Over spring break, 34 of us, students, professors, graduates and loved ones alike traveled to Ireland, residing in three different cities and taking in as much green as we could during our 10-day trip.
Our plane arrived six hours after leaving Newark but eleven hours later, after taking into account the time change. I have heard the best way to conquer jet lag is by transitioning to the new time zone immediately. We did just that and started sightseeing at 7 a.m. We made a right triangle with our stops: Galway on the bottom left, Dublin on the bottom right, and Belfast closing the triangle at the top indicating our final destination. We were lucky enough to stop at multiple sites as we drove city to city.
The most incredible memories I have come from the Cliffs of Moher, Inishmore, Malahide Castle, the Guinness Brewery and staying on the same block of the most bombed hotel in Europe (48 times in 30 years).
Not only were we mesmerized with visions of ancient castles, forts, cathedrals and tombs, we were also able to soak in as much information as our brains could hold. Museums and city tours kept us learning every second.
The great part about this trip was the fact that we were surrounded with friendly people, whether they were part of the group we traveled in or our new Irish friends.
Being in a beautiful, foreign country gave me a new perspective on life that I would never have experienced without this trip. I would encourage everyone to participate in any opportunity they have similar to this. The experience and memories will last a lifetime. My expectations of the trip were exceeded within the first 36 hours and lasted up until the second we left Ireland.