First Entry!

Welcome to my blog! This internet journal will serve multiple purposes while I am studying at University College Cork this semester. It will help me keep track of my study abroad experience, help keep you, faithful reader, informed of my adventures, and fulfill an Experiential Learning credit that is a general education requirement at Mary Washington.
For my first entry, I thought it would be nice to start off by giving a bit of an explanation as to why I chose to study in Ireland. After all, there are so many other amazing places in the world, each offering so many unique opportunities. So why did I choose Ireland? I suppose to put it simply, the answer would be: heritage. Defined by Merriam-Webster, heritage is, "something possessed as a result of one's natural situation or birth." I am studying in Ireland to discover the "something" Merriam-Webster neglects to define in their definition.
According to Cindy, a German student I met one of my first nights in Ireland, heritage is more than a genetic link to a place. She stated very assertively that she would not accept any American who came to Germany without a knowledge of the language and culture as German, even if their ancestors were from the country. She believes that one's "heritage" is an active part of their life. It is not just something passively accepted and acknowleged from time to time.
For the three Irish girls I share an apartment with, heritage is an everyday experience. It is a requirement in schools here to take Irish language courses. They have taken so many Irish history courses, they know of the events of their country's past like they know the back of their hand. When one grows up surrounded by her heritage it can be difficult to ignore it. One of my flatmates, Fiona, told me she would be hardpressed to find an ancestor of her's who was not Irish. Although, after one of her aunts married an Italian man, she did spend some time in her youth believing that made her half Italian...
As of yet, my own definition has expanded with the knowledge of exactly where my great-grandmother lived in Ireland before immigrating to the United States. Nana Galvin lived in the small town of Callinafercy. Upon my arrival to Cork, I began asking locals if they had ever heard of Callinafercy. The most promising response I received was from a taxi driver whose answer was, "Possibly. Is that a person or a place?" No, he was not the one who showed me Nana Galvin's town on a map. It was actually a German student studying at UCC who led me to locating the town. Her GIANT map of Ireland came with an extremely helpful index that informed us that Callinafercy was located in box D20, near the larger town of Killorglin in County Kerry.
Now that I can locate the home of my great-grandmother on a map, I'm ready to go a little further in learning about my Irish ancestry. Two classes I am taking here at UCC, "Introduction to Irish History" and "Language, Literature, and Culture of Ireland" will surely aid in this process. My weekend travels to different areas, to be blogged about at a later date, will also add immensely to my connection with my homeland. Of course, the Irish people I meet here will be an essential element of my experience on the Emerald Isle. That's all for now. I look forward to sharing more with all of you about how my understanding of my heritage grows as I spend more time in Ireland!