I was so lucky these past couple days to have one of my best friend from back home visit! Bre and I met in college and become best friends. Bre and I have been friends since our senior year in college, but it seems so much longer than that. We are very similar people who have the same interests which makes our friendship awesome!  Bre and I do not live close back in the states, but our friendship knows no distance. Even with the time difference between Ireland and the East coast of the United States, Bre and I talk all the time still! I am lucky to have a friend like her!

I had the honor to show Bre around Belfast! We went and saw pretty much everything there was! We ate some good food and had some good drinks as well!

We also even made it to Giants Causeway. When we went to Giants Causeway we hiked about 8 miles there and it was absolutely beautiful! Our trip there was a little rough but we made it!! I’ll talk more about Giants Causeway in another post!

Bre also got to see one of the programs that we do within the Sport Changes Life Program which was eHoops and she was very impressed with the program. She saw the impact we were making on young people and said she was so happy I had the opportunity to be apart of this program! Which made me extremely happy because I love being here and showing people what I do!

All in all, I’m sad Bre left, but she’ll be back in May!

Another few weeks have passed in Limerick and I finally feel like I am settled in completely.  Working with the kids at Moyross has been the highlight of me week. I finally feel like I am really getting to know the kids who go there and our relationships are forming beyond acquaintances. As I mentioned in my last post at Moyross there is an athletic portion where we play soccer and after we all have dinner there is a portion where we do different types of art. It is a nice change of pace for me in my week to slow things down and be able to do a different activity from sport. It is also nice to see kids who attend every Wednesday and work on a massive art project that they have really invested in.

Outside of Moyross, one thing that I always look forward to is family dinner with Ian and Reece. Although our schedules are different, it is nice to come home after a long day of class or practice and sit down with the two of them and talk about our different experiences.  Before I came to Ireland, I envisioned the Victory Scholar Program to be largely an individual experience.  Aside from the obvious classroom, basketball, outreach setting, I assumed that most of my free time would be spent by myself. I did not think that I would find such great friends in my two roommates, but fast forward just a month and I could not imagine my time in Limerick with the two of them. I know that my time in Ireland will have its ups and downs in basketball, or school, or even doing outreach programs, but having family dinners with Ian and Reece is something that will always make my day better.

Since my last blog post, the season has begun and I am loving it. It feels so good to be playing basketball again at a level where it’s competitive and the stakes are high. There are few things in life that beat the feeling you getting an and 1, taking that charge, or hitting a buzzer beater.

We played 6 games in preseason, starting off 4-2. Playing that many preseason games gave us the opportunity to learn each other’s strengths and weaknesses so we can play better as a team. I like playing teams that are better than us to see if we can hold our own (shoutout to Victory Scholars Ashley and Meredith for kicking our butts), and how we handle being in bad situations. Preseason gave us a really good idea on where we stood and what we needed to improve on.

The one thing my team is consistent with is energy. There hasn’t been a game (so far) that we have not been hyping each other up and getting excited for one another. This is something I really missed about being on a team, and why I am so happy to have gotten the opportunity to play overseas.

So far this season, we are 1-1. We took a tough loss last night against a really strong Meteors team, but it showed us what we need to improve on. Next week we head up to Donegal, and I can’t wait to get on the court again!

TTYL,

Morgan

Victory Scholars Meredith and Ashley, who play for DCU, after they beat my team 🙁

It was 10 pm the night of the of the 29^th of September, and I realized that tomorrow would be an off day. This was it. The perfect opportunity to hike up Cave Hill. I had planned to do this before even arriving in Belfast. I had asked multiple people about it including SCL staff, former scholars as well as locals a like. I had researched it online, and had the whole process figured out. Time to put it into action.

6:30 am, my alarm sounds and I decide to go through with going for the hike. Getting to the start of the hike would require me to take two buses to Belfast Castle. Bus transportation was something I hadn’t tried yet, and that morning showed my inexperience. After a short jog from the wrong bus stop to the correct one, and watching the correct bus go by as I stood on the wrong side of the road, I finally managed to make it on the correct buses and to my desired location beneath Belfast Castle.

I instantly began the hike on Cave Hill trail. The hike starts with about 10 minutes of walking through tree covered wood. Halfway through which I realized hiking by yourself in an area you are unfamiliar with may not have been the best or safest idea. However, luckily, I wasn’t greeted by unfriendly wildlife, and managed to stay on the right trail. After making your way through the trees at the beginning of the hike, the trail opens up into a green area directly below the start of the ascent.

Decision time comes for the hiker at this point: Take the steep route up Cave Hill or take the much easier trail around the mountain. My mind was telling me YEAH…. But my body, my body was telling me NOOO. In true male athlete fashion, I decided that I couldn’t set my pride aside, and took the steep route. A decision that about half way up, my legs and I soon regretted. After about 30 minutes in total and a few close calls later, I had reached the top of Cave Hill out of breath and sweaty to receive what was a view…. That was blocked by the ever so lovely Irish fog.

Despite not being able to see much of Belfast or the Irish landscape, it is safe to say that view was as breathtaking as the hike was. Because of the fog and dreading having to hike down, I decided to wait and walk around the top of the hill for a little while. A decision that I am so glad I made that day. Apparently, patience really is a virtue. After about an hour of exploring, I returned the main lookout point to find that the fog had completely left. Revealing the whole Belfast lough and city of Belfast. I can honestly say I have never seen a greener landscape in my life which made me appreciate the Irish rain for once. I was in complete amazement for the nearly 30 minutes I sat and looked.

I soon was reminded of how fortunate I am to be living here with all of this so close to me. Even more importantly, I was reminded of how blessed I was to have this opportunity and how I wanted to make the most out of every moment and day.

Next up on the list, SLIEVE DONARD, Northern Ireland’s tallest peak.

From my apartment in Dublin to my home in Urbandale Iowa is 3,897 miles. My entire life I lived in Iowa before moving to Ireland in August. Urbandale is a suburb west of Des Moines which is the capital of the state. From there, I went to Iowa State University, which is 50 miles away and took about an hour driving. Even though I lived Iowa my whole life “close” to home, I do not consider myself being a homebody person. Thats why I knew that making the journey overseas to live in another country wouldn’t be a problem for me.

Everyone back home and girls in the younger DCU Mercy club U10-U14 teams always ask me, “what is the difference about Ireland to Iowa” and I always laugh when they ask that question. One major difference I noticed right away was the steering wheel and driving on the other side of the road. It has taken me a while, and I’m still not used to it! When I touched down in Dublin at the airport to load everything onto the bus, I couldn’t believe where the steering wheel was and the difference I noticed being a passenger on the bus. Another major difference I noticed was the money conversions, having to use Euros instead of US Dollars and the food prices. I think the food in Ireland is WAYYY more expensive than the food back home. I also think that may be because I’m living in the city but I have noticed the prices to be different.

There are many similarities to Ireland and Iowa that I have noticed as well and the first thing was how nice and welcoming everyone has been. I have met so many people who have made my transition every smoothly. In Iowa, we use this term “Iowa Nice” which is the type of people that live in Iowa, and when visitors to tourist come to Iowa, they always use the term “Iowa Nice” when referring to the people they met came into contact with. For me, that’s the way I feel about people in Dublin. I have heard the term “Irish Nice” a few times and it reminds me of being home. Another similarity is the weather, in Iowa, there are lots of rainy cold days being in the midwest with snowy winters and cool falls. So, I am used to the rain and fall like temperatures in Dublin. The last similarity is the city, I know Des Moines is not as big as Dublin but in terms of getting around the city by using public transport and the beautiful building and murals, reminds me of home.

Everyone always asked me what would be 1 thing you wish you had in Ireland that they don’t have, or one thing in Ireland you wish America had. And the one thing I miss the most (not including my family or friends) is mercian food!!! At home, I used to eat Mexican food daily, so I’m really missing my favorite Street Tacos and restaurants back home. But, one thing in Ireland that I wish I had back home is Penny’s! I have spend too much money in Pennys already. Its very convenient to me for clothes, room decorations, bathroom necessities, etc. but I love Penny’s.

I am so glad I have found my new home for the next 9 months in Dublin Ireland. Every day I am so grateful for this opportunity and thankful to be living in Dublin! So glad to call Dublin in my new home away from home!

September 20th was a day to remember! Reece, Summer and I went to St. Johns Castle in the middle of Limerick city. We wanted to explore what this castle was all about. The three of us had heard that it was definitely a popular site to see in Limerick, but it definitely caught me by surprise. We went into the castle and it was massive! Immediately, something really stuck out to me and that was that the castle had been built before the Magna Carta had been created. That means that this building was twice as old as America is. In addition to that, since the castle was so old there had been so many citizens and people that had lived/worked on this castle for years. I found that to be fascinating!

However, it was very sad to hear about how many people died building and creating this castle. As the museum talked about, the conditions working on this castle were not safe back in the 1200’s. However, this castle now stands as this amazing monument in the middle of Limerick city and hopefully St. John’s castle will stand for many more years to come.

One of my favorite spots was on top of the castle that overlooked the river and a big portion of Limerick county. I got a great group photo with Summer, Reece and I in it, but unfortunately someone was standing right beside us as we took the photo. So I did not use it on here. However, I got a good solo shot of me standing at the top of King John’s Castle and that is the photo I have featured on here.

We stayed at the castle for around 2 hours in total and then left to go back home to have a relaxing evening at our apartment. It was a memorable day here as I really enjoyed learning more about the history of Limerick and about the building of castles in general. Hopefully, Reece, Summer, and I will have some more adventures in store in the upcoming future too.

Last week my grandma and mom made the trip across the pond to hang out with me for a few days. Although I still feel like I just got here and I do not realize how long I have actually been here already, it was nice to have them come over and to show them around my little town. While they were here we were able to do a lot of cool things because they had a car. Yes, the driving was super scary at times but we managed to survive! After my classes on Friday we drove over to the Cliffs of Moher. Although I had already been there two years ago with my family, the cliffs are still such a cool thing to see and the view could never get old.

The next day we went into Dublin and toured around the city. That was actually my first time walking around Dublin since I have been here and the day trip has made me so excited to go back. Before they left we also made the trip down to the Waterford Crystal Factory and it was super cool to see the process and how much time and precision it took to make all the crystal pieces.

After they flew back on Wednesday morning, Dj and I began our first day with the Honor Roll program at a school right down the road. That day we got to meet the kids we will be working with over the next nine weeks. I think it is safe to say we are going to have a lot of fun working with them. When I talk to anyone about how sports have helped shape my life, I always think about all the opportunities that sport has given me and how grateful I am for that. Sport and the people I have met along the way have helped shape me into who I am today. In these next nine weeks I am so excited to show the kids how sports can help shape their lives and give them so many opportunities which may not seem realistic to them right now.

This Saturday marked the start of basketball season! Our team is off to a great start. Last week, we competed in a preseason tournament and made it to the finals. We defeated the Marble City Hawks, IT Carlow, and Maree but lost to Pyrobel Killester in the championship. Even though we did not win the whole thing, it was still a great weekend of basketball for the Wildcats. We played four games in two days which reminded me of my AAU days. It’s been a long time since I have played that many games in such a short amount of time but it was a lot of fun and nice to get a few games under my belt as a Wildcat!

We were on the road to Carlow this Sunday morning for our first official Super League game. I was excited and nervous for the game, but as soon as it started I felt right at home with my team. I get to play with a great group of girls that love fast breaking and being aggressive (or as they call it here “dogged”) – just my style! We came out with a win 88-36. It was a lot of fun to play against another Western PA native, Kaitlyn Slagus. Kaitlyn played at Belle Vernon in high school and back in the day we faced each other multiple times in the good ole’ McKeesport Summer League.

Earlier this week I had the privilege of being interviewed by Matt Keane from the local radio station, WLR. Matt was so friendly and welcoming at the station and is clearly very passionate about Waterford sports. I had a great time in the studio with him and can’t wait to be back again this Thursday! Here is the link from our last interview: https://www.wlrfm.com/2019/09/26/100616/

On another note that has nothing to do with basketball– I have been on the search for a bag of pretzels since I got here. Pretzels are my go-to snack so I was a little frustrated when I couldn’t find any at my local grocery stores (Some other missing food essentials include: ranch dressing, Special K Chocolately Delight cereal, and Chic-fil-A). At last nights practice one of my teammates, Cathy, greeted me with a big bag of pretzels that she found at a store near her house. This is just another reason I love my teammates!

I think that this weeks’ win will give us some great momentum heading in to the rest of the season. Our next game and home opener will be this Saturday night against Fr Mathews. Rumor has it the Wildcats have a great fanbase so I am looking forward to it!

Our first regular season battle was an exciting game – one that brought a positive result in the win column. The season opener involved a two hour bus ride through winding backroads, green hills, scattered showers, and expansive grass fields covered with dozens of cattle. Limerick, otherwise referred to by Waterford natives as “Stab City,” is a small town in central Ireland located on the banks of the River Shannon. Several decades ago, the town was notorious for violence among its civilians. Thankfully, much of that violence has subsided, and Limerick is now recognized as one of the most populated cities across the island.

Once we arrived at UL’s campus, I was stunned by the exceptional quality of the facility we would compete in. UL Arena had an impressive basketball court – one that mirrored many of the college gymnasiums I played in over the last four years. The arena far exceeded my expectations of an Irish basketball court.  Additionally, Limerick had a strong support base of locals, parents, and children. Combining this with our group of Viking parents who travelled with us, I couldn’t complain about the atmosphere at my first Irish basketball game.

Moving on to tipoff.  Both teams struggled mightily to score in the opening 10 minutes. I’m uncertain if it was opening day nerves, or just poor shot selection from both sides; neither team could have thrown the ball into the Atlantic Ocean. However, at the start of the second, our squad began to heat up.  We built a double digit lead by pushing the ball in transition, playing solid defense, and capitalizing on offensive rebounds for second chance points. As our squad jogged to the locker room for break, we held a 17 point lead.

It didn’t take long after halftime to hit the first adversity of my Irish basketball career.  About two minutes into the third quarter, I bricked a corner three off the side of the backboard (whoops).  As I ran back to play transition defense, I planted my left foot awkwardly on my defender’s shoe, which caused my ankle to buckle underneath me. Unfortunately, I’ve injured that same ankle 5 times since high school. I was forced to watch the remainder of the game from the sideline –  by far the most aggravating part of this sport.

Fortunately, my teammates were able to hold on for a nine point victory.  My injury put a damper on my mood afterwards in the locker room. I was originally going to crash with Reece, Ian, and some other scholars in Limerick, but I chose to head back to Waterford with the team. It was probably a wise decision; after all, I needed to rest, ice, and watch the Patriots continue their undefeated season on Sunday.

Nevertheless, I’m glad we got our first W – especially because our club lost their first 13 games last season. Going forward, I expect us to build on this success, and continue to improve everyday to contend in the Men’s National League.

I remember the days when school started and I would prepare my best outfit the night before. I would have everything either laid out on my bed beside me or on my desk to make sure my outfit looked on point. I would have my binders, pencils, highlighters and all my school supplies packed in my bag, zipped up and ready to go for the morning before. This was a really big deal back then and it was always exciting time because back to school always meant it was that much closer to basketball season. 

Doing these honor roll programs brought all the memories rushing back and also brought back the thought of how nervous, excited and anxious I was. I don’t think there was a year where I never felt any of those emotions before school. As I grew up, I learned how to control it alot better but back than my emotions were a huge mess. I had so many different scenarios playing in my head back then; would I make friends, will classes be hard, how will basketball season go and then the most common question of all, will everyone like? 

Now, since I have grown, I understand now that people must accept you for who you are and if they don’t then it’s their loss, but back then everyone’s opinion meant the world to me. And with that, I know where todays kids thoughts are, on their first few days of school, cause it can be scary at times. Going into these schools and working with these Primary kids, gives me a reality check because back when I was in primary school, I did not have someone to give me some tips and tricks on how to succeed in school or keep me active and engaged to where I can express myself in different ways. 

Kids can really benefit from this type of programs, especially when they are engaged and are asking a variety of questions and really trying to get themselves to learn new things. That’s why I don’t ever mind if they ask me silly questions about where i’m from or try and make jokes about it because that just means their showing interest in something. This interest can lead to many different things such as confidence, happiness and even more learning for them. It helps them to open up and relax and take the stress off of school which is always there for the first few weeks. 

On top of that, although we may be overloaded with the schedule at times, just going into these schools and making a difference is rewarding in itself. Being able to see some of these kids get excited when you walk into the school gives you a sense of happiness that you can impact their lives positively with just your presence. I’ve only been dealing with them for less than 3 weeks and I can already tell that these programs are going to be something special. 

Okay, so before I get started here I think I should discuss the title. If you don’t understand the reference, it’s not a problem at all, as it doesn’t have any relevance to the rest of the blog. If you do, please understand that I did not think this trip was bad, like Dinkleberg was. I was simply bored on the bus ride back and my inner child realized that Dingle sounds like Dinkle, and well of course, Dinkleberg. (This show was hands down one of my favorites growing up)

So a few weeks back Ian and I took a day trip to the Dingle Peninsula. For those wondering, the Dingle Peninsula is in western Ireland in County Kerry. It is home to some truly spectacular views of fields, beaches, and mountainside. While the pictures I’ve included do showcase some of the beauty, do yourself a favor and Google the Dingle Peninsula.

Hopefully, you now have a better sense of the views Ian and I were able to take in that day. Speaking of that day, it started with an early wake up call and a cab trip to downtown Limerick. We then got on a bus, and spent the next 10ish hours taking in sights, while making periodic stops for pictures and food. Along the way, we made stops in Killarney, and the town of Dingle itself. While I was expecting to take in the beautiful sights Dingle had to offer, I was unaware of how neat the stop in Killarney would be. In just a couple of hours, we were able to walk around the streets of this little town, which hands down felt like one of the most European cities I had ever been in. The narrow streets, and multi-colored buildings slammed together really stuck out to me on that sunny morning.

Our other prolonged stop of the trip was in the town of Dingle itself. Here, we were able to see a little bit of the town (truthfully not much because it had started raining by this point), and try some fresh fish n chips.

On our way back, I really began to reflect on just how neat the day was. Yes, the pictures are a great thing to look back on, but the feeling of taking in sights like this is truly one of the things I’ll hold on to. This feeling got me thinking about how much sights are based on perspective. It’s just crazy to think that someone can walk out there door to see such views and not think twice about it. And of course, I do understand it. If you have lived here all your life you wouldn’t think twice about it. This really made me think about what sights I take for granted back in Ohio. Nothing came to my head at first (Obviously because Ohio isn’t a sightseeing hotspot for tourists). After a little thinking however, I thought of all the trees when the leaves change color, trees after a fresh and wet snow, and even wide open fields of corn ready to be harvested (If you’ve never seen corn fields like that it would be kinda neat, right?)

Overall, it was a great trip, and it put on display the beauty that Irish countryside has to offer.

If you made it this far, thanks for reading! Lookout for the next episode where I talk about how some orange, round things got me to Ireland.

First of all, we’ve had some beautiful weather this past week in Letterkenny! A lot of sun and not much rain at all, so I’m definitely soaking up those rays while I can! (See featured image above of a rainbow outside my window!!)

This week at school was “Freshers Week,” so each day there were different activities going on to kick off the beginning of the school year. Wednesday was clubs and societies day, so Kaylee, Dom, Manny, Niall, and I hosted the men’s/women’s basketball club table and tried to recruit some students for our college teams. It was really cool to see a lot of people interested in playing basketball (we even got our French housemates to sign up for the women’s team), so this year should be grand! I also think I signed up for about 6 different clubs…might have gone a little too far with that but hey, nothing wrong with wanting to stay involved, am I right?😂

There was also a petting zoo outside of school on the same day with all different kinds of animals – llamas, sheep, goats, chickens, bunnies (so cute!), snakes, tarantulas…you name it, it was probably there! I never thought I would’ve been even remotely close to touching a snake or a tarantula, but when in Rome, right? See below for proof!

On Saturday, we decided to have another fun night out at Arena 7! There are 2 other student houses on either side of our house, so some of our neighbors joined in on the fun, too! We did some bowling and played laser tag, which was super fun with a big group. (My team won by the way, just had to get that in there😬)

Our first game of the year for the National League was on Sunday against the UL Huskies. We took a tough loss only losing by 3 points, but we really played hard and will learn a lot from the game! Afterwards, Ed Cassidy (best landlord you could ever have!) took me, Kaylee, and Dom home from the game. On the way back, we stopped at his sister’s house in Donegal Town…and it. was. STUNNING. I felt like I was in an actual castle! While we were there, Ed’s brother-in-law had just come back from a fishing trip with his friend. They had caught 2 squids and a few small Mackerel. I’ve never seen a real squid before, so you could imagine my astonishment when I realized that this is what calamari starts out as!!😱 (See picture below)

Then, he continued to show us different items around the house that he found while scuba diving. This porthole and telescope (pictured below) were both recovered from the H.M.S. Raccoon shipwreck off of the Northcoast of Ireland during World War I! How cool?!

So, I’d say we made a pretty neat pit-stop on the way home – there’s never a dull moment around here! It seems like every day I am learning something new or meeting someone with an interesting story; I can’t wait to see what comes next!

Traveler Tip #10:

Be prepared to experience all kinds of weather here in Ireland whenever you venture out – it could be beautiful and sunny one minute, windy and rainy the next, and you might even see a sunshine/rain combo! I went for a 20-minute run the other day and I felt like I ran through just about every season!

Until next time…👋🏻

-Dana D.

I am now 2-weeks into school at LYIT. When people find out that I already have both my Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in accounting, they look at me like I’m crazy when I tell them I’m going for another Master’s degree here in Ireland. Now I know you may be thinking, “Why in the world would she want to do MORE school??” You see, I like to consider myself a “cool nerd” because yes, I actually do enjoy school and learning new things, BUT I still know how to have fun at the same time! And continuing my education has allowed me to come here through Sport Changes Life, which has been such an amazing experience so far! (Throwback to my graduation at SFC below!)

Continuing on the academic theme of this blog…back in July, my mom convinced me to try and take the FAR (Financial Accounting & Reporting) section of the CPA exam before I left for Ireland. Dr. Nogara’s graduate seminar class at SFC reviewed a lot of the exam topics, so I figured I would try and study off of our notes from class and the multiple choice practice quizzes online. Well, I didn’t really start to study until early August and tried to cram as much in as I could before my scheduled exam date on August 17th. I really wasn’t expecting to do that well and wouldn’t have been surprised if I failed to be honest. However, on September 10th I checked my CPA candidate account to see if they had our scores up yet and sure enough, there it was. I PASSED!! I honestly was shocked when I saw my score, but obviously was pretty excited about it! However, it put me in a bit of a dilemma. Because once you pass the first part of the CPA exam, you have 18 months to pass the other 3 parts. If you don’t pass them within that time frame, your scores expire and you have to retake those sections again. Now, I did look into international testing sites before taking FAR and knew that Ireland had a site for international testing candidates. What I DIDN’T know was that they charge an extra $356.55 on TOP of the regular $284.99 exam fees! Crazy, right?! So at the moment, I’m not sure whether to continue studying for the next exam part and take it here in Ireland, or wait till I am back in the States to finish the final 3 sections and avoid that additional charge. (Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated by the way!)

I have also decided to change my program of study here at LYIT to the M.A. in Governance, Compliance & Data Protection in Financial Services. The program seems really interesting and I think it will be more beneficial to me in the long run! (Plus, I don’t have to do a 10,000-word dissertation – woohoo!!) On Friday, we were invited to the ISACA North West Conference which was being held at the movie theater in town. We listened to different speakers and learned about various topics such as third party risk, cloud security, and the Brexit. They also had tea/coffee, scones, and lunch for us throughout the day! But, I have to say the best part of the day was at the very end when they raffled off different prizes. Somehow, I ended up being picked for the final GRAND prize and won a Google Chromebook! Talk about the Luck of the Irish! 😉

So, after a few weeks of getting adjusted here in Ireland and going on adventures, reality has definitely settled in! It’s time to buckle down a bit and start making some decisions for myself. (Of course, while still having a good bit of craic along the way!)

Traveler Tip #9:

Don’t be offended if someone refers to you as a “Yank”…it’s just another way of calling you an American!

For example, you might hear someone say, “I’m on my way to pick up the Yanks” or “Just dropped the Yanks off and heading home now”

Signing off for now!👋🏼

-Dana D.

Now that I have settled into my new home for the next nine months, I want to talk a little bit about basketball throughout Ireland. As I walked into Neptune Stadium, I quickly learned that Cork has historically been the center of Irish basketball. Predominantly from the 1980s, various championship banners hang from the rafters of the gymnasium, which was considered “the Golden Age of Irish Basketball.” Before I left the gym that day, I was kindly gifted Hanging from the Rafters, a book by Kieran Shannon that dives deep into the history basketball in Cork during its glory days. Discovering the rich basketball tradition through Shannon’s book and through word of mouth has been an eye-opening experience thus far, as I was unaware of Cork’s relevance in the sport. Despite basketball falling off in popularity compared to its peak in the 80s, I am confident our newly assembled Neptune squad can bring the city back to its former glory.

After quite a few practices and preseason matches, the Superleague regular season was finally underway. The week began with a trip to the National Basketball Arena in Dublin for the National Cup draw. For those who are unaware of the Superleague’s format, let me briefly explain: In order to win the Superleague, you need to have the best overall record when the season concludes. In order to win the National Cup, you must be the last team standing in a twelve-team knockout tournament. While there is a lot of hype around the National Cup (it is nationally televised with strong advertisements), winning the Superleague is just as impressive (if not more). Our team was lucky enough to draw a bye in the first round of the tournament, which means our second-round game will be away. The Cup draw was also an awesome day to reconnect with other Victory Scholars that are now scattered throughout Ireland. It was great to hear that everyone is enjoying their new homes.

Following the trip to Dublin, it was time to get serious and focus for our home opener against Killorglin. Within the first minute of the game, our team jumped out to a strong start and never looked back. It was awesome to start the season 1-0 with solid contributions from many teammates. This weekend, we head north to Galway and face a tough Maree BC team. While it is still very early in the season, our team is confident and full of ambition. I think we have something special here.

These last few weeks have been a whirlwind of trying to get settled into Limerick. While extremely busy and sometimes a little confused, I have been loving my time in the city. I took the week that I had before my classes started to explore Limerick.  Within this time I have discovered that my favorite clothing store is a department store called Penney’s. My favorite lunch spot is an Irish version of Chipotle, called Boojum (which I have already been to three times), and my favorite cafe is called Story’s (shoutout to Ian and Reece for showing me). The city is perfect for me- big but not overwhelming, friendly people, and beautiful shops.

In addition to my time wandering around the city, me and the other two Victory Scholars located in Limerick, Ian and Reece, began volunteering at a school called Moyross Youth Academy during their evening sessions. We work with a group of about 15 boys for 2 hours at a time. We start by playing soccer for about 45 minutes, which is a fun way to get active and create some competition (despite my lack of soccer talent). Afterwards we all have dinner together, which is my favorite part because we get to sit and chat with the boys about what sports they are involved with, what they like to do in Limerick, and just get to know them on a more personal level. After dinner, we spend the remaining 45 minutes in a classroom working on different art projects that the boys have started. I love doing this program every week because it is not just about coaching a team, but there is an artistic element, as well as still taking time to connect with the kids.

I just completed my first week of classes at Limerick IT, which has me excited for the next few months. I was a little nervous at first because I am studying business and digital marketing, and I do not have any prior experience with that major. However, my professors have been welcoming and encouraging to me and the other international students in my classes. I am looking forward to gaining more knowledge with regards to digital marketing and learning what a job in that sector might look like.

This past weekend, my team (Griffith College Templeogue Basketball Club!!) spent our last weekend of preseason playing games in Madrid, Spain. We left on Friday, September 20th (I’m from America, this is how I write dates, sorry not sorry) at 4AM (RIP my sleep cycle) and boarded a flight to Madrid. We were all very tired when we arrived, but how could you not go off and explore a little when you arrive in a new country for the first time? The best moment of the first day was when I accidentally found a Dunkin’ coffee, which is my favorite coffee place to go in America. Although it wasn’t the same, it felt like home. I nearly cried when I saw it because it’s probably the thing I miss most about America (besides my dog of course)

We played 3 games this weekend; one Friday night at 9:30, one Saturday morning at 9AM, and one Sunday at 1PM (we won all three just to brag a little bit). This was good and bad, it was good because we got almost the whole day Saturday to explore the city. It was bad because we had to play 2 games in less than 24 hours. We played AWFUL Saturday morning, but still got the dub, so we were all in a good mood when we explored the city.

I went with some of my teammates to the Buen Retiro Park in Madrid. It was ABSOLUTELY stunning. There was this little lake in the garden where we rented boats and went out on to the water for about an hour. The garden was so big, we decided to rent scooters so we could see the whole thing. There were so many magnificent fountains and beautiful flowers, it was incredible that this wonderful landscaping was in the middle of a city.

This weekend was such a great way to end  preseason. We finally start up games this Saturday, playing Swords Thunder at the Nord Anglia International School at 7 PM. If you’re in Dublin and feeling bored, we would love your support! Hope to see you there!

Peace, Morgan

For the longest time, I thought that I needed to have my life together after college. Immediately as I graduated, I thought that I had to have my career in mind, know where I was going to live and what jobs that I needed to apply for. I knew I needed to know what path to go down and to have a goal in mind that I’d strive for as soon as I walked across the stage with my college bachelors degree. The thing is, society pressures us to have this huge idea to get a job straight out of college and if not then you need to go back and get your masters because a bachelors degree isn’t good enough anymore. In realty, it is okay not to know. Some people are destined for certain things to happen to them and are destined for opportunities that come after them for them to accept. It could be a number of things and choices to make, but eventually, we get there. We need to go and find where we belong at our own pace. I was a huge culprit of this, but through my own experience I learned you don’t need to panic because you’re unsure of what you want to do right here and right now. Making a decision about your life and the meaning of it is a very difficult thing to have to do. It’s a really big choice to make and honestly is probably going to change throughout your lifetime, many times.

Change is okay. It is uncomfortable. It is hard. It is different. But it is okay. You grow. You learn. You start figuring out the things you like and don’t like. It is normal to have many different emotions when it comes to change.

When I got here in Galway, it was a huge change for me. It is a completely different culture. I had to learn how to adapt. But most importantly, I had to learn how to be independent. It would be a lie if I sat here and told you every day is easy, because it isn’t. But then I realized, that is life and at the end of the day it is how I chose to get through it.

The bottom line is, knowing every detail of your life isn’t necessary. I’ve had to sacrifice certain things in order to get where I am now, but that’s the battle of life. When making a choice, we’re favoring one thing while turning another thing away. We know consciously what choices we want to make, so make sure to follow through with whatever choice that may be and don’t second guess it. I was recently just told by a loved one of mine that everything you do in your lifetime is ultimately your own decision. You create the path you want to go down. But whatever that path you chose to take, you genuinely have to try it and give it a chance.

The path I chose to take was Ireland. Ireland is where I am supposed to be. I got chosen to be part of the Sport Changes Life program for a reason. I was placed in Galway, Ireland for a reason. I am getting my masters for reason. I am continuing my basketball career for a reason. Every day it becomes more clear to me what my purpose here is supposed to be.

“If you can tune into your purpose and really align with it, setting goals so that your vision is an expression of that purpose, then life flows much more easily.”

If you could take away one thing after reading this, I hope you take away that everyone has a purpose in life. But to find out your purpose, you can’t be afraid of discomfort. If you can’t put yourself in a situation where you are uncomfortable, then you will never grow. You will never change. You’ll never learn.

~ Karlee

This past week has been a pretty busy one to say the least! It was my first week of classes at LYIT, so I got to meet all of my new professors and get a feel for the different modules (courses) that I’ll be taking. (Side note: I am planning on changing my program of study to the M.A. in Governance, Compliance, & Data Protection in Financial Services – possibly more on that in another blog!)

We also had the Basketball Ireland National League 2019-20 launch on Wednesday, where a few players from every team went to the National Basketball Arena in Dublin to take pictures and watch the Cup draw. October 26^th marks the first “Cup” weekend which is basically the first round of playoffs. Each team was randomly drawn and paired for this first round – the team that wins moves on to the Cup Quarterfinals on the weekend of Nov. 30/Dec. 1. Lucky for my team, Fabplus Northwest, we drew a bye in the first round so we go straight to the quarterfinals! Then, the Cup Semi-Finals and Cup Finals will be played in January, so instead of the “playoff” process being at the end of the season like it is in America, we have our playoff games spread throughout the year. It was also really nice to see so many of the other Victory Scholars and get to catch up with them since it’s been a few weeks since I last saw them all in Belfast!

It was definitely an adventure trying to get to Dublin for me, Kaylee, Manny, Dom, and the two new additions to our little family: Mario – he’s from Spain and also speaks very little English, but I did come in 3^rd place in the Spanish Spelling Bee when I was in fifth grade, so I’d say my español is not too shabby! And our life-saving Letterkenny local, Andy McGeever, who is also on the men’s LYIT Donegal club team. Long story short, all 6 of us traveled together on Tuesday night since we had to be at the arena by 9am on Wednesday. We ended up taking a 4-hour bus ride from Letterkenny to Dublin to meet the man, the myth, the legend – Niall McDermott (He is the head coach of the men’s LYIT Donegal national league team and the head coach for my LYIT college team) – so he could take us to our Air bnb for the night. The tricky part was that we had to take the “Luas to Ro Red Cow” (a foreign language to us) and he would collect us there. Thankfully, Andy led the way to the Luas, which is basically an above-ground subway system in Dublin, and we arrived safe and sound! It may have been a long and somewhat confusing trip, but hey, it’s all about the experience and we definitely won’t forget it! We ended up having a grand time in Dublin City Tuesday night and then took some nice pictures on Wednesday before making our 4-hour trek back to good old Letterkenny!

AND THEN (< family inside joke), we had our last preseason tournament on Saturday in Dublin…(Say what?! we have to make this trip AGAIN in the same week?!) So, after practice on Friday night, Kaylee and I stayed with our head coach of Fabplus, Paul McDevitt, at his beautiful home in Ballyshannon (which is about 40 minutes from Letterkenny) so we could drive to Dublin for our games on Saturday morning. And let me tell you, Paul and his wife SPOILED us! We used their recovery boots (pictured below, amazing!!), drank some Kombucha, and had some delicious muffins before we went to bed, and then had a great breakfast in the morning! We ended up going 1-1 in our games for the day, but we played really well considering we only had 6 players. Then we made our journey back to Letterkenny and celebrated our LYIT Donegal Men’s first win of the season!!

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Sunday came around and we had to go back out to Ballyshannon to help coach the boys and girls U16 Academy teams from 12pm-4pm. I’ll definitely write more on these teams in a future blog! (Sneak peek: they play a tournament in SPAIN in April!!)

FINALLY after my week full of traveling and activities, I can take a deep breath, catch up on some Netflix shows, and relax before my week starts all over again.

Adios, amigos!

Traveler Tips:

#7: If you ever use Bus Éireann to get somewhere around Ireland, order your ticket online from their website – it’s cheaper than getting a ticket at the station!

#8: Don’t EVER let Bill Collins convince you to try Turkish Delight…I actually had to spit it out!!🤮

-Dana D.

P.S. I mention different teams/coaches that might get confusing, so I’ll sum it up here for future reference!

My National League team is Fabplus Northwest. Our head coach is Paul McDevitt and our assistant coach is Bill Collins.

As an LYIT student, I will also play for the LYIT Women’s college team. Niall McDermott is our head coach for this team.

Wednesday morning started off with a road trip the country’s capital. The Waterford Vikings head coach, Coach Mick, and his wife Catherine were generous enough to give Michael and I a lift. In the car, Coach Mick gave us a bit of a history lesson. He explained the country’s start of independence and told us all about the executed leaders of the 1916 Rising. Catherine gave us a bunch of traveling tips on how to get around Ireland by bus and train for cheap prices and we discussed which other European countries would be worth a visit. I really enjoyed the trip with these two!

Basketball Ireland League Launch

The Basketball Ireland League Launch was a lot of fun. It was nice to see most of the other scholars and hear about how the first few weeks at their new homes are going. I got to meet other players and coaches from around the league too. The first half of the event consisted of a photoshoot. Representatives from every club took turns posing for the camera. After the photoshoot, everyone gathered for the National Cup Draw. They drew match ups for four different leagues – Men’s Super League, Men’s Division I, Women’s Super League, and Women’s Division I (I will be competing in the Women’s Super League this year). The National Cup is sort of similar to a conference or NCAA tournament in the states but at a much smaller scale. All 10 teams in my league were drawn for spots in the bracket and the games are single elimination. Here are the results of the Women’s National Cup Draw for the Super League:

Preliminary Round – Weekend of October 26/27th

Game One: DCU Mercy v Maree

Game Two: Ambassador UCC Glanmire v Liffey Celtics

Quarter Final – Weekend of November 30th/December 1st

Winner of Game 1 vs IT Carlow Basketball

Marble City Hawks vs Singleton SuperValu Brunell

Winner of Game 2 vs Maxol WIT Wildcats (That’s us!)

Pyrobel Killester v Fr Mathews

Time to Be Tourists

Our fellow victory scholars, Ashley and Meredith, were great hosts for the weekend! They let Peter, Michael and I spend the night in their Dublin City University apartment. Everything was great, except for the fact that we forgot the pump for our air mattresses. This made for a pretty uncomfortable night on the floor but will serve as a reminder to always bring a pump!

While the DCU girls were at practice, I fourth wheeled with the Hamilton boys (Michael and Peter were college teammates). One of their other former college teammates is also living in Dublin, so the guys were excited to catch up with him. We wandered through the streets of the city and hit some of the most iconic spots. The bus dropped us off by River Liffey, which flows right through the center of the city. Next, we walked through Trinity College’s campus. It is made up of some really beautiful buildings, including the Book of Kells. St. Stephens Green was nearby and provided a calm atmosphere in the middle of the hectic city. It is a cute little park centered around a pond that’s lined with trees and colorful flowerbeds. We made a few more stops before meeting back up with Ashley and Meredith and eventually made our way to the well-known Temple Bar. There is actually a live 24/7 webcam on the street here that gives you a full view of the area. Anyone can watch at any time, which I thought was pretty cool.

My Goodness My Guinness

In the morning (with a stiff back and all) Ashley, Peter, Michael and I made our way to the Guinness Storehouse – because a trip to Dublin would be incomplete without it! The inside of the building itself is actually shaped as the largest beer glass in the world (which would take 14.3 million pints to fill up!). The tour took us through seven floors of Guinness history and left us on the top floor bar with a panoramic view of the city and a pint of the world’s most iconic stout. We learned about all things Guinness from the four ingredients to 80 years of clever advertising. And of course, we couldn’t end our tour without buying some overpriced merchandise at the gift shop.

We weren’t in Dublin long, but we managed to get a lot done before Michael and I took our first train ride back to Waterford. I had a great time hanging out with some of the scholars and can’t wait to see them again. I love how easy it is to travel to different places here and that nothing is really that far way. I think it actually takes longer to get across Pennsylvania than it does to get across Ireland. That means I will (hopefully) get to see and do more exciting things while I’m here! And Dublin will definitely get another visit(s)!

My motivation in sport is fueled by one of my close friends from high school, Patrick Gill. Patrick and I grew up playing football together. When I started playing in 6th grade, I began to build a special bond with Pat – one that held together like glue.  Camaraderie, fights, laughter, and celebrating hard fought wins were the intangibles that built the foundation of our friendship. Aside from being one hell of a football player, Patrick was a lighthearted kid – the type of person you always wanted to be around. He wore his heart on his sleeve, and he could fill any room with enough senseless banter to make a stranger fall out of their chair laughing.

Five years ago today, during my senior year of high school, Patrick passed away in a car accident. His death occurred the morning after our second football game that season. It also occurred at a time when I had no appreciation for life – how valuable it is, and how easily it can be taken away.  Emotionally, it took over a year for his death to sink in and become reality. But as time passed, I started to process it in ways that guide me through obstacles in life.

Pat’s death had an enormous impact on my approach to dealing with adversity. On the court, I try to emulate his drive and work ethic through every practice, sprint, workout, and game. His presence serves as a constant reminder of the privilege I have to be alive, healthy, and still playing the sport I love. I take it upon myself to make the most of any opportunity that comes my way, because Pat Gill would have done the same if he was still alive.

Each of the last four years, I made the drive home from Hamilton College on September 20th to attend his memorial service at St. Mary’s Church in Winchester, Massachusetts. This is the first time I will be unable to make the service. Fortunately, I was able to connect with Pat’s father – a major role model in my life – before I took off for Ireland. We talked about his youngest son, Brendan, who wants to play college football down the road. When I asked Mr. Gill which college would be best for Brendan, he replied:

“I don’t give a s**t where he ends up.  As long as he’s alive, that’s all that matters to my family.”

His words stuck in my head. It’s important to share them on this platform, because many of us – including myself – were raised in an environment that places the greatest value on nonessentials in life. We face constant pressure to attend elite schools, play certain sports, or receive the most lucrative job offer to gain a competitive edge – a mere ego boost – over someone else. In the process, we lose sight of what is so painfully real and essential, so hidden in plain sight around all of us, yet we still fail to recognize it – it’s a blessing to be alive.

Sport has given me countless opportunities and lasting friendships throughout my life. This year, I hope to have a positive impact on someone else by speaking about these gifts. Sport has provided me with some unforgettable memories, but more importantly, it’s taught invaluable lessons that extend beyond four black lines on a gym floor.

I just blinked and one month has already gone by. One month ago I left the comfort of my hometown, my friends, and most importantly my family to go live in another country for 10 months. Before I left, there were many people I would laugh with about me going on this crazy adventure. These people knew how hard it was, initially, for me to go to a university that was only 3 and a half hours away. Although that may not seem far some people, it was far enough for me. If I did not make the decision four and a half years ago to go to Bucknell, then not only would I probably not have had the opportunity to join the Sport Changes Life family, I would not have trusted that I would have been able to move to another country for a year. So, THANK YOU BUCKNELL.

One month ago I said my final “see ya laters” at the Pittsburgh International Airport and boarded a flight with fellow victory scholar Lexi Posset to head to the JFK airport where we met up with some of the other scholars at our gate for our flight to Dublin. Although my time here has only still just begun, I have already learned so much not only about the Irish culture, but also about myself.

First, I learned that you have to relax and to be okay sometimes with just going with the flow.. especially in another country. I would joke with my friends at home, who know how much I like a schedule stating what, when, and where I have to do things, about how anxious I was when we were trying to figure out my schedule with classes and everything here. (It was a process to say the least.) However, I knew in the end we would figure it out, I just knew it was going to take time and it was out of my control.

Secondly, I learned that most people here, at least in the little town of Carlow, are genuinely nice, even to strangers, like me. The other week I got a note in my mailbox that I had to go to the package pick up center. After figuring out where it was and that it was a 20 minute walk to the other side of town, I had no other option but to hope it didn’t rain.  When I finally found the place, it was about 5:45pm and I handed the guy my slip for my package and he went off the grab it. When he brought it back to me, the other lady working there saw the size of it and asked if I had to walk it all the way back to my apartment. I laughed a little and told her how I didn’t really have any other option. She then offered to drop it off after she got off work in about an hour.  The walk was long, and I really didn’t feel like carrying this big box so I took a chance that she would actually drop it off and took her up on her offer. But not only did she offer to drop my package off, she also gave me a short cut back through the park that I didn’t know about which saved me a lot of time as well!!  A little over an hour later I got a call that she was outside the apartments with my package. This was just one of the many instances I had so far which showed me just how much people will go out of their way to help others here.

Today as I sit on the steps by the river at Carlow Park, I reflect on just how crazy this last month has already been and how fast it truly went.  I feel like it was just yesterday that I was boarding the plane at JFK meeting the other 21 victory scholars for the first time. But in reality, it was just yesterday that most of the victory scholars were all together at the league launch in Dublin for the first time since orientation where we got to hear all about each other’s experiences so far. Everyone has done so many cool things and has made the list of everything I want to do during my time here much longer.

The last thing I will leave with is that I have learned is that although these next nine months may be exhausting at times, it will all be worth it in the end!

Episode 2 – Lost but Not Hungry 

Adventures thus far in Ireland have been nothing short of interesting, whether it is during the day or during a nice night out with all the Scholars, all I have are stories to tell. Now the adventure with the scholars is one that I would not even be able to share with my grandmother, so I will save the details and just say the title is self explanatory and I encountered a tall obstacle (Scholars you’ll get this) that I was so swiftly able to avoid and find my way to where I was supposed to be. 

That night was not the last of my travelling woes. A couple of days later, I took an adventure to a shopping mall which is a 15-20 minute drive away from campus. I left my apartment at around 4pm. This shopping centre is called the Abbey Centre. Now, the bus ride there was not a problem, the bus driver was a nice guy, the bus was empty so I could sit anywhere I wanted and the bus driver was nice enough to even give me directions on how to get back to Jordanstown (campus). I was able to get everything I intended on getting which were covers, pillow and bed linen all from the B&M in the area of the Abbey Centre. The day was going as planned until the most sad, depressing and unbearable thing happened to me… I realized I was wearing flip flops in Ireland. 

To some this may not seem like a big problem, but here in Ireland it rains 98.7% of the time so wearing flips should only be for a short period of time while outside. Well for me it was now 5:30pm and mother nature blessed me with rain to soak my socks, so I figured this would be the best time to find my way home. Thankfully the bus driver had given me the correct route on how to get back to campus. However, he failed to mention that the buses back stopped running at a certain time and by the time I reached the terminal it was too late. 

Ok so, my instincts kick in now, I have to find a way home now, that is not by transit and then what is the best way to do that? Instantly, my North American thought process signals… UBER! The interesting part is, I forgot to mention that this whole time I have been without any phone signal and the only way I can get in contact with anyone is through wifi, which the mall luckily had. I get the wifi connection and get in contact with at least 10 different Ubers, who all deny me. At this point my pride is a little hurt cause I have never been denied by 10 Ubers because my rating has always been pretty decent.  

At this point, I contemplating hitch-hiking and try to catch a ride from a stranger, but then it hits me, the best ideas and the best thing that has happened to me all day… there is a Subway across the street and at this point, eating is the only thing that can go right for me. So, I walk across the street to get a Chicken Teriyaki Herb and Cheese Sub and recollect my thoughts. This was the changing point of my day at 6:45pm, because I get an idea. I could find someone in the mall with cell service and get them to call me a cab. So I wattled back to the mall (cause at this point my socks are soaked and the bags are getting heavier and heavier) back to the Mall to execute the plan. 

It worked like a gem! I was able to find a wonderful lady at a booth who called a taxi to drop me back to Jordanstown Campus at 7:30pm. I was thankful when i got back to campus and even made a snapchat about it. But the most important info that I gained from this trip and something I would never take for granted is that… You can never be lost if you’re not hungry. 

It has been over a week since I have been in Limerick and I love it here. The students and people within the community have been very outgoing to myself, Reece, and Summer. As each day passes by I feel as if Limerick is becoming a second home to me. Currently, I have been getting a much better understanding of the area and the city of Limerick. I have found some great places to eat in town such as Boojum, Locke Bar, and Story’s place. And I also feel as if I am becoming much more social here too.

Moving onward, I wanted to talk about my journey to the Dingle Peinsula today with my good buddy Reece. To begin our day, Reece and I both woke up at 6:30am to grab a taxi down to the bus station. Once we arrived at the bus station for the tour bus, I got some breakfast. The bus was going to leave at 8am and it was supposed to return at 7:30pm. Ultimately, this was going to be a long, but fun day of touring around the county of Kerry. On the bus we drove to the town Killarney, and to the Dingle Peinsula. After two hours of driving, one of our first stops was at the beach near Killarney and it was breathtaking. I got off the bus and I was in awe of what I saw.

To begin, there was a low tide so Reece and I were able to walk out way past the end of the dock. We then just took in the amazing sight. It was truly a memorable moment as I saw these beautiful mountains with green hills right beside the sea. One thing, that not a lot of people know about me is that I love nature and the sea. Hearing the ocean is one of my favorite sounds in the world as it is very peaceful. As cliché as it is to say, it felt as if it was a very thankful/grateful moment for me. Here I am living in a foreign country, seeing beautiful sights, getting a great education, and being a mentor to others. What more could I ask for!

Reece and I took some photos together and we got back on the bus and our next stop was Killarney.After finishing up there we went to Killarney, where Reece got this Chocolate and Rasberry Donut. It was out of this world. I tried one bite and I was in awe about how good this donut really was. The town was lively and fun too but the donut really stuck with me even after we left the town. It was just that good! Anyway, after touring around Killarney for an hour we got back on the bus and we made two more stops. One was in front of this beautiful grassy fields which had sheep and other livestock on it and it was stunning. And our last stop was in front of this beautiful mountainous area that looked as if it was a walkway to paradise.

Overall, as Reece and I returned home from our trip we both agreed that today was a blast. I love sight seeing and being near the water and seeing mountainous views. Additionally, I loved seeing very green and grassy fields but most importantly I enjoyed hanging out with my roommate throughout the day as I had a blast with him.

The past year, I worked hard at Ulster University to receive my MSc in Sports and Exercise Psychology. Now it all comes down to the grade I receive on my dissertation manuscript. There’s no more presentations, test, or class, there’s just the grade I receive on one little 4,000 word paper.

When I submitted my manuscript, a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. Its was if all my hard work had finally paid off. But then it hit me, now I have to wait to see if i pass.

Everyone close to me knows that I am one of the most impatient people when it comes to school grades. The thought of my grade consumes me, until I’m thinking about my possible score. “Did I pass?” “Did I not pass?” “Okay, if I didn’t pass is there anything I can do to pass.” “No. if I fail my manuscript, that’s it I failed.” “Omg, what if I failed/” “Omg, how do I tell my family!” And all these thoughts keep running around in my head until I feel like the picture below.

That is until I call my mom. My mom, always the calm voice of reason and the only person who can calm me down when I get in my crazy mode. We don’t have to talk about school. But if we do, she reminds every time of how far I’ve come and how proud she is of me. When I called her recently, all she said on the matter was, “It’s just a waiting game baby that’s it, now we just wait. ” So hopefully in December I’ll be walking the stage for graduation and receiving my masters. But for now, I’m just got have to roll the dice and play the waiting game.

To Be Continued… 

I’m starting to get settled into life here in Dublin. We have orientation this week, and will finally start classes next week! Basketball has been going great, and the team has been so welcoming. We started out strong our first week, practicing 5 times in the first 6 days. Since then we’ve had 2 preseason “friendlies” (what they call scrimmages here) and they were great. We played Templeogue in our first game, and got to play against fellow scholar Morgan O’Donnell. The game was fun and it was great to get a feel for our team! In the next game we played a talented, and very tall team from London. The weekend was awesome, and I can’t wait for our regular season to start!!

We also were able to get started with our community work since arriving in Dublin, and Meredith and I are assigned to two different age groups. On Saturday mornings we work with boys and girls aged 4-14. This group has soooo much energy, and they’re so adorable! They are huge fans of the game “sharks and minnows”, so we make sure we fit that into the schedule every weekend. On Thursday nights we are scheduled to train the DCU Mercy Division 2 team, which is older girls who are much more invested in basketball. All of the girls are so great and they make coaching enjoyable! They are very coachable, and I’m so excited to see how they do in their games.

Another amazing experience was watching the All-Ireland GAA final on Saturday night. I was able to watch the match at a local bar in Dublin with my teammates, and it was insane. I have never experienced a crowd so invested in a game. I could barely see the game because people were so close to the TVs!! In front of where we were standing, there were guys who would run up to the TV as if they were going to chest bump one of the players on the screen. I honestly thought I had seen it all being a Boston sports fan, but Dublin takes the cake for rowdiest crowds. It was a once in a lifetime experience for sure.

As many of you know, I’m a military brat.  In short, that means that I have moved a lot throughout my life. Seven times to be exact. My eighth move was to Sligo, Ireland. Just like every move I’ve had in my lifetime I was nervous, excited and approaching it with an open mind. Turns out, move number eight just might be my favorite out of all of them. To start, the people in Sligo, like the rest of the island are extremely friendly. The hospitality that we’ve been shown since arriving has been shocking and people here go out of their way to ensure that we are comfortable. I can’t even count the amount of people that have offered to drive us around town and show us their favorite restaurants, scenery and even just inviting us out for a coffee. It’s the little things that make me feel so welcomed in this community.

Secondly, the outdoors here are beautiful. It’s like everywhere you go is worthy of a picture, from the river that flows through the center of town, to the amazing street art and murals to the stunning Strandhill Beach you’ll be fascinated by everything that you see. I’m looking forward to more breathtaking views when we are able to get out and go on hikes throughout the Sligo area. I can’t wait to discover more gems in this area but below are some of my favorite spots in town:

Lastly, it’s pushed me out of my comfort zone. I’ve had to cook for myself and not rely on the dining hall at school (which I do miss at times), find out information for myself and adapt to a new style of education. So far, it’s been a success.

In no way did I expect for my transition to be this smooth. In all honesty I thought the transition was going to be difficult but I feel as though I fit in seamlessly, thanks to the people of Sligo and my support back home. 10 months is going to fly by before I know it but I intend to make memories and friends here that will last a lifetime.

The Journey from Belfast to Cork was quite an adventure.

Two train rides, a cab, and a couple naps later and I’ve arrived in Cork.

My first impression was how beautiful the city is and the building architecture. I arrived at my dorm which is pretty nice with a beautiful view of the country side and a few tennis courts that remind me of Wimbledon. I can hear Serena chats from my balcony view lol!

Besides that my fellow Victory Scholar Peter and I have gotten acquainted with our new roommates who are from France. They’re not big fans of Paris which surprised me but that’s similar to me because I from NYC but don’t really like Manhattan because it’s too crowded and busy. Our roommates are nice and we have bonded over the use of slang words which is different but cool at the same time.

I took a walk on a bike trail close by my apartments. There were so many scenic views of nature that looked like they were straight out of a romantic comedy.

On the trail we saw a few horses. One horse I named Henry after a nice fellow I met at Ulster. My new roommate and I took it upon ourselves to get a closer view and the Horses were friendly but eventually got tired of us in the space. So they started to open their mouths aggressively and that’s when I knew it was time to go. I’m a city girl so horses and wild life isn’t really my thing. I was scared out of my mind lol, but hopefully one day I will develop the courage to horse back ride through the country side. Overall this week has been Lowkey and also comforting to know Cork will be my new home!

After spending 10 days in Belfast with SCL and 2 days in Drogheda for our first preseason tournament with my National League team, Fabplus Northwest (we went 4-1!!), I finally arrived at my new home in Letterkenny, Co. Donegal. I am the only Victory Scholar out here, but I do have some fellow American housemates and ballers who are all so great! We all clicked right away and get along really well. I’ll do some quick introductions since I am sure their names will come up in future blogs!

• Kaylee Kacavas (pictured left below) is originally from Boston and played basketball at Rivier College in New Hampshire. We’ll both be playing for Fabplus NW and LYIT this year!

Fun Fact: She likes American football just as much as I do. Unfortunately, she’s a Patriots fan BUT we are still good friends and have remained civil!! (Fly Eagles Fly)

• Manny Payton (pictured on right side of me below) is also from Boston and played basketball at Framingham State University. He’s also a lefty just like me!!

Fun Fact: He has his own non-profit organization called SunnySide to help the youth in his community overcome challenges, which is pretty amazing if you ask me! (and sounds a bit like Sport Changes Life!)

• Dom Uhl (pictured on far right below) is actually from Germany but he went to high school in New Jersey (small world!) and played basketball at the University of Iowa, so he’s American enough😉

Fun Fact: He is basically a fishing champion – he once caught a shark that weighed between 150-200 pounds!!

I also have three other awesome housemates: Léonie and Coralie are both from France and Tanja is from Germany. I’ve had to play a lot of charades in order to communicate to the French girls at first, but we are definitely starting to break through that language barrier!

Now that I’ve briefly introduced the Shalom household, I can start to talk about all of the amazing experiences we’ve had in Donegal in just the short amount of time we’ve been here.

Throughout the first few days in Letterkenny, we definitely found all the fun spots including an activity center that had bowling, an arcade, laser tag, and pool tables. The guys would tell you differently, but Kaylee and I definitely showed them up! We also have done plenty of shopping, we cook together, and we saw a few movies. So, we pretty much know Letterkenny like the back of our hands now!

We also had time to do a little sight-seeing around Donegal. I must say…National Geographic didn’t name Donegal the “coolest place on the planet” for nothing! It is absolutely STUNNING here. Every time we get in the car to drive somewhere, my eyes are glued to the window. I wish I could capture every beautiful scene I see!

Our first little trip was to Rathmullan beach. Our landlord, Ed Cassidy (such a legend!!) took us along with his son Luke and his dog Buster to the beach so we could play fetch with Buster in the ocean. It was a little too cold and windy to go for a swim, but the views were more than enough!             

Our next adventure was definitely my favorite one so far: Horseback riding in Bundoran. If you are ever in Donegal, this is something you MUST do, even if you have never ridden a horse before. Each of us mounted our “Irish Cob” horses, which were trained specifically to take inexperienced riders (like us) on tours, and we rode off with our tour guide through some of the most picturesque trails I’ve ever seen. We rode along the Tullagh Bay beach and through some of the largest sand dunes in Europe! It was truly an amazing experience and I can’t wait to go again someday.

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We also took a trip with our French housemates to the Fanad peninsula, which was actually a pretty quick drive from Letterkenny! It was a beautiful day and of course, the views were simply amazing. The Fanad Head Lighthouse was used to guard the entrance to Lough Swilly (the sea inlet) during WWI, which became the main Atlantic base for the Allied fleet – pretty cool!

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My most recent adventure was to Glenveagh National Park. I definitely recommend wearing proper sneakers whenever you come here – we walked over 2 HOURS along just one of the various paths that go through the park! Thankfully, we got back to the life-saving shuttle bus just in time to take us back to the parking lot instead of having to walk the whole way. Nevertheless, the views were just incredible. Walking along the path and taking in all the fresh air and nature was so nice. And everything is so clean and unpolluted here, it really is a breath of fresh air! (No pun intended). As we walked along the path, we came upon the Glenveagh Castle, which basically just shows up out of nowhere! It had a beautiful garden and greenhouse with some really cool views. It was built way back in 1873 and was owned by three different owners throughout time until it was sold to the Office of Public Works in 1975. The last private owner was actually from Philadelphia, which is basically my home city!

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These first few weeks in Ireland have been full of adventure to say the least! I can’t wait to continue gaining new experiences and making unforgettable memories.

Traveler Tip #6:

It is perfectly normal to see open grass fields dotted with sheep and/or cows (and if you’re lucky, you might even see an alpaca). But, don’t be alarmed (like I was) if you see sheep with pink or blue patches of hair – they are not magical or diseased. Farmers will actually paint their sheep so they can identify which ones belong to them!

Well, my next adventure awaits!

Au revoir👋🏼

-Dana D.

P.S. “Eachtraí” means “Adventures” in Irish.

The remainder of my time in Jordanstown was truly wonderful. In just ten, short days I was able to form friendships with other scholars, the staff, and truly get my whereabouts around campus and the city of Belfast. I had begun to become comfortable, in large part due to familiarity with the area and those around me. But of course, this feeling was torn away when the training week ended. Everyone packed their bags, and headed off to their respected cities. I was again, thrust into a world of unknown.

On Saturday, August 31st, Ian, Summer*, and myself made the cross country journey** from Belfast to Limerick. Literally the only information we knew was where we were staying, and that our point of contact was a guy named Wayne. Upon our arrival, I already got a taste of how helpful and genuine a person Wayne is. That night, he took us grocery shopping. He waited on us for 45 minutes while we wandered around the grocery store grabbing anything and everything we might need. After filling his car to the brim with groceries, he then took us to Hungry Lyons, where I personally got my first taste of the Irish take on fast food, which at the very least was a lot less greasy than American fast food. Afterwards, we all began to unpack and try to settle into Apartment 73, which would be our new home.

Objectively speaking, the physical moving into our apartment where we will be living for the next nine months was a pretty big deal. And in the moment, I felt both excited and anxious. However, deep down,there was still a part of me that was unexpectedly irritated. This feeling wasn’t directed at any one particular person or thing, just the mere fact that familiarity had again been stripped away. While of course I was beyond eager to begin to figure everything out again, and embark on a new adventure, to say that I was feeling 100% thrilled with beginning this process over again would be a blatant lie. And while this feeling has quickly subsided over the past week, the biggest takeaway I have is a new level of appreciation for any international students, or anyone who moves to a different country to live for an extended period of time. While it appears obvious that there will be some mixed emotions, the sting of having familiarity severed twice in a ten day period was more than expected.

Looking back on the past 10 days since our arrival in Limerick, I can say that without a doubt having Summer, Ian, and Wayne around have made the process of settling 1,000 times easier. I can now assure you, that while everyday here has its unique challenges, I have regained the feeling of familiarity. Each day it grows stronger by the things I learn, the people I meet, and the time spent with others.

Stay tuned for Episode 3 as I recap a recent trip to the Dingle Peninsula with some dry and witty humor.

*Ian and Summer are my lovely housemates and the other two scholars staying here in Limerick.

**Even though it was just a 4 hour bus ride, it was still technically across the country. Several people here told me that the trip would be, “quite the journey”, so I guess it’s really all about perspective.