crap- WHERE AM I?

1:16 PM Léonie Dupuis 0 Comments

The title of this blog posts pretty much summarizes how I felt earlier today, lost, in the forest trails of Glendalough. For some background information, I decided to go on a day tour of Glendalough and the Kilkenny. As we approach our first stop, Glendalough, our tour guide encourages us to go see the Upper Lake because Glendalough literally translates to "city of two lakes" and the upper lake is the nicer, bigger one. So, off I go, following the signs towards "Upper Lake."

At some point, there is a fork in the path. One leads up, to other leads right towards some kind of house. Thinking to myself "Upper Lake must be up," I took the path that went up. (Mistake #1.)

So here I am, climbing up and up, and I start to realize that I'm walking away from where the lake should be... Having grown up exploring mountains, I can sense when trails start going to the wrong side of the mountain. To confirm my sense of unease, I pull out Google Maps. Sure enough, I was walking away from the lake, but I was perpendicular to it. With examination of the google maps (which shows no trails, just where the body of water was) I managed to go cross-country and reach a river. There were some rocks every now and then, so like a ninja, I crossed the river (which was stressful because the rocks were slippery, I had a camera in my hand, and I was not dressed for cross-country adventures.)

The river I somehow crossed without getting wet.



After crossing the river, I start seeing people and I quickly start going up this new trail. And then stairs appeared- 827 of them to be exact- and I went up. Every. Single. One. I get to the top, expecting to see the lake only to realize that the top of the mountain is a viewing point of the lakes which are both at ground level!!
First time at the top! I was feeling triumphant in this shot, but I was ready to head back for the bus!

Time was starting to run out, so I quickly start running down the stairs with only 40 minutes to catch my bus. 3/4 of the way down the mountain, I stop. I left my phone at the top. I literally ran back up the mountain, got to the top, extremely out of breath and retrieved my phone. Took  one more photo just because I felt like I deserved it, and I ran back down. At this point, only 25 minutes remain before the bus's departure.

The photo I took from the top after getting there for the second time. Ironically, you can only see Lower Lake in this shot.
As I'm jogging back to the bus, I see the freaking lake. So I stopped for a photo, and ran again. The guy who took it for me must have thought I was crazy!!
Upper Lake!

Point is, I made it back to the bus. I made it to Kilkenny, and the day was grand from thereon out.

0 comments:

Heatwave!

7:05 AM Léonie Dupuis 0 Comments

Last week in Ireland, we experienced what people called a "heatwave"- oh yes, the weather got to 18 degrees Celcius. Here's an excerpt from my journal at the time of the event:

Sun's out. There's not a cloud in the sky, the buzz of voices trying to each other in the great outdoors reaches my ears. The green space that is available is small, so groups crowd together, drinking around the "College Park." This is what happens when the sun comes out and deems it hot enough to wear a t-shirt. The Dubliners are obviously unaccustomed to this and strip down to shorts and a t-shirt while I wear a dress, tights, a jacket, and a scarf. I guess I've got a Floridian thermostat? The sheer amount of people causes visitors to stop and ask if there's an impending event. The police are on-guard to do some crowd-control and keep people off of the playing field. It is finals week and some people must surely be taking this day as a break from studying. The smell of cigarettes intensifies as more and more people join this gathering at the park. If I were to count the cans of beer, I'd probably die trying. Friends are yelling at each other to try and catch each others' attention. People are laughing and the European camaraderie is in full swing.

The Irish accents are all around me and it's really fun to people-watch on this rare, sunny day in Dublin, Ireland.
A few of the people trying to soak in the sunlight.

All the students on the outskirts of the playing field at College Park, Trinity College Dublin

0 comments:

#nerd

1:12 PM Léonie Dupuis 0 Comments

Yup, I admit it, I am a nerd! Today, I stepped into the world of Westeros as I embarked on a journey through the sets of the Game of Thrones series filmed in parts of Northern Ireland. The tour was very well made and showed us how the movie magic- the graphics, the high volumes of people, the filming, the sets- were all coordinated. It's crazy to think that when they filmed the first season, people could walk 20 feet away from the place where they were filming! (Because nobody knew what Game of Thrones was back then!)

We went to the Tolleymore Forest which is home to the Wildling Pit from Season 1, Episode 1 as well as that whole opening scene with the snow and the horseback riding. We continued hiking through Tolleymore Forest until we had seen about 3 scene spots. We then moved onto lunch at Paddy's Barn where they had King Joffrey's crown as well as the (now grown) direwolf pups from Season 1!! Afterwards, we made our way to Winterfell, or Old Castle Ward, which is also home to where they filmed the Twins and Odley Castle. Finally, we stopped at Inch Abbey where Rob Stark becomes King of the North. At this point, we got to use replica swords and pose around the abbey as we crowned our own King and Queen of the North- a couple who got married during the tour!!
The wildling pit featured in the very first episode of Game of Thrones minus the dead bodies.

Me, dead, in the wildling pit.

A pretty little path near where the Direwolf scene was shot.

These two doggies were famous in their youth- these were the direwold pups in Episode 1.

Tree where girls were hung. (When Breanne tries to bury them before having to kill Stark soldiers.)

The newly-engaged King and Queen of the North featuring the Hound and our tour guide.

0 comments:

From the Hospital to the Abbey!

1:03 AM Léonie Dupuis 0 Comments

Yesterday was a very eventful, inspiring, educating day! I spent the morning and afternoon at Beaumont Hospital in Northern Dublin shadowing Prof. Orla Hardiman. She hosts an ALS Clinic once a week at Beaumont Hospital where she checks in with her ALS patients, most of which coming from all over the countryside to see Dr. Hardiman. It was interesting to see the large variety of patients coming in who are all suffering from the same diagnosis at different phases in the disease's evolution. 

Prof. Hardiman also was very nice in explaining the mechanisms of the symptoms of ALS, even showing me how to identify the symptoms in patients. She even showed me the Pectoral Reflex using the reflex hammer (as shown in the photo) which is  reflex not taught in medical school!
 After a long day of seeing patients, I headed downtown to the Abbey Theatre to see Othello. Having read the story in secondary school, I was very excited to see a live rendition of it. I must say, I would've paid a lot more attention in class if I had seen this play! It was amazing. The actor playing Iago (the antagonist of the plot) was my personal favorite although his Irish accent was a little thick at times. The actor playing Othello was actually an American trained at the Yale School of Drama and his voice was so unique and booming, it made for some interesting auditory dynamics.
I had forgotten the order in which all the characters died (yes, all the characters die, this is a Shakespearean tragedy after all!) so I was still quite surprised by the final scene. All seats in the house were good as the Abbey Theatre is actually quite small and intimate, which allowed for a microphone-less performance. All in all, I was very impressed and glad I took the time to go see Othello live!

0 comments:

The Holy Grail of Nerds

3:11 PM Léonie Dupuis 0 Comments

To me, there are two things that comprise the holy grail of nerdom: books and school supplies. Today, I had the please of satiating both my thirst for books as well as my never-ending need for school supplies, namely pens and highlighters.

It was no surprise that I came across the used bookstore... In fact, I made it my mission to find all of the used bookstores in Dublin and find my favorites! (Muahahaha!) However, I walked into this bookstore - Chapters - only because it was a store name I recognized from Canada. So, I walk in, I look up, and there's a sign calling my name that says "Secondhand Books, Floor 1" (they use Floor 0 for ground floors) and so, of course, I tried my best not to run up the stairs!

I got upstairs, and bam! Shelves on shelves on shelves of beautifully used books. I controlled my impulse and didn't buy any, but there is a Nicholas Spark book for 1 euro I might be returning to purchase...
The North-Eastern side of the book store.
The southern side of the book store.
So then, I hear the overhead voice letting me know that the store would close in the next 5 minutes. I begin to mope down the stairs, sad that this speaker is separating me from the thing I love the most, when BAM, it gets even better! In the downstairs area, there was a whole wall of Stabilo products!!! Stabilo only recently began stocking shelves in the US, so we don't have quite as large of a selection as what my eyes had the privilege of witnessing... In my state of shock, I thankfully remembered to take a photo, so here it is:
Isn't it just beautiful?!?
This is all a results of Chapters: Ireland's largest independent bookstore which means that the fact we have a Chapters in Canada is pure coincidence! In case you ever happen to be in Dublin, forget the sightseeing, get to this bookstore! I've attached a map for your convenience.

0 comments:

An Ode to the Cores

9:43 AM Léonie Dupuis 0 Comments

In the Kugelman Honors Program at UWF, we are required to take two freshman seminars: Core I and Core II (hence the post title). Confession 1: I was not a happy camper when I found out I would have to complete any sort of literary analysis coming into college... Having chosen a science major,  I expected classes full of science and experimentation. And yes, that is what I got. But, these sciences included both human and life sciences.
Aristotle
  
Confession 2: I thought these classical artists and philosophers only had an impact on the world of academia, so I kinda hated them all. BUT, lo and behold, I got to see their stone-cold faces in one of the world's oldest libraries-The Trinity College Library. It was exciting to see the ways in which the Star Wars and Harry Potter set designers used the Trinity College Library as model for their own fictitious world. I was not disappointed one bit!
Locke
 Confession 3: I was wrong, the professors were right. Now that I am immersed in the world of the great European authors and philosophers, I can see their influence on basic city monuments. Their works are deified by the citizens of Dublin and preserved for future generations to admire beit by passing down the books and their morals or by highlighting these talented minds' contributions to society via statues and plaques. It's only been 8 hours and the deep cultural roots in this city are already evident!
In Honors Core II, we also spend a large portion of the school year discussing parks and their effect on a city and the ways people use these parks. Below, I have the picture of two parks which are heavily populated considering these pictures were taken at 2 in the afternoon when most people are still at work. The thing these two parks have in common is that there are NO meaningful activities.  Meaningful activities are opportunities for people to participate in engaging activities, and they were the item we blamed for Pensacola Parks scoring so low. 
In both of these photos, it is interesting to see that all of the people in the parks are happily sitting on the lawn, talking to each other, people watching, or contemplating on life. Perhaps, that is the main difference between Pensacola parks and the parks in Dublin (so far), it is not the substance of the park, but the substance of the park users. It seems to me as if the citizens of Dublin are more inclined to going to the park as a break from the city life (there was an implied hush of silence in both of these spaces) whereas Americans tend to explore parks in the hopes of finding new adventures and avoiding boredom. The city of Dublin feeds its citizens with excitement and buzz and the parks provide an escape.



0 comments:

Checklist Completed!

4:34 PM Léonie Dupuis 0 Comments

Recently, my mother went on a cruise and got me the Alex and Ani Cruise Ship charm which represents exploration, relaxation, and adventure. I feel as though the charm is a good precedent to my expectations for this summer of myself- I am ready to immerse myself in my ancestors' culture as well as relax and bask in the spirit of the city of Dublin. I hope to plan my schedule well enough that I find the time to explore as many nooks and crannies in the city and I pray that I seek out adventure in the safest of ways.

As much as I've sat and thought about this upcoming trip, the time has run out! As I sit and think about my very imminent arrival in Dublin, the only thoughts I can form are those of excitement!

I've packed my bags, I've passed security, I've contacted my host in Dublin, I've planned my first weekend in the city, and I've spent more than enough hours on Pinterest. The checklist is complete, it's time to fly!!


0 comments:

About Me!

12:32 PM Léonie Dupuis 0 Comments

Let's face it, this blog is all about "moi" so I might as well give you all some background about myself.
Here are the Quick Facts:
Name- Leonie
Nickname- Leo, Lini, Lin, Boss, Canada
School- University of West Florida
Major- Pre-Professional Biology
Minor- Theatre and Spanish

Favorite Color- Purple
Favorite Flavor- Artificial Grape
Favorite Candy- Swedish Fish
Favorite Fruit- Raspberries
Favorite Meal- Lentil-Stuffed Bell Peppers
Favorite Sweet- Sonic Grape Slushee with Nerds


The Full Story  

 I was born in Canada and spent most of my childhood there enjoying the culture and community found in French-Canadian Quebec, Canada. Living on the shores of the village lake, I acquired a sense of curiosity and thirst for adventure. Looking back, I can't think of a day where there wasn't some kind of outdoor escapade with my sisters and cousins. 


After most of elementary school, my family decided to move to Florida where I enrolled in my first dance classes at Studio 5-6-7-8. I fell in love with and dance became my passion. Spending up to 25 hours dancing some weeks, dance forced me to learn how to manage my time and learn to love exercising and staying in shape.

With a successful resume while applying to universities, I was extremely proud to be awarded the John C. Pace, Jr. Honors Scholarship from the University of West Florida Kugelman Honors Program. With this scholarship, I would be able to go away from home for college and eventually graduate from my university debt-free! The scholarship also allots a fund for recipients to use towards a summer experience which I will now be using to cover the costs of my trip to Ireland.

0 comments:

And so it begins...

6:05 PM Léonie Dupuis 0 Comments

In less than 72 hours, I will be embarking on a plane that will take me up, up, and away. Away from the Floridian humidity, away from the Americas I call home, and into the land of my ancestors. This summer, I will be going undercover as a Dubliner researching Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, or ALS, or Lou Gehrig's Disease (made famous by the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.)

Why am I doing this? 
For starters, I hope to attend medical school and obtain an M.D./PhD., so I need to get as much research experience as possible to ensure that this is in fact the career path I want to take. But more importantly, I've had an interest in the field of neurology since age 12 when one of my best friends at the time passed away from a brain tumor. My dad's fight against internal shingles only further motivated me to pursue a career in the field- motivation that is much needed to enter one of the most competitive job fields.

What am I doing exactly?
I am going to be studying the genomics of ALS and comparing them to other neuro-degenerative diseases. I will be conducting various wet-lab techniques as well as some bioinformatic analyses of the DNA in the lab with the help and guidance of Russel McLaughlin in the laboratory of Dr. Orla Hardiman, the Head of Neurology at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland.


So what is this blog?
This blog is going to be my method of sharing my experiences in Dublin and other parts of Europe as I research and explore my motherland. As for the title, "Paddy" is a word used to describe someone of Irish origin. I am not 100% Irish, but my great-grandmother came to Canada straight from Ireland, and as I mentioned before, this is my time to go incognito in the land of the green and orange.

Adventure is out there, and this is my time to seek it, so subscribe and follow my journey!

Thank you to the Kugelman Honors Program, UWF Office of Undergraduate Research, and UWF Student Government Association for making this summer abroad come to fruition. Your support and guidance are what has made this dream come true. 

0 comments:

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)