Happy New Year!

Hi all-

Happy New Year! I'm sorry to have been so delayed in blogging. Things got busy around the Holidays and I've just kind of settled back into life as usual here in Dublin.

What have I been up?

Well, the end of last term snuck up on me and I spent many hours in the reading room finishing up my essays. But no fear, they are all in (still waiting to hear how I did). I did one essay on masculine hegemony in the US Military and the other on Buddhism as a cause for violence in Sri Lanka.

I had a great Christmas as home, this year. I spent my time between Williamston, with my family, and Chapel Hill, with friends and former co-workers. It was great to see everyone and catch up on the past four months. Its hard to believe that I have been abroad since September and it seems that a lot has happened during the time.

After Christmas, my good friend Amanda and I flew back to Ireland to do a jam-packed tour of Scotland, England and Ireland. We spend New Years in Edinburgh and took part in the Hogmanay celebrations! The Scots sure know how to throw a party (and use excessive amounts of fireworks). After 4 days in Edinburgh, Amanda and I rode a train to Kings Cross Station in London. Of course, this appealed to our over-the-top love of all things Harry Potter. While in London, we saw the sights (Westminster, Big Ben, Tower of London, The British Museum, etc). We also spent a day outside of the city at Windsor Castle, Stonehenge, and Bath. Upon returning to Ireland, we visited sights in Dublin and took a day trip to the Cliffs of Moher in County Clare. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't the best, but definitely still worth it!

Prior to classes beginning this week, I participated in a class study trip to Belfast. While in Belfast, we visited several NGOs working with the peace process and even had walking tours of the neighborhoods at the heart of the conflict. Our tour guides were both prominent members of their respective communities who were very involved in the conflict. Their stories really hit home as far as the impact the conflict had and still has on so many people in the Belfast community.

Classes began for us on Monday. This term I only have classes on Monday and Tuesday (YAY!). On Monday I am taking Human Rights in Theory and Practice and on Tuesday I have a course designed to help us with our thesis as well as a course that is a case study of the conflict in Northern Ireland. I am looking forward to all of my courses, as I think they will be beneficial for my thesis over the summer.

Well that's it for now! I am planning to be more frequent in my blogging so I can keep you all up-to-date with my adventures in Ireland.

Lots of love,
Sarah

PS I'm having difficulty uploading photos. When I can figure out what's wrong, I'll add some photos.