Documentary Response 2: Rebellion Centre, Vinegar Hill, Johnstown Castle

Rebellion Centre
The first site we visited on our field trip was the National 1798 Rebellion Centre. The structure that I found fascinating was the chessboard room. When you walked in the room you saw all the people involved in the rebellion as life-sized chess pieces set on a black and white tiled floor. As soon as I walked into the room I was immediately reminded of the life-sized chessboard in Harry Potter. I thought it was a great way of capturing people's attention by telling the story in such a creative way.

Vinegar Hill

The Battle of Vinegar Hill happened on June 21st, 1798 on Vinegar Hill outside of Enniscorthy. There were about 20,000 rebel men, including women and children, on the hill and during the battle of Vinegar Hill about 1,500 were killed. More would have died if General Needham hadn't arrived late to his position on the hill and left a gap that allowed many rebels to escape the battle with their lives. This gap was called "Needham's Gap".

 The view of Enniscorthy from the top of Vinegar Hill

Johnstown Castle

Johnstown Castle was built during the 15th or 16th century by the Edmondes who settled in Wexford in the 1170s. During the 1640s the estate changed ownership multiple times before being possessed by John Grogan in 1692. His family remained the owners of Johnstown Castle until one of the descendants gave the castle to the nation as a gift in 1945. Today, Johnstown Castle may be used as a wedding venue for couples looking for the fairy-tale wedding. Looking at the castle with your own eyes is just a magnificent experience. I could have taken a million pictures and it would still not do the castle justice. It is beautiful with the long, thin windows and the towers that rise above the castle.

Taken from one of the towers across the lake

Documentary Response 1: Waterford Crystal, Tintern Abbey, & Hook Lighthouse

Sitting on the bus as we were driving through Waterford for the first time, I could not believe what I was seeing was actually real. It was everything I thought it would be and even though I had only had an hour of sleep since the previous day, I felt wide awake and excited! However, once we were settled in the dorms and we started our day out and about in Waterford, I was suddenly looking for a stump or a ledge or a bench to sit on rather than looking at the beautiful city. It was extremely hard to focus on what the tour guides were telling us because their accents were lulling me to sleep as I was trying to find every surface I could to prop myself up on so I could at least pretend I was awake enough to understand what was being said. I found myself being very frustrated with everything and everyone because I really wanted to learn everything about Waterford but my jet lagged brain would not cooperate with me. Overall, I was very sad that my first impression of Waterford was through bleary eyes so that I couldn't take in everything the first time around.

The next day was a million times better. I was fully rested and ready to get my Waterford history lessons started!

Waterford Crystal
One of the places we saw on this day was Waterford Crystal, which is a factory that makes crystal.

On the way to tour Waterford Crystal

It was started in 1783 by George and William Penrose in the city of Waterford. The factory is said to now melt over 750 tons of crystal a year. One thing that I was very impressed by was all the workers that go into making this crystal.

A man working hard, sawing and buffing the edges,

 to keep buyers from cutting themselves

Another thing that surprised me was that I had no idea that Waterford crystal created the championship trophy for the BCS games. Being a college football fan I was really excited about that little fact.

Experiencing Waterford Crystal was a great experience and I am very glad I am able to now tell people that I have seen where the crystal was originally founded.

Tintern Abbey

Tintern Abbey was founded by William Marshall, Earl of Pembroke, in the year 1200 after he was caught in a terrible sea storm and made a vow in order to be saved from the storm. The Abbey is found on the Hook Peninsula in County Wexford and was populated by the monks from the Tintern Abbey in Wales where William Marshall was also a contributor. The Abbey consisted of huge gothic archways which were pure beauty.

I was very impressed with how large the whole property was; William Marshall found 9000 acres to build this Abbey and grounds on and I could not even imagine how huge that actually is.

Hook Lighthouse

Hook Lighthouse was probably my favorite site we have visited so far. It is situated at the tip of the Hook Peninsula in County Wexford and the present structure has been standing for almost 800 years. It is one of the oldest lighthouses in the world and is in fact the oldest functioning lighthouse in Ireland. The light of the lighthouse was opened for the public in 2001 which I am very happy for because it just gives it that much more realness to the lighthouse when you are able to see the light that guided so many.

The lighthouse is constructed of limestone

and is white with two black stripes

Before Departure: I'm Going on an Adventure!

Hey Everybody! My name is Sarah Barber and I am a senior at Georgia College and State University studying Psychology. I will actually graduate at the end of summer (woohoo!) so I'm taking my last classes of undergrad ever in Ireland and I couldn't be happier! I am very thankful for my family and my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for giving me this opportunity to learn and experience life in this other country that I have always wanted to visit. I enjoy doing many things and am easily entertained so I can't wait to start a new adventure in Ireland!

Last summer as I was taking some summer classes for my major, my teacher, Dr. Chiang, was telling all of us students about the trip to Ireland. At first I didn't really think it applied to me because I would be graduating in May and didn't see the point in extending my actual graduating just to go to Ireland. As fall semester started and Dr. Chiang was continuing to tell her students about this opportunity, I felt like this might be something that would be a good experience for me but I still thought that it was silly to extend my graduation and spend all that money when I could just finish and graduate in May. One day, my cousin Lawson called me and told me that she was thinking about going to Ireland for the summer for study abroad. I asked her with what program and it turned out to be the same one that I was interested in experiencing. We knew then that it was a sign for both of us to go and we couldn't wait to participate in this journey together.

I am very excited about learning a new culture in Ireland. I have always wanted to go to Ireland and see the Irish culture and I'm thrilled that I get to have that dream come true in this study abroad trip. I'm also excited about seeing castles and just the scenery in general. I know it's going to be beautiful and I can't wait! Another thing I am excited about is the music! I love Irish music and I am delighted that I am going to have the opportunity to hear authentic Irish music. Some things that make me nervous about this trip would be the plane ride, dealing with a different type of money, and not being able to focus on my classes. I  have never flown in a plane before and I have never gone out of the country so I am nervous about flying for the first time and going somewhere that is unfamiliar to me. I know that trying to figure out the money is going to be a challenge for me and I am nervous that it will be too much of a challenge trying to figure out euros. One thing that I am nervous about, that seems a little silly, is actually focusing on my classes in this beautiful country. I am going to Ireland to learn and experience Ireland as well as take classes and I'm afraid that I will become entranced with the Irish way of living and neglect my studies. I hope it doesn't come down to that because I really want to learn about Ireland and the classes I'm taking!