Ireland 2018: The Year of the Harmonica!

April was the month of travelling, so be prepared for a couple of blog posts! First up, we had our long-awaited Ireland trip. This is something the second-year International Studies group does annually and it never fails to entertain. We tasted fish and chips, visited wonderful museums and enjoyed scrumptious gelato in the evenings.

Firstly, let's talk about the fish and chips. They can really divide opinions. I personally judge how good fish and chips are by how greasy they seem to be. The greasier the better! We bought our's from Lee Burdock's which I would definitely recommend.

There are so many other highlights from the trip. For example, we wandered around the Chester Beatty Library, home to just 1% of the American collector's scrolls, ornaments and books from around the world. This doesn't sound like a lot but trust me when I say that it is! It's a treasure trove of intriguing finds. We really appreciated this scroll which is from Japan and depicts the zodiac animals engaging in a poetry competition!

Here is the man himself...

You also can't visit Dublin without taking a peek inside Trinity Library. It always reminds me of something out of Beauty and the Beast - it's hard not to marvel at the sight of tall, skinny ladders rested against shelves laden with hundreds of old books.

One morning, some us even opened up the Disney store on Grafton Street! Top tip: if you tell the workers your name the day before and visit before 9am when they open, you can unlock the entrance! Ooooh! While we were waiting for the grand moment, we decided to sing "Hakuna Matata" in Finnish (they'd never heard such a thing before).

Other cool parts of the trip included checking out the cathedral...

...eating delicious cakes and scones (very fancy)...

...going to the cinema one evening to watch Ready, Player One...

...the Natural History Museum...

...gazing over St Stephen's Shopping Centre...

...and this dinosaur exhibition!

Ultimately, we had such a fun time in Dublin filled with culture, tin whistles and harmonicas (yeah, there was an International Studies band). It was a truly amazing way to end two years of our International Studies classes together. That, and receiving a Rieska Leader award for our escape room project! I am so thankful to have been able to spend my time with these hilarious, thoughtful and talented students :D