There are two things that I underestimated when I arrived in Ireland: just how much tea the Irish drink, and just how easy it is to travel around the country! After our first full week of classes (and more cups of tea than I've ever drank in my life), my roommates and I joined other IES Abroad students on hike around the picturesque Howth Head just north of Dublin, then branched out on our own to explore Galway.
It was very easy to learn to use the DART around Dublin and to a find a bus to Galway: it only takes two and half hours to travel from one side of the country to the other! The fields spanning between Dublin and Galway are beautiful, dotted with sheep and cows and the brightest grass I've ever seen. I kept my camera on hand throughout both trips, and was able to capture some great moments from our travels!
Madison Weaver
<p>My mother is a professional photographer, instilling in me a life-long love of photography and visual art. Assisting in her studio since I was fourteen, I've learned to capture landscapes and people in unique ways. I am a creative writing merit scholar at Bucknell University, where I have found my passion in nonfiction writing and honed my writing and editing skills as a news editor for the student run newspaper. Inspired to combine my passions for the literary and the visual, I took the initiative to create an interdepartmental Multimedia Communications major, utilizing the design, marketing, and business expertise on campus to expand my passion for sharing and communicating.</p>
