It’s been just over a week since I returned home from Europe. After I left Madrid, I spent a lovely three days with my friend and her family at their home in Naples, which included a day trip to Rome. Since then, I’ve been back in my childhood home in Clarksburg, Maryland, where I’ve spent…
Errigal!!! Including the Atlantic Way and the Downings Festival
This morning a little group of us got up bright and early to summit the largest mountain in Donegal county. The hike was breathtaking, and when we reached to the top, I really took in how lovely Ireland was. It really reminded me that “wow, I’m really here,” while having the overview of the entire…
Sliabh Cliffs and More Exciting Architecture
Over the past two days, I realized that the weather is just as much a part of Donegal as the landscapes themselves. At Glenveagh, the overcast skies made the park feel peaceful and almost mysterious, while the light rain gave the forests and mountains a deeper green color. At Sliabh Liag, we had a perfectly…
Back at Home and Reflecting
Now that I’m back on American soil, I’ve spent some time reflecting on my eight weeks in Prague. When I landed in Prague, I couldn’t speak a word of Czech, had basically no architecture background, and wasn’t totally sure I knew how to be a “confident leader.” I’m leaving with all three of those things…
Tourism, Traffic, and Who Actually Benefits
This week gave us a front row seat to a few very different kinds of tourism in Donegal, and it’s made me think a lot harder about what it actually takes for a visitor to become an economic asset instead of just a pass by. The Downings Festival felt like the clearest win for the…
Seeing Northern Ireland Through Its Stories
The past few days in Northern Ireland have shown me just how differently places can tell their stories. One moment we’re standing on the edge of Giant’s Causeway, staring at rock formations that look like they came out of “The Lord of the Rings”, and the next we’re walking beside the Peace Walls or along…
2 Days Left
It’s only two days until the grand finale of our time here in Ireland on the Haller Global Fellowship Program, and while today was much more calm than most, the activity certainly hasn’t slowed down. We started today with a tour of the Fanad Head Lighthouse, built in 1817 to prevent devastating shipwrecks upon the…
Reflection on the experience
Coming into Prague, I was really nervous about the unknown. I’ve always been good at navigating new situations, but this was a completely different beast. Not just a new city, not a new state, but a completely different country, culture, and way of life than anything I’d experienced before. Another thing I struggled with was…
Tourism and Carrigart
(Note: due to surprise circumstances, this post is one day late, thought much of it was written yesterday. So, every time I say “today” I am referring to yesterday, the third of August.) It’s been another great two days here in Ireland on the Haller Global Fellowship Program. Both yesterday and this evening we had…
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