Academic Life

We are now over four weeks into our courses and I can say that they are indeed interesting and challenging, and they are not classes to be taken lightly. While they are comparable to 200 level courses back in the United States, the amount of work you have to put in to stay on pace with the class can be, at times, somewhat demanding. The Instructors keep a constant stream of literature for their classes, and the focal point of the classes is to have read what they provide and have a thoughtful discussion over the different ideas and topics throughout. At certain intervals in the class we do spend some time deviating and discussing other ideas, but overall the materials that they provide often tie in well with the direction that our discussions go. As of now, it is my opinion that the most challenging class we have is Irish language (Gaelic). It is different than any other language that I have come across. The pronunciation and lack of derivative words make this language very challenging.

The Kings Head Pub

This past week we had an exciting opportunity! We were given the chance to take our academics outside of the classroom. Dr. Marley, our history instructor, was able hold a class in a local historical pub in Galway known as The Kings Head. This specific building holds its significance in its ownership. In 1653 Cromwellian forces had forced the city of Galway to surrender. The person in charge of these forces was a man known as Col. Peter Stubbers, the man who is believed to have beheaded King Charles I of England (hence the name Kings Head). We were given a tour of the old pub by one of Dr. Marley's colleagues on the history of the building as well as the different architectural features that we could come across in this historic pub. We were then taken to the highest room in the Kings Head known as the Ruby Room where we held a debate on a topic in Irish history. Overall this was a wonderful experience. It also added to my depth of understanding of how the Irish perceive different aspects and tangents of their own history.