This weekend I got to experience everything that the Victory Scholar program has to offer. I got to see around Ireland, play and coach basketball, do school work, and hang out with great people. On Saturday, we had a National Cup game in Cork. After that, we had a club wide surprise 50th birthday party for our coach. This was a great night, and a night where we got the opportunity to thank him for all of the work that he does for the club. The club wouldn’t be able to survive without the countless hours that he puts in. He literally does everything for the club. It was a special night and I hope everyone enjoyed it as much as I did. Thank you Tony!
Sunday was when the real craziness began. It started early by working on some homework that I needed to do for our group project. Then at 11, I met with my group to go over our project. Our presentation was the next day, so we needed to make sure the report and presentation were finalized. Then at 3:30, I had to coach my u16 team. They had a game against the Clare Panthers. We pulled out a great team win, 53-34! Then, the next step in my day was getting dropped off at the bus station. I got a 5:15 bus to Dublin and arrived around 8 o’clock. On the bus, I was able to finish up our project for my group. I was heading to Dublin because best friend from Middlebury was in Ireland this week visiting his brother who is studying abroad in Dublin. Since I was so busy, this was the only chance I would have to see him and his family. I went out to an amazing dinner with them in Dublin and got a chance to catch up with everything going on back home. It was so nice to see familiar faces and spend the night with them. Also, during dinner I ran into a fellow scholar proving how small Ireland is (shoutout Dom). Then after dinner, I caught an 11:30 bus back to Limerick. On the bus back, I was able to write out a blog and get some sleep. I arrived back in Limerick around 2:30 and got plenty of sleep for my presentation at 9 the next morning.
It was an incredibly long day, but one of the best I’ve had in Ireland. I was able to accomplish a lot with my school work and got a huge win with my u16 team! It was a short trip to Dublin, but was totally worth it to see my friend and his family. It was a really special weekend!
