St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland

By Isabella Gentleman

Visiting Student Blogger, St. Olaf College

 

Being in Ireland for St. Patrick’s Day feels an awful lot like being in the United States for the Fourth of July, sans warm summer weather and fireworks. But as an American, St. Patrick’s Day felt even more magical than that, maybe because of the Leprechauns and Pirate Queens, but more so because of the spirit and excitement even the Irish have about celebrating and getting the day to spend time with others. Yes, Dublin City – Temple Bar especially – is filled with tourists and teenagers looking for silly ways to spend the holiday, but there are so many ways to celebrate and enjoy this holiday without finding a pub or trying to squeeze your way through Temple Bar, with everyone and their brother, that night!

Harry Potter: Maintaining Familiarity While Abroad

By Paul Smith

Visiting Student Blogger

I am from a small town in North Carolina and I’ve never lived in what I would call a “big city.” So this term, I’ve not only been studying in a different continent but I’ve been living a different style life. I was housed in a high-rise apartment complex and I walked to class in an environment which was much more unfamiliar than I expected. I was a little overwhelmed and while I wasn’t homesick exactly, I was definitely a stranger to this community.

How to: Full Trinity Experience

By Céline Brandstötter,

Visiting Student Blogger

 

It seems like I just arrived in Trinity College but it has already been 3 months since my adventure here started. I had never been to Dublin or Ireland before so I didn’t know what to expect. I just got on the aeroplane and hoped for the best. It was the best decision I’ve ever made.

Studying Art History at Trinity: Learning Inside and Outside of the Classroom

By Xinyi Ye

Visiting Student Blogger, Tsinghua University

 

Before I came to Trinity, “what department will you be studying in?” was one question my friends had for me the most frequently. It’s true that I major in Chinese literature in my home university, which means it’s hard to find a course in Europe to meet the requirements of a department of Chinese literature in China. But actually, when I decided to spend a semester in Trinity, I thought it was time for me to try something different, especially try something really European and Irish. So I signed up for modules in art history, and started my semester abroad in a brand new field. I am taking two modules from the department of History of Art this semester. One of them is Introduction to History of European Art and Architecture, which is more general, and the other is Art and Sculpture in Europe in the 17^th Century, which is more specific. Both modules consist of lectures and tutorials; the lectures give introductions and the professors’ ideas on the artists, the works and the concepts of a certain period of time, and the tutorials let students present their own ideas after reading and preparation, focusing on specific topics with the guidance of the professor.

Irish Language Classes at Trinity

 

By Michaela Vitagliano

Visiting Student Blogger, Yale University

 

Coming from a high school that was predominantly filled with Irish-Americans, I was not thrown for a loop when I saw Saoirse /Seer-sha/ or Meabhdh /Mayv/ scrawled on name cards at a party function. The two that got me, however, were Colm and Eoin which I mistakenly pronounced as /Kohlm/ and /Ey-oh-in/. Thank goodness I hadn’t come across a Caoimhe that night, for I am sure I would have said something along the lines of /Kow-im-hay/ which is drastically different from the correct /Qwee-va/.