uclarissa

I did it! I survived my first semester in grad school at Trinity College!! It's almost impossible for me to believe the entire semester is over already. It went by so quickly! And though the past few months have been some of the most fun I've ever had, they were not without work and far from easy. Especially the last few weeks. After coming home from my grandfather's funeral, I had a lot of catching up to do. I went from class to the library to work and back to the library, day in and day out. I had so many papers coming due and tests to study for, it seemed at times quite overwhelming. But with my birthday falling on December 9th, usually right before finals, it's always a nice break from it all. Though ... read more

I learned long ago that when a friend invites you to visit them in a place you've never visited, it's foolish to refuse. When my friend Samantha said she would be visiting Scotland for work while I was in Ireland and asked if I wanted to come over to see her, my first question was, "when should I book my flight?" I had never been to Scotland and after hearing from so many people how beautiful it was, Scotland was definitely at the top of my list of places to visit this year. So, after class one Thursday, I set out on the painless 45 minute flight from Dublin to Glasgow. Though it was quite late when I got in that night, it was so nice to see my friend Sam and her mom who had ... read more

It’s now been two weeks since I landed in Ireland - and I’ve been loving every minute. It’s very rare that you come to a place, especially a place abroad, and feel completely comfortable and at home. That is exactly how I’ve felt from the minute I landed in Ireland. I got incredibly lucky in regards to my living situation. My house is right in the city center and just a short 10-minute walk from Trinity. Everything you could want or need is within walking distance. My roommates are amazing and we have so much fun together. And after hearing horror stories of looking for places to live from the other graduate students, I feel especially lucky since I didn’t even see the place before moving in. Attached are a few photos of my house (though ... read more

Nearly three months after returning to the United States from my internship in Brussels, Belgium, after applying for nearly 85 different jobs, I have found and accepted a position in Washington D.C.! Though I had never been to D.C. before this summer, for years I have wanted nothing more than to end up in D.C. On August 3rd I will start a position as the Press Assistant for former Vice President Al Gore's non-profit The Alliance for Climate Protection and I could not be more excited. - July 23, 2009 It's now been over a year since I started writing this post that I, until now, had not been able to find the time to complete. That in and of itself is very indicative of what my life was like in D.C. From the moment I ... read more

We had heard that though over 20 million tourists visit Venice each year, a majority of the visitors only stay for one day. Though we thought Venice was absolutely breathtaking and incredibly relaxing, one day sounded about right to us. Beside’s St. Mark’s Basilica and the Doge’s Palace, there aren’t many must-sees in Venice besides the city itself. The canals are amazing and it’s stunning to just see Venice, but even the gondola rides run around 100 euros for 40 minutes, it’s not the easiest city to navigate around in, and it's jam packed with tourists. It is very nice that there are no cars in the city, though navigating through streets that randomly end at a canal can be a little frustrating. Once again, the first thing we did when we got to Venice was ... read more