May 9 - Occupation, Conquest, and Defense

Picked up rental cars at airport

A couple of the professors chose to pick a student as a sort of "copilot" that would ride in the front passenger seat, mostly responsible for the GPS and navigation. This was an attempt to provide the professors who had never driven on the "wrong" side of the road a partial relief from the burden of being wholly responsible for a van full of students, navigating an unfamiliar country, whilst doing everything possible to not fall into their American habits of driving. Between the steering wheel on the opposite side, driving on the left, and all of the massive multiple lane rotaries there were a good number of times everyone was thankful for that foresight. I was asked to be a copilot by a professor.

This professor and myself go way back to my Freshman/Sophomore years of college in 2012-14, before I came to Southern Utah University. This professor was, at that time, the only faculty/teacher in the Psychology department at that College. I ended up taking, from what I recall, every single class the school offered every single one of which were taught by this professor; with the exception of Intro to Psychology because I had the AP credit to cover it from high school.

For me, this was my first experience ever having what I consider a 'true' professor. I find the difference between a teacher and a professor to be their capability of displaying and passing on their passion to their students. This professor was the first example that began to distinguish this illustration in my mind. He kindled an interest and love of psychology inside of me that I have yet to shake. Whether this professor started or fostered that love of psychology, I don't care, I will remain grateful that he was capable and willing of such an endeavor.

So, this professor asked me if I would be his navigator, and I was more than willing for that challenge.

Rock of Cashel

This was an activity many of us had been long waiting for after a couple days in Dublin. The countryside of Ireland was spectacular. In addition, when you see a Castle looking building the size of four or five large houses with another few stacked on top of that just pop out from behind the rolling hills, it's magnificent. This was the first rainy day we had in Ireland and, despite our hope, we were rained on while taking the tour of the Rock of Cashel. The frigid air, freezing rain, and bone-chilling breeze quickly wore down many of us, especially the ones who chose to wear leggings or jackets that were not waterproof.

I saw this weird symbol that I had never encountered before except a couple days prior in Glasnevin Cemetery. It was a line going up and down with a perpendicular line sideways, intersecting at the midpoint of both lines. From there it had lines extending from every end of these lines taken out to the point that they almost formed a square around the cross. Then it had what appeared to be an S intertwined with all of those lines set perfectly so the midpoint of the S again lined up with the midpoint of the first two lines I described. I'll do some investigating, I've only seen it on gravestones so far.

After the Rock of Cashel we were to break into our pre-determined van groups, find lunch, then meet all of the other van groups at the next location. Our van chose to link up with another professor's van as these were the only two professors that had never been to Ireland and still had the luxury of driving cargo vans full of students. Lunch was found at a deli after a decision made in pure frustration at the new driving parameters mixed with the uncertainty of destination and a seemingly dysfunctional copilot. I feel as though the odds were stacked against me given this particular GPS from the allotment. I did guide us properly to the next destination.

Cahir Castle

This time the building did not appear from behind one of the vast rolling hillsides, but from behind a row of shops and townhouses on main street of Cahir, right in the middle of the small town of Cahir. The rain had stopped and this castle was a bit more preserved so it protected us from the other weather conditions. We also had an amazingly comedic guide for this castle so after a few good laughs the whole study abroad crew was doing much better. I love castles!!! This one, while much smaller, had much more intact and was exponentially more capable of being explored. After the tour we were left to do our own exploring for about an hour with a park back behind the castle, a trail across the road, and a few shops within walking distance. I went for the photo-op with the sword in the stone in the park around the back of the castle. Visiting with colleagues and professors throughout.

Macroon for dinner

I was the one responsible for locating a good place to eat on the way to our final destination for the next few nights, Westcove Estate. I found a small town, literally on the way, with quite a few options. I equate this success to my ignorance of the GPS until I knew exactly where our van was going, I argue it wasn't the copilot that was dysfunctional earlier today.

Westcove Estate near Castle Cove

We arrived at Westcove well after dark and were the last group to arrive. We quickly unpacked our van and went to bed.