Baking Irish Soda Bread
Author: Chloe Hansberger | Majors: International Business and Supply Chain
Studying abroad in Maynooth, Ireland really checked all of my boxes. As an international business and political science student, I could choose any international experience, and it would be beneficial. Ireland was a specifically good choice, however, because they have become a business hotspot since Brexit occurred. Ireland is now the gateway to doing business in Europe. Maynooth is a quaint town that is not touristy, but it is just thirty minutes away from a major international city: Dublin. This is ideal for travelling and exploring around the island because to travel anywhere in Ireland, you have to go through Dublin first. The program specifically allowed me to take two classes that I need to complete my degree program. At the University of Arkansas, I am vice president of the Red Cross club, and I plan on working in the humanitarian sector in my career. So, it was super interesting and poignant that the Irish Red Cross were on my campus in Ireland hosting Ukrainian refugees.
The classes in Ireland and at the University of Arkansas are fairly similar; however, their structures do vary. My classes at Maynooth University were much less lecture-based and contained more discussions and debates that were guided by the professors. In my International Marketing class, we took a field trip to the Guinness Storehouse. There, our professor guided us through the history of Guinness’ advertising and how its international marketing was so successful. In my Global Development Issues and Responses class, we took a field trip to a socialist farm. The farm was a community farm meant to educate other farmers on better environmental practices. In that same class, we had a new professor every day. It was extremely helpful to learn from so many different Irish people as well as revealing that there is not just one Irish perspective.
Prior to this trip when I thought of a castle, I had a specific image of how I thought castles looked. While I was in Ireland, I visited Trim castle which is from the 1100s and Kilkenny castle which is a medieval castle. They were both very interesting but vastly different. The former was in ruins. Kilkenny castle, however, was still intact and fully furnished. It was incredibly humbling and awe-inspiring to stand in buildings that have been around longer than the United States of America. I also went to the Hurling semifinals match. Hurling, which I had never even heard of until I was in Ireland, is a sport somewhere between rugby, hockey, and baseball. The electricity and passion that the Irish people in the audience had for the sport was contagious.
Ultimately, I would recommend studying abroad on this program. I will say, all of the advertising for the program showed beautiful architecture from the sixteenth century, but that is part of the priests’ college, and as a student, you will not ever use those facilities. You will be in modern buildings. However, you can still go walk around those buildings and explore the gorgeous chapel. Additionally, you will just be taking classes with other international students, not Irish students. I still met many Irish people out of the classroom. So, I would recommend studying and exploring outside of your classroom and apartment on campus.
The first thing that I will do when I get home is take a nap in my comfortable bed with lots of pillows. This is for two reasons, one being that the apartment beds are small and not the most comfortable. The second, and more important reason, is that in order to fully take advantage of the experience, I slept very little the entire month. During the weekends, and even some during the week, I travelled all around Ireland. One weekend, I even went to Rome. This meant that I would often have to fit homework into train rides, flights, and many late nights. Ultimately, I would do it again in a heartbeat.