Web Programming in Ireland

Das Ende

2005-06-26T16:58:00.000-06:00

Well... it looks that no one else has posted a final post yet, so I shall. Our web programming course in Ireland is over. It was a lot of fun! We'll see if I still find it so after I get my grade back. ;P No, I enjoyed the company of everyone on the trip, I learned a lot about the beautiful country of Ireland, and I learned a lot about web programming.

In the future, and I think Paxton is with me on this one, I think we should focus on PHP instead of JSP, despite the MSU program's emphasis on Java. PHP is just SO much more widely supported, used, documented... and I think it's a bit better suited for web programming. S'what it was built for after all. Everything else was Jake though. The final project taught me a LOT (granted, about a JSP, but still), the presentations were informative, and the labs (with some refinement) were reasonable and useful.

Galway was a nice city... but... meh. NUI, the university, ended being very accommodating with the wireless internet (and we got a VERY good speech from the head of the CS dept), so that was nice. You can see all you'd want to of Ireland and have time to kill in two tree day weekends though. What's left is to chill with the locals, which were hard to meet while staying in a hostel, being in a class with no Irish people, and doing homework... also without Irish people. I made all kinds of friends, none of them actually Irish. (until I started hitchhiking: that was good) So... I would change the living arrangement, or try to integrate the class with NUI students. Or I would have the class in Amsterdam, or Rome, or Paris. Or I would take it in Bozeman and save enough $$$ to do a two week trip to Ireland and see the same things. Just something to think about. I really did enjoy Ireland, and the course, and I have no regrets in any way, but those are my thoughts I've had.

My advice to future people if this course is offered again, is to make a concerted to meet people. The Cliffs of Moher are pretty, and more so in person, but honestly what's made the trip worth it to me was when I got ride with some Irish people and they bought me lunch at the South Pole. It was wandering, lost, around suburban Galway with an Irish panhandler and his puppy. It was going to a houseparty with some other Americans. It was meeting the german girls I'm now enjoying the great hospitality of here in Germany. So... meet people.

Also, as long as you are in Ireland, GO TO CORK AND KISS THE BLARNY STONE. It really IS cool, along with being mandatory. I think only three people on the trip got down there. Shame! Shame! ;P

So, I guess I'd do it all over again, but maybe just a little different. I am now beginning the rest of my travels however, Ireland is over, so I will no long post to his blog, and I say to all of you:

Guinness is Good.
Cheers!
Evan

Amsterdam is the most beautiful city in the world.

2005-06-19T18:38:00.000-06:00

*big thumbs up*

Crunch time and southern traipsing

2005-06-14T15:10:00.000-06:00

Well, our last day of official class and lab was today. Tomorrow we start presentations, which go to Thursday. Then William and I hop the channel to Amsterdam for a raucous weekend (we leave Thursday night, get back Sunday night!). Then... a day of showing off the sweat and blood we've poured into the final projects, and we're out of Galway! A few days in Dublin sees the course to completion. Six weeks seemed like so long, but it's gone fast. And I still have a fair bit of coding to do on the project tonight (can't do it this weekend!), so that's going to speed up our remaining time even more.

The weekend before last a friend of mine came over from England, where he's studying, and we partied it up from Saturday to Tuesday. Good times. Some pubs, some house parties. Good times indeed. Then, just this past weekend, I headed down to the South of the country. Peter and Ryan accompanied me to Cork, where we kissed the Blarney Stone (really cool, you're upside-down about six stories above the ground!) and crawled around the Beamish dispensing pubs. Beamish seemed to be the Guinness of the South. Highlights of the night were a banana-flavored wheat beer, the Galactic Meal Deal at burger king, a view down on the city at night from a hill, meeting some fat Cork girls, and following them to a hopping pub that played really good music.

The following day we saw the sights, ate a Tesco lunch in the park, played hacky-sac with a Lithuanian and had an Irish Coffee (we're in Ireland, after all). The coffee was actually really good. Then Ryan and Peter caught the bus back to Galway. I decided to stay and give hitchhiking a try, however, to see the Ring of Kerry and the Dingle Peninsula. I'm glad I did! Hitchhiking is one of the coolest things I've ever done. I saw pretty much every place I wanted to, some placed I didn't know I wanted to, and met lots of nice people. It was good to talk with Irish people too, as most of my social interaction has been with foreign hostel guests. Highlights of my trip were a free drive past the Lakes of Killarney, a dance club in Killarney, Ross Castle, the town of Dingle, everyone in the 10 or so rides I caught, and one surprise in particular: (if you've read below in the blog) we saw a storyteller speak about Tom Crean, the antarctic explorer. Well, at the end of his life he ran a pub called the South Pole. It was mentioned in the story. Such was my luck that it's on the way to Dingle, and my ride wanted to stop for lunch there! Funny coincidence. They even bought me lunch!

But now I must work so that I can rest up for the debauchery ahead. Night, and cheers!

Country Fried Steak

2005-06-14T08:32:00.000-06:00

That is what I am doing on the Friday after we get back into Bozeman. I am going to Western Cafe for a Country Fried Steak and Eggs. Today marked the official end of lecture. We have presentations, and projects the rest of the week. We then slowly make are way to Dublin, and then home. I can't quite believe that we are almost finished with this trip. It is sad to say goodbye to Galway, and Ireland. The trip was fun, and I learned a lot during the course. I am glad I came.

Intense Week

2005-06-05T09:21:00.000-06:00

This week has been a pretty exciting one. On monday evening John took us to see an irish storyteller tell a story of the expeditions to antartica. It was a great way to experience some irish culture. I enjoyed it. On tuesday John met us at the hostel before class, this is not a usual happening. Then told us because of the nice weather we would ditch class and go to the Aran Islands. We rented bikes and toured the island in style. Wednesday and Thursday about as normal as our trip has seen. Friday we had nice weather, and Kevin and I decided to be spontaneous. We jumped on a bus down to Cork for the night. In Cork we toured the city on foot, stopped at a few pubs, and sleepily watched the sun rise. Then jumped the return bus at 7:30. After a much needed nap, Kyle, Jack and I went to see Kingdom of Heaven at the Eye Cinema in the luxury theater which was a hefty fee of 12 euros. Afterwards, we generally agreed that it was more or less worth the money.

My idea for next friday is swimming in the ocean, which probably will not be widely liked, but sounds good to me. Especially if there is a nice beach.

-Rob

Half Time

2005-06-03T19:22:00.000-06:00

It is hard to believe that today marks the midpoint of our adventure in Ireland. Tempus fugit!

The course is well underway and we have already done the three standard tours of the area: The Burren (including The Cliffs of Moher), Connemarra (including Kylemore Abbey) and the Aran Islands. Now we need to decide upon an appealing outdoor adventure for next Friday. Ideas, anyone??

Tomorrow and Sunday are the first two consecutive free days that we have had thus far. I plan to travel by train to Belfast in the morning, spend the night, and return late on Sunday. I am hoping to find accommodations when I arrive, but I just learned that this coming Monday is a "bank holiday" and consequently, it is a very travel heavy weekend. That should make tomorrow night an adventure. I also hope that the university will be open on Monday ...

Connemara

2005-05-30T16:46:00.000-06:00

happy happy joy joy

2005-05-30T16:12:00.000-06:00

For no one particular reason. I'm just having a bloody good time. The cliffs of Moher were sweet last week. We have proper classroom facilities now. The course subject matter both fascinates and challenges me. The Irish are still nice. It only seems to rain about every other day (spread out over two days, in alternating hours that is...). Connemara was sweet as well (Kylemore Castle was a delight, and the starkness of the barren landscape up there really hooked me). I continue to meet new people to party with. The only words for last Friday are not blog appropriate, I'm sure. Tonight, we all went and saw a fun play/act of an excellent thespian/storyteller relating the trials and tribulations of Thomas Crean, and unsung Irish hero of three antarctic expeditions (Endurance, most notably). It was great. Guinness at the intermission too. The day we check out of the Sleepzone (even with the "rules") will be sad one. It's the little things too, tacky as that sounds. Like going to buy food, and figuring out what's good and cheap. Loud school groups next door. Hackysack on the sunny patio. Runs out to the hurling fields. A little Joyce before bed most nights. Just a good time. And I, personally, have a whole summer yet to go!

Cheers

Yard Implements of Destruction

2005-05-26T17:10:00.000-06:00

After a few long days of working on the beginning of our project, I have finished most of the front end of our e-commerce site. I have learned some really interesting stuff about css and how powerful the include function in jsp is. This week has been much calmer. Not because of the room changes, which are great, but because I have been able to do the labs without much trouble. It is official friday now, tgif.

"I got the Asiatic flow mixed with disco"
-ODB (Wu-Tang Clan)

Normalcy

2005-05-26T14:44:00.000-06:00

After an eclectic week of locales last week, this week we have settled much more into a routine regarding the class.

At 9 a.m., we meet in the McMunn Theatre for a lecture. This room has a projector that I can hook my laptop into, although there is no live internet connection. To compensate for this, I have been keeping a current copy of the course website on my laptop.

After lecture, many of us stop off at "Java City" for a coffee treat of some type (cappuccinos, lattes, tuxedos, americanos, etc.). There is no such thing as "decaf" and a "double shot" seems to be the standard for all drinks!

We then head over to the Arts Millenium Building where we conduct a daily lab that accompanies the lecture. Generally, most people are finished by noon, although occasionally some people have stayed as late as 1 p.m. This lab is sunny and provides us with PCs that we can use, courtesy of our "conference" accounts. There is enough desktop space to set up laptops alongside the PCs. For people fortunate enough to have a good wireless card, a nearby wireless signal can sometimes be picked up.

After class, a stop off at the "Campus Bar" restaurant (located in the same building as the student fitness center) is a fairly common occurrence. For 8 euros, one can get a heaping plateful of food. A typical lunch might consist of lasagna, carrots, potatoes, gravy, salad and a beverage of choice.

Sleepzone "Rules"

2005-05-26T14:36:00.000-06:00

As I was doing some work on my laptop in the common area of the Sleepzone yesterday, a large high school group checked in. I was very amused to hear the leader of this group proclaim the following rules:

(1) No food or drink in personal rooms. OK, maybe water.
(2) No congregating in the halls.
(3) No banging on the doors.
(4) No loud noises between the hours of 11 p.m. and 7 a.m.
(5) No visitors to any personal room.

Several MSU students were also listening, each with "the cat that swallowed the mouse" expression on his face! Enough said ...

Sexism Sells?

2005-05-22T13:49:00.000-06:00

The proof is in the pudding:

(On the back it says "Do NOT feed to the birds.")

The Burren

2005-05-22T06:41:00.000-06:00

During our tour of the Burren yesterday I came to understand why the Celtic people maintained religious beliefs that were so deeply entwined with their surroundings. The Irish landscape is inspiring and vibrant. In just a few short miles you can see many different sights, including some of the most lush forests I've ever seen. The land leaves a lasting impression of its age when you look across it. Perhaps its the limestone in the hills that makes the land so timeless. Whatever the case, I was captivated during the entire bus ride.

The most unforgettable part of the tour was our stop at the Cliffs of Moher. The tour guide stated that the cliffs were 650 feet tall. While the mathematical figure sounds impressive, it fails dismally to convey the beauty and expanse of the cliffs. The cliffs extend for what seems like a mile to the south west, slowly dissipating and eventually wrapping around a small jut, leaving nothing but the Atlantic ocean ahead of you. The view gave me the sensation that I was standing at the edge of the world, and in many ways I was. However, if you look to the North you can see all three of the Aran islands as well as the rest of Galway Bay. Seeings the cliffs was the most worthwhile thing I've done so far on the trip.

The Cliffs of Moher

2005-05-22T05:02:00.000-06:00

The Burren Video Clip

2005-05-21T14:14:00.000-06:00

I made a short video clip of the trip to The Burren, it features the close call with the other bus.

Here

-rob

What I've Learned During My First Week in Ireland

2005-05-20T17:42:00.000-06:00

(1) Irish people are very friendly - on our tour last weekend, Ryan's hat blew off and someone followed the bus for 20 minutes to give it back to him

(2) "Brown sauce" is more like ketchup and is not meant as a spread for breakfast toast - enough said.

(3) Converted hotel bedrooms without computer projectors don't make very effective lecture rooms.

(4) "Off license" means that an establishment has a license to sell beverages that may be consumed off premises.

(5) I am pretty out of the current music scene - the students are excited to hear a take off on a group called "The Pixies" - just who are The Pixies anyways?!?

(6) Playing bridge at the Galway Bridge Centre is very enjoyable. Unlike in Bozeman, the Galway Bridge Centre features a staffed bar.

(7) A "bap" is a large sandwich.

(8) Pay careful attention when biking on roads with sharp edges!

(9) A pint of authentic Guinness tastes great, although I don't know about the less filling part.

(10) Rural Ireland is beautiful.

They didn't skip town

2005-05-19T13:38:00.000-06:00

Nope, the Germans didn't skip town, and I'm going out with them again tonight!

The Pub was great last night there were about 10 locals playing music. Fiddles, flutes and the like. Then the whole pub was like "shhhhhh" "shhhhhh" and got all quiet (except a few drunk Irish who kept setting off their cell phones and laughing) and then a musician would break into a solo, be it vocal or on the flute, whatever. It was great.

Saw Episode III today at this spanking new theater. It was okay. Final battle wore on too long as I had too pee like ALL HELL. It really is PG-13 though. The best was the Irish guy in their little pre-movie "Exits here, don't smoke, etc" reel. It was funny on purpose to begin with, and THEN he was an overly-caffeinated Irish guy.

Looks like we might have a classroom and wireless at the college after all! More later.

One Week in One Blog

2005-05-19T12:45:00.000-06:00

-By Ryan

So this is my first entry into the blog and I'm not exactly sure what to write. So I guess it's best to start at the beginning...First there was light, as the nice Irishman showed me on my armrest of my chair on the international flight. Then there was unconciousness, mass uncosiousness as we drove from Dublin to Galway (which is pronounced Gahl-way for you yanks), with brief moments of total fear when I woke up and thought that we were driving in the wrong lane.

Once in Galway we made a nice little luggage caravan...of doom. Always, ALWAYS remember the straps to your luggage. Otherwise luggage transportation becomes less like work, and more like a full body work-out. That night was spent enjoying a couple pubs around town and beverages-of-our-choice.

Saturday we toured Galway, and I lost my hat do to the high velocity winds (keep that in mind when traveling), or so I thought. Our tour bus stopped at the beach and a kind friend of the bus driver returned it after following us for several blocks. It was pretty incredible. That night we went to an Off-Licence (liquour store and it is spelled "licence") and got some more b-o-o-c's to save some money before hitting up the King's Head. Afterward Peter and I learned the ways of the Irish bacchelorrette party at the Skeft. Less strippers, more drinks.

I know everyone has complained about the hotel room for the classes we've had and our lack of wireless on campus, but honestly, I'm still excited to be in Ireland. Hitting the pubs, to touring Salthill, and all the amazing ruins...It's pretty sweet. But Monday it looks like everything will get in order as far as class wise. Last night a few of us picked up tickets to the Hoot where there will be covers of Talking Heads versus Pixies covers. That'll be tommorrow night, I'm looking forward to it. Also, if ever in Ireland goto the Eye movie theater, freakin sweet.

I welcome the weekend

2005-05-19T08:46:00.000-06:00

This week has been rough on me. The class has been scattered all over the city. I am not as Mac savvy as I should be when it comes to this week's programming assignments. And, laundry is 7 euros a load. Nothing a few relaxing pints can't handle. This weekend should turn out to be good. I am going to the "Hoot Night" with Kevin tomorrow, and Saturday we have a trip out to the country. If you are looking for a cool video of some offroading in Canada (it is large, but totally worth the time) try this tasty link Naps are a neccessary evil, that keep hitting me about this time every afternoon. :yawn:

Until that day
-rob

Buckfast = not-that-good. Also... rain? What?

2005-05-18T20:46:00.000-06:00

So, on the recommendation of the resident hoop-earring sporter and high-school delinquent (she's staying at the hostel because she was kicked out of her home for throwing house parties) I bought a bottle of Buckfast. It's a "Tonic Wine" made by Benedictine monks in England. An age-old recipe, apparently, and "delightful on the palette". Word has it it's what all the kids drink to get messed up fast and cheap. So... it wasn't that cheap for one thing. 9 euro for 70cl. 15% alcohol by vol is good though. For the other thing... it was cough syrup. The tastes were identical. Imagine being faced with the prospect of drinking a wine bottle full of Nyquil.

Daunting. Terrifying, even.

So I drank it all in a sitting anyway.

Only so-so drunk I ended up talking for a few hours with these two German girls and two American girls at the hostel. The American girls were kind of self-absorbed and wannabe-expats, but the Germans were delightful. They told me all about the education system in Germany and other world matters in between their smoke breaks. I'm supposed to meet them for a drink tonight, but either their tour went horribly awry today or they feigned politeness exceptionally well night and have in fact skipped town to avoid me. It was fun last night, at any rate. Pints are expensive anyway.

So, it's raining today. I hear this happens here. First we've seen of it though. It's kind of dreary. Wet, even.

Class continues, despite this country's best attempts to undermine our education. The hotel-bedroom is still ridiculous. I noticed it doesn't have a bathroom today, for one thing. It's not even a proper bedroom! Thank God for the Irish Spring Water. Then, we learned that we will probably never be able to use the wireless internet on campus. The lab computers lack the software we need to do anything for class, so this means that there is nothing for us at the University. This has not stopped us from walking the mile or so from the hotel to the campus all three days this week. What do we do when we get there? We sit in a lounge with our own computers, trying to do our labs without an internet connection. It is a ridiculous fiasco, this guerilla boot-strap course. We might as well just stay in the hostel, where we have internet and chairs and the whole deal. I can see us renting bikes and riding around until we find open wireless and having class on the sidewalk next. In Paxton's defense we are learning and pressing forward. We learned SQL today, and will start on JSP tomorrow. There are just some annoying roadblocks.

On a lighter note, have you ever eaten potato chips that taste like shrimp cocktail?

I have.

Friday night plans?

2005-05-18T13:19:00.000-06:00

Hey guys, at the 'Roisin Dubh' they are having a this way cool concert called Hoot Night Here is the explanation they gave me:

For those of you who are as yet unaware of what The Hoot Night is,
allow me to give you a short introduction to one of the most
interesting and entertaining nights out you are ever likely to have.
The wonderful Thomas Dunning used to run the Hoot in Chicago, and now
runs them in Dublin, and is also coming out West for the first Hoot
outside of the capital. Basically what happens is that a large number
of bands, 14 in our case, get together and play what is basically a
theme night. The theme for Galway is Pixies vs Talking Heads, but
previous Hoots have been Prince vs Queen, Blondie vs Bowie, Johnny Cash
vs Christmas (where Tychonaut, for example sang the poem, A Night
Before Christmas, set to the music of Thriller...) So, on Friday, 14
bands will play one song by Pixies, one song by Talking Heads, in their
own style, as if they had written the song themselves. Quite a night.
There are only about 100 tickets available for this, so don't miss this
historic occasion....

Tickets are 10 € down at the club if you sign up at there site. Rob and I are headed down right now to buy tickets.
Peace in the Middle East
KJo

Biking and Crashing

2005-05-18T12:17:00.000-06:00

On Tuesday, Jack, Kevin, Kyle and I rented bicycles at Europa Bike Rentals, just across from the cathedral. To rent a bicycle for 24 hours costs 10 Euros, so it is relatively inexpensive. The weather was sunny and mild so it was an ideal day for a bike ride.

We set out around 2 p.m. and needed to bike along a busy road to get out of town enough to get on the rural roads. After making a brief stop at the Glen Lough abbey (now part of a 5 star hotel and golf course), I started looking for a walking trail down to a train depot that I had seen the other day. While searching for the trail on a particularly precarious part of the road (no shoulder and a dirt lip), I managed to hit the lip, spin my handlebars in a 360 and go down on my hands. The good news - I didn't skin my hands up at all (I wasn't going too fast). The bad news - Kyle and Jack were both close enough behind me that we had a 3 bike pile-up. Fortunately, the only injury was to my bike - a broken reflector.

We did find the trail down to the old train depot. It is a stonewalled lane that goes down to a canal filled with lilypads. The train depot is long gone, but the spot is very picturesque.

Following this diversion, we did a figure eight through the rolling hills of Connemarra, passing through the towns of Forba and Barna (where we had a light supper). We didn't get back to Galway until a bit past 7 p.m. I estimate that we covered 25-30 miles in all.

First day of "class"

2005-05-16T13:33:00.000-06:00

Well, it's Monday so we had our first day of "class" today. I put parenthesis around that because there was no actual class today and it's looking like we might never find ourselves in an actual classroom the whole course. We checked out our "conference room" at this hotel we booked... it was a regular hotel room. The bed was gone, but the headboard was still there. Apparently, once we get the projector, we're going to use the white wall above said headboard as our "screen". The nightstands and everything were still there as well. The only thing that made it sort of resemble anything but a hotel room was the large and random collection of chairs set facing towards the headboard/screen. I will say that they had bottles of Pure Irish Stilled Spring Water there for us. *thumbs up*

So this was first thing in the morning (9AM). We all actually got up at a human hour and ate the free hotel breakfast for the first time. Toast. Instant coffee. But the price is right. Anyway after the hotel we went to campus and got a little tour. We filled out the necessary forms so that later this week we can get on the campus network (hopefully), and it sounds like we might get a classroom but not this week because of final exams. The guides were really nice though and we found the College Bar, which has slightly cheaper-than-usual drinks and is located in the same building as the Gym. So after your workout you can grab a pint?

Back at the hostel now, starting to actually think about computers and websites. Everyone is enjoying their supermarket food. Looks like for the most part we're done going out to the pubs, at least until next weekend. $$$. Cheers, until later!

UPDATE - Haha John's post is almost exactly the same as mine! Mayhaps I'll shy away from the mundane applies-to-everyone info...

First Day of Class

2005-05-16T08:53:00.000-06:00

We walked over from The Sleepzone to the Fairgreen Hotel as a group this morning. When we reached the "conference" room, we found it to be a converted bedroom. Assuming that we gain access to a projector tomorrow (there is a working internet connection), the course material will be projected right above a headboard that is still attached to a wall. Although the room is serviceable, I think without any doubt this is the oddest place where I have ever conducted a class meeting!

Next, we walked over to the NUI-Galway campus where we met Patricia Walsh and Laurie Clinton. They led us on a campus tour. During the tour, we stopped off at a very nice computer laboratory (large flatscreen monitors) and found that our NUI-Galway accounts are working fine. We also stopped off at the Computing Services Office where we filled out some paperwork so that we can utilize the wireless hotspots around campus in a day or two. Patricia is also looking into a lecture room for us. If that works out, we will most likely hold the entire class on the NUI-Galway campus instead of migrating from the Fairgreen Hotel to the campus midway through the morning. A wireless hotspot should work very well for the "lab" portion of our daily meetings.

The most amusing part of the campus tour was the recreation center. On one side of the building are the recreational facilities and on the other a campus bar. I guess health and a pint go together in Ireland. ;)

saturday night recap

2005-05-15T05:14:00.000-06:00

first stop - off licence liquor store

second stop - edge of the river quay, drank purchased beverage(s), locals' foot(soccer)ball took a swim, kevin tested out his irish accent

third stop - stood in a que (actually more of priority queue, if you were of the female gender you had a higher priority)

fourth stop - the king's head pub, purchased more beverages, listened to cover band (great cover of the darkness - i believe in a thing called love), met shinji (spelling?) and pauline from france

fifth stop - supermacs for a chicken wrap with entirely too much mayonnaise

final stop - my bed at the sleepzone, listened to joe nichols

-rob

Boring first post....

2005-05-14T13:38:00.000-06:00

Hello all, this is my first post to a blog! Yay. I did get into Galway a day earlier than everyone. That was fun, I spent the extra night is this other hostel (cheaper, and for good reason) and went out with a German nerd and an Italian backpacker. Also good times. I spilled some Guinness on a Canadian girl, got into deep political discussions... good times. The Guinness really is fantastic here. Better than the stuff in the States, for sure. Oh I actually met two other computer science students on the bus from the Shannon Airport to Galway and was going to go out with them, but there was this big African dance performance on the street, and I wanted to watch it, and they didn't, and I decided they were lame. The two Europeans I hung out with were much more fun. This older Irish-American on the bus was very informative, telling us about how hard it is to get approval to build a house in Ireland, and how it's the %12 corporation tax (instead of the U.S.'s %25?) that attracted all of the tech firms from America and the economic boom known as the "Celtic Tiger" (a buzz phrase the Irish are sick as hell of hearing). He was full of interesting tid- bits.

Today we're hooking up with John for a tour of Galway. That's... a few minutes from now. I just enjoyed a delicious Cup Soup from the cheap grocery store after sleeping in until about noon and have been talking with some Canadian girls here with work Visas. Apparently they can get them for a year, but American's can only get work Visas for like 3 months. Kevin, another kid on the trip, got his Passport stamped as a Student so he can work part time or something. I'm going to look into that and see if I can get my stamp changed, as long as I'm here for six weeks.

That's all for my first post, I'll probably post with reasonable regularity because we actually have a lot of free time, and this wireless internet here in the hostel is keen. Until then...

Trip to Galway

2005-05-14T04:44:00.000-06:00

8 of us left Bozeman on Thursday, May 12th around 8 a.m. We flew to Minneapolis where William met us (from Billings) and then to Newark where Ryan met us (from Denver). In Newark, there was an opportunity to pick up a $500 voucher for flying to Dublin via Paris. Unfortunately, there were only two such vouchers and so in the interest of keeping the group together, we didn't capitalize on that opportunity.

The trans-Atlantic flight was high-tech in the sense that each seat had its own screen. One could watch movies, listen to the radio, play video games, etc.

Clearing customs in Dublin was fairly straight-forward. For some reason, the agent that helped Kevin gave him a "work permit" stamp. No one else got one of those.

We caught the 10:15 a.m. bus from Dublin airport to Dublin to Galway. The bus driver was very friendly and gave a running commentary on the sights in Dublin. Of special interest was the Guinness factory, where kegs of beer were stacked quite high in the factory yard. A trip to the Guinness factory seems obligatory when we visit Dublin in June.

After arriving in Galway around 2:15 p.m., we checked into our various accommodations - the students at The Sleepzone hostel and me at the nearby Rossa Bed and Breakfast. I think I have the better end of things when it comes to breakfast (fried eggs, sausage, bacon, fried tomatoes, mushrooms, a wide selection of breads, cereal, yogurt, tea, juice, etc.), but ... the hostel has wireless internet.

We met the 11th member of the group, Evan, in Galway. Evan arrived the day before.

Newark Airport

2005-05-12T17:12:00.000-06:00

I just finishished some mediocre maki sushi in the Newark C Terminal food court. In two hours I am enroute to Dublin, Ireland. I met quite a few chatty seniors on the way over. I must be eminating an aura that just screams "talk to me about my exciting trip, and tell me stories about your connection to Ireland." Which, really, is better than that awkward silence of sitting next to someone for two hours and the only communication exchanged consists of mumbled "excuse me" 's and darting glances. The first guy I met was a retirned elementary school principal, who was really friendly (ie reallly chatty). Told me all about his son who sings in a quoir in Austria, and his nephew who is getting married in Washington D.C. this weekend. I also met a funny old lady named Raphaella who thought is was funny that I was proud of being from Butte, Montana. I subsequently punched her teeth out, GO BUTTE.
I still don't think that this whole trip has really hit me yet. I keep thinking that I am going to wake up back in Bozeman with some huge math assignment due that day. Yay for pessimism. Maybe it’s when I get a good night's sleep not on a couch (ulggaha remind me again why its so important to say goodbye to all of your friends with alcohol) it'll sink in.
Well, I'm going to go find my terminal, and maybe somewhere that has wireless access so that I can post this.

Till then, cheers
KJo

Overview

2005-04-26T09:28:00.000-06:00

The Montana State University Computer Science Department, in conjunction with The Office of International Programs has organized a "Web Programming in Ireland" course. The 3 credit course will be taught at The National University of Ireland in Galway, Ireland from May 12, 2005 - June 24, 2005. 11 MSU students are enrolled.

The purpose of this blog is to allow the course participants to share their experiences and photos with anyone who is interested.

Enjoy!