21/07/10 - The Chronicles of MC; the Turtle, the Doctor and the Cabin
Where to begin my friends since I last rambled on, so much has happened! I spent another great week in Oaxaca. Highlights included a trip to a cookery school on a ranch, we cooked a 5 course Mexican dinner that I will never forget, can't wait to hunt down squash flowers in Ireland for the soup....it might be difficult!! Also went on a trip to a nearby town, Teotitlan del Valle, with a micro-finance organisation from the school, called Envia. The idea is that all the money from the trip goes in the form of micro loans to the women of the village to fund their businesses.
So I'm back from Vermont!! 2010 Travel Award Winner
So I’m back! Only a few days ago I was in a
completely different climate, and now I am back in front of my computer at home
with overcast skies outside…Home Sweet Home!
Japan : Jet lag, culture shock et. al
The moment I stepped into my first host family`s house, I knew I was going to have to make some adjustments to survive my six weeks in Japan: I immediately slammed my head into the top of the doorframe. This is not a country designed for six-foot plus, big-footed giants. However, as is clearly evident I have (surprisingly) lasted these first two weeks on the far side of the world! Not without a few mishaps, mind - but that`s half the craic, isn`t it?
University Student Homestays 2007
About the program:
Each year American University students, studying in Irish universities for a semester, spend a weekend with an Irish host family in host communities across the country. This homestay experience allow for students to be immersed in the daily life of an Irish family and community, and to experience life in Ireland beyond the campus.
Click on to see the opinions of the 2007 program participants.
Vermont Travel Award 2010 : Where to begin?
Where do I begin? 12 days of absolute bliss in the Green
Mountain State, more commonly known to all as Vermont. As we began our
“Mock Congress” on Day 1 of the programme, I knew it was going to be a
remarkable and fascinating 12 days!
July 2010: Hey white person ! - Caroline Mitchell in Ghana
All is going well here starting to settle a bit.We stand out every where we go and everyone shouts 'hey white person' at us!!Funny at the start but stating to get a bit annoying now!The family Im living with are really lovely,very friendly and trying hard to welcome us.The mother is a really good cook so Ill be coming home a fattie!The food was hard to get used to at first,all fried in fat and everythings very rich and spicy.They eat rice for ever meal of the day!I cant bring myself to eat it at 7.30am!I have porridge instead
Learning the Ropes and Finding my Feet...
¡Hola de Guatemala!
Apologies for the delay in getting my first blog posted but things have been so busy here over the past few weeks. I didn't want to have to write in a rush so decided to wait until I had some time and energy to write with ease. I'm now on my fourth week here but I'm gonna take you right back to the start where it all began...
Greetings from Ghana: July 2010
Hello! Today I'm celabrating my little aniversary - two weeks in most beautiful African country Ghana. I could not update my blog earlier as i had sever cultural shock and did not want to be too negative. Just kidding:) I have experienced some cultural shock, such as homesicness and some aspects certantly irratated my. Most irritating aspects of my experience so far is that local people call europeans 'oburoni' (twi language) or 'jawu' (ewe language), which means 'white person'.
UCC Field Trip Belfast 2007
Each year, American students at the Department of Government in UCC take part in an academic field trip to Belfast. During their 4 day stay they visit the Northern Ireland Assembly at Stormont and meet with politicians from all parties. . The objective of the programme is to
experience and learn about the changes that have been wrought in this
once divided society and the ongoing work at political and community
level to maintain and underpin the peace.
Read on to hear some of the feedback from some of the students who participated in the 2007 trip to Belfast through University College Cork.
Claudia Carrolls Vermont adventure so far...
After a week and a half in the US I am still amazed at the friendliness and enthusiasm of every participant at the Governors' Institute Program. The classes are fascinating whether they be workshops, issue groups or topicals. My issue group, Politics, was a series of intense thought-provoking discussions on every aspect of modern democratic systems. Unfortunately, our teacher, the ever open-minded Tim Kipp, was struck with health problems for the second half of the programme, but we instead enjoyed equally engaging classes on leadership.
