new places. I can feel your excitement and curiosity for new places in how you engage with the history. You write about the Northern Ireland political and social tension between different religions and try new foods (like mussels). I can’t wait for the next few weeks with you! <3