This post features student writing by Liza and Josephine

On our second full day in Dublin, we awoke to the sounds of birds, and with light peaking through overcast skies. Chris’s group started with couplets in a local park, followed by a walk along the Liffey to the docks. We spent our morning playing word games and writing, watching as seagulls ravaged any scrap of food pedestrians tossed their way.

Meanwhile, Julia’s group walked to a museum called EPIC, which featured exhibits on Irish history and emigration. When first walking into the museum, there were shops and workspaces for people to eat and, in our case, write. Inside the EPIC, we looked at the process that Irish emigrants went through and why they had to leave their homeland in the first place. We were taught through interactive technology and videos that gave us a better sense of how the Irish have influenced and shaped the world in both small and grand ways. There was a video that focused on the oppression of women and birth control rights in Ireland as well as an Irish Riverdancing tutorial and montage.

In the afternoon, our groups reconvened and we went to Sweny’s, a historical location known for being featured in Ulysses by James Joyce. It was a rather odd experience, but enjoyable as we read aloud the chapter featuring Sweny’s and were serenaded by PJ, the resident Joyce expert. After this, we were set off into the city in small groups for our own Ulyssean adventure.

Some groups wandered between shops, while our group, decided to go into a bookstore. Book-spine poetry was one of the optional prompts at hand, so we set out through the store on a hunt for “meaningful” book titles. Eventually, we settled on some novels from the YA section and a small poem-like creation was made.

We went back to the hostel for an hour of rest before a fantastic dinner. In our evening gathering, we recounted our highs of the day. Almost everyone decided that the conversations they had at dinner were the group’s highlight of the day. Tomorrow, we look forward to a visit to Glasnetton cementary, dance lessons, and a dinner performance on our fourth day in the beautiful city of Dublin.