Once upon a time...

...in a land far far away (seriously, Dowra is pretty far up there), there was beautiful young woman named Mary Eliza McGovern. She lived in a land called Tullynamoyle with her family and walked across fields and hills to go to school and church. When she about 18, in 1912, she took the journey of a lifetime and travelled across the ocean to immigrate to America. Once in the promised land of New York, she met and fell in love with Mr.Costello. Once married, they had children, one a handsome son named John Costello. He in turn met and fell in love with Ulilla. They married and had a wonderful family. Enter my father. Enter my mother. Meet Kathryn Teresa Costello. Who is also a McGovern.
(When I get home, I'm gonna have to go over some names with Nana because as of right now this story is kinda lacking on my part)

However, today I got a chance to travel back in history to meet my great aunt ( i think that's right...she's grandpa's cousin...) Margaret McGovern. Margaret's father is Joseph McGovern, who is Mary Eliza's brother.

I started my journey this morning while it was still dark. I had arranged with Margaret to have her daughter Caroline meet me in Galway so I could travel up to their home. After the long drive (about 2 hours) we arrived at her home and I met the lovely Margaret and her husband Pete. After a delightful cup of tea, Margaret Caroline and I were off to explore the wilderness of my homeland...feels weird saying that.

Our first stop was at the road leading into Mary Eliza's (and Margaret's) childhood house. Ireland has this initiative where they plant a forest, let it mature, and then cut down the trees for lumber. Sadly, the house/ruins is located in the middle of one such forest. So we couldn't walk out and see the actually stone foundation, but it looked like a lovely forest. Margaret explained to me that if I come back in about three years they will have logged the forest and I would be able to see the actual foundation. I really would like that, because after today I've uncovered my serious interest in my family history. Random fact: Did you know I could get an Irish passport because I can locate my great-grandmothers home, and name my relatives.

Our next stop was up the road at the Tullynamoyle National School, where both Mary Eliza and Margaret went to school. I heard that when Margaret was there, there were only ten students in the building, but at times there could be up to thirty. I couldn't even imagine going to school in a building like this one. A man has bought it and currently lives there so we couldn't get out and go peek inside, but his dogs gave us a lovely welcome.

The most moving place we went to visit was without a doubt Doobally church. That was the church that my family attended so long ago, and most of them are buried there today. I got to see the grave of my great great grandparents, Mary Eliza's sister, and many many more McGoverns. We went inside and got to light some candles in the name of family and remembering those we've lost. Uncle Dan has a candle burning in Tullynamoyle, Ireland for him. 

Oh! I forgot our real first stop. Driving through Dowra, we stopped at Mary McGovern's house. Mary was married to Luke McGovern, whose mother was Ellen McGovern- she was Mary Eliza's sister. Mary is in her eighties and was a delightful woman. She welcomed us in from the rain and we had a lovely chat...well Margaret and Mary had a lovely chat- I just kinda sat quietly and awkwardly. She didn't really pay any attention to me after greeting me and saying how lovely it was to meet me. We didn't get any pictures but it was a nice and unexpected addition to our trip. 

Anyways, Nana there are a million more pictures on my computer to share with you in 3 weeks when I get home, and Caroline made a video of our trip that she's going to post to me.

Next up- a trip to London during their proposed country-wide strike! Who says I don't live on the edge.

Thinking of family tonight,

K

Fin

Yesterday, was my last day of classes. WOOHOO! But I still have two more papers to write. BOO.
I thought that with the ending of my academic part of "study" abroad completed I should enlighten you as to what these past two and a half months have been like. Lets start with a quick description of each class and then let you enjoy a few images.

It is an "abstract metal sculpture" by the artist Brian King...everyone calls itArchimedes' Balls or the Big Yellow Thing.

Literacy Through Service Learning: It's possibly my favorite class only because it reminds me of my education classes back home. I didn't really learn anything new in this one, other than having a quick look into the irish education system- and let me tell you, they are severely lacking on that front. The professor has us call him Dermot, and he's one of those people who never really grew up. He has a quirky sense of humor and connected with each of us. I think this is the class I'll miss the most.

Stories of Medieval Wales: Without a doubt my favorite class! We analyzed the four major stories in the Mabinogion, a text that contains the most famous stories that have been preserved in time. I LOVED my professors voice, and so below you'll hear a snippet of it. I could listen to him talk for hours. Also, the stories were just as interesting so that I was never bored in this class.

Plays Players and the Playhouse: I wasn't really excited to take this one at first, it's a theatre class, and it is a major requirement that I could fulfill abroad. But after taking it I can say I enjoyed the class. It was set in this small blackbox theatre, which means the room is just a small room with no official stage, and we sat in a circle. It was my smallest class and the one I felt I was most connected to the other students in.

Phenomenology: Fen-Nom-En- Ology. Yeah, I had a hard time wrapping my mouth around it too at first. But now I'm throwing out words like phenomenological left and right. It's fun to say really fast :) Oh, the class? It was a philosophy class that I'm still not sure what it was about. Something about transcending the natural attitude into the philosophical one....

Health Psychology: The only class in which I have an exam, even if it is an in class essay. This was an interesting class if only because it taught me about doctor patient relationship and that if you have a strong sense of self and are confident you won't get sick as much. YAY KATIE! haha, but seriously, I didn't learn anything that I will carry with me in the rest of my life- it was more of a "i need a 5th class, this looks interesting" kind of thing.


Ok, so to help you picture my campus (mom keeps asking if its pretty...) I put together a little video of my time at NUIG (National University of Ireland- Galway). Enjoy:

So what do you think? A pretty campus? Exciting classes? Do you understand why I haven't blogged about it?

I've decided studying abroad in Ireland is more about learning the culture and exploring the land. So tomorrow I'm going on an adventure into Tullinamoile to see my family's homestead and meet a relative or two...I promise, you'll get a blog on that by Sunday night.

Peace,

K

Not Dead Yet

 I know I haven't posted in a while, and for that I am sorry. But there isn't much that anyone reading this would really want to know about. A couple of weeks ago we took our final API sponsered trip to East Galway and County Clare to see Bunratty Castle and the Round Tower of Galway. We met up with the API students studying in Dublin, and just let me say how glad I am I chose Galway. They were very rude, and loud and made me realize how much our personalities reflect our location. Galway is very kind, and laid back. Dublin is dirty and unsafe. It's like comparing Burlington to New York City, and the people tend to reflect it. The group of young adults (I have to stop calling my peers 'kids 'seeing as we're all turning 21) who chose Galway with me are all good people. And I'm not just saying that because they've become my good friends. As Brendan put it when asked "Do you all hang out?", the answer is a big NO. I don't see a large portion of my group for weeks at a time, and only hang out with them when forced. It doesn't mean that I wouldn't feel perfectly comfortable running to any one of them if I truly needed something. We're all in the same boat and that has bonded us in a way you wouldn't understand unless you've been abroad.

Sarah took the picture picture above when we went on a nature walk. Her photography amazes me. Honestly, this girl has such an artistic streak in her and I am so happy I've gotten to know her. I love this picture because it reminds me of how I started this experience. There was a path that led to the unknown and I had to force myself to keep walking. Maybe I'm sharing all this because we've got less that a month left and I haven't really told any of you how settled I've gotten. Or maybe it's because there is a ten page paper sitting with only one page written on my desktop behind this and I really don't want to do it.  Anyways, other than that lovely Sarah picture and an amazing Colleen one that will wrap up this post, I figured I'd let you know what I've been up to. 

So, two weeks ago was that API trip (it kinda sucked). We had a late start so we rushed through Bunratty castle, which is a really cool medieval castle that's been turned Tourist like so much in Ireland has. But Megan and I made it over to Durty Nellys for a photo op. Did you know there is also one in Halifax Nova Scotia, where another Costello girl happens to reside?
My favorite part of Bunratty castle was actually the animals on the grounds. They had chickens and ducks and it felt like home. Also pigs, which we should seriously invest in parents...look how cute this one is!
Then we went to the round tower of galway, yet another tower that's round and was used to keep vikings away from monks. I've decided that if you've seen one round tower you've seen them all, and this wasn't that exciting. However, it was an absolutely B-E-A-UTIFUL day outside so all the pictures came out to show Ireland as the beautiful place it is when the sun actually shines.

I really like the grave markings here in Ireland because they're mostly Celtic crosses, which has become my favorite version of the cross. And I'm a little weird and have always liked graveyards...has to do with that spirit/ghost/ ouija board obsession.


The reason you just got so much ramble and like no actual information was because there really wasn't much to say about the day. We went, we saw, we came back.



Then last weekend I went to Dublin on Saturday night to see some of my friends who are studying abroad from Champlain!

It was a really wonderful two days and it made me feel a little more at home because I was around people I knew. I think there is definitely something to be said for having your loved ones come visit while you're abroad, and I'm not saying I don't understand why mine couldn't come, because I do, I just think that having something that is familiar in this world where everything is new would be a good thing.


Thanksgiving is this week, and it's gonna be a hard day for me because my parents are going to be up in Canada with Meghan and almost all of my friends have their families or friends here. Colleen and I will be spending quite a bit of time together this week, and while I'm not glad that her family couldn't make it, I am thankful to not be completely alone.
Next weekend I'll give you a lovely post pertaining to school (this is my last week of classes), and more basic Galway stuff.


Happy Thanksgiving Week, I hope you enjoy your breaks.
Love,
K

Belfast, Home of the Creeps

The only pretty thing in the city of Belfast
and I'm not even sure what it is. The city was
filled with grime and sketchy looking people.
Not a tourist friendly place.

Don't go to Belfast. I wish I could say differently, but my weekend there was nothing but trouble. Starting with a walk in torrential rain to the bus stop, sitting on the bus for five hours in soaking wet clothes, having an awful tour and way more time sitting down than anyone should spend in a weekend, Belfast ended up being a disappointment. There were a few highlights of this weekend and so I'll share those with some pictures :)

Look Meghan, it's a Yeti.... :) We spent a lot of time in the
bookstore because we're all bookworms. I spent my time reading
the Hunger Games trilogy...a must read for EVERYONE

yet another priceless moment at a Disney store.
I really love those places :)

cows cows and more cows. we spent a LONG time on
the busses and I did get to see a lot of pretty green
landscape. And cows. And sheep.

On our tour we visited the Giant's Causeway, one of the most famous sites in Northern Ireland. Here's the story:
The Giant’s Causeway was built by Finn McCool as a walkway to Scotland, in order to fight the Scottish giant Benandonner. Finn fell asleep before going across to Scotland and he woke up to find the Scottish giant appearing in the horizon. Finn realized Benandonner was much bigger than himself and ran to his wife Oonagh wondering what he should do. Oonagh disguised Finn as a baby and made him curl up in an enormous cradle. Benandonner saw the huge ‘child’ in the cradle and thought "If this is the size of their babies, I don't want to wait to meet his father!" Benandonner ran back to Scotland and destroyed the Causeway as he went. All that is left today is a small portion sticking out into the ocean.

The non-believers version is that
these rocks are the result of some sort of
volcanic activity, and are shaped this
way to let the lava flow. BORING

ahh the giants boot. a perfect place to relax.

All the stones were wonderful geometric shapes...
not surprisingly, my first thought was that this would
be a great location to use in a word problem for elementary
students. Oh the teacher in me.

Another cool stop on our tour was at the
Carrick-a-rede Rope Bridge. Not
as exciting as I hoped, it was very
secure. I bounced just to test it :)

So the trip wasn't a total waste, as I got to see a few cool natural places. And got to read the Hunger Games. Really, they are a must read for anyone. Especially for 14 year old boys....Nathanael. 

READ ME

This week marks the seven week mark of our time left here and I really can't believe how fast it has gone. While I may have struggled in the beginning, I really got the swing of things here and don't really know how I'll cope with not seeing these people every day. Going abroad is a strange experience, because you're flung into a totally new world with complete strangers, spend every day with them for three months and then expected to go back to life as if nothing happened. I know for sure that I won't be able to do that with some of these people, so a reunion is definitely in the future. 

On a TOTALLY unrelated side note- today is my 4 year anniversary with that boy back home :) It's really weird to think it's only be four years cause I swear it feels like forever. Going abroad has definitely made me realize that I have what I want back home and he's it. Oy that's mushy. Also, I've realized just how strong our relationship is. I mean, we've made it in highschool, made the transition to going to college four hours apart, and now we're on different continents. I'm pretty impressed with us if I do say so myself.

That's all for now folks!

-K