#DominickThornton

[umichenginabroad]

Quarantine, Movies, and Velociraptors?!

Hi everyone! I’m back after another week in Ireland. As I mentioned in my previous blog, I tested positive for COVID last Friday and had to be quarantined for 7 days. That being said, I don’t have too much exciting stuff to talk about this week. The beginning of my week was mostly spent writing an essay about the factors of emigration in Ireland from 1845-1922 which had to be turned in by Wednesday evening. I still had to quarantine on Thursday and Friday so I basically just slept in, relaxed and watched a few movies on Netflix that I’ve wanted to watch forever. Since finishing my 7 days of quarantine on Friday, I’ve caught up on laundry, stocked up on snacks, gone on a fair share of nature walks, and played a bit of pick up basketball. 

The quarantined COVID crew being extremely productive and working on essays over Zoom and not arguing about whether regularly drinking milk is weird or not. (Drinking milk is not weird)

Nature Strolls

After being cooped up in our rooms for several days, everyone that finished quarantining decided to get some fresh air and go on several nature walks. 

The COVID crew fresh out of quarantine

We explored nearly all of the nature trails on campus, frequently stopping to play cards (lots of BS and Egyptian Ratscrew). Luckily, the weather this week has been phenomenal for our mini excursions around campus. 

Some of the beautiful greenery showcased on the trails around UCD’s charming campus

On one of our walks, we discovered an empty pit surrounded by concrete walls and fencing. We honestly have no idea what the pit is used for, but we theorized that it was used to house Velociraptors in the early days of UCD.

Abandoned Velociraptor pit in the middle of the woods on UCD’s campus?!

Shortly after discovering the top secret Velociraptor pit, we were apprehended by the dinosaur authorities and thrown in a jungle prison. Okay not actually, but it would’ve been a lot cooler if that actually did happen.

Picture of me being held captive in the jungle prison that may or may not have just been some bars covering a drainage ditch next to the trail we were walking on.

In addition to our little expeditions on the trails around UCD, we also decided to walk down to the ocean and play more cards one night. The random beach that we found boasted a lovely view of Dublin Bay and was definitely worth the short hike from UCD. While we played cards on the beach, we were able to witness the tide swiftly creep up hundreds of feet before finally stopping a few yards away from where we were playing. 

View of Dublin Bay at high tide from the beach that we found 

Snacks

Being cooped up in my room for so long gave me plenty of time to contemplate what snacks I was going to snag as soon as I finished quarantining. I ended up splurging on two bags of brioche rolls with chocolate chips, a box of Frosted Chocotastic Pop-Tarts, six delicious chocolate chunk cookies, and two bags of bagels (with cream cheese of course) from the Centra on campus.  

Moments before a bagel feeding frenzy

Basketball

Not playing basketball over the course of the past week as well as watching the NBA Finals definitely reignited my desire to get back out on the courts, so that's exactly what I ended up doing today. We played for several hours before finally calling it quits and ordering some Domino’s for dinner. 

Movies

Being quarantined meant that I had tons of free time to watch whatever I wanted. Furthermore, since I’m in Ireland, I have access to some movies on Netflix that aren’t usually available in the US. On Thursday night, I watched Hustle, which is a basketball movie starring Adam Sandler. If you enjoy watching the NBA and Adam Sandler, you’ll definitely enjoy watching this movie. I ended up watching Inglourious Basterds on Friday which I thoroughly enjoyed , but it is a bit gory so it may not be for everyone. I spent Saturday night watching Fight Club which is another top tier movie in my opinion.

Anyways, that's it for this week's blog. Thank you all for reading. Until next time!

Dominick Thornton

Computer Science 

Big 10 STEM and Irish Studies at UCD

[umichenginabroad]

Adventures on The Emerald Isle

Hi everyone! My first week in Ireland has been unreal. I arrived in Dublin around midday on Sunday. Most of Sunday and Monday were spent unpacking and exploring the stunning University College Dublin (UCD) campus. The rest of Sunday and Monday were spent playing pick up basketball at one of the basketball courts on campus. My Modern Irish History class began Tuesday morning followed by an informative field trip to EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum in the afternoon. Wednesday morning and afternoon consisted of 7 hours of physics including a lecture, tutorial, and lab. Wednesday night was occupied by more pick up basketball games. Another physics lecture kicked off my Thursday morning accompanied by another physics lab in the afternoon. Thursday was also karaoke night at the UCD Clubhouse Bar which ended up being where most of the students in my program spent their night. Friday’s classes consisted of another history lecture and a history tutorial. Pick up basketball consumed most of the night once again. On Saturday morning, we set off on a day trip that included a demonstration at Irish Working Sheepdogs and visits to Hollywood, Wicklow, and Glendalough. Saturday night was spent at the Keavan’s Port pub where some friends and I watched the UEFA Champions League Final while enjoying a few drinks. Sunday, the day I’m writing this blog, is more of a chill day. I slept in, did some laundry, and am going to grab some groceries and food later tonight before classes start up again tomorrow. 

Arrival

My flight from Chicago to Dublin luckily only took a little over 6 hours. As we landed, I could see plenty of the picturesque eastern coast of Ireland. The Dublin Airport was also extremely nice minus a slight delay collecting our baggage. From the airport, some friends and I split a taxi to UCD for about 50 euros. During the taxi ride, two things kind of shocked me. Number one, everything was green. Every leaf, every blade of grass, every vine was a vibrant green. It was almost overwhelming at first seeing how green everything was, especially coming from Michigan. The second thing I noticed was how nice the roads were. In Michigan, potholes seem to be more common than road signs at times, but I don’t think I’ve seen a single pothole here yet.

The vibrant Irish landscape as seen from the Irish Hollywood sign

UCD Campus

During my first tour of campus, I noticed that everything was extremely modern and organized while still incorporating an abundance of nature everywhere you go. A great deal  of the buildings seemed to have been built within the past five years or so. The apartments, gym, and other facilities on campus are all extremely nice inside. Beautiful tile and brick walking paths connect all the buildings. There are also two small lakes that a variety of ducks and a few swans call home. The swans look extremely charming at first but we’ve come to find out that they’re not so nice to their fellow birds. We’ve witnessed a few times where a swan has chased one or more of the ducks out of the water for seemingly no reason at all. 

A couple of swans along with some of their babies

As I briefly mentioned earlier, a couple of friends and I found an outdoor basketball court a few minutes away from our apartments the first day that we arrived. We’ve been playing pick up games there almost everyday after class so far. We’ve met a ton of local people and other people that are in our program as well as other summer programs here at UCD.

The food that is provided as a part of our program has been insanely delicious. We had a welcome dinner on Monday at the remarkable UCD University Club restaurant that was mouthwatering. Other than that, almost all of our other meals are provided by Pi Restaurant. In my opinion, all of the meals here have blown the dining hall food at Michigan out of the water so far. 

Steak dinner provided by the UCD University Club restaurant

EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum

Our first trip of the program was to the EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum which was founded by a former CEO of The Coca-Cola Company. The museum was almost completely reliant on technology for all of its exhibits. What once used to be an old storage building close to the port of Dublin housing whiskey and a variety of other things now houses screens and projectors that tell the history of emigration in Ireland. 

A metal sculpture showing the evolution of ships that carried Irish emigrants (Credit: Callen Fields)

Sheepdog Demonstration

The first stop on our Saturday trip was to a farm where they demonstrated how sheepdogs are used to drive sheep. Each dog impressively responds to various whistles that instruct it where to drive the sheep. After the demonstration, we got to meet a couple adorable baby sheep along with the sheepdogs. 

One of the baby sheep that we got to meet

Hollywood

After seeing the sheepdog demonstration, we visited the Irish Hollywood and were able to get a picture with the Irish version of the Hollywood sign. The view from the sign which was shown earlier was insanely scenic.

The Irish Hollywood sign

Wicklow Gap 

Following our Hollywood visit, we stopped at the Wicklow Gap which is one of the highest mountain passes in Ireland. Were able to venture off down a little path on the mountain and take a few pictures in front of a lake farther down in the valley.

The Wicklow Gap

Glendalough

The last stop of our trip was in the small old town of Glendalough which has turned into an extremely popular tourist destination. The town is located in a valley between two jaw-dropping mountains. The town consists of an old cemetery, a round bell tower, and a few lakes among various other attractions.

The cemetery at Glendalough

The upper lake at Glendalough

The lads and I chilling at Glendalough

Bars and Pubs

Thursday night was karaoke night at the UCD Clubhouse Bar which is the only student bar on campus. Karaoke was definitely a hit that night and most of the students in the program ended up showing. Saturday was the night of the Champions League final so after getting back from Glendalough, we went downtown to a pub called Keavan’s Port where we watched the game and downed a few drinks. All of the bars and pubs were packed for the final. 

Final Thoughts

Overall this week has been action-packed and ridiculously fun. I’m hoping the rest of my program is as intriguing as this week has been. Anyways, thank you all for reading. Until next time!

Dominick Thornton

Computer Science 

Big 10 STEM and Irish Studies at UCD.

[umichenginabroad]

Swimming, Ice Cream, and... Getting Sick?

Hi everyone! I’m back after my third week in Ireland. This week has been quite the rollercoaster. Monday was the June Bank Holiday in Ireland so we didn’t have our usual physics lecture that day. Since we didn’t have class, we decided to go out to an Italian restaurant in Dublin Monday night. On Tuesday, we had a full day of classes during which we watched The Wind that Shakes the Barley and learned more about the Irish fight for independence. Wednesday afternoon consisted of a trip to The Forty Foot in Dún Laoghaire where we took a plunge in the ocean and stopped for some famous ice cream and drinks afterwards. The weather on Thursday was beautiful so we ended up playing basketball till it was dark after classes. Friday night I unexpectedly tested positive for COVID so that was basically the end of anything fun for the week.

Food

The Italian restaurant that we went to was called La Caverna and was located in Dublin’s famous Temple Bar. I ended up ordering the carbonara pasta after much deliberation between that and the tortelli. The inside of the restaurant was beautiful and the carbonara was delicious. It was so delicious that by the time I thought to take a picture, my plate was empty. Sorry about that. Anyways, I do have a picture of some ice cream that I bought from the Centra at UCD on Tuesday after class. I ordered one scoop of mint chocolate chip and one scoop of a bubble gum flavor. Both flavors were quite delectable. 

Mint chocolate chip and bubble gum flavored ice cream from the Centra at UCD

Today, I ordered a large New Yorker pizza from Domino’s along with a side of twisted dough balls since I can't go anywhere.​​ The entire pizza and all six dough balls were gone within a matter of minutes once I brought them up to my room. To be fair though, that was my only meal today and I was practically starving so it's not as insane as it sounds. 

The Forty Foot

The Forty Foot is a popular swimming location in Dún Laoghaire that we visited earlier this week. The weather was decent that day, but it was definitely a little chilly because of the wind. Nobody that I’ve talked to actually knows how The Forty Foot got its name. It's basically just a 10 foot rock that people jump off of into the Atlantic. The water was frigid the first time I jumped in. I also got a mouthful of saltwater that I definitely wasn’t expecting because I don’t think I’ve ever swam in the ocean before. Despite the freezing cold water and the mouthful of saltwater, I did jump in a second time just for fun. 

The Forty Foot in Dún Laoghaire (We jumped off of the rocks partially shown on the left side of the bottom picture)

After everyone swam for a bit, we walked down the road to Teddy’s Ice Cream which is home to the famous 99 whipped ice-cream cone. I got a traditional cone covered in crushed Oreos which was insanely delicious. I almost went back for seconds because it was so good but I managed to hold myself back. Compared to the Centra ice cream I mentioned earlier, Teddy’s Ice Cream was on another level of deliciousness. I don’t think too many other ice cream places that I’ve tried even come close to Teddy’s. 

After devouring our ice cream, we walked to The Forty Foot pub which had an amazing view of the city. Our group sat on a balcony outside overlooking the ocean. It was a little chilly outside but the view was definitely worth it. We ordered a couple of pitchers for our group and sipped on them over the course of about an hour or two before we decided to head back to our dorms and sleep. 

The view from the Forty Foot pub in Dún Laoghaire

COVID :(

Friday night, I found out that a few people in my group tested positive for COVID so I also took a test and unfortunately found out that I was also positive. This was somewhat surprising to me because I didn’t really feel sick. The only symptoms that I had were a very slight cough and a runny nose. Our program took a day trip to the Glasnevin Cemetery on Saturday, but I obviously had to sit out for that trip. Since Friday, I’ve basically just been isolating myself inside of my room, doing homework, and having food delivered. It is what it is though I guess.

Thank you all for reading my blog this week. Until next time! 

Dominick Thornton

Computer Science 

Big 10 STEM and Irish Studies at UCD

[umichenginabroad]

Returning Home

Hi everyone! I’m finally home after my last week in Ireland. The six weeks that I was there flew by and I can’t believe it’s already over. It was hard saying goodbye to everyone that I met over there, but I survived and made it back alright. 

Last Few Days in Ireland

Since this was our last week in Ireland, we had to take final exams for our physics and Irish history courses on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively. That being said, I spent most of Monday relaxing and studying for the physics exam the next day. After the exam, we celebrated being done with physics by going downtown and grabbing a burger and a few drinks at Wetherspoons followed by an oreo shake from Burger King. We spent most of the next day completing our history final exam that consisted of two short essays. After that exam, we returned to Wetherspoons once again to pregame for a bit before we went to Dicey’s Garden. Dicey’s is a popular nightclub in Dublin that was recommended to us by several Irish people that we met during our program. We went with a group of around ten friends and danced for several hours before heading back to UCD. Once we got back to UCD, we had a box of chicken and fries covered in delicious seasoning delivered to us. We devoured it then headed to bed to get some rest before the coffee meetup with our program coordinators and professors on Thursday morning. After coffee, we played several 5 vs 5 soccer games on one of the smaller turf fields at UCD with a few local kids. After that, we went back to our dorms, packed a little, and showered before going on a small field trip to Killiney Hill Park. We took the train to Killiney and hiked up a massive hill to the park where we were able to experience an amazing view of Dublin and tons of Irish coastline. 

A few pictures from Killiney Hill Park 

When we returned from Killiney, we finished packing and said our final goodbyes to everyone in our friend group before trying to get some sleep before our flights the next day. 

First Few Days at Home

My flight departed from the Dublin airport at 9:30 am on Friday and arrived at O’Hare a little after 11:00 am Chicago time. The flight wasn’t bad at all and everything went extremely smoothly. My parents picked me up from the airport and drove me the final two and a half hours home. After we got back, I handed out a few gifts that I brought back from Ireland including some Irish coffee and Guinness fudge. The fudge is decent and definitely tastes like Guinness. The coffee is also pretty good and my mom said she loves it so that’s cool. On Saturday, I visited with a lot of my family and celebrated my grandma’s birthday. Today, my brother and I played a round of disc golf with a few friends and relaxed at home for the rest of the day. It’s definitely been a lot warmer here than it was in Ireland. I kind of miss the cooler Irish weather, but I definitely don’t mind how sunny it’s been here since I got back.

The Irish coffee and Guinness fudge that I brought back from Ireland. 

Final Thoughts

Overall, this program has truly been an amazing experience. I’ve been able to visit a multitude of astonishing places, made tons of awesome new friends, and had tons of fun all while getting credit that transfers back to Umich. Anyone that has the opportunity to study abroad most definitely should. You won’t regret it. With all this being said, I’m glad to be back home with my family and other friends. I’m also excited to reconnect with my new friends that met in Ireland when we go back to Ann Arbor to begin the semester.  

Anyways, that’s it for this week's blog. Thank you all for reading! Until next time!

Dominick Thornton

Computer Science 

Big 10 STEM and Irish Studies at UCD

[umichenginabroad]

Last Full Week in Ireland

Hi everyone! This week has been action packed as usual with trips to Belfast, Killarney, and downtown Dublin. This week is also my last full week in Ireland so I’ve definitely been trying to make the most of it.

Belfast

On Monday, our program went on a day trip to Belfast in Northern Ireland which is actually part of the United Kingdom. In Belfast, we visited the Titanic Museum where we learned about the history of Belfast as well as how and why the Titanic was built in Belfast. 

The Titanic Belfast Museum 

After a few hours in the museum, we had a quick lunch before going on a tour of various neighborhoods in Belfast. Our tour guide grew up in Belfast and was an active Republican that fought during the Troubles several decades ago. He showed us several of the peace walls that were built to separate the unionist protestants and the nationalist catholics in Northern Ireland. Those walls still separate neighborhoods in Northern Ireland and nobody knows for sure when they will be taken down. 

One of the peace walls in Northern Ireland

Trivia and Karaoke

The UCD Clubhouse Bar held its first trivia night this Tuesday so a few friends and I formed a team and competed. Unfortunately, we took second place and missed out on a free round of drinks, but we still had a ton of fun. After the bar closed, we played Manhunt which is basically a mix of hide-and-go-seek and capture the flag for several hours in the courtyard outside the bar before heading back to our apartments. On Thursday, the bar hosted another karaoke night that we decided to go to. A few of us (including me) had quite a bit to drink because it was going to be one of the last times we would be able to before we leave next week. One important takeaway from that night is that singing the piña colada song with everyone around you after a few drinks is one of the greatest things you’ll ever experience.

Vitor, Noah, Me, and Nate during karaoke night on Thursday

Nate helping me devour some of the greatest Pringles I’ve ever eaten after karaoke night

Killarney

Since our program didn’t have any trips planned for this weekend, our group decided to go on a day trip to Killarney on Saturday (massive thank you to Grace, aka Groc, for planning and booking the entire trip for us). We woke up extremely early in order to be on a bus by 6:00 am to the train station in Dublin. We then boarded a three hour train to Killarney. Once we arrived in Killarney, a few taxis took us to a small village where we would begin a 7 mile hike. In the village was an adorable little cafe where I ordered nutella and marshmallow pancakes and an Irish coffee with Baileys. The pancakes were delectable and the coffee was also pretty good. Once we all finished whatever we ordered we began our two and a half hour hike through the mountains. The entire hike was picturesque with small lakes and charming little sheep greeting you as you rounded every bend in the trail. 

The entire crew during our hike. Back row from left to right: (Kendall, Noah, Aidan, Nate, Grace, Kate, Jane). Front row from left to right: (Emma, Me, Groc, Rachel)

A few photos from the rest of the hike

At the end of the hike was a boat tour that took us through a few of the major lakes in the Killarney National Park. The tour was just as amazing as the hike and ended at a castle that was renovated into a small museum. 

Views from the boat tour

After the boat tour, we were taxied back to downtown Killarney where we ate at the Curious Cat Cafe. I ordered a steak sandwich and a peanut butter, chocolate, and banana smoothie and it was one of the greatest meals of my life. 

True greatness in meal form

Once we finished eating, we walked back to the train station to return to Dublin. We arrived back in Dublin a little after 11 pm and didn’t get back to our apartments till after midnight, but it was all worth it. 

This concludes my blog for this week. Thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoyed it! Until next time!

Dominick Thornton

Computer Science 

Big 10 STEM and Irish Studies at UCD

[umichenginabroad]

World-renowned Writers and Cliffside Cows

Hi everyone! I’m back after another exhilarating week in Ireland. Monday was my 19th birthday so some of my friends surprised me with a chocolate cake from Tesco. The cake was surprisingly good considering it was from a supermarket. The next day we went on a quick little field trip to the National Library of Ireland. Wednesday and Friday were spent at the basketball court after classes as per usual. Saturday consisted of a day trip to the Cliffs of Moher and Galway followed by a long train ride home and some drinks in Dublin. Today we are just going to order pizza, stay in, and play some card games since the buses are running on a weird schedule because of a marathon going on today. 

National Library of Ireland

After our Modern Irish History lecture on Tuesday, we were able to visit the National Library of Ireland. At the museum, we explored two main exhibits featuring two Irishmen that won the Nobel Prize in Literature. The first exhibit that we walked through featured Seamus Heaney. We learned that Seamus Heaney came from a predominantly farming family and was one of the first people in his family to pursue a career in poetry. Before reaching the second exhibit, we were shown an insane Lego replica of the library that took around five years to be completed. 

The Lego replica of the library

The second exhibit featured W. B. Yeats who heavily influenced Seamus Heaney’s works. In this exhibit, we learned quite a few interesting facts about the Yeats family. First of all, we learned that W. B. Yeats proposed to a woman named Maud Gonne a total of five times and was rejected every time. After all of these rejections, he decided to propose to Maud Gonne’s daughter, Isuelt Gonne, who also rejected him. In addition to this, we learned that W. B. Yeats used to create visionary experiences with Tattwa cards. These cards along with a carved piece of lapis lazuli that was gifted to Yeats were some of the items on display at the exhibit. The piece of carved lapis lazuli was the topic of one of Yeats’ more famous poems.

The carved piece of lapis lazuli that was gifted to Yeats for his 17th birthday

The Cliffs of Moher

My Saturday morning began at 6am in order to not be late for the bus. The bus took us from Dublin all the way to Galway on the western coast of Ireland. Our first stop was at the Barack Obama plaza. The plaza was named after Barack Obama after he visited Ireland in 2011. 

Cutout of Barack and Michelle at the Barack Obama plaza

Our next stop after the plaza was at the Cliffs of Moher. The views from the cliffs were surreal. During our visit, we met a pigeon that let us get astonishingly close to it and snap a ton of photos. 

The super cool pigeon we met at the Cliffs of Moher

The pigeon wasn’t the only cool animal we met at the cliffs. As soon as we arrived, we spotted cows roaming the emerald green pastures all around us. When we were walking on one of the trails, we were actually able to get within arms reach of one of the cows.

Cute cow that we met on the trail (it may or may not have peed a little bit while we were there)

On the main trail through the cliffs, there was a historic tower that we were able to climb to the top off. 

View from the tower at the Cliffs of Moher.

After walking around the cliffs for a few hours, I worked up quite an appetite so I decided to stop for a quick snack on the trail.

Me snacking on a stack of rocks at the cliffs (a little too crunchy for my liking to be honest)

After experiencing the cliffs, we ate actual food at McGann’s Pub in Doolin. We were seated outside in a beautiful garden-like area next to a lovely little creek. Most of the people around me ordered the fish and chips meal and we all highly recommend it, but a few other people said the beef stew was also amazing. 

Galway

After eating lunch, we ventured off to Galway on the western coast of Ireland. While we were in Galway we ate dinner at The King’s Head Bistro. Three of my friends and I ordered the Kings Head Blood Red Ale. We all agreed that it was probably the worst tasting drink that we’d ever had. Only one of us was able to finish our ale by the time we left. The fish and chips that I had was extremely good though so it kind of made up for the disgusting ale. 

Couldn’t pass up taking a pic with this random sign in Galway since I still have braces

Saturday Night

Instead of taking the bus back to Dublin, we decided to stay in Galway and take a train back to Dublin a few hours later. We all bought our train tickets the day before so we wouldn’t have to stress about getting them when we got to the train station, but this somehow came back to bite us. As soon as we got in line to board the train we realized the train only had carts A, B, C, and D. However the seats listed on our tickets were in cart E. Cart E was nonexistent. One of the workers on the train basically just said good luck when we asked him what we should do. In the end, most of us had to either stand or sit in the hallway between carts until some actual seats opened up after a few stops. Once we found seats, we played BS and spoons with a deck of cards we had for the rest of the two and a half hour train ride across Ireland. After arriving in Dublin a little after 10pm, we strolled down to the Silver Penny Pub for a few drinks to end off the night.

Hope you all enjoyed reading my blog this week. Until next time! 

Dominick Thornton

Computer Science 

Big 10 STEM and Irish Studies at UCD

[umichenginabroad]

Last Goodbyes Before Dublin 

Hi everyone! My name is Dominick Thornton and I am going into my sophomore year studying computer science at the University of Michigan. I am finally about to depart for Dublin, Ireland where I will be participating in a study abroad program for the next 6 weeks. My excitement this week has been through the roof because I’ve never been outside the US or even flown in a plane before. Everyone that I’ve talked to about this program has assured me that this is going to be the opportunity of a lifetime as well as expressed how jealous they are of me. Not all is sunshine and rainbows however. Being away from all of my friends and family for 6 whole weeks is definitely not going to be easy for me. Leaving my cat behind is going to be especially hard after spending tons of time with her over the past month or so since I was the only person in my family that was on summer vacation.

My cat, Steph Furry, soaking up the sun.

Since I’ve been home for the summer, I’ve also been able to get outside and enjoy nature quite a bit. It’s been raining a lot lately where I live recently so all the vegetation has been super green and luscious around me.

Nature trail close to my home in southwest Michigan.

With all of the recent the rain, mushrooms have also been spouting up all around where I live. I was actually able to find a few morel mushrooms one day on a little hike through the woods.

The morel mushrooms that I found and eventually fried in butter before eating.

With all this being said, I’m wondering how the nature in Ireland will compare to southwest Michigan considering how much rain Ireland gets.

Preparing for Departure

Overall, packing and preparing everything that I need for my trip hasn’t been stressful at all. All I really needed to do was get new luggage, convert some of my USD to euros, and get a new rain jacket. I did all of this about a week or two before my flight and everything has been going super smoothly so far which is always a plus. All that I have to do now is get on my flight and hopefully get a little sleep before touching down in Dublin. 

This concludes my brief pre-departure blog. Thank you all for reading and I hope you continue to follow my journey throughout Ireland!

Dominick Thornton

Computer Science 

Big 10 STEM and Irish Studies at UCD.

[umichenginabroad]

Gaelic Football and Guinness

Hi everyone! I’m back after another lively week in Ireland. Our physics classes ended this week which is great because all we really have to do now is study for the final exam and go to a few more history lectures. Outside of classes, this week has been quite intriguing. To begin the week, we took another trip down to the beach where we played some more cards and downed a few ciders. The next day, we visited Croke Park as a part of our history program where we learned about Irish sports and the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). In the following few days, we took advantage of the marvelous weather and played tons of basketball and Pokemon Go. I was also able to mix in a few workouts at one of the gyms on campus which was refreshing because I haven't consistently gone to the gym in ages. On Friday night, we watched a movie in one of the student lounges before watching clips of Gaelic football on Youtube. We returned to Croke Park the next day to watch two extremely entertaining Gaelic football matches. To finish off the week, we went on a leisurely tour of the Guinness Storehouse before heading back to the dorms to rest up for our trip to Belfast on Monday.

The beach that we returned to on Monday at low tide

Croke Park

On Tuesday’s field trip we were able to walk through almost all of the stadium as a part of our guided tour. We began by watching a quick video about the history of Croke Park and the GAA before heading into the service tunnels that led to the team locker rooms. The stadium has four identical locker rooms that allow for multiple matches in one day as well as a player’s lounge where all the players go to relax after their games. Inside the player’s lounge is an enormous chandelier composed of 32 Gaelic football to represent each county in Ireland and 70 sliotars to represent the number of minutes in football and hurling matches. 

The chandelier in the players lounge that changes colors to match whatever teams are playing that day

After seeing the player’s lounge and locker rooms, we made our way onto the field and into the stands where they let us hold replicas of the football and hurling trophies. Our tour guide also gave us a brief history of some of the famous events that have taken place at Croke Park such as Bloody Sunday in 1920, the Special Olympics in 2003, and the Muhammad Ali boxing match in 1972. 

Picture of me holding a replica of the hurling trophy at Croke Park

After the tour, my group of friends decided that we had to experience an actual Gaelic football match so we bought tickets for two games on Saturday. The first game was a blowout as Derry stomped out Clare. The next game was quite close and a lot more entertaining with Dublin eventually pulling away from Cork in the second half. There were also a lot more fans for the Dublin vs Cork game which makes sense because those are two of the biggest counties in Ireland. The burgers that I bought at the stadium were surprisingly decent and I was also able to find a cool hat that I ended up buying. Overall, the whole experience was a ton of fun and I would definitely recommend visiting Croke Park if you’re ever in Ireland. 

Croke Park during the Dublin vs Cork match

The Guinness Storehouse

Our tour of the Guinness Storehouse was completely self-paced and was a lot more interesting than I expected. We started the tour on the ground floor where we learned a little bit about Arthur Guinness and how he signed a 9,000 year lease for the St. James Brewery in 1759. Then, we learned about all of the ingredients that go into a Guinness and the entire brewing process on the next few floors of the storehouse. One of the floors had a cafe where I ordered a Guinness mocha as well as a chocolate muffin. The Guinness mocha was delicious and tasted exactly how it sounds: a mocha with a tinge of the iconic Guinness flavor. The muffin was also extremely delicious. The next part of our tour was a Guinness tasting experience that began in an aroma room. The aroma room was a completely white room with four pillars that emitted four of the main aromas associated with brewing Guinness. Also inside the aroma room was a bar where they poured everyone a shot glass of Guinness that we took into the next room for the guided tasting experience. 

One of the pillars in the aroma room as well as our shot glasses of Guinness

After the tasting experience, we went up to the next floor where we had our pictures taken and printed onto a pint of Guinness!

Our pictures that were printed onto our pints of Guinness

Our tour ended at the Gravity Bar which is on the top floor of the storhouse and boasts an incredible view of the city. At the bar we redeemed our drink vouchers and enjoyed our second pints of the day. To be honest, every Guinness that I’ve had has been more and more tolerable regarding the taste. I’m not sure if it’s just an acquired taste or if I was just getting buzzed since I barely ate anything all day. 

Views from the Gravity Bar at the top of Guinness Storehouse

After finishing our pints, we returned to the gift shop on the ground floor and made a decent number of solid purchases before heading back to UCD. 

Thank you all for reading my blog this week! I hope you enjoyed and continue to follow along with me as I begin wrapping up my last few weeks in Ireland. Until next time!

Dominick Thornton

Computer Science 

Big 10 STEM and Irish Studies at UCD

[umichenginabroad]

Final Blog After Ireland

Hi everyone! I’m back in Michigan for my final blog a week after completing my study abroad program in Ireland. This week has been fun, but I’m still missing Ireland a lot. I spent most of the first half of my week relaxing at home. I slept in almost everyday, played plenty of video games, and watched a movie with my family. Then, on Thursday night, I drove to Ann Arbor to visit my girlfriend for the weekend.

Ann Arbor Visit

On Friday afternoon, my girlfriend and I drove to Ypsilanti to try out the IHOP Minions Menu. We both ordered Gru’s Evil Steakburger which was topped with bacon, onions, jalapeños, pepper jack cheese, and sharp cheddar mac and cheese. The burgers were delicious and definitely filling. In addition to the burgers, we ordered a Minion Mango OJ Splasher drink and a Ba-Ba-Banana Milkshake. Both of those also were delicious. Overall, I highly recommend the Minions Menu to everyone reading this. 

Our Gru’s Evil Steakburgers, Minion Mango OJ Splasher, and Ba-Ba-Banana Milkshake that we ordered off of the IHOP Minions Menu

On Saturday, we both went to No Thai for the first time. I ordered the beef pad thai meal and it was ready within 5 minutes of us ordering. Not only was it ready extremely quickly, it was also extremely delectable. I’m definitely going to be eating there a ton when I go back to school this year. To end off the night, we got boba at the Quickly Boba Cafe. 

My parents and brother drove up to Ann Arbor on Sunday to take us out to dinner. We ended up going to Totoro where we enjoyed some amazing sushi and beef teriyaki. 

Final Thoughts on Big 10 STEM and Irish Studies at UCD Program

After having a bit of time to reflect on the program over the past week I can confidently say that this program was one of the best six weeks of my life without a doubt. Not only did I grow academically, but I also grew as a person. Experiencing a completely different culture, adapting to a unique new environment, and meeting plenty of new people has helped me learn how other cultures view the US, what to expect when traveling to new places, and how fun it can be traveling abroad. I will definitely be looking to travel to new other countries and experience other cultures whenever I can in the future after participating in this program. I also cannot stress enough how much I recommend studying abroad or just visiting new countries and cultures if you’re able to everyone reading this blog. 

Sadly, this is the end of my final blog. Thank you all for following my journey throughout Ireland and I hope you enjoyed it! Cheers!

Dominick Thornton

Computer Science 

Big 10 STEM and Irish Studies at UCD