Dublin...the Land of Leprechauns!

I was invited to speak as a "visiting researcher" for a Doctoral program in higher education based in Dublin, Ireland. Why me? Perhaps they want to throw me into the Lion's den or maybe they actually think I have something to say (ha, ha...little do they know!) My life motto of "living big and without fear" gave me the stamina to say YES. After a few weeks of thinking deeply (and occasionally kicking myself for saying YES), I came to realize that I do have a research agenda. What an enlightening "ah-ha" moment for a PhD student. I spent a good week designing the talk and practiced it about 8 times...it was a 45 minute talk. I have done many other presentations in my time, but never an academic talk where I was the "visiting researcher"...Pressure! A week before the presentation, my neophyte nerves took me on a rollercoaster ride with ups n downs and sudden turns, sometimes I held on so tightly that my knuckles turned white, while other times I threw up my arms and let the wind blow through my hair. Finally, the day of reckoning! There were about 22 students and four faculty members at the talk. I took the stage and BAM, before I knew it I was done! They asked me questions about my experience as a PhD student and the transition from work/school/theory. The questions were great and after the talk the professor who invited me said, "That was SPOT on!" Ahhhh, time to take off the Leprechaun head!



So, I only had a few hours on Saturday to enjoy Dublin before flying back to London. The city was filled with excitement. Ozzy Osborne was visiting Dublin for a book signing and you could tell because many people were wearing those tiny round sunglasses while donning Ozzy apparel. There was also a lot of cheering, face paint, and even green wigs--the European football craze was in full effect! Ireland played Italy for a chance at the World Cup qualifications. The game ended in a draw 2-2, with Italy getting a spot in the World Cup and Ireland getting a play-off spot. Dublin is a great city.

Ireland double time!

The cheapest flight out of Tampere, Finland is to Dublin, Ireland via the low-cost, no-frills airline, Ryanair. Hence, the reason I have traveled there twice in the last 3 weeks, once to meet a dear friend and this time to meet my parental units. This trip was a week long celebration of 3 birthdays, mother's day, father's day, my parents 40th anniversary, as well as grieving over the recent death of my quasi-grandpa, Lil. It was a bitter-sweet week of appreciating mother nature, drinking pints while listening to trad music at the local pubs, spending QT (quality time) with the parents, thinking about my thesis topic, driving on the wrong side of the road, laughing as my mom fell in a cow pie, and eating a horrid piece of herring that took 2 days to properly digest.

Ireland is a pulchritudinous island where the green countryside meets the dramatic coastline and great musicians meet up in the local pubs.
It reminded me of New Zealand, a small piece of land that offers so much beauty; mountains, ocean, rivers, lush vegetation, sheep and cattle. The highlights were the Dingle Peninsula, Cliffs of Moher, and the Wicklow mountains. Check out the video for more scenery. By, the way...Irish people DON'T say, "Top of the mornin' to ya!" (I learned the hard way...!)

Luck of the Irish...

Despite booking a hostel on the wrong date, Ann losing all of her valuables, being stuck in Dublin on a Saturday night with no place to sleep, and making the mistake of accepting a pint from an insolent and inebriated Irish man...our trip to Ireland was anything but platitudinous! I met up with my dear friend Ann Sullivan (a.k.a. Sully) from sunny Boulder, CO for a quick 3 day adventure in Ireland. The highlight was Belfast and the pulchritudinous and rugged northern coast of the Giant Causeway. The overwhelming feeling of melancholy can be felt throughout the city of Belfast. You can feel the pain, sadness and hope left from years of brawling between the Catholics & Protestants. We toured the badly abused neighborhoods and were surprised to see, despite the peace agreement in 1998, "peace

walls" dividing the 2 neighborhoods. Ironically, just within the last month the peace walls received a "face lift" in the form of a higher wall...I'm not sure that sends a message of *peace*! In addition to the elevated peace walls, the neighborhoods have used art as a way to heal; colorful yet disturbing murals with powerful messages are painted on the side of buildings (see pics). The Bush mural was priceless (seeing this mural more than paid for the tour), "America's Greatest Failure!" This last pic is at the antiquated Trinity College in Dublin, a beautiful campus dating back to the 16th century, where I found a comfy seat in the sun and read about higher education governance (how appropriate!).